Chapter 9 – Because of You, Noah

“Alice… is that really you?”

I reached out a trembling hand. Just as my fingers brushed against her, she looked up, her eyes cold, distant, piercing me with a gaze that saw straight through my soul.

This wasn’t Alice. Alice was kind, gentle. She never looked at me like this.

“Why did you leave me, oppa?”

“No… no, that’s not… I tried to…”

“Why did you leave me there, that day? Why didn’t you listen?”

My mind went blank, then filled with the memories I’d tried so hard to suppress. The memories of
that day
.

We were wandering, refugees in a dying world, scavenging for scraps, barely surviving. Days blurred into weeks, each one a desperate struggle against hunger, against despair. Alice, ever cheerful, always smiling, insisted she was fine, but her small body was growing thinner, weaker. Yuri, too, tried to hide her suffering, but her pale face and hunched shoulders betrayed her.

“oppa, I’m okay! Really! I’m not even hungry!” Alice’s forced smile broke my heart.

“Don’t lie,” I’d said, my voice weary. “You’re both starving.”

We were huddled beneath a tree, seeking shelter from the relentless drizzle. The cold seeped into our bones, chilling us to the core.

That’s when I saw it. A massive stone door, half-hidden amongst the trees, incongruous in its size and grandeur.

“What is that?”

“oppa, wait!” Alice tugged at my sleeve, her voice filled with apprehension. “It could be dangerous.”

But I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t bear to see them suffer any longer.

“We haven’t eaten in days, Alice. I’m fine, but you and Yuri… you need food.”

“But oppa… are you sure? What if it’s a trap…?”

“I have to try,” I’d said, my voice firm. “I’ll do anything for you two.”

I gently pushed her hand away. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”

“No, Noah!” Yuri protested. “Let’s go together. I don’t want to be separated.”

“Sister Yuri’s right,” Alice chimed in. “Let’s go together, oppa.”

We approached the stone door. It was heavy, its rusty hinges groaning in protest as I pushed it open. Beyond lay a vast chamber, the remnants of some ancient civilization: towering stone pillars, intricate carvings, a glowing altar at the center of the room. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and something… ancient.

I moved towards the altar, drawn by an irresistible force. Resting on its surface was a shimmering crystal, pulsing with an otherworldly light.
This… this could save us.
I could trade it for food, for clothes, for a chance at a better life. I could see their faces, their smiles…

I reached for the crystal.

The room shook violently. A deep voice echoed through the chamber.

“You desire this light? Then a price must be paid.”

I recoiled, looking around, but the chamber was empty.

“A price must be paid.”
The voice was cold, emotionless.

“A price? What price?” My voice was a mix of fear and desperate hope.

“Are you willing to pay the price?”

Blinded by desperation, by the promise of salvation, I’d answered.

“Yes! I’ll do anything! Anything to save us!”

The altar flared with light, the air shimmering around it. The crystal rose into the air, radiating an intense energy that seemed to tear at the very fabric of reality.

“oppa!”

I turned to see Alice standing at the center of the light, her small body trembling, enveloped in the swirling energy.

No… the price… it can’t be…

“Alice, run!” I screamed.

But she couldn’t move, frozen in place, caught in the heart of the light.

“oppa… I… I can’t…” Her voice was filled with terror.

I lunged towards her, but the light repelled me, an invisible barrier, cold and unyielding.

“No! Alice, hold on! I’m coming!” I reached out, but my fingers grasped at empty air.

The light intensified, Alice’s form growing fainter, dissolving into the swirling energy, like mist dissipating in the wind.

“oppa… I’m scared… I don’t… feel good…”

Her voice, weak, trembling, still reached me, a desperate plea.

I collapsed to the ground, clutching my head, my heart breaking.

“No! Please, stop! I’ll pay the price! Take me! Just let her go!”

But the Abyss remained silent, the light consuming Alice, erasing her from existence.

“Noah! What’s happening?!” Yuri cried, her voice filled with terror. “That light… it’s taking Alice!” She tried to approach, but I waved her back.

“Yuri, no! Stay back! She’s… she’s disappearing!”

Alice turned to me, one last time, tears streaming down her face, yet a faint smile touched her lips.

“oppa… it’s okay… I’ll wait for you… be safe…”

Even in her final moments, she tried to comfort me.

