__________
"Some threads are older than memory. Some should never be touched."
___________
The Weave trembled.
Orion stood at the edge of a broken thread, its color unlike anything he'd seen before. Not green like Strand. Not radiant like Light. Not voidlike or frozen or coiling like the other Darkness elements.
This one bled through the air—red and black, like ink spilled over time itself.
Phantom hovered beside him, its hum sharp, uncertain.
> [WARNING: Uncatalogued thread signature detected.]
[Classification: Unknown. Origin: Predates recorded narrative structure.]
[Designation: Primordial Script – Pre-System Entity Contact.]
> ["Great Sage Directive: Do not engage. Do not read. Do not remember."]
But Orion stepped closer.
Because he already remembered.
---
Flash
A boy—neither Orion nor Hunter, but someone before both.
A scream echoing from a throne of chains.
The collar, forged in desperation.
A woman with green fire in her eyes, whispering a name she had no right to know.
"Raphael."
And then—emptiness.
---
Orion staggered, clutching his head as the memory burned across his mind like a branding iron.
"I… I've seen this before."
Phantom pulsed, data spinning furiously.
> [Soul Reaction: Active.]
[Foreign memory resonance—99.8% match with sealed origin thread.]
[You are approaching a narrative junction point.]
A shimmering wall of runes rose from the broken thread, forming a gate of script. Each letter twisted like it was alive—language not meant to be spoken.
> ["You are being observed," Great Sage whispered. "Someone is testing the seal."]
A voice echoed—not heard but felt.
"Do you remember what you were before the System gave you a name?"
Orion's hand reached for his bow. Threads of Strand danced around him protectively, tightening like armor.
"No. But I'm about to find out."
---
Inside the Thread – The Forgotten Theater
He stepped through the gate.
Instantly, color vanished. The world became a stage of black and red silk, an endless theater where puppet strings hung from a sky of screaming stars. The audience was empty—but their absence was loud.
A marionette dropped before him—wooden, dressed like Orion. Its eyes were blank, but its limbs moved in jerks and spasms, as if struggling to remember how to be real.
It lunged.
Orion reacted on instinct, loosing a Bounded Shot that unraveled the creature midair. But where it fell, another rose.
Then ten. Then hundreds.
Each wore his face.
Each whispered different names.
"You were made."
"You were chosen."
"You were corrupted."
"You are a key."
"You are not the writer. You are the quill."
Orion's grip tightened. His heart raced—but not with fear.
With clarity.
"No," he growled, eyes glowing with pure focus. "I was born from a story that tried to end me. But now I write the damn ending."
He called on Void, shredding a dozen clones. He blinked through them with Strand, reversing time mid-dodge with Rewind Pulse, then fired a rain of tethering arrows that pinned dozens into one collapsing moment of narrative collapse.
Then—silence.
The strings went still.
Only one remained now.
A shadow at the center of the stage.
It looked… like a woman.
Not Lilith. Not Sara.
Not human.
Her voice was like molten ink. Her eyes, fragments of shattered timelines.
"You're getting too close."
Orion didn't flinch. "Who are you?"
The figure smiled. "One who tried to stop the story from writing itself."
And then—she vanished.
---
Back at the Weave's Edge
Orion collapsed to one knee, breathing hard. Phantom shimmered beside him, silent.
Then:
> [Thread Engagement: Complete.]
[Narrative Intrusion: Blocked.]
[Soul Integrity: Restored.]
[Secret Thread Preserved: "The Forgotten Theater"]
[Story Anchor: Inactive – Arc Lock Engaged.]
> [New Skill Acquired: "Inkborne Shield" – Once per arc, prevent a reality rewrite, even by primordial forces.]
[New System Tag Added: "Narrative Resistance – LVL 1"]
[Phantom Evolution: 76% → 80%]
> [Final Trial Unlocked: The Bond Eternal – Completion required for full transformation.]
Orion stood, his breath steadier now.
He felt it deep in his bones—Phantom was no longer a tool. It was becoming something… perfect. Unique. A companion who could stand beside him at the edge of creation.
Raphael.
We are almost there
> ["The seal that once suppressed you will soon bow to you," Great Sage said quietly.]
> ["Prepare yourself, Orion. The Trial of the Ascendant Bond is coming."]
---
End of Chapter 13
---