# Chapter 9
Four Minutes to Choose
03:44
The numbers on the wall clock glowed like a wound.
I stared at them.
Then I looked at Elvar's body.
No.
The body belonged to Elvar.
But the eyes staring at me weren't his.
That smile wasn't his.
The slight tilt of the head, the way his lips curved as if all of this were just a game—
Darven.
I knew it.
Even though everyone had tried to forget him.
Even though his name wasn't supposed to be spoken.
I knew.
And that knowledge felt like a thorn embedded in my brain.
“Savera.”
The voice from Room 404 came again.
Weak.
“Elvar?”
The body in front of me immediately laughed.
Elvar's voice.
But not Elvar.
“Funny.”
I glared at him.
“Shut up.”
“He's calling you from inside the room he's been trying to leave all this time.”
Darven took one step closer.
I stepped back.
“Don't come any closer.”
He stopped.
“Scared?”
“Disgusted.”
His smile was faint.
“You two are alike.”
I clenched my fists.
Behind me, Lirven pulled Taresa farther away.
Jaresta stood near Mrs. Marjani.
Everyone was watching.
No one moved.
As if one wrong step could make the entire floor collapse again.
Maybe it could.
I stared at the door to Room 404.
Open.
Dark.
I couldn't see Elvar.
Only the sound of breathing.
“Savera.”
I moved immediately.
Darven blocked me.
“Four minutes.”
“I don't care.”
“You have to.”
“Move.”
“If you go in now, the room will consider that you chose him.”
“I am choosing to save him.”
His smile widened.
“Good.”
I stopped.
Damn it.
A choice.
Everything was always about choices.
Not just the action.
The meaning behind it.
I couldn't just go in.
I turned to Lirven.
“What if I go in?”
He looked uncertain.
“I don't know.”
“That's not a useful answer.”
“Because this has never happened before.”
I frowned.
“Never?”
Lirven looked at Elvar's body.
“Darven has tried to take over Elvar before.”
“And?”
“He's never succeeded until now.”
Darven chuckled.
“Because you always killed his body too quickly.”
I turned.
“What?”
Lirven looked away.
My blood ran cold.
“You've killed Elvar before?”
No one answered.
I looked at them one by one.
“Mrs. Marjani.”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“How many times?”
Silence.
“HOW MANY TIMES?”
“Two.”
I froze.
Darven laughed softly.
“Now you know why he always comes back.”
I stared at the door to Room 404.
His voice came again.
“Savera...”
Even weaker.
I turned to Mrs. Marjani.
“Why did you kill him?”
“Because if Darven took control of his body, we thought the only way to stop the transfer was to destroy the anchor body.”
“Did it work?”
“For a moment.”
“For a moment?”
“Darven returned to the room.”
“And Elvar?”
“So did he.”
I cursed.
Darven smiled.
“That body really is a nuisance.”
I looked at him.
“What if I kill Elvar's body now?”
“Go ahead.”
I hated how casual he sounded.
Lirven said immediately,
“Don't.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“He wants you to do that.”
Darven raised an eyebrow.
Lirven continued,
“If Elvar's body dies while Darven is fully bound to it, they might not both return to the way they were.”
“Might?”
“I don't know for sure.”
“Great.”
I looked at the clock.
03:45
Three minutes?
No.
He said four minutes.
But the clock had only moved one minute.
Something felt wrong.
“Why is the time moving normally?”
Darven smiled.
“What?”
“You said I had four minutes.”
“Yes.”
“But the Fourth Floor cycle usually lasts until 04:04.”
“Correct.”
“Then it's not the time until the hallway resets.”
Darven didn't answer.
I knew immediately.
“Four minutes until what?”
His smile faded slightly.
I stepped forward.
“Four minutes until what happens?”
“Savera,” Mrs. Marjani called.
I ignored her.
“Answer me.”
Darven stared at me.
“Four minutes until this body stops resisting.”
I froze.
Lirven cursed.
Taresa covered her mouth.
“And after that?”
Darven touched his chest.
Elvar's chest.
“He can't come back.”
I looked at Room 404.
“Elvar!”
The voice inside answered immediately.
“I'm here.”
I ran.
Darven caught my arm.
My reflexes were faster.
I kicked his knee.
He jerked.
