In the heart of a forgotten realm lies Sans, a humble farmer tending to her crops under the shadow of a mysterious curse. Each dawn, she awakens with no recollection of her past, her memories stolen by the malevolent forces known only as the Possess...
"Please," Sans implored Cassie, "I need answers. I can't wait."
"Some things can wait, Sans. We don't want you to burn out even before you uncover everything."
"No, but some things need to be discussed now. If I don't get my answers, I feel like I'm going to explode."
The threat softened Cassie's stance.
"Okay. The Crescent committee is very adamant and has ruled in favour for you to get back your memories purely by remembering them yourselves. We don't want to push you. Some lose their mental capacities after uncovering too much, which has caused severe emotional damage."
"I know. Hence, I would like to ask about what's happening now."
"What do you want to understand?"
"A few months ago, an unidentified man came to my house back in the dome. He seemed possessed. He also tried to kill me."
Cassie's eyes widened, and he grabbed onto her hard. "Did he hurt you?"
"No, he didn't manage to. He was shot before he could do anything." Cassie sighed.
"Do you know who he is? Jax. I mean, the minister Alexjax told me that the trespasser had entered mental institutes before and that he was part of a possessed group."
"Yes, I think I know who you are referring to. A young man was part of the Crescent for a while and departed after he disobeyed rules. We were not aware that he pursued you. Thank God you're safe. Otherwise...I would not have been able to forgive myself."
Cassie bit his lower lip tightly as if Sans mattered to her. Somehow, Sans couldn't relate to how important she was to him, and the others. Couldn't connect to all the memories and people she has encountered. They just feel like someone else's life. Her personality was too distinctive from her past self. She just wanted to understand everything that had happened as a frog living in the well all by herself made her anxious. She never wanted anyone to be hurt.
"Okay, and...where was I previously in? The dome that we suddenly came out from..?"
"As you may have guessed, the dome is a structure that the Federation government has built to ensure maximum security. You weren't just missing for 6-8 months. You have been missing for 3 years and more, Sans. We used all sorts of methods to track you down."
"But why? Especially the gluey figurine and the others...why did they sacrifice themselves to get me out? ...just why?" Sans' voice cracked painfully. She felt incredible guilt and was tired of being a burden to these strangers that she didn't know.
"It was their choice. They believed in you and a greater cause. You won't understand or fathom this until you have recovered the important memories. Just know that you're important to us and we would do anything to keep you safe. Hence, please don't try leaving or exploring on your own. It would sadden many in our community if we lost you again. No one is blaming you. The community is very happy that you're home, but we are quarantining you until you're ready to face everything."
"Okay. Then can I ask where we are?" At this moment, Cassie's lips shut. Sans understood what this meant. He couldn't trust her enough to share more.
"It is going to be time for your session with Aries soon. Take care of yourself. You have been doing well and at this rate, you could increase more sessions with her."
Sans reluctantly nods. Cassie gives her a warm hug again before leaving.
She waited for Aries to come in, and their session began. The remaining memorhy tapes were blackened. Aries asked Sans if she was ready to take on the tapes that were more damaged than the others. They aren't the worst, but it was more damaged than her happy childhood and teenage memories. Sans expressed her strong desire to take it on.
They leapt into the chosen memory tape, and immediately Sans was knocked out of her consciousness. When she awakened, the first thing she did was scream until she heard Aries' constant reassurance that this was just a memory and she wasn't in any actual harm. Instead of usually watching her memories as a third party with Aries by her side, this time, Sans was actually in first-person perspective in the memory. She was chained up in a confined box, with cockroaches overflowing until her thighs. Sans tried her best to calm herself down and kept reminding herself that this was what young Ayla faced, and it wasn't her situation. "This is just a memory," Aries reminded her, "the cockroaches aren't hurting and you're not in actual pain." She could hear cries and screams across the jail cell, so she guessed that there were others tied up just like her. The cell pops up a 3D visualizer of a well-dressed lady, with a neat and clean look smiling over her as if she were a high-class aeroplane stewardess welcoming the prisoners aboard the decadent and rundown prison cells. "Welcome WX-1029! It is a pleasure to warmly receive you. You have been shortlisted to become a civil servant for the government and serve our country well. Should you survive all the tests, you will be one of the few possessed who will be extremely well-paid and admired from afar. We wish you all the best for the test!"
This dystopian contrast of a well-dressed civilian looking tired, tortured, and dirty possessed sparked something in Sans. Suddenly, she was kicked out of young Ayla's body, and she was observing Ayla from a third-person perspective again with Aries by her side.
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Sans' nose and ears started bleeding out again the moment she was ejected out. Young Ayla used her ability to churn out branches and leaves that protected her from the cockroaches that were initially biting and crawling all over her. She gritted her teeth as she was pushing as hard as she could to constantly maintain her depleting power. "When I'm out," Ayla vows, "I'll come and show you that you have messed with the WRONG person," the next scene cuts, and Sans and Aries watch how Ayla and other possessed are out of their cells, congratulated for passing the first few tests. Ayla asked the guard where her brother was. At that moment, the sound blocks out, which is a testament to the damaged memory tape. Although Sans couldn't hear, she guessed that Ayla's brother didn't make it out alive judging by how Ayla's face crumbled as the guard spoke to her. It feels surreal watching all this, as Sans doesn't even know what her brother looks like. Everyone's faces have been blacked out so far, and she just felt like an alien going through the motions.
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