The Collector's Domain was a place untouched by sunlight.
Below the ruins, past sealed corridors and underground railways, Raya opened her eyes.
Metal. Cold. Wires humming.
She was strapped to a curved chair, her wrists glowing with restraint cuffs.
"Still breathing," a voice said. "Impressive."
She turned.
Rows of tanks lined the room. People floating inside—sleeping. Dreaming. Forgetting.
"Where… am I?"
A man in white stepped into view. Tall. Pale eyes. Wearing no mask.
"Facility IX. Memory Cleanse Division."
"I didn't ask for a tour," she spat.
He chuckled.
"You're not here for questions. You're here to help us erase Lengaza. Permanently."
Elsewhere.
Lengaza's hand was bleeding.
Not from a fight—but from gripping her necklace so tightly it bit into his skin.
Nyra stood beside him, bruised, defiant.
"You don't even know where she is."
"No," he said. "But she's still alive."
"How can you be so sure?"
He raised his hand. The necklace glowed in his palm.
"Because she never stopped believing in me. Now it's my turn."
They descended into the city underlayers.
Following the pull of the crest. Following the echo of memories.
Nyra kept pace, limping slightly.
"You really care for her, don't you?"
Lengaza didn't answer.
But something in his silence screamed yes.
"What if you fail?" she asked.
He stopped walking.
"Then they'll regret giving me the chance to try."
Deep within Facility IX, the white-eyed man turned to his assistant.
"Begin the memory link. Start with her happiest moment."
They connected her to the mindwire.
And in a flash—
Lengaza appeared in her vision. A child. Laughing. Wild.
Then a teenager. Then—
Gone.
"We'll erase him from her completely," the man whispered. "And when he finds her…"
"She won't even know his name."