Chapter 4: The Forest of Forgotten Names
The forest was too quiet.
Zero sat beneath a tree shaped like a question mark, listening to wind that didn't blow. The sun hung motionless in the sky, as if time had taken a breath and refused to exhale.
[SECTOR 9-B: TEMPORAL STABILITY NOMINAL]
[ENVIRONMENT: COGNITIVE DAMPENING ZONE]
[WARNING: NAMES CANNOT BE SPOKEN ALOUD IN THIS AREA]
That part he didn't understand—until he tried to speak.
"I'm—"
The moment he said it, the sound caught. His throat locked. No word came out.
He tried again. "Ze—"
Nothing.
He grabbed a stick and wrote his name in the dirt: Z E R O.
The letters stayed for three seconds.
Then the bark of the trees peeled back—curling like skin—and absorbed it.
His name vanished.
He stood, shaking off a chill.
The forest felt alive—but not in a kind way. The leaves watched him. The trees leaned closer when he wasn't looking.
And then, behind him, a voice:
"Don't write anything you want to keep."
He turned.
A child stood on the branch above him. Barefoot. Eyes glowing silver. Hair like obsidian threads floating on a breeze that didn't exist.
"Who are you?" Zero asked.
The child cocked his head.
"I'm your shadow," he said. "Or maybe your echo. Depends on the day."
The boy dropped to the ground silently.
"This place eats names," the shadow said. "It's why nothing grows old here. Time needs memory to move. No names, no age. No age, no death."
Zero narrowed his eyes. "Then why am I here?"
"To give something up," the boy said. "Same as every time."
He didn't like the sound of that.
They walked in silence. The forest was darker now, though the sun hadn't moved. Roots slithered underfoot, gently avoiding their steps—or guiding them.
"I've been here before?" Zero asked.
"Many times."
"Do I always forget?"
The boy smiled. "You always think forgetting is bad."
"Isn't it?"
"No," the shadow whispered. "Sometimes it's mercy."
Eventually they arrived at a clearing.
At its center was a single, shimmering flower. White petals curled around a golden center that pulsed like a heartbeat.
[MEMORY BLOOM DETECTED: CORE ACCESS LOCKED]
[TO PROCEED, SACRIFICE A DEFINED MEMORY]
[WARNING: LOST MEMORY CANNOT BE RESTORED BY SYSTEM MEANS]
Zero looked at the flower, then at the boy.
"What am I supposed to give up?"
"Something that still matters," the child said. "Otherwise, the gate won't open."
He thought of Lin. Of the girl in the photo. Of fire. Of screams. Of falling towers.
He reached into his mind and found it.
The first time someone said they loved him.
A voice he didn't know. A name he couldn't recall. But it meant something.
He pressed the memory into the petals.
The flower folded closed.
The boy looked away.
"You always give that one up," he said.
The clearing cracked.
A ripple of energy spread through the trees. Somewhere deep in the forest, the ground split—and a black staircase descended into roots and rot.
[PATHWAY TO MEMORY CORE #004 UNLOCKED]
[CAUTION: FOREIGN SIGNATURE DETECTED IN SECTOR 9-B]
Zero's blood ran cold.
"Flame?"
The boy nodded slowly.
"He followed you. They always do. This world may not let him in yet—but that doesn't mean he can't watch."
Zero moved toward the stairs.
The child didn't follow.
"Wait—what are you?"
The boy smiled gently.
"I'm what you left behind when you made the loop."
And with that, he faded into dust.
The steps were steep and endless.
But Zero didn't stop.
He was no longer running from the fire behind him.
He was running toward the answers beneath his feet.
And maybe—just maybe—toward a version of himself who still deserved to exist.
To be continued…