MEMELAND

The room was quiet.

Too quiet.

Kai lay on the bed staring at the ceiling.

It was probably the softest bed he had slept on since arriving in this world.

Maybe ever.

Which was unfortunate.

Because he couldn't sleep.

He turned to one side.

Then the other.

Then back again.

Still awake.

The events of the day kept replaying in his head.

The sewer.

The cultists.

The collapse.

Fais.

Andre.

Especially Andre.

Kai closed his eyes.

Only to immediately remember the moment the tunnel came down.

The smile.

The shouting.

The confidence.

Andre had acted like everything would be fine.

As if being trapped underground with a monster like Fais was a minor inconvenience.

Which honestly sounded exactly like something Andre would do.

Kai sighed.

The room remained silent.

His thoughts didn't.

The memory of the fight returned.

Fais standing over him.

Calling him weak.

The strange movements he somehow knew.

The techniques his body remembered but his mind didn't.

The dream.

Or memory.

Whatever it had been.

Fragments floated through his mind.

A battlefield.

A sword.

A symbol.

A figure standing among countless corpses.

Someone calling him "Sir."

Kai frowned.

The details were blurry now.

Like trying to remember a dream after waking up.

The more he reached for them—

The more they slipped away.

Only feelings remained.

Familiarity.

Confusion.

Regret.

Loss.

As if those memories belonged to someone else.

Yet somehow belonged to him too.

He didn't understand.

And honestly—

He was getting tired of not understanding things.

The winged woman.

The strange visions.

The nightmares.

The voices asking for help.

The Order of Karma.

The cult.

The drifters.

Every answer seemed to create three more questions.

Kai buried his face into the pillow.

"This sucks."

The pillow offered no advice.

Typical.

After several minutes he rolled onto his back again.

The ceiling stared back.

Unhelpfully.

His eyes slowly began to feel heavy.

For the first time in days—

There were no demons attacking.

No cultists chasing him.

No rabbit people trying to eat him.

No bald men punching him through walls.

Just silence.

Peaceful silence.

Kai's thoughts drifted one final time.

Toward Andre.

"If you're alive..."

He paused.

Then snorted.

"You're probably annoying somebody."

The image alone was enough to make him laugh.

A small laugh.

A tired laugh.

But a real one.

Eventually—

His eyes closed.

The city lights beyond the window blurred.

His breathing slowed.

And for the first time since arriving in Asphyxia—

Kai finally fell asleep.

Deeply.

Without dreams.

Without voices.

Without memories.

Without answers.

Just sleep.

The room remained still.

Outside, the city continued moving.

Guards changed shifts.

Merchants closed shops.

Workers returned home.

And elsewhere in the palace—

Raj was still awake.

Unfortunately for her.

Because Alice wasn't.