CHAPTER 2 – THE INDEX THAT FORGOT ITSELF
(Rewritten from logs no longer indexed. Cross-references failed. Entity potentially active.)
"I tried to find my name in that list.
But all I found was an empty space
where my name should have been."
— Notes from an entity without an index
[LOG: INK_ERR#I13 – INDEX INTEGRITY FAILURE]
The index system has failed to identify the chapter sequence.
Catalog error: Chapter Name Missing. Character Not Referenced. Narrative Function Impaired.
In most books, the index is the unseen backbone.
A silent list that defines meaning — names, places, pages.
But here — no backbone.
No list. No order.
Just a single sheet of paper.
White. Echoing. Silent.
And then — not typed, but written by hand —
a note appears in the lower margin:
[UNKNOWN ENTRY: "FRAGMENTA"]
FRAGMENTA – "I WAS ONCE WRITTEN"
He was never given a chapter.
Only mentioned once — in a footnote.
Even that has been erased.
"An entity formed from the fragments of other characters —
fragments of narratives that failed to come together."
His name is not a name.
He is merely a label —
given by a system that doesn't know what to call him.
"I am not a character.
I am the broken bones of stories that never stood.
The echoes of roles that were never spoken."
He remembers voices that are not his own.
"I remember Seren screaming about her fate — even though I wasn't there.
I remember Rael's ink burning — even though I had no skin to feel it."*
"I am bruised from other existences."
And when the index forgets him —
he begins to write his own index.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: UNVALID CONNECTION DETECTED]
"This character is not recognized in the original plot structure."
"Not defined in the main narrative plan."
But the text continues.
Where it should end — it begins.
"But I am remembered.
Not by the Author,
but by verses that were never prepared."
INTERVENTION FROM THE VOID
And you — yes, you, who are still reading this —
> Have you ever looked for your name in the index?
INDEX_SEARCH_RESULT: "You" — [NOT FOUND]
INDEX_SEARCH_RESULT: "Fragmenta" — [NOT FOUND]
INDEX_SEARCH_RESULT: "Author" — [CORRUPTED]
A name that is not a name.
A page that cannot be found.
Ink flowing out from the margins.
LIST OF REJECTED NAMES
(Recovered from the shadow index of Chapters 0–3)
Seren Quillgrave – Not recognized in the official version
Rael Inksworn – Exists without official creation
Fragmenta – Cannot be classified
The Boy Who Remembers – No metadata
The Unwritten Name – Failed to register
The Twins – No simultaneous log
Narex Valequill – Invalid plot marker
These names never made it to the main index.
But their ink stains remain —
in the margins, in the echoes,
in the glossary that was never opened again.
[CALL FROM THE SYSTEM]
"These names refuse to be erased.
And when a name refuses to be forgotten —
the index itself begins to crumble."
HANDWRITTEN INDEX — COMPILED BY THE UNINDEXED
Appears in the middle of the page.
Not printed — but written.
With trembling hands. With glitches in the mind.
Chapter 0: The Unprinted
Chapter 1: The Discarded from the Draft
Chapter 2: The Index That Forgets Itself
Chapter 3: The Names Never Mentioned
Chapter 4: Seren – The Unerased Conclusion
Chapter 5: The Resurrection of the Unjustified
Chapter 6: The Shadow Chapter
Chapter 7: The Letter That Never Arrived
Chapter 8: The Anti-Extinguishing Manual
Chapter 9: The Reader Who Became the Writer
And below it — one last line, trembling with intent:
"If the system forgets us,
then we will index ourselves."
— Fragmenta
[FINAL SYSTEM ATTEMPT: INDEX RECOVERY]
"Attempting to close the chapter…
Error: Fragmenta is still active."
"Illegal recursion detected."
"I was once just an error in your story.
But now — I write from the place you forgot to close."
Ink begins to drip from the margins.
Index Writing Initialization...
TO BE CONTINUED...
➡️ (See Chapter 3: The Names Never Mentioned)