Memories weren't just fading—they were getting rewritten.
Alepou felt it deep in her bones. Something wasn't adding up. Her past, her life before this world—it was all turning into a blurry mess, like a corrupted file. She could barely hold onto it. Taiyo… That name. It felt important, but why?
She rubbed her temples, frustration bubbling up. "Yo, something's mad sus. It's been years, but why do our memories feel… fake?"
Yuki side-eyed her, arms crossed. "Nah, fr, I've been thinking the same thing. It's not just forgetting—it's like someone's rewriting what we remember." She paused, her expression tightening. "It's like this world wants us to forget where we came from."
Silence. That creepy, heavy kind.
Alepou's fingers twitched. "We've been here way too long. We grind, we level up, but the stronger we get, the more our past gets wiped. Like, what if that's on purpose?"
Yuki's breath hitched. "What if that's the point?"
She looked up, like she was staring at something invisible. "What if this world needs us to forget? What if it's running on our memories, keeping us stuck?"
A cold chill ran down Alepou's spine.
Memories weren't just thoughts. They were proof. Proof that you were real. If someone—or something—was rewriting them… then who would they even be at the end of it?
Taiyo—nah, Prince Gabrielle—shifted awkwardly. "Y'all are acting like NPCs bugging out. Look, I don't get it, but… y'all really tryna go back? To the real world?"
Alepou shot him a sharp look. "Duh. You think we chose to be here?"
Taiyo hesitated. "Then… how'd you get here?"
That question smacked both of them like a truck.
Yuki froze. Alepou clenched her fists.
How did they get here?
What was the last thing Alepou remembered before waking up in this world?
She tried to think back, to piece it together—but it was like trying to grab smoke. The harder she focused, the more it slipped through her fingers.
"This ain't normal," she muttered.
Yuki's face paled. "If we don't remember, how do we even know who we really are?"
Taiyo looked between them, looking straight-up uncomfortable. "What if you already ain't the same people you used to be?"
Alepou's stomach dropped.
What if their past was already gone? What if they weren't forgetting—what if they'd already been rewritten?
Yuki's voice shook, but her eyes were steady. "Then we find the glitches. The weird stuff that don't add up."
She turned to Alepou, something fierce burning behind her gaze.
"We gotta break this world before it breaks us."
Alepou took a slow breath. The fear was still there, but now it had a purpose.
"Bet. Let's burn this whole system down."