I pulled free.
Elvar's body staggered backward.
Darven stared at me in shock.
So did I.
Elvar would probably complain if he knew I'd just kicked his body.
Good.
That meant I had to make sure he could complain later.
I ran to the door.
Lirven chased after me.
“Savera!”
I stopped right at the threshold.
Darkness.
I turned on my phone's flashlight.
It didn't work.
The screen was dead.
“Damn it.”
Elvar's voice came from inside.
“Don't come in.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Don't come in.”
“You just called for help.”
“I know.”
“And?”
“I was wrong.”
I almost laughed from sheer anger.
“Of course. Even from inside the room, you can still make me mad.”
There was a small sound of breathing.
Maybe he was laughing.
Or crying.
I didn't know.
“Savera.”
“What?”
“If you come in, the door will bind you again.”
“I don't care.”
“I do.”
I clenched my fists.
“Stop deciding for me.”
Silence.
Then Elvar's voice:
“If you come in because you want to save me, the room will record it as a replacement.”
I immediately turned to Lirven.
He had gone pale.
“That's true.”
I cursed.
Darven laughed behind me.
“Three minutes left.”
I stared at the door.
“If I don't go in, you can't get out.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Don't lie to me now.”
“I'm not lying.”
“Then what?”
“There is another door.”
I tensed.
“What?”
Lirven stepped closer.
“A door inside the room.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
He looked as if he'd just remembered something.
“Every Room 404 has one door that isn't an exit.”
“And?”
“A door leading to the core memory.”
I frowned.
“Whose memory?”
Lirven looked at me.
“The tenant's.”
I understood immediately.
“Elvar can enter his own memories?”
“If he's still conscious enough.”
I turned toward the darkness.
“Elvar, can you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Find the door.”
Silence.
Then—
“I see it.”
Darven's smile vanished.
I saw the change.
Good.
That meant this was important.
“Go in,” I said.
Darven shouted,
“DON'T!”
I smiled faintly.
There it is.
“Elvar, go in now.”
Footsteps sounded from inside the room.
Darven moved quickly.
I stood in front of the door.
He stopped.
“Move.”
“No.”
“You think you can hold me back?”
“Try me.”
That body was Elvar's.
But I had to remember that the thing inside it wasn't him.
Darven smiled.
“You won't hurt this face.”
I stared at him.
“Don't be so sure.”
He attacked.
Fast.
I stepped back.
Lirven immediately slashed his knife across Darven's arm.
Blood came out.
Red.
Elvar's body was bleeding.
I panicked on instinct.
“Elvar—”
Darven laughed.
“See?”
Lirven shouted,
“Don't see his body as Elvar!”
Easy to say.
Hard to do.
Darven grabbed Lirven by the throat.
I immediately pulled him away.
Taresa slammed her camera into his head.
BANG.
Darven staggered.
Taresa looked startled too.
“Sorry, Elvar!”
“THAT'S NOT ELVAR!” we all shouted.
“I KNOW!”
Darven growled.
Then he threw Taresa against the wall.
“TARESA!”
I ran.
Jaresta caught her first.
“She’s alive.”
I looked at the clock.
03:46
Two minutes.
“Elvar!”
No answer.
“Elvar!”
Darven smiled.
“Maybe he got lost.”
“Shut up.”
“Or maybe he found something he doesn't want you to know.”
I stared at the door.
“Elvar!”
This time, his voice came through.
Distant.
“I’m in.”
“What do you see?”
Silence.
Then—
“A house.”
Darven froze.
I knew immediately.
This was important.
“Which house?”
“Darwanta.”
Elvar was breathing heavily.
“But before it became a boardinghouse.”
Darven moved toward the door again.
Lirven and I blocked him.
“Keep talking,” I said.
“There’s someone in the living room.”
“Who?”
“The First Savera.”
My chest tightened.
“Darven?”
“Not yet.”
“Then who?”
“Meraya.”
I looked at Mrs. Marjani.
Her face immediately went pale.
“Elvar,” she said, “what is Meraya doing?”
Elvar's voice was silent for a long time.
Then—
“She’s talking to Darven.”
I froze.
Mrs. Marjani stepped closer.
“What are they talking about?”
“Elvar?”
His voice from the room sounded frantic.
