Theme: Some truths are so painful, we'd rather erase ourselves.
---
Aren walked deeper into Spiral.
The Forgotten Room dissolved behind him, fading like a dream that never wanted to be remembered.
Ahead — a new distortion flickered, a ripple of cracked blue-white light, as if a memory was rejecting itself.
> Tomo (uneasy):
"Aren… this zone feels different."
"It doesn't belong to you."
> Aren (serious):
"Then whose is it?"
Suddenly — a crack burst open in the air.
Not a door. Not a portal.
But like a scar in someone's heart... splitting open.
And falling through it —
Eira.
---
[Scene Shift: Eira's Memory World]
The world around shifts violently.
Now… a worn-down school hallway.
Old benches. Rusty lockers. Empty classrooms.
Even the air feels quiet — unnaturally so.
Aren blinks.
He's no longer in his Spiral path.
He's inside her memory.
And there she is…
Young Eira, 7 or 8 years old, curled in a dark corner.
Clutching a torn music sheet.
Her eyes aren't crying.
They're locked.
Empty.
> Young Eira (whispers):
"If I erase it… it'll stop hurting."
She doesn't show guilt.
Not even fear.
Just… a coldness that doesn't belong in a child's eyes.
As if she sealed something inside her soul.
---
> Spiral (calm, almost kind):
"She didn't forget by mistake."
"She chose to forget me."
> Aren (defensive):
"Why?! What did you show her?"
Spiral doesn't answer directly.
Instead, the memory begins to shift —
And reveal.
---
[Memory Reveal: The Day Eira Broke]
A Spiral zone, temple-like, echoes in cold silence.
A towering bell at the center — one that rings whenever a memory turns into pain.
Eira stands alone beneath it.
Her hands trembling. Her eyes blank.
Spiral offered her a choice:
> ❝If you want peace... I can remove the sound of memory.❞
❝You'll live. But you won't feel why.❞
And she nodded.
No scream.
No breakdown.
Just… acceptance.
The bell rang once —
and her past was sealed away.
Like a chapter burned from a book that still pretends to be whole.
---
[Back to Present Memory Spiral]
Now, older Eira and Aren stand trapped in the memory space.
She's frozen.
Blank.
Even now — she doesn't remember this happening.
Aren walks toward her — slowly.
> Aren (softly):
"You never told me… why."
> Eira (shaking, scared):
"…Because if I remembered…"
"I'd break again."
Aren doesn't speak.
Instead, a folded page appears in his hand — the same torn music sheet from her childhood.
On it, scribbled in fragile ink:
> ❝Songs that make you remember… are never safe.❞
He holds it like a secret she once screamed into the universe.
---
Then… Aika appears.
Not the real Aika —
but a Spiral-echo of her.
Yet somehow, her presence feels realer than the Spiral itself.
> Aika (firm, grounded):
"Aren…
If you really care about her…
Don't try to fix her."
> "Just stay."
"Until she chooses to stand again."
No advice.
No fight.
Just that.
---
Aren sits beside Eira.
He doesn't say anything.
The rain of memories falls quieter —
like the Spiral itself is listening.
And finally…
Eira speaks:
> Eira (slow, real, fragile):
"I don't remember everything.
But if you're here…
I think I can face it again."
And just like that…
The crack closes.
---
> Tomo (softly, far away):
"That was Spiral's weakest moment…"
"Emotion… protected memory."
---
Chapter Ends With:
Aren carves a line on the Spiral wall — not with a blade. With memory.
> ❝She forgot not because she was weak…
She forgot… because remembering would've broken everything.❞
---
Chapter 3 Ends.