The room is quiet. But her heartbeat isn't.
Nyra runs her fingers over the faded sigal on her wrist - the same mark Allen burned into her years ago. It still tingles. Not pain. Not warmth. Something in between. Like it remembers.
She is still inside The Archive. But not the Archive she built. This part is older, darker. Dust chokes the air, and the bookshelves seem to breathe. As if the place is alive - and still watching.
She finds a mirror. But her reflection stutters. Flickers. For one terrifying second - it's Kaira staring back. Then gone.
She finds a hidden drawer and inside was a black journal with rough edged pages. The handwriting in her's but not her's.
One page reads:
"He said I wasn't stable. But he touched me like I was the only real and stable thing in this world."
Another:
"If I forget him, he can save me. But if i remember........ he will never leave."
She flips a page marked with a bloodstain.
At the bottom is a scribbled warning:
"Don't trust who he is now."
- Kaira
She hears sudden noises.
Footsteps. Heavy. Close.
She turns. Allen stands in the doorway.
Hair messy. Shirt wrinkled. But those eyes? Still the same. Still haunted.
He takes a step in , gaze locked to her's like she was the only person left in the world.
"Nyra." his voice is low, wrecked.
"You weren't supposed to wake up this fast."
Nyra backs into the desk. " What did you do to me?"
Allen croses the room in a heartbeat, his hands grabbing her wrist, fingers brushing over the sigal. She tries to pull away, but he doesn't let her go.
"You weren't safe. You were breaking apart. I had to -"
"Burn me!?"
"Save you."
He pushes her back against the wall, not roughly - but desparate. Close. Too close.
His hands are on either side of her now, caging her in.
His breath is hot against her ear.
"Tell me you don't remember the night we buried the Archive's Root Code under the east wing."
"Tell me you don't remember the first time I kissed you and you said , 'This world deserves to be burnt.'"
Her breath catches. She does remember. Flashes. Glitches.
Her lips ghost across her jaw. Not quite a kiss. Not yet.
"You broke it all for me, Nyra." he whispers.
"And they punished you. Not me."
She finally shoves him back - but her hand lingers on his chest.
The heat between them is undeniable. Twisted. Beautiful. Broken.
"You made me into her." she growls, "Into kaira."
"I made you survive."
Suddenly a wall panel behind her hums. Lights flicker.
A recording plays.
Static. Then her own voice.
"If I forget you, tell me the truth. Don't touch me. Don't love me. Don't manipulate me."
Allen freezes.
Nyra's entire body goes still.
"You said you would never do it again." she whispers.
"You said I had a choice."
Allen turns pale. For the first time he looks - afraid.
"You weren't ready to remember that......."
Nyra storms out of the room, tears in her eyes and confusion tearing her apart.
But in the hallway - Elira is waiting.
And this time she calls her by the name she has never heard before:
"Welcome back, Subject Zero."
Pain doesn't fade. It settles in your bones.
What part of Nyra's burn did you feel most?
🔥 Leave a flame in the comments if this chapter scarred you a little too.
⭐ A star helps others find her fire too.