The voice echoed softly, almost like an interrogation.134Please respect copyright.PENANAjOFPaGf1rN
134Please respect copyright.PENANAXhkhMJFYPU
"But then why… do I still feel like two people trapped in the same body?"134Please respect copyright.PENANAFGDOD34n0t
134Please respect copyright.PENANA8XvLaBd1bK
A heavy silence followed, stretched and suspended between timelines.134Please respect copyright.PENANAwt9NA5JPeM
Zhang Huan-An—no, perhaps it was Yu Yong-An—stood before the mirror, unable to tell who had spoken.134Please respect copyright.PENANAOYMItEoaCk
Was it himself? A residue?134Please respect copyright.PENANATbkuNkA76d
Or a ghost never chosen?134Please respect copyright.PENANA7Mi0iRKO72
134Please respect copyright.PENANAWqhYFTXfwy
"I remember your memories," he whispered, fingertips grazing the cold mirror.134Please respect copyright.PENANArjlOmmu7YS
"But they… don't belong to me. Not entirely."134Please respect copyright.PENANAu9ANzoebWJ
134Please respect copyright.PENANAzyzeCssNuM
From deep within, a voice emerged—not in words, but like a pulse echoing through his veins.134Please respect copyright.PENANAeZN8RirO0K
134Please respect copyright.PENANA8aLvaYiVvL
"Then tell me—whose life did you live during those 281 days?"134Please respect copyright.PENANAT65PbAKPq6
134Please respect copyright.PENANAYxZEeaK5UV
He gave no answer.134Please respect copyright.PENANASD0bBKmxoX
134Please respect copyright.PENANAc20h8NdD4o
The reflection stared back at him—almost identical, yet not quite.134Please respect copyright.PENANA239UHy9uyw
The posture was his, the scars too.134Please respect copyright.PENANACYW8bnHzR5
But the eyes… they carried a weight he had never known.134Please respect copyright.PENANA6O94ibO2df
As if from a season of dreams, shattered and reassembled deep within time.134Please respect copyright.PENANAiynxorLwmG
134Please respect copyright.PENANACOzHl8lhzw
"Do you remember the rooftop? That rain?"134Please respect copyright.PENANACPHolnFomO
The voice pressed closer.134Please respect copyright.PENANATlwZltWrmG
"That was my fear. My ending. And now, it's become yours."134Please respect copyright.PENANAmWemshuis2
134Please respect copyright.PENANAnVFiUjvoAC
He turned away.134Please respect copyright.PENANAnKTk7lFAVQ
Behind him, the room lay dim and still, the air thick with undisturbed dust.134Please respect copyright.PENANAqFRIFFUDKC
Since his awakening, nothing here had changed—yet the world was no longer the same.134Please respect copyright.PENANAZ7EHevpiZy
134Please respect copyright.PENANAjrArQmZgk8
"They say fusion brings peace," he murmured.134Please respect copyright.PENANARanS7E3lD3
"But this feels more like exile. I can't go back… and I can't move forward."134Please respect copyright.PENANAyoeRbGd9z5
134Please respect copyright.PENANA0YhM7POA6n
"Then—choose."134Please respect copyright.PENANADichnfepxA
134Please respect copyright.PENANAm9gANEfinN
The voice returned. This time, not from within—but behind him.134Please respect copyright.PENANAsyOhOGk3Nj
He didn't look back.134Please respect copyright.PENANApXw8dcVeQi
He knew nothing would be there.134Please respect copyright.PENANAgoRP88GfOG
And yet, he heard it.134Please respect copyright.PENANAnByiOqWyoE
134Please respect copyright.PENANAfByZhhDgZ4
"Choose which one of you will remain."134Please respect copyright.PENANAy0ddppg5ns
134Please respect copyright.PENANAbMPmX0eq5e
He clenched his fists.134Please respect copyright.PENANA9MH71Bbxv8