“Meraya knows.”
“Knows what?”
“She knows Darven isn’t dead.”
I looked at Mrs. Marjani.
“Didn't all of you think he was dead?”
Marjani didn't answer.
Elvar continued.
“Meraya helped him.”
Everyone froze.
Darven smiled.
“Don't listen to him.”
I looked at him.
“Now you're the one saying that?”
He didn't answer.
Elvar's voice:
“Savera.”
“Yes.”
“I was wrong all this time.”
“About what?”
“The first ritual.”
The back of my neck went cold.
“Savera wasn't the one who started it.”
Lirven looked at me.
“Who was?”
Elvar whispered,
“Meraya.”
Mrs. Marjani immediately said,
“No.”
Elvar's voice grew clearer.
“I saw her.”
“That’s wrong.”
“She brought Alvena.”
Mrs. Marjani froze.
I looked at her.
“Brought her?”
Elvar continued.
“Alvena was still alive.”
My stomach lurched.
“What?”
“Meraya brought her to Darven's room.”
Mrs. Marjani stepped back.
“No.”
“Elvar,” I said, “what happened after that?”
“I...”
A sound like something cracking came from inside.
“Elvar?”
“I saw Darven.”
Darven, standing in front of us, suddenly tensed.
“Get out of that memory.”
I smiled bitterly.
“Scared?”
He glared at me with hatred.
“Elvar!”
Elvar's voice rang out.
“Darven didn't kill Alvena.”
I held my breath.
“Who did?”
Silence.
Then—
“Meraya.”
Mrs. Marjani collapsed into a sitting position.
No.
It was as if the strength had left her legs.
“No.”
I looked at her.
“Ma'am?”
She shook her head.
“Meraya couldn't have.”
Elvar continued from inside the room.
“She said...”
His voice changed.
As if he were repeating someone else's voice.
A woman's voice.
Meraya.
If one person has to disappear for you to remain, choose someone no one will miss.
I shuddered.
Darven laughed softly.
“My sister was always practical.”
Mrs. Marjani glared at him.
“Shut up.”
Darven smiled.
“You really didn't know, did you?”
Tears fell down Mrs. Marjani's face.
I stared at the door.
“Elvar, keep going.”
“There’s a symbol.”
“What is it?”
“Four lines.”
I remembered the chest.
“Four guardians?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“One person in the middle.”
Elvar's voice began to panic.
“Four people surrounding them.”
Lirven said,
“An anchor.”
Elvar answered quickly,
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“Who are the four people?”
“Savera.”
Me.
“Elvar.”
Himself.
“Meraya.”
Mrs. Marjani covered her mouth.
“And...”
Silence.
“Who’s the fourth?”
Elvar whispered,
“Marjani.”
We all stared at Mrs. Marjani.
She froze.
“Me?”
Elvar continued,
“You weren't guardians afterward.”
I felt the air change.
“You were part of the ritual from the beginning.”
Darven laughed.
Mrs. Marjani stood.
“Liar.”
“I’m not the one saying it,” I said.
She looked at me.
Elvar's voice came again.
“Marjani agreed.”
Her face crumpled.
I didn't know whether it was because she remembered or not.
“Why?”
Elvar answered.
“Meraya was sick.”
Mrs. Marjani stopped immediately.
I looked at her.
“Sick with what?”
There was no answer.
Elvar answered from inside.
“Her heart.”
Marjani closed her eyes.
The memory came back to her.
I saw it happen.
“Meraya was going to die?”
She nodded slowly.
“In 1989.”
I felt the puzzle beginning to come together.
“So Meraya didn't die back then.”
“Not yet.”
“Darven tried to save her?”
Marjani cried.
“Yes.”
Darven smiled.
“Now you're starting to remember the real story.”
I looked at him.
“So all of this started because Meraya was sick?”
“Partly.”
“Darven experimented for her?”
“At first.”
I looked at Mrs. Marjani.
She spoke in a broken voice.
“Meraya was going to die before her twentieth birthday.”
I was silent.
“The doctors said she didn't have much time.”
“So Darven offered a way?”
“He said he could transfer a person's existence.”
I swallowed.
“From Alvena?”
Marjani couldn't answer.
Darven did.
“Alvena was healthy.”
I felt sick.
