Chapter 53 – The Memory That Shouldn't Exist
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A Forgotten Trade
The Merchant of Lost Things placed a single, withered hand over Luo Fan's outstretched palm. A faint, unnatural chill spread through his fingers.
"A forgotten memory… in exchange for passage to the Forgotten Realm," the Merchant murmured. "Let the trade begin."
> "This is such a bad idea," EchoStar muttered. "I mean, sure, let's just let a sketchy cosmic smuggler dig through your lost memories. What could go wrong?"
Shen Mu frowned. "What kind of memory will he take?"
The Merchant chuckled, tilting his head as if listening to something unseen.
"A buried one. A piece of your past that even you have long abandoned."
A pulse of darkness spread from the Merchant's fingertips, sinking into Luo Fan's chest.
And suddenly—
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A Shattered Past
Luo Fan's vision fractured.
He wasn't in the market anymore.
He was standing in a golden courtyard.
It was familiar—yet utterly foreign.
Figures surrounded him, their faces blurred by time. They wore robes of celestial embroidery, their presence radiating boundless power.
And in front of them—
A younger Luo Fan knelt, his hands trembling.
A voice—deep and imposing—echoed through the courtyard.
"Luo Fan. You are sentenced to exile."
Pain surged through him as the weight of his past crashed down like a collapsing star.
This was—
> "Your expulsion," EchoStar whispered. "This is the moment you were cast out of your old sect."
Luo Fan had long moved past this event.
But then—
A detail changed.
One that had never been in his memory before.
Standing at the back of the celestial elders was someone else.
A figure watching him.
A face blurred by time—but undeniably familiar.
> "Wait, what the hell—?" EchoStar's voice glitched. "That person wasn't there in your original memory!"
The moment his mind focused on the figure—
The memory shattered.
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Back to Reality
Luo Fan staggered back, his breath ragged. The Merchant withdrew his hand, a faint wispy strand of energy coiling around his fingers before vanishing.
"A fine trade," the Merchant mused. "A memory erased, now claimed once more."
Shen Mu steadied Luo Fan. "What did you see?"
Luo Fan clenched his fist. "Something that shouldn't have been there."
> "No kidding!" EchoStar snapped. "That was not how things originally happened. Someone—or something—was present at your expulsion that shouldn't have been."
Luo Fan exhaled sharply. "We'll figure it out later. First, the Void Anchor."
The Merchant grinned and waved a hand. A faintly glowing crystal appeared, swirling with darkened energies.
"Your passage to the Forgotten Realm," he said smoothly. "Use it wisely… and beware what lurks beyond the veil."
> "Oh yeah, totally comforting. That doesn't sound ominous at all," EchoStar deadpanned.
Luo Fan grabbed the Void Anchor.
Now, there was no turning back.
Their path to the Null Abyss was open.
And whatever lay ahead—was something the multiverse had desperately tried to erase.
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[Chapter End.]