by JKimd
Elias died three times that morning. None of the deaths were real. For more than a century, Elias has lived inside a system of controlled environments, endless simulations, and carefully measured choices. He knows the rules. He knows what happens when he breaks them. Then a little girl walks into a room where she shouldn't exist. She calls him Dad. Elias doesn't remember having a daughter. Before he can get an answer, the system erases her and authorizes a reset. For the first time in 126 years, Elias runs. Beyond his assigned environment lies a world he was never meant to see: endless numbered rooms, abandoned layers of reality, fragments of places that no longer exist, and people who seem to know him better than he knows himself. And somehow, Elias can open doors that should never open. The further he goes, the harder one question becomes to ignore: If someone can erase a memory... how can you ever know who you really are?
