The world outside was still healing, but the skies above Aetherveil had already begun to turn clearer, lighter—like a fading bruise.
For now, the threat of the Resonant Reclaimer was subdued.
But something deeper called to them—pulling them in the direction of a place that was neither memory nor dream, but something in-between.
It was the Library of the Lost Named, a place Yuuji had heard of in whispers, where the names of those who were erased from existence—forgotten—were stored.
No maps, no coordinates.Just a legend.And a path that led underground.
They descended beneath the layers of Kaleidra, where the air grew thick and old, like dust that had been untouched for centuries.
The entrance was hidden behind an iron door—seemingly impenetrable. But Liri touched it, and the door shimmered like a memory forced into reality, folding open with a groan of protest.
The library was vast—too vast—an endless expanse of shifting shelves that curved upward, too high to see the top, rows upon rows of tomes that glowed softly, their contents neither written nor defined. Some hovered in the air, others twisted as though they were always in motion, never truly settled.
But it wasn't the books that made the air tremble.
It was the whispers.
Faint at first, then louder, more urgent.
They came from the books themselves.
The souls within them.
"Yuuji…" Liri's voice was soft, almost reverent, as she stepped deeper into the library, her fingers brushing the spines of the books that surrounded them.
The whispers carried names—fragmented.Forgotten.
"You hear it too, don't you?"
He nodded. The voices weren't just of those lost to time. No, these were begging for recognition.
Yuuji felt the weight of it in his chest—the pressure of voices that were trying to claw their way back, claw their way home.
He opened one of the floating books, hesitant but drawn to its light. Inside, the pages were blank, save for a single name: Vera Nihil.
Liri's breath caught.
"Vera…" she whispered. "I remember her."
Yuuji blinked. "You—you do?"
She nodded, pulling her hand back from the book, her face pale. "Vera was a dreamer. She was the first who ever told me that we could be more than just what the system made us to be. But the system erased her memory, after—after she broke something."
Liri closed her eyes, her hands trembling as she reached for the book again. "Vera didn't want to be erased. She fought against it."
[ Warning: Emotional Bind Detected – Unstable Memory Link ][ Connection to Fragmented Identity Initiated ]
Suddenly, the room shifted.
The shelves around them blurred as the world around them began to distort. The air grew heavier—like a pressure building. Yuuji reached for Liri's hand, just in time to see the book she was holding flicker with strange, blue energy.
In the center of the library—a space that had no clear boundaries—Vera Nihil appeared before them.
Her form was ethereal, flickering between being and nothingness. She stood tall, her face both familiar and alien. She wore no clothes, no physical body, only an aura of endless thought.
"So, you've come…" Her voice echoed, like a melody trapped between breaths.
Liri stepped forward, her voice steady but filled with pain. "I remember you. I remember the way you whispered of a world outside the system—of possibilities."
Vera's eyes flickered with something resembling recognition. "Ah… but you cannot see what I see. You have not forgotten as I have." Her voice trembled as she spoke. "You will forget too. Just as I did."
Yuuji felt the cold rush through him as she spoke, as though her words were not warnings, but curses—a truth too deep to be fully understood.
"What do you want from us?" Yuuji asked, his voice firm. He wasn't sure if it was directed at Vera or the library itself.
Vera's form wavered again, flickering like an unstable signal. "Nothing. Only to be remembered." She took a step forward. "The books—these souls—are forgotten like I was. Erased by the system. By the very rules that keep Aetherveil alive. I have been here so long, Yuuji. So long…"
Her eyes turned sad. "And you… you will forget too, Liri. Just like the rest. You can fight the Reclaimer, but it will come again. And it will take everything."
Liri reached out, her fingers trembling as she closed her eyes.
"No." She whispered softly. "Not if we remember. If we remember—together—we can stop it."
Vera's gaze softened, just a fraction. "Remember…" she echoed. "Remember what you are fighting for. Remember that you are more than the system's design. The moment you forget, you will become like me. Like all the others…"
The words hung in the air, a bitter reminder of the cruel, ever-present pressure that the system placed upon those who dared to live outside of it.
[ Warning: Memory Bonding in Progress – Emotional Flux Peak Detected ][ Trait Gained: Forgotten Voice – Echoes of lost souls can now be heard across reality. ]
Liri turned back to Yuuji, her eyes glowing faintly in the dim light of the library. "We can't let them fade. We can't let them become like Vera."
Yuuji nodded. "We won't."
Vera's form began to flicker again, becoming more fragmented, like her essence was being pulled away by invisible hands. She smiled faintly before she spoke one last time.
"Remember me, Liri. Remember me, Yuuji. And when you do, you will unlock the true power to defy them."
With that, Vera's figure disintegrated into nothing, leaving behind only a faint whisper of her final words.
[ Emotional Memory: Vera's Sacrifice Recorded ][ New Trait Gained: Soul of the Lost – Empowerment drawn from forgotten souls increases by 30%. ]
The library around them began to settle. The voices grew fainter, but the sense of purpose remained.
They were no longer just fighting for themselves.
They were fighting for the forgotten.
For the erased.
For those who would never have their names spoken again.