Lig and Nemo stepped out of the car.
For a few moments, Lig just stood there, looking at the house in front of him. His eyes were fixed on the old walls, the entrance, and the place that carried memories he was not even sure belonged to him.
A strange feeling surrounded him.
Familiar.
Yet unknown.
"I don't want to stay here for long."
Nemo looked at him quietly. He could understand the hesitation in Lig's voice.
"Okay, Sir."
Both of them slowly walked towards the house and entered.
As soon as they stepped inside, the atmosphere changed. The silence of the house felt heavy, almost as if it was holding years of forgotten memories within its walls.
Then, a male voice came from inside.
"Not all of your memories are really yours."
Lig stopped walking.
The voice continued.
"And the moment you entered this house, those memories returned. Everything you had forgotten came back again. Those memories broke through your system because you were not ready to face them."
Lig looked ahead.
His expression remained calm, but inside, countless questions were rising.
"So Doctor… you cured me?"
Dr. Mike looked at him.
"Yes."
He paused for a moment.
"Now do what you never knew you had to do."
Lig lowered his head slightly.
"I don't know what to say…"
His voice became softer.
"I really don't know."
Dr. Mike looked at him with a serious expression.
"My friend…"
A small pause.
"You are still bleeding."
Lig remained silent.
The words stayed in the air.
Because sometimes, even after someone is healed, the pain inside them still remains.
Dr. Mike slowly continued.
"Some wounds never heal."
Nemo quietly looked at Lig.
"And scars never disappear."
Dr. Mike turned his eyes back towards Lig.
"Call her."
Lig looked at him.
"Tell her everything if you want."
A moment of silence passed.
"But go there."
Lig slowly turned towards Mike.
His voice became louder, filled with frustration and pain.
"I can't."
He looked away.
"You know that very well."
Nobody said anything after that.
The house became silent once again.
Because both of them knew the truth.
Some memories can return.
Some wounds can close.
But some feelings from the past are still waiting in the darkness, asking to be faced.
Dr. Mike looked at Lig in silence for a moment.
Then he replied.
"It's not about you."
His voice was calm, but serious.
"It's about them."
A short pause.
"They want you."
Lig's expression slowly changed.
His eyes became colder.
"They?"
He looked away.
"Those people?"
His voice carried anger.
"They deserve it after everything they said."
Mike watched him carefully.
"You know…"
He walked closer.
"In this reality, there are people who decide what others should think. They control voices. They shape opinions. They have many followers…"
A pause.
"Many people who simply obey them."
Lig turned away from him.
The room felt heavier.
"I don't care."
His voice became quiet.
"Let the red river flow."
Without waiting for an answer, Lig started walking towards the exit.
"Lig."
Mike called his name.
Lig stopped.
"It's not you…"
Mike's voice became emotional.
"It's not you."
A moment of silence.
"You were a hero."
He looked at Lig's back.
"But now you are becoming a v—"
The word remained unfinished.
Lig slowly stopped.
He looked up at the ceiling.
For a moment, his eyes became distant, as if he was looking at a memory from another lifetime.
"Always remember…"
His voice was low.
"An angel fell from the sky because he spoke against injustice."
The room became silent.
"The world called him a monster…"
A pause.
"Instead of listening to his voice."
Lig slowly lowered his gaze.
"In this world, power and money matter more than anything else."
His expression became empty.
"There is no hero."
A pause.
"No villain."
He looked forward.
"Not like those children's movies."
After saying that, Lig turned around and walked outside.
The door closed behind him.
Nemo remained inside for a moment and looked at Dr. Mike.
"Doctor…"
His voice was softer.
"I'm sorry."
A pause.
"I'm asking this for him."
Dr. Mike looked at Nemo.
Then, a small smile appeared on his face.
"No need."
He looked towards the door where Lig had left.
"I think he is right."
Nemo smiled slightly.
Then he turned and left.
Outside, the world was quiet.
Nemo started the car and drove Lig away from the house.
They travelled through the roads until they reached a place far from the noise of the city.
