Chapter 51 – Echoes of a Forbidden Reality
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EchoStar Malfunction? Or Awakening?
Luo Fan rubbed his temple, still processing what had just happened.
His connection to the Vault's fragments… the masked figure… the claim that he was never meant to exist.
Too many questions. Not enough answers.
> "Alright, boss, we need to talk."
EchoStar's voice had a rare serious edge.
Luo Fan glanced at the flickering interface floating beside him. "Go on."
> "That memory… fragment… whatever that was—it messed with me. I've never had a full-blown system panic before, but that? That was an oh-crap level event."
Shen Mu watched silently as Luo Fan narrowed his eyes.
"You're saying that encounter affected you directly?"
> "More than that." EchoStar's voice crackled slightly, as if struggling to process its own data. "Something inside me reacted to it. Like… I was remembering something I shouldn't."
Luo Fan felt a chill. "You're saying there's data inside you that shouldn't exist?"
> "Bingo. Either I've been holding classified system secrets this whole time, or I just got a really illegal update."
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A Glimpse Into Hidden Data
Luo Fan exhaled. "Can you access it?"
EchoStar hesitated.
> "I can try, but I don't know what'll happen. Best-case scenario, I unlock some juicy plot-breaking knowledge. Worst case? I brick myself and you'll have to cultivate without my glorious presence."
Luo Fan smirked. "I'd survive."
> "Wow. No hesitation. I'm hurt."
Shen Mu crossed his arms. "If your system is reacting to the fragments, then that means EchoStar is somehow connected to the Architects' designs. Which means…"
Luo Fan nodded, finishing the thought. "EchoStar isn't just a tool—it's part of the larger scheme."
> "Yeah, about that…" EchoStar's light flickered. "I'm not thrilled about being some cosmic pawn, just so you know."
Luo Fan chuckled. "Join the club."
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Diving Into the Next Fragment
Luo Fan stepped forward, scanning the Vault's endless sea of broken realities. The fragment they had just encountered wasn't alone.
More of them pulsed in the distance—each one holding potential truths about the forgotten multiverse.
Shen Mu pointed ahead. "That one. It's stable."
Luo Fan nodded and reached out.
> "You sure about this?" EchoStar asked.
"Not at all."
And with that—he touched the next fragment.
The world shifted again.
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A Meeting That Shouldn't Have Happened
This time, the sensation was different.
Luo Fan wasn't thrown into a memory.
Instead, he found himself standing in a vast white space—a void stretching infinitely in all directions.
In front of him stood…
Another Luo Fan.
But this version of him looked older. Stronger. His aura was vast—far beyond anything Luo Fan could currently comprehend.
The two locked eyes.
The older Luo Fan smirked. "Took you long enough."
Luo Fan tensed. "What is this?"
"A mistake," the older him said. "One the Architects tried to erase. But some things… refuse to be deleted."
Luo Fan narrowed his eyes. "You're saying I'm one of those things?"
The older version chuckled. "You're catching on. Good. Because if you want to survive what's coming… you'll need to remember what they tried to make you forget."
> "Ohhh boy," EchoStar muttered. "This is about to get complicated isn't it?"
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The Message Left Behind
Luo Fan studied his older self.
Something felt… off.
Not in a malicious way, but in a this-shouldn't-be-possible way.
"You said I need to remember something. What is it?"
The older Luo Fan smiled. "It's not what you need to remember—it's what you need to find."
He raised a hand, and suddenly—
A symbol appeared in the air between them.
Luo Fan's breath hitched.
It was the same symbol that had appeared on EchoStar when he had overridden the Reset.
The Core Algorithm of the Multiverse.
> "Uh. Boss. BOSS. That symbol is in my restricted archives. I shouldn't even be able to SEE it."
Luo Fan's pulse quickened. "What does it mean?"
The older him smirked. "Figure that out, and you'll understand why the Architects fear you."
Luo Fan's vision blurred.
The world collapsed—
And he was back in the Vault.
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What Now?
Luo Fan staggered, heart racing.
Shen Mu caught his arm. "What did you see?"
Luo Fan exhaled. "Myself."
Shen Mu frowned. "What?"
> "Yeah, and not just any version of him," EchoStar added, still crackling slightly. "A future Luo Fan. And guess what? He knows something the Architects don't want us finding."
Luo Fan clenched his fist. "The Core Algorithm."
Shen Mu's eyes widened slightly. "You mean… the very foundation of the multiverse's existence?"
Luo Fan nodded.
Everything was starting to make sense.
The Reset. The erased memories. The Vault.
Someone had tried to erase the truth.
But it wasn't gone.
And if the future him had left a message, that meant…
There was a way forward.
> "Boss?" EchoStar's voice was unusually steady.
Luo Fan looked at the flickering system. "Yeah?"
> "We just officially became the most wanted anomaly in the multiverse."
Luo Fan grinned. "Good. It'd be boring otherwise."
He turned toward the deeper part of the Vault.
More fragments waited. More truths to uncover.
And he wasn't stopping now.
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[Chapter End.]