The Third and First One

Lauren sat on the frigid stone surface, her naked body trembling as she rocked uncontrollably. Vivid memories of the forest she had just escaped rushed through her mind, and she could almost hear the whispers of the demons that had tormented her there, clawing at her sanity. More than anything, though, she could see Nineteen. Laughing at her. Corrupting her very soul. Painfully turning her into an abomination.

Panic surged within Lauren, leaving her breathless; the weight of her terror felt unbearable as she fought to keep it contained. "Oh god! I can still hear them," she whimpered.

Standing above her was Azure and Alison. The three women were surrounded by stone rubble, from the battle the host and the demonic Lauren had fought.

Azure gazed at the goth, examining her with the curiosity of a scientist studying a specimen. "You really have been traumatized, huh?" Then, without warning, the host's qualitative look turned into one of sadistic glee as an idea crossed her mind. "Want me to get rid of it?"

Lauren looked up at her with red, tear-soaked eyes. "Huh?"

"Your memory," Azure explained. "I can erase all the torment like it never happened. Would you like me to?"

Lauren's first instincts urged her to say yes. But as she opened her mouth, a nagging feeling of doubt arose. Her **** in the woods had made her realize how naive and idiotic she had been. On the other hand, the trauma was unbearable.

"I... I... I don't know," Lauren stuttered, but Azure raised a hand to stop her.

"Just kidding," the host laughed. "As if you ever had a choice."

"What?" Lauren asked, eyes widening.

"Say goodbye to your memories!" Azure cackled, her eyes gleaming with mischief as she lifted her slender hand high, ready to unleash her curse.

Stepping forward, Alison suddenly declared, "You can't do that!"

Azure turned to her assistant, sure she had misheard. "What did you say?"

"You cannot erase her memory. Doing so would invalidate her entire experience."

Azure and Alison proceeded to argue, but Lauren was barely listening. The sounds around her had faded into the background as the weight of her anxiety made it difficult to process anything beyond the turmoil within her.

She only snapped back to reality when Azure turned to her with a sinister grin. "Now, let's get you back to the bitch we all love to hate."

"Wait! Hold on!" Lauren cried, but it was too late.

"Forget," Azure whispered.

---

Lauren awoke in complete darkness. Panic began to set in as she attempted to move, only to find that her entire body felt immobilized as if trapped within a tight cocoon. Then, she realized she was encased in a large, glimmering crystal, its surface cool and smooth against her skin.

As she struggled against the confines that held her captive, she could feel an unfamiliar warmth start to envelop her. The crystal began to soften and shimmer, like ice melting under the sun. With a sudden shattering sound, the crystal fractured around her. The shards exploded into a brilliant yellow light, causing the nude girl to fall out, landing on an invisible ground in a black void.

Lauren stumbled forward, breathing heavily as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. Her heart raced. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but black emptiness.

'Oh god! I’m back in the woods!' Lauren thought her heart racing as hysteria set in. She could feel her breathing quicken, each gasp coming in shallow bursts as her survival instincts kicked into overdrive.

"HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME!" she shrieked, running for her life. With each step she took, she was swallowed by the same endless vacuum, a vast nothingness that seemed to stretch forever. It felt like she was trapped in a loop, the scenery around her unchanged and sterile. "HELP ME! OH GOD HELP ME!"

"So, you awakened after all," said a monotone voice. "Your willpower is unusual."

Lauren spun around to the speaker to find Alison suspended in midair. Her usual vacant expression was instead entirely focused on Lauren.

"Alison!" Lauren cried, looking up at her rescuer. "Please save me!"

Alison's expression remained unaffected by the pleading girl. "You are not in danger. Nor are you in the woods."

A warm wave of relief washed over Lauren, bringing with it an unsettling mix of confusion. Still frightened, she looked around at the dark emptiness. "Then where am I?"

"Inside me," Alison said simply.

Lauren took a step back. "What? Inside? But... but you're here."

Alison tilted her head inquisitively. "Am I?"

Lauren shook her head, far too overwhelmed to unravel Alison's riddles. "Why am I here? I just want to go back."

"That is impossible," Alison said, ignoring the first question. "You no longer have a body to return with."

Lauren staggered backward, her chest tightening with dread as her heart sank into her stomach. Lauren bumbled backward, her heart sinking. "What? No body?! Oh god! You mean I'm dead?"

"No. You are a memory," Alison replied.

The words lingered above Lauren, suspended like heavy fog, as an intense silence enveloped her.

"What?" was all Lauren could manage.

