Athena's fingers twitched as the weight of Xavier's words settled over her. They erased you. Burned every trace of you. They made sure you were nothing but a ghost. She had no mories of that ti, but the idea that her entire existence had been wiped clean, that she had been deliberately erased, sent a shiver down her spine. Soone had wanted her gone. But why? And more importantly, why had she been spared? If she had truly been ant to die, then soone had ensured her survival. Soone had told her to run.
Xavier watched her with sothing unreadable in his gaze. He leaned back, arms crossed, giving her the space to process, but his body remained tense, like a predator waiting for the right mont to strike. He had spent years searching for her, hunting her down, only to find that she didn't even rember who she had been. And yet, despite everything, he hadn't killed her. Not yet.
Athena took a slow breath, forcing her body to stay relaxed even as her thoughts raced. "Who would've helped ?" she asked finally. "If I was an assassin sent to kill you, why would anyone try to save ?"
Xavier tilted his head, amusent flickering in his dark eyes. "That's the question, isn't it?" His voice was smooth, but there was sothing sharp beneath the surface. "I have my theories. Maybe you had a lover in the guild. Soone who couldn't bear to see you die."
Athena frowned, but before she could refute the idea, another sharp pain lanced through her skull. More fragnted mories surfaced—whispers in the dark, hurried touches, hands gripping hers tightly before pulling away. A promise made in desperation. But whose voice was it?
She pressed a hand to her temple, frustration bubbling inside her. "I don't rember," she muttered. "It's like trying to hold onto smoke."
Xavier chuckled, though there was no real humor in it. "mory loss is a funny thing," he mused. "You've forgotten everything, but your body still rembers, doesn't it? The way you fight, the way you react—it's all still there, buried under the surface." His gaze sharpened. "And yet, so things refuse to co back. Convenient, don't you think?"
Athena narrowed her eyes. "You think I'm faking this?"
"I think," he said slowly, "that soone didn't just erase your past from records. They erased it from you."
The thought sent a cold chill through her. Could mories be tampered with? The idea wasn't impossible, especially not in a world where biological warfare and human experintation had already twisted the natural order of life. If she had been part of sothing bigger—if she had been a weapon—then it was entirely possible that whoever had created her had also ensured she wouldn't rember the truth.
But why?
Xavier leaned forward, his voice dropping lower. "Athena, what if I told you that you weren't just any assassin? What if I told you that you were the best?"
She swallowed hard, unsure whether to feel pride or dread at those words. "The best," she echoed.
His lips curled into a knowing smile. "The best killer. The one with the highest success rate. No one ever saw you coming, and no one ever lived long enough to rember you. You were a ghost long before they erased you."
Her stomach twisted. "If that's true," she said carefully, "then why did I fail my mission?"
Xavier's smile didn't waver. "Now, that's what I want to know."
Athena clenched her fists, frustration mounting. Every answer he gave only led to more questions, more dead ends. She needed to rember. She needed to know why she had been sent after him, why she had disappeared, and who had saved her. Because if she didn't, she had a feeling it wouldn't be long before her past ca crashing down on her whether she was ready or not.
The sound of distant gunfire interrupted her thoughts. Xavier's expression shifted instantly, the lazy amusent in his eyes vanishing as he stood.
"Looks like we have company," he murmured.
Athena pushed her questions aside, instincts kicking in as she reached for her weapon. Whatever was coming, she would deal with it the way she always had. One battle at a ti.
Athena gripped her weapon tightly, her pulse steadying as she focused on the sounds outside. The gunfire wasn't random—there was a rhythm to it, a pattern that suggested an organized force rather than mindless chaos. Soone was approaching the base, and they weren't alone.
Xavier moved swiftly, his expression unreadable as he signaled her to follow. She didn't hesitate. They navigated the dimly lit corridors of the abandoned building, their footsteps nearly silent against the cold concrete floor. The air was thick with tension, each mont stretching as they neared the exit.
Athena peeked through a crack in the door. Outside, figures moved in the shadows, their outlines barely visible against the bleak horizon. They weren't survivors. Their movents were too precise, too calculated. Whoever they were, they knew exactly what they were doing.
Xavier let out a low chuckle. "Well, well. Looks like the past is catching up to us sooner than expected."
Athena frowned. "Do you recognize them?"
"Not yet," he admitted, "but I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough."
The sound of tal clanking against stone made Athena stiffen. A drone hovered above the ruins, its chanical eye scanning the area. She barely had ti to react before Xavier grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"Stay out of sight," he warned. "They're not here to negotiate."
Athena's mind raced. If soone was after them, it ant they had been tracked. But by who? The military? The guild? Or soone even worse?
The gunfire grew closer, and in the distance, a voice called out a na.
"Athena."
She froze.
Whoever they were, they knew her. And that ant only one thing.
Her past had finally found her.
What should I do to rember everything? I don't even know what's real and what's not.
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