A park beside the ocean.
A place surrounded by endless mountains and the sound of waves touching the shore.
The sky stretched above them, peaceful and endless.
Lig stepped out of the car and looked around.
For a moment, he forgot everything.
Then he looked back at Nemo.
"What is our force doing here?"
Nemo looked at Lig.
"Protecting what we have."
His answer was simple.
But behind those words was the weight of everything they had built, everything they had lost, and everything they were still trying to protect.
Nemo opened the live view system.
A notification appeared.
Incoming request from Yuki.
The screen displayed:
Yuki is requesting Titanium Protocol permission.
Lig looked at the message silently.
The Titanium Protocol was not something anyone could access.
Only one person could decide.
Lig.
He slowly lifted his hand and placed his mask on his face.
The system recognised him.
A confirmation screen appeared.
Authentication required.
Lig tapped.
YES
The system accepted.
The live view opened.
He watched the situation unfolding in front of him.
"Yuki bots are doing everything they can…"
Lig spoke quietly.
"They are stopping even a single human from crossing the border."
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
"They are trying to protect themselves…"
A pause.
"From the Dictator."
Another pause.
"And from the civil war."
The weight of those words filled the air.
A war between survival and destruction.
Between those trying to escape and those trying to control.
Lig slowly stood up.
"I'm coming in a moment, Nemo."
Without waiting for a reply, he walked away.
He moved deeper into the park, where the trees became thicker and the sounds of the ocean became quieter.
Away from everything.
Away from everyone.
After walking for a while, he found a small pond hidden between the trees.
The water was still.
Almost like a mirror.
Lig stood near the edge.
He reached into his pocket and took out a coin.
He held it between his fingers.
Ready to throw it.
But he stopped.
Something felt wrong.
His eyes slowly moved towards the water.
Then he realised.
He had forgotten to remove his mask.
The reflection staring back at him was not just his own face.
And then…
The water changed.
The reflection changed.
Memories appeared.
Fragments.
Moments.
A life he had tried to forget.
A world where someone close to him was slowly disappearing.
A world filled with pain.
His childhood.
His early days.
The moments that shaped him.
The memories he buried deep inside himself began returning one by one.
And Lig stood there silently…
Watching the past rise from the water.
The pain he had buried deep inside himself…
Everything returned at once.
The memories.
The regrets.
The moments he tried to forget.
All of it came rushing back like a storm that had been waiting for years.
Lig tried to control himself.
He tried to stay calm.
He tried to hold everything inside like he always did.
But this time…
He couldn't.
The pond remained completely still.
Not even a single wave disturbed the surface.
Then…
Like a crack slowly forming inside a dam…
Something within him began to break.
A feeling he had hidden for so long started escaping.
Drop.
Drop.
Drop.
At that moment…
He felt something.
A gentle tap on his back.
Lig froze.
Slowly, he turned around.
Standing there was a small kid.
A huge smile covered her face, filled with pure happiness and excitement.
"Captain of AOB!"
For a moment, Lig just looked at her.
The anger.
The sadness.
The weight he carried.
Everything became quiet.
He slowly bent down to her level.
"Do you like him?"
The kid's eyes lit up.
"Yes!"
She smiled brightly.
"You are my hero."
She looked at his mask with admiration.
"I wished to Santa that he would give me a mask like yours this year."
Lig looked at the mask.
The same mask that represented his identity.
His battles.
His past.
His responsibility.
For a moment…
He said nothing.
Then, a small smile appeared on his face.
A real one.
A smile he had almost forgotten.
Slowly, Lig removed his mask.
He held it in his hands for a moment.
Then he gave it to her.
"Never tell anyone, okay?"
The kid hugged the mask happily.
"Okay!"
Her smile became even bigger.
"Thank you so much!"
Suddenly, a man's voice came from behind.
"There you are."
A man came running towards them, looking relieved.
"Thank you, sir."
He took a breath.
"I was searching for her for hours."
Lig looked at them quietly.
For the first time in a long time…
The world did not feel like a battlefield.
