Where am I? What happened?
I could only wonder as my vision went blank.
And all so suddenly I was there once again. In the chamber of my subconscious.
"Hello! Is anyone here?"
However this time, the noble-looking boy was missing.
Instead, a mannequin that resembled a kid was laying on the table.
It felt like a part of me was missing too and was replaced with a brand new part.
Now that I was here once again, I decided to observe the eerie-looking church a little deeper.
The floor was made out of well-polished crystal, and the chairs that decorated it were crafted out of dark gold.
Each chair was made to have a heart-shaped pattern.
And on them, various mannequins were sitting.
Most had different shapes but still somehow resembled humans.
They were put in a position where someone would think they were silently crying.
"Man this place looks creepy, he should fire whoever decorated it"
I tried to joke around since the aura in the room was starting to get way too monotonous.
And no matter how much I tried to think of a logical explanation about this place's existence, I was always driven to an enormous hole in every logic-based theory.

There was a bigger chance that this ominous place was tied to something supernatural.
After all, there's no way a place so creepy exists on earth, especially with people like that guy who seems to know me.
I squished my thoughts out of the topic for a second and continued my observation trip.
However, looking around I noticed something different.
Something that wasn't there the last time.
On the wall below the stained glass.
There it resided a mechanical door.

A silver-colored door filled with gears on the side.
It was odd I thought.
{This door certainly is out of place} It seemed to be rusted on the sides and I wondered if it was still functional.
{This might be a dream or whatever but that makes it all the more logical for it to be stuck}
Walking towards it, made me feel odd.
Each step called for a chill to run down my spine.
There was something behind that door.

I gritted my teeth and got ready to enter.
But just touching the strange door was enough to shake me.
It was a weird feeling. A mix of fear and nostalgia.
Like the something that was behind that door was something I wanted to remember but I was strangely afraid to do so.
As my palm reached the metallic surface, the gears started spinning and steam emerge from them.
With a quick BANG!! the door moved towards the front and then to the side.
The steam increased drastically upon the door's opening, so much that I was unable to see inside.
Nevertheless, I walked forward. There was no way I would back down now.
I was curious, and after all, this was the only way for me to move forward.

Walking inside the gear-filled door, I arrived on a huge noble-looking hall.
For some reason, the chilling feeling I had before was completely gone by the time I stepped in.
The hall was filled with plants on the corners.
A golden, bright chandelier was hanging from the ceiling and the floor was swallowed by a big red carpet that went up a set of stairs placed towards the back.
I was amazed by the view as a particular object cough my attention.
It was a big picture of the boy I encountered in that dream that was placed in the center of the wall above the stairs.
A golden frame with spiral patterns decorated the picture.
As for the picture itself, it was peculiar.
It was him alright. However, the boy in the picture strangely resembled me from way back then.
The only difference was our hair color.
Instead of my snow-white hair, in the picture, they had a lifeless black color.
Next to him were two people.
However, I believe that is not the right way to describe them.
I decided to call them beings.
One of them at least.

The one was a light-brown haired girl wearing a green dress and the other...
The other was a robot.
A metallic robot with glowing eyes that was standing next to them.
It had two lines that ended on the bottom of his head and created a mouth but he had no eyebrows, as expected of a robot, and thanks to that, I couldn't figure out an expression.
As for the other two, they seemed happy.
It was strange to spot another clue that had to do with me but looking around, the room was strangely familiar.
And what's more? The room was filled doors all around it.
{Just how big is this place?} I thought walking close to the picture.

The following was carved below on a golden plate:
-- To you my friend I shall gift: F:RAN --

"Now what hell does that mean? A riddle perhaps?"
I could not understand the meaning of this sentence, especially the F:Ran part.
With the colon, it was hard for me to figure out its pronunciation.
And below the plate, a reversed circle was carved.
That made it even more strange and quickly piqued my interest.
But my thoughts about it were quickly shaken off by the sound of an odd melody.
It was coming from one of the rooms.

The closer I got, the louder the melody became.
A sorrowful high-pitched tone played probably with a piano.
I would love to hear more of it under normal circumstances.
However, me being alone, made the melody strangely disturbing.
I knew I had to check it out. I needed answers.
After all, there was no exit in this place.

Opening the door, I was greeted with the source of the eerie sound.
It was him, that kid who greeted me before.
He was sitting in front of a black colored piano and was playing the odd melody with a rusted, metallic, dead robot as his audience.

"Oh! You're here? My apologies, I was too focused and didn't notice your arrival Ran"
He seemed surprised, meaning that he doesn't know everything that's happening in this place.
"I have many questions. But first, tell me. What is this place?"
"Come on, even an idiot like you should have figured it out by now"
His response irritated me, but he was right.
Deep inside me, I had a theory as to the existence of this place.

"It's your memory card!"
That was an odd way to put it, I was thinking more of a mind palace but a memory card isn't different.
In the end, it's the part of the brain where you store memories.
"If that's so why am I here? I just got zapped by electricity and passed out. A better question would be: how do I get out?"
"Wait wait, please let me explain"
Bowing he tried to calm me down as a loud clapping noise was burst out of the empty seats.
"It's as easy to get out as it is to get in. You just need to know the trick"
In response, I raised an eyebrow.
"Just imagine a door, and something you've seen here, something that only exists here. That's how you get in. Just do the same to get out. just remember something or someone you are close to outside. Something you'll never forget"
"That's it?"
The way he described it made it look way too easy.
"That's just a trick to enter this chamber of the past willingly. And as for your other question... As for why you're here... I'm afraid that's not something for me to tell you. I'm sure you'll find out on your own Ran. Just give it some time"
That was a very cryptic way to put it.

I'm sure there are many rooms filled with secrets in this place.
But while I was thinking about what to ask next, I felt a great headache.
Like something was trying to pull me forcefully out of this place.
"What a shame... Your visit here was cut short once more. What to do... I'll await your next visit"
He let a sigh of disappointment while looking at my drained eyes.
Being in here by himself, I could tell he was getting lonely.
"One more thing. Please just tell me your name"
A name. That was something I've been meaning to ask of him.
"Me? Let's see... since I don't have a definite name, just call me Mirage"
With a smiling face, Mirage waved at me.
Letting me once again fall into a deep slumber.