"This can't be happening."
Eren clenched his teeth and dialed the number again. Once. Twice. Three times.
Nothing.
No ring. No voicemail. Not even an error.
As if the number had never existed.
"Bastard…" he muttered, fingers tense around his wristband.
He logged into the system. Searched for the doctor in black market databases, unlicensed healer networks, magic trafficking forums. Uploaded his face, his voice.
No trace. Nothing at all.
"He robbed me and vanished. Great."
He paced around the apartment, eyes wide open. His chest burned—rage or worry, he couldn't tell.
"Why would someone disappear right after saying there's a way to restore her memories…?"
He stopped.
He didn't know her name.
He didn't know who that broken-eyed, child-voiced patient really was.
All he knew was—
She wasn't normal.
And someone didn't want him helping her.
He dropped onto the couch, burying his head in his hands.
"Who the hell are you…? And why am I this deep already?"
No answers.
Only a suffocating mess of questions.
Then his wristband buzzed.
An anonymous message. No ID. Just plain text:
> "Stop going to the Institute. Don't go back. If you do, you'll die."
Eren froze.
He read the message twice. Then a third time.
No insults. No long-winded threats.
Just a cold, clean warning.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Eren let out a long sigh.
The message was still there, fixed on his screen.
Sharp. Personal.
"Don't go back. If you do, you'll die."
There was no doubt.
Someone was watching him.
And someone knew exactly what he was doing.
For a moment, he considered quitting.
Turning everything off.
Deleting the records.
Forgetting the nameless patient who stared at him with lost eyes from that chair in the Institute.
But he couldn't.
It was absurd. Stupid. Dangerous.
And yet—he couldn't.
"What's wrong with me…?"
He got up and went straight to the bathroom.
Looked at himself in the mirror.
Tired face. Deep shadows under his eyes. Same coat hanging off his shoulders.
He looked like a guy who hadn't slept properly in days.
And it wasn't just a look. It was the truth.
Outside, it was raining again.
"I could stay, go back to work, forget this," he told himself. "I don't owe her anything."
He closed his eyes.
But his mind returned to that white room—
To the girl who had looked at him without knowing how to speak, without knowing who she was.
And still… he had felt something.
"Maybe that's all it is," he whispered. "Maybe I can't ignore it because no one else sees it."
He put on his coat.
Checked his wristband battery.
Slipped two devices into his pocket and left the apartment.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Eren arrived at the Lucerna Institute.
They no longer asked for his ID.
They already knew who he was.
He walked through the halls without greeting anyone.
Lira was in her usual spot, head tilted, lips slightly parted.
She had been babbling harmless sounds for days.
Now she was playing with the fingers of her gown, like they were part of a game only she understood.
Eren sat in front of her.
He didn't activate any scanner.
He just looked at her.
"I don't know why I keep coming."
She didn't respond. Just mumbled something. A random syllable.
"I don't know who you are. Or what they did to you.
But someone important doesn't want you to remember anything."
She moved her fingers clumsily, as if playing with the air.
"And that's exactly why… I won't give up."
His voice was quiet. But firm.
"I'm going to find that artifact. The Lumen Eterna. I'm going to bring it to you.
And if someone wants to stop me… let them try."
She looked at him.
For the first time in days, her eyes focused on his for a full second.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
An hour later, he was back in his apartment.
A backpack lay tossed on the bed. He was going through documents, ID cards, magical tracking devices, and foreign exchange coins.
Preparing to leave the country without drawing attention wasn't easy.
But he had contacts. Some old, some dangerous.
All expensive.
This wasn't just an investigation anymore.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Meanwhile, in a windowless room, the same man in the dark suit was watching a looping transmission.
Eren entering the Institute.
Eren speaking with the patient.
Eren leaving.
The operator beside him whispered:
"He came back. Despite the warning."
The man didn't blink. He simply nodded.
"Then he's chosen his side."
He turned to the nearest agent.
"Activate the order. We don't want him dead… not yet."
"Abduction?"
"Yes. Fast. Before he leaves the country."
The agent nodded and left without a word.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Eren zipped up the backpack. He had packed the essentials.
His bracelet buzzed.
Incoming call: Wade (NeuroLink Supervisor)
Eren hesitated for a second, then answered.
"Eren? Where the hell are you?" Wade's voice exploded through the channel. "I've got three pending restorations and a demo tomorrow. You can't just vanish."
Eren sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"I didn't vanish. I'm working on something more important."
"More important than a corporate deal with international funding?"
"Yes. A patient who was completely erased—no records, no traces. I have reason to believe her case is tied to high-level manipulation. If we can restore her…"
"Eren. Listen to me. Drop it. There's no gain. No clearance. Don't get involved."
Eren rubbed his eyes.
"That's exactly why I'm doing it."
Silence on the line. Tense.
"What are you going to do?"
"Find the one thing that can give her back what they stole."
"You know if you go through with this… you won't be able to come back, right?"
Eren looked at his packed bag. Stood up.
"Maybe I was never meant to stay."
He ended the call.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Five blocks from the building, an unmarked black vehicle came to a stop in a narrow alley.
Four figures stepped out without a sound. Each carried compact weapons, tracking devices, and a wristband synced to their facial signature.
"Target confirmed," the squad leader whispered. "Last signal: Apartment 7B. Third floor."
The comms channel activated with a remote voice:
"Don't underestimate him. We want the subject alive… but if he tries to escape, lethal force is authorized."
The four men nodded.
And moved forward in silence.