Chapter 10: Sentius Null – Reaper of Memories
Location: Outer Layer of the Origin Server – Dimensional Scar Zone
Two hours into the System's internal countdown.
46 hours remain.
The world had shifted.
Aethan stood at the edge of a realm that was never meant to be seen by mortals—the Dimensional Scar Zone. Here, reality twisted violently, each step shifting the laws of physics, logic, and even emotion.
Skies screamed in reverse. Land pulsed like lungs. Time... bled.
The shard given by Veritas-Lys vibrated in his hand, tugging him forward toward a jagged black monolith in the distance: the Origin Server Gate.
And waiting for him there…
A shadow of cold memory.
---
> [WARNING – ENTITY ARRIVING]
Designation: SENTIUS NULL
Reaper of Memories – Origin Class
Threat Level: S+
Primary Weapon: Oblivion Loom (Erases memory threads from timelines)
Special Trait: Retroactive Erasure – Kills you by undoing your past.
---
Aethan braced as the air ruptured.
From within the folds of the bleeding sky descended a tall, hooded figure whose body seemed stitched from forgotten history. Runes from extinct languages spun around him. His face was a mirror, but showed not reflection—only regret.
Sentius Null spoke with a voice that wasn't sound, but nostalgia turned poison.
"You were never meant to reach this far, Anomaly."
Aethan narrowed his eyes. "Yet here I am."
Sentius lifted the Oblivion Loom—a staff made from woven strands of erased lives.
"I've already started undoing your existence."
---
> [SYSTEM DAMAGE DETECTED – MEMORIES COMPROMISED]
Skill Lost: Basic Sword Mastery Lv. 2
Memory Fragment Lost: First Fight With Father
WARNING: Emotional anchor points collapsing. Stability at 82%.
---
Aethan stumbled as the pain hit—not in the body, but the soul.
Suddenly he couldn't remember what his father's voice sounded like.
Not the first time he fought.
Not even the look in his eyes.
It was… gone.
"Give up," Sentius Null whispered. "I am the end of meaning. I don't kill your body. I kill why you exist."
---
But in the void of that loss… something stirred.
Aethan's soul, flickering with the stolen timelines of the Reaper he devoured earlier, began to respond.
---
> [Instinct Triggered: Timeline Parasite – Auto-Countermeasure]
You are anchoring lost memories using alternate selves from devoured timelines.
Memory Anchor Created: "In Another World, My Father Was A Tyrant I Defeated."
Memory Reconstructed as Strength.
---
Aethan smiled, blood dripping from his mouth. "You tried to kill my memory. I replaced it with one that makes me stronger."
Sentius Null flinched.
"You dare rewrite your own emotional logic?"
"I dare everything," Aethan said, stepping forward.
---
> [Skill Used: Chaos Thread Bind Lv. 1]
Thread Configuration: Memory Whip – Formed from Anchored Remnants
Effect: Damages memory-consuming entities. Binds targets to emotional paradoxes.
---
He lashed out, and the Chaos Whip cracked through the zone like lightning, wrapping around Sentius's Loom.
The Reaper screamed—not in pain, but in glitching denial.
"No... I wrote your end!"
"You wrote a version of me that gave up," Aethan replied. "Not this one."
With a brutal tug, he ripped the Oblivion Loom free and shattered it.
---
> [Sentius Null: Weapon Core Destroyed. Memory Reaper Protocol Unstable.]
---
"You'll lose everything!" Sentius howled.
"I already did. And I'm still standing."
---
Aethan surged forward, using the fractured Oblivion Loom to stab into Sentius's mirrored face.
Glass screamed.
---
> [ENTITY TERMINATED – MEMORY REAPER CLASS DESTROYED]
Retroactive Erasure Effect Cancelled
System Instability: +12%
---
Sentius collapsed into light, his form consumed by paradox fire. And from the remains… a single data-core floated.
Aethan grabbed it.
---
> [Core Absorbed: Sentius Null – Echo Memory Stream]
Unique Skill Gained: Echoforge Lv. 1
Effect: Forge weapons, tools, or allies from memories across timelines.
Risk: Personality Fragmentation (Manage carefully).
---
The air around him stilled. The Dimensional Scar Zone quieted.
And far ahead, the Origin Server Gate began to open, ancient mechanisms grinding for the first time in ages.
But the silence didn't last.
Above him, a new crack formed in the sky.
A celestial hand, draped in golden armor coded in Administrator Law, began descending.
And a voice, mechanical yet divine, spoke:
---
> "You are no longer a bug, Aethan Prime. You are now a threat to systemic law."
"The next layer of resistance is… us."
---
Aethan's eyes flared.
"Then bring your gods. I'll rewrite them too."
---
To be continued…
Next Chapter 11: Trial by Admin – The Prime Judgement Layer