I. The City That Exploded in Silence
The Fractured City was once known as Zanterra—the northern capital of magical research and the highest arcane academy.
But five years ago, a failed dimensional experiment triggered a collapse that twisted the laws of magic inside the city.
Now, people call it The Fractured City, because every step inside doesn't just cut the body… it cuts memory.
"Time there… isn't straight. Sometimes, you forget who you are.
Sometimes, you meet the version of yourself that didn't survive."
— Warning from the last boundary keeper of the Fractured Zone
Jainal and Omega arrived at the Western Gate of the city.
There were no official guards—only a flickering magitek warning symbol:
"Access Forbidden – Class S-4 Distortion Zone."
Omega looked uneasy.
"This place… it remembers us."
---
II. The Collapse of Above and Below
The moment they stepped inside, space lost its shape.
Streets bent into spirals.
Buildings stood upright, but cast their shadows upward.
The sky pulsed like a beating heart—then turned black.
Jainal placed ground runic markers at key points, anchoring himself against the pull of temporal drift.
Only two things could be trusted here:
His own movement.
And Omega—who wasn't fully bound by ordinary dimensions.
They made their way to the center—the Old Arcane Archive Tower, where Helza had once taught… and experimented.
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III. Reflection of the Self
On the third floor of the tower, they encountered a reflection of Jainal—older, wearier, standing on the other side of a cracked mirror, as if waiting.
"You're not ready," said the reflection.
"I don't want to become you," Jainal replied.
Omega pulled him away before the conversation could go further.
He knew: lingering too long with a temporal shadow could trap one inside an alternate version of themselves.
---
IV. Room Zero
They finally reached a door marked:
Δ-0: Lambda Research Initiation Chamber.
Everything inside was intact—except people.
A single chair.
A single rune-recording device.
Jainal activated it.
The voice of Helza Ramyr echoed through the room:
"If you're hearing this, then I have failed. Not in the experiment—but in stopping it."
"I created the foundation of this project to preserve human memory after the trauma of the Eastern War—so tragedy wouldn't be forgotten, or repeated. But they… they turned memory into a weapon."
"Else warned me. But I had already built the frame."
"And Vauld… he didn't want the project to stop."
"I chose not to flee. Because here—I could protect what hadn't yet been erased."
"… if it truly is you, I hope you can do what all of us failed to."
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V. Treasures That Can't Be Taken
Beneath the recording, Jainal unlocked a small compartment.
Inside: three magic-storage artifacts shaped like bells—each etched with glowing runes.
Memories of Subjects 01–05.
Project Lambda Rune Structure.
Names of Sponsors and Benefactors.
But when he touched the third, the floor shook.
The city reacted—as if aware that something vital was about to be stolen.
"Get out—now!" Omega shouted.
Jainal grabbed the first two bells, leaving the third behind—for now.
They ran.
---
Epilogue.
From the outside, the Fractured City remained silent.
But within, Helza's voice still echoed:
"Don't let memory become a chain.
Let it become a blade."
Jainal stared at the two artifacts in his hand.
He knew—one road had been opened.
But two more still waited… in the shadows.