“You wanted to take her life.”
“Meraya wanted it.”
Marjani screamed immediately,
“SHE WAS AFRAID OF DYING!”
Darven laughed.
“And you helped her.”
Marjani sobbed.
“She was my sister.”
“So the seven people who disappeared were also because she was your sister?”
Marjani fell silent.
That was answer enough.
Taresa looked at her differently now.
Not just afraid.
Hurt.
Because she had almost become the next payment.
The clock chimed.
03:47
One minute.
Darven stared at Elvar's body.
“My time is almost up.”
I looked at the door.
“Elvar!”
No answer.
“Elvar!”
The sound of breathing.
Then:
“I found the door.”
“Open it!”
“There’s writing.”
“What does it say?”
He read it.
ONE MEMORY FOR ONE BODY.
I froze.
Lirven said immediately,
“Don't open it.”
“Why?”
“The core door demands a price.”
I stared into the darkness.
“Elvar, don't.”
Darven smiled.
“Elvar will do it.”
I looked at him.
“Shut up.”
“He's always willing to pay for you.”
Elvar's voice came through.
“Savera.”
“What?”
“If I open it, I can come back.”
Hope surged through me.
“And then?”
“I have to surrender one memory.”
“Choose one that isn't important.”
“I can't.”
I froze.
“Why not?”
“The door chooses.”
Damn it.
“What did it choose?”
Elvar was silent.
“Elvar.”
“The first memory of falling in love with you.”
No.
I said immediately,
“Don't.”
Darven laughed softly.
“Elvar.”
“Don't open it.”
“Savera.”
“We'll find another way.”
“We don't have enough time.”
“Don't!”
“If my body becomes entirely his, there won't be another way.”
“I don't care.”
“I do.”
I punched the wall.
“WHY DO YOU ALWAYS SAY THAT?”
Silence.
Then Elvar answered:
“Because I don't want every version of you to keep paying for me.”
I couldn't speak.
“Just this once,” he continued, “let me be the one to lose something.”
My chest hurt.
“I don't want you to forget.”
“It's only one memory.”
“It’s the beginning.”
“Not all of it.”
“How do you know?”
He was silent.
I knew he didn't.
The clock:
03:47:31
Darven began to smile widely.
I panicked.
“Lirven.”
He looked at me.
“If Elvar opens the door?”
“He can return to his body.”
“Darven?”
“Pushed out.”
“Where to?”
“Who knows?”
“Good.”
I looked at the door.
“Elvar.”
“Yes.”
“Open it.”
Darven immediately shouted,
“DON'T!”
I looked at him.
Then smiled.
“Open it now.”
Something creaked from inside.
Darven attacked.
He shoved Lirven aside.
I moved immediately.
He grabbed me by the throat.
I seized his wrist.
Elvar's body.
Elvar's hand.
But the strength behind it was different.
“Stop!”
Darven brought his face closer.
“If he comes back, I'll take someone else.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Another body.”
He glanced at Taresa.
Taresa went pale.
I struggled.
“Don't you dare.”
“Why not?”
Darven smiled.
“She’s almost erased. The boundary is thin.”
I kicked him.
He didn't let go.
Lirven stabbed his shoulder.
Darven roared.
His grip loosened.
I fell.
Blood dripped from Elvar's shoulder.
Again.
I hated seeing it.
But I had to.
From Room 404—
BANG!
White light exploded.
Darven screamed.
Elvar's body fell.
I immediately crawled over.
“Elvar?”
No answer.
I held his face.
“Elvar!”
His eyes opened.
Dark.
Normal.
I stopped breathing.
“Elvar?”
He looked at me.
Confused.
Then—
“Savera.”
I almost cried.
“Yes.”
He touched my face.
Gently.
“Did I come back?”
I laughed and cried at the same time.
“Looks like it.”
Then his expression changed.
He frowned.
“What?”
I immediately grew afraid.
“Elvar?”
He looked at me.
“I know you.”
“Yes.”
“I know your name.”
“Yes.”
“I know all the cycles.”
I nodded.
“Good.”
“But...”
My heart sank.
“What?”
He stared at me for a long time.
As if trying to find something.
“I don't remember when I first fell in love with you.”
I couldn't speak.
The door's price.
He had really lost that memory.
