> "The System took our future. The whispers in the earth remember what it tried to erase."
---
đ Zone K-9 â Borderlands of the Whispering Crater
They walked through ash.
The sky had turned copper by the time they reached the forbidden zone. Winds whispered secrets in languages no one should remember. Kael felt them even before they arrivedâfragments of thought brushing against his mind like fingers tapping on the edge of sleep.
> [NULL TERRITORY DETECTED]
You are entering a Quarantined System Error Zone.
Level: Unmapped
System Enforcement: Disabled by Hostile Environment Variables
Thorne pulled his cloak tighter. "Feels like the dead are watching us."
Seris said nothing. Her gaze remained locked on the horizonâwhere the earth sank into a massive, jagged pit. Black smoke rose lazily from it, curling into the clouds.
Kael took a slow breath.
> [Objective: Locate the Second Null Fragment â "Echo of Memory"]
Estimated Depth: 4,000 meters
Hazard Rating: Class-B Sovereign Threat
> Warning: Mental contamination possible.
---
đ Inside the Crater
As they descended, time bent.
One moment they were walking on rocks. The next, the air twisted, and Kael saw flashes of his own memories, distorted like reflections in a cracked mirror.
His brother, dying in his arms.
The System branding him "Classless."
Seris turning away from him... in a moment that hadn't yet happened.
> [Mental Interference Detected]
> You are being exposed to Echo Residue.
Null King resistance in effect: Purging hallucination layer...
Kael snarled. "It's trying to break us."
Seris gripped his arm. "No. It's trying to talk to you."
---
đ§ The Dream Interface
They found it at the crater's heartâa floating monolith, half-buried in obsidian soil, pulsating like a heartbeat. Glyphs carved in a forgotten language circled it, looping endlessly.
And thenâit spoke.
Not aloud.
Inside Kael's mind.
> "So you have remembered."
"YouâSovereign of Silence. Do you come to reclaim what they buried?"
Kael stepped forward, voice steady. "I came to remember what they want us to forget."
> [NULL FRAGMENT II: Echo of Memory â Recovered]
> + Ability Unlocked: Thoughtpiercer (Read surface thoughts within 10m; bypass mental wards in Null Domain)
+ Passive: Memory Fortress (Immunity to false memory insertion)
---
â ïž System Response: Containment Failure
> [ALERT: Forbidden Crater Breached by Null Entity]
> Deploying: Memory Reaper - Class A Aberration
Time to arrival: 2 minutes.
The crater shook.
Far above, the sky tore open.
A serpent of light and broken thought descended, its body stitched together from fragments of stolen memories and false identities. The Memory Reaper had arrived.
Seris's voice was tight. "Can we fight that?"
Kael's eyes turned to void. "No."
He raised both handsâ
> [Null Domain â Level 2 Activated]
> System-based constructs will collapse within 100m.
Thoughtlink Enabled â All allies connected mentally for 5 minutes.
"âbut I can unmake it."
---
đ„ Null vs Reaper
The air exploded in silence.
The Memory Reaper screamedânot in sound, but in a flood of raw, unfiltered thought. Names, places, screams, family, joy, betrayal, hungerâall weaponized into psychic knives.
But Kael stood unshaken.
With one motion, he ripped the lies out of the air, drawing them into his own Shard.
"Too late," he whispered. "I remember who I am now."
He plunged his hand into the Reaper's faceâand deleted it.
Just like that.
---
đ©ž Aftermath
As the crater calmed, the monolith crumbled into dust, its job done.
Kael stood motionless, his cloak fluttering around him in the dead wind.
> [NULL FRAGMENT INTEGRATION: 28%]
> 2 of 5 Fragments Acquired.
Thorne exhaled shakily. "You're... really going to go through with this, aren't you?"
Kael turned to face him. "The System erased us. I'm here to write us back in."
---
đą Author's Note â Talent Engraver here!
Kael now has 2 of the 5 Null Fragments, and the System just got another rude awakening.
đ„ If you loved the battle with the Memory Reaper, or have theories about the remaining fragments, drop a comment below! This world grows with your ideas.
đ Also, please don't forget to leave a review if you haven't already. It really helps this first-time author stay motivated and reach more readers like you. â€ïž
â Your author, Talent Engraver