Chapter 20: The Third Loop (Part II)

Silence. The words lingered inside the chamber.

"I failed to save you."

Rin searched the stranger’s face.

Nothing. No recognition. No memory. He had never seen this man before.

"...We’ve never met."

The stranger smiled sadly.

"I know."

"Then how—"

"You haven’t met me."

Another impossible answer. Rin rubbed his forehead.

"...I think I’m developing a headache."

"You will."

"...Comforting."

"It gets worse."

No one laughed. Kaelith kept his sword raised.

"You will answer his question."

The stranger looked at him.

"I already did."

"You answered with riddles."

"I answered with the truth."

"The two are not the same."

"...Lately..."

The stranger glanced around the room.

"...they’ve become difficult to separate."

Lucien stepped forward. His holy light brightened around his hands.

"You crossed the fortress barriers."

"Yes."

"You bypassed every protective ward."

"Yes."

"You entered a room sealed by ancient magic."

"Yes."

"...How?"

The stranger considered the question. Then answered with complete sincerity.

"I walked."

Silence. Vorak blinked.

"...That’s not an answer."

"It is."

"You cannot simply walk through barriers."

"I didn’t."

"You just admitted—"

"I walked."

"..."

"..."

"...I dislike speaking with you."

"I know."

Rin noticed something strange. Every time the stranger answered... He wasn’t lying. He simply wasn’t explaining.

Like a programmer answering exactly what had been asked. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The System suddenly returned. Not beside Rin.

Directly between him and the stranger.

The blue interface expanded until it stretched nearly from floor to ceiling.

Its usual clean borders had become fractured.

Entire sections of code flickered beneath the surface.

EMERGENCY PROTOCOL

Narrative Contamination Increasing

Attempting Isolation...

...

Attempt Failed.

The stranger sighed.

"Oh. It finally noticed."

Rin frowned.

"Noticed what?"

The man looked at the System instead of answering.

"I told you. You should have deleted me when you had the chance."

Every crack across the interface spread wider.

IDENTITY REQUEST

State designation.

The stranger smiled.

"You’ve forgotten?"

DATABASE CORRUPTED

"I can see that."

STATE DESIGNATION

The man was quiet for a long moment. Finally...He answered.

"...Aiden."

The name echoed strangely. Not because it was magical. Because...

The System froze.

Every line of text vanished. One word appeared.

FOUND

Then immediately—

ACCESS DENIED

The entire interface turned black.

Not blue. Black.

For the first time since Rin had arrived in this world...

The System spoke aloud.

Its familiar voice sounded distorted. Broken. Almost frightened.

"You should not exist."

The room fell silent.

Aiden’s expression softened.

"I know. You erased me."

The System glitched violently.

"Incorrect."

"You did."

"Incorrect."

"You erased everyone."

The words struck Rin harder than any sword. Everyone? His pulse quickened.

"What..."

He looked between them.

"What is he talking about?"

Neither answered. Instead... They stared at each other.

Like two ancient enemies meeting again after centuries. Kaelith broke the silence.

"...Explain."

Aiden looked at him.

"I wish I could."

"You can."

"I really can’t."

He tapped the side of his head.

"Certain memories...are locked."

Rin frowned.

"Locked?"

"I remember the conclusions. But not the journey. I remember losing. But not every battle. I remember..."

He stopped. His face suddenly tightened.

Pain. Real pain.

He grabbed the edge of the table.

"...No..."

Blood dripped from his nose. Exactly like Ji-ho. Rin’s eyes widened.

"Not again..."

Aiden staggered. His breathing became uneven.

"They’re listening."

The room instantly became alert. Selara scanned the windows. Vorak turned toward the doors. Lucien strengthened his barrier.

"...Who’s listening?"

Rin asked.

Aiden looked directly at him. Not at the others. Only Rin.

Then whispered—

"The ones...between stories."

Every candle inside the chamber extinguished.

Not all at once. One by one. As if an invisible hand walked around the room.

First.

Second.

Third.

Darkness crept inward. The air became painfully cold. Aiden’s eyes widened in genuine fear.

"No...They found us."

Kaelith stepped in front of Rin without hesitation.

Again. Sword raised. Body between Rin and the darkness.

"Show yourself."

Nothing answered.

Then... A sound.

Not footsteps. Not breathing. Pages turning. Thousands...Upon thousands...Of pages.

As though an invisible library surrounded them.

Rin felt his skin crawl. The sound grew louder. Closer.

The System flickered once.

WARNING

Narrative Overwrite Attempt Detected

Again.

Protecting Primary Subject...

Again.

Protection Failed.

Every soldier in the room drew their weapons. Even Elder Veyron looked shaken.

"...What in the name of the First King..."

Then...Everything stopped. The cold vanished. The candles reignited. The strange sound disappeared. As though nothing had happened.

Only Aiden remained on one knee. Panting.

A thin trail of blood stained the floor beneath him.

He laughed. Not because anything was funny. Because he was relieved.

"...It left."

Rin stared.

"What...was that?"

Aiden slowly looked up.

His smile was gone.

"It wasn’t looking for me."

Silence.

"It was making sure..."

He swallowed.

"...I didn’t tell you too much."

The room fell deathly still. Then Aiden looked at Rin with an expression that made his stomach sink.

"You’ve already survived longer than the others."

No one said nothing...

"The first Rin died in five days. The second survived eleven."

He paused.

Looking directly into Rin’s eyes.

"...Today...is your twelfth."

No one spoke.

Not even the System.

For the first time...

It had nothing to say.