The echo stopped.
Cael lay in the dust, chest heaving. His skin pulsed with static Veinlight, and his mind—it wasn't broken.
It was unlocked.
Nira knelt beside him.
"Cael—talk to me. What did you see?"
He looked up at her with hollow eyes. Not confused.
Ashamed.
"You were right," he whispered. "I wasn't erased because I was dangerous."
She frowned. "Then why?"
"…Because I built the System that erased everyone else."
Nira froze.
"No. That's not possible—"
"I remember now." His voice cracked. "I chose it. I sealed the Veinworlds. I fractured the echoes. I made the purge protocol. I thought… I thought it would save us."
She took a step back.
The wind stirred dust around her boots. Her voice came quiet.
"You erased me."
He closed his eyes.
"I didn't want to. But you were going to stop me. And I needed… I needed the world to forget."
---
A long silence.
Then:
"I trusted you," she said.
"I made you forget that too," he replied.
---
[Warning: Core Identity Unstable]
[Remnant Thread integrity falling]
You are becoming too real.
---
Suddenly, from beneath them, the ground pulsed.
Another Shard Core — ancient, locked, and cracked — began to glow.
And a system message neither of them expected:
"Override Detected.
Subject NIRA holds buried admin access."
"Restore?"
Cael looked at her.
So did the System.
And maybe she's not just a forgotten companion.
Maybe she's something else entirely…
---