He woke with blood in his mouth.
Not from injury.
From pressure.
The moment he slept, something moved inside the framework of his mind — a pulse that hadn't been there before. Not a trait. Not a system notification.
A presence.
Something had slipped through when he severed the Namebound.
And now it was trying to remember for him.
[Lucid Trait – Interference Detected]
[Memory Field Corrupted – Source: Echo Residue]
[Stability Check: FAILED]
[Triggering Controlled Recall Event]
The world around him flickered.
He was still in the ruin.
But it was younger. Warmer. The threadlight hadn't dimmed yet.
And he wasn't alone.
A boy — small, ragged, limping — ran past him through the corridor.
Elian followed.
Not with his body.
With his mind.
"Eiran, wait!"
The voice. His voice.
But not the one he used now.
This was before.
Before the fracture. Before the Seed. Before the system even marked him.
The boy turned — wide-eyed, panicked, bleeding from a wound Elian didn't remember giving him.
"You said we'd leave together!"
Elian reached forward.
The world buckled.
The boy vanished.
He gasped — awake again, heart pounding.
Threadlight around him twisted.
A suppressed memory had broken containment.
And the system was trying to seal it again.
[Author Seed Interference: Active]
[Suppressed Memory Flag Reclassified – Variable Link]
[New Trait Fragment Detected: Remnant Recall I]
[Effect: The system cannot erase what you refuse to forget.]
Elian sat still for a long moment.
Then whispered:
"I didn't forget you."
He stood.
"I chose to bury you."
But now?
"Maybe it's time to dig."
[Lucid Trait Sync: 36% → 37%]
[Remnant Recall I Added to Trait Tree]
[Internal Surveillance Suppression: Active – 5 Minutes]
[Threadbreaker Progress: 4.3% → 4.5%]
He had enemies outside.
But worse than that?
He had names inside him.
And they were starting to wake up.