Chapter 1: Who… am i?

A cold night had settled over Porto Alegre after endless hours of rain. The streets were empty, the lights were dim, and the constant wind kept people inside the few places that still offered shelter.

Amid the aftermath of the storm, a small bar stood quietly on some random street corner.

An ordinary place, almost invisible compared to the size of the city. Inside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary: tables occupied here and there, glasses of drinks, some full and others empty, and quiet conversations blending into one another.

It was just another place making its way through the cold night, unaware of what was coming.

Above the counter, an old television was tuned to a news channel. The volume was low, almost drowned out by the conversations around it.

Suddenly, an emergency alert appeared on the screen.

The broadcast switched to a shaky shot of a reporter standing in front of a school.

⧙ Good evening. We're reporting live from the Rio Branco neighborhood, in central Porto Alegre, where, just a few hours ago, an event took place that authorities are already calling one of the largest and most horrific crimes in modern history. ⧘

In the background, police cars and security tape surrounded the area, while red lights reflected off the nearby buildings.

⧙ Today, February 4, 2025, the world was left in shock after the events at Peninsula High School. Described as a bloody massacre, the information gathered over the past few hours points to more than nine hundred deaths, including students, teachers, and school staff. ⧘

At that very moment, the conversations stopped. Eyes that had been wandering around the bar turned toward the television, now filled with attention and fear.

⧙ This is officially the deadliest school massacre in history. The tragedy has crossed borders, causing international outrage and drawing the attention of world leaders. ⧘

After a brief pause, the reporter continued, her voice heavy with sorrow.

⧙ So far, none of those responsible for this atrocity have been identified. Authorities say the criminals vanished without leaving a single trace. ⧘

The report showed blurry images of the school's interior, with bodies scattered along the hallways, most of them gathered in the central gym.

⧙ Only five high school students survived. Four of them were in the bathroom when the attack happened. According to their statements, everything happened suddenly. First, they heard a loud bang. Then came the screams. When they finally left the bathroom, they found the hallways covered in bodies and blood. ⧘

Silence fell over the bar.

⧙ Among the survivors, only one young man is believed to have been present during the massacre. His name is Louie Kaede. ⧘

The screen showed an old photograph, followed by a more recent picture of the boy.

⧙ Before the attack, Louie had black hair and blue eyes. After the incident, doctors noticed that white streaks had appeared in his hair and that his right eye had turned red. ⧘

The camera returned to the journalist's serious face.

⧙ Louie's testimony would be crucial to the investigation. However, doctors have confirmed that the young man was diagnosed with post-traumatic amnesia, a condition that completely blocked his memories of the event and his entire life before it. ⧘

She paused briefly.

⧙ Many people would call surviving something like this a miracle. But for this boy, surviving also meant losing everything. ⧘

The television remained on, but no one in the bar said another word. The news hung in the air, tightening the throats of everyone who heard it.

Silence.

A silence so intense that it felt like an agonizing scream.

That was all that existed inside that strange and intimidating white room.

A boy lay motionless on a hospital bed. Even the smallest movement seemed too difficult, as if his own body wasn't responding properly.

The weight of the place seemed to lock his muscles in place.

And yet… he moved.

Closing his hand, something that should have been natural, took far too long. A simple action had somehow become difficult.

He took a deep breath, trying to get his bearings, but nothing made sense. Absolutely nothing. Even his own body felt strange.

The pulse of his cells flowed through his veins and arteries, vibrating throughout his body. Even the smallest unit of his being seemed to have a life of its own.

"Where am I?"

His eyes scanned the room, searching for a clue or something familiar, but all he found was an empty void.

"What happened?"

His head hurt, and thinking was more exhausting than it should have been.

Searching for memories felt like trying to find traces of something that had never existed, yet his mind refused to stop searching.

"Who… am I?"

It was more than a question. It was emptiness, like a painting that once held something but had now lost it all.

He searched for any clue that might give him an answer, but it was useless. All he found was the sad absence of something that didn't exist.

Before he could think any further, the sound of the door cut through everything.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The sound echoed through the white room, breaking the silence. Louie blinked in surprise but remained still, trying to understand what he'd just heard.

Then, a gentle voice echoed through the room.

— Good morning, patient Louie, right? Can I come in? — the woman asked, opening the door just a crack.

Louie.

The name stuck in his mind.

"Is that me?"

Still confused, he tried to answer.

— Su—

The word caught in his throat, which suddenly tightened. He couldn't speak. A chill ran through his chest.

"What was that?"

He tried again, but no sound came out.

"Is… that my voice?"

His breathing grew heavy, drowning out the voices echoing beyond his mind.

