Pain.
It came without warning.
Sharp.
Sudden.
He stopped mid-step, his body stiffening as something twisted deep inside his chest.
"…!"
His breath caught.
For a second, the world blurred.
Voices around him faded into distant noise.
His hand moved instinctively to his chest, fingers pressing hard as if he could stop whatever was happening inside.
Then—
It was gone.
Just like that.
Silence returned.
The world snapped back into place.
He stood there, frozen.
"…What was that…?"
A whisper.
Barely audible.
But the question lingered.
Because he already knew the answer.
The notebook.
His jaw tightened.
Slowly, he looked down at his hand.
It was trembling.
Not from fear.
From realization.
"…So it starts already."
A soft chuckle followed.
Close.
Too close.
"Of course."
He didn't need to turn.
He knew who it was.
Velmora.
"You didn't think power came without cost… did you?"
The voice was calm.
Almost amused.
He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to steady.
"…That wasn't just pain."
"No," Velmora replied. "It wasn't."
A pause.
"Then what did I lose?"
Silence.
For the first time…
Velmora didn't answer immediately.
"…Check," it finally said.
His brows furrowed.
"…Check what?"
Velmora's tone softened.
Almost gentle.
"…Yourself."
Something felt wrong.
Deeply wrong.
He reached into his pocket.
Pulled out his phone.
The screen was still cracked from last night.
But it worked.
Barely.
He unlocked it.
Scrolled.
Stopped.
His fingers froze.
The contact.
It was still there.
Her name.
But something about it—
It felt… distant.
Unfamiliar.
"…Why…"
His voice was low.
"…Why does this feel like I'm looking at a stranger?"
Velmora smiled.
"Because you are."
His heart skipped.
"You lost it," Velmora continued. "A memory tied to love."
Silence.
"…Which one?"
Velmora leaned closer.
"Does it matter?"
It did.
It mattered more than anything.
His mind raced.
Searching.
Digging.
Trying to find what was missing.
And then—
Nothing.
A blank space.
A gap where something should have been.
A feeling… that wasn't there anymore.
His breathing slowed.
"…No."
Not denial.
Acceptance.
Something was gone.
And he couldn't even remember what it was.
Velmora watched him quietly.
Interested.
"…This is the cost," it said.
He clenched his fist.
"…And the pain?"
Velmora's smile widened.
"That was the echo."
"…Echo?"
"The heart resists," Velmora explained. "Even when you don't notice it."
A pause.
"Every time you distort love… your body remembers what it should feel like."
Silence.
"…And rejects it."
That's why it hurt.
Not punishment.
Not consequence.
Correction.
His jaw tightened.
"…So the more I use it…"
"The less human you become," Velmora finished.
Silence.
But it didn't scare him.
Not as much as it should have.
Because something else had already replaced that fear.
Control.
"…Good."
Velmora paused.
"…Good?"
He looked up.
Eyes calm.
Empty.
"If love is this weak…" he said quietly.
"…then I don't need it."
A long silence followed.
Then—
Velmora laughed.
Soft.
Genuine.
"…You're adapting faster than I expected."
It leaned back slightly.
"Most people break at this point."
A pause.
"But you…"
Its eyes glowed faintly.
"…you're interesting."
Later that day.
She found him again.
Of course she did.
Her steps were quick.
Eager.
Unnatural.
"I've been looking for you!" she said, slightly out of breath.
He didn't react.
"…Why?"
She smiled.
"Because I wanted to see you."
Simple.
Direct.
Empty.
He studied her.
Every expression.
Every movement.
Every word.
All of it… predictable.
"…Say it again," he said.
She blinked.
"Hm?"
"That you like me."
She smiled instantly.
"I like you."
No hesitation.
No doubt.
No depth.
Just a result.
"…I see."
And for the first time—
He felt nothing at all.
Not anger.
Not sadness.
Not even disappointment.
Just… emptiness.
Behind him—
Velmora watched.
Smiling.
Because the process had begun.
And soon—
There would be nothing left to lose.
The first name was free.
The second… will take something you can never get back.