Roger's footsteps were soft on the wooden stairs as she climbed upward, her heart racing for no clear reason. The house felt warm, familiar… but also strangely empty, like a memory trying too hard to feel real. She reached the top step and paused, listening.
A small rustling sound came from the hallway.
Roger held her breath.
Then—"Mrrp."
Her pet cat slid out from behind the corner, rubbing its head against her leg. Roger let out a long sigh and dropped to her knees, stroking its soft fur.
"So it was just you…" she whispered.
But her eyes drifted to the door at the end of the hallway—her parents' room.
She stood up slowly and opened it.
Her father's clothes were still on the chair. The familiar perfume her mother used to wear was still faint in the air. But the bed on her mother's side was empty, untouched, cold.
Roger didn't feel shocked.
Not anymore.
Her mother had left after her younger brother died.She divorced her father shortly afterwards.This memory… wasn't lying. It was showing the truth exactly how it was.
Roger stepped back, closing the door gently, the cat following her like it knew she needed company.
Just then—A distant boom echoed somewhere far away.
But she didn't hear it.That sound belonged to another place.
Somewhere between memories…
The white shadow slammed into the wall, its glowing form flickering.Across from it, the black shadow growled low, its edges jagged like tearing smoke.
"You saved them," the black shadow hissed, swinging an arm of darkness. "But why only them? Why not the others who came before?"
The white shadow rose silently.Then, without answering, rushed forward.
Their clash shook the strange room.
Kim's memory:
Kim was still in the dimly lit room, the wall of clues in front of him. Every photograph, every note, every scribbled message… all pointed in one direction.
Back to their school.
"It all starts there…" Kim muttered, scanning every detail again and again.
A sudden beep-beep-beep broke the silence.
Kim jumped, then realized—It was his alarm clock.
Except…
He didn't turn it off.
A small hand reached over and switched the alarm off.Young Tony stood beside him, rubbing his eyes.
"Morning, Kim…" he said, voice tiny and soft.
Kim blinked. "You… you're awake?"
Tony smiled, innocent and unbroken by the future.He walked over to the bed where young Roger was sleeping, curled like a kitten.
"Roger! Wake up!" he said, shaking her shoulder.
She groaned loudly and rolled over. "Five more minutes…"
"No! Wake up! We have school!" Tony said.
Roger dragged herself up, hair messy, eyes half-open. "Ugh… fine…"
Kim watched the scene, shocked.This wasn't a memory he lived…This was one he entered.
And something about the way the three of them moved together felt wrong—Like time wasn't replaying normally.
Downstairs, Tony's parents were sitting at the dining table.
Tony froze.
"You… you both came for breakfast?" he asked. "How? Why? Don't you have work?"
They looked at each other.Then looked at him.
"We had to be here," his father said softly.
"For what?" Tony asked.
They didn't answer.
The shadows again…
The black shadow pinned the white one down."Tell me why you chose these six!"
The white shadow pushed back, light bursting out of it, throwing the black shadow across the room.
"They are not like the others," the white shadow finally said.
And the fight continued, even fiercer.
Samy's memory:
Samy bolted across the school canteen, clutching her tray like a shield. She saw her sister entering from the other side and immediately changed direction.
"No no no—don't come here—" Samy muttered.
Her sister spotted her instantly.
"SAMY! Wait up!"
"I don't want attention!" Samy whispered harshly, but she kept running.
Her sister, clueless as ever, chased behind her.Like always.
Tin's memory:
Tin was wandering around the strange room he appeared in. The walls were covered with carvings, drawings, old symbols that seemed to move if he stared too long.
He reached out and touched one.
The wall pulsed like a heartbeat.
Tin stepped back. "Okay… not touching that again."
He walked deeper in, feeling like something was waiting for him to notice it.
Jet's memory:
Jet pedaled her bicycle fast through the midnight forest. The track was familiar, but the shadows weren't.
Every few seconds—
crunchA branch broke behind her.
Jet looked back.
Nothing.
She stopped her cycle, breathing hard."Who's following me…?" she whispered.
The forest didn't answer.But something moved just out of sight.
She got back on the cycle and pedaled faster.
Meanwhile…
All six of them were stuck.Not just in memories—but in versions of their past twisted slowly by the gate.
And the shadows continued their war.
The white shadow staggered, nearly falling.The black shadow circled it, sneering.
"You protect them… but you don't know what they truly are," the black shadow hissed. "They are breaking the rules. They should have been consumed—just like the others."
"They are different," the white shadow said, voice echoing like wind.
The black shadow roared and charged.
The room shook.Walls cracked.Light and darkness collided like storms.
"They are the only ones who still remember hope," the white shadow whispered as it blocked a blow.
The black shadow snarled. "Hope is useless inside the tenth gate!"
Their clash sent a shockwave across every memory—
Roger felt her house tremble.Tony dropped his spoon.Samy's sister stumbled.Tin grabbed the wall for balance.Jet's bicycle skidded.Kim's clue wall flickered.
For a moment…
All six felt the same cold wind rush through them.
The shadows' war was bleeding into their worlds.
And none of them could escape it now.