As he stepped through the shimmering arch of the Pulse Gate, the world behind him slowed—not metaphorically, but tangibly.
The mist felt heavier. The sounds of shifting rocks and distant wind faded into a dull hum. Light moved strangely, as though filtering through gelatin.
The system responded, its tone almost clinical:
Environment: Temporal Sub-Layer
Flow Rate: 0.43x Real-Time
Note: Energy Conversion Slightly Delayed
He lifted a hand—slowly. Or was it the world that moved slower? The sensation was disorienting, but not painful. The moment he crossed, the very fabric of time whispered around him.
---
The terrain stretched out like a sculpture caught mid-collapse. Stone structures bent and curled as if caught in an explosion that never finished.
Petrified plants stood frozen, their leaves vibrating ever so faintly. Drops of dew hung midair, never falling.
Every step he took left a faint afterimage, a trail of glowing mist where his form had passed.
He moved slowly, not out of caution, but because the world seemed to demand it.
> "This layer does not generate energy," the system noted. "It preserves it."
Energy wasn't made here—it was archived. Time itself seemed to hold it in place like an ancient library, where even heat refused to dissipate.
He was walking inside a memory.
---
Near a fractured pillar, a crystal floated above the ground, pulsing faintly.
It whispered. Not words, not sound—but something felt.
He reached out. The screen flared.
Memory Shard Detected ▸ Syncing…
Origin: Civilized Entity [Unknown]
Message Playback (Partial):
"They sealed it here... in time… to forget."
A tremor ran through his being. Visions—brief, fragmented. Tall figures in robes. A dome of light. A pit sealed with thousands of hands.
He recoiled. The vision faded, but the echo remained. Not just seen, but felt—as if part of it was already inside him.
> "Who... were they?"
---
He reached for the shard again, instinct guiding him to uncover more.
But the system interrupted harshly:
WARNING: Unauthorized Memory Protocol
Conflict Risk: Identity Drift
Suggested Action: Abort Immediately
His mist pulsed in hesitation.
Was it dangerous? Or was the system... hiding something?
He chose to proceed—but only partially.
A second fragment came through:
> "...It remembers. If you pull too much… it becomes you."
He pulled back. But the doubt remained.
---
Further inside the dimension, he found a domed chamber. At its center, a dormant device: a circular machine embedded in the floor, carved with symbols reminiscent of the Pulse Gate.
A new screen appeared:
Energy Reflection Core – Status: Inactive
Activation Requirement: Emotion-Based Charge
Emotion?
He remembered the fear of the Echo Entity, the helplessness of his failed defense.
The thought alone triggered a flicker. The symbols glowed.
The system responded:
> "Emotional-Energetic Correlation Confirmed: 68%"
He stood still. This place was not just a vault of time… it was also a mirror.
---
Approaching the gate from the inside, he noticed an inscription carved into the crystal surface:
> "To break the flow, you must own the moment."
The words didn't glow. They resonated. He didn't understand them fully, but they stirred something deep.
As he stepped back through the portal, the stillness of the layer lifted.
The mist of the outside world felt almost noisy by comparison.
He whispered to himself:
> "If they wanted to forget this… then I want to remember."
---