Chapter 16: Into Zone\_7
Smoke lingered in the air like a veil.
Zayn Arif sat near the smoldering remnants of the Arc Trap, watching the last bits of Omega's code disintegrate. The forest was quiet—no more distorted whispers, no red-eyed stalkers lurking behind the trees.
Just silence.
A strange kind of silence. Not peaceful, not safe. A silence that made his skin itch.
\[Zone\_6 Cleared – Infection Level Reduced to 29%]
\[Unlocked Path: Zone\_7 – Depth Layer One Accessed]
\[Stability Warning: Data Architecture Unstable – Proceed with Caution]
Iris stood near the edge of the camp, her arms crossed as she studied the new rift that had torn through the earth—an uneven spiral of light and static leading downward into what looked like a cave made of corrupted stone.
She didn't speak at first.
Neither did Max.
They had all seen the memory fragment Zayn unlocked. The lobby, the voice, the emotion behind that one sentence:
"You promised we'd survive, Zayn."
He didn't recognize the voice.
But something about it felt… familiar.
"Should we even go down there?" Max asked, breaking the stillness. "We've got supplies, ammo, a half-working comms relay. We could just bunker down and wait this phase out."
Zayn didn't respond right away.
Instead, he stood and walked to the edge of the rift. He could feel the heat rising from it—not from fire, but from raw, unstable data. It shimmered like a mirage.
\[Zone\_7 Entry Detected – One-Way Barrier in Effect]
\[Survivor Checkpoint: Not Available in Depth Layers]
\[Warning: No Respawn If Eliminated Below Layer One]
"I have to go," Zayn said finally.
Max sighed. "Of course you do."
Iris adjusted the blade strapped to her thigh. "Then we go together."
Zayn glanced at her.
"You don't have to follow me."
She met his eyes.
"I know."
The three of them stood in front of the rift. It pulsed faintly with glitching light, emitting the occasional low frequency that made their teeth buzz. There were no map markers inside. No compass bearings.
Just fog.
And the unknown.
Zayn took a breath.
Then stepped in.
The world warped.
One second they were standing in a burned-out camp, and the next—
Darkness.
But not total.
A flickering grid of red and purple lines lit the cavern walls, casting shadows that stretched and bent in impossible ways.
\[You have entered: Zone\_7 – Depth Layer One]
\[System Functions: Limited]
\[Respawn System: Disabled]
\[Safe Zones: None Detected]
\[New Objective: Locate the Data Beacon]
Max cursed under his breath. "I don't like this place. Feels like we walked into a corrupted dev server."
Iris swept her eyes across the cavern. "This isn't part of the original map. The architecture... it's bleeding from earlier builds."
They began moving slowly, every step echoing too loudly. The air was heavy, not with heat or cold, but with pressure—as if the code itself was pressing down on them.
The ground beneath their feet was unstable, shimmering slightly with every step. Fractured textures shifted with each movement. A wall flickered between rock, concrete, and a tiled hallway.
And then...
They heard it.
Breathing.
Wet, raspy breathing.
Zayn raised his weapon. "Three o'clock."
From the shadows, something crawled forward.
Not a Marauder.
Worse.
\[New Threat Detected – Entity: Hollow Crawler]
\[Behavior: Silent Ambush / Non-Mimic / Phase-Cling Capable]
\[Weak Spot: Neck Node – Emits Blue Flicker]
It was shaped like a player, but thinner. All skin and limbs, stretched too far, hands twisted backward. Its face was blank, with data tearing across its surface like wind across sand.
It didn't speak.
It just moved.
Fast.
Zayn fired once—missed.
Iris struck low with a blade, catching its shoulder.
Max landed a clean shot into its leg.
But it didn't fall.
It climbed the wall and vanished into a tear in the texture.
"Where'd it go?" Max asked, scanning the ceiling.
Zayn knelt, pressing a hand to the ground. The floor shimmered.
"They're in the code," he murmured. "They're not bound by space. It can strike from anywhere."
\[Data Beacon Signal Located – 120 Meters Below Current Position]
\[Signal Weak – Risk of Entity Interference: High]
Zayn looked ahead.
A tunnel curved downward—barely wide enough for them to squeeze through. The air got colder the deeper they moved, and the lights grew dimmer.
It felt like walking into a forgotten dream.
Like something wasn't just watching—but remembering.
Zayn suddenly heard something soft.
His name.
"Zayn…"
He turned sharply.
No one had spoken.
"I heard it too," Iris said quietly.
Max looked shaken. "It was your voice. Calling from behind us."
Zayn's pulse quickened.
\[System Message: Memory Echo Detected]
\[Stability Degrading – Personal Data Leakage: 9%]
"What does that mean?" Max asked, voice tight.
"It means this zone is pulling from us," Iris answered. "Memories. Faces. Voices. Anything it can use to get inside."
\[Warning: Echo Density Rising – Proceed with Emotional Anchoring Active]
"Emotional what now?" Max muttered.
Zayn gripped his wristwatch, the one item he had when he first spawned into this world.
A gift from his sister.
He focused on that memory—her laugh, her smile, the warm kitchen light back home.
The static receded slightly.
"I think it worked."
Iris nodded. "It won't last. But it'll help."
They continued moving, steps slower now, breaths careful.
Then the tunnel opened up into a wide, circular room.
In the center hovered a blue crystal—fractured, spinning slowly, tethered to the ceiling by glowing cables.
\[You have located: Data Beacon (Damaged)]
\[Restoration Possible – Begin Upload?]
\[Yes] \[No]
Zayn reached toward it—
But froze.
Something stood on the far side of the room.
Not a creature.
A person.
Wearing the same jacket he had.
Same boots.
Same face.
\[System Glitch: Duplicate Instance Detected – Name Conflict: Zayn\_Arif]
The double smiled.
And spoke in his exact voice.
"I never left. You did."