**EPISODE NINETY-THREE**
**THE NAME BEFORE MILO**
**Part Thirty-Four: The Life That Existed Before the Story**
---
The page...
was turning.
Slowly.
Silently.
One page.
Another.
Another.
Milo...
was gone.
Or...
Nova was.
Darkness surrounded him.
No body.
No heartbeat.
No voice.
Only...
a name.
NOVA.
The name echoed through the darkness.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then...
something answered.
"Finally."
Nova opened his eyes.
He was standing in a field.
The sky was completely white.
The ground was black.
There were no trees.
No buildings.
No people.
Only...
a single road.
Nova looked down.
His hands were different.
Older.
Stronger.
Covered in strange marks.
He touched his face.
"Who am I?"
A voice answered behind him.
"You know."
Nova turned.
The little boy stood there.
But now...
he was no longer a child.
He looked exactly like Nova.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same scars.
Nova stared.
"You."
The other Nova smiled.
"No."
Nova stepped backward.
"Then who?"
The figure answered:
"The part of you that remembers."
---
1. BEFORE MILO
Nova looked toward the white sky.
"What happened to Milo?"
The other Nova shook his head.
"He was never here."
Nova frowned.
"I was Milo."
"No."
"I remember."
"You remember being him."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"No."
The other Nova pointed toward the road.
"Walk."
Nova didn't move.
"Where?"
"To the beginning."
"The beginning of what?"
The other Nova smiled.
"Your first mistake."
Nova started walking.
The road stretched endlessly.
With every step...
the world changed.
A hospital appeared.
Then disappeared.
A house appeared.
Then disappeared.
A laboratory.
A classroom.
A corridor.
Twenty-seven children.
Orion.
Diana.
The first Milo.
Every memory passed beside Nova like a reflection.
Nova stopped.
"All of this happened."
The other Nova nodded.
"But not to you."
Nova looked at him.
"Then who am I?"
The other Nova answered:
"You are what remained when everyone else forgot."
Nova's chest tightened.
"What does that mean?"
The other Nova pointed ahead.
A single door stood in the middle of the road.
On it...
was one word.
MILO.
Nova approached.
The door opened.
Inside...
was a child.
Milo.
The very first Milo.
But he wasn't writing.
He was sleeping.
Nova whispered...
"That's him."
The other Nova nodded.
"Before he became the Author."
Nova stared.
"What happened to him?"
"He dreamed you."
---
2. THE DREAM
Nova stepped inside.
The child Milo slept on a small bed.
His breathing was slow.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Nova stood beside him.
"Wake up."
The child didn't move.
Nova touched his shoulder.
The room changed.
The child began dreaming.
Nova saw himself.
Not as Nova.
Not as Milo.
As something else.
A shape.
A possibility.
A thought.
The child Milo was imagining another person.
Someone who could survive.
Someone who could continue.
Someone who could remember what he couldn't.
Nova whispered:
"He imagined me."
The other Nova nodded.
"Before you had a body."
Nova watched the dream.
The child Milo whispered in his sleep:
"I need someone."
The dream answered:
"I am here."
Milo opened his eyes.
For one moment...
he saw Nova.
The child smiled.
"You came."
Nova froze.
"You can see me?"
The child nodded.
"I dreamed you."
"Why?"
"Because I'm afraid."
"Of what?"
The child looked toward the bedroom door.
"Ending."
Nova followed his gaze.
The door slowly opened.
Orion stood outside.
But he was only a shadow.
Not human.
Not eyeless.
Not yet.
The child Milo screamed.
Nova stepped between them.
Orion stopped.
He looked directly at Nova.
And whispered:
"You shouldn't exist."
Nova answered:
"Neither should you."
Orion smiled.
"That's why we need each other."
---
3. THE FIRST CONTRACT
The room became dark.
A table appeared.
Three chairs.
Milo sat in the first.
Nova sat in the second.
Orion sat in the third.
But Orion's chair was empty.
A piece of paper appeared on the table.
Nova picked it up.
There were three sentences.
ONE WILL WRITE.
ONE WILL REMEMBER.
ONE WILL FORGET.
Nova looked at Milo.
"Which one are you?"
