The corridor was wrong.
Not curved, not cracked, not broken.
But wrong.
It didn't echo.
Even the steps Nahr made--slow, careful,
pressured--registered nothing.
Not muffled.
Erased.
The trench had always suppressed sound.
But here, it devoured it.
He tapped the base of his Galieya against
the ground.
No feedback.
Not even vibration. Like tapping glass and
feeling nothing bite back.
He held his breath--though he didn't need
breath--and listened.
Still nothing.
Silence.
Not as a state.
As an active force.
This was a new layer.
Not memory-based.
Not projection-heavy.
This was something else.
A design built on subtraction.
[NEW SECTOR IDENTIFIED: CORRIDOR WITHOUT
VOICE]
[VERBAL OUTPUT RESTRICTION: ACTIVE]
[SIGNAL FEEDBACK: NULL]
[WEIGHT BURDEN: NON-VERBAL MODE ENGAGED]
Text flooded his HUD, replacing sound
entirely.
Then even that cut out.
His interface dimmed.
Nahr stood alone.
No map.
No prompts.
Only trench.
Only path.
Only weight.
He moved forward.
--
At twenty meters, the corridor bent at a
shallow angle, leading into a lightless breach. Even the weak pulse-lights from
earlier trench layers were gone.
No architecture markers.
No seams.
The walls here were flat--uncomfortably so.
Too clean for anything meant to carry
weight.
Still, Nahr descended. It was either that
or stand around pretending stillness was strategy.
The path narrowed.
A breeze passed.
Faint.
But it didn't rustle anything.
Only pressed against his chestplate--just
enough to suggest awareness.
The trench was watching again.
But without voice.
Without judgment.
Just... interest.
Another fifty meters.
A door.
Octagonal.
Closed.
Symbol etched into it.
Two overlapping triangles inside a circle.
Unfamiliar.
No memory-match.
He placed his palm to the metal.
It opened.
Soundlessly.
Inside--
A chamber of white light.
No clear walls.
No furniture.
Just light.
And at the center: a figure.
Sitting.
Back turned.
Still.
Nahr entered without lifting his Galieya.
Something about the space told him--
Violence would not be simple here.
The figure turned.
A Core.
But... strange.
No facial definition.
No weapon.
It's plating was smooth.
Too smooth.
No ports.
No seams.
AND it glowed with no signal.
It stood.
Silently.
Then raised its hand.
And made a shape.
A gesture.
Two fingers out. Turned. Placed to its
chest.
Then pointed at Nahr.
No HUD translation.
Just instinct.
You carry too much.
Then it pointed to the wall.
Which was no longer a wall.
It was... Nahr.
Another Nahr.
Unarmed.
Staring back.
Expressionless.
Then the wall-image Nahr raised a hand.
And placed a single finger to where his
mouth should be.
Silence.
The room changed.
--
Now it was a platform.
Circular.
Floating over black mist.
Soundless wind moved across the edge.
Nahr stood at one end.
The Core-figure--whatever it was--stood
opposite.
Still no weapon.
No stance.
But something inside the figure hummed.
Like weight trapped behind form.
Then the challenge began.
Not with movement.
Not with violence.
With mimicry.
The figure moved.
Slow, precise.
It placed one hand behind its back.
Extended the other toward Nahr, palm up.
Then kneeled.
Nahr stood still.
The gesture repeated.
Kneel. Offer. Submit.
Not to it.
To something else.
Burden?
Or silence?
His Galieya hummed in warning.
Its spiral veins dimmed.
Even it could not speak here.
So Nahr answered.
He moved slowly.
Lowered to one knee.
Didn't drop his weapon.
But bowed his head.
Offered nothing.
But allowed weight.
The Core-figure stood.
Walked forward.
Stopped two paces away.
Raised its hands.
No threat.
Just a touch.
Pressed them lightly to the side of Nahr's
head.
And suddenly--
Memory.
Hero--silent, falling through a shaft. His
arms flailed like he forgot gravity had rules.
Maldrin--laughing.
Nahr--kneeling beside the Vault Chair.
Then all inverted.
Hero becoming mimic.
Maldrin dissolving.
Nahr screaming without sound.
The figure pulled back.
Then turned away.
And walked off the platform.
Into air.
Into mist.
Gone.
