Chapter 24: Viera’s Memory

Neith scrambled through the half-shifted train corridors, her body jolting with every pulse the system sent out. The architecture was breaking down—walls were turning transparent, floors flickered beneath her feet.

She reached the console Liam had used. It was dead.

"Come on," she hissed. "Where are you…"

Then the room filled with mist—and a voice.

Not Liam's. Not the AI.

Viera.

"Neith Karrow. Daughter of the Helix Initiative. I know who you are."

Neith turned, stunned. A holographic figure stood nearby, flickering into view: Viera, preserved in a memory loop.

"You're not supposed to be here," Neith said warily.

"Neither were any of the passengers," Viera replied. "That train was never meant to carry souls."

"What happened?" Neith asked. "What's Liam becoming?"

Viera's expression dimmed. "He's doing what I couldn't—facing the truth. He's walking the path to the Zero Core, where every erased memory lives. If he survives it… he can rewrite the future."

Neith narrowed her eyes. "And if he doesn't?"

The memory flickered.

"Then the train completes its loop. All records scrubbed. Everyone lost. Forever."

---

Meanwhile…

Liam stood before the Zero Core.

A chasm stretched below it, pulsing with the lives of every lost passenger. Whispering. Begging. Remembering.

His hand hovered over the control.

The final question blinked:

"Do you reclaim or do you forget?"

He breathed in.

And chose.

---