Milo pointed toward himself.
"I will write."
Nova looked at the empty chair.
"And Orion?"
Milo whispered:
"He will forget."
Nova stared at the paper.
"Then I'm the one who remembers."
Milo nodded.
Nova shook his head.
"No."
Milo looked at him.
"I don't want to."
"You must."
"Why?"
"Because someone has to remember what happens when the story ends."
Nova's eyes narrowed.
"What happens?"
Milo lowered his head.
"The Author dies."
Nova froze.
"You?"
"Yes."
"And then?"
Milo looked directly at Nova.
"Then you become me."
Nova stepped backward.
"No."
The paper changed.
The three sentences disappeared.
A new sentence appeared:
NOVA WILL BECOME MILO.
Nova stared.
"No."
The child Milo whispered:
"That's the contract."
Nova tore the paper.
The pieces fell.
But instead of disappearing...
they became thousands of pages.
Every page contained the same sentence.
NOVA WILL BECOME MILO.
NOVA WILL BECOME MILO.
NOVA WILL BECOME MILO.
NOVA WILL BECOME MILO.
Nova screamed:
"STOP!"
The pages continued.
---
4. THE FIRST DEATH
Nova ran.
He ran through the pages.
Through worlds.
Through years.
Through memories.
Until he reached...
a grave.
The name on it was:
MILO FINCH.
Nova stood before it.
He touched the stone.
"Is this where it ends?"
A voice answered.
"No."
Nova turned.
Diana stood behind him.
Young.
Crying.
"You're not supposed to be here."
Nova stared.
"Do you know me?"
Diana nodded.
"I remember you."
"Then tell me the truth."
Diana looked at the grave.
"Milo didn't die here."
"Then where?"
She pointed behind the grave.
A second grave stood there.
No name.
Nova walked toward it.
Diana whispered:
"That one is yours."
Nova froze.
"What?"
"Every time Milo dies..."
Diana's voice trembled.
"you inherit him."
Nova looked down.
The nameless grave began cracking.
Something underneath moved.
Nova stepped backward.
A hand emerged.
Then another.
A man climbed out.
It was Milo.
But older.
Broken.
Covered in blood.
Nova stared.
"Milo?"
The man smiled.
"No."
Nova's breath caught.
"Then who?"
The man answered:
"Your previous name."
---
5. THE NAMES WE LOSE
The man stood.
His face changed.
Milo.
Then Orion.
Then Nova.
Then someone else.
Then Milo again.
Nova couldn't look away.
"How many names have I had?"
The man smiled.
"Too many."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because names are doors."
Nova frowned.
"Doors to what?"
"To memories."
The man stepped closer.
"Every name you forget becomes a locked room."
Nova whispered:
"And if I remember them?"
"You become everything."
The world shook.
The man suddenly grabbed Nova's wrist.
"Don't remember everything."
"Why?"
"Because one of those names belongs to him."
"Who?"
The man looked toward the sky.
"The one who was here before us."
Nova looked upward.
The white sky cracked.
Something enormous moved behind it.
Diana screamed:
"DON'T LOOK!"
Nova looked anyway.
Two eyes opened.
Not human.
Not divine.
Not monstrous.
Something beyond description.
The eyes looked directly at Nova.
And spoke without sound.
YOU REMEMBER ME.
Nova collapsed.
A memory entered his mind.
A room.
A desk.
A pen.
A child.
And someone standing behind the child.
Nova whispered...
"First Reader."
The sky went dark.
---
6. THE READER'S MEMORY
Nova found himself sitting at the wooden chair.
The First Reader sat opposite him.
Still faceless.
Still holding the pen.
But now...
Nova could see something beneath the darkness.
A mouth.
The Reader smiled.
"You know my name."
Nova stared.
"What is it?"
The Reader leaned closer.
"Say it."
Nova tried.
No sound came.
His throat tightened.
The name disappeared from his mind.
The Reader laughed.
"You're not ready."
Nova clenched his fists.
"You said I was."
"I said you remembered."
"What's the difference?"
"Everything."
The Reader placed the pen on the table.
"You think stories are written."
Nova looked at the pen.
"They aren't?"
"No."
