The light burned behind his eyelids.
Not like pain, but like waking from a dream he never knew he was in.
When he opened them, the city had changed again.
Glass towers bent like trees in a storm.
Streets rippled like water, but he didn't sink.
Instead, the world felt thinner — like a painting stretched tight, ready to tear.
Behind him, the shadow snarled — no longer a shadow, but a beast made of broken reflections and forgotten screams.
It chased, but he ran.
Not because he feared death.
Because he feared forgetting.
His breath came in bursts.
The seed's light pulsed inside his chest — a heartbeat in sync with the city's twisted rhythm.
He didn't know why the city hated him.
Only that it did.
The woman from before appeared ahead, waiting.
"This way," she urged, voice sharp but calm.
She moved through a doorway that hadn't been there moments ago —
a door carved from light and shadow intertwined.
He followed.
Inside was a room filled with clocks.
Not ordinary clocks.
These counted memories instead of minutes.
Each tick was a lost thought.
Each tock a forgotten face.
She gestured at one.
"This one is yours. It's nearly empty."
"Why?" he asked.
"Because you're halfway forgotten even by yourself."
"... "
*Scratch*
*Scratch*
The beast clawed at the door.
Glass cracked.
She pushed him forward.
"You have to fill it — or the city will erase you."
"But how?"
She smiled.
"By remembering."
"Remember what?"
"Who you are — and why you were never meant to be here."
The clocks began to tick faster. So fast, it looked like it was going backwards.
He felt something stir — a name, a face, a feeling buried beneath the silence.
He clenched his fists.
The beast roared — closer.
He wasn't ready.
But he was no longer alone.
End of Chapter 4.