Chapter 110: Memory Hub
White.
Nothing but white.
No sky.
No ground.
No sound.
Kai slowly opened his eyes.
"...Where..."
His voice echoed endlessly.
Then—
Crack.
Like shattered glass.
A scene appeared before him.
Kai stood atop the walls of Yggdrasil.
A crown rested upon his head.
Soldiers knelt before him.
The banners of Yggdrasil fluttered proudly behind him.
The people shouted his name.
He looked neither happy nor sad.
Only determined.
Crack.
A village burned.
Flames consumed every house.
Lee's village.
Kai stood upon a nearby hill.
His hands remained in his pockets.
He watched.
Silent.
Without regret.
Crack.
Andre laughed.
Throwing an arm around Kai's shoulders.
"You finally learned magic, dumbass."
Kai laughed back.
The two walked toward the setting sun.
Crack.
The same Andre.
A sword pierced his chest.
Kai held the hilt.
Andre smiled weakly.
"...Still..."
"...my friend."
Crack.
Alice handed Kai a poorly sewn rabbit doll.
"It's ugly."
Kai laughed.
"I know."
She punched his shoulder.
"Shut up."
Crack.
The rabbit lay in a pool of blood.
Kai knelt beside Alice's body.
His hands trembled.
"...No..."
Crack.
Kai stood beneath a crimson sky.
Magic circuits covered nearly every inch of his body.
Dozens of hooded cultists knelt before him.
No one dared raise their heads.
Crack.
Kai wore heavy armor unlike anything he'd ever seen.
Its design mixed steel and glowing magic circuits.
Behind him stood countless soldiers from kingdoms he didn't recognize.
He slowly drew his sword.
Crack.
Kai's face was covered with countless scars.
One arm ended just below the elbow.
He looked toward a horizon littered with ruins.
His expression remained empty.
Crack.
Kai stood inside an unfamiliar city.
Children ran around him.
Someone called him "Teacher."
He smiled warmly.
For once...
He looked genuinely happy.
Crack.
The white world returned.
Kai staggered.
"...What..."
"...What were those..."
A voice answered.
"Memories."
Kai spun around.
"...Who's there?"
Behind him—
A man stood.
It was Kai.
Same face.
Same voice.
Different clothing.
Traveler's clothes.
Dust-covered boots.
He smiled awkwardly.
Before Kai could ask—
The figure flickered.
A different Kai stood there.
Royal clothing.
Flicker.
Eyepatch.
Flicker.
A Kai covered in glowing magic circuits.
Flicker.
A Kai whose entire body was covered in scars.
Flicker.
A Kai wearing strange cult robes.
Flicker.
One wearing an absurd bright-red wig.
"..."
Current Kai blinked.
"...What?"
The red-wigged Kai sighed.
"...Don't ask."
Flicker.
He disappeared.
Another took his place.
"You'll understand eventually."
Flicker.
Another.
"...Maybe."
Flicker.
Another.
"...Probably not."
Kai stared.
"...Am I hallucinating?"
Traveler Kai shrugged.
"That's exactly what I asked."
Royal Kai nodded.
"So did I."
Eyepatch Kai laughed.
"I punched myself."
Scar Kai crossed his arms.
"It didn't help."
Silence.
Then—
Traveler Kai sighed deeply.
"...We got scammed."
Current Kai frowned.
"...Excuse me?"
Every Kai nodded.
"We all thought this place was the Archive."
"It isn't."
Another Kai shrugged.
"It's..."
"...something else."
"A relay."
"No."
"A recorder."
"A storage room."
"A waiting room."
"You're all idiots."
Nobody looked convinced.
Finally—
One Kai scratched his head.
"...Truth is."
"We don't know."
Current Kai looked around.
"...Then what is this?"
Traveler Kai looked toward the glowing orb floating nearby.
"We all found that."
"It called us."
Current Kai frowned.
"...Called?"
Eyepatch Kai nodded.
"I ignored the feeling."
"For years."
Scar Kai added,
"I buried it beneath work."
Royal Kai chuckled.
"I was too busy running a kingdom."
Cult Kai spoke next.
"I thought it was a trap."
Traveler Kai smiled.
"It didn't matter."
Every Kai spoke together.
"You always come."
Silence followed.
Current Kai slowly looked toward the orb.
"...So everyone..."
"...eventually reaches this place?"
The Kais nodded.
One after another.
Royal Kai spoke.
"I found it long after becoming king."
Cult Kai folded his arms.
"I found it after joining the cult."
Scar Kai quietly added,
"I found it after losing everything."
Eyepatch Kai laughed.
"I got lost three times."
Red Wig Kai raised a finger.
"I found it by accident."
Nobody questioned him.
Current Kai rubbed his forehead.
"...Then..."
"...what does it do?"
The Kais looked at each other.
Traveler Kai answered first.
"It gives memories."
Cult Kai corrected him.
"Fragments."
Royal Kai nodded.
"Never complete."
Scar Kai continued.
"They overlap."
Eyepatch Kai shrugged.
"Sometimes they contradict."
Traveler Kai looked toward the orb.
"It remembers."
Current Kai frowned.
"...How?"
Nobody answered.
Finally—
Cult Kai spoke.
"...Maybe Vaan built it."
Scar Kai shook his head.
"Maybe he found it."
Royal Kai added,
"Maybe he only studied it."
Traveler Kai sighed.
"...Maybe even he never understood it."
Silence.
Current Kai looked around.
"...Then the Archive..."
Traveler Kai smiled bitterly.
"We're still looking."
Cult Kai nodded.
"Our memories end here."
Royal Kai quietly added,
"Whatever happened afterward..."
"...none of us remember."
Scar Kai chuckled.
"So..."
"We got scammed."
Several Kais laughed.
Even Current Kai almost smiled.
Then—
CRACK.
The orb behind them split.
Everyone stopped laughing.
"...Well."
Traveler Kai sighed.
"That usually isn't good."
More cracks appeared.
The orb trembled violently.
Light escaped through every fracture.
One Kai looked at Current Kai.
"You were faster than I was."
Another.
"So was I."
Another laughed.
"Or maybe I just forgot."
A few others nodded.
"...Could be."
"...Memory isn't exactly reliable here."
Traveler Kai looked at Current Kai one last time.
"No matter what path you choose..."
"...you eventually search."
Cult Kai smiled.
"And eventually..."
"...you remember."
The orb exploded.
The white world shattered.
Every Kai dissolved into countless streams of light.
"No—!"
Kai reached toward them.
Too late.
Pain.
An unbearable pain.
Kai screamed.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Thousands of fragmented memories crashed into his mind.
A burning city.
A smiling Andre.
A dying Andre.
Alice laughing.
Alice crying.
Raj yelling.
Noah building.
Eric drawing.
Zindine bleeding.
A cult chanting.
Demons.
Kings.
Magic circles.
Rabbit dolls.
Deserts.
Snow.
Blood.
Fire.
Victory.
Failure.
Love.
Hatred.
A sword.
A hand.
A voice.
"Sir Kai..."
"Forgive me..."
"Run..."
"Again..."
None lasted longer than a heartbeat.
None were complete.
Yet together—
They were enough to make him feel as though his skull would split apart.
His scream echoed through the underground chamber.
Then—
Silence.
Kai slowly opened his eyes.
The orb had become dull stone.
Its glow had vanished.
Forever.
He sat there breathing heavily.
Sweat dripped onto the ancient floor.
His entire body trembled.
He stared at his own shaking hands.
A long silence followed.
Then...
Only one sentence escaped his lips.
"...I..."
His voice cracked.
"...Did all of those things?"
The chamber gave no answer.
Only silence remained.