"Mercy means nothing if you can't remember the pain that led to it."
Location: Reconstruction Corridor – Near Fragment Six
The system had begun reshaping itself.
Laws were no longer lines.
They were branching trees—capable of compassion, capable of pause.
Jiwoon walked the path alone, but not unwatched.
[System Note: Fragment Six is near. Caution advised.]
[Warning: Memory Interference Detected – Historical Layer Instability]
[Subject: Mira Yoon]
Suddenly—
A rupture tore open the corridor.
Unexpected Shift – Memory Merge
Without warning, Jiwoon was pulled backward—
Not in time,
but in emotion.
He was standing in a moment from his past.
But it wasn't his own.
It was Mira's.
A courtroom.
A verdict.
And her voice—crying out, powerless, as justice failed someone she loved.
"You said the law would protect us…"
Jiwoon's Dilemma
The Codex floated before him—
uncertain, unreadable in this zone.
[System Blocked: Emotional Priority Detected]
[Rule: You may not edit what you refuse to feel.]
Mira appeared, eyes wide.
This was a reconstruction—not the real her.
But her words cut deep.
"You promised me we could fix the world.
Why does it still feel broken?"
The Mercy Choice
Then came the test:
A digital warden from that memory reappeared—
One who had let injustice pass through unchecked.
System asked:
[Do you wish to remove this entity from all historical record?]
[Or preserve the memory, pain and all?]
Jiwoon clenched his fists.
"Erasing pain won't heal anything."
He looked at Mira.
"We carry it. That's what makes mercy real."
Verdict
[Decision: Preserve Memory]
[Effect: Historical Layer Stabilized – Ethical Memory Protocol Enhanced]
[Mira's Emotional Integrity Restored – Character Sync: 99%]
The courtroom melted into light.
Jiwoon and Mira now stood in silence—together.
She whispered:
"You didn't choose for me.
You chose with me."
End Scene
[System Update: Moral Memory Integration – 91%]
[Fragment Six Location Confirmed – Vault of Origins]
Jiwoon stepped toward the light.
And behind him, a restored memory stood like a monument—
To pain that wasn't erased,
but embraced.