She blinks.
Eyes adjusting to light that shouldn't exist.Soft. Warm. Gentle.
But wrong.
Yurei—no, Rael—kneels beside her.
Fingers trembling.
Not from fear.
From hope.
Hope he doesn't trust.
"…You remember me?"
She looks at him.Smiles.
Then shakes her head.
"No."
It hits harder than any punch.
But he doesn't flinch.
He nods. Swallows it. Accepts.
Because this?
This is the price of freedom.
The system stripped her memories clean.Blank slate. Innocent. Unaware.
But she's alive.
And that means something.
Maybe everything.
Rael stands.
Looks around.
They're in a forest.
Quiet.
Artificial.
The trees shimmer too perfectly.Leaves fall in loops.Wind never touches the ground.
[World Type: Reconstruction Sim – Layer Zero][No Hostile Entities Detected][You Are Alone.]
Alone.
For now.
She stands beside him.
Eyes scanning the world.
Her voice soft.
"Are we safe?"
He doesn't answer.
Because he doesn't know.
Because safety doesn't exist when he exists.
Because shadows don't vanish—they wait.
"I think so," he lies.
She takes his hand anyway.
And for a moment…
Peace.
But peace is fragile.
Like a glass floor over a pit of knives.
And cracks are already forming.
[Incoming Transmission – Origin Unknown][Message: "You found her. But did you find yourself?"]
He jerks back.
The air stutters.
She vanishes for half a second. Flickers like a glitched sprite.
His heart races.
Not again.
Not now.
He grips the soil beneath him.
Whispers—
"No. Not this time."
[Override Initiated][Accessing Hidden System: Seedline Prime]
The world pulses.
The trees catch fire.
No heat. No smoke. Just signal.
A dome rises around them.
A cage made of light.
Something's coming.
He pulls her close.
She looks at him, confused.
"Rael…?"
He stares forward.
And sees them.
Silhouettes.
Walking through flame.
No faces. No names.
Just hunger.
Not for blood.
For control.
[They are Seedline Reclaimers.][They want her back.]
He knows why.
Because she's not a girl.
She never was.
She's the Key.
The one thing the system couldn't replicate.The root of every loop.The heart of every false god.
They used her to bait him.
They failed.
Now they'll erase her instead.
Unless he stops them.
They reach the dome.
Hands press against the barrier.
Cracks bloom like spiderwebs.
She stares in horror.
"What are they?"
He doesn't lie this time.
"They're what's left of me."
And then—he moves.
Fast.
No hesitation.
Shadow blooms from his skin.
Not darkness.
Power.
Pure.
Final.
He slams his palm into the ground.
The dome shatters outward—not in.
And the Reclaimers burn.
Gone.
Ash.
But more come.
Endless.
Hungry.
And this time?
They don't walk.
They run.
Rael turns to her.
"You need to wake up."
She blinks. "What?"
"You're still sleeping," he says. "They can't touch you unless you wake first."
She backs away.
Tears welling.
"I don't understand…"
He grabs her shoulders.
Eyes locked.
"You don't need to. Just believe me."
And for one breathless second—
She does.
And she closes her eyes.
And she vanishes.
Gone.
Saved.
Maybe.
And Rael?
He turns.
Alone.
One man against the flood.
A broken god with no temple.
A shadow with no light.
He smiles.
Cracks his knuckles.
And whispers—
"Come get me."
To be continued…