Chapter 46 – The Last Restart
It took six hours to dig through the debris in the collapsed metro station.
The Ferryman said the terminal had been hidden there since Cycle One.
Before the Architect.
Before the Choir.
Before even Subject Zero fractured.
"It was built as a failsafe," he said, torchlight flickering off bloodied walls. "In case the system turned against the users."
"It did," I said.
He only nodded.
---
> [Location: Terminal Echo-R01]
Type: System Admin Node (Legacy Version)
Function: Zone-Wide Reboot or Memory Stream Rewrite
Status: Locked – Requires Sync with Deceased User Archive
Condition: You must relive the final seven missions of a chosen dead user
Warning: Emotional bleed and identity risk: HIGH
---
The console was old.
Not like the system's sleek glyphs and golden HUDs.
This one looked like a grave marker.
Wired into the ground.
Fused with the bones of the first administrator who tried to shut the system down and failed.
I wiped dust from the screen.
A message blinked in harsh red:
> "CHOOSE A MEMORY CORPSE."
---
Three names flickered:
User 191 – Tamryn Skye – Executed for code poisoning
User 077 – Cole Jarvis – Died mid-mission with objective incomplete
User 009 – Abel – Deleted himself from the system after completing all required missions
I hovered over Abel.
Something about the name… ached.
> "He was the first to finish the original mission set," the Ferryman said.
"Then he walked into the void… and asked to be erased."
"What was his sin?" I asked.
"No one knows."
That was answer enough.
---
> [You selected USER 009 – ABEL]
Begin Synchronization?
This process is irreversible. You will live every moment of his final seven missions.
Physical body will remain dormant during immersion. Estimated pain feedback: EXTREME
Confirm?
I breathed once.
Then pressed: YES.
---
The world fell apart.
No light.
No ground.
Just memory.
Just Abel.
And I became him.
---
Mission 1 – "Feed the Unmarked"
A city of rotting mouths. No names. No eyes. Just hunger.
Abel carried bags of flesh, feeding creatures that screamed his name without knowing why.
He smiled the whole time.
Even when they bit his hands.
Even when he bled.
Even when he was told: "Only those who feed the forgotten may survive the next loop."
---
Mission 2 – "Sacrifice the Innocent"
A small girl. No code signature. No sin weight.
Abel was ordered to end her to reset the realm.
He tried to run.
The system crushed his legs.
So he crawled.
And killed her with tears in his throat.
---
Mission 3 – "Become the Monster You Fear"
He wore the face of the man who killed his family.
Then hunted his friends.
Each kill made the system cleaner.
Each kill earned reward.
Each kill made him less human.
---
I couldn't breathe.
I wasn't watching.
I was him.
I felt the blood.
The doubt.
The cold walls of every choice.
I screamed.
But my own voice was gone.
Only Abel's remained.
---
Mission 4 through 6 blurred.
Looped death.
Hallucinated betrayals.
System-engineered love that he was forced to delete.
By Mission 7—
He no longer spoke.
Only obeyed.
---
Then the final message came.
> [Congratulations: You have completed all 1,000 required system missions.]
> Option A: Ascend and become a system overseer
Option B: Submit your name for erasure
Option C: Transfer memory chain to another host
Abel chose B.
With shaking hands.
He entered his name.
Then added a note:
> "If anyone ever finds this… I wasn't a hero. I just wanted the weight to stop."
---
And then—
Darkness.
Nothing.
Until…
---
I gasped.
Woke up on the metro floor.
Blood pouring from my nose and ears.
Nails torn.
Screaming.
The Ferryman held me down.
"Breathe," he said. "You're back. You made it back."
I stared at the terminal.
Still glowing.
Still waiting.
> [SYNC COMPLETE – USER 009 MEMORY ACCEPTED]
You may now perform:
1. Zone Reboot – Reset all corrupted mission nodes
2. Memory Inheritance – Embed Abel's story into system to allow divergence in future mission paths
Recommended: Option 2
I hovered over the second.
"Let them know what he did," I whispered.
"So no one else has to do it again."
---
> [Option Selected: Memory Inheritance]
Abel's legacy will now exist inside the mission stream
Users may begin to experience alternative paths
System Stability Decreased: 3%
Narrative Complexity Increased: 22%
New Trait Gained: "Ghost of Abel" – Once per arc, you may invoke a memory echo of Abel to absorb one impossible choice
---
When I left the station…
The sky looked different.
Still cracked.
Still wrong.
But a little more real.
And in my system log, one new message appeared:
> From: Unknown
"You gave me back my face. Thank you. – Abel"