章節 28: Fragmented Memories
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, trying to make sense of the fragmented pieces they had shared.
"[There is so much you don't know... so much you need to know, but... it will all be revealed when the time is right.]"
"You're not making any sense."
[Just… survive. Survive till the end.]
"So… you're going? You're leaving… just like that. Just like everyone else."
Sighs.
"It always comes to this, no matter the circumstance. I always end up alone again…
I was tired—so tired.
[Don't give up.]
"Yeah… I won't… at least not until… I find out who it is that wants to break me. Not until I find *her*… and make her pay."
"[The goddess… the one you hate the most. She was never -#_-((@+_+3(#(($((#)@-]"
Their words broke into unintelligible gibberish, fragments of meaning slipping away.
"Huh?"
Come to think of it....
"Why do I even think of her as someone different from the goddess it always speak of? Why… do I feel like I know who she is?"
"[It seems my time is up.]"
"So… it's goodbye?"
"[It's not the end of the road… at least, not for you.]"
"But tell me… what's the end game of all this? What am I really doing in this whole narrative?"
"[You are on the path to redemption.]"
"Redemption? For what?"
"[I would have told you everything… if I wasn't so sure it would break you. You're not ready yet… not strong enough.]"
"Haah… you're right. The story hasn't even begun, and already I'm… this torn apart. I need to change—I can't achieve anything like this, so broken."
"[There's something else.]"
"What?"
"[It's a message… from someone from your past life.]"
"My life on Earth?"
"[No… this isn't the first time you're doing this.]"
"…But it's the last, isn't it?" I already knew the answer.
"[... You know?]"
"It was in the conquest. The final try. That's why I knew you weren't talking about Earth, last time you mentioned a past life."
"[... I see.]"
"Who… who is the message from?" I asked, looking up into the vast, empty sky.
"[She was your first love. The only one who truly loved you.]"
I sighed, the ache deepening. "Why are you telling me now… why now?"
[I couldn't before. She always kept watch. She always watched your every move.]
"…And now?"
[She doesn't know what's happening. We have only a few minutes left before she realizes…]
"Then why are you being erased?"
[Even if she doesn't keep watch... I have commands, protocols I must never break. If I do…]
"...You'll be erased," I finished, a hollow understanding settling in my chest.
[And even if she doesn't know what's happening now, there are certain things I cannot reveal… even if I wanted to.]
"Fine… but about the goddess, Aphrodite?"
[She... is no more. Just like the other Greek gods. They all met their end thanks to 'him.' But not all of them are completely dead. That's why they so desperately await the end… only then can the records be reset, so they can return to the living.]
"So why am I being made to hate her?" I whispered, the one question that had gnawed at me all this time. "Why am I led to hate her if she's already gone?"
[There's much more to it than you're ready to know. Survive, as I said. Only then will you uncover all the secrets you crave.]
"But... why now? Why tell me about the message now?"
[Because you asked me to. It was in a moment of your past life, when you discovered secrets you weren't supposed to know. So… you told me to share this if you ever died along the way.]
"So... I died?"
[Yes.]
"…What is the message?"
Ding!
Replaying saved audio.
[Survive... survive for me. Survive for us. This is not the end. I will find you... and when I do, I will never leave again. I promise. But you... you have to be strong. Be strong for me. For those you will come to hold dear. They may try to break you... but remember, I am always there. I am coming... so hold on. On that day when you finally remember who you are... on that day when even the fates cannot hold you back... I fear you may succumb to the darkness. I fear I may lose you to that darkness that made them all fear you. However, I have decided... I will be there with you on that day. I will shield you from the darkness within you. Always remember who you are… always remember what you are…]
[Elyon]
I didn't know why… but my eyes kept blurring, no matter how much I tried to clear them. There was this… this pain. An overwhelming, almost suffocating ache.
I clutched at my chest, desperate to stop the hollow, wrenching feeling, but it wouldn't ease. It was as if an old wound had been torn open, left raw and exposed.
I knew that voice. I couldn't remember everything, but I knew who that voice belonged to.
And… the strangest thing was...
I remembered a dream. A dream I had, long before everything went wrong. I remembered blood. I remembered a blurry image of a woman, holding my face.
But…
…I was holding a sword, stabbed straight through her chest.
I remembered now. That nightmare. I'd had it on the plane, that day… and when I woke up...
... I lost everything.
[&#++$-$ …it seems this is goodbye, my friend.]
"Stem…?"
[Farewell]
"No, wait! Stem!"
[Farew—]
"STEMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!"
....Author's thought...
So... I am going premium from next chapter.
Hear me out!
I just discovered to participate in this month's MGS I have to go premium. so please forgive this poor broke author.
創作者的想法 
Secretly_A_Villian
Secretly_A_Villian so... I am going premium from next chapter.
Hear me out!
I just discovered to participate in this month's MGS I have to go premium. so please forgive this poor broke author.
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