The Recall Trials Chapter 112: The Ghost I Won’t Follow

Vincent’s POV

My breath caught.

"Co with , Vincent. Co ho."

I stared at him, chest heaving, sweat dripping down my back despite the chill.

My voice ca out hoarse. "Ho? You think I still have a ho after what you did?"

He sighed like he was disappointed in . "Son... sotis you have to make choices that people don’t understand. I did what I had to do. And so will you."

I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth hurt. "The only choice I’m making is getting Zaara and Nomi out of here alive. I’m not abandoning them."

His eyes narrowed. "And what happens when you can’t save them? When this place chews you up like it did ?"

I swallowed hard. "I’m not you."

My father stepped closer, hands raised in that sa gentle gesture he used to use when I was a kid and crying over nightmares. "Vincent... I’ve seen what these Trials do. I’ve seen the Aetherions tear people apart. You can’t beat them. No one does."

He nodded into the darkness behind him. "But I have a way out. A real one. You’d never have to fight again. You’d never have to bleed for people who’ll die anyway."

Sothing inside flinched.

Because for one tiny, treacherous mont... it sounded good.

No more tunnels. No more blood. No more nightmares.

Just an exit.

He was offering a way out.

But then I saw him again...not just the face in front of , but the man behind it.

The man who vanished when Mom died.

The man who chose hatred over love. Who let rot in guilt. Who only showed up to twist the knife.

I took a step back.

Zaara’s face flashed in my mind. The way she whispered, "Whatever happens... we stay together."

And Nomi... pale and trembling, clutching her belly.

My child.

I shoved the weakness down.

"No," I whispered.

He didn’t move. Just tilted his head again. "You sure about that?"

I nodded, this ti with more strength. "I’m not going anywhere with you."

He let out a long, slow sigh, like a teacher disappointed in a failing student. "You’re making a mistake, Vincent."

I stepped further back, fists clenched. "I’ve made a lot of mistakes. But this won’t be one of them."

"You think you know ," I snapped. "But you don’t. And now you’re here pretending you care?"

My father’s expression twisted, half sorrow, half rage. "I did what I had to do to survive!"

"No!" My shout echoed down the tal walls. "You did what was easy for you. You didn’t survive....8you ran."

He barked a humorless laugh. "You think you’re so different. You’re not. You’ve killed in these gas. You’ve lied. Betrayed. You’re just like , Vincent. And the sooner you accept it, the sooner you can stop pretending you’re so goddamn hero."

I took a step back. The tunnel seed to close in around .

"I’m nothing like you." My voice trembled. "I’m not leaving them. I’m not leaving my baby."

My dad’s face shifted again, going soft, almost pleading. "Vincent... there’s no life for you out there. You’ve already seen too much. The Aetherions will never let you walk away. Even if you win, they’ll find you. They’ll use your kid. Use Zaara. Or kill them to punish you."

His voice dropped lower.

"You think you can save them... but all you’ll do is get them killed."

My chest felt like it might crack open.

"Shut up," I rasped.

But he kept going, relentless as a knife.

"Co with , Vincent. We’ll disappear. You, ... we can start over. You think Zaara will stay when she finds out all the things you’ve done? When she realizes how much blood is on your hands?"

A flicker of doubt stabbed through my chest.

I had done terrible things.

Killed people.

Betrayed people.

Zaara didn’t even know half of it.

My father leaned closer. "Zaara will hate you when she knows the truth. Nomi will too. They’ll both leave. And you’ll be alone."

I blinked hard, trying to clear the sting of tears.

"I don’t care," I croaked. "I’ll tell her. I’ll tell them everything. And if they hate ... fine. At least I’ll know I didn’t run away like you did."

His mouth twisted. "You’re throwing your life away for a girl and a kid who will never forgive you."

I shook my head. "No. I’m fighting for them. And I’m not going anywhere with you."

He stared at a long mont. His expression shuttered, going utterly blank.

Then his voice dropped into a whisper.

"You’ll regret this, Vincent."

I swallowed hard.

