I. Primary Fracture
After the dissolution of the Trial of Deep Roots and the eruption of the Original Memory, Edenfall was no longer a unified entity. The streets seemed to unfold, memories collided between the inhabitants, and the fragments Naeya had scattered began to influence distinct realities, as if each area of the city followed its own emotional and physical logic.
Naeya woke up with dried blood on his cheeks. His power, still fluctuating, had resonated with something beyond the known plane. Each of the fragments of Original Memory—composed of pure history, trauma, struggle, and desire—had taken root in a different region of Edenfall.
"I've opened too many doors…" he murmured. "And each one leads to a bleeding world."
II. The Zone of Silent Rage
Akihiko was the first to receive the signal from one of the active zones. The Void within him trembled as it detected an unstable distortion: the Silent Rage . In the former industrial district, the atmosphere was suffused with a dark red, where sounds were muffled upon uttering violent intentions.
There he encountered former members of the "Bronze Skull" mafia, now physical specters of their hatred. Each had a new gift, a product of the echoes of Memory: silent combat techniques capable of breaking bones without generating any acoustic impact. To survive, Akihiko had to learn to fight without making a sound, fusing his style with the Void until he created the art of the Silent Cut .
"The most lethal violence is that which is not announced," he said before executing his opponent without him hearing his own death.
III. The Bone Mirror Zone
Meanwhile, Lirea explored the Bone Mirror Zone , a neighborhood now dominated by reflective structures that displayed future versions of the combatants, injuries yet to come, and deaths yet to come. Each reflection was an enemy, and only one who could accept their end could strike with true power.
Lirea was cornered by five future versions of herself. One was a murderer. Another, a traitor. A third, a martyr. The fourth had lost Naeya. And the fifth was completely empty, with no memories.
"I don't have to defeat them," Lirea said, "but forgive them."
By embracing each reflection, he gained a new power: Reflective Resonance , with which he could absorb intentions from his enemies and project them back without physical effort.
IV. The Path of the Hollow Eye
Sael traveled to a forgotten temple in the north: the Path of the Hollow Eye. There, he found Mihai , a former enforcer for the "Twelve Scars" mafia, now serving as guardian of a fragment.
"To see without seeing is to remember without pain."
The temple was covered with carved eyes that closed upon approach. To advance, Sael had to let go of all his desire to understand. Only in total ignorance could he advance. He learned to fight without seeking meaning, and accessed the Blind Void , a state where his body moved by pure memetic instinct.
Mihai, seeing this awakening, knelt and offered the fragment voluntarily. Before he fainted, he said:
"True warriors are those who need no justification."
V. The Assault on the Broken Column
As the others recovered fragments, at the center of Edenfall, a massive structure emerged from the ground: the Broken Column . No one knew what it was, but at its top flamed the symbol of Edenfall's ancient founders.
There appeared the first High General of the Crimson Gloom Mafia , the secret organization of the legendary supervillain. His name: Braumh, the Mourning Gear .
Braumh was a giant wrapped in a metallic suit of living gears. Each one spun in rhythm with the enemy's emotions. His ability: Empathic Mechanics , which transformed the emotions of others into raw physical strength.
"Are you crying? I'll make you weaker." "Are you hating? I'll make you slower." "Are you afraid? You'll break on your own."
Akihiko and Sael confronted Braumh at the base of the Column. The fight lasted for hours. Akihiko used Silent Slash to immobilize the enemy's emotional core, while Sael accessed Blind Void to neutralize the internal mechanisms with emotionless attacks.
Finally, Braumh's body collapsed soundlessly, leaving a crack in the Column. But just before he disappeared, he let out a warning:
"The Dark Founder is already walking. We... are just a prelude."
VI. The Founder's Prophecy
From that crack emerged phrases engraved in liquid marble:
"When the eight fragments return to the Tree, the Founder will awaken."
Naeya, reading the lines, understood that they were trapped in a loop engineered by the Occult Mafia generations ago. Every fragment, every emotion, every war... weren't accidents, but pieces toward awakening an entity that had once ruled Edenfall from the shadows: the Dark Founder .
END OF CHAPTER 210