Guardians of The Damned-Chapter 51: Filling Memory

Her gaze drifted, landing on my shoulder—on Calvin. Her eyes narrowed slightly, startled by something. I turned to look at him too.

Maybe it was Clara's story, or something deeper, but Calvin's hatred radiated off him. It was intense... yet tightly caged. Then I saw it: the turbulence in his shadow. It flickered wildly, like fire desperate to consume everything.

"Why are you angry, child?" Clara asked, puzzled. "It's my sister who suffered. Why does it upset you so much?"

"How could it not?" His voice trembled with rage. "Your sister didn't do anything wrong. She got dragged into this... just like I did."

Maybe that fury wasn't just for Clara's sister. Maybe it was also for himself—for being thrust into this world by a father who never gave him a choice.

"Big sis Clara," Calvin said, his voice softer now, "if we save your sister... will you help us uncover what Vie is really planning?"

Clara paused for a long time. Then, quietly, she sighed and looked at me.

"Sunny... with his help, I'm starting to see it now. This boy—he's not just another variable. He's proof that there's still something unpredictable in all of this. Something... hopeful."

She turned back to Calvin, eyes more curious than cautious.

"But before we lean on that hope... I want to know what they've done to you."

Calvin blinked. "Done to me?"

"Your memories," she said. "If Synth or Vie tampered with them, you might be holding pieces of the truth without even knowing it."

I stiffened. "It wasn't them who tampered with his mind. Someone else did. And we need to know who... and what they're hiding."

Clara nodded, didn't press further. She extended her hand toward the glass separating us—then passed right through.

"It won't hurt. Not physically, anyway."

Calvin looked at me. I gave a small nod.

"Do it," I said.

He hopped off my shoulder and sat in my lap, resting his forehead gently against her palm. Something passed from her into him—threading through his skull like glowing veins.

It was grotesque. I'd expected something graceful—soft light, maybe. Not this.

Calvin let out a soft groan. His breath turned ragged. His body went limp.

I caught him before he collapsed.

"Clara, if anything happens to him—"

"You'll make me pay. I know," she said evenly. Unfazed.

Then Calvin jerked. His body twitched violently, breath sharp and uneven. I held him, trying to steady him—

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"Stop it! I don't want to!" he suddenly shouted, leaping up. Too fast. Too smooth.

BAM!

His fist smashed into my face like a wrecking ball. I flew backward, slammed into the door, and the room shuddered with the impact.

He panted, eyes wide. Guilt flickered across his face.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"You punched me."

He blinked, horrified. "I'm sorry, Uncle!"

"It's alright." I wiped the blood from my nose with my sleeve.

"So," I said, rising. "What did you see?"

"I remember everything now."

I smiled faintly. "Good. What did you remember?"

He hesitated—but Clara answered instead.

"Don't worry, Sunny. It's nothing serious. It won't affect our plan."

I studied Calvin for a few seconds longer, then let it go. "Alright."

As I made my way back to the chair, I could feel Calvin's anxious gaze on me. He shook it off, steeling himself.

He stood beside me, staring at his hands like they were foreign.

"I remember the missions. The blood. I didn't even question it."

His voice shook, but he didn't cry.

"It wasn't until the real me came back that I understood—I was a weapon. Will made me into one."

Clara's jaw tightened—not at him, but at those who let it happen.

"And now?" I asked.

"He erased those parts of me before sending me to Revenant. Said it was part of some promise to my father."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah. Your father wouldn't have wanted this. But he didn't care. He used you until you were spent."

Clara turned to me, her face unreadable. "You knew?"

"I suspected. The handoff was too clean. Too many gaps. The timeline didn't fit."

I crouched beside Calvin, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"You're not their machine anymore. You don't have to be what they made you."

Clara looked away, her voice a murmur.

"My sister... she's probably going through the same thing right now."

The words lingered like smoke.

Calvin stood, hands trembling.

"Then we save her," he said. "Before she loses herself like I almost did." He turned for the door.

I caught his arm. "Easy, kid. We need a plan. This place is crawling with S-grade Honors. Storming in now would just get us all killed."