I forced a smile.
“It’s okay.”
Elvar looked at me.
“Why are you crying?”
I wiped them away quickly.
“Dust.”
Taresa immediately said,
“There’s a lot of dust in here.”
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Then from behind us—
clapping.
Slowly.
We turned.
Darven stood in the doorway of Room 404.
He wasn't wearing Elvar's body.
His own body.
Almost transparent.
But clear.
He smiled.
“Good.”
I stood in front of Elvar.
“Go away.”
Darven shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“You lost.”
“No.”
He looked at the clock.
03:47:58
Two seconds.
“Time’s up.”
The clock changed.
03:48
Darven didn't disappear.
I froze.
So did Lirven.
“Why is he still here?”
Darven smiled.
“Because Elvar's body isn't the only way.”
I looked at Taresa.
She was fine.
Jaresta.
Marjani.
Lirven.
Darven looked at Mrs. Marjani.
He understood immediately.
“No.”
Darven raised his hand.
The necklace with the number four on the floor began to move.
It lifted.
Then shot toward him.
Mrs. Marjani screamed,
“DON'T!”
Too late.
Darven gripped the necklace.
Black light exploded.
Marjani fell.
I stared at her.
“Ma'am!”
She clutched her chest.
Her face aged.
Rapidly.
Wrinkles appeared.
Her hair turned completely white.
Her body weakened.
Darven stared at the necklace.
“Fourth Guardian.”
I finally understood.
“The contract.”
He smiled.
“Yes.”
Mrs. Marjani was now ninety-two years old.
The room had been delaying her death all this time.
If Darven took her contract—
“Mrs. Marjani!”
I knelt beside her.
She looked at me.
Her breathing was shallow.
“Savera.”
“I’m here.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don't talk.”
“Listen.”
“I said don't.”
She took my hand.
Her fingers were cold.
“Vayra.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Find Vayra.”
“She was erased.”
Marjani shook her head.
“Not completely.”
I stared at her.
“Where?”
She struggled to breathe.
“Film.”
I immediately turned to Taresa's camera.
Taresa went pale.
“My film?”
Marjani nodded.
“Vayra... is in there.”
I felt the world stop.
“Why?”
“She photographed everything.”
I stared at the camera.
Taresa said,
“But I bought this camera recently.”
Marjani smiled weakly.
“No.”
“What?”
“It isn't your camera.”
She looked at me.
“It used to belong to Vayra.”
I froze.
A fragment of memory.
A red umbrella.
A short-haired older sister.
A camera hanging around her neck.
Yes.
I remembered.
Vayra loved taking pictures.
“Where's the film?”
Marjani whispered,
“In Room 402.”
Taresa immediately turned.
Her room.
“Exactly where?”
“Under... the sink.”
Marjani's breath caught.
I held her hand tighter.
“Ma'am.”
“One more thing.”
“What?”
She looked at Elvar.
Then at me.
“Don't trust the First Savera.”
I froze.
“What?”
Lirven immediately turned.
Marjani said again,
“The First Savera... wasn't a victim.”
Cold spread through me.
“What do you mean?”
Darven laughed.
Mrs. Marjani looked at me.
Tears fell.
“She asked Darven to create the cycles.”
Silence.
No.
I shook my head.
“No.”
“She was afraid of losing Elvar.”
Elvar froze.
Lirven said,
“No.”
Marjani gasped.
“All the Saveras after her...”
She looked at me.
“...were created because the First Savera asked for them.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Why?”
Marjani whispered,
“Because she said—”
Her breath stopped for a moment.
Then her final sentence came out.
“If I die, bring me back until he chooses me again.”
Her hand went limp.
“Ma'am?”
There was no answer.
“Mrs. Marjani?”
I shook her shoulder.
No.
Taresa covered her mouth.
Jaresta lowered her head.
Mrs. Marjani wasn't breathing.
Darven smiled.
“Now you know.”
I slowly stood.
I stared at him.
“She died because of you.”
Darven shrugged.
“The contract is complete.”
I wanted to attack him.
Elvar grabbed my arm.
I turned.
He shook his head.
“Don't.”
I almost got angry.
Then I remembered—
he didn't remember the beginning of his love for me.
But he still tried to protect me.
I took a breath.
