After hearing Raijin's words, Zephyrus remained silent for a while.
The atmosphere around them gradually calmed completely. The stars returned to their places, twinkling softly once more. The spheres orbiting the tree resumed their steady motion.
After some time, Zephyrus spoke.
"You have two ways to recover your memories without attracting the gaze of the Vale."
"First…"
"You may reclaim all of your memories. However, you will never be able to leave this place. The moment you do, you will either die instantly… or become a puppet of the Vale."
"Second…"
"You may recover all of your memories except the parts connected to the Vale."
"In that case, you will remain safe while still regaining most of what you have lost."
"The choice is entirely yours."
Zephyrus paused before continuing.
"You wish to recover all of your memories…"
"But can you truly say that you want them back?"
"I am certain that something happened to you—something you would never want to accept."
"You have already fallen under the gaze of the Vale."
"That is neither a common occurrence nor an easy thing to achieve."
"After hearing all of this…"
"Do you still wish to reclaim everything?"
Raijin listened carefully to every word.
The moment Zephyrus finished speaking, he nodded.
"Yes."
Zephyrus studied him for a moment before continuing.
"Then which will you choose?"
"To remain here forever with all your memories…"
"Or leave this place while abandoning every memory connected to the Vale?"
"Tell me."
"Which path will you take?"
"And let me make one thing clear."
"I will not help you leave this place."
"If you wish to escape, you will have to find your own way."
Raijin stood silently for a few moments, considering his words.
Then he answered,
"A third option."
Suddenly, Zephyrus burst into laughter.
It was as though he had expected that answer from the very beginning.
After a while, he calmed down and said,
"You possess a great deal of courage."
"And you are far more intelligent than most."
Raijin gave no response.
His silence was answer enough.
Zephyrus looked at him.
"Why did you choose a third option?"
Raijin answered immediately.
"You were the one who said that time does not function normally here."
He fell silent again, deep in thought.
Zephyrus watched him carefully before speaking.
"What you are thinking is correct."
"These memories are yours."
"But they do not belong to your current life."
"I only wanted to see what choice you would make."
"If your answer had not met my expectations…"
"I might not have helped you at all."
Raijin sat back down in his chair.
"Then tell me."
"What is it that you want me to do?"
Zephyrus replied,
"You will have to perform certain tasks for me."
"As for what those tasks are…"
"I will tell you only after you recover all of your memories."
"Of course, you may refuse."
Raijin remained silent.
After staring at the strange world around him for some time, he finally nodded.
Zephyrus tilted his head slightly, as though saying Excellent.
The next moment—
the dark void filled with countless stars began trembling violently.
Above them, some of the stars started shaking.
They slowly began revolving around one another.
Some were brilliantly white.
Some glowed faintly.
Some were black.
And some were so dark that merely looking at them filled the heart with unease.
All of them circled one another while Raijin watched carefully.
Yet even now, countless other stars still remained suspended across the sky—
as though some unseen force was holding them in place.
Gradually, the stars revolving together merged into a single point.
That point descended into Zephyrus's hand.
The star that formed there had become a small sphere.
It looked as though countless colors had been mixed together—
yet none of them could fully blend.
Zephyrus looked at Raijin.
"You can still turn back if you wish."
"You have already lived a far longer life than you realize."
"A life so long that you cannot even imagine it."
Raijin did not answer.
Not a single question escaped his lips.
Zephyrus quietly said,
"As you wish."
The next instant—
the sphere flew through the air and plunged directly into Raijin's chest.
"AAAH—!"
His scream echoed throughout the void.
The entire place was flooded with blinding white light.
And from behind that white radiance—
a wave of black light spread outward in every direction.
Suddenly, countless sounds filled his ears.
Laughter.
Footsteps.
Rain.
Children crying.
Everything echoed at once.
The pain forced Raijin to clutch his head.
His body trembled violently.
Memories were spreading through his mind against his will—
some beautiful.
Some unbearably painful.
Slowly—
Raijin became lost within them.
---
Rain was falling.
A small child had fallen into the mud.
Blood flowed from his scraped knee, tears filling his eyes.
"Get up."
A voice reached the child's ears.
The child looked up.
A man stood before him.
His face was blurred.
But his voice was warm.
"If you keep crying every time you fall," the man said,
"you will never learn how to walk."
"Not every time will someone come to help you."
The man gestured for the child to stand.
Struggling, the child wiped away his tears and got back to his feet.
Raijin knew this man.
The face was unfamiliar.
But the memory was not.
Because of this man, Raijin had learned words such as "Level" and many others.
Fragments of this man's memories already existed within Raijin's mind.
The man had been from Japan.
As those memories flowed through Raijin's mind—
tears flowed from his eyes as well.
Then—
the entire scene shattered like glass.
And in the next moment—
he found himself standing in another unfamiliar place.
.
.
.
Thank You For Reading This Chaptar.