The air was too still.
Raven stood alone in a realm that defied description — not heaven, not a dungeon, not even a system-rendered instance. The floor beneath his feet wasn't made of stone or light, but intention. Every step he took echoed into infinity.
No menus.
No map.
No sync rate.
No Nihilos.
Nothing.
And yet… everything felt more real than ever before.
A single corridor stretched forward, endless and looping, lined with doorways — each one different. Wooden. Stone. Steel. Flesh. Code. Paper.
Raven approached the first.
It shimmered.
He didn't touch it — it read him.
> [Echo Detected: Cycle #13,287 — Identity: Raven / Alias: Yuto — System Status: Detached]
[Judgment Pending.]
A deep silence followed.
Then, a door opened on its own. Inside, a scene from his past — his sister Ava, just before she disappeared into the first-gen capsule. The real Ava. Not the one he had saved. Not the one who traveled with him.
This was the moment.
When he had looked away.
When he didn't stop her.
Raven clenched his fists. "Why are you showing me this?"
A voice replied — low, metallic, but cracked like it had been buried for eons.
> "Because you're not the only Raven."
The light flickered.
He turned.
And saw... himself. Again.
But this time — older. Paler. Emaciated. Dripping with black static. His eyes were shattered mirrors.
"You're the version who kept running," the doppelgänger said. "I'm the one who stayed."
"Stayed where?"
"In the truth."
The walls bent. All doors vanished. Now it was just the two of them — two Ravens, staring each other down.
"You're a god now," the mirror-Raven spat. "And gods don't wake up."
Raven didn't flinch. "I never wanted godhood. I wanted—"
"To fix it? You can't fix Nihilos. You are Nihilos."
"No. I'm still Raven."
The ground beneath them cracked.
The copy laughed. "Then why is she still broken?"
Raven stepped forward. "Because I never forgave myself."
Then, something shifted.
A new light burst through the void. Warm. Gentle.
A child's voice whispered:
> "It's okay, big brother. I'm here."
Ava's true voice. From before the corruption.
Raven turned toward it — but the void-Raven lunged at him.
> [Warning: Self Conflict Detected — Outcome Will Rewrite Identity]
Raven closed his eyes.
And did something unexpected.
He embraced the void-Raven.
"I'm tired of fighting myself."
The entity screamed — but didn't attack.
Instead, it merged.
And a message appeared.
> [New Trait Unlocked: Integrity Core — You now retain self-awareness across all system conflicts.]
[System Error Resolved. Nihilos stabilizing. Identity stabilized. Memory Core retrieved.]
The corridor disappeared.
And Raven stood again… in the real world.
Sweat clung to his body.
Ava was at his side. Sol, too.
"Welcome back," Ava whispered, relieved.
Raven smiled faintly.
"I saw him," he muttered. "The me that never left."
A pause.
"And I forgave him."