"Zhang Huan-An" and "Yu Yong-An"—names layered like truths,134Please respect copyright.PENANAbTYWzsJmUd
Too real to abandon,134Please respect copyright.PENANAVejp50OXU4
Too entangled to claim.134Please respect copyright.PENANAhe6rj18pnZ
134Please respect copyright.PENANAszYrjo2PZt
"What if I don't want to be either?"134Please respect copyright.PENANAsTT4FWCVZe
He asked the air, voice hoarse.134Please respect copyright.PENANAeMRrePri8J
134Please respect copyright.PENANAjkg1q367VL
"Then become—134Please respect copyright.PENANAATnLRHqyAI
the memory that survived the collapse."134Please respect copyright.PENANAJ48ghRKOkN
134Please respect copyright.PENANAEGCnMtMU6V
The mirror cracked.134Please respect copyright.PENANAxeTf5FlNJz
134Please respect copyright.PENANAqwqnhzJeuy
Not from pressure.134Please respect copyright.PENANAP2N9XEz9ik
Not from sound.134Please respect copyright.PENANAL2lwWEdmsy
134Please respect copyright.PENANAkdA0djhbGY
But from time.134Please respect copyright.PENANADWbDyffStm
134Please respect copyright.PENANAz5JlDUs3Xx
As the fissure split the reflection in two, he finally understood:134Please respect copyright.PENANAbbwRjGaDkm
They had never truly been separate.134Please respect copyright.PENANAQbhVRZhghl
And now, they could never fully merge.134Please respect copyright.PENANAOtopxsi7Nv
134Please respect copyright.PENANAHBCXlQXmGx
They could only—134Please respect copyright.PENANAVDQvfi7xtG
134Please respect copyright.PENANAvQ3PbGTmoX
Overlay.134Please respect copyright.PENANAg2edpgOyXP
Fracture.134Please respect copyright.PENANAmRcLRY3zm1
Echo.134Please respect copyright.PENANAbfK2E9XLwX
134Please respect copyright.PENANAXhcujm8fh8
134Please respect copyright.PENANAbIyq5zSOEy
---134Please respect copyright.PENANAV98TH9xTeB
134Please respect copyright.PENANAHAHVsOu8iz
Reflections That Do Not Return134Please respect copyright.PENANA1aM1Qv1xTr
134Please respect copyright.PENANARiR2FtYJj8
When the mirror shattered, time broke with it.134Please respect copyright.PENANAzomLLshxvA
134Please respect copyright.PENANA2SHFT39I51
Cracks spread like a spider's web, and within each one—134Please respect copyright.PENANAk7BpBR79xC
A different version of himself emerged:134Please respect copyright.PENANAhj5xwAuA0r
Some young, some aged.134Please respect copyright.PENANApbLkiittQ5
Some cold and distant, others brimming with unshed tears.134Please respect copyright.PENANAitSukQWdtu
134Please respect copyright.PENANA45vKCKlPjH
"Are these… all me?"134Please respect copyright.PENANAx6mSKZJrG4
134Please respect copyright.PENANAy6gxTYP5Xd
His voice trembled in the still air—was he asking the mirror,134Please respect copyright.PENANAUUwx3IO5jT
Or questioning the soul splintered before him?134Please respect copyright.PENANAnxFO3ijU7A
134Please respect copyright.PENANAORcUIttUQa
A shard fell, its chime like a soft wind bell.134Please respect copyright.PENANAPNgiIwE21U
But it reflected not the room—134Please respect copyright.PENANAl2E8rNL1oT
134Please respect copyright.PENANAWqJkMBfWOZ
It reflected time:134Please respect copyright.PENANAFjD8Co3UIa
134Please respect copyright.PENANA2OjVrQiG5t
A Friday dusk,134Please respect copyright.PENANALVnFv0LgiI
A Tuesday's echo,134Please respect copyright.PENANAsbVUMQbJYC
The moment the cross appeared,134Please respect copyright.PENANAboLB8NnB8a
And the last turn of her figure.134Please respect copyright.PENANAc4RgtWeSTF
134Please respect copyright.PENANAwQe71fkuq0
"You didn't choose an identity,"134Please respect copyright.PENANAB1sr6uNJOc