—. …Pati… Lou…? — The woman's voice sounded distant, stretched out as if it were coming from an endless distance.

A tingling sensation spread through his head, burning through all his senses.

— Pa… tient… Lou… ie…?"

The echoes grew weaker and weaker, while an uncomfortable feeling spread through his chest.

"Why does it sound like that?"

Then, a firm voice broke through the silence.

— Patient Louie?! Are you okay?! I'm opening the door!

The door suddenly swung open, and a woman stepped inside.

She had long, straight brown hair that shimmered slightly under the light. Her eyes were a warm shade of caramel. A white mask covered the lower half of her face.

The moment she entered and looked toward the boy, she instinctively froze in shock.

Her once-bright brown eyes trembled the instant they met his.

Her body, covered in white fabric, recoiled as if she wanted to take back the step she'd just taken after seeing something terrifying.

A moment later, she looked away, trying to hide her discomfort.

Fighting against the strange feeling and disgust rising inside her, she continued.

— Ah-ah!.. R-right, how are you feeling? — Her voice trembled despite her best efforts, and her face betrayed the disgust she felt about the situation.

— I'm fine. Just a little dizzy, I think… — the boy replied, trying to understand why the woman in front of him seemed so uncomfortable.

— I-I see… I'm glad you didn't suffer any serious injuries… after what happened… getting out with so few lasting effects is a miracle…

"What happened? Oh… right. That."

An image flashed through his mind: walls stained red and mangled bodies scattered across the floor.

His stomach twisted. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

— I'll call your family so they can come see you now that you're awake… okay? — the nurse continued, speaking quickly, as if she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

— S-sure… — he replied.

The door closed, and silence filled the room once again.

"What made that woman so scared?"

He raised a hand to his face, slowly running his fingers over his skin, searching for a reason, an explanation, or any trace of what might have caused the nurse to react that way.

Even so, one question stood above every other feeling.

"Who are these family members of mine?"

No faces. No names. Not even a single memory. Just a sad, lonely emptiness.

He took a deep breath and got up from the cold bed in the dimly lit room. He carefully placed one foot on the floor, then the other, and slowly made his way toward the desk beneath the round mirror.

The moment he looked at his reflection, he immediately understood the nurse's discomfort.

"So that's it…"

The person in the mirror wasn't him.

Pale skin, black hair with white streaks… and then, the eyes.

The left one… blue. As clear as the sky.

The right one… red. As unholy as hell.

He froze. For a second, he even forgot to breathe.

"Is… this mine?"

It couldn't be. It didn't make sense.

It was like looking at something that shouldn't be there. A wrong piece in an incomplete, broken puzzle.

"Something's wrong…"

It went beyond his appearance. There was this damn feeling that something was there.

"Why? If this eye is mine…" He swallowed hard. "…why does it feel like it's watching me…?"

But then, like a sudden strike of fate, a loud scream echoed down the hallway on the other side of the white room's door.

— BIG BROOOOOOOOOOOOTHER!

A sweet voice, warm as sunlight, rushed toward the door and, like a lightning bolt, slammed it open without even turning the handle.

Standing before him was a little girl, around nine or ten years old. She had dark brown hair, almost black, and blue eyes as vast as the sky itself.

That was the last thing he saw before being completely run over by her truckload of love.

He didn't even have time to react. Her hug hit him hard, as warm as the sun and as tight as a locked padlock.

Louie froze.

"Who?"

But his body reacted before his mind could. His arms moved on their own, wrapping around her even tighter than she was holding him. The very thought of letting go felt wrong.

By the time he realized what had happened, it was already done.

"Why… did I do that?"

The boy's chest tightened.

Her feelings were clear. He could feel them in her embrace, in the strength with which she held him.

But his own feelings were confusing. All mixed up.

Right behind her, another woman appeared. She had blonde, almost golden hair, wore a green dress, and had light brown eyes. As soon as she entered, she went straight to them and wrapped her arms around them both.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. Between sobs, she whispered:

— Thank goodness you're safe… my son. — she murmured, burying her tear-soaked face even deeper into the boy's shoulder.

Louie stood still. It was strange to feel so many things at once: the warmth of their bodies, the weight of their tears, and the fear of losing someone.

Faced with all of this, the only thing his heart could do was beat faster.

"I don't remember them…"

A lump rose in his throat. His eyes burned, and tears came without warning.

"Then why…?"

Without realizing it, he tightened his embrace even more.

"Why do I feel this way?"

This time, it wasn't emptiness.

And that… was worse.

"If I don't know who they are…"

His breathing faltered for a second, and his heart began pounding wildly.

"…why does it hurt so much to see them like this?"