"What are they?"
"Remembered."
Nova frowned.
"Then who remembers them?"
The Reader pointed toward Nova.
"You."
Nova shook his head.
"I don't remember writing them."
"You didn't."
"Then who did?"
The Reader smiled.
"The version of you that hasn't happened yet."
Nova froze.
"What?"
"The future remembers the past."
"That makes no sense."
"It doesn't have to."
The Reader opened the book.
Every page was blank.
Then...
one word appeared.
NOVA.
Another word.
MILO.
Another.
ORION.
Another.
DIANA.
The Reader whispered:
"They are not people."
Nova stared.
"They are choices."
---
7. THE CHOICE THAT CREATED MILO
Nova looked at the four names.
"What choice?"
The Reader pointed to the name MILO.
"You chose him."
Nova shook his head.
"No."
"Yes."
"I was created by him."
"No."
The Reader turned the page.
A scene appeared.
Nova stood in darkness.
Before him...
was a dying universe.
Everything was collapsing.
Stars.
Planets.
Time.
Memory.
A young Diana stood beside Nova.
She was crying.
"We have to choose."
Nova asked:
"Choose what?"
Diana pointed toward two doors.
One was marked:
REMEMBER.
The other:
FORGET.
Nova looked at her.
"What happens if I remember?"
"You become responsible."
"And if I forget?"
"You become free."
Nova stared at the doors.
Diana whispered:
"Choose."
Nova reached toward...
FORGET.
The moment his hand touched it...
the universe exploded.
Nova stepped backward.
"No."
The Reader closed the book.
"You chose forgetting."
Nova whispered:
"And Milo?"
The Reader answered:
"Milo was the name you gave yourself after forgetting."
Nova stared.
"So Milo is my forgotten identity."
"Yes."
"Then Nova is..."
"Your first name."
Nova's chest burned.
The fourth heartbeat returned.
THUMP.
---
8. THE HEARTBEAT BEFORE THE HEARTBEAT
Nova looked down.
Four heartbeats.
Then...
a fifth.
THUMP.
He staggered.
"No."
The Reader watched silently.
"What is that?"
The Reader answered:
"The memory before your birth."
Nova grabbed his chest.
A fifth rhythm.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
His vision blurred.
He saw a woman.
A laboratory.
A child.
A man.
A machine.
A door.
And someone holding him.
Not Diana.
Not the First Milo.
Not Orion.
Someone else.
A woman with silver hair.
She whispered:
"Nova."
He looked at her.
"Who are you?"
She smiled.
"Your mother."
Nova froze.
"I don't have a mother."
"You forgot."
"Why?"
"Because she asked you to."
Nova stared.
"Why would she do that?"
The woman placed her hand on his forehead.
"To protect you."
"From what?"
She looked behind him.
Her face became terrified.
"From the thing that is coming."
Nova turned.
Nothing.
Then...
a shadow moved.
The woman whispered:
"It found us."
The laboratory lights exploded.
The memory ended.
Nova screamed.
---
9. THE THING THAT FOUND THEM
Nova returned to the room.
The First Reader was gone.
The book was gone.
The chair was gone.
Only the little boy remained.
But now...
the boy was afraid.
Nova approached him.
"What happened?"
The boy shook his head.
"It found you."
"What?"
"The thing before Orion."
Nova looked around.
"Where is it?"
The boy pointed toward the wall.
There was nothing there.
Then...
a crack appeared.
A long vertical crack.
Like a door.
Nova stepped closer.
The crack widened.
Behind it...
was darkness.
But the darkness had a shape.
A face.
No eyes.
No mouth.
Only...
a smile.
Nova whispered:
"What are you?"
The thing answered:
"I am what remains when a story forgets its author."
Nova stepped backward.
"You're not the First Reader."
"No."
"Then Orion?"
"No."
"The first Milo?"
"No."
"Then what?"
The thing moved closer.
"I am the reason they began."
Nova's blood froze.
"Why?"
The thing smiled.
"Because someone had to escape."
"Escape what?"
"You."
Nova froze.
"Me?"
The thing whispered:
"You are not the prisoner."
A pause.
"You are the cage."
