Nero cried quietly, and neither Dorne nor Anika spoke. They stayed close, silent, letting him feel what he needed to feel.
After a few minutes, Nero wiped the tears from his eyes. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wipe away the feeling—that weight, that emptiness.
Dorne gently asked, "You okay now?"
Nero nodded slightly. "Yeah… I'm fine."
Anika studied him. "You must've gone through something awful," she said softly. "For just the feeling to break you like that…"
She looked to Dorne. "Elias, take a walk with him. Might help clear his head."
At the sound of the name Elias, Nero suddenly froze.
Both Dorne and Anika noticed.
"What is it?" Dorne asked. "Why do you look surprised?"
Nero turned to him, eyes wide. "I don't know. It just… felt familiar. Like I've heard it before. Like I knew someone with that name. But I can't remember who."
Anika leaned forward. "Just the name? Try a bit harder. Anything else at all?"
Nero closed his eyes and repeated the name in his mind—Elias… Elias… Elias…
But the harder he tried to grab onto the memory, the further it slipped.
He opened his eyes. "I tried. But nothing comes to mind. Just this feeling… that I've heard it before. That I knew someone."
Anika gave a gentle nod. "That's fine. Don't push too hard. Forcing it could do more harm than good. Let the memories come back on their own."
Nero nodded back, then pulled his shirt on.
"Come on," Dorne said. "Let's get some air."
The two stepped outside together, leaving the house in silence.
Nero and Dorne walked slowly around the small town. The residents were busy—talking, working, watching. A few glanced at Nero with lingering suspicion, and some children peeked out from behind their parents, only to quickly hide when he passed.
Nero muttered, "I don't think they want me here."
Dorne shrugged. "Yeah, but don't let it get to you. Can you blame them? You're the guy who made a bunch of kids cry."
Nero stopped and looked at him. "So… you noticed that?"
Dorne stopped too and gave a short nod. "Yeah. I did."
Nero scanned the faces around them and said, "I swear, I didn't do anything. They just touched my arm, and then… they freaked out."
"I believe you," Dorne said with a small smile. "But something scared them. The question is—what?"
"Don't look at me," Nero replied, defensive. "I already told you—I don't know."
Dorne chuckled and resumed walking. "Relax. I'm just messing with you. Remember what Anika said—don't force your memories. Let things come back on their own."
Nero caught up and walked beside him.
After a brief pause, Dorne asked, "You still carrying that tracker?"
Nero nodded. "Yeah, I've got it. Why?"
"Let's head to Thom's place. Maybe he can figure something out about it. Who knows, it might give us a clue."
Nero raised a brow. "Didn't you just tell me to take it slow?"
"Nope," Dorne replied smugly. "Anika's the one who said that. I just repeated it. Personally, I think we should rip those memories out by force."
Nero gave him a wary look. "I have a really bad feeling about that…"
Dorne grinned. "You worry too much. Nothing bad's gonna happen."
"Famous last words," Nero muttered under his breath as he followed Dorne down the path to Thom's house.
Thom was outside with his daughter, Lina. Dorne spotted him and called out, "Hey, Thom! You free?"
Thom glanced over, noticed Dorne and Nero, and leaned down to speak softly to Lina. "Go play with the others for a bit, alright?" She gave a quiet nod and ran off.
He walked up to them and said, "Yeah, I've got time. What's going on?"
"I need you to take a look at something," Dorne said. "Nero, show it to him."
Nero reached into his back pocket and pulled out the tracker, handing it over to Thom. The man studied the device, turning it over in his hand.
"Hm… definitely looks like a tracker," Thom muttered. "An active one, at that. Where'd you get it?"
Nero opened his mouth to respond, but Dorne cut in. "You're right—it's a tracker. As for where he found it, he has no idea. He's lost all his memories. This is the only thing he had on him when I found him."
Thom kept his eyes on the device. "Then why isn't he at Anika's?"
"We just got back," Dorne said. "She ran a few tests, but nothing helped. He managed to recall only one name: Elias. Said he might've known someone by that name."
Thom raised an eyebrow. "Elias? That's your name, isn't it? Maybe he's just mixing up faces and names."
Dorne turned to Nero. "Did you?"
Nero shook his head. "No."
Dorne looked back at Thom. "He didn't mess it up. The memory hit him when Anika called me Elias."
Thom gave Nero a hard look. "And you two are just believing this guy? He's got a tattoo on his face. No sane person gets a tattoo like that, on their face."
Nero's expression didn't change. "It's not a tattoo. It's a crack."
Thom scoffed and let out a short laugh. "You serious? A crack? If that thing were real, you'd have blood running down your face."
"He's telling the truth," Dorne said firmly. "Anika and I checked it ourselves. And what we found… never mind that. Just take a look at the tracker, please."
Thom gave a half-shrug. "I'm no expert, but I can try. I could take it apart, see what's inside."
He glanced at Nero. "That okay with you?"
Nero looked uncertain. "What could you even find from taking it apart? This is the only thing I have that might lead me to who I am. If we break it, we lose that chance."
Thom scratched the back of his neck. "Alright, how about this—I try to figure out whatever I can without taking it apart. If I come up empty, I'll call you over and then ask for permission to take it apart. Sound fair?"
Nero nodded. "Yeah. That works."