🌫️ 'Leo the Cat Hero of the Time Ring' Episode 2, Part 1

'The Door of Memory and the False Truth'
I was walking deep into the library.

Clutching that book in my hands.
The 'story of me,' with no name written on the cover.

Liina's footsteps were right behind me.
In this hushed space, the sound echoed loudly.

After passing through the circular corridor, we reached an even deeper level.

Piles of books were stacked densely along the walls.
The arches supporting the ceiling were carved with characters I had never seen before.

'...Can you read this?'

'These are ancient records. I believe they were used by the "People of Time."
No one can read them perfectly anymore, though.'

Liina's voice seemed to be gazing at something far away.

"People of Time"—
I don't know who they are.
But the moment I touched those words, the depths of my chest suddenly grew warm.

As if the words had awakened a landscape I had forgotten.

—

Before long, at the end of the corridor, "another door" appeared.

This door was much older and much quieter than the previous one.

However, every time I approached it, my heartbeat quickened.

Something was stirring inside my chest.

'What is on the other side of this?'

I asked Liina.

She lowered her eyes as if thinking for a moment, then replied:

'...I don't know. Neither do I.
They say this door can only be opened by those who have touched the "Book of Memories."
But there are no records anywhere of anyone who has gone inside.'

'No records... you mean?'

'It might mean they never came back.'

Liina's voice trembled just a little.

But I no longer thought about turning back.

Why was that?
Even though I should have been afraid, the depths of my chest were burning, as if craving something.

It was a desire to "know."

Why was I called a "hero"?
Why did I lose my memories?
Why am I here?

I felt that all of those answers lay ahead.

'Liina...'

'Yes, I know. Let's go, Leo.'

She raised her staff.
Then, the book I was holding began to glow faintly.

The moment that light touched the patterns on the door—

There was a click.

In the silence where time seemed to have stopped, the door slowly opened.

—

The inside was like another dimension.

It was so high the ceiling was invisible, and the surroundings were covered in white mist.
However, it was not natural mist.

Particles of memory were drifting through the air.

Like light, like sound, like a voice.

Everything quietly circled around me.

'Where is this...?'

'The "Corridor of Memories." The boundary between the past and the future.
In this space, memories themselves drift as entities.
Someone's memory, the memory of something... everything is dissolved in this mist.'

Liina's words were swallowed into the mist.

And then, a single memory floated up in front of me.

It was "my voice."

But it wasn't the "me of now."

—"This is fine. This is the path I chose."

—"Even if it's a lie... as long as I can protect them. Even if only for a moment..."

'...Is this... me?'

I couldn't find the words.
But that voice was certainly my own.

A voice from somewhere in the past that had truly "resolved" itself.

'That is... the memory of your "choice."

Liina said quietly.

'But this... isn't this the voice that chose a "lie"?'

'Yes. That is exactly why you must question it again "beyond the door."

—

Then, the center of the space began to shine.

What emerged there was a mirror.

However, that mirror did not reflect one's "appearance."

What was reflected there was—

"Another me."

No, I didn't want to think that.
But those eyes, those hands, that sword—it was unmistakably me.

However, he had cold eyes.

He held his sword in the opposite hand from mine and stared at me in silence.

'What is this...?'

'"Another possibility" that you yourself created.
The Door of Memory asks you a question.
"Are you truly prepared to remember?"'

My chest was buzzing.

'Then... is that an enemy?'

'...No. It is you yourself.
But if you cannot defeat it, the Door of Memory will not open.'

The moment she said that, the "me" in the mirror began to walk slowly.

One step, then another.

Eventually, that figure stepped out of the mirror—

And standing before me was "another Hero Leo."

'Is this... a trial?'

Something dwelled in my hand as I reached to draw my sword.

It was light.

The "memory of the book" took the form of a sword.

A cold, yet somehow nostalgic sensation.
As if it had always been in this hand—

'Do I have to fight?'

Liina did not answer my question.

She simply watched over me quietly.

The other "me" raised his sword.

Without a word, he took a step forward.

The moment that sword was swung down, I—

—

(▶ Continued: Episode 2, Part 2 "The Mirror Hero, The Battle of Memory")

📘 Thank you for reading until the end!

This story is a fantasy series depicting the journey of Leo the cat and the girl Liina.
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