The deeper Elian went, the more the zone twisted.
Not physically — structurally. Threads curled away from him like dying roots. The walls began to lose shape, melting into overlapping corridors that shifted when he blinked.
This wasn't a ruin.
It was a place that had tried to become something else… and failed.
Or been stopped.
His Threadsense trembled.
Then it froze.
The moment he stepped into the chamber beyond the last arch, every thread in the room lit up — not in color, but pattern.
Spirals. Crosses. Empty symbols looping on themselves.
And in the center of the floor?
A pedestal.
Simple. Cracked. And pulsing with corrupted light.
Elian stepped forward — and the world held its breath.
A prompt appeared.
Not blue. Not clean.
But fractured.
Like the system hadn't meant to show him this.
[Access Granted: Archive Layer – Zone C-17 Residual Memory Detected]
[Seedborne File: UNLOCKING…]
[WARNING: Identity Chain Unstable. Data Corruption Level: 31%]
Text flashed across his vision. Fast. Twitching. Like it didn't want to be read.
Then it locked into place.
[Seedborne Record – Partial Access]
Name: Elian [Last Name: Redacted]
Classification: Persistent Anomaly
Current Zone: C-17 (System Disavowed)
Core Traits:
[Lucid] – Sync 27%
Mental clarity, thread pattern perception, memory anchoring
Passives:
– Pattern Recall
– Stillheart (Temporary)
– Ghost Frame I (minor signature misdirection)
[Threadbreaker II] – Progress 3.0%
Capable of severing system threads and disjunction of tethered links
Passives:
– Null Zone Generation (Limited)
– Signal Severance
– Surveillance Disruption Window (active for 3-5 minutes post severance)
Unclaimed Traits:
[Fraywalker] – Status: OFFERED
Classification: Unknown
Trait exists outside system protocol.
Path Fragments:
Observer Layer – Classification: Incomplete
Author Seed – Status: Dormant
System Comment: [This record deviates from base architecture.]
Elian stared.
This wasn't a profile.
It was a warning.
A system message sent not to him — but to itself.
He closed the interface, heart steady.
He didn't feel stronger.
He felt seen.
And now that the system had finally spoken?
He was going to make sure it kept listening.