The Black File pushes deeper into Silph-9, descending into the maintenance levels. The layout continues to shift. The surveillance logs are gone. Claw marks appear where no creature should have reached. Then the power fails. Vox dies.
And the System cuts out.
Elias finds himself truly alone — no chakra, no HUD, no guidance. And in the silence… something whispers his true name.
-----
The maintenance stairwell spiraled downward in tight metal loops.
No elevators. No grav lifts. Just boots on metal grates.
And with each step, Elias felt the weight of the silence getting heavier — not thicker, like sound dampened.
Heavier.
Like it pressed against his spine.
Malk muttered behind him, "I've seen Ork-ravaged stations with more life than this."
Volst grunted. "Orks scream. This place doesn't even bleed."
They reached the bottom.
The door was locked.
Bit tapped it twice, listened with one ear, then tilted his head like a dog.
"There's… not a room on the other side."
Volst blinked. "Not a what?"
"I don't mean empty," Bit said. "I mean there's nothing. I don't hear space."
Elias stepped forward and ran his hand along the door frame.
No scratches.
No rust.
No scent.
Lirae checked her auspex.
It flickered.
Then showed a map.
Then nothing.
Then static.
She cursed under her breath in Binary.
"Sanctified machine-spirits are blind. This place isn't suppressing them. It's making them… forget."
Volst made the call.
"Cut it open."
A few minutes later, the plasma torch had burned through the lock and the team pushed into Level K.
They passed another corridor.
Then another.
And Elias felt it before anyone else.
A cold hollowing.
And then—
The HUD blinked.
The System hiccuped.
And everything went black.
No chakra bar.
No vitals.
No notifications.
No voice.
No pulse.
Elias stopped.
"System?" he said aloud, instinctively.
Nothing.
No response.
No data stream.
Not even the hum in the base of his skull.
He felt his own breath — dry, mechanical.
He blinked.
"System, status."
Nothing.
Bit stopped crawling.
He dropped to the ground beside Elias.
"Your eyes," Bit whispered. "They're not reflecting anymore."
"What?"
"Usually your pupils… shimmers with light. Now? Gone."
Volst's voice clicked over the vox.
Except—
It didn't.
The line was open.
Channel green.
But there was no sound.
Elias turned to Lirae.
She was screaming — mouth open, hands waving—
Muted.
Malk raised his gun—
And Elias saw it:
His shadow had vanished.
Then—
Something moved at the far end of the hall.
Not fast.
Not violent.
Just present.
Like a concept given form.
No footfalls.
No echo.
No heat signature.
No eyes.
Just awareness.
Elias backed up—
And the System came back.
Sputtering. Glitching.
> SYSTEM RESTARTING...
> Memory Integrity: Compromised
> User Anchor: Unstable
> Re-initializing Core > … > WARNING: External Anomaly Interference Detected
Then he heard it.
Not aloud.
Not in his head.
In his bones.
A voice, low and dry:
"You do not belong here, Elias Mercer."
His throat locked.
He hadn't told anyone his full name.
Not even the Black File.
Not even Fira.
Only one voice in the universe had called him by that name since his rebirth.
His own.
He took a step back.
Drew his blade.
The chakra was dead.
He felt like he was moving with a broken arm, a cracked rib, a missing self.
And the voice came again.
"No soul. No shield. No sanctuary."
Then the light returned.
The System snapped online.
His HUD blinked.
The others reappeared.
Volst mid-command.
Malk reloading.
Lirae on her knees, blinking hard.
Bit frozen, still watching him.
Only a second had passed.
Maybe.
And the System whispered:
> Interference Logged: UNCLASSIFIED ENTITY
> Threat Level: REDACTED
> Memory Desync Detected – 4.3 seconds lost
> User Mental Stability: At Risk
> Activating Failsafe…
> Unlocking Ability:
> Chakra Reinforcement – MIND (Rank F)
> [Duration: 3 seconds – Usable once per engagement]
Elias stood still.
His breathing slow.
And wrote one word in the journal.
"It knew me."
[END OF PART 4]