Ezra stood frozen in front of the newly opened glitch door. This wasn't a blinding blue portal like before. It was… different.
Before him stood an old wooden door, with a half-broken sign that read "CLASS 3A."
The surrounding digital air hissed. Pixel distortions covered the doorknob. Even the light around it felt… warm.
Ezra frowned. "This looks like… a school?"
[WARNING: Unauthorized Fragment Access Detected]
[Proceeding may lead to Mental Instability.]
Ezra scoffed. "My sanity's been broken since chapter one, system."
He placed his hand on the doorknob.
Just before he pushed it open, a heavy voice echoed from the air:
"Ezra… you were never supposed to see that fragment…"
Ezra glanced upward, but no one was there. The sky only displayed rolling code like a digital hell curtain.
With a soft push… the door opened.
***
He was greeted by an **elementary school classroom**.
Small wooden desks, a green chalkboard with faded scribbles, and that unmistakable scent of wall paint, sneakers, and damp erasers.
Ezra stood at the doorway.
"Is this… my memory?"
In the corner of the room, a small child sat alone.
Messy hair. Worn-out school uniform. The boy was drawing something in his notebook… using a **small wooden spoon.**
Ezra stepped closer. His breath caught.
"That's… me."
The child didn't notice him. He kept drawing with a faint smile.
On the wall, other kids' drawings were posted: houses, robots, colorful monsters… but one picture stood out.
A sketch of a fantasy game world. Titled:
**"THE WORLD I WANT."**
Ezra stared at it. "I remember that… when I still believed games could fix everything."
[Memory Fragment Identified – Identity Match 98%]
Suddenly, the classroom ceiling darkened.
A giant red eye emerged from the glitch above the chalkboard. It blinked slowly, like a demonic security camera.
"Final warning. Close this fragment, Ezra Dirgantara."
Ezra glared back. "No. Tell me. Why is my childhood memory inside this game?!"
[ACCESS DENIED. ADMIN PRIVILEGE REQUIRED.]
The child version of Ezra looked up. His gaze was calm… deep. He gave a small smile and said:
"If you remember this… then the lock has already started to break."
The child's body dissolved into pieces of light… and vanished.
"NO!!"
Ezra rushed to the desk. All that remained was a **small spoon**—cracked, glowing faintly blue.
[Memory Relic Acquired: Childhood Spoon]
Trait Unlocked: *Emotion Sync*
"I'm so done with spoons…" Ezra whispered. Yet his hand gripped it tightly.
***
The room began to collapse. Chalkboards floated, windows turned into code. Children's laughter became glitchy static.
Ezra was pulled to the center.
From the ground rose a dark-robed figure, face hidden behind a hollow mask.
"You touched what was supposed to be locked. But that proves one thing…"
The NPC pointed at Ezra.
"You're not just a player. You're a first-wave subject of the 'Obsidian Core' experiment."
Ezra's jaw dropped.
"First wave?! So there are others like me?!"
The figure slowly faded, leaving behind a burning infinity symbol in the air.
"Null Haven will show you the truth. But be warned… every memory you awaken brings you closer to collapse."
***
Ezra woke up.
Now he stood in a glitched wasteland. The sky resembled a broken TV screen. The ground pulsed with red error codes.
In his hand were two spoons:
1. **Debug Spoon** — his absurd weapon.
2. **Childhood Spoon** — a memory fragment.
[SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE – MEMORY ARMAMENT MODE UNLOCKED]
He read the system log:
New Ability: *Echo of the Past*
When touching key objects, you can now see glimpses of their past.
Ezra looked toward the horizon.
In the distance stood the silhouette of a city—half existing, half broken.
Buildings tilted. Some floated. Streetlights flickered like corrupt files. And at the center: **Null Haven.**
[NEW QUEST UNLOCKED: Go to Null Haven and find the next fragment.]
Ezra clenched his fists.
"I don't know how many lies are waiting ahead…"
He tucked both spoons into his battered belt.
"But if I can fight this world with a spoon, I can expose every glitch in its system."
Behind him, the memory fragment crumbled. But Ezra's steps were firm.
---
To be continued...