Silence followed pain.
Then breath.
Then — the sound of steel humming.
Ryn stood alone in the crimson-lit corridor, his new weapon pulsing with unstable energy in his hand. The Null Blade.
It wasn't metal.
It was rejection made solid — forged from system trash and encoded resentment.
But it worked.
And right now, that was enough.
> [Vital Signs Stabilizing…]
[Combat Synchronization: 42%]
[Warning: Aggression Bias Detected.]
He ignored the prompts.
The corridor ahead twisted sharply, folding in on itself like a glitching wireframe. The geometry made no sense. Doors hung sideways. Gravity flickered in pulses. Time felt stretched — or compressed.
> [You are entering: Zone 3 — Echo Protocol.]
> [Behavioral Stability: Unverified.]
[Cognitive Disruption Likely.]
Ryn smirked bitterly. "Cognitive disruption's been my default since I woke up here."
He stepped through.
---
The world changed.
Zone 3 was no longer sterile. It felt... personal.
The walls looked like bone. Old memories carved into the surface like someone had bled their past into them.
Voices whispered.
Low. Familiar.
> "You left us."
> "You chose chaos."
> "You failed her."
He spun — no one.
Just shadows on the walls. And behind them — reflections. Not mirrors this time. Echoes.
He saw a version of himself kneeling over a burning village.
Another, standing beside the Warden, smiling.
A third — holding Claire's hand.
> "That never happened…" he muttered.
> [Echoes may or may not reflect actual events.]
[Subject's corrupted timeline prevents confirmation.]
> [Caution: Echo entities may become hostile.]
"Of course they can."
The air split.
A blade slashed toward him — not his own.
He blocked. Sparks flew.
A version of himself — same face, but sharper. Smiling with too many teeth. Eyes hollow.
> [Echo Type: Hostile Divergence]
[Title: The Traitor Who Laughed]
No introduction. No rules.
Just blood.
---
The duel was chaos.
Ryn struck low — Echo countered with a mirrored attack.
His own moves used against him, but corrupted.
Every time their blades clashed, system code burst like static.
> [Skill Activated: Shatter Step]
He blinked out — vanished, then reappeared behind his copy.
Slash.
Hit.
The Echo dissolved — not into blood, but into text.
> "You think you're the only version trying to fix things?" it hissed before fading.
---
Silence again.
But something was different.
Ahead: a terminal.
Rust-covered. Flickering. Alien symbols ran across it like veins. And on it, a word Ryn hadn't seen until now:
> "Claire: ACTIVE."
His heart froze.
> [System Log: Claire // User ID_011-C]
[Status: Reintegration In Progress]
[Access Level: ADMIN-R]
[Location: ???]
She was alive.
Not just a ghost. Not just a memory.
Alive — and still part of the System.
But reintegration? What the hell did that mean?
> [Attempting communication…]
> [Error.]
[Signal traced.]
[Warning: Guardian-Class Entity Inbound.]
> "Damn it."
No time to think.
A vent above burst open — and from it, dropped something.
Tall. Cloaked. Wrapped in crimson with shifting mechanical limbs, like a spider that had tried to imitate a human. Its face was a mask — blank, except for a single vertical line glowing blue.
> [Designation: Echo Reaper]
[Level: 47]
[Assigned Task: Memory Termination]
[Objective: Kill the Glitch.]
For a moment, Ryn didn't move.
Then the Null Blade pulsed in his grip, as if whispering: Run or Fight — but Choose Now.
He chose fight.
---
The Reaper was faster.
Too fast.
Claws slashed across Ryn's arm — metal tore code and flesh. The wound hissed, data spilling like blood. His HUD glitched.
He parried the next blow — barely.
> [Skill: Counter Surge — Locked.]
[System Intervention Required.]
[Override?]
"YES!" he screamed.
> [Overriding limitations…]
A flash of light.
New Skill Unlocked: Chaos Reversal
> (Convert enemy momentum into kinetic retaliation.)
Time slowed.
The Reaper lunged.
Ryn twisted, redirected the force — then slammed the blade upward.
The creature screeched, stumbling back.
He followed with a spinning slash — struck its chest.
Not enough.
The Reaper struck back — knocking him through a wall.
---
Darkness.
Rubble.
And above him… a new voice.
Female.
Soft.
> "You always did rush into battles you weren't ready for."
Ryn blinked.
A projection stood above him — flickering. A woman. Silver hair. Eyes like collapsing stars.
Claire.
> "You're not supposed to be here yet, Ryn. You're breaking too many pieces at once."
"Then tell me what's real!" he roared, struggling to rise. "Tell me why I died!"
She didn't answer.
Just looked... sad.
> "Because you believed in freedom more than control. And that scared them."
> "Who?!"
But she was already fading.
> [Connection Severed.]
[Echo Protocol Degrading.]
[Collapse Imminent.]
The world buckled.
Behind him — the Reaper, rising again.
Ahead — a rift. Flickering. Untested.
He didn't hesitate.
Ryn jumped.
---
> [Zone 3: Echo Protocol — Terminated.]
[Subject Glitch has exited assigned containment.]
[Error: Tracking Lost.]
[Next Phase Triggered.]