MEMELAND

Darkness.

No pain.

No sound.

No thoughts.

For a moment—

Kai simply existed.

Then the darkness shifted.

A figure stood before him.

The same figure.

The one from before.

The one teaching him.

Its face remained hidden.

Its body obscured.

Not a man.

Not a woman.

Just a silhouette.

The figure moved.

A single step.

Then another.

Its movements flowed like water.

Elegant.

Controlled.

Every action connected to the next.

No wasted effort.

No unnecessary force.

Kai watched.

Unable to look away.

The figure raised a hand.

Turned.

Struck.

The motion felt familiar.

The Order of Karma.

Even if Kai didn't know its name.

Then—

The memory changed.

Abruptly.

The training ground disappeared.

Now there were two people.

The mysterious figure.

And—

Fais.

Kai frowned.

That didn't make sense.

Why was Fais here?

The two stood facing each other.

Neither spoke.

Then Fais spoke.

"I hope you learned what I taught you yesterday."

Then they moved.

Fais attacked first.

Every strike carried overwhelming power.

His punches looked capable of shattering stone.

Breaking armor.

Crushing bones.

Raw force.

The figure responded.

Elegant.

Precise.

Each movement redirected force rather than opposing it.

Power against technique.

Violence against understanding.

The clash continued.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Kai watched in silence.

None of it made sense.

Fais was his enemy.

Why would they train together?

Why would this memory exist?

The scene shattered.

Once more.

The world changed.

This time—

Blood.

Endless blood.

A battlefield.

Kai stood motionless.

His boots submerged in crimson.

The air smelled of death.

Bodies covered the ground.

Weapons.

Broken banners.

Ruined armor.

Silence.

An unbearable silence.

Kai slowly looked forward.

Someone lay there.

Face down.

Motionless.

Dead.

Fais.

The bald man wasn't moving.

His body cold.

Lifeless.

Kai froze.

Then looked beyond him.

The figure stood there.

Still standing.

Even now.

Spears pierced its torso.

Arrows protruded from its shoulders.

Several swords remained embedded in its body.

Yet it refused to fall.

Like a statue.

Like a monument.

Like a corpse too stubborn to collapse.

The figure had died standing.

Kai couldn't understand it.

His breathing grew heavier.

Slowly—

He looked down.

A sword rested in his hand.

Black and white.

A strange circular symbol near its guard.

Two opposing halves.

Two dots.

A design Kai had never seen before.

Yet somehow—

It felt important.

Very important.

Then—

A voice echoed.

"Sir."

Kai turned.

Dozens of people stood behind him.

Some wore hoods.

Some didn't.

Men.

Women.

People he didn't recognize.

Yet they all looked toward him.

Waiting.

Expecting.

Trusting.

One of them stepped forward.

"What's your orders, Sir Kai?"

Kai stared.

Confused.

"What?"

Nobody answered.

The crowd only waited.

The battlefield remained silent.

The dead remained dead.

The figure remained standing.

Then—

SLAP.

The world cracked.

SLAP.

"Kai!"

SLAP.

"Kai!"

SLAP.

"KAI!"

His eyes snapped open.

Pain exploded across his face.

Kai immediately grabbed Eric's wrist.

"STOP!"

The architect froze.

"Oh good."

"You're alive."

Kai blinked.

The sewer returned.

The battle returned.

Reality returned.

For several moments he simply sat there.

Breathing heavily.

Something felt wrong.

Like he'd forgotten something important.

Very important.

Yet the harder he tried to remember—

The faster it slipped away.

A dream.

Nothing more.

Probably.

Hopefully.

A loud crash echoed nearby.

Kai looked up.

Andre and Fais were still fighting.

The chamber shook with every impact.

Andre blocked a punch.

Barely.

The floor beneath him cracked.

Fais looked almost annoyed.

Andre looked exhausted.

Neither intended to stop.

"Kai!"

Eric grabbed his shoulder.

"We need to move!"

Kai slowly stood.

His body protested immediately.

Everything hurt.

Again.

"Move where?"

"The escape route!"

Eric pointed toward a tunnel behind Fais' chamber.

"The exit's beyond there!"

Another shockwave echoed.

Andre got punched across the room.

He rolled.

Spat blood.

Then stood up again.

"THAT ALL YOU GOT?!"

Fais immediately punched him again.

"OW!"

Andre pointed accusingly.

"Okay that one was pretty good!"

Kai almost laughed.

Almost.

Eric started dragging him.

"Come on!"

The architect wasn't asking anymore.

Kai reluctantly followed.

Several surviving cultists tried pursuing them.

Andre immediately intercepted.

Grabbing one by the ankle.

Then using him to hit another.

Then another.

The cultists stopped trying.

"GO!"

Andre shouted.

Kai hesitated.

Just for a moment.

Fais noticed.

The captain wiped blood from his mouth.

Then smiled.

A dangerous smile.

"Running away?"

Andre immediately punched him.

"Eyes on me, shiny."

Fais turned.

The smile widened.

"Oh."

"You again."

The two charged each other.

Another collision.

Another shockwave.

The chamber trembled.

Kai watched.

Andre was losing.

Not immediately.

Not obviously.

But he was losing.

Every exchange made it clearer.

Every punch.

Every block.

Every second.

Eric grabbed Kai again.

"We have to go. Now."

This time—

Kai didn't argue.

The two disappeared into the tunnel.

Behind them—

Andre and Fais continued their battle.

And neither man noticed that the foundations around them were beginning to crack.