The night was still.
Inside the soft fortress of pillows and fairy lights, two children slept close together — their breaths slow, the warmth between them fragile and unbroken.
Lysia stirred.
And without warning…
She dreamed.
The Dream
It wasn't like the last ones.
There was no fire.No blood.No shattered skies or gods screaming in silence.
Instead—
A white room.
Clean. Quiet.
Filled with soft hums, blinking panels, and walls of glowing glass. A peaceful lab surrounded by windows that opened to a starry void.
There, in the middle of it all, sat a girl.
Older. Maybe sixteen. Maybe more.
She had silver hair tied back in a loose ponytail, a pencil behind one ear, and her chin resting in one hand as she watched something across the table.
A boy.
Tall. Pale. Tired eyes.Wearing a black undershirt, goggles around his neck, and his hands deep in a nest of wires.
He looked frustrated.
The thing he was working on sparked again, and he flinched.
"Third time this week…" he muttered, rubbing his temple.
The girl across from him giggled.
"Maybe next time, don't use unstable plasma cells?"
"I did the math."
"You forgot the third-tier coolant regulators."
A pause.
"…Did not."
She laughed again.
And he finally looked up at her — exasperated, faintly annoyed.
But there was something in his gaze.
Something soft. Familiar.
The Confession
She leaned her head on the table.
The lights above them dimmed slightly as the evening passed through the windows.
"Hey, Caelum," she said.
He didn't look up. "Mm?"
She was quiet for a while.
Then whispered:
"I think I'm falling in love with you."
He froze.
Completely still.
Sparks stopped flying. Tools stopped moving.
His eyes slowly met hers.
She smiled gently.
"I mean… maybe I already did."
He didn't respond.
Just stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes.
And then she reached across the table—Took his hand—And whispered:
"You don't have to say anything yet."
"Just don't disappear."
The Awakening
Lysia gasped.
She sat up in the fort, eyes wide, heart pounding.
Her hand was trembling. She stared at it in the dim light, as if trying to remember the weight of someone else's fingers.
"That boy…"
"That was Cael…"
She turned her head.
He was still beside her, sleeping softly.
Hair messy. Eyelashes resting against pale cheeks.
So different from the older boy in her dream—
And yet… the same.
Her heart swelled.
Not with fear.
But with something warm. Safe. Bright.
She leaned forward. Rested her forehead lightly against his.
"I remember you," she whispered.
"Not everything… not yet."
"But I know I loved you before. And I think I'm still loving you now."
System Log – Memory Event Integration (Tier 1)
[GENESIS CORE SYSTEM – OBSERVER MODE]— Memory Fragment: [Confession Event – Lab Timeline]— Emotional Echo Integration: 13.2%— Soul Synchronization: 22.1%— Status: Active Reconnection— Dream Awareness: Semi-conscious— Risk: None
"She remembers saying it. Her soul chose you again."