I. The Echo of Oblivion
Night fell like a gag over Edenfall. It wasn't darkness, but the absence of a name. The streets forgot their addresses. The people, their motives. Something profound was unraveling.
"The Ninth Pillar won't come from power," Lirea said. "It will come from the total collapse of identity."
Akihiko felt his Void throb like never before. In the southern regions, all the mirrors began to turn opaque. People no longer recognized each other.
II. Shoen Rikudō and the UMBRAL Project
Shoen activated the final phase of his plan. The underground facility known as UMBRA-9 began emitting low-frequency pulses that defragmented the collective emotional memories. This was the ultimate goal: to erase the root of all feeling.
"No story, no pain. No pain, no struggle. No struggle… no Edenfall."
Inside the facility, scientists had already lost their memories of their families. They became obedient, functional. Perfect.
III. The Core is Born in Nothingness
Naeya, driven by his emotional connection to the Void, infiltrated the facility with Kael and Lirea. What they found was chilling: a floating sphere made of disconnected memories. The Ninth Pillar was formless… it was absence. Living absence.
Kael tried to touch her. She disappeared. Her body was still there, but her eyes didn't recognize anyone.
"Kael… do you remember your name?" Naeya asked. "Name… is that important?"
IV. Fight against Broken Memory
Shoen sent his final executioner: Saska , the woman with no memories, no emotions, no past. Her ability was to disable all emotional attachment in her enemies. She faced Akihiko, and for the first time, the Void faltered.
Saska moved her body as if it didn't belong to her. She didn't fight out of rage, or loyalty. She fought because she was told to. Her power: White Slash , an attack that leaves no scar, only oblivion.
V. The Reunion with the Name
Lirea, facing Saska, spoke her own name, her mother's, and the names of the fallen. With each word, she recovered fragments of Kael. The resonance began to affect the sphere of the Ninth Pillar.
Naeya joined in, narrating key moments from Edenfall: the fall of the Seals, the blood pacts, the defeats.
"Every memory is a nail that holds the world together."
VI. The Pillar of Sorrowful Remembrance
The sphere began to shatter. Inside, a figure emerged: the Living Pillar , the only core with a human form. It was a faceless girl, made of forgotten voices and tears. She took Naeya's hand and said:
"Can I remember with you?"
And with that act, the Ninth Pillar was formed: The Preservation of Conscious Pain . Its energy flooded Edenfall.
Saska fell to her knees. For the first time, she remembered her first kiss. And she cried. Not from the pain, but from being able to feel it.
VII. The Closure of the UMBRAL Project
Shoen sensed something had gone wrong. The expected silence turned into a collective scream. Edenfall didn't forget. Edenfall recorded.
Akihiko, still wounded, stood in front of the facility's cameras and said:
"We have felt. We have lost. And that's why… we are invincible."
The system collapsed. The city woke up.
END OF CHAPTER 206