"If you were never meant to exist… would you still fight to be remembered?"
---
Everything was… silent.
But not the peaceful kind.
It was the kind of silence that steals your identity —
one memory at a time.
I — Aren Kael — was still trapped inside this Spiral-forged alternate memory realm.
And standing in front of me… was Cero.
A Spiral guardian — chosen by this version of Aika.
A world where… I never existed.
What kind of pain is this?
---
Cero (cold):
> "No one like you was ever part of this world."
"So what right do you have… to break it?"
---
My Spiral Rod was dimming.
Even Tomo's voice crackled with static.
Tomo (weak signal):
> "Bro… this Spiral world doesn't even recognize you.
Your data… is zero here…"
---
Cero drew his weapon — The Peace Blade.
A sword designed to erase pain with every slash.
> "Pain corrupts people. I only heal them."
---
BATTLE BEGINS
First slash — My mother's face blurred.
Second — My fall with Aika into the Spiral fracture… glitched.
Third — Even Tomo's first voice faded.
I screamed:
> "That's my power — how are you erasing it?!"
---
Suddenly — the Spiral memory zone cracked.
And a flashback emerged —
a memory I had never seen clearly before.
---
FLASHBACK:
A Spiral shrine.
A young Aika stands there — her voice soft, but piercing.
> "Are you also one of those people… who hide their pain?"
I had said nothing that day.
But that line had stirred something inside me…
---
BACK TO BATTLE:
I was shaking.
My rod glowed red.
Tomo (screaming):
> "Bro… Spiral may not remember you —
but you've already made peace with who you are!"
---
I stood tall.
My mother's voice echoed once more:
> "Don't run from pain, beta… let it shape you."
The Spiral Rod ignited —
not in red.
But in golden flame.
---
FINAL ATTACK:
Me:
> "I'm not just a memory in someone's head…"
"I'm the reason some memories are too strong to forget!"
Epoch Fang × Memory Flame Slash!!
Cero's blade shattered.
The Spiral contract cracked.
Reality flickered.
---
Aika was on the ground — her eyes full of confusion.
I stepped closer.
And in her gaze…
my reflection returned.
Aika (whispering):
> "You… are real."
"Finally… I remember."
---
At that moment — YUI descended.
Clad in Spiral chain armor — white and black.
Her expression unreadable.
Yui (calm but serious):
> "You didn't just break a Spiral contract…"
"You rewrote an entire memory zone."
She pointed toward my Spiral Rod.
> "New Trait Unlocked — Flamebound Identity."
---
[SPIRAL ROD EVOLUTION NOTICE]
New Ability:
User cannot be erased from Spiral-linked memories —
unless he willingly lets go.
---
Final Line — Aren Kael (to himself):
> "If carrying memories is a crime…"
"Then I'll commit that crime in every lifetime."
---
TO BE CONTINUED…
> Next Arc: The Reverse Spiral – Where Truth Lies Backwards.