“No! Alice, don’t go! I can’t… I can’t live without you!” I reached out, but she was already gone, fading into nothingness.

“oppa… live…”

The light flared one last time, consuming her final words, then vanished, leaving only a chilling silence.

“Alice…?” I whispered, reaching out, my fingers brushing against empty air.

The voice of the Abyss echoed in my mind, cold, mocking.

“The price has been paid. Take the light.”

I screamed, collapsing onto the altar, my head hitting the cold stone, tears streaming down my face.

“Alice… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

My cries echoed through the empty chamber, unanswered. She was gone, erased from existence, leaving only a gaping hole in my heart, a wound that would never heal.

And then, as if the universe wasn’t cruel enough, Yuri’s voice, filled with confusion, pierced through my grief.

“Noah… who’s Alice?”

Her words were like a knife twisting in my gut. I stopped crying, slowly lifting my head, unable to meet her gaze.

“What…?”

“Who is Alice, Noah?” she repeated, tilting her head. “Is she someone I should know?”

Don’t lie. You were just with her. My sister. We were a family.

“You… you don’t remember her?” I whispered, my voice choked with disbelief.

Yuri’s brow furrowed. “Noah, what’s wrong? Why are you so upset? Who is this Alice? We got the crystal… shouldn’t we be happy?”

Her words were like a punch to the gut. Happy? How could she be happy?

“Yuri…” I said, my voice trembling with a mixture of grief and rage, “do you really think… there was no price to pay? Do you honestly believe we got this… for free?!”

“What… what are you talking about?”

“Alice! The price… it was Alice! She’s
gone
! And you… you don’t even
remember
her!”

Yuri stared at me, her eyes wide with confusion. “Noah, I… I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t… I don’t remember anyone named Alice.”

Her words plunged me deeper into despair.
Was I going insane? Was she saying… Alice never existed?

But Yuri’s confusion, her genuine bewilderment, confirmed the terrible truth. The Abyss had taken her, not just physically, but from our very memories.

“Alice…” Yuri whispered, reaching out, taking my hand. “Noah, I don’t understand… but whatever’s hurting you like this… I want to know.”

I looked at her, her hand warm in mine, and the words caught in my throat. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t explain. I closed my eyes, the tears flowing freely now, a silent torrent of grief.

The Abyss had stolen my sister, erased her from existence, and then, in its cruelest twist, had stolen her from Yuri’s memory as well, leaving me alone with the unbearable weight of my loss.

I sat there, head bowed, my breath coming in ragged gasps, the memories of Alice, of that terrible day, flooding back, engulfing me.

“Alice…” I whispered, her name escaping my lips unbidden.

And then, a figure materialized before me, shimmering in the fog.

“…Oppa.”

Her voice. I looked up, my heart pounding.

It was her. Alice. Her youthful face, her gentle smile, the sister I’d lost.

“Alice…?”

Her form was translucent, shimmering, insubstantial. Her expression was cold, distant, her eyes empty.

“Why… why did you leave me…? Why did I… disappear…?”

Her eyes widened, a chilling smile spreading across her face.

“You chose to save yourself, didn’t you, oppa? I… I wasn’t worth saving?”

“No!”
You were everything, Alice. You and Yuri… you were my whole world.

“You were precious… I wanted to protect you… but the Abyss… it took you…”

Her face twisted, her gentle smile replaced by a cold, empty mask, her voice sharp, accusatory.

“Don’t lie.” Her voice was low, menacing. “You made your choice. You reached for the light, knowing the price.”

I covered my ears. “Stop it… this isn’t you… you wouldn’t say these things…”

But she just laughed, a chilling sound that drowned out my protests.

“Oppa,” she whispered, her voice dripping with malice, “now that I’m gone… now you feel the pain?”

I reached for her, but she vanished, dissolving into the fog, leaving me alone once more, the echo of her accusations ringing in my ears.

I collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

“What… what do you
want
from me… Abyss…?”

Alice’s phantom, a manifestation of my guilt, my regret, appeared and disappeared, mocking me, tormenting me, leaving an unbearable weight in my chest.

I pushed myself to my feet, following the faint light, determined to understand, to overcome this latest trial. The Abyss wasn’t just showing me the past; it was using it against me, dragging me deeper into its darkness.