Lig looked at the kid.
"Next time, don't go anywhere without telling your dad, okay?"
The kid nodded seriously.
"Yes."
Then she quickly ran back towards her father.
The man looked at the mask in her hands.
"Mister…"
He looked at Lig.
"Did you give this to her?"
Lig looked at him.
"Yes. Why?"
The man smiled softly.
"Thank you."
He looked at his daughter.
"She wanted something like this for many years."
Lig smiled.
The father and daughter slowly walked away.
After a few steps, the father turned back.
"But he is using bad ways in Utopia."
Lig looked at him.
For a moment, there was silence between them.
Then Lig asked:
"Have you ever seen a hero's heart?"
The father stayed quiet.
Lig looked towards the ocean.
"It is like a glass of honour."
His voice was calm.
"Everyone protects it while they need it."
A pause.
"But one day…"
"When they don't need that hero anymore…"
He looked down.
"They throw it away."
The waves moved gently.
Lig continued.
"Have you ever wondered what they feel?"
He paused.
"The heroes…"
Another pause.
"And even the villains?"
His eyes moved towards the endless ocean.
"They are like a fish on land."
"Chained under the sunlight…"
"Only a small amount of water trapped in plastic covering their face."
He became quiet.
"Still alive…"
"But slowly losing the ability to breathe."
The father looked at him with surprise.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Then he laughed softly.
"You are not in the real world."
He turned around and walked away, still laughing.
Lig watched him leave.
Then Nemo's voice came from behind.
"You have a surprise in the car."
Lig slowly turned.
He walked back towards the car.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
And then…
He saw her.
Misato.
Lig stopped.
For a moment, the world around him became silent.
A few kilometres away…
Leo and Anny.
The same world.
The same sky.
The same ground.
The same air.
But completely different lives.
The world was strange.
Two stories happening under the same sky.
Anny smiled.
"That film was really nice, wasn't it?"
Leo smiled back.
"Yes."
He looked ahead.
"Let's go to that café."
Anny held his hand tightly.
She rested her head on his shoulder as they walked together.
Hours passed.
Later, they reached a nearby park.
Anny looked at the scenery.
The peaceful lake.
The mountains standing quietly in the distance.
The sun slowly disappearing behind the horizon.
The birds flying across the orange sky.
For a moment, she felt like she had entered another world.
A place that felt almost like heaven.
Leo noticed her expression and smiled.
"Isn't the sky looking very good?"
He looked at the lake.
"The water…"
"The birds…"
"The wind that feels so peaceful…"
He looked at her.
"Are you enjoying it?"
Anny smiled.
"Not only are we enjoying it…"
She looked around.
"Everyone on this earth is enjoying it."
A small pause.
"No one can say they are sad in a moment like this."
Leo smiled.
"You are right."
He looked towards the road.
"Let's head towards home."
Anny nodded.
"Yes."
Meanwhile…
Lig stood frozen.
"Yo…u…"
Before he could say anything else, Misato ran towards him.
She hugged him tightly.
"I heard about what happened to you…"
Her voice was emotional.
"But to catch that guy, I was unable to come to you."
Lig stayed silent for a moment.
Then he softly replied.
"It's okay."
Misato looked at him.
For the first time in a long time, Lig didn't feel alone.
Then the three of them got into the car.
The engine started.
And together…
They drove towards home.
Narrator:
"What memories appeared in his mind?"
A silence followed.
"Wasn't it strange…"
"Beautiful, yet painful?"
"Few humans laughing…"
"Few humans suffering…"
"All of them living under the same sky."
The same sun.
The same wind.
The same world.
But carrying completely different stories inside their hearts.
"Some people were searching for happiness…"
"Some were fighting their battles in silence."
"And some were carrying memories they wished they could forget."
The narrator paused.
"But then…"
"Who was the person Misato was trying to catch?"
"What happened before she arrived?"
"And why did Lig's past return the moment he saw his own reflection?"
"The answers were still hidden…"
"Waiting somewhere between memories, truth, and the world they were trying to protect."