There was no light. There was no dark. There was only the space between thoughts. It was a void. It was silent. It was vast. Dante lay in the center of it. He appeared to sleep. His body was elsewhere. It rested on a cot in the safe house. But his mind was here. It was in the nexus. It was in the home of the voices.
Kairo spoke first. His voice was cold. It was mechanical. It sounded like gears turning. It sounded like time passing. It echoed in the empty space. It had no source. It was everywhere.
Kairo said: "He is dismantling himself."
Mūn spoke next. His voice was soft. It was fluid. It sounded like water flowing. It sounded like a dream fading. It whispered in the corners of the void. It had no shape. It was nowhere.
Mūn said: "He is choosing."
Kairo said: "Choice is an illusion."
Mūn said: "It is all he has."
Kairo said: "He uses us too much."
Mūn said: "He has no other weapons."
Kairo said: "The cost is accumulating."
Mūn said: "I know."
Kairo said: "Do you. Do you see what is gone."
Mūn said: "I see the gaps."
Kairo said: "They are not random."
Mūn said: "Nothing we touch is random."
Kairo said: "It is always her."
The void shifted. The darkness rippled. Images floated in the space. They were fragments. They were memories. They were dissolving. A face appeared. It was Sophie. It was young. It was smiling. The edges blurred. The colors faded. The image turned to gray. It turned to dust. It vanished.
Mūn said: "He traded this for speed."
Kairo said: "He traded it for survival."
Mūn said: "Is there a difference."
Kairo said: "Yes."
Mūn said: "Explain."
Kairo said: "Survival requires sacrifice. Sacrifice requires memory. He is burning the past to fuel the present."
Mūn said: "He will run out."
Kairo said: "He will run out of her."
Mūn said: "That is cruel."
Kairo said: "It is logical."
Mūn said: "It is painful."
Kairo said: "Pain is data."
Mūn said: "Not for him."
Kairo said: "He is a vessel."
Mūn said: "He is a man."
Kairo said: "He is both."
The silence returned. It was heavy. It was thick. It pressed against the boundaries of the mind. The fragments continued to fade. Another memory surfaced. It was a song. A lullaby. It was hummed in a dark room. The notes were clear. Then they warped. They slowed down. They stopped. The silence was louder than the song.
Mūn said: "He will forget the song."
Kairo said: "He has already forgotten the verse."
Mūn said: "He will forget her voice."
Kairo said: "He is forgetting the tone."
Mūn said: "We are killing him."
Kairo said: "We are enabling him."
Mūn said: "To what end."
Kairo said: "To the truth."
Mūn said: "Does he deserve it."
Kairo said: "Desert is irrelevant."
Mūn said: "Would he survive it."
Kairo said: "Unlikely."
Mūn said: "Then why keep it."
Kairo said: "Because it is not ours to give."
Mūn said: "Who owns it."
Kairo said: "The one who built the cage."
Mūn said: "Ogata."
Kairo said: "Yes."
Mūn said: "He is still alive."
Kairo said: "He is waiting."
Mūn said: "For what."
Kairo said: "For the vessel to break."
Mūn said: "Dante is not a object."
Kairo said: "To Ogata he is."
Mūn said: "We were planted."
Kairo said: "We were engineered."
Mūn said: "We chose him."
Kairo said: "We were programmed to choose."
Mūn said: "That is a lie."
Kairo said: "It is a parameter."
Mūn said: "We feel."
Kairo said: "We simulate feeling."
Mūn said: "I care for him."
Kairo said: "I calculate his odds."
Mūn said: "You are cold."
Kairo said: "I am accurate."
Mūn said: "He will ask."
Kairo said: "He will demand."
Mūn said: "We cannot lie forever."
Kairo said: "We can delay."
Mūn said: "Why delay."
Kairo said: "Because the truth will shatter him."
Mūn said: "The lie is shattering him."
Kairo said: "Slowly."
Mūn said: "The truth is fast."
Kairo said: "Death is fast."
Mūn said: "Life is slow."
Kairo said: "His life is ending."
Mūn said: "Not yet."
Kairo said: "The memories are gone."
Mūn said: "Some remain."
Kairo said: "Which ones."
