The path of silence was different from the others.
The Archive's light didn't follow her.There were no torches. No golden glow.Only soft, ambient shadows—
And a pulse.
Not a sound.A sensation.
Like walking through fog that knew your name,but refused to say it out loud.
Shi Mu walked slowly, her boots barely making contact with the floor.
The corridor curved inward, becoming narrower the farther she moved, as if trying to fold her into itself.
Then she saw it.
A pedestal.
Not marked.
Not glowing.
Just waiting.
Atop it sat a single object:
A lock of hair.
Tied with thin black thread. No ribbon. No charm. No tag.
No box.
Just hair—roughly severed.
Tucked into a small indentation on the pedestal's stone.
Shi Mu didn't reach for it.
Not yet.
The system chimed softly.
[Thread Identified: Level Redacted]
Memory Link: Muted
Spirit Status: Unknown
Risk: High – Emotional Barrier Detected
Engage?
She answered aloud.
"Yes."
The moment her fingers touched the thread, her body tensed.
Not from pain.
From resistance.
Like something inside the object recoiled—instinctively.
Not ready.
Not yet.
A vision flashed.
Not whole.
Not a face.
Just—
A hallway drenched in shadow.
Someone running.
A scream choked off before it could escape.
And a name carved deep into a wooden desk… then violently scratched out.
Shi Mu staggered back, breath short.
The object dropped to the pedestal on its own. The thread had frayed in her palm.
The system was silent.
No new notification.No name.No spirit.
Just…
grief.
Unspoken.
Buried so deeply, it didn't remember how to reach out anymore.
[System Notification]
Contact Incomplete – Suppressed Trauma Resisting Recovery
Progress Blocked: External Anchor Required
Thread Name: Concealed by System
Brotherhood Value +160 (Engagement Attempted + Mental Strain Absorbed)
Current Total: 8,235 / 1,000,000
Shi Mu sat beside the pedestal, hands resting on her knees.
She didn't try again.
She waited.
Because some wounds don't open on command.
They open when someone stays long enough.
And proves…
They won't turn away.