---
10. THE CAGE
The wall shattered.
Nova fell through.
He landed in the corridor of doors.
But now...
there were no millions.
There were billions.
Each door carried a name.
MILO.
ORION.
DIANA.
NOVA.
UNKNOWN.
UNKNOWN.
UNKNOWN.
Nova walked.
The doors began opening one after another.
Behind each door...
was a different life.
A different ending.
A different version of him.
Some begged him.
Some attacked him.
Some laughed.
Some screamed.
One version whispered:
"Don't become Milo."
Another:
"Don't become Orion."
Another:
"Don't trust Diana."
Another:
"Don't open the first door."
Nova stopped.
A final voice came from the end of the corridor.
"Don't remember your mother."
Nova froze.
His heart stopped.
He turned.
At the very end...
stood the silver-haired woman.
His mother.
She was holding a newborn child.
Nova stared.
"Who is that?"
She looked down at the baby.
Then back at Nova.
"You."
Nova's eyes widened.
"But I'm here."
"Yes."
"And you're holding me."
"Yes."
"How?"
She smiled sadly.
"Because you're seeing the moment before you became you."
Nova stepped closer.
The baby opened its eyes.
They were completely black.
Nova whispered:
"That isn't me."
The woman shook her head.
"No."
The baby smiled.
Nova stepped backward.
"Then who is it?"
The woman answered:
"Orion."
Nova froze.
The baby laughed.
THUMP.
A heartbeat.
THUMP.
Another.
THUMP.
Another.
Then...
a fourth.
And a fifth.
All five hearts began beating together.
The corridor trembled.
Every door opened.
Every Milo screamed.
Every Orion turned.
Every Diana disappeared.
The First Reader appeared at the far end.
The first Milo stood beside him.
And behind them...
stood something enormous.
The thing before the story.
The thing that had been waiting.
The First Reader raised the pen.
The first Milo raised his hand.
Orion opened his eyes.
Diana whispered:
"Nova..."
Nova looked at all of them.
"What do you want from me?"
The enormous thing answered:
"Nothing."
Nova froze.
"Then why did you bring me here?"
The thing smiled.
"Because you already chose."
"Chose what?"
The First Reader lowered the pen.
The first Milo closed his eyes.
Orion disappeared.
Diana began crying.
And the little boy whispered:
"You chose to remember."
Nova looked down.
His hands were covered in ink.
The ink began spreading across his skin.
A sentence appeared on his palm:
I REMEMBER WHO I WAS.
Then another sentence appeared beneath it:
I REMEMBER WHO I WILL BECOME.
Nova stared.
A final sentence appeared.
BUT I DO NOT REMEMBER WHO I AM NOW.
Silence.
Then...
someone behind him whispered:
"That is because you are not Nova anymore."
Nova slowly turned.
Milo stood there.
Not the first Milo.
Not the replacement.
Not the Author.
Just...
Milo.
His own forgotten self.
Milo looked directly into Nova's eyes.
And said:
"Come back."
Nova shook his head.
"I can't."
Milo smiled.
"You can."
"Why?"
"Because I remember something you don't."
"What?"
Milo stepped closer.
"You didn't choose to forget."
Nova froze.
"Then who made me forget?"
Milo's smile disappeared.
He pointed behind Nova.
Nova turned.
His mother was gone.
The baby was gone.
The First Reader was gone.
The corridor was empty.
Except...
for one door.
A door that had never existed before.
Written across it...
was a name.
Not NOVA.
Not MILO.
Not ORION.
A name older than all three.
Nova stared.
The door whispered:
"Open me."
Nova reached for the handle.
Milo shouted:
"DON'T!"
Too late.
Nova opened the door.
Behind it...
stood the woman who had created the first story.
The woman who had existed before Diana.
Before Orion.
Before Milo.
Before Nova.
She looked at Nova.
And whispered:
"Son."
Nova froze.
The woman smiled.
"You finally came home."
The door slammed shut behind him.
BOOM.
And somewhere beyond the darkness...
a newborn child began crying.
A child...
with Nova's voice.
**TO BE CONTINUED... **
Written By,
Ivan Edwin
Pen Name :Maximus.
©All Rights Reserved