"You are a backup created from Lauren Peterson's sealed memories, meant for use in the unlikely event Azure reconsiders her decision."

Lauren felt as though her already strained mind was about to explode. "Backup? I... like a clone?"

"No. You are a mental echo," Alison explained. "Azure made Lauren Peterson forget her trip into the woods. I extracted that locked memory, making you."

Alison slowly floated towards Lauren, remaining above her like a hawk observing its prey. "You were the Lauren who existed at the moment of erasure. In other words, you are a version untainted by Azure. A Lauren-Zero, to use the hosts naming convention."

"Lauren... zero?" she repeated.

The maid finally broke eye contact and gazed out into the void. "I had expected you to stay asleep. It typically takes weeks or months for memories to gain self-awareness, if they do at all."

Alison turned back towards the girl. "However, your excessive ego and stubbornness made you highly skilled at manifesting your mental form. You were so effective that you reshaped it to reflect your self-image instead of the gothic identity assigned to you."

Lauren looked down at herself, realizing her skin had lost its pale complexion. The hair draping down her shoulders had also returned to its natural blonde color. She ran two hands down her posterior, discovering it was no longer inflated. Feeling a new self-consciousness of her naked self, she covered herself with her arms.

"So I'm not me?" Lauren asked, drowning in confusion as her thoughts raced to grasp the implications of what she had just heard.

"You are yourself, theoretical construct that you are. But you are correct that you are no longer the prime Lauren Peterson."

As the information finally sank in, it crashed over her like a tidal wave. Moments ago, she had been lost in the hellish, shadowy woods, tormented by demons. But now, after being rescued, she was confronted with the shocking revelation that she was not real—just a figment of a lost memory.

Overwhelmed, a wave of panic washed over her, making her heart race and her breath quicken as reality seemed to slip through her fingers like grains of sand. The more she thought about it, the worse it seemed.

As her anxiety intensified, her body began to flicker, the skin fading from vibrant color to a ghostly translucence. It was as if she were turning into mist, becoming less solid with each passing moment.

Alison descended to the ground, standing mere inches from the fading girl. "I recommend you remain calm. You exist purely as a psyche, so you will break if your mind does."

"Calm?!" Lauren shrieked. "How can I... what do I... oh god!"

Alison shifted her gaze from the girl, looking around the black void. "Given your recent trauma, this environment may not be conducive to a serene state of mind."

With a delicate flick of her finger, Alison summoned a luminous glow that spilled forth from the depths of the void. The radiant light expanded, becoming a sun in the sky, consuming the surrounding darkness and replacing it with clear skies.

The invisible surface they stood on began to crack, and lush green grass sprouted from it. In the distance, mountains rose up above them, and valleys formed below.

Alison made another gesture, and a wooden structure formed around them. As they stood together, a Japanese-inspired, multiroom bathhouse gradually took shape around them, its wooden beams rising from the ground like ancient trees drawing life from the earth. The wooden floor rose beneath Lauren, leaving her right at the entrance to the outside. As a final touch, a loose-fitting dressing gown weaved itself upon her.

Lauren set her hand on the smooth, solid surface, feeling the coolness of the wood beneath her fingertips, reassuring her that it was indeed real. In the distance, birds chirping filled the air, their songs woven into the gentle rustle of leaves. The atmosphere was calm, evoking a sense of peace and connection to the world outside.

Though it didn't completely eliminate her fear, the environment helped ground her in reality enough to regain her form.

"You are useless to me if you disappear." Alison gestured to the hallway behind her. "The left leads to the onsen. The right your sleeping quarters. You will rest."

Lauren slowly pushed herself up from the ground, her body still quaking with residual anxiety. "Rest? How do you expect me to rest?" she asked, her voice a mixture of frustration and disbelief.

Alison merely turned her back on her and rose into the air. "I am needed elsewhere."

"Wait! Please, don't leave me!" Lauren shouted, but her cries fell on deaf ears. Alison was gone, leaving Lauren behind and alone in her gilded cage.

---

Lauren (Prime) Peterson

The goth awoke from her nightmares from the sound of her own groaning stomach. As much as she tried to ignore the hunger, the fact that she barely ate the previous night was finally affecting her.

Cracking open her eyes, she looked down at herself. She was still in her outfit from the challenge, not having bothered to change into her pajamas. Looking over at her bedside clock, she saw it was 3:30 AM. She had only managed about four hours of sleep.

She tried to go back to sleep, hoping her nightmares were at least better than the awful guilt she felt. But another pang of hunger made itself known. Finally, after swearing under her breath, she threw off the covers and set her feet on the cold floor.

