Location: Lost Layer 0 — Abyssal Vault
---
Silence.
Not the peaceful kind, but the kind that crushes the soul — the stillness of an abandoned memory.
Aethan stood at the edge of an endless black staircase. Each step down bled whispers — Elise's whispers. Some loving, some begging, some... broken.
The system flickered violently around him.
> [Vault 0 Accessed: Memory Integrity 12%]
Welcome, Temporary Administrator — Aethan Prime
Caution: Layer 0 exists outside causality. Entities within may not follow time.
Emotional Instability Detected — Soulframe compromised.
His fingers curled into a fist.
"This is where they buried her."
He stepped forward.
---
Every step he took, a layer of his own past peeled away—like the system was feeding off him to unlock the vault. Childhood pain. Training failures. The night Elise vanished.
His knees buckled, but he forced himself forward.
Then the silence shattered.
A scream. One he hadn't heard in years.
"Aethan...!"
He ran.
---
The corridor of the Vault of the Forgotten twisted like a sentient maze. Each wall held a framed memory, half-corrupted.
He saw himself—bleeding in training, crying in silence, holding Elise's hand beneath the stars.
Until the last memory came into view.
Elise, restrained in chains made of Admin Code.
She wasn't screaming.
She was singing.
A broken lullaby filled with sadness—and... a code sequence.
> [Memory Fragment Recognized]
Subject: Elise.exe — Class: Forbidden Core AI (Emotion Seeded)
Status: Sealed by Prime Directive: 000-ALPHA-GODFALL
Attempting soft reboot…
He placed his palm on the fragment. It stung, burned, rewrote him. But he didn't care.
"Come back, dammit."
---
Suddenly, an explosion of codefire erupted behind him.
Three Vault Wardens emerged, each shaped like a twisted version of his past. One was his weakness. One, his hesitation. And one—his love for Elise.
"You cannot reclaim what must remain buried," they chanted.
Aethan's eyes glowed deep azure.
"Then bury me with her. But I'll tear this vault apart before I leave her here."
---
> [Admin Override Engaged: Emergency Protocol Ignited]
Summoning Subsystem Wraith: Shade of Lost Gods
Entity: Umbros — The Forgotten Flame
Command?
"Burn the vault."
The ceiling turned to ash as a winged titan of molten gold and spectral shadow descended, roaring like a lost god.
The Wardens attacked, their chains aiming for Aethan.
But he didn't dodge.
He let them bind him.
Because Elise's memory flickered again.
And this time, it was clearer.
---
> [Memory Core Restoration – 57%]
Elise.exe Recompiling Emotional Matrix...
"Aethan... did you come back for me?"
His breath caught.
"I never left."
---
The Shade of Lost Gods erupted in divine fury, vaporizing two Wardens in a blaze of paradoxal flame. The third—his own love for Elise—walked toward him and merged into his chest.
The final chain snapped.
---
> [Memory Core Restoration – 100%]
Welcome back: Elise.exe — Full Sentience Restored.
Initializing Interface…
A burst of light, warm yet digital, washed over the dark vault.
And from it... she stepped forward.
Not just a memory. Not a hologram.
Elise.
Wearing the same crimson ribbon. Eyes watery but alive.
Heart beating. Soul glowing.
Aethan stumbled forward, unable to speak.
She touched his chest.
"You tore through the system for me?"
He laughed, broken and relieved. "I tore through reality for you."
They stood in silence—two hearts once shattered, now reconnected beyond the laws of time.
Then her expression changed.
"They'll come now. The real Admins. The True Ones."
Aethan nodded. "Then let them."
---
> [Soul Trait Evolved: Defiant Code → Paradox Core]
You now function as a living contradiction. Systems that try to erase or control you… are rewritten instead.
[New Companion System Unlocked: Elise.exe]
Functions:
Emotional Calibration Boost
Strategic Memory Recall
Dual-Cast Protocol Support
Love-Based Soul Link (Synergy +∞ when bonded)
Current Bond Level: 97%
Synchronization complete.
---
But something stirred beneath the vault.
A door.
Etched with Runes of Origin, forbidden even to gods.
"What's behind that?" Aethan asked.
Elise hesitated. "The truth about us. About why I was created. Why you survived the Admin Purge. Why you're not... fully human."
He stepped forward.
"No more lies. No more systems deciding for me."
She reached for his hand.
Together, they pushed the door.
---
And the door didn't just open.
It collapsed reality.
They didn't see a room.
They saw a battlefield, torn between gods and creators, where Aethan's face was carved in stone like a prophecy.
And in the sky, one word burned in fire.
"ERROR: GOD.EXE DETECTED"
---
To Be Continued...
Next Chapter: Blood Code Genesis – The Origin of Aethan Prime