Kay stood still.
"Welcome to the Core."
The space around him was different from before.
No flowing data. No moving lines.
Everything here was stable.
Controlled.
Kay looked around.
"This is where it all starts…"
"Core system active."
A structure appeared in front of him.
Simple.
Like a door made of light.
Kay stepped closer.
"What's behind this?"
"Central memory control."
Kay took a breath.
"So this is it…"
He placed his hand on the surface.
"Access request detected."
The door didn't open.
Instead—
Images appeared around him.
Not random.
Organized.
People.
Thousands of them.
Each one connected to the system.
Each one with selected memories.
Kay watched carefully.
"They're not removing everything…"
"Correction: unnecessary memories are filtered."
Kay frowned.
"Unnecessary for who?"
No answer.
More data appeared.
Charts.
Patterns.
Behavior.
Kay started to understand.
"They're controlling people… by controlling what they remember."
"Stability level: 98%."
Kay shook his head.
"This isn't stability. This is control."
The system didn't respond.
Then—
A new file appeared in front of him. "Restricted file unlocked."
Kay looked at it.
It had no name.
Just a tag:
"Subject: KAY"
His expression changed.
"Why am I here…?"
He reached for the file.
Hesitated.
Then opened it.
Images filled the space.
A room.
Machines.
People working.
And him.
Kay watched himself.
Connected to the system.
Calm.
Focused.
"No… that's not possible…"
The version of him in the memory was speaking.
"We can't remove everything," he said.
"We need balance."
Another voice answered:
"And love?"
Kay's past self paused.
Then said:
"It creates instability."
Present Kay stepped back.
"No… I wouldn't say that…"
The memory continued.
"If we want a stable world," his past self said,
"we have to limit emotional extremes."
Kay felt something break inside him.
"That means…"
"You were part of the Core development."
Kay stared at the system.
"I built this…?"
No denial.
Only confirmation.
"Yes."
Kay looked at his hands.
Slowly.
"So this is my fault…"
A new message appeared.
"Memory cost increasing."
Kay's head started to hurt again.
Images disappeared.
Details faded.
The girl's voice—
Weaker now.
"Kay…"
He held his head.
"No… not now…"
"Further access requires additional memory."
Kay looked at the Core door again.
Now he understood.
"This system doesn't just protect itself…"
He said quietly:
"It feeds on me."