Chapter 5: The Child with No Reflection
The staircase led into silence.
No wind. No scent. No sound—just the soft rhythm of his boots on stone and the hum of something ancient pulsing in the dark below.
[SECTOR 9-B: MEMORY CHAMBER 4-DELTA ENTERED]
[WARNING: COGNITIVE ANCHOR UNSTABLE]
The moment he passed the final step, the stone behind him sealed shut.
He was alone.
In a room of mirrors.
Dozens of floor-length panes stretched in a perfect circle, all angled slightly inward toward a single polished stone in the center.
No dust.
No distortion.
But something was… wrong.
He stepped forward.
The mirrors didn't reflect him.
Zero's chest tightened. He waved his hand. No reaction.
Only one mirror responded—across the circle.
It shimmered once. Then an image formed.
Not of him now.
But of him as a child.
Wide-eyed. Barefoot. Blood on his hands.
The boy looked directly at him… but he cast no reflection.
Zero stepped toward the pane.
The boy mimicked his every move.
But his feet left no echo, no sound. His face… didn't blink. Didn't breathe.
And yet…
"You're me," Zero whispered.
The boy tilted his head. Then lifted a hand and touched the glass.
Zero did the same.
Their fingertips met—
And the world fractured.
Memories flooded in—like water bursting through a dam:
A white room with numbered beds.
A voice calling, "Zero-Nine, report."
A girl with silver eyes teaching him how to lie.
Another child screaming as guards dragged him away.
Himself—watching, unfeeling.
A mirror where no one looked back.
A name erased from paper. Then another. Then his.
He dropped to his knees.
Breath stolen.
The boy stood unmoving, still staring.
[MEMORY CORE #004 ACCESSED]
[IDENTITY DISCREPANCY DETECTED]
[WARNING: "ZERO" MAY NOT BE ORIGINAL INSTANCE]
Zero stared at the screen.
"Not original?"
He backed away from the mirror. The boy watched him, unblinking.
"How many of me are there?" he asked aloud.
The System didn't answer.
Instead, the room changed.
One by one, the mirrors filled.
Each with a different child.
Each identical.
Each… not him.
[BEGINNING SINGULARITY CHALLENGE]
[OBJECTIVE: DETERMINE THE TRUE SELF]
The room shifted into shadow.
And every child stepped forward.
Some were crying.
Some were laughing.
Some held weapons.
Some were burning.
Some were blank.
And all of them whispered:
"You're not real."
Zero gritted his teeth. "Yes, I am."
"You're a copy."
"You were made."
"You were never the first."
He clenched his fists.
"Then let me decide who I become."
He reached into his pack.
Pulled out the memory blade Lin gave him.
A choice.
To cut a memory. Or to cut through a lie.
He slashed it forward—and it met the mirror with a sound like screaming glass.
The child shattered.
The others fell into dust.
Only the silence remained.
The lights returned.
And one mirror now stood open.
Behind it: a stairwell lit with blue light.
[CHALLENGE PASSED]
[NEW OBJECTIVE UNLOCKED: SEEK ORIGIN SITE]
[NEXT LOCATION: SECTOR 0 – THE WELL OF NAMES]
Zero stared at the void.
He wasn't sure who he was anymore.
But one thing was certain—
If he wasn't the first…
Then someone else was.
And that someone may still be out there.
Watching.
To be continued…