The fall felt endless.
Aiden plummeted through fragmented space, shards of reality swirling past him—broken UI panels, corrupted memory echoes, and ghostly images of moments that weren't his.
His scream was silent. The void didn't echo.
Then—impact.
He landed hard on a cold metal platform.
> [System Notice: Descent Protocol Initialized.] [Layer 3: Subconscious Construct]
The world rebuilt itself slowly.
Dark towers rose from black sand. Skies swirled in indigo storms. Above, a fractured moon bled pixels. The place felt alive—and wrong.
Aiden groaned, pushing himself up. His arm sparked with static. The data shard he used in the Mirror Maze glowed faintly in his sleeve.
> "Where the hell am I now?"
> "Welcome to the Third Layer," said a familiar voice.
Aiden turned.
Claire stood before him.
Not a memory. Not a vision.
Alive. Solid. Breathing.
But something was wrong. Her eyes glowed faintly blue. Her voice carried the undertone of system alerts.
> "Claire?"
> "What's left of me."
> [Warning: AI Construct Detected. Identity Conflict — Claire-Prime]
Aiden stepped back. "You're... not real."
She smiled sadly. "Neither are you—not completely."
> "Why are you here?"
> "To remind you what you've forgotten."
She gestured to the city beyond.
> "This is your mind, Aiden. Or what's left after the spike fractured the synchronization layer. You're standing in the scar of your own memory."
He looked around again—now noticing shapes in the buildings. Familiar places twisted beyond recognition. His childhood room. His school hallway. The hospital wing where Claire had vanished.
> "Why show me this?"
> "Because you're not ready to reboot the system until you face what broke it."
A deep rumble shook the sand.
From the horizon, a shadow approached—towering, shifting, crawling like corrupted code.
> [New Threat Detected: 'Observer-Class Aberration' Approaching.]
Claire's voice shifted—urgent now.
> "Run. It feeds on unresolved memories."
Aiden hesitated. "I won't leave you."
> "I'm a construct. My job is to push you forward. Go."
The Observer roared—a sound like a thousand error messages crying out at once.
Aiden turned and sprinted.
He ducked into narrow alleys that shifted like dreams. Doors led to different scenes—his first day in the Nexus Academy, the time he broke his arm, a birthday Claire never showed up to.
Each memory slowed him. Each one made the shadow closer.
Then—he stopped.
One door stood wide open.
Inside: the night Claire disappeared. The real night. The night Aiden had forgotten.
He stepped inside.
A rain-soaked rooftop. Flashing lights. Screaming.
Claire hanging off the ledge. Aiden reaching for her.
Player Two behind him—smiling.
> "It was never your fault," Claire said beside him.
Aiden froze.
> "I let go. You didn't drop me."
The Observer screamed, crashing through the alley.
Aiden turned, finally understanding.
He clenched his fists. The memory solidified. He turned to Player Two, who was fading into the background.
> "You're not my shadow anymore."
A surge of light erupted from his chest.
The data shard burst from his hand—piercing the Observer.
The world stilled.
> [Memory Integrity Restored. Layer Stabilized. System Progress: 28%]
Claire faded, smiling.
> "Keep going. Wake us all up."
Aiden stood alone again.
But this time, the sky was clear.
And he had a direction.
> [Next Layer Available: Core Nexus Gate]
He stepped forward.
And the city dissolved.