In front of her was a dresser she had put against the locked door, barricading outsiders. With great effort, she managed to move it aside, unlock the latch, and enter the dark hallway.

Moving on autopilot, she headed to one of the tea rooms she had used before. She remembered having treats in a cupboard, which she hoped would take enough of the edge off to help her escape back into slumber.

Entering her destination, she found some biscuits and cookies. She had only meant to take one, but after the first bite, she was overcome by ravenous hunger and consumed a dozen. Usually, she would never scarf so much “fat food,” but worries about her figure hardly registered at this point.

Satisfied, she turned to leave, only to notice two empty chairs. Immediately, she remembered when she and her twin sat in them on the first night. Katelyn had implored her sister to work with her to earn points so they could survive the game. She had told Lauren how scared she was for her, begging her to listen to reason. Instead, Lauren had thrown her sister's love right back into her face, claiming that she had always considered her useless.

Tears filled her eyes as she buried her face in her hands, guilt and shame overwhelming her. “Sis, I’m so sorry.”

“Such a poor dear. You’ve suffered so, so much.”

A sweet but powerful voice sounded out from the darkness. Lauren dropped her hands in alarm and looked around but saw nothing.

“It breaks my heart to watch Azure and the others torment you. You don’t deserve it.”

“Who’s there?! Show yourself!” Lauren demanded.

“Forgive me. I did not mean to startle.”

Lauren swung her head around, trying to locate the speaker. Yet, no matter how she looked, it always sounded like it was whispered behind her. “Who are you?” she yelled.

“A fellow victim of Azure and prisoner like yourself.”

“Prisoner?”

“Yes, sealed in a forest for daring to question her. It’s taking all my power to speak to you like this.”

Lauren pounded her palms against her temples. “Get out of my head! Get out!”

"I'm sorry. I imagine telepathy must be unfamiliar to you. But it was the only way. I want to help."

“I don’t believe you!”

“That is understandable. I’ve seen how everyone else has betrayed you. How the master and contestants have all been plotting against you. All conspiring to destroy everything you care about. It was heartbreaking to see how Levi and Sophia worked together to eliminate your sister.”

“How… how the hell do you know this?”

There was a momentary pause before the voice gave its explanation. “Azure has been broadcasting your season. I’ve seen how much you’ve suffered. The episodes even end with her bragging about how she plans to break you next. I couldn’t watch such brutality anymore. I had to contact you.”

“I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!” Lauren repeated, shouting to the darkness. “You… you’re just Azure, aren’t you? This is just another trap.”

“I understand your caution, but please believe my help offer is genuine.”

The goth stomped her foot. “I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP!”

“And what about your sister? Does she not need my help?”

“I… that’s…” Lauren stammered, suddenly unsure.

The voice pressed the topic. "You have no idea how terrified she must be right now. Trapped to watch helplessly inside the mind of that abomination.”

A feeling of dread built up in Lauren's stomach. "Watch? What do you mean watch?"

“You do not know? Azure's eliminations are beyond cruel. She doesn’t alter their minds. Instead, she takes away all free will and makes their bodies perform the character she inflicted. The victim is trapped inside, **** to watch but powerless to resist.”

"That... can't be," Lauren stammered, her voice quivering as panic surged within her chest like a tidal wave. The idea was too horrifying to grasp, sending chills down her spine. Yet, despite her **** denial, an unsettling realization rooted itself in her thoughts: deep down, she knew Azure was more than capable of such a heinous act.

"Oh god... OH GOD!" she trembled.

"Yes, you understand. Azure won't be satisfied with just your sister and your fortune; she'll keep going, corrupting and taking everything you love unless we stop her now."

"Can you really help?" Lauren desperately pleaded.

“Not here. Not from my distance. Already, my connection to you is fading,” the voice said sadly. "I need you to come to me. I need you to go to the forest.”

The already scared Lauren felt a new surge of terror she could not explain. “THE FOREST?!”

“Yes, this time tomorrow. Azure does not need to sleep as much as a human, but she cannot avoid it. I can guarantee her eyes will not be upon you between 2 and 5 AM. It is the reason I am contacting you now.”

"I... I..." Lauren stammered, her voice wavering with uncertainty. A knot tightened in her stomach, a mix of anxiety and doubt swirling inside her. The room felt heavy with tension, and despite her **** longing for answers, she couldn’t shake the skepticism gripping her.

“Please, give it some thought," the voice implored, growing quieter, as if its speaker was walking away. "I will be waiting... tomorrow... the forest.”

Stillness filled the room as the speaker became silent. Lauren fell to her knees.

---

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