CHAPTER 82: TWINSTER: ERASED

Hearing Silas’ story, Lucien’s eyes widened. Those amethyst irises shimmered, then spilled tears as the pieces finally slid into place.

The memories came back the way nightmares do, blurred around the edges and filtered through the lens of that filthy old camera.

His mind tried to resist, but the pain pushed through anyway. He clutched his head, breathing sharply, while Silas stared at him with rising panic.

"Lucien! What’s wrong? Damn it, I’ll call the doctor!"

Silas pulled him close, holding him as if sheer force could stop whatever was happening.

The pain dulled only slightly beneath the comforting weight of Silas’ scent. Lucien forced his eyes open.

"Silas, look at me," he whispered through ragged breaths. "I’m sorry... for leaving you behind. I’m so sorry."

Silas froze. The helpless expression he used to hide as a child flickered across his face, but this time there was something else mixed in.

Relief. His hand rose gently, resting against Lucien’s cheek.

"It’s alright," Silas said softly. "We’re together now."

Lucien nodded, though his vision blurred at the edges. The pain felt as if someone was prying open his skull, but beneath the agony, he sensed Silas’s warmth.

The Twinster he lost. The Twinster he found again. Lucien finally relaxed and let go. He collapsed into Silas’s arms as the darkness claimed him.

He found them again.

***

Lucien remembered the fire devouring everything around them. His heart sank at the thought of leaving the Twinster behind.

He promised he would come back for them. He had to. But before he could return, someone grabbed his arm and yanked him backward.

He turned and saw the half-burned face of the man who had tried to violate him.

"You’re coming with me," the man snarled.

Lucien fought with everything he had, but he was too small. He knew this man could easily kill him, yet the only thing on his mind was the Twinster.

He screamed until his throat burned.

"No! Stop! Let me go! They’re still there! I have to go back! HELP!"

The one who came for him wasn’t his father. It was the old man—the wicked one—calm as ever.

"Good. You brought him," the old man said, pulling Lucien’s wrist from Andrea’s grip. "I’ll handle the rest. Come along."

Andrea followed reluctantly, glaring at Lucien even now. The boy struggled again, frantic and terrified.

"Let go of me, idiots." He bit the old man’s hand with all the strength he had left.

He was thrown against the wall. Pain exploded through his back and the world dimmed. Even then, he forced himself to stay conscious. He needed to tell his father. He needed to save the Twinster.

Someone lifted him again. Voices blurred. Through the ringing in his ears, he recognized Cesare’s voice.

"This is your son, as promised."

"You said no scratches. His clothes are torn and he’s covered in bruises."

"Oh? Are you planning to cancel our agreement?"

"That depends on how you fix this."

"Very well. Take him."

Lucien felt himself being handed over. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know he was in his father’s arms. He reached out weakly.

Then a gunshot cracked through the air.

A body hit the floor.

"Is that satisfactory?"

Cesare didn’t answer. Lucien felt him turn, carrying him out of the building.

"Don’t forget, Cesare! You promised to marry her!"

Lucien tried to speak. "Dad... the Twinster... help them..." His voice faded. Everything faded.

He was swallowed by the dark once more.

***

When Lucien opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Mikhail. The moment their gazes met, Lucien jolted upright and grabbed the man’s shirt.

"Where are Adrian and Silas? Did you find them? They were trying to save me in that building."

Mikhail looked taken aback. Confusion flickered across his face before something clicked in his memory. Without answering, he stood abruptly.

"Wait here. I will tell everyone."

Lucien obeyed, waiting as the day slowly faded into night. When Cesare finally appeared, Lucien felt a spark of hope.

He sat up, expecting news, but his father placed a small sneaker in his hands instead.

It was far too tiny for him. Dark stains marked the fabric. Lucien recognized it immediately. Adrian’s shoe.

"I am sorry, Lucien. That is the only thing we managed to recover," Cesare said softly while brushing a hand over Lucien’s hair.

"We searched everywhere, but the building had already collapsed. Adrian and Silas are gone."

The words crashed through Lucien like thunder. His ears rang. His heart felt crushed beneath the weight of it.

He hurled the shoe back at his father, tears gushing down his cheeks as he screamed.

"You are lying. They cannot die. They have not died. I promised them I would come back. They said they would find a way back to me."

He pounded Cesare’s chest with small, furious fists, unable to stop. "Search again. They would not die. They are strong, just like me."

His voice shook, his eyes locked on his father’s, both pairs the same shade of purple.

"Please, Dad. I will never ask for anything again. I only want them back. Adrian hates darkness, and even if Silas acts mature, he gets scared too."

"They are waiting for me and they will not leave until I find them."

Cesare wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly. "They are in a peaceful place now. Nothing can hurt them anymore."

The sentence struck Lucien deeper than any blow. His father had said something similar when his mother died, and hearing it again felt like a final confirmation. The truth settled in his soul, slow and agonizing.

Were Adrian and Silas truly gone? If they were, then it was because of him. How could he live with that?

Something inside his chest tore open. It felt as if someone had ripped out a piece of him and shoved the empty space back into place, leaving him hollow. His eyes dimmed, and the warmth in them faded along with his will.

Lucien stopped crying. He stopped eating. He stopped moving. He curled into bed and stayed there, sleeping as much as he could just to dream of the Twinster. Dreaming hurt, but waking hurt more.

Everyone he loved was disappearing one by one, and every time, it was because of him.

He wondered if his mother and the Twinster would still be alive if he had never existed. Would they have been happier?

Nightmares returned again and again. Sleep no longer gave comfort. He woke to grief and slept to guilt. Even his dreams blamed him.

The figure of Adrian and Silas slowly faded, and every time they did he screamed and cried, hated himself for it, trying to remember them even more by hurling his head to the wall.

Lucien could not bear it anymore. Cesare could not bear watching him either.

One day, Cesare brought him to meet someone whose face Lucien later could not recall. They sat together, and the stranger gave him a strange piece of candy.

He ate it because he had no strength left to refuse. Warmth washed over him. His limbs grew heavy. His mind drifted, calm and floaty, as if resting on a cloud.

Then the stranger spoke.

"That day, you were alone in the building. You saved yourself, but someone dragged you away."

"That is wrong. I was with Silas and Adrian. The Twinster helped me get out."

"No, Lucien. You were alone. You never had friends named Silas and Adrian. They were part of your imagination."

"You are wrong. They exist. They just do not exist anymore."

"Are you sure? Can you remember them clearly? Their hair color. Their eyes."

Lucien fell silent.

"Or were they only creations of your mind?"

"I do not know. I think they exist."

"They never did. You were not kidnapped. Your father only kept you someplace unusual and it ended badly."

Lucien felt himself sinking deeper into sleep. The man’s words blurred, then sharpened, turning strangely convincing.

He tried to remember the Twinster, but the details slipped through his fingers.

Had they never existed?

"They never existed, Lucien. All of it was your nightmare."

"Twinster never existed."