A voice spoke—gentle, calm.134Please respect copyright.PENANAGIiGnpucO3
Neither Yang An-Ting nor Li An-Qing,134Please respect copyright.PENANAk4UQ6LRkDM
And yet, it held the luminous tenderness of both.134Please respect copyright.PENANAp6mGdzwySF
134Please respect copyright.PENANAnGMUVDkLkT
"You chose the version of yourself—134Please respect copyright.PENANAdRhGpKb70U
that could survive."134Please respect copyright.PENANADUEvhclP2K
134Please respect copyright.PENANAClnkQNmlL3
He stared at the fragments.134Please respect copyright.PENANADgubkNzFi6
Each one, a future with no return.134Please respect copyright.PENANARSfHTCjUMO
134Please respect copyright.PENANAlIkL0VU1G0
"And what if… I choose nothing?"134Please respect copyright.PENANAFWSMTQHNoR
He asked, barely audible.134Please respect copyright.PENANAg4casndxtj
134Please respect copyright.PENANAA8SZKXSg7n
"Then you'll be trapped—134Please respect copyright.PENANAqrH0bP4IPE
within this fracture,134Please respect copyright.PENANAQ1PSz3Vg8W
until the next cycle calls you back."134Please respect copyright.PENANAbUuIOwFa8Q
134Please respect copyright.PENANA2FNT6JCvXv
Silence again.134Please respect copyright.PENANAQ7oDYzX1BT
134Please respect copyright.PENANASy6mQWiT1s
Then he whispered:134Please respect copyright.PENANAmsVgd0hLTL
134Please respect copyright.PENANAiHYKZIkimN
"I don't want to wake up again…134Please respect copyright.PENANAtJwQ1LTapM
if waking means forgetting her."134Please respect copyright.PENANA4Yz1ENCpQz
134Please respect copyright.PENANAgTt9MKnvD3
The mirror flickered.134Please respect copyright.PENANADuUo57C6Mi
134Please respect copyright.PENANA1phxTpjtN6
Memories surfaced, playing on their own—134Please respect copyright.PENANARYCK3npSvj
134Please respect copyright.PENANA5XWlVohOIF
"You'll forget what I said,"134Please respect copyright.PENANACD2Sb4U8G4
"But you'll remember the sky had dimmed…134Please respect copyright.PENANAMf144jbDmc
and that I never left."134Please respect copyright.PENANAwXchbYpS61
134Please respect copyright.PENANAts8A7Pnoyy
It was her voice—Li An-Qing.134Please respect copyright.PENANAfpJW1j6wRN
The eternity hidden within Friday.134Please respect copyright.PENANAc2ngp1I0nc
134Please respect copyright.PENANArl8nnt42PN
No ticking clock,134Please respect copyright.PENANASrUTMeDkDC
No urgency.134Please respect copyright.PENANAWOuv1e2DTb
134Please respect copyright.PENANAT70qr1ChX1
Only breath—134Please respect copyright.PENANASSiv6yKoeM
And something deeper still:134Please respect copyright.PENANAS46dYp1sH1
The echo of his own heartbeat,134Please respect copyright.PENANAinAh7upQBT
splintering across time.134Please respect copyright.PENANAzfW5Y9QhMe
134Please respect copyright.PENANA3JqwUEf65y
A single crack stretched across the floor,134Please respect copyright.PENANABM1IDLUsDE
As if time itself could no longer bear its own weight.134Please respect copyright.PENANAdB0Qew0P8S
134Please respect copyright.PENANAhznrvOnpj8
One wrong step,134Please respect copyright.PENANAFhb6mwxLw2
And he'd fall into a past that no longer welcomed him.134Please respect copyright.PENANAbpiRPaCkmt
134Please respect copyright.PENANAl1H7FIMlA8
He knelt and picked up a shard.134Please respect copyright.PENANAaBfs6iEHXK
Its surface stirred memory—134Please respect copyright.PENANAFrIo9Tal8J
Not his own, but sharp enough to wound.134Please respect copyright.PENANA0H9Bquau34
134Please respect copyright.PENANAuiUzZ0MgBs
