The current of Vismṛ flowed endlessly, silent and absolute.
From deep beneath the river, an ancient sealed aura slowly awakened. It did not have a body, nor a face, nor a voice. It was the will of the river itself — ancient, impartial, and vast beyond comprehension.
It sensed something irregular.
Richard's soul.
The flickering light drifting within the silver current.
The ancient aura extended toward him and began to scan.
Not his surface memories.
Not his recent life.
But his core.
His origin.
The pressure was immense.
If he had still possessed a body, it would have shattered instantly.
Richard's soul trembled.
Fragments of memory shook violently within him.
No…
The thought was faint, almost dissolving.
As the river's ancient consciousness pressed closer, something unexpected responded.
From within Richard's soul, a deep blue force emerged.
It did not explode outward.
It unfolded.
Quiet. Dense. Absolute.
The blue force enveloped his soul completely, forming a protective veil around him.
The ancient aura paused.
It pressed forward once more, testing the boundary.
The blue force did not attack.
It did not resist violently.
It simply existed.
Immovable.
For a long moment, the two forces remained in silent confrontation.
Then—
The ancient aura withdrew.
Slowly.
Without anger.
Without acknowledgment.
It faded back into the depths of Vismṛ and vanished without a trace.
The river resumed its natural flow as if nothing had happened.
The Wardens overseeing the Cycle noticed nothing unusual.
To them, it was just another drifting soul.
But within the protective blue veil, Richard's flickering light steadied.
And in the silence of the endless river, one fragile awareness remained.
"I am still here."
Richard was completely unaware of the ancient being that had just examined him.
All he knew was confusion.
What was happening to him?
Why weren't his memories fading like the others drifting in the river?
Why did everything keep happening so fast, without giving him even a moment to breathe?
His thoughts felt crowded. Overlapping.
The statue.
The island.
The execution.
He tried to picture the statue's face again.
But—
It was blurry.
He could remember the pressure. The voice. The word failure.
But the face?
Gone.
"I… can't remember," he realized.
A thin wave of fear passed through him.
Was the river still erasing him slowly?
Panic began to rise.
If the face disappeared today—
Would his mother's face disappear tomorrow?
Would Nick's voice fade next?
The thought made his soul tremble.
Then—
He felt it.
A faint awareness approaching.
Not from above.
Not from below.
But from within the current itself.
It wasn't violent.
It wasn't overwhelming like the statue.
It was subtle.
Observing.
Richard's instincts reacted immediately.
Alarm spread through him.
Something is coming.
He didn't think logically.
He just moved.
Or tried to.
He forced his soul to drift sideways, pushing against the natural current of Vismṛ. It felt like swimming in a slow but endless tide.
Before he could escape—
Another soul appeared in front of him.
It did not glow like the others.
Its light was stable. Controlled.
It blocked his path effortlessly.
Then a voice echoed directly inside his awareness.
Not sound.
Not vibration.
Pure thought.
"Hm."
A pause.
"You are interesting."
Richard froze.
The presence circled him slowly, examining.
"How are your memories still intact?"
The tone wasn't hostile.
It wasn't friendly either.
It was curious.
Analytical.
Richard's soul trembled after hearing the question.
You are interesting.
How are your memories still intact?
The words echoed inside him.
He didn't know how to respond.
Before he could even gather a thought, the other soul noticed his reaction.
Then—
It laughed.
Not loudly.
But lightly.
Almost amused.
"Heh… easy," the soul said casually. "Relax. I'm not here to drag you to destruction."
Its light flickered in what almost felt like a grin.
"I can simply see which souls still have their memories intact and which don't. It's not that impressive."
Richard remained silent.
The other soul tilted slightly, clearly waiting.
Waiting for questions.
For panic.
For something.
But Richard only stared back, uncertain and tense.
After a moment, the amused tone shifted into mild disappointment.
"…You're not going to ask how I can see that?" it said.
Richard hesitated.
He did want to ask.
But fear restrained him.
The soul let out another small laugh.
"You're the quiet type, huh? Fine, I'll explain anyway."
It drifted a little closer, though not threateningly.
"I possess a soul artifact," it said proudly. "It protects my consciousness from external interference. The river can't wash my memories away."
A small pause.
"That's why mine are intact."
Then it added, almost teasingly,
"And that's also why I can tell yours are intact too."
Richard felt a cold wave pass through him.
"You… can see that?" he asked carefully.
"Yes," the other soul replied cheerfully. "You're glowing differently. Most souls here are foggy. Blurry. Yours is… annoyingly clear."
Richard felt both confused and unsettled.
An artifact?
He had never heard of such a thing.
He didn't even know souls could carry objects.
"And you look shocked," the soul continued. "Which is fair. Most people don't expect to meet someone conscious in the River of Forgetting."
It circled him playfully.
"So tell me… were you thrown in here like garbage too?"
Richard stiffened at that.
Thrown.
Yes.
That word fit too well.
The other soul seemed to notice the reaction immediately.
"Ohhh," it said in a drawn-out tone. "That's a yes."
It chuckled again.
"Well… this just got interesting."