The room was silent.
The traces of the fight were still everywhere.
Overturned chairs.
Bullet marks across the walls.
Scattered equipment.
And beside the door, the heavy silence left behind by the man who had just walked away.
Arthur wasn’t looking at any of it.
He was only looking at Elera.
“What do you know?”
Elera didn’t answer.
Arthur took a step closer.
“Elera.”
His voice was lower now.
But more dangerous.
“Don’t lie to me.”
Elera’s eyes remained locked on his.
For several long seconds, she said nothing.
Then she lowered her head.
“You’re going to hate me.”
Arthur’s expression didn’t change.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
Elera closed her eyes.
She took a deep breath.
It trembled.
“I didn’t set you free.”
Arthur went completely still.
“What?”
“I didn’t bring you here.”
A pause.
“I didn’t set you free.”
The first tear slipped down her cheek.
Elera wiped it away immediately.
As if she didn’t want Arthur to see it.
Then another tear appeared.
Then another.
Arthur didn’t move.
Elera looked like someone who hadn’t allowed herself to cry in years.
Maybe she had forgotten how.
“Then why are you here?”
Elera pressed her lips together.
“Because I didn’t want to lose you again.”
Something shifted in Arthur’s eyes.
“You didn’t lose me.”
Elera laughed bitterly.
“I did.”
She took a step backward.
“The first time I lost you was in Area 19.”
Arthur’s gaze hardened.
“Don’t make me remember that place.”
“They never allowed us to remember.”
Her voice cracked.
“But I remember.”
Arthur said nothing.
Elera continued.
“I remember that night.”
Arthur’s breathing slowed.
“What night?”
“The night they turned you into A-1.”
Silence.
Elera clasped her hands together.
“When they took you away, I waited behind the door.”
Tears continued falling.
“For hours.”
Arthur’s gaze lowered.
“They told you not to wait for me.”
“I know.”
Elera smiled through her tears.
“Because they told me the same thing.”
She struggled to continue.
Then whispered—
“But I waited for you.”
Something moved inside Arthur’s mind.
A white corridor.
A metal door.
Cold light.
A child sitting on the floor.
Long gray hair.
Blue eyes.
Elera.
Arthur closed his eyes.
“You…”
His voice broke slightly.
Elera lifted her head.
“Do you remember?”
Arthur didn’t answer.
Elera stepped closer.
“You remember.”
Arthur opened his eyes.
“You were sitting in front of the door.”
Elera kept crying.
“Yes.”
“And in your hand…”
Arthur stopped.
He searched through the memory.
“There was a small toy.”
Elera completely broke.
More tears spilled down her face.
“You remember.”
Arthur nodded faintly.
Elera smiled through her tears.
A small, broken smile.
“No.”
Arthur looked at her.
“You gave it to me.”
Silence.
“You were scared that day.”
“I wasn’t scared.”
Elera laughed softly.
“I knew you’d say that.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“Everyone thought you were fearless.”
A pause.
“But I knew.”
Arthur frowned.
“Knew what?”
Elera’s voice became barely audible.
“You were scared too.”
Something in Arthur’s expression changed.
“You were afraid.”
She placed a hand over her chest.
“But you tried not to show it.”
Tears ran down her face.
“Because I was younger than you.”
Arthur lowered his head.
Elera continued.
“You always told me, ‘Don’t be afraid.'”
A quiet moment passed.
“But you were afraid too.”
Arthur’s lips moved slightly.
“Because I didn’t want to scare you.”
Elera’s eyes widened.
Arthur continued.
“I didn’t want to see you crying.”
That was enough.
Elera covered her face with both hands.
And finally allowed herself to cry.
Arthur watched her.
The boy who once seemed incapable of caring about anyone…
had grown into someone who still didn’t know how to comfort another person.
Area 19 had taught him how to break people.
How to read them.
How to manipulate them.
How to survive.
It had never taught him what to do when someone simply needed him to stay.
Arthur slowly stepped forward.
He stopped in front of her.
Raised his hand.
Hesitated.
Then gently placed it on her head.
Elera froze.
Arthur’s voice was quiet.
