Devourer: Echoes of the unwritten

[Scene: Edge of the Furnace Zone – Firewall Rift]

Kaito stood before a flaming chasm, endless and alive.

The air shimmered with burned data. Fragments of system text drifted like ash.

A red interface hovered in front of him:

[DANGER ZONE ENTERING: INFERNAL SECTOR – "THE BURNED ONE'S DOMAIN"]

— No name retention

— Skill tags become unstable

— Personal memory erosion begins in 30 seconds

[WARNING: PROTOCOL BREACH – Core Identity May Fragment]

[Scene: Kaito's Inner Voice – Static Creeps In]

This thief doesn't just fight with strength…

He burns what makes you real.

Even my name… will melt here.

Kaito clenched his fists.

"Let's see if fire can devour a devourer."

He stepped into the zone.

[Scene: Inside the Infernal Sector – Memoryless Battlefield]

It was… quiet.

No interface.

No combat log.

No skill labels.

Kaito blinked.

What's my level again…?

He shook his head. The number was gone.

His hand moved—but the system didn't follow. It felt like throwing a punch in a dream.

Then—

From the fire stepped a silhouette.

A man, wrapped in chains made of molten code. No face. No voice.

But every step burned the world behind him.

[Scene: The Firewalker Appears]

"You walk in here with a name," the figure spoke.

"But names are illusions."

His voice echoed like a furnace breathing.

"I burned mine… and found truth."

"You built a system."

"I'll unmake it."

[Scene: Kaito Attacks – Nothing Responds]

Kaito launched forward.

Claws out.

No ability window.

No flash.

No system ping.

Just raw instinct.

He struck.

And passed through heat and silence.

His own name flickered in his thoughts:

"Ka… Kai… K—"

Gone.

[MEMORY EROSION: 24%]

[Scene: Firewalker Strikes]

With a flick of his hand, the thief sent out a memory flame—a wave of orange fire laced with forgotten skill tags and burned-out scripts.

Kaito screamed—not in pain, but in loss.

He saw nothing.

He remembered no battles.

No Reina.

No throne.

Just void.

[Scene: Core Pulse – A Flicker of Identity]

Inside the black pit of his mind—

A single spark.

A heartbeat of rewrite code.

Something that didn't belong to memory or system.

It was his will.

His Refusal to Be Erased.

[Scene: Kaito Reignites]

"You took my name."

"But I write my own existence."

[Override Triggered: SELF-CODE INJECTION]

His aura exploded—not from power, but from raw identity.

Wings spread. Tail cracked through the dust.

No system window appeared—just a word burning into the air behind him:

KAITO

[Scene: Counterattack Begins]

Kaito pointed at the thief.

"I don't need skills."

"I am the rewrite."

He launched a fist of raw core energy—no label, no name, just himself.

BOOM.

The Firewalker staggered.

A chain broke.

The thief's voice hissed:

"So… your name won't burn…"

"Then I'll burn your world."

He raised both hands.

The entire sector ignited.

[Scene: Final Clash – Memory vs Flame]

Kaito leapt through the fire.

No interface. No timer. No HUD.

Just existence vs oblivion.

He struck the thief's chest.

"You erased yourself to be free."

"But freedom isn't forgetting."

"It's choosing what to hold on to."

The Firewalker cracked.

Light exploded.

And he vanished.

[Scene: Aftermath – Kaito Reclaims Himself]

The fire died.

The zone collapsed.

Kaito's interface rebooted.

[SYSTEM RESTORED]

[Zone Cleared: Infernal Sector]

❗ Status: 3 of 12 System Thieves Defeated

New Passive Acquired: Unwritten Soul – Immune to identity-based corruption

He whispered his own name aloud.

"Kaito Ryu."

It sounded heavy.

It sounded earned.

[Final Scene: A Hacker Watches the Fight Replay]

In a submerged base, a girl with holographic eyes replayed the battle log—frame by frame.

"So even without a system…"

"He still wins."

She smiled.

"Let's see what he does against a virus that wants to infect hope itself."

Next Chapter: "System Virus – Lorelei.exe Awakens"