Reminisce | Tower of God

Chapter 14

Elyse waited in the wide hall the Test Director led her and her brother to.

Hansung had told them only one of them had to speak with the Administrator about taking his test. And so, she let her brother walk through the double doors at the end of the hall to see the Administrator in private. Soon after, the Test Director left to inform the regulars back in the announcement room about the decision they would have to make. They could either take the Administrator's test with her and Bam ... or take their tests separately without the two of them.

A few minutes had passed since then, and Elyse found herself tapping her foot anxiously against the floor, eyes scanning over the teal walls that surrounded her and the black and white support beams that held up the ceiling. Several times, her gaze lingered on the piece of art across from her, taking in the red and black smears of paint that formed an image on a white background that stretched across nearly the entire wall.

At last, she heard footsteps approaching her, but when she glanced to her left to see who it was ... she found herself locking eyes with the last person she wanted to see.

"Test Director," she said, greeting the blond ranker with a nod. "You're back."

He smiled. "Of course, Ms. Elyse. I had to check if your brother received permission from the Administrator to take the test with Michelle yet." Hansung glanced at the still closed doors at the end of the hall. "Though I suppose he still hasn't returned."

"Ah ... yes." She took in a breath before starting, "But ... Test Director, about what you said earlier...?"

His smile grew into a grin. "Yes?" he asked lightly, urging her to elaborate, to bring them back to the conversation he himself had cut short earlier. "What about it?"

She clenched her hands into fists at her sides. "You know something ... something very important about me, don't you?"

"That you're an irregular?" he mused, clasping his hands behind his back. "Yes, I have known that about you and your brother this whole time. In fact, that is the reason why I have been trying so hard to prevent you and your brother from going up since the beginning."

"You what?" she questioned in shock and rage. She shook her head a second later. "No, wait, nevermind that. That's not a surprise. I had a feeling ... that you never exactly had the best intentions, Test Director. So I won't ask you why you decided to do such a thing."

Elyse stepped towards Hansung Yu, pushing back the unease she felt at being alone with him once more. The smug expression on the ranker's face only seemed to grow at her actions.

"What I really want to know, however," she stated without a single bit of uncertainty, "is what else you've known about me ... since the very first time you saw me."

He tilted his head, and answered her with a question of his own. "Do you now, Ms. Elyse? Well, how about this ... Do you really still believe that you and that deceased irregular ... that you and Aria are not one and the same?"

She faltered, feeling her heart beating faster and faster. "What?" she breathed, eyes wide. "Me ... and ... Aria? N-no, that can't be. That's ... insane."

"Believe whatever you want, Ms. Elyse," Hansung replied with a shrug. "But just think about it for a moment. Don't you think those dreams, or rather, those memories of yours align a little too perfectly with Aria's life story? And don't you think it's a little odd that you can wield her blade ... and that you're nearly the spitting image of her?"

He was lying. He was bluffing. He was trying to manipulate her, to throw her off her game before she could take the Administrator's test. He had to be.

And yet ... everything the Test Director had said made sense. Nearly everything he'd said ... were things she herself had already considered. Then there were all those inexplicable emotions that would arise in her at every turn. There were all those times the very mention of his name made her want to scream or cry or shudder or even ... smile. There were all those times she spoke about Aria's story, Aria's life, and Aria's connections ... as if they were her own.