Kenn stood frozen, the weight of Lynn's words crashing over him like a wave. I've been part of it all along. The phrase echoed in his mind, over and over, until he could no longer make sense of the world around him. Lynn, the one person who had always been his anchor, his constant support, had been involved with the system from the very beginning.
His heart pounded in his chest, and his breath caught in his throat as he searched her face for some sign that she was joking, that this was some kind of misunderstanding. But there was no trace of humor in her eyes—only cold, hard truth.
"No," he whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. "That… that can't be true. You… you've been helping me. You've been by my side. How could you—?"
Lynn's gaze didn't waver, but her expression softened, just a little, as though she were holding back a deeper sorrow. "I didn't want it to happen, Kenn," she said, her voice quiet, tinged with regret. "I didn't choose this. But the system… it didn't give me a choice."
Kenn's mind raced, struggling to comprehend what she was saying. The system didn't give her a choice? That didn't make sense. The system had been manipulating him, sure, but it had never seemed to force anyone's hand like this. It had always felt like he was the one being controlled—everyone else had been either unaware or blissfully ignorant.
"I don't understand," Kenn said, his voice trembling now. "How could you be a part of it? How could you help me, help us, and still be working for it? I thought you were on my side. I thought—"
"I am on your side," Lynn interrupted, her voice sharp with a mix of frustration and pain. "I was on your side, Kenn. But the system... it's not like you think. It's not just a force that controls us. It's much more complicated than that."
Kenn's eyes narrowed, his confusion growing with every word. "Complicated? What do you mean? What is it, then? What is the system really trying to do?"
Lynn took a step closer, her hands trembling slightly as she tried to maintain her composure. She seemed to struggle with herself, as if the words were hard to speak. "It's… it's a collective," she finally said, the words heavy with meaning. "A network. It's not one person or one entity. It's built into the very fabric of this world—its purpose is to monitor and control human emotion, to guide behavior, to ensure balance and order."
Kenn blinked, trying to process the implications of what she was saying. "A collective? What do you mean by balance? Order?"
Lynn paused, her expression pained as if every word was a struggle. "The system is designed to regulate emotional energy. People's feelings—fear, anger, love, jealousy—those emotions fuel the system. It feeds on them, uses them to maintain the flow of society. It ensures that no one becomes too powerful, too dangerous. But it also keeps everyone in line, suppressing chaos, controlling freedom."
Kenn's stomach twisted as the pieces of the puzzle began to click into place. "So, all this time… the system has been using our emotions to keep everyone in check? To control how we feel? To control everything?" His voice was rising with the realization. "And you've been helping it do that?"
"I didn't have a choice," Lynn said, her voice breaking as tears welled up in her eyes. "I was chosen, Kenn. When I first met you, the system had already marked me. It told me I had a role to play in your life. It told me you would be the key to breaking the cycle. But I didn't understand what it meant. I didn't realize how deep it went until it was too late."
Kenn's heart dropped. "So you've been working with it all along? You've known what it was doing to me, to Kil, to everyone, and you just… let it happen?"
Lynn shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks now. "I tried to stop it, Kenn. I did. But every time I tried to resist, the system would remind me of my role. It would show me consequences. If I didn't play along, the balance would be destroyed. The world would fall into chaos, and everyone would suffer. I couldn't let that happen."
Kenn's anger flared, but it was quickly smothered by the pain of betrayal. "So, all this time, you've been helping the system, thinking you're doing the right thing?"
Lynn's face crumpled, her hands shaking as she took a step back. "I didn't want to betray you, Kenn. I swear, I didn't. I wanted to help you, but I couldn't escape it. The system… it sees everything. It knows everything about us, every weakness, every desire. It has a hold on me, too. I'm just as trapped as you are."
Kenn's chest tightened, his emotions swirling like a storm inside him. The one person who had seemed like his safe harbor had just revealed that she, too, was caught in the same web. And worse still, it seemed like she had been caught even before he had known the system existed.
He turned away, his mind racing. How could he trust anyone now? Kil, Lynn—everyone had been manipulated by the system, playing parts in a game they didn't fully understand. And now, the weight of it all was suffocating him.
"You're telling me you've been part of this all along," Kenn said, his voice barely above a whisper, "but you never told me? You never said anything? You just let me keep going, thinking that I was fighting this alone?"
Lynn stepped forward again, her voice pleading. "I didn't want to hurt you, Kenn. I swear. But the system—if I revealed the truth, if I defied it… it would destroy everything. You, me, everyone. It wasn't just about us. It was about the world. It was about keeping things stable, keeping everything in balance."
Kenn's head spun. Stability? Balance? At what cost?
"And now?" Kenn asked, turning to face her. "What now, Lynn? You've told me all this, but… what are we supposed to do? You can't just undo all of this."
"I don't know," Lynn whispered, her voice breaking. "But I know one thing: you're stronger than I gave you credit for. I believe you can stop the system, Kenn. I think you can break free. You have to. Because if you don't… everything will collapse."
Kenn stared at her, his heart torn between the love he once felt for her and the betrayal that now consumed him. She was right about one thing—he had to break free. But could he do it? Could he tear down the system, destroy the force that had controlled his life, and somehow save the people he cared about?
His mind raced with possibilities, and somewhere deep inside, the tiniest spark of hope flickered.
"Then let's do it," he said, his voice filled with resolve. "We'll find a way. Together."
But as the words left his lips, a chilling thought crossed his mind: Could he ever trust Lynn again?