MEMELAND

Kai was floating.

Not swimming.

Not drowning.

Just... floating.

The current gently carried him forward.

Above him was a sky he didn't recognize.

Below him was water so clear he could see countless reflections moving beneath the surface.

Except they weren't his.

For a brief moment, he saw a boy laughing.

The next moment, an old man.

Then a woman crying.

Then a battlefield.

Then nothing.

The reflections vanished as quickly as they appeared.

Kai stared upward.

His body felt strangely light.

Like he was half asleep.

Or half dead.

Maybe both.

The river continued onward.

Silent.

Endless.

Then a voice spoke.

"Do you remember?"

Kai turned.

Nobody was there.

The river remained empty.

The voice echoed again.

"Do you remember?"

He frowned.

"Remember what?"

No answer.

Only silence.

The current became faster.

The water began moving quicker and quicker.

The peaceful drifting became rushing.

The sky darkened.

The reflections below became distorted.

Broken.

Shattered.

A thousand faces appeared beneath the water.

Some crying.

Some screaming.

Some laughing.

Some reaching toward him.

Kai immediately looked away.

"Nope."

The faces continued anyway.

One of them looked familiar.

A winged woman.

Standing beneath the water.

Watching him.

Not moving.

Just watching.

Kai stared.

The woman opened her mouth.

"I'm sorry."

---

Kai's eyes slowly opened.

A sharp pain shot through his head.

"...ugh."

He coughed.

Water left his lungs.

His entire body hurt.

He sat up slowly.

Wet clothes.

Wet hair.

Wet everything.

"Where..."

He looked around.

A forest.

Dense.

Silent.

Unfamiliar.

The river flowed beside him.

Birds chirped somewhere overhead.

Nothing seemed immediately dangerous.

Which honestly made him more suspicious.

The last thing he remembered was—

...

...

His thoughts froze.

What was the last thing he remembered?

Kai frowned.

He knew something had happened.

Something important.

But his memories felt scrambled.

Like pages ripped from a book and shoved back in the wrong order.

He pressed a hand against his forehead.

Think.

Think.

Think.

And then—

A memory surfaced.

Not ancient fragments.

Not dreams.

A recent memory.

A few days ago.

Inside Alice's office.

---

Several days earlier.

The reconstruction of Asphyxia had already begun.

Workers repaired damaged streets.

Soldiers maintained order.

Citizens slowly returned to their daily lives.

Inside Alice's office—

Kai sat with Andre.

Nearby sat Noah.

Eric.

Nish.

Raj.

And Alice herself.

The atmosphere was unusually calm.

For once.

Nobody was running.

Nobody was exploding.

Nobody was trying to kill anyone.

A rare occasion.

Andre leaned back.

"We actually survived."

Alice nodded.

"Barely."

Nish crossed his arms.

"The city survived."

"The Manufacturing District didn't."

Alice pointed toward him.

"Details."

"Important details."

Raj sighed.

Noah looked exhausted.

Eric looked proud.

Nobody knew why.

Kai honestly didn't want to ask.

The conversation drifted naturally.

From reconstruction.

To casualties.

To future plans.

Then eventually—

Someone mentioned Oheyo.

The room became quieter.

Kai noticed immediately.

The name had appeared before.

Again and again.

Whenever people spoke about old disasters.

Old history.

Old regrets.

"Oheyo."

Kai looked toward Alice.

"You keep mentioning that place."

Alice froze.

Very slightly.

Most people wouldn't notice.

Kai did.

"What exactly was Oheyo?"

Silence.

Nobody spoke.

Even Andre stopped eating.

Which was honestly impressive.

Alice stared at the ceiling.

Then at the walls.

Then at Raj.

Raj immediately looked away.

"No."

"Don't look at me."

Alice groaned.

Raj pointed at her.

"You started it."

"You explain it."

Alice groaned louder.

Kai waited.

The room waited.

Finally—

Alice sighed.

A very long sigh.

The sigh of someone opening a box they had no desire to open.

"It started over a hundred years ago."

Nobody interrupted.

Alice looked out the window.

Her expression became distant.

Like she wasn't looking at Asphyxia anymore.

Like she was looking somewhere much further away.

Somewhere long gone.

---

"We woke up in a forest."

"A very annoying forest."

Raj nodded.

"Very annoying."

Alice ignored her.

"There were eight of us."

"Completely confused."

"Completely lost."

"Completely terrified."

She paused.

"Well."

"Most of us."

Andre raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Alice smiled slightly.

"There was one person who wasn't panicking."

The smile vanished quickly.

"But we'll get to him."

Kai listened carefully.

Alice rarely talked about her past.

In fact—

She usually avoided it.

Which made this story far more interesting.

