The arena disappeared.
Not slowly.
Not gently.
It collapsed.
Like a broken illusion.
One moment I was standing on cracked stone, surrounded by pressure and silence—
The next—
Everything was gone.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
I couldn't feel the ground.
Couldn't feel my body.
Only my thoughts remained.
And then—
The memories began.
At first, they came in fragments.
Blurry.
Unstable.
Like reflections on broken glass.
A road.
Empty.
Silent.
Streetlights flickering in the distance.
I was there.
Inside a car.
My hands gripping the steering wheel.
My breathing uneven.
Fast.
Something felt wrong.
I didn't know why—
But I could feel it.
A strange tension in my chest.
Like something was about to happen.
Then—
A voice.
"Bhai…"
Soft.
Familiar.
I froze.
That voice—
"…slow down."
My hands tightened.
The car slowed slightly.
I turned my head.
She was sitting beside me.
Lily.
Her face was clear now.
Not blurred.
Not distant.
Real.
Her eyes were calm.
But there was something behind them.
Something I didn't understand.
"Why are you so quiet?" I asked.
My own voice sounded different.
Normal.
Alive.
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she looked out the window.
The streetlights passed by, one after another.
Then she said—
"Do you ever feel like something is going to happen…"
Her voice was low.
"…but you don't know what?"
A chill ran through me.
Even in the memory.
"I don't like that kind of talk," I said.
She smiled slightly.
Not happily.
Just… softly.
"You never do."
Silence filled the car.
Then—
Everything changed.
Headlights.
Too bright.
Too sudden.
A figure appeared on the road.
Out of nowhere.
My heart stopped.
"What—?!"
I slammed the brakes.
The tires screamed against the road.
The car lost control.
Everything moved too fast.
Too chaotic.
I turned the wheel.
The world spun.
And then—
Impact.
The sound echoed through my mind like it never ended.
Metal.
Glass.
Breaking.
My body jerked forward.
Pain exploded through me.
Then—
Silence.
The memory shattered.
I gasped.
My body returned.
The darkness around me pulsed.
My chest rose and fell violently.
"No…" I whispered.
"That's not… complete…"
Something was missing.
Something important.
The memory felt cut.
Like a piece had been removed.
Or hidden.
Before I could think further—
The space around me shifted.
Not like before.
Not the arena.
Something else.
Controlled.
Stable.
A dim light appeared.
Soft.
Cold.
And then—
He was there.
Standing a few steps away.
Watching me.
The same man.
The one who saved me.
My breathing slowed slightly.
"You again…" I said.
He didn't respond immediately.
His eyes studied me.
Not my body.
My mind.
"You saw it," he said.
Not a question.
I clenched my fists.
"Not everything."
He nodded once.
"As expected."
Frustration rose inside me.
"What does that mean?"
He stepped closer.
This place didn't feel like the arena.
There was no pressure.
No danger.
Just him.
And me.
"Your memory is incomplete," he said.
"I can tell."
He looked at me for a moment.
Then—
"You're not remembering it wrong."
A pause.
"You're remembering it partially."
My chest tightened.
"What's missing?"
He didn't answer directly.
Instead, he said—
"Tell me what you saw."
I hesitated.
Then spoke.
"The road… Lily… someone appeared…"
My voice slowed.
"The crash…"
Silence.
He watched me carefully.
"And?"
I frowned.
"That's it."
He shook his head slightly.
"No."
My heart skipped.
"That's not all."
A chill ran through me.
"What do you mean?"
He stepped even closer now.
His presence was calmer here.
But still overwhelming.
"You're avoiding something."
"I'm not—"
"You are."
His voice cut through mine instantly.
Sharp.
Certain.
I froze.
Because deep inside—
I knew.
He was right.
"There was a moment," he continued,
"just before the impact."
My breathing slowed.
"Think."
My mind resisted.
But the memory pulled me in again.
The road.
The headlights.
The figure—
And then—
A second.
Just one second.
Where everything slowed down.
Where I had control.
Where I could choose.
My eyes widened.
"…no."
"Yes," he said quietly.
"You remember now."
My hands trembled.
"There was… a choice…"
The words felt heavy.
Painful.
"What choice?" I whispered.
He looked at me.
Directly.
"Who to save."
My chest tightened violently.
"No…"
The memory surged again.
Stronger.
Clearer.
The car spinning.
The figure on the road—
And Lily beside me.
Two directions.
Two outcomes.
My grip on the wheel tightening.
My decision—
I stepped back.
"No… I didn't—"
"You did."
His voice was calm.
But absolute.
"You chose."
My heart pounded uncontrollably.
"I didn't mean to—"
"It doesn't matter."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
Tears blurred my vision.
"I didn't want—"
"Intent doesn't change outcome."
His words hit harder than anything before.
I couldn't breathe properly.
"I… I don't remember what I chose…"
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then said—
"That's because your mind isn't ready to accept it."
The truth.
Hidden.
Locked.
"Then why am I here?" I asked.
My voice broke.
"Why this place… why me…?"
He turned slightly.
Looking into the distance.
"The Soulbound Arena doesn't take people randomly."
A pause.
"It takes people who are tied to something unresolved."
My chest tightened.
"Your choice created something incomplete."
Incomplete.
The word echoed inside me.
"Until that is resolved," he continued,
"you'll remain connected to this place."
My mind struggled.
"Then Lily…"
He interrupted.
"She completed her path."
A silence followed.
Different.
"She moved forward."
Elysium.
The word came back to me.
"And me?" I asked quietly.
He looked at me again.
"You're stuck."
The answer was simple.
But brutal.
Before I could respond—
The space around us began to break.
Like glass cracking.
His time was ending.
He stepped back.
"You'll return now."
"No—wait!"
I stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
For the first time—
He paused.
Then—
A faint smile appeared.
"You'll figure that out later."
The cracks spread.
The space collapsed.
"And Anshu—"
His voice echoed one last time.
"Next time you remember…"
A pause.
"Don't lie to yourself."
And then—
He was gone.
The world shattered again.
Darkness took over.
And I was falling.
Back into the Soulbound Arena.