"He said he'd come back… He promised."134Please respect copyright.PENANAJMdM8c5NsY
134Please respect copyright.PENANAlkgQ3Xyg4P
It was Yang An-Ting's voice—134Please respect copyright.PENANABJLCGWaMP9
Young, certain, full of hope.134Please respect copyright.PENANADOZA8610Ja
134Please respect copyright.PENANAGY5kZucdhP
Another shard revealed Li An-Qing,134Please respect copyright.PENANAUuARZSLdnu
Standing at the end of an abandoned railway.134Please respect copyright.PENANAsK7NtEiDdu
In her eyes, a timestamp flickered:134Please respect copyright.PENANAK3jNDjtMRG
2025.2.19 // 28:01134Please respect copyright.PENANAs5Bsd1aKjg
134Please respect copyright.PENANAdy3HLOpfJ7
She whispered—134Please respect copyright.PENANAC70vcOvjWC
134Please respect copyright.PENANA9k7opwJgLR
"Memory isn't meant for forgetting.134Please respect copyright.PENANA7hNTgSEjkR
It's meant—for choosing."134Please respect copyright.PENANAFCvD5hxk1p
134Please respect copyright.PENANAAE2a4ry1o1
Something within him stirred—134Please respect copyright.PENANAykhkPP3tQg
First gentle,134Please respect copyright.PENANAnXINb8FWva
Then forceful,134Please respect copyright.PENANAT3IChoBu0q
Almost irresistible.134Please respect copyright.PENANA6StN96Cwqx
134Please respect copyright.PENANA16RQBguluP
A pull born of her voice,134Please respect copyright.PENANAG860bgjzig
Of her silence,134Please respect copyright.PENANADk4PIAhHIc
Of every name forgotten by time.134Please respect copyright.PENANAGt2DWsK4Ac
134Please respect copyright.PENANATrcrUpBLQd
"Then… how do I choose?"134Please respect copyright.PENANAZfkdlh68kq
He asked not the mirror now,134Please respect copyright.PENANAqiGOObrQLc
But the entire world.134Please respect copyright.PENANAih5ehA7Wze
134Please respect copyright.PENANAiX8e8I6fp7
"Choice," the voice replied through the glass,134Please respect copyright.PENANAVSW8pygiPA
"was never the answer—134Please respect copyright.PENANANpB7WcQJRz
only the cost."134Please respect copyright.PENANAbIobgDkUcE
134Please respect copyright.PENANAzArzKk40M5
He opened his eyes.134Please respect copyright.PENANAvOdBMXt3nl
134Please respect copyright.PENANA7UEEsdzhnW
The fractures now pushed him toward an edge—134Please respect copyright.PENANAweO3uM7WzN
An ending already written,134Please respect copyright.PENANAdcdr9dtIRa
Yet never spoken.134Please respect copyright.PENANAVfHjtPqHxj
134Please respect copyright.PENANA0Nl3meyNIH
134Please respect copyright.PENANAflwnyRW77T
---134Please respect copyright.PENANAXejLyjrNZJ
134Please respect copyright.PENANAnJrrcMuMB8
You Remember Too Much134Please respect copyright.PENANAlvoEMEH30Y
134Please respect copyright.PENANAqgwjypSlHO
"You remember too much," the voice murmured,134Please respect copyright.PENANAV2AwNRw9gJ
"And you've forgotten even more than you realize.134Please respect copyright.PENANAWyCnRajzKK
So now, only one question remains:134Please respect copyright.PENANA6xJWzxhijD
134Please respect copyright.PENANA4enqJCtwu2
Who will you remain for?"134Please respect copyright.PENANAvxJ8KoNapP
134Please respect copyright.PENANAzrgzJnKrpe
"You've always remembered,"134Please respect copyright.PENANAlCYpWOBkdo
Yang An-Ting's voice, soft yet unwavering.134Please respect copyright.PENANA6apEEYAYMm
134Please respect copyright.PENANASBDPRC3Gv4
"You just didn't want to admit it."134Please respect copyright.PENANAGVMgWMmszB
134Please respect copyright.PENANA9dJu5BOcwK
"And you've never truly let go,"134Please respect copyright.PENANAPJx6xf1nbz
