[EN] Chapter 8: Threshold of the Archive
# Chapter 8: Threshold of the Archive
Clad in the color of hatred, Zero had become a different being. He no longer wept, swayed by the memories of others, nor wandered in the confusion of his identity. He began to control the massive 'pile of trash' swirling within him.
Kai watched Zero's transformation with interest. He felt a strange satisfaction seeing Zero use the truth as fuel to grow stronger instead of collapsing.
"Fine. The rehearsal is over. Time for the real test."
The place Kai led him to was the boundary of the Data Layer. It was the point where the physical space of reality overlapped with the virtual data layer constructed by the Archivist. Giant geometric patterns floated in the air, and the ground shimmered, constantly shifting into sequences of zeros and ones.
This was the only gateway to the Archive and the portal where the most powerful security systems operated.
"The door to the Archive isn't opened by a simple key. It is a giant scale that measures the 'density of memory'," Kai explained. "Those who do not possess enough memory are erased the moment they cross the threshold. Conversely, those with too many memories, whose identity has become diluted, are absorbed by the system. Only those who can control their memories through their own 'will' can pass the scale."
Kai stood before a massive white door. Stationed in front of it were the Sentinels, the proxies of the Archivist. They were smooth, faceless metallic spheres capable of digitizing and deleting a soul with a single scan.
"Now, Zero. Prove your worth. Break through them and cross the threshold."
Kai stepped back and folded his arms. His eyes no longer evaluated Zero as a simple tool, but as a completed 'weapon'.
Zero slowly approached the Sentinels. The Sentinels simultaneously emitted red light and attacked. It wasn't a physical strike, but a high-frequency data pulse designed to induce 'identity collapse'.
[ Who are you? ]
[ What is your origin? ]
[ What is your value? ]
The system's questions echoed through Zero's brain, feeling as if they were tearing it apart. An ordinary human would have searched their past for answers. But Zero did not search for an answer. Instead, he expanded the vast 'void' within him.
He accepted the fact that he was a trash bin. He embraced the truth that he was nothing.
'I am nothing.'
Simultaneously with that thought, Zero unleashed the tens of thousands of memories swirling inside him all at once. It was a storm of unrefined agony, sorrow, and hatred.
*KRA-BOOM—!*
The fragments of expelled memories hit the Sentinels like a colossal tsunami. The Sentinels' circuits burned out from an 'emotional overload' that defied logical calculation, crumbling instantly into system errors.
Zero had learned not to absorb memories, but to 'weaponize' them. He was no longer merely a vessel for storage; he had become a predator who could combine and detonate those memories to distort reality.
Kai was stunned. He had expected Zero's ability to be something like an 'eraser' that deleted memories, but Zero had become a 'virus' that destroyed the system through memory.
"Insane… It might actually be possible," Kai whispered.
Zero stood before the white door, having carved a path through the Sentinels. From beyond the door, the Archivist's chilling laughter reached him like a phantom.
"Go in now, Zero. Your creator is waiting for you."
Kai's voice now held a mixture of anticipation and an indiscernible fear. Without hesitation, Zero reached for the door.
The moment his fingertips touched the surface, the door became a giant vortex and swallowed him whole. Zero was now liberated, descending into the heart of the Archive toward the final war that would determine his entire identity.
He was no longer a child under Kai's protection. He was the most dangerous predator of memory, bearing all the sins and sorrows of this city.