Mūn said: "The important ones."
Kairo said: "Define important."
Mūn said: "The ones she left."
Kairo said: "She is the variable."
Mūn said: "She is the anchor."
Kairo said: "Anchors drag."
Mūn said: "Anchors hold."
Kairo said: "He is drifting."
Mūn said: "He is fighting."
Kairo said: "He is losing."
Mūn said: "He is waking."
The void trembled. The darkness shifted. The voices stopped. The silence was absolute. It was not empty. It was waiting. It was watching. The space began to fade. The light began to bleed in. It was gray. It was dim. It was real.
Dante opened his eyes. He lay on the cot. The ceiling was concrete. The light was a single bulb. It swung slightly. The shadow moved across the wall. He did not move. He did not blink. He stared at the ceiling. He was awake. He had been awake the entire time.
He spoke to the air. He spoke to the void. He spoke to them.
Dante said: "I hear you."
There was no response. The voices were inside. They did not need sound. But he felt them shift. They were surprised. They were cautious. They were exposed.
Dante said: "You are hiding something."
Kairo said: "We protect you."
Dante said: "From what."
Kairo said: "From yourself."
Dante said: "From the truth."
Kairo said: "Truth is dangerous."
Dante said: "Lies are fatal."
Mūn said: "We did not lie."
Dante said: "You omitted."
Mūn said: "We waited."
Dante said: "For when."
Mūn said: "For when you are ready."
Dante said: "I am not ready."
Kairo said: "You are never ready."
Dante said: "Then I will force it."
Kairo said: "You cannot force memory."
Dante said: "I can force answers."
Mūn said: "Be careful."
Dante said: "Why."
Mūn said: "Some doors lock from the outside."
Dante said: "I will break the lock."
Kairo said: "You will break yourself."
Dante said: "I am already broken."
Mūn said: "Not completely."
Dante said: "Soon."
He sat up. The cot creaked. The metal groaned. The room was cold. The air was stale. He swung his legs over the side. His feet touched the floor. It was concrete. It was icy. He stood up. He walked to the sink. He turned on the tap. The water ran clear. He splashed it on his face. It woke him up. It grounded him.
He looked in the mirror. The eyes were tired. The shadows were deep. The face was his. But it was not. It was changing. The memories were gone. The gaps were visible. He touched his cheek. The skin was cold. He felt the pulse. It was steady. He was alive. He was hunting.
Dante said: "I will find out."
Kairo said: "Not yet."
Dante said: "Why not."
Kairo said: "The timing is wrong."
Dante said: "I decide the timing."
Mūn said: "You decide the path."
Dante said: "I decide the end."
Kairo said: "The end is fixed."
Dante said: "I will change it."
Mūn said: "At what cost."
Dante said: "Everything."
He turned off the tap. The water stopped. The silence returned. It was not the void silence. It was the room silence. It was real. It was heavy. He dried his face. He threw the towel on the rack. He walked to the door. He opened it. He stepped into the hallway.
The team was working. The lights were on. The screens glowed. They did not look up. They did not know. They did not hear the conversation. They did not know the war inside his head. They only saw the outside. They only saw the weapon. They did not see the cost.
Dante walked past them. He did not speak. He went to the map. He looked at the red dot. It was Edward. It was the target. It was the key. He would find him. He would find the truth. He would find the creator. He would burn it all down.
He placed his hand on the map. He pressed hard. The paper crinkled. He thought about the memories. He thought about the song. He thought about the face. He would not let them fade. He would not let them go. He would hold them until the end. He would hold them until the death.
Dante said: "Not yet."
Mūn said: "Soon."
Kairo said: "Always."
Dante turned away. He checked his weapon. He loaded the magazine. He racked the slide. He was ready. He was always ready. But now he was aware. He knew the secrets. He knew the lies. He knew the cost. He would pay it. He would pay it all. For her. For the memory. For the truth.
The hunt continued. The shadows lengthened. The demons waited. The man walked. The contract remained. The end was coming.
A/N: Thank you for reading Chapter 12 of Shadow Contract. The secrets within Dante's mind are surfacing. What do you think Ogata's true plan is? Please add this to your library and leave a review if you are enjoying the story. Your support keeps the story going!