Rudolph: The Memory Sea

Episode 10

This was the Memory Sea.

Each wave whispered.

Each ripple remembered.

First Test: The Boy Who Stayed

A small island emerged—cracked earth, a rusted swing, and a broken house.

Rudolph stepped off the ship and saw… himself. Eight years old. Sitting on the porch, eyes hollow, hands covered in grease.

“I stayed with her,” the boy said. “You didn’t.”

It was the version of him who never left Lexi, who didn’t go with Major, who grew up too fast, protecting his siblings alone.

“She needed you,” the boy whispered. “And you left.”

Rudolph fell to his knees. “I was a kid.”

The boy didn’t blink. “So was I.”

The ground cracked, threatening to swallow him until Rudolph reached out and hugged that version of himself. Held him. Accepted him.

The island dissolved.

The ship surged forward.

Second Test: The Warrior Without Love

Next came a massive statue of Rudolph—older, armor-clad, gold-eyed, holding a sword made of lightning.

He ruled a city of silence.

No Sunny. No Minerva. No laughter. Just power.

This was the version of Rudolph who became a perfect Maker… but lost his humanity.

“You could save them all if you just stopped caring,” the statue said. “Every attachment is a weakness.”

Kito hissed. “Don’t listen. That’s the voice of the Foundry.”

Rudolph stared at the statue. “I’d rather break with love than rule in silence.”

The sword shattered in the statue’s hand.

The sea rippled again.

Final Trial: The Father’s Choice

The sky tore open.

And there, standing on a shard of starlight, was Major.

But not how Rudolph remembered him.

This version looked younger. Worn, but still powerful. Eyes like hammered steel. A soldier. A Maker. A man who had given everything and still lost.

“Rudy,” he whispered, voice trembling. “You found me.”

Rudolph tried to reach him, but the waters thickened.

“You can’t pull me free unless you take my place,” Major said. “That’s the rule of the Veil. One stays. One returns.”

The Decision

Rudolph hesitated.

He looked back at the Veilship.

He saw Sunny, her song tethered to the bow.

He saw Minerva, waiting by the firelight.

He saw the town, the people he protected.

Then, he did something no one had done before.

He rewrote the rule.

He pressed the stone Sunny gave him to his heart and sang—not a perfect note, but one filled with all his pain, all his hope, all his memory.

And the Veil… listened.

Instead of exchanging one soul for another—

—It lets them fuse.

Major’s essence merged with the Lantern light in Rudolph. Not gone. Not possessed. Present. The father’s knowledge, strength, and memory… now walked with the son.

The Return

The Veilship broke through the membrane of the sky and landed in a burst of silver mist.

Rudolph collapsed into Minerva’s arms.

Kito purred. “Well… that was dramatic.”

Sunny ran to him. “Did you find him?”

Rudolph took her hand.

“He found me.”

To be continued…