Kay didn't answer immediately.
"Replace them… how?"
The man looked at the screen.
"They reset your identity," he said.
"Your memories, your personality… everything."
The woman continued:
"You become like everyone outside."
Kay thought about the people in the street.
Empty.
Controlled.
"So I don't just disappear," he said.
"I become one of them."
"Exactly."
Kay took a deep breath.
"Then I don't have much time."
"No," the man said.
"You don't."
The room went quiet again, but this time it felt different.
More like planning than confusion.
Kay looked at both of them.
"So what do we do?"
The woman and the man exchanged a look.
Then the man spoke:
"We fight back."
Kay raised an eyebrow.
"With what?"
The woman tapped the screen.
"With access."
A map appeared.
Inside it, there was a marked point.
"The Archive you entered is not the main system," she said.
"It's just an access point."
Kay leaned closer.
"So there's a center."
The man nodded.
"Yes. The Core."
Kay looked at the map.
"That's where everything is controlled?"
"Everything," the woman confirmed.
Kay stayed focused.
"Then we go there."
The man shook his head.
"Not directly."
"Why?"
"Because it's protected," he replied.
"Even we can't enter it."
Kay frowned.
"Then what's the plan?"
The woman pointed at another point on the map.
"This is a data relay station," she said.
"It connects smaller Archives to the Core."
Kay understood quickly.
"So if we access that…"
"We get closer to the system," the man finished.
Kay nodded slowly.
"That's our first step."
The woman looked at him.
"You just arrived and you're already ready to go?"
Kay didn't hesitate.
"They're already tracking me. Waiting won't help."
The man gave a small approving nod.
"Good," he said.
"That's exactly why we need you."
Kay looked at him.
"Why me?"
The man answered clearly this time:
"You've already connected to the system once."
Kay's expression tightened.
"And that means," the man continued,
"you might be the only one who can break it from inside."
Kay looked at the map again.
Then at them.
"Then let's start."
The woman stopped him.
"Not yet."
Kay frowned.
"What now?"
She looked directly into his eyes.
"If you go deeper into the system…"
She paused.
"You will lose more memories."
Kay stayed silent.
The girl's voice echoed in his mind.
"Don't forget me…"
Kay closed his eyes for a second.
Then opened them.
"I already started losing them," he said.
The man nodded.
"Then be ready," he said.
Kay took one last look at the map.
This wasn't just about answers anymore.
It was a choice.
Truth…
or himself.
"Trace signal increasing…"
Somewhere, far from them
A system screen lit up.
"Prepare reset protocol."