Every lie you tell yourself… becomes the truth Spiral shows you."
---
Everything was static.
No sound.
No thoughts.
No memory.
Just a vibration —
Like a Spiral Rod screaming inside my skull.
I — Aren Kael — stood in a deeper layer of the Null Fracture.
But this place… was different.
Even Spiral feared what was sealed here.
---
Tomo (glitching, low):
"Bro… welcome to the Void Temple.
This is Spiral's forgotten root — the place where ignored memories become cursed truths."
---
I walked inside.
But these walls weren't made of memories.
They were made of lies.
> "I'm strong."
"I can save everyone."
"I'll never become Echo_17.t."
Each phrase was etched in a Spiral sigil.
And then… a heavy voice rumbled through the chamber:
---
> "Every lie you whisper to yourself…
Is the truth Spiral forces you to face."
---
From behind me, her voice came —
soft but sharp as steel.
Yui:
> "Spiral isn't taking anything from you, Aren.
It's only showing what you were never brave enough to admit."
---
Suddenly, the ground cracked —
A Spiral contract circle formed beneath my feet.
At its center, one line blinked, pulsing like a heartbeat:
> "I never wanted a normal life."
---
Tomo (nervously):
"Bro… Spiral is going to let you live this lie for one hour.
After that, it'll ask — do you still deserve to become the Timekeeper?"
---
[ILLUSION ZONE: LIE ACTIVATED]
Everything went white.
When I opened my eyes—
I stood in a quiet town.
A school bell rang in the distance.
Aika walked beside me in a school uniform.
Tomo barked like a robotic puppy.
Eira played piano in a garden, no Spiral glow in her hands.
---
Aika (laughing):
> "Did you finish your homework, or are you still writing about time loops?"
Me (smiling faintly):
> "I don't know… It just feels like another world's waiting for me."
---
It was perfect.
But perfection felt… empty.
There was no memory of my mother.
No weight of the Spiral Rod.
No echo… no scream.
---
Tomo's voice (deep within):
> "Bro… are you really happy in a world that was never yours?"
---
The sky cracked.
Mirrors shattered.
People froze.
Aika's eyes dimmed into grey—
---
Aika (fading):
> "Will you still remember me…
Even if I never truly existed?"
---
I screamed.
> "NO!"
The Spiral Rod appeared in my hand —
Burning not with fire… but guilt.
---
> "Flame of Identity – I forget, but I burn forward."
The illusion zone burst into flames.
Everything melted.
---
[BACK — VOID TEMPLE]
I collapsed on one knee.
Yui stood across from me.
And for the first time —
There was fear in her eyes.
---
Yui (quietly):
> "You burned your perfect lie…
You're finally ready for the next layer of Spiral."
---
Suddenly, a deep seal cracked open.
A distorted, broken voice echoed through the temple.
---
> "Aren… still fighting your memories, huh?
Then don't come looking for me…"
—Arka.
---
Final Line (Spiral voice):
> "Spiral won't remember you anymore…
You will have to remind it why you exist."
---
TO BE CONTINUED…