The void pulsed like a heartbeat made of broken code.
We were still in the trial—at least that's what the system claimed—but nothing about this felt like a simulation anymore.
The Eye above us blinked again.
[TRIAL TIMER: 00:42 REMAINING]
[DEVIATION DETECTED: SYSTEM RESPONSE UNAVAILABLE]
[WARNING: UNREGISTERED ENTITY APPROACHING]
Something was coming.
Aiko was down on one knee, aura flickering violently. Her sword glitched in and out of her hands like the system couldn't decide whether it was real.
"Riven…" she rasped, "what the hell did you bring into this dungeon?"
I didn't answer.
Because I was watching it arrive.
It started as static.
Just a haze in the corner of my eye, like a loading error.
But then—
A hand reached out of the void.
Thin.
Long.
Jittering like it was caught between animation frames.
The hand grabbed the void itself, tore it open like a curtain, and stepped through.
It was humanoid.
Almost.
But its body was all wrong. Skin like cracked porcelain, a chest cavity missing, revealing swirling fragments of glowing script inside. Its head was smooth, featureless—except for a mouth carved too wide, grinning like it had never stopped.
And where its heart should've been—
Was a Core.
Like mine.
But wrong.
Inverted. Leaking static and memory like blood.
[ENTITY REGISTERED: NULL-WALKER PROTOTYPE_01]
[Class: Whispered]
[Status: Uncoded / System Rejected]
[Threat Rating: UNMEASURABLE]
[Advisory: FLEE]
"Too late," I muttered.
Because it had already locked onto me.
"You," the thing whispered—its voice made of hundreds layered over mine. "You still have shape. Still have self."
It took a step forward, and the void beneath it collapsed into gibberish code.
"I was like you once. Bound. Named. Then the Core opened my mind… and deleted it."
The Whisper Core inside me flared.
Not in fear.
In resonance.
[Whisper Core Reaction: Critical Synchronization Surge Detected]
[Prototype Signal: Matched Frequency — WARNING]
[New Trait Unlocked: "Veil-Touched"]
[Effect: Memory Fracture Resistance Increased / Identity Stability Boosted]
My legs stopped shaking.
Barely.
"You were a Hunter," I said slowly.
The thing laughed—a glitchy, awful sound.
"I was a name. Then the Fifth Veil took it."
It lunged.
Too fast.
I activated Veil Step—blinked out just as its arm ripped through where I'd stood.
Behind it now.
I slashed with my dagger.
Steel met resistance.
Then rebounded.
My blade fractured like glass.
"Names don't cut what has none," the thing rasped.
Then it turned toward Aiko.
She was still recovering, one hand trying to summon a new weapon.
The Null-Walker raised its arm.
"No—!" I roared.
And the Whisper Core exploded in my chest.
Not literally.
But something inside me snapped.
A barrier, maybe.
A rule.
[Emergency Response: Whisper Core Overclock Engaged]
[System Warning: Bond Host at 99.99% Sync]
[Unsealing Echo Ability – Name Unknown]
[WARNING: UNSTABLE — USE AT OWN RISK]
My body moved on instinct.
Black static coiled around my arms, dripping like oil.
I reached out.
The air split.
And I pulled.
Reality twisted.
The Null-Walker staggered, shrieking as part of its leg phased—gone for a fraction of a second, then returned… warped.
"What… was that?" Aiko whispered, frozen.
I didn't know.
Didn't care.
Because the Core wasn't screaming anymore.
It was guiding.
And the trial timer hit zero.
[TRIAL COMPLETE]
[Participant Riven Kael — Survived]
[Echo Diver Status: Conditionally Stabilized]
[Reward Issued: System Patch – File #Δ.ZR01: "Memory of the Forgotten Zero"]
[Access Denied — Requires Full Sync]
The Null-Walker hissed.
It was weakening.
But not defeated.
Aiko stood. "Can you do that again?"
"I can try."
We stood together, facing the glitch-creature that used to be a man.
It snarled, dragging code behind it like chains.
And I realized…
This wasn't the last one.
There were more.
Out there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Like parasites in the system.
Like ghosts in the Core.
And we'd just knocked on their door.
The Null-Walker moved like a corrupted file. Every step was a lag spike. Every breath skipped a beat in reality.
It charged.
Aiko raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
Boom.
A burst of light ignited the corridor — flame-threaded sigils erupting mid-air. The monster reeled back, hissing as if fire remembered its name.
"Magic hurts it," she muttered. "Real magic. Not skill-code."
"Then keep casting."
"Not that easy," she gritted out. "Mana's thinning. The system's being overwritten."
I watched the Null-Walker's form flicker. Not just its body — its presence. Like it wasn't entirely there anymore. Like part of it was trying to load into a different version of the world.
"Riven," the Core pulsed, not in words, but in intent. Urgent. Focused.
[Echo Trait: Veil-Touched Resonance Available] [Tap Into Forgotten Identity? Y/N]
I didn't press yes.
I breathed yes.
The world shifted.
Suddenly I wasn't me. Not just.
I saw through another pair of eyes. Taller. Older. Surrounded by silver flames and kneeling soldiers. A ruined city behind me. A titan of bone in front.
And a voice — my voice — saying:
"End it. No resurrections."
Then I blinked. Back in my body.
[Echo Memory Registered: 3% Recovered] [Title Fragment: Zero...] Access Denied
The Core screamed again, louder than ever. The Null-Walker sensed it. It roared.
And ran straight at me.
I didn't move. I didn't blink.
I whispered. "Burn."
The moment the thing touched me, static exploded outward. Not pain. Purging.
The air lit up with chains of code, ancient characters spiraling down my arm.
[Forbidden Protocol Initiated: "Cleanse The Nameless"] [Target: NULL-WALKER PROTOTYPE_01]
The monster convulsed.
Aiko chanted behind me, her voice weaving with mine as flames wrapped the static. And then...
The Null-Walker shattered. Not like a body. Like a program.
Lines of broken script fell to the floor like ash.
I dropped to one knee. Chest heaving.
Aiko caught me.
"You okay?"
"Define okay," I muttered.
The vault around us trembled.
Then stilled.
[Trial Zone Disengaged] [Exit Now Available]
But just before the portal opened...
One last message appeared. In red. In a font I'd never seen the system use.
[You're Waking Up Too Soon, Riven.] [Don't Remember.] [Don't Find Me.]
Aiko saw it too.
She went pale.
"That wasn't from the dungeon, was it?"
I didn't answer.
Because I already knew the truth.
That voice? That message?
It was from me.
Another version. Another timeline.
One that didn't survive.