“You’re not alone anymore.”
Elera lifted her head.
“You said that before.”
Arthur remained silent.
“And then they took you away from me.”
For the first time, there was no calculation in Arthur’s eyes.
Only regret.
“They won’t take me this time.”
Elera shook her head through her tears.
“Arthur…”
“I’m here.”
“What if I leave again?”
“I’ll find you.”
“What if they change you again?”
Arthur looked directly into her eyes.
“Then you’ll remind me.”
Elera’s breath caught.
“What if I can’t remember you?”
A faint smile appeared on Arthur’s face.
“Then I’ll remind you who you are.”
Elera hugged him.
Without warning.
As if years of fear, loneliness, and waiting had finally found somewhere to go.
Arthur remained motionless for a few seconds.
Then slowly wrapped his arms around her.
Elera’s voice disappeared against his shoulder.
“I waited for you for so long.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“No.”
Elera lifted her head.
Her eyes were red.
“You don’t.”
She took a shaky breath.
“I waited for you every day.”
Arthur’s expression tightened.
“Elera…”
“Every time a door opened, I thought it was you.”
Another breath.
“Every time I heard footsteps, I thought you had come back.”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“Every night before I slept, I thought that one day…”
Her voice broke.
“…you would come back.”
Arthur was silent.
Then, barely above a whisper—
“I never forgot you either.”
Elera froze.
Arthur looked away.
“Even during the years when I couldn’t remember…”
He stopped.
Searching for the right words.
“There was always something missing.”
Elera stared at him.
“I didn’t know your name.”
“I didn’t know your face.”
“I didn’t know where you were.”
He looked back at her.
“But I knew I was missing someone.”
Elera’s tears began falling again.
Arthur held her tighter.
And for the first time in years…
Area 19 was silent inside Arthur’s mind.
No alarms.
No orders.
No experiments.
No designations.
No A-1.
There were only two children.
Two children who had lost each other…
and somehow found each other again.
Elera whispered—
“Arthur.”
“Yes?”
“Promise me something.”
“What?”
Elera closed her eyes.
“Don’t ever see yourself as A-1 again.”
Arthur remained silent.
For a long time, he didn’t answer.
Then he placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I’ll try.”
Elera opened her eyes.
“No.”
Arthur looked at her.
She smiled through her tears.
“Don’t say, ‘I’ll try.'”
Silence settled between them.
“Promise me.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
Then said something he hadn’t said in years.
“I promise.”
At that exact moment—
Beep.
Both of them froze.
The wall screen activated.
A single sentence appeared against the black display.
EMOTIONAL BOND CONFIRMED.
All warmth disappeared from Arthur’s face.
Elera stared at the screen.
Tears still glistened on her cheeks.
A second line appeared.
PHASE TWO INITIATED.
Arthur slowly stepped in front of Elera.
“They’re watching us.”
Elera nodded.
“Yes.”
Arthur stared at the screen.
The calm expression returned to his face.
But something was different.
He wasn’t standing alone anymore.
He reached backward.
His hand found Elera’s.
She held it.
Arthur looked at the screen.
“Then let them watch.”
The screen flickered.
A third line appeared.
PRIMARY VARIABLE: A-1
A pause.
Then—
SECONDARY VARIABLE: E-18
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
Another line appeared.
OBJECTIVE: SEPARATION
For the first time, Elera’s expression changed.
Arthur tightened his grip on her hand.
“They want to separate us.”
Elera looked at him.
“What do we do?”
Arthur’s eyes remained fixed on the screen.
“We don’t let them.”
The lights went out.
And somewhere deep inside Area 19…
Phase Two began.
For years, Arthur searched for answers in memories, files, and hidden truths.
But some wounds are not healed by answers.
Some are healed by the people who refused to forget you.
This chapter was never about Area 19.
It was about two children who survived it.
Unfortunately…
Area 19 has finally discovered what Arthur’s greatest weakness truly is.
And organizations like Area 19 do not leave weaknesses untouched.
The next phase has begun.
The question is no longer whether Arthur can remember the past.
The question is: What will he become when he has something left to lose again?
See you in the next chapter.