"We all woke up in different clothes."

"Different backgrounds."

"Different worlds."

"We didn't know where we were."

"We didn't know why we were there."

"And most importantly..."

Alice looked down.

"We all remembered our previous lives."

Kai felt something strange in his chest.

Alice continued.

"I remembered mine."

"Raj remembered hers."

"Everyone remembered."

Raj nodded.

"Unfortunately."

Alice smirked.

"Unlike now, Raj was quiet."

Raj immediately pointed.

"YOU were quiet."

"I was not."

"You almost cried."

"I didn't."

"You absolutely did."

"I didn't."

Raj stood up.

"You literally—"

A piece of cheese flew through the room.

THWACK.

It hit Raj directly in the face.

Everyone stared.

Raj slowly removed the cheese.

"...really?"

Alice crossed her arms.

"You were saying?"

Raj looked ready to commit murder.

Nish pretended not to notice.

Noah quietly looked away.

Eric was trying not to laugh.

Andre failed completely and started laughing.

Kai watched the chaos unfold.

Then looked back toward Alice.

"Eight people?"

Alice nodded.

Her expression softened slightly.

"Yeah."

"Eight."

She leaned back.

"The person who held us together was Brennan."

The name felt important.

The way she said it.

The way Raj suddenly became quiet.

The way the room seemed to change.

Even Andre stopped smiling.

Alice continued.

"He was calm."

"He was confident."

"He was annoying."

Raj nodded.

"Very annoying."

A small smile appeared on Alice's face.

"But he was good at leading people."

"We were panicking."

"He wasn't."

"We were confused."

"He wasn't."

"We were scared."

"He wasn't."

The smile slowly faded.

"He helped us get moving."

"He gave us direction."

"And honestly..."

Alice looked down.

"If he wasn't there..."

She stopped.

For a moment.

Nobody spoke.

Then she continued.

"We traveled through the Forest of Summoning."

"Eventually we found a village."

"The villagers immediately thought we were suspicious."

"Which was fair."

"We looked ridiculous."

Andre pointed.

"That's still true."

Alice ignored him.

"The village elder questioned us."

"Interrogated us."

"Observed us."

"He eventually decided we weren't dangerous."

"Mostly because Brennan handled the talking."

Raj nodded.

"He was good at that."

Alice continued.

"The villagers still didn't trust us."

"But they allowed us to stay."

"They gave us rooms."

"The girls shared one."

"The boys shared another."

Raj laughed.

Alice immediately looked annoyed.

"What?"

Raj grinned.

"You forgot to mention Akari."

Alice groaned.

"Fine."

"Akari."

"Back then she wouldn't shut up."

The room blinked.

Everyone stared.

"...what?"

Even Nish looked confused.

Raj nodded vigorously.

"She talked constantly."

"Literally constantly."

Alice pointed.

"She was friendly."

"Helpful."

"Talkative."

"She could become friends with a rock."

Nobody said anything.

Because the current Akari described in Alice's story sounded nothing like the assassin they knew from the reports.

Not even remotely close.

"And Raj?"

Andre asked.

Alice immediately smiled.

"Shy."

Raj slammed a hand onto the table.

"HEY."

"Very shy."

"HEY."

"Polite."

"HEY."

"Quiet."

"ALICE."

The smile widened.

Alice enjoyed this far too much.

The room slowly filled with laughter.

Even Kai found himself smiling.

For a moment—

The story felt warm.

Comfortable.

Like hearing old friends talk about better days.

Before things went wrong.

Before tragedies.

Before Oheyo.

Alice looked toward the ceiling.

The smile slowly disappeared.

And her next words felt much heavier.

"The next morning..."

"We learned what drifters were."

"The village elder explained everything."

"The history."

"The previous summons."

"The people who came before us."

"The people who fought."

"The people who died."

Kai listened.

Completely focused.

Because somehow—

He already knew.

This story wasn't really about Oheyo.

Not yet.

This was a story about people.

People who had once stood where he stood now.

Lost.

Confused.

Searching for answers.

And somewhere in that story—

He felt there was something he needed to know.

Something important.

Something connected to him.

Though he didn't know why.

---

The river continued flowing beside him.

Kai blinked.

The memory faded.

The forest returned.

The cold wind brushed against his face.

"...Alice."

He stared at the river.

That was only the beginning.

The first part of the story.

And somehow—

He felt the rest would explain far more than just Oheyo.

Because even now—

One thing from that conversation lingered in his mind.

Everyone remembered.

Alice remembered.

Raj remembered.

King remembered.

Andre remembered.

Everyone remembered.

Except him.

Kai slowly stood.

The forest stretched endlessly before him.

And somewhere within those trees—

The answers were waiting.

To Be Continued...