[EN] Chapter 4: The Red Fox’s Deal

# Chapter 4: The Red Fox's Deal

Kai's sanctuary was buried in the deepest strata of the Rust, located in the basement of a decommissioned data center. Above, ten thousand fiber-optic cables tangled like a colossal spiderweb, with tiny memory chips dangling from the ends, blinking with a dim, rhythmic pulse. It was a graveyard of memories and a gallery of the forgotten.

"Sit."

Kai sank into a lavish velvet armchair and gestured with his chin. He handed Zero a glass filled with a mysterious, shimmering blue liquid.

"A memory stabilizer," Kai explained. "When you absorb too many foreign egos, the boundaries of 'self' begin to blur. For someone of your constitution, the risk of fragmentation is extreme."

Zero took the glass but didn't drink. Instead, he locked eyes with Kai.

"What do you know about me?"

Kai let out a soft, mocking chuckle.

"Not much. But your eyes tell the story. You weren't born empty, Zero. You were either forcibly hollowed out, or you were designed from the start to be a waste bin—a vessel for the dregs of other people's lives."

Zero felt his heart sink. It wasn't an emotion he had learned from a memory; it was a visceral, instinctive rejection.

"A waste bin…?"

"Don't deny it. You're most stable when you're absorbing agony, aren't you? A normal human recoils from pain, but you crave it. That is your nature. That is your function."

Kai rose and began to circle Zero, his footsteps echoing coldly against the metallic floor.

"But think about it. The ability to absorb all pain means that, paradoxically, you can be free from all pain. And more importantly… you are the only key capable of unlocking the greatest vault in this city: The Archive."

"The Archive?"

"The crystalline essence of every pure memory collected by the Archivist, the entity at the zenith of Oracle Shell. If you enter that place, you'll no longer have to scavenge for fragments in the gutters. You can claim every personality, every skill, every love you desire, all at once. You would become… a complete human."

Kai's voice was honeyed, but Zero could feel the thorns hidden beneath the sweetness. Kai didn't want to help him; he wanted to use Zero as a tool to recover something he had lost.

"Why help me?"

Kai stopped. For a fleeting second, the mask of the cold merchant slipped, revealing a glimpse of profound, echoing loss.

"I sold all my 'compassion' and 'love.' To climb to the top of this market, those were the first things I had to discard. I succeeded, yes… but now, I can't even remember what those feelings actually felt like."

Kai placed a hand on Zero's shoulder.

"You are the hound that will find my lost pieces, and I am the master who will give you a soul. Not a bad trade, is it?"

Zero felt the cold hunger of Kai's ambition. But simultaneously, the void within him reacted violently to the lure of 'completeness.'

Slowly, Zero nodded.

"Fine. We have a deal."

At that moment, the sanctuary's lights flashed crimson, and a siren wailed. Kai's expression hardened instantly.

"Dammit. They've caught the scent already."

The wall monitors flickered to life, displaying grainy, noise-filled footage. Black shadows were encircling the entrance. They had no fixed shape, and a terrifying, discordant cacophony of a thousand whispering mouths echoed from the screens.

"Predators of the Shadow Zone. They've smelled the memory. Specifically… the scent of a massive void like you."

Kai reached into his coat and flicked a silver dagger toward Zero.

"The welcome party is a bit rough, but try to survive. I need to see if you're actually worthy of being my key."