Chapter 5 – The Statue in the Museum+Chapter 6 – The Dream of Chains

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Chapter 5 – The Statue in the Museum

The museum was silent, its grand halls echoing with forgotten histories. Danny walked slowly, his eyes scanning the rows of artifacts and portraits. Something tugged at him, a strange pull he couldn’t explain, as though the air itself wanted him to remember.

Then he stopped.

At the center of the hall stood a marble statue—delicate, timeless, carved with such detail that it seemed almost alive. A woman, her face serene yet sorrowful, eyes gazing into eternity. The plaque below read: “The Missing Princess.”

Danny’s breath caught in his chest. His heart raced, his palms grew cold. He stepped closer, unable to tear his gaze away. There was something about her expression, something achingly familiar.

“Deja vu…” he whispered.

The name slipped from his lips without thought, without reason. His body remembered what his mind had long ignored. A shiver ran through him—fragments of memories, flashes of laughter in candlelit halls, the touch of delicate hands, the sound of a voice calling his name.

But Danny shook his head and stepped back, confused and afraid. No… this is crazy. This can’t be real.

Behind him, Guy watched silently, his eyes heavy with knowledge. He had seen this before—how the past pulled Danny closer, piece by piece, even if Danny refused to accept it.

“You feel it, don’t you?” Guy asked softly.

Danny clenched his fists. “I don’t know what I feel. It’s just a statue. That’s all.”

But Guy knew the truth. He could see it in Danny’s trembling, in the way his eyes refused to leave the marble face. This wasn’t just a statue. It was a key, a reminder of who Danny once was, and who the princess had been.

“Deja vu isn’t just a word,” Guy said quietly. “It’s her. It’s you. It’s the past calling you back.”

Danny turned sharply, anger and fear flashing in his eyes. “Stop. Don’t say that. I’m not him. I’m not anyone but me.”

Guy didn’t answer. He simply looked back at the statue, knowing the past was stronger than denial. Sooner or later, Danny would have to face the truth—about the princess, about Yuzui, and about the love that time had refused to bury.

The marble figure seemed to watch them both, silent and eternal, as if waiting for Danny to finally remember who she truly was.

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Chapter 6 – The Dream of Chains

That night, Danny’s sleep was restless. The silence of his room was thick, suffocating, yet his mind drifted far from the comfort of the present.

He opened his eyes inside a vast, shadowy hall. The air was cold, filled with whispers that seemed to crawl across the stone walls. A black wizard stood before him—eyes glowing red, smile cruel and twisted. His long cloak dragged across the floor, dripping with shadows.

Danny looked down and froze. His hands were bound with heavy iron chains. Around his wrists jingled delicate bangles, cold against his skin. His body trembled—he was not dressed as himself but trapped in a flowing gown, shimmering yet alien, as though he had been forced into the role of someone else.

The wizard’s voice echoed:

“You cannot escape your fate, Yuzui. You belong to time… to me.”

Danny pulled against the chains, heart racing. His voice cracked: “I’m not—! I’m not him!”

Suddenly, a dreadful sight appeared before him—a beheaded man. The body stood upright, headless, bloodless, yet somehow alive. Its hands reached out, grasping at the air, stumbling toward Danny.

“No—stay away!” Danny screamed, thrashing against his chains.

The wizard laughed, a low rumble that shook the hall. The gown tightened around Danny’s body, the bangles clinked louder, as if mocking him. His chest felt crushed, as though he was drowning in someone else’s life.

Then, with a sudden gust of cold air, the beheaded man moved faster—closer, closer—until his lifeless face snapped into view.

Danny let out a sharp cry—

“WHOOSH!”

He sat upright in his bed, drenched in sweat, chest heaving. The room was silent again, only the sound of his ragged breathing filling the darkness.

His trembling hands clutched the sheets. It was a dream—just a dream. But the cold weight of bangles on his wrists still seemed to linger, and the echo of the wizard’s laughter refused to fade.

From the shadows of the room, Guy’s voice came softly. He had been waiting.

“You saw him, didn’t you? The wizard. The chains. The past is coming for you, Danny.”

Danny stared at him, terrified and confused. “It was… it felt too real.”

Guy’s expression was grave. “Because it is real. The dreams are only the beginning.”

And deep within Danny’s chest, fear and truth warred violently. The princess’s past, Yuzui’s destiny, and the wizard’s curse were no longer just stories—they were waking into his reality.

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