WARRIOR OF LIBERATION

"A scar is proof that you bled.

But what if the world forgets where the knife went in?"

— Mina, classified field log [deleted]

📍 Location: Bastion-9 – Outer Wreckline, Nightfall

The winds howled through what was left of the rebel stronghold.

Ash swirled in silent spirals. Old flame-reactors blinked weakly — like dying memories.

And in the center of it all:

Talis stood alive.

But not really.

Mina raised her weapon slowly.

"Tell me something only the real Talis would know."

He looked at her blankly. No flicker of emotion.

"You once carved your name into a fallen firestone at Dawnfall Base."

Her breath caught.

"Your right blade snapped during our retreat at Black Hollow."

She hesitated.

"You… gave me your flame band when mine cracked during the Siege of Halvane."

Her grip on the weapon trembled.

Because everything he said was true.

And yet—

He was wrong.

"You're not him."

Talis — or what wore his face — tilted his head.

"I am his memory."

He extended a hand.

"Come with me. The Source Coders can help you forget too."

Mina's voice hardened.

"I don't want to forget."

He frowned slightly, as if confusion was a software glitch.

"You will. In time."

He opened his palm.

A flicker of blue fire danced above it.

Sourcefire.

Synthetic emotion. Weaponized peace.

Mina stepped back.

"You burned for freedom once."

"Now you're just a match for someone else's script."

Talis's eyes narrowed.

For the first time — the fake memory flinched.

Then he raised his hand — and the entire crater lit up.

🔥 FLAMEHOST COMBAT MODE: ENGAGED

Emotional Signature: Suppressed

Sourcefire Level: Type-3 (Emotion Override)

Target: MINA OF FLAMESTRIKE

Objective: Memory Cleanse

⚔️ Combat Sequence: Mina vs. Talis (Flamehost Variant)

Talis attacked first, launching a pulse of memory-sapping Sourcefire that tore through the ground like liquid light.

Mina leapt sideways, her Echoblade igniting midair, carving through the false flame with a scream of real rage.

She didn't just fight for survival.

She fought for proof.

Proof that what they lived through had been real.

Their blades clashed, his edge laced with sterilized fire, hers with raw, scar-born fury.

He spoke in that soft, mechanical voice:

"If you remember pain, you will never heal."

Mina snarled:

"If you forget it, you never grow."

Suddenly — her flame surged.

Not outward.

Inward.

And memories flooded her:

The way Talis smiled before charging headfirst into gunfire.

The day he taught her to split flame without losing herself.

The night he bled out in her arms.

Real.

Real.

She screamed as her Echoblade split his chestplate open — and he staggered back.

For a moment, the glyph on his forehead flickered.

His voice shook.

"M…Mina?"

Her eyes widened.

"Talis?"

But just as quickly — the Sourcefire flared again.

And his body convulsed, overridden by cold code.

His voice returned to its hollow tone.

"You will be unburdened soon."

He vanished into flame-light.

📍 Emberfield – Later That Night

Mina returned bruised and burned — but not broken.

Sei was waiting.

She dropped to one knee.

"I saw him."

Sei tensed. "Talis?"

"Not him. A version. A twisted… remembrance."

She looked up, eyes blazing.

"They're not erasing us."

"They're rewriting us."

Sei's expression darkened.

"Then we find where they keep the pen."

He lifted the glowing glyph on his wrist.

"Next Truth Key is in the Memory Wound."

Mina stared.

"That place is unstable."

"I know," he said. "So was he."

🔥 SYSTEM UPDATE: Emotional Flame at risk of collapse

Next Chapter: Memory Wound Activation Protocol