CHAPTER 1668: THE FORGOTTEN

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"I-I’m so sorry!" Maria cried, her voice trembling with guilt and sorrow. "I didn’t mean to hurt you... I never wanted this. But I think—I think I know where you might have come from."

Her words hung in the air like mist, fragile and uncertain.

Nyx stepped forward instinctively, her hand reaching out to comfort the trembling child. But Maria gently stopped her, placing a firm hand on her daughter’s shoulder.

"Mom?" Nyx asked, her voice soft, confused.

"For now, don’t make direct contact," Maria said quietly. Her eyes didn’t leave the child. "They’re very unstable. I know you want to help, but their soul is fragile—like glass under pressure. Just stay close, but not too close."

"...Okay," Nyx replied, her expression falling. She wanted so badly to offer warmth, but she understood. She always did.

"HoMe?"

The child recovered quickly and didn’t seem resentful in the slightest.

"Yes. If you remember Azure Star... and your sister, Amelia," Maria said with a sigh. "I can hardly believe it, but... you might be the girl who was lost."

"...?"

The child tilted her head in confusion. Maria was now certain—this entity had once been a girl.

And with the pieces falling into place, she realized the truth.

This manor... it resembled the one she and Arthur had lived in during their time with Amelia in Azure Star.

Yes, this haunted manor was a larger, more decayed version of that house.

Some of the portraits and photos were the same, though the child in them had been replaced by Maria and Arthur.

It was hard to believe. An incredible—perhaps impossible—coincidence.

Or maybe... it was inevitable.

Fragments of worlds could become their own realms, eventually assimilated by the Tower.

Even vast worlds like Atlantis were only pieces of something greater.

Carnivalis had shown her that a world could be a distortion—born from trauma, memory, or nightmare.

This cursed manor, the graveyard, the garden...

They weren’t just a Nightmare Realm. They were a memory. A dream.

There were no Nightmare Demons here. No true Nightmares.

Only ghosts.

Which meant this world, though it drew from the concepts of dreams and nightmares, was something else entirely.

It was a false world, born from forgotten memories, memories of someone from her own world.

By all the laws Maria had learned, it shouldn’t exist.

And yet, across all the time loops she had lived through, something of this girl had remained.

Even if it was only an empty shell, with no face, no memories...

Only the longing to be remembered.

"I think we met your sister!" Nyx said. "She was really nice. She used a wheelchair, but she got better! The cancer in her Dream Heart was healed!"

"..."

The child stared silently, but something within her stirred.

Memories once blank began to gain color.

And with them came pain.

Maria understood why.

"The pain you feel when remembering... it’s because you’re rewriting your own non-existence," she explained. "You’re the embodiment of forgotten memories and dreams. I see it now. But... we still don’t know your true name."

"NaMe?"

"Do you remember it?" Nyx asked.

"..."

To their surprise, the child nodded.

She remembered.

A name.

Despite everything, she remembered her name.

"The loops should have erased her," Maria whispered. "Forgotten by time and everyone in her world. And yet... she held on. Maybe because, even after all that, she still remembers who she is."

"What’s your true name?"

"...Veronica."

The girl looked at Maria and Nyx. Her featureless face formed a small smile, drawn in black ink. It was adorable.

And when she spoke her name, her voice was no longer distorted. It was bright. Youthful.

"Veronica..." Nyx repeated. "So that’s her real name!"

"Yes," Maria said softly. "Thank you, Veronica... for everything you did for your world. You suffered so much so others could keep fighting. You never gave up—not until the very end. I want you to know that in the final loop, the one you couldn’t see... your world was saved."

"...ReAlLy?"

"Yes! Azure Star is healing. It’s beautiful now," Nyx said. "The Original Nightmare Curse is gone. Even the Nightmare Dimension is gone. You don’t have to worry anymore. Mama defeated them."

"I briefly took your place," Maria added. "The world had forgotten you, so when we arrived, it made me your replacement. Everyone thought I was you. Maybe that’s why I feel so happy to have found you. I’m deeply grateful."

"..."

The little girl trembled slightly but didn’t cry out. Instead, she shed a few quiet tears, then smiled again.

Her doll perched on her shoulder, hugged her face and patted her head.

The soul inside that doll truly loved her like a sister.

"ThAnK... yOu..."

"You remember?" Nyx asked.

"A little, I think," Maria said, watching Veronica nod. "Veronica, can you eat?"

She nodded.

"Here."

Maria offered her a big cotton candy and a corndog.

"..."

Veronica pressed the cotton candy to her face, and it began to vanish. She didn’t chew—she simply absorbed it.

"HmMmMmMm..."

She seemed to enjoy the flavor.

Then she devoured the corndog, stick and all.

"You like it? We’ve got more snacks! Here, eat!" Nyx said, sharing her candies, chips, and soda.

"...ThAnKs."

Her pale face flushed with a soft pink hue, as if she were blushing.

She ate everything without hesitation, her little belly swelling slightly. She patted it and sighed in contentment.

"BuH... dELiCiOuS..."

Maria and Nyx smiled, watching her enjoy the feast.

"I’m glad you liked it," Maria said. "Veronica, I have a request. It’s—"

"..."

Veronica didn’t respond. Instead, she walked to her bed and patted the mattress, inviting them to sit beside her.

They joined her. The bed was surprisingly comfortable.

Veronica tucked herself in, pulling the blankets up to her chin, her doll nestled beside her.

"Aw, are you sleepy?" Nyx asked.

"I guess she’s not going to listen..." Maria sighed.

"LiStEnInG... NaP... CaN... wAiT..."

She was listening. Even though she wanted to nap, she was still listening.

Maria smiled and gently patted her head.

A jolt of painful energy surged through her hand, but she endured it.

It wasn’t intentional.

The girl didn’t know how unstable her existence truly was.

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