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Chapter 17: The Crimson Record
> "Some Sovereigns do not rule kingdoms.
They rule narratives."
—Archivist of Cracks
The Pale Annex twisted violently as the rift widened.
From it emerged color.
Not a shape. Not a sound.
Red. Too red. A shade that burned through logic, like someone had spilled raw thought across a painting of reality.
Then came the voice:
> "A page has wandered from its chapter."
"Correction: Required."
Kaelen stepped forward as the Crimson Mnemarch descended.
It had no form, not truly. Just a silhouette dressed in flowing robes of blank parchment, crowned in a halo of bleeding ink. Its hands were calligraphy blades, fingers made of quills. Where its face should have been was a shifting equation, rewritten with every breath.
>
Name: Crimson Mnemarch
Class: Sovereign of Narrative Harvest
Authority: Scarlet Record
Threat Tier: ∅
Intent: Memory Seizure – High Priority Anomaly
Kaelen could feel it trying to read him.
But the Eclipse Shard inside him twisted, resisting the probe.
The Hollow Fang pulsed.
Kaelen crouched low, voice steady.
> "You erased the wrong version of me."
The Mnemarch lifted one arm and wrote in the air. The glyph flew at Kaelen like a brand.
>
Kaelen slashed it apart mid-air.
---
Combat Initiated – Crimson Mnemarch
> Passive Aura: Memory Drain (Class S)
—Nearby enemies lose 1 Skill per minute
—Immunity requires Personal Anchor
—Skill: Red Ink Severance
> Warning: Adaptive Combat Script Active
—"Target's abilities will be rewritten if not stabilized"
---
Kaelen activated Soul Reforged.
Black fire licked along his limbs. The Hollow Fang cracked the air as he launched forward, swinging at the Mnemarch's throat.
He missed.
Not from speed.
The Mnemarch rewrote its own position.
>
Kaelen gritted his teeth and rotated.
Another strike.
Another rewrite.
> "He's fighting reality itself…"
But Kaelen wasn't just fast.
He was wrong.
> "Then I'll stop playing by rules."
He closed his eyes—ignored his HUD, ignored the system, ignored even his name.
He let the Shard guide him.
And struck before the Mnemarch wrote.
---
Hollow Echo – Activated
> Strike: Precursor Event
Target's Rewrite Skill Collapsed – Loop Error
Critical Conceptual Damage Applied
The Mnemarch froze.
It hadn't been hit.
It had been contradicted.
Kaelen grabbed its face and forced it downward, embedding it into the script-filled altar.
> "Let's rewrite you, Sovereign."
With a surge of voidlight, Kaelen carved a new glyph—
Not with his blade, but with his blood.
He fed it memory. Pain. The erased childhood. The fear.
And the glyph screamed.
>
Entity Status: DETHRONED
Loot Acquired: Crimson Ink Core x1, Fragmented Authority x1
---
The Mnemarch dissolved.
Not into blood.
Into pages—burning, unreadable, forbidden.
Kaelen caught one.
It whispered:
> "Two more have your scent."
"The Eye watches."
"The Archive weeps."
---
The Pale Annex grew still.
Kaelen breathed deep, slow.
Then the Hollow Fang pulsed again—this time with hunger.
A message appeared, unprompted.
>
Trait Evolved: Memory Immunity ➤ Conceptual Anchor (Lvl 1)
New Destination Unlocked: The Bleeding Shelf
Would you like to leave the Pale Annex?
Kaelen looked around once more.
Then—
> "Not yet."
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End of Chapter 17