Li An-Qing's voice followed,134Please respect copyright.PENANAi1HTuxb9EJ
Like light after the rain.134Please respect copyright.PENANA2OKSWfEx2V
134Please respect copyright.PENANAPRyQvSLlU1
"Because you know—134Please respect copyright.PENANA4uo5EUpmhm
this was never yours to end."134Please respect copyright.PENANAdF6DLqNtaB
134Please respect copyright.PENANAKFSSUbJD9q
He stood between the mirror and the fracture.134Please respect copyright.PENANAwRWWcX49MI
134Please respect copyright.PENANADoY5rWExrt
Behind him—wreckage of the past.134Please respect copyright.PENANAhwfhT2cg6L
Before him—a nameless exit.134Please respect copyright.PENANAacNgnTRr1E
134Please respect copyright.PENANAor5opO11aJ
"If I can't become him…134Please respect copyright.PENANAhmRI7FwsNl
and I can't just be myself…134Please respect copyright.PENANAQWXMvkgJn6
what is left of me?"134Please respect copyright.PENANAIMzRvMieqJ
134Please respect copyright.PENANAxYdgArpYAF
"Memory," they said in unison.134Please respect copyright.PENANAGkGGYhPtXL
134Please respect copyright.PENANAtIggRwK4Ta
Not names.134Please respect copyright.PENANAXdD29ekzBd
Not roles.134Please respect copyright.PENANAswtkNc6F5A
But something heavier—134Please respect copyright.PENANAuQobOowkfO
A will strong enough to pierce time.134Please respect copyright.PENANADhaBpe3cp2
134Please respect copyright.PENANASeUxlWKno7
If names fade, let them.134Please respect copyright.PENANApdBC57xxsl
If roles collapse, stop defining them.134Please respect copyright.PENANAPt2fDEqWZB
134Please respect copyright.PENANAAp86qtBY9i
"You don't need a name,"134Please respect copyright.PENANA711Vodnn6a
Yang An-Ting whispered.134Please respect copyright.PENANAWzcRf1z6sF
"Because now—you remember us."134Please respect copyright.PENANAThid1YB0jh
134Please respect copyright.PENANAkfvwJPVpZc
"You only need to keep walking,"134Please respect copyright.PENANAlF8cbKYTXC
Li An-Qing said next.134Please respect copyright.PENANA5jOjTT3Ny6
"Not for anyone. Not even for yourself."134Please respect copyright.PENANAMuv8t3Kxce
134Please respect copyright.PENANAEJgB1qsFY1
The fractures began to close—134Please respect copyright.PENANAlfDVEzGIGv
Not as an end,134Please respect copyright.PENANAxQ6OvB9qhe
But as a silent reformation.134Please respect copyright.PENANAixYIVDd36i
134Please respect copyright.PENANAab71GQzSPw
Shattered timelines intertwined,134Please respect copyright.PENANAFoVMw31R3H
Forming a new path—134Please respect copyright.PENANAWTClsSWu0V
Free of judgment,134Please respect copyright.PENANAZJGwMhXOYD
Free of labels,134Please respect copyright.PENANAhzWRqXMhHF
Free of the need to look back.134Please respect copyright.PENANAANuFcCFE6X
134Please respect copyright.PENANAcHzmZPzvsj
It was—134Please respect copyright.PENANAxFw9Gilv3k
134Please respect copyright.PENANAmTgdqO7dMb
The third way.134Please respect copyright.PENANAHC9DcSL3z6
134Please respect copyright.PENANAPxNyWwqmmJ
Not return.134Please respect copyright.PENANAVILgr7sYqd
Not repetition.134Please respect copyright.PENANAuErtxDG2xy
134Please respect copyright.PENANAHuN2iEHKkW
But—134Please respect copyright.PENANAKiwsVUg9Ql
134Please respect copyright.PENANAl2zbqxayCN
A future with no name.
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A Promise In Four Fragments
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A Promise In Four Fragments
Author:
烙燁 Luòyèh

ISSUE #41
Fractures That Remember
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