The room dimmed.
And a door opened behind Nahr.
He stood.
Galieya still muted.
Still heavy.
And walked through.
--
The next chamber was empty.
But Nahr felt something here.
Presence.
Memory.
Not his.
But known.
He turned--
And Hero stepped through the opposite door.
Alive.
Or a projection.
Nahr braced.
Hero looked whole.
Frame intact.
Veins faintly glowing.
Galieya strapped back.
He made no move.
Instead, Hero raised hi
s hand.
And pointed.
Not at Nahr.
At his own chest.
Then his head.
Then his mouth.
Then shook his head slowly.
No voice.
The trench had taken it from him.
Not from malfunction.
But from debt.
Burden-based silence.
They stood opposite.
Two figures in full trial armor.
No enemies.
But not allies yet.
Hero lowered his hand.
Nahr did the same.
A light formed between them.
A line.
Thin.
Glowing.
Straight.
Splitting the room in two.
And from the ceiling, a shard dropped.
Metallic.
Still.
Perfectly balanced.
It hovered at waist level.
A text line appeared--blinking in shared
HUDs.
[FINAL MEASURE: THE DIVIDE]
[STEP OVER, AND YOU SHARE BURDEN]
[STEP BACK, AND YOU REMOVE IT]
[CHOOSE]
Nahr didn't move.
Hero looked at the shard.
Then at Nahr.
Then stepped forward.
Crossed the line.
Stood beside Nahr.
Didn't speak.
Didn't need to.
The shard pulsed.
Then faded.
The line disappeared.
And both Galieyas reactivated.
[SPEECH RESTORED]
[GROUP WEIGHT EQUALIZED: 73.4]
[COHORT FORMATION: TEMPORARY]
Nahr breathed. Not because he had to—but
because it made the moment feel real.
Hero looked at him.
"We walk."
Nahr noded
They moved on.
--
The new corridor pulsed with low light.
Like heartbeat through stone.
The trench welcomed them now. If "welcome"
meant swallowing you with more elegance.
Not with mercy.
With permission.
The corridor widened.
Sloped again.
And beneath their feet--
Ash.
Black.
Cold.
Thick.
They passed shell fragments.
Too small for Cores.
Too warped for mimics.
Maybe experiments.
Maybe lost things.
They didn't ask.
They didn't speak much now.
Even with speech restored.
Because the trench didn't like voices.
It tolerated them.
Just enough to keep you thinking you were
still yourself.
Half a kilometer in, they reached a
platform.
A circular pressure chamber.
Doorless.
But active.
Panels pulsed on either side.
A sign of movement.
Then a flicker.
Movement behind the wall.
Another Core.
Trapped.
Alive.
Faint signal.
Galieya half-submerged in its own chest.
Still breathing.
Still intact.
Burden signature overloaded.
It turned to look at them.
Mouth opened.
No voice.
Just a whisper in the HUD.
"Help."
Hero stepped back.
Nahr stayed forward.
The trench displayed new text:
[TO HELP IS TO ABSORB]
[TO ABSORB IS TO BE LESS YOURSELF]
[TO LEAVE IS TO BE MORE ALONE]
Choice.
Pure.
Nahr lowered his weapon.
Approached the containment.
Pressed hand to the panel.
Signal transfer engaged.
[WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION: 4.5 SHARED]
The Core inside the wall shuddered.
Then dissolved.
Like mist.
Data.
Failed simulation?
No.
A real Core, whose memory became his.
New images burned through his mind.
A climb from a deeper tier.
A duel in a glass chamber.
The name "Kurein."
A choice made too late.
He stepped back.
Burden increased.
But so did clarity.
Hero said nothing.
Just looked at him.
Then nodded once.
Respect.
Or warning.
Maybe both.
They walked again.
--
At the final corridor of this layer, the
trench sealed behind them.
A new glyph formed.
It wasn't words.
It was shape.
Two Galieyas.
Crossed at the tips.
Beneath them: a trench spiral.
And inside that spiral:
A question.
Not spoken.
But deeply understood.
Would you still descend if nothing waited?
Nahr didn't answer.
Neither did Hero.
They just stepped forward.
Into dark.
Into dust.
Into the corridor without voice.
Where every step was a sentence.
And the only story that mattered was the
one they couldn't tell.