Kay followed the man through several streets.
They walked fast, but not running.
No one around them reacted.
After a few minutes, they reached an old building.
It looked abandoned.
Broken windows. Dust. No lights.
The man stopped at the door.
He looked around once, then knocked in a specific pattern.
A small click came from inside.
The door opened.
"Get in," the man said.
Kay stepped inside.
The door closed behind him immediately.
The inside was completely different.
Clean. Active.
Screens, cables, lights.
And people.
Not many.
But enough to notice something important.
Their eyes.
They were not empty.
Kay looked around.
"These people… they're like you."
The man nodded.
"We remember."
A woman approached them.
She looked at Kay carefully.
"He's the one?" she asked.
"Yes," the man replied.
"He's been marked."
Her expression changed.
Serious now.
"That means they're already watching," she said.
Kay stepped forward.
"Then stop talking around me and explain what's going on."
The room went quiet for a second.
Not tense.
Just focused.
The man looked at him.
"Fair."
He pointed to one of the screens.
"Everything you saw in the Archive… it's only part of the system," he said.
The screen showed data. Faces. Memory files.
"They don't just store memories. They edit them."
Kay nodded slowly.
"I figured that part."
The woman crossed her arms.
"What you don't know is why."
She pressed something on the screen.
A new image appeared.
The city.
"Years ago, people started losing control," she said.
"Too many emotions. Too many conflicts."
Kay frowned.
"So they fixed it by removing memories?"
"Not exactly," the man replied.
"They filter them."
Kay looked at him.
"Meaning?"
"They remove pain. Fear. strong attachment."
Kay's jaw tightened.
"And love?"
The woman didn't hesitate.
"Especially love."
Kay looked away for a second.
That explained a lot.
"They created a stable world," the man continued.
"No chaos. No suffering."
Kay shook his head.
"This isn't stable. This is empty."
No one argued.
Because they agreed.
Kay looked back at them.
"Then why are you different?"
The woman answered this time.
"We found a way to protect some of our memories."
"Not all," the man added.
"But enough to know the truth."
Kay stayed silent for a moment.
Thinking.
Then he asked:
"And me?"
The room focused on him again.
"You're different," the man said.
"You accessed a restricted memory."
"And survived," the woman added.
Kay crossed his arms.
"So what does that make me?"
The man looked straight at him.
"A problem… for them."
Kay gave a small smile.
"Good."
The woman didn't smile back.
"That also makes you a target."
Kay nodded.
"I already know that."
The man stepped closer.
"Then you should also know this," he said.
He paused for a second.
"They don't just erase people."
Kay's expression changed slightly.
"They replace them."