---
> "We are not born monsters.
We become them…
when the people we love sharpen the knives."
---
💠 Scene 1 — The Crystal Garden
Two nights after Darin's death, Cassia found herself wandering toward the forbidden garden — a place students avoided.
Frozen flowers bloomed there, half-real, glowing faintly under moonlight. The air shimmered like memory. This was where the Academy stored dream-crystals — remnants of ancient thoughts.
She didn't know why she came.
Maybe guilt.
Maybe the need to escape her own mind.
But something… called her.
And then she saw him.
Aric.
Alone. Standing in front of a cracked crystal, its core pulsing softly.
He didn't notice her.
He was staring into the shard — silent, stiff.
She whispered, "Aric?"
He turned slowly. "You shouldn't be here."
"I could say the same," she replied.
Their eyes met.
And in that moment…
The shard cracked louder.
A light shot out.
And Cassia was pulled—
Inside.
---
🌌 Scene 2 — Inside the Memory
Cassia found herself in a different world.
Not the academy.
Not even the same time.
It was… a village. Small. Rainy. Cold.
A boy — younger, thinner, sadder — sat on a doorstep.
Alone.
Drenched.
He looked just like Aric, but… softer. Innocent.
"Why do they hate me?" the boy asked. His voice echoed.
An older woman — probably his aunt — hissed, "Because you were born from sin. Now shut up before the priest hears you."
Cassia's breath hitched.
> This is Aric.
But it's his past.
I shouldn't be seeing this…
The vision jumped.
Now the boy was running through woods, bloodied, clutching a satchel.
Shouts behind him.
Villagers. Torches.
"WITCH'S SON!"
"DEMON'S SEED!"
Then a figure stepped from the woods — Lena.
Only… she was older. Smiling. Cold.
> "Found you," she said sweetly. "Now it ends."
She stabbed him.
---
💔 Scene 3 — Cassia's Collapse
Cassia screamed.
She collapsed inside the memory, clutching her heart.
The boy — Aric — fell.
Bled.
Died.
And his last words?
> "I just… wanted to be loved."
The memory shattered.
Cassia was thrown back into the garden, coughing, gasping, covered in frost.
Aric was kneeling beside her, furious. "What did you see?"
She looked at him. Eyes wide. Heart broken.
"You— You died," she whispered. "They killed you. Lena. The villagers. Your own family."
Aric didn't speak.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Cassia cried. "You suffered all that—alone!"
Aric's voice was low.
> "Because you would've pitied me.
And I don't want pity.
I want control."
---
🧠 Scene 4 — The Forbidden Bond
Cassia grabbed his hand.
"You're not a monster," she said.
He pulled away. "Don't say that."
"You're not—"
"I am!" Aric roared. "Because they made me one.
Because I remember every betrayal, and now I wear it like armor."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"But I remember who you were," she whispered. "Even if you try to bury him."
Silence.
Then Aric said:
> "If you keep trying to find the boy inside me…
I'll destroy him.
So you stop looking."
Cassia didn't flinch.
"I'll take that risk."
---
📓 Scene 5 — Notebook Update
That night, Aric sat alone.
The crystal was gone.
Cassia hadn't reported it.
He opened his notebook.
"Memory Breach – Cassia"
Saw past self ✅
Reacted with empathy
Loyalty = intensified
Emotional threat = growing
He paused.
Then added:
> "She may be my last weakness.
And my only witness."
---
🧠 Scene 6 — Lena Watches
From the upper tower, Lena Voss stared down at the garden.
Her eyes narrowed.
She whispered into a mirror:
> "She's getting too close.
If she remembers the wrong things…
This entire game burns."
And from the mirror?
A voice responded.
Female.
Ancient.
> "Then kill the memory.
Before it kills the plan."
---