The city breathes.
Heavy. Uneven.
Like something dying slowly beneath the streets.
He stands on the rooftop… barefoot… blood on his palms. Not his blood.
The sky above—burning red. A blood moon. Wrong shape. Wrong size.
And far below…She waits.
White dress.
Bare feet.
That smile.
She doesn't speak this time.
Neither does he.
Not yet.
Because something's changed.
The system's gone. But the shadows… they haven't left.
They coil around him… different now. Not controlled. Not tamed.
Alive.
[System Offline – Permanently][Core Awakening: Shadowborn Protocol Initiated][New Trait Acquired: Voice of the Void]
He closes his eyes.
And he hears them.
The shadows.
Not whispers now.Words.
Kill the girl.Burn the mask.Unseal the locked door.Don't trust the man in the mirror.
He breathes slow.
Controlled.
Below, she lifts a hand… waves like a child at play.
Then disappears.
Not vanishes.
Sinks.
Straight through the pavement.
Gone.
He doesn't chase her.
Not yet.
Instead… he turns.
Looks at the rooftop door.
Still open.
Flickering light inside.
A hallway.
Too long. Too dark.
He walks in.
Each step echoes… too loud.
Walls lined with mirrors. Cracked. Stained.
And in each one—
A different version of him.
Some wear masks.
Some scream.
One bleeds from the eyes, repeating a single word:
"Don't forget the name…"
He stops.
Looks closer.
"What name?"
The reflection smiles.
His voice answers back… not from the mirror. From behind his ear.
"Yurei."
Everything freezes.
Because that's not his name.
Not the one he remembers.
But it feels right.
Too right.
[Memory Spike Detected – Accessing Buried Data…][Name: Yurei – Project 013 – Shadow Integration Failure][Status: Terminated – 7 Years Ago]
He stumbles back.
Breath catching.
Terminated?
Dead?
But he's here.
Alive.
Isn't he?
The shadows ripple.
Not in fear.In recognition.
He turns.
The hallway's gone.
He's in a lab now.
White walls.
Metal desks.
Shattered glass.
And in the center—A tank. Cracked open. Wires dangling.
His body was in it.
He remembers now.
Needles in his spine. Voices screaming. Someone saying, "Shut it down, we're losing him—he's seeing her again!"
He presses a hand to the glass.
And behind him…
A whisper.
"You're not real."
He spins—
And sees her again.
Not the girl.
Him.
Another him.
Same face.
But eyes hollowed out.
Blood leaking from the nose.
He walks forward… slow… twitching.
"You're the broken copy," the doppelgänger says. "The one she let live."
Then runs at him.
They clash.
Fists. Elbows. Teeth.
No weapons. No powers.
Just raw hate.
Blood flies.
Bones crack.
But he doesn't go down.
He refuses.
Because this isn't just a fight.
It's a purge.
The fake stumbles… gasps…
"You should've taken the mask…"
He grabs the copy's face. Whispers—
"I didn't break the system. I broke you."
And slams his head into the wall.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
The clone shatters.
Not dies.
Shatters.
Into shadow and code.
Gone.
And in its place—
A voice.
The girl's voice.
"You passed."
Then silence.
A door opens.
White light.
No sound.
He steps through.
Back in the city.
Same rooftop.
Same blood moon.
But everything feels…
Heavier.
And the message appears.
Burnt into the sky.
"WELCOME, YUREI.THE WORLD FORGOT YOU.NOW IT'S TIME TO MAKE THEM REMEMBER."
His hands curl into fists.
And this time…
He's the one smiling.
To be continued…