The staircase into Babel's Root spiraled deeper than logic.
Each step echoed not outward — but inward.
Jinryu and Maeryn descended in silence. The synchronization of their Cores had faded, but something subtle lingered — an awareness, a tether.
The deeper they went, the more they felt watched.
But not by a presence.
By the past.
At last, the stairway ended in a void.
There was no floor.
Just a vast open space, black as ink, the ceiling hung with ancient glyphs that pulsed like stars. In the center hovered a monolith of cracked stone — tall, narrow, humming with deep resonance.
A voice emerged, genderless and vast:
"You return bearing the fractures."
"Children of Babel. Holders of Seventh and Ninth."
Maeryn narrowed her eyes. "Another test?"
Jinryu stepped forward. "No. It's… a memory anchor."
The cat crept cautiously to the monolith's base. Its tail bristled.
"This is where the First Core was named," it whispered.
As soon as Jinryu touched the stone—
The world collapsed again.
But this time, they didn't fall into memory.
Memory fell into them.
— Memory Dive: The First Corebearers —
They were standing in the highest tower of the Old Babel.
Not ruins.
Alive.
Breathing.
Below them, the entire world was unified — continents connected by light-bridges, skies traversed by spirit ships, oceans stilled by the will of collective Qi.
In the center of the chamber stood a single Core — golden and whole.
But what drew their attention were the two figures beside it:
One male. One female.
They were… themselves.
Or versions of them.
"We can't keep hiding it," the male Jinryu said."The Core's resonance is spreading."
"We made it resonate," the Maeryn-like figure replied."Because we loved each other. That was the spark."
"Then why does it hurt so much to hold it?"
"Because the world isn't ready to be whole."
A door burst open.
Nine robed figures stormed in — the Original Council.
"You've tampered with the weave," said the First Voice."The Core belongs to all. Not two."
"You fear union," the female said.
"We fear collapse."
The Elders raised their staves — and the Core began to fracture.
Jinryu felt it — a tearing, inside his own body.Maeryn clutched her chest. This wasn't just a vision.
It was the memory of the day they were erased.
The moment they were reborn into new vessels.
— Present —
Jinryu and Maeryn dropped to their knees before the monolith, gasping.
The stone now bore an inscription:
"The Core did not break.It was broken… by choice."
Maeryn's voice was hollow. "We chose to let it happen."
Jinryu stared at the inscription. "No. We let them do it. We thought sacrificing ourselves would preserve the world."
The cat growled. "And all it did was delay collapse."
A rumble echoed from the stairway behind them.
Boots. Steel. Qi.
Intruders.
From the shadows emerged five cloaked warriors — their armor marked with the sigil of the Council of Nine.
At their center stood a tall, masked figure — face hidden, Core pulsing blue and black.
"Step away from the monolith," the figure said."By order of the Eternal Balance."
Maeryn's blade was already in her hand. "Too late."
Jinryu rose beside her.
The monolith began to crack open.
Something inside was waking.
And all of them — Jinryu, Maeryn, the invaders — felt it:
A third presence.
Familiar. Boundless.
A piece of the original Core, untouched, sealed beneath even memory.
"The Root never forgot," it whispered.
"And now… neither will you."