Chapter 56 – Thorne’s Rewrite
I didn't land.
I splashed.
Not in water—
But in a liquid made from memory.
Thick. Warm. Red.
Every movement sent voices bubbling to the surface.
My voice.
Elias's scream.
Maria's breath catching as she burned.
And then—
Thorne's whisper:
> "Welcome to my rewrite."
---
> [Zone: SIM_REV-5X // Custom Narrative Override // Architect: Thorne]
Alignment: Inverted
System Rules:
– Guilt = Power
– Mercy = Weakness
– Forgiveness = DEATH
Warning: Kai's traits will invert unless countermeasures are used
---
I dragged myself from the memory-pool.
The world around me was stitched from broken HUDs and corrupted glass.
Buildings bled system code.
The sky was layered with static faces of those I'd judged.
And above it all—
Floated Thorne.
Wearing a crown of system tokens.
Each one cracked.
Each one earned through pain.
---
"You judged me in Chapter 3," he said, voice laced with rot.
"Erased me like a line of bad code."
He descended slowly, arms out.
"I watched you forgive sinners. Fix your soul. Save yourself."
He grinned.
"I decided… I deserved the same chance."
And then he held out a hand—
And rewound time.
---
The world stuttered.
I was back in the pool.
Drowning.
Only this time—I had Maria's voice in my head.
"Why didn't you save me?"
I thrashed.
Screamed.
And rose again.
---
> [You are now within a REWRITE TRIAL]
Goal: Escape Thorne's version of your story
Constraint: You CANNOT forgive. If you do, the trial resets
Trait Penalty: "Voice of Divergence" disabled
---
The streets twisted as I ran.
Everything I passed tried to make me feel mercy.
A child sobbing over her father's corpse.
A woman begging for release.
A man who looked like Elias crying out: "It wasn't his fault!"
I reached for them.
> [FORGIVENESS DETECTED – REWRITE INITIATED]
I was dragged back.
Again.
Back to the pool.
Screaming.
---
The third time, I didn't help.
Didn't reach.
Didn't feel.
I ran straight through the sorrow.
Toward the spire.
Toward Thorne.
---
At its summit—
He waited.
Eyes hollow.
Hands full of my failures.
"They buried me because of you," he said. "But now I have what you don't—honesty. I never lied to myself. I never pretended I was better."
He tossed one of the failures at me.
It turned into a child I let die in Chapter 6.
She screamed.
Charged.
Stabbed me with a broken mission token.
I bled memory.
---
> [Soul Integrity: 39%]
If it drops below 30%, Kai will become part of the simulation permanently
---
I grabbed the shard.
Shoved it back into the child.
And whispered:
"I carry this. Not because I want to. Because I must."
She froze.
Flickered.
And dissolved into starlight.
---
Thorne staggered.
"NO!" he shrieked. "You don't get to own what you tried to erase!"
---
> [Judgment Ready – Thorne the Rewritten]
Options:
A) Erase – End him completely
B) Invert – Trap him in the rewrite loop he made
C) Accept – Take his pain into your memory
I stepped forward.
Placed my hand on his heart.
It pulsed like a dying thread.
And said:
"You were right."
His eyes widened.
"I judged you too soon. I was scared. I didn't understand."
I exhaled.
"And I'm sorry."
---
> [FORGIVENESS INITIATED: SYSTEM OVERRIDE]
Rule Inversion Blocked
Kai's trait "Singular Will" resisted the fatal reset
Rewrite Shattered
Thread Fragment Seven Recovered
Trait Gained: "Unbreakable Thread" – Forgiveness can now overwrite corrupt system zones once per arc
Soul Integrity: -6% (Current: 33%)
---
Thorne collapsed.
A whisper now.
No longer an enemy.
Just a boy who never got closure.
---
> [HELLLOCK SECTOR STABILIZED – Rewrite Root Severed]
Remaining Threats: 1
Final Zone Unlocked: "The Echo Engine"
Description: Where the system ends… and something older begins