Chapter 60 – The Regret That Didn’t Die
The moment I stepped through the door marked Regret, the temperature dropped.
The world reassembled—
Charcoal skies.
Ash on the wind.
And the unmistakable crunch of frost under military boots.
I knew this place.
Mission 006: Cold Echo Outpost.
We were meant to extract a fractured soul core before it ruptured the sector.
But we lost one of ours.
We lost… Jalen.
---
> [Memory Reconstruction Complete – Zone: M006_CEO]
> User: Kai Ravenhall (Lead)
Sub-Users: Jalen Vross (Status: Deceased), Corra Miel, Dex Tannon
Mission Outcome: Success / Casualty x1
Report Tag: "Sacrificed to secure exit"
---
Sacrificed.
That's what I told the system.
That he'd volunteered to hold back the fractured echo while the rest of us escaped.
That it had been his choice.
But walking back into this memory—
I remembered something different.
---
Jalen's voice.
Panic in it.
"No, Kai! WAIT—"
Me.
Closing the gate.
Locking him in.
Telling myself it was for the mission.
That we couldn't lose the data.
That someone had to make it out.
But I never gave him the chance to choose.
---
The cold cut deeper now.
Like the truth was stabbing through my ribs.
And then—
I heard it.
His voice.
"Did I matter, Kai?"
I turned.
And there he was.
Exactly how I left him.
Frostbitten hands.
Blood on his chest.
One eye burned shut.
But still standing.
And angry.
---
> [Echo Manifestation Detected – Subject: JALEN VROSS]
Classification: Regret-Bound Specter
Emotional Anchor: "Unfinished Loyalty"
Status: Hostile Unless Answered
---
He walked toward me.
Slow.
Deliberate.
"You locked the gate," he said.
I nodded.
"You didn't even try to send a retrieval squad."
I clenched my fists.
He kept coming.
"You filed my death under 'necessary protocol.' You marked it 'acceptable loss.' Did you ever tell Corra what really happened?"
---
> [Response Required – Choose:]
A) Defend: "I did what I had to."
B) Deflect: "It wasn't personal."
C) Confess: "No. I was scared. I left you."
D) Say Nothing
---
I answered honestly.
"I was scared. I left you."
He stopped.
Looked me in the eye.
And asked: "Do you regret it?"
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Every day."
---
For a long second, the wind fell silent.
Then—
He smiled.
Just slightly.
But it cracked his face open like breaking glass.
And a voice whispered:
> [Echo Accepted – Regret Validated]
---
He stepped forward.
Placed a hand on my shoulder.
"You made a coward's call," he said. "But you came back."
His fingers tightened briefly.
Then turned to mist.
And for the first time since Mission 006—
Jalen was at peace.
---
> [Fragment 1 / 13 Resolved – "REGRET"]
Trait Gained: "Echo Recognition" – You may now see the unresolved faces of others' missions
Soul Integrity: -2% (Remaining: 28%)
---
The frost began to burn away.
The mission site dissolved.
And the door reappeared.
This time, cracked open behind me.
As if saying:
That one's done.
Now keep walking.
---
I stepped back into the circle.
Twelve doors remained.
But one pulsed brighter than the rest now.
COWARDICE.
---
> [Next Door Opening: 2 / 13 – "Cowardice"]
Zone: Mission 009 – "Wailing Mines"
Echo Manifestation: Unknown
Status: Suppressed until now