The descent felt endless. Each step I took down the staircase erased something small: the sound of my own heartbeat, the warmth in my hands, the memory of why I started this journey. By the time I reached the bottom, I no longer remembered what color the sky was.
The floor was a membrane. It pulsed under my weight. Breathing. Alive.
[System Recalibration: Environment — Memory Construct / Reality Blend]
I stepped forward and the corridor reshaped itself into a labyrinth. No walls. Just doors. Thousands of them, hanging in the void. Each door led somewhere I recognized, but slightly wrong. Warped.
Li's voice whispered in my ear, but I couldn't see him.
"This is the Protocol. The final test. To find the real Anya, you must first destroy the false versions of yourself."
---
Room One: The Rooftop
I was back on the rooftop where I once shot Mu. But this time, I was the one with a bullet in my head. Anya stood over me, holding the gun, face blank.
She looked at the rooftop-me.
"He hesitated," she said. "You won't."
She handed me the gun.
"Shoot or loop."
I shot.
[False Self Eliminated: Hesitation]
The world blurred.
---
Room Two: The Ocean
I was drowning. Again. But this time, the water was thick with memories—floating fragments of Anya's smile, my laughter, our son's first breath. They clung to me, heavy, pulling me deeper.
A hand reached in.
Mu.
"Let go. If you want to find her, you have to stop needing her."
I held tighter.
[False Self Eliminated: Dependency]
---
Room Three: The Mirror Garden
Dozens of Chen's walked through a garden of mirrors. Each wore different regrets.
One who ran.
One who stayed.
One who loved Mu instead.
One who never woke up.
I stood in the center. They surrounded me. Reflections flickered.
"You are not original," they chanted. "You are derivative."
I shattered every mirror. My fists bled data.
[False Self Eliminated: Impostor Syndrome]
---
Room Four: The Nursery Again
The same baby. Same cradle. But this time, it looked like me.
Anya rocked beside it, singing. Her eyes were empty.
"Our son never existed. You know that, right?"
The baby laughed. Then exploded into crows.
[Memory Rewritten: Loop #9 corrupted]
---
Labyrinth Core Accessed
At the center stood the Labyrinth Engine: a spire of bone and code, spinning slowly. Each rotation sparked memories I had buried under oceans of pain.
Li stood before it. Now old. Now young. Now both.
"You built this," he said.
"I didn't."
"You did. To protect yourself from the truth."
He placed his hand on the Engine.
It screamed.
Every version of me reappeared in a storm of forms and timelines.
I saw myself as a god. As a traitor. As a martyr. As a ghost.
"Only one gets to move forward," Li said.
"Then I choose her."
---
Final Trial: The Unroom
No walls. No floor. Just space and silence.
Anya stood there. Real. No shards. No distortion. Her eyes were full of fear.
"This is the first time we meet without influence," she said. "No loops. No systems. Just us."
"And if I fail?"
"Then we become another experiment. Another line of code in the Labyrinth."
She reached out. I took her hand.
Pain shot through me. My memories collapsed inwards. My name, my history, my purpose—all erased.
I was just... here.
With her.
And then she whispered:
"I remember what you did in Loop Zero. I forgive you."
The world shattered.
---
Cliffhanger: The Labyrinth Burns
I awoke strapped to a chair. Blood filled my mouth. The real Mu stood before me, holding a scalpel. Anya was gone.
"Welcome back," Mu smiled. "You passed the Labyrinth. That was phase one."
A monitor flickered behind her.
Onscreen: Anya. Pregnant. Smiling.
Next to her: Me. But not me.
Li spoke through the intercom.
"You chose the wrong one."