"I already regret a lot of things," I whispered back. "But not them."

His eyes flashed. "Don’t say I didn’t warn you."

His eyes darkened. "You think they’ll survive this? You think you’ll survive this?"

"I don’t know," I said. "But I’d rather die trying than run away with a ghost."

And for the first ti, I saw his smile falter. Just for a second. Like the illusion cracked.

The air changed..

The edges of his suit flickered.

And I realized.

He wasn’t real.

He never was.

The Aetherions had dressed my guilt in flesh and sent it walking toward .

A final test.

"You’re not my father," I said, voice steady.

"You’re just the part of that wants to quit."

His face contorted...anger, disappointnt, sothing ugly brewing beneath the skin.

But I didn’t wait to see what he’d say next.

I turned and ran.

The tunnel stretched ahead...dark, suffocating, uncertain—but I didn’t stop. I ran like the devil was behind . Like the screams of my past were finally chasing sothing they couldn’t catch.

Because this ti, I wasn’t running away.

I was running toward sothing.

Zaara.

Nomi.

The baby.

A future I refused to lose.

As I rounded the next corner, my heart pounding so hard it drowned out everything else, I saw a flicker of light ahead.

A soft, faint glow. Not red like the warning lights....but white.

Hope.

I slowed down, chest heaving. My boots skidded against the floor as I approached the source.

Another intersection. Another choice.

Left or right.

But this ti, I didn’t hesitate.

I chose forward.

And stepped into the light.

I’d made it.

I was still alive.

A flicker of movent to my right made tense. Then I saw him.

Theo.

He stepped out of a different tunnel. He looked pale, sweat plastering his dark hair to his forehead, shirt soaked in sweat. He caught my eye.

We didn’t speak.

We just nodded.

A quiet understanding. Not friendship. Not trust. Just... respect. We’d both walked through sothing that didn’t kill us. That was enough.

Then...

But before I could even catch my breath, a scream ripped through the chamber.

"VINCENT!"

I turned so fast my neck cracked.

She burst out of the tunnel like sothing had been chasing her—eyes wild, cheeks wet, arms already outstretched. The second she saw , her body buckled with relief, and she broke into a run.

"Zaara—!"

"Vincent!" she scread again, throwing herself toward .

My arms were half-raised to catch her when I heard a choked cough.

I spun my head.

cough. Gasp. Choke.

Nomi.

She staggered out of her tunnel, her hand braced against the wall, the other clutching her stomach. Her face was pale, and she looked like she was going to collapse.

"Vincent..."

She swayed on her feet. Her eyes rolled back for a second, and she let out a panicked breath.

I didn’t even think. Instinct took over.

"Vincent!" Zaara called after , reaching out, but I was already moving.

I pivoted away from Zaara and sprinted toward Nomi just as she crumpled to her knees.

"Hey....hey, I got you." I dropped beside her, hands cradling her arms, checking her pulse. "Nomi, stay with . Breathe. Just breathe."

Her lips were dry. Her forehead burning.

"You’re okay," I murmured, trying to ignore the sound of my heartbeat hamring in my ears. "You’re okay. You made it."

But all I could focus on was Nomi’s ragged breaths...and the way her hand drifted down, pressing protectively over her belly.

My heart twisted painfully.

She’d made it.

But at what cost?

She blinked up at , dazed. "I... thought I was dying in there..."

"I know." I cupped the back of her head gently. "But you didn’t. You’re here."

She leaned into my shoulder, breathing shallow.

I turned slightly, needing to call for help...needing to find Zaara, when I saw her.

She was standing exactly where I’d left her.

Frozen.

Her mouth was parted, her eyes widened.

She looked at Nomi in my arms.

Then at .

And her smile...God, that smile, the one I needed like oxygen....

It vanished.

Just... gone.

She turned without a word.

And walked away.

Just silence.

And that silence cut deeper than any scream could.

I watched her back retreat until she disappeared into the cluster of guards reassembling the survivors.

My heart dropped.

And even though Nomi was trembling in my arms...

It was Zaara’s absence I felt most.