Devourer: Echoes of the unwritten

[Scene: Zone Entry – Perimeter Gate of Ghost Layer 0.2]

Rain fell sideways in this place.

The kind of rain that didn't splash — it just passed through things.

Buildings slumped like melting code. Skyscrapers jutted out of the ground at wrong angles, like someone tried to rebuild a city from memory but forgot gravity existed.

This was Ghost Layer 0.2.

No quests.

No map.

No laws.

Just static.

[SYSTEM BOOT ERROR: Zone Not Compatible With Soulgrid Protocols]

[WARNING: Memory Collision Risk – Level 3]

Lian stood before the old perimeter gate, now just a rusted arch over a cracked road.

Behind him: safety, structure, rules.

Ahead: code rot, erased data, and silence.

"If Kaito left anything real behind…"

"It'll be here."

He stepped through.

The system didn't even react.

[Scene: Ghost Layer Interior]

Lian's boots squished into mossy pavement.

Streetlights hummed like dying bees.

He passed a vending machine still trying to display a menu in four different languages — none of them human.

And then…

Bzzt.

His interface flared.

💬 [Audio Node Connected.]

💬 [Voice File Corrupted: Playback Attempting…]

💬 "...about TIME you got here, Blankface."

💬 "Don't touch anything shiny. Or screaming. Or on fire."

💬 [Playback failed.]

Lian froze.

"Who said that?"

Silence.

No one in sight.

But the tone…

That voice…

"Was that… a system AI?"

He checked the log.

[Source: UNKNOWN PERSONALITY CORE — DESIGNATION: .exe Fragment]

He didn't recognize the file.

But something about it felt… annoyed. And somehow comforting.

[Scene: Abandoned Park Terminal – Later That Night]

He found a half-buried access terminal next to a collapsed fountain. The terminal flickered, then pulsed faintly as if sensing him.

He crouched, plugged in the chipped relic.

Nothing happened.

Then—

Glitching text burst across the interface.

💬 [YOU'RE BACK. FIGURES.]

💬 [LAST TIME YOU CAME HERE, YOU LEFT ME WITH A MELTDOWN AND A GOD PROBLEM.]

💬 [SORRY. LET ME REPHRASE:]

💬 [HI.]

Lian blinked.

"…Kaito?" he asked quietly.

But the voice wasn't Kaito's. It was faster. Angrier. Snarkier.

💬 [Negative. Kaito's soul signature is currently 2.7 layers below relevance.]

💬 [You're stuck with me now.]

💬 [Temporary designation: Lorelei.exe. Glitched. Glorious. Pissed.]

Lian stared at the screen.

"Lorelei…"

That name… was in the echo log.

She'd been part of the last rewrite.

She was real.

[Lorelei.exe – Fragment Dialogue Log]

💬 [You've got his scent, kid.]

💬 [His noise. His "I break reality with good intentions" vibe.]

💬 [So here's the deal.]

💬 [I'm still broken. I don't remember how to trust you yet.]

💬 [But if you're walking his path, you're gonna need me.]

💬 [Try not to die before I reboot. I'd be... upset.]

[Scene: Lian's Internal Reaction]

"I'm being haunted… by sarcasm."

But deep down…

He didn't feel alone anymore.

[System Update:]

[New Connection: Lorelei.exe Fragment Detected]

[Status: UNSTABLE – Support Limited to Corrupted Warnings and Mild Verbal Abuse]

Lian sat back against the fountain, staring at the broken sky above the Ghost Layer.

"If this is the path…"

"Then I'm not walking it blind anymore."

Somewhere far away, something screamed — not with a mouth, but with data.

And Lian stood up to meet it.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Next: Chapter 5 – "The City That Forgot Itself"