Lyra stood in front of the exit to the Kronos room, her thoughts no longer the same. Everything she had believed in was beginning to change. The past she thought was over had apparently been following right behind her all along.
The countdown on the screen kept moving.
23:45:12.
23:45:11.
Every second felt like a blow.
Arka walked toward her.
“You don’t have to face this alone.”
Lyra looked at him.
“I know.”
“Then why do you look like someone who’s decided to carry everything alone?”
Lyra fell silent.
Because Arka was right.
She had always been like that.
When there was a problem, she looked for a way out by herself. When she was hurt, she hid it. When she was afraid, she pretended to be strong.
“I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me.”
Arka sighed.
“Lyra, listen to me.”
He looked at Lyra seriously.
“You’re not a problem that needs to be solved.”
The words left Lyra speechless.
It had been a long time since anyone had said something like that to her.
Nadia gave them a small smile.
“Finally, someone who can make Lyra stop blaming herself.”
Lyra looked at her.
“Don’t start.”
“I’m just stating a fact.”
Ezra, who had been silent until then, looked at the screen.
“We don’t have much time.”
Everyone turned back to the countdown.
23:40:03.
Raven walked toward the main computer.
“There’s one way.”
Lyra immediately turned to him.
“What?”
“We have to enter the Kronos control center.”
Ezra looked opposed to the idea.
“That’s too dangerous.”
Raven looked at him.
“If we don’t, the system will fully activate.”
“And if we do?”
Raven fell silent.
Lyra understood at once.
“The risk is huge.”
Raven nodded.
“Yes.”
Nadia furrowed her brow.
“What kind of risk?”
Arka answered quietly.
“Lyra’s memories could change again.”
The room immediately fell silent.
Lyra looked at Raven.
“So that’s why you’ve been afraid to let me go in there?”
Raven didn’t answer.
“What if I lose my memories again?”
“You could lose a part of yourself.”
Lyra gave a small smile.
“Funny.”
“What?”
“All this time, I’ve been afraid of losing my memories, even though maybe I never really knew who I was in the first place.”
No one contradicted her.
Because everyone knew there was a truth that had yet to be uncovered.
They moved toward the control center.
The corridor leading to the main room seemed to grow longer and longer. The walls were covered in old screens that suddenly lit up as they passed.
Various records appeared.
Names.
Dates.
Experiment results.
And one name that kept appearing.
Lyra.
Nadia stopped to look at one of the screens.
“This…”
Lyra moved closer.
An old recording was displayed there.
Dated eight years ago.
Its title was:
Final Subject.
Lyra pressed the play button.
The recording showed Dr. Varen.
A man with a cold expression standing in front of the camera.
“The final experiment is about to begin.”
The voice in the recording was clear.
“The subject has demonstrated the ability to withstand memory manipulation.”
Dr. Varen looked toward someone off-camera.
“We can’t erase her will.”
Lyra froze.
She recognized that voice.
The voice of a young Raven.
“Then stop.”
Dr. Varen laughed.
“No. That’s exactly what makes her interesting.”
The recording stopped.
Lyra stood motionless.
“Raven tried to stop them.”
Raven lowered his head.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Because after that night, everything changed.”
Lyra looked at him.
“What happened?”
Raven looked toward the screen.
“I got you out of this place.”
“And?”
“I tried to give you a normal life.”
Lyra let out a quiet laugh.
“Normal?”
She pointed at all the screens.
“Look around. My life was never normal.”
Raven accepted her words without defending himself.
“I know.”
For the first time, Lyra saw regret on Raven’s face.
But before she could say anything, another voice came through the speakers.
“Still holding on to old stories, Raven?”
Everyone stopped at once.
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
Dr. Varen.
“You’ve always been weak because you care too much about humans.”
Raven clenched his fists.
“You should have disappeared by now.”
“But I’m still here.”
Lyra looked around.
“Where are you?”
Dr. Varen gave a quiet laugh.
“You still like asking questions that don’t matter.”
“Then what matters?”
“Are you ready to find out why you were chosen?”
Lyra stared at the screen.
“I already know enough.”
“No.”
Dr. Varen’s voice turned serious.
“You’ve only seen the surface.”
The main screen lit up.
An image appeared.
Not data.
Not a recording.
But a family photo of Lyra.
Lyra froze instantly.
“That’s…”
Nadia moved closer.
“Lyra?”
In the photo was a young Lyra.
Beside her was a woman she knew very well.
Her mother.
But there was someone else.
Someone she had never remembered all this time.
A man stood behind them.
Dr. Varen.
“What connection does he have to my family?”
There was no answer.
Only Dr. Varen’s voice.
“Finally, you’re starting to remember.”
Lyra clutched her head.
Fragments of memories began to surface.
A room.
Her mother’s voice.
Crying.
And a sentence that had been missing from her mind all this time.
“Run, Lyra. Don’t let them take your time.”
Lyra opened her eyes.
Her breathing became uneven.
Arka immediately moved closer.
“Do you remember something?”
Lyra looked at them.
“I’ve heard that sentence before.”
“What?”
Lyra looked at the countdown.
23:10:45.
“Fifteen years ago…”
She stopped.
“I wasn’t Kronos’s first victim.”
Everyone fell silent.
“Then who was?” Ezra asked.
Lyra stared at the screen displaying Dr. Varen’s face.
“The first person who tried to stop them.”
Her voice trembled.
“Was my mother.”
And for the first time, Lyra realized that her pursuit of time had not begun when Arka disappeared.
It had all started long before she understood what loss meant.