Diana and Irwin heard the doctor's grim words.
Diana stepped closer, her voice low but urgent."So how much time does he actually have left?"
The doctor didn't look up. His eyes remained fixed on the unconscious patient.
"We don't know," he replied. "Or rather… we can't say for certain. ."
Diana turned slightly toward Irwin, her voice now a whisper brushing against his ear.
"We should inform Ivaan. Immediately."
Just as they were about to leave the room, the air shifted. A strange, heavy presence settled over the chamber.
A tall figure stepped through the doorway.
Clad in his usual black, with an aura darker
Ivaan had arrived.
But there was something different about him today.
In his hand,
he held a book And on the cover…
an eye. Alive. Watching. Moving.
Diana looked at the book and thought,
"This is the Watcher's Book. I was told about it once… She said it can see thoughts and memories."
"Does Ivaan want to look into the survivor's memories? The one with dark skin?"
"I think he's found out… the survivor won't make it."
Irwin stepped forward to explain the situation to Ivaan, but Diana stopped him.
She raised her hand in front of him, halting him mid-step.
Ivaan moved toward the patient, his dark aura pulsing through the room like a shockwave.
The force of it jolted Diana, Irwin, and everyone present.
His thoughts flickered behind cold eyes as he opened the ancient book, chanting a spell in a forgotten tongue.
The eye on the book constricted then froze. A dark blue glow radiated from it, mirroring the light in Ivaan's eyes.
Suddenly, beneath Ivaan, Diana, and Irwin, a magic circle shimmered into existence.
Before they could react, the light surged upward, engulfing them. In the next instant, all three were pulled into the survivor's memory.
Ivaan's expression held a hint of confusion. "It seems… we've gone further back than I intended," he thought silently.
Just as he began to move forward, his eyes landed on a young girl no older than seventeen standing beside the survivor.
"They seem happy," he mused to himself, watching the moment unfold.
The survivor turned to the girl with tears welling in his eyes. "I promise, Lia. I'll come back in two years and then, we'll get married." His voice trembled with emotion, but there was hope in it too.
The girl clutched a handkerchief in her hand, her eyes glistening with tears. "I'll wait for you, Rudy," she whispered, her voice soft and full of faith.
Ivaan's expression remained steady as he kept his gaze fixed on the girl. There was something in her eyes something that lingered in his thoughts.
But just then, Diana's voice broke the silence.
"We should move forward, Ivaan," she said, stepping beside him. "We still have to find the what happen at the dark skin."
He chanted another spell.
The air shifted again, and the three of them were pulled deeper into the survivor's memories.
This time, they saw his family his mother, his younger sister, the girl named Lia… and scenes of laughter with friends in a military camp.
"Rudy, come back soon!"
"Rudy, my dear son," his mother said gently, her eyes shining with love.
"You are my pride," his father declared, a proud smile on his face.
"Brother, you're so cool!" his little brother beamed, his eyes sparkling with admiration.
Warmth, affection, and joy filled those early memories.
But then, the images shifted.
Ivaan narrowed his eyes. The survivor Rudy was still holding something close to his chest.
A silver pendant… with Lia's photo inside.
Even in the midst of chaos, his gaze kept returning to her face.
The commander's voice cut through the moment.
"Hey, you new guy! Move faster, or we'll leave you behind!"
A friend nearby muttered in a serious tone, "Our Rudy might get scared and try to run."
Rudy gave a small, almost playful smile… and started running forward.
Diana, Irwin, and Ivaan followed silently, invisible to the memory.
Ivaan turned sharply.
"What was that?" he thought.
Diana froze.
"Did you hear that? Footsteps… Someone's here."
Irwin nodded, tense.
"Yeah. Someone's following them."
One by one, the events began to repeat
Like a broken reel looping over itself.
They watched, helpless, as Rudy ran again…
But then
Ivaan's eyes narrowed.
Through the swirling mist…
He saw a shadow.
"Someone's there," he muttered. "Just outside Rudy's memory.
Diana's thoughts surged.
"This is wrong. We have to do something."
But just then
The magic began to break.
The glow of the Watcher's Book faded.
The ground trembled beneath them.
Diana cried out, panicked, her voice rising.
"Ivaan! What's happening?! We don't understand anything yet! What's going wrong?"
The spell collapsed.
In a flash of light
They were thrown out of the memory.
Back in the real world, chaos had erupted.
The doctor was yelling.
"Check the vitals! What just happened?"
Ivaan's eyes darkened. He already knew.
Moments later, the doctor's voice cut through the commotion.
"Time of death: 3:47 p.m."
A hush fell.
The survivor Rudy was dead.