Chapter 36 – The Chamber of Buried Names
I didn't open the door.
It opened for me.
The crack in the altar split wide—light spilling out like blood, but colder.
Soundless.
I stepped through.
And the world… broke.
---
There was no sky.
Just a dome of unwritten memory.
Like pages from a hundred lives—ripped out, ink dripping, hovering above like stars.
The ground pulsed under my feet—made of names etched into bone tiles.
Every tile bore a different identity.
Some I recognized.
My name.
Kai Ravenhall.
But others?
Variants. Versions.
"Kai R. Hollow."
"K. Rainsong."
"Subject K."
All of them... me.
All of them dead.
> [Location: First Gateway – The Chamber of Buried Names]
Realm Type: Timeline Grave / Spectral Archive
Threat: Memory Collapse / Echo Predation / Identity Corrosion
Sanity Drain: 2% per minute
Mission: Survive the Fragment Storm
Bonus Objective: Face the "Forgotten Self"
The air was too quiet.
Like the moment before a scream.
I took a step forward—and every name tile I touched glowed briefly.
Some tiles whispered as I passed.
> "We were better."
"You ran."
"You let her die."
"We were enough."
And then—
The wind came.
Not air. Memory.
It blew across the chamber like a hurricane of lost thoughts.
Visions struck me like shrapnel:
Me, laughing in a life where I never took the deal.
Me, strapped to a hospital bed, eyes carved out.
Me, kneeling in a church full of fire, whispering yes to something wearing God's voice.
> [System Alert: Fragment Storm Approaching – Brace Yourself]
00:10…
00:07…
00:03…
00:01…
Then—impact.
---
A tidal wave of memories crashed through me.
My bones rattled. My thoughts split.
I screamed.
But no sound came out.
Because I wasn't just in the chamber anymore—
I was becoming part of it.
> [Sanity Check Failed – Current Sanity: 25% → 17%]
Status Effect Applied: Echo Sync – Level 1
You are partially linked with "Buried Versions." Identity instability may occur.
---
Suddenly—I wasn't me anymore.
I was watching another Kai.
He walked through a hospital hallway, covered in blood.
In this version, he wore black gloves and carried a scalpel.
He didn't hunt ghosts.
He created them.
And he smiled.
> [Buried Version Identified: "Kai the Surgeon" – Corrupted Executor Variant]
Alignment: Hostile
Status: Active Echo
Objective: Assimilate Original Thread
Sin Count: 48
Warning: Incoming Hostile Contact
I blinked—and he was in front of me.
Same face.
Same body.
But his eyes were mirrors.
"You're the soft one," he said.
"No," I replied, steadying my blade. "I'm the survivor."
"You're the regret."
He lunged.
---
We fought across the names of the dead.
Every strike sent ripples through the tiles.
Every time I bled, I saw another memory—another failure.
Another version of myself who didn't make it.
But I didn't stop.
I activated my skill—
> [Sin Echo – ACTIVATED]
Echo Manifested: "Maria – Last Scream Fragment"
Her ghost appeared behind me.
Not the whole Maria.
Just the part of her that burned.
She screamed—and the Surgeon staggered, gripping his ears.
I slashed across his chest.
Ink bled out.
But he laughed, coughing static.
"You think she forgives you?" he hissed. "She doesn't even remember you."
He lunged again—but this time, I was ready.
I stabbed him through the chest—and whispered:
"Then I'll carry her until she can."
The Surgeon's face contorted. His body burst into threads of memory—
And vanished.
---
The chamber groaned.
Tiles began collapsing.
And then I heard it.
The voice.
Not the system.
Something older.
It echoed through the chamber, deep and mechanical and almost loving.
> "You've tasted one version. Would you like to see the rest?"
> [Gateway Response: Tier 1 Protocol – Complete]
[Trial Cleared: "Buried Self"]
Trait Gained: Fragment Walker
You can now survive inside distorted timelines and corrupted realities.
Effect: You may receive memories from alternate selves in extreme danger.
> Sin Echo Skill Evolved → Echo Merge
You may now fuse temporarily with a past version of yourself to borrow their strength. (Cooldown: 30 minutes)
> Sanity Stabilized: 17% → 20%
---
The chamber dimmed.
The voices quieted.
And in the center, where the Surgeon had fallen, a new key appeared:
> [Gateway Key – Tier 2: "Wound of Identity"]
Description: Allows access to the second Gateway realm.
Note: Recommended Sanity Level – 30% minimum (You are currently below safe threshold.)
I picked it up.
The key was warm.
Like it remembered being alive.
---
I stepped through the exit as the chamber collapsed behind me.
Outpost Echo faded into view again, but I wasn't the same.
Not anymore.
I carried scars from timelines that were never real—
But felt like they should've been.
---
The Ferryman was waiting.
He didn't speak.
Just nodded.
He saw it in my eyes.
That something inside me had shifted.
That I'd seen too many versions of myself to ever fully trust who I was again.
And still…
I wanted to go deeper.