Darven walked backward into the darkness.
“Find the film.”
I stared at him.
“Why do you want me to find it?”
“Because I'm curious too.”
“About what?”
He smiled.
“Whether Vayra recorded the truth...”
The door to Room 404 began to close.
“...or the First Savera's greatest lie.”
BANG.
The door vanished.
The hallway returned to normal.
I looked at the clock.
03:49
Fifteen minutes left until 04:04.
I looked at Taresa.
“402.”
She nodded.
We ran.
Room 402 wasn't locked.
Taresa opened the door.
The room had returned to its present-day form.
A bed.
A desk.
A small poster.
A pile of clothes.
I headed straight for the bathroom.
“Under the sink.”
We knelt down.
There was nothing there.
Taresa felt around underneath.
“Wait.”
She found a screw.
Jaresta handed her a screwdriver.
We opened a small wooden panel.
Behind it—
A black film canister.
Taresa picked it up.
Her hands trembled.
There was white writing on it.
V.D. — 1989
Vayra Dahayu.
I almost cried again.
“Can it be developed?”
Taresa nodded.
“If it’s still good.”
“How long will it take?”
“Not now.”
I cursed.
Elvar came in.
He stared at the canister.
“I've seen it before.”
I looked at him immediately.
“Where?”
He held his head.
“An old memory.”
“What?”
“Vayra gave it to Savera.”
“Then what?”
“She said...”
Elvar closed his eyes.
“I can't hear it.”
I stepped closer.
“Don't force it.”
He opened his eyes.
Our gazes met.
It was strange.
There was a new distance between us.
Not because he didn't know me.
He did.
But the small missing piece had changed something.
I hated it.
“I'm sorry,” he said.
“For what?”
“I know I should feel something when I look at you.”
My chest hurt.
“Elvar.”
“But I don't know the beginning.”
I forced a smile.
“You don't have to.”
He looked at me.
“Don't have to what?”
“Force the memory.”
I swallowed.
“If it's important, maybe it'll come back later.”
That was a lie.
I didn't know.
He nodded.
Taresa suddenly said,
“Hey.”
I turned.
“What?”
She was holding the camera.
“This film doesn't seem to be meant for developing.”
I frowned.
“Then what?”
“There’s a mechanism in the canister.”
She twisted the bottom.
Click.
The canister opened.
It wasn't a roll of film.
Inside was a short strip of negative film.
And a small slip of paper.
Taresa handed it to me.
Handwriting.
I recognized it.
It wasn't mine.
Vayra's.
If Savera is reading this, it means they've already made you forget me.
My hands trembled.
I continued.
Don't trust anyone who says the cycles were created because of love.
I stopped.
Elvar moved closer.
Lirven entered the room.
I read aloud.
The cycles were created as a prison.
Silence.
I swallowed.
Not for Savera.
The next sentence:
For Elvar.
I looked at Elvar.
He froze.
I continued.
The First Savera didn't want to return to him.
She wanted to make sure Elvar could never leave.
Lirven whispered,
“No.”
I read the final line.
Because Elvar was the one who actually opened Room 404.
I stared at him.
Elvar went pale.
“Me?”
Behind us—
A piano sounded.
One note.
The bathroom door slowly closed by itself.
Then a woman's voice came from behind the mirror.
My voice.
But not me.
“Good.”
I froze.
The reflection in the mirror changed.
It wasn't my face.
Another Savera stood there.
Her hair was long.
She wore 1989 clothing.
A ring was on her finger.
Her smile was calm.
Lirven stepped back.
“The First Savera.”
The woman in the mirror looked at me.
Then at Elvar.
And said,
“At last, we can talk without Darven changing the story.”
I clenched the paper.
“You created the cycles?”
She smiled.
“Yes.”
“To imprison Elvar?”
“Yes.”
Elvar couldn't speak.
I stared at the woman.
“Why?”
Her smile disappeared.
“Because if Elvar leaves Room 404...”
She looked at the man beside me.
“...everyone in this city will die.”
I froze.
The First Savera moved closer to the mirror's surface.
“Darven isn't the biggest monster in Darwanta Guesthouse.”
She pointed at Elvar.
“He's just the man who spent thirty-seven years making sure his little brother wouldn't remember what he really is.”