Kael fell.
Not through air.
Not through space.
But through something that felt like missing time.
There was no sound.
No wind.
No gravity.
Only the feeling of being pulled apart from existence itself.
Then—
He landed.
Hard.
Kael gasped, pushing himself up.
"…Where… am I?"
He looked around.
Nothing.
Not darkness.
Not light.
Not even emptiness.
It was worse.
A space that refused to acknowledge being observed.
When Kael blinked—
The world changed slightly.
Not visually.
Conceptually.
Like reality was correcting his attempt to understand it.
A voice echoed immediately.
Cold. Mechanical. Absolute.
"Correction Space activated."
Kael froze.
"…Correction Space?"
The voice continued.
"Anomaly detected."
"Subject: Kael Ardent."
"Status: False Vessel."
Kael clenched his fists.
"I'm not false."
Silence.
Then—
The space reacted.
A ripple passed through reality like it was offended.
"Correction required."
From the void ahead—
Shapes began forming.
Not monsters.
Not people.
But statements.
Words made physical.
Each one glowing faintly like laws of reality being enforced.
Kael squinted.
"What… are those things?"
One of the shapes stabilized.
And Kael could read it.
"Kael Ardent does not exist."
His breath stopped.
"…What?"
Another shape formed beside it.
"Kael Ardent has never existed."
Another.
"Kael Ardent is a system error."
Kael stepped back instinctively.
"No… that's not true…"
But the space reacted again.
Stronger this time.
Like his denial was a violation.
"Resistance detected."
The "statements" began moving.
Slowly at first.
Then faster.
Circling him.
Surrounding him.
Kael turned in panic.
"Stop! I exist!"
The moment he said it—
Everything froze.
Silence.
Then—
A new voice entered the space.
Not mechanical.
Not system-like.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
"You should not say that here."
Kael's eyes widened.
"…Who's there?!"
A pause.
Then—
A figure appeared in the distance.
Walking toward him.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Kael's heart sank.
Because he recognized the silhouette.
The First Forgotten Legend.
But…
Wrong.
Her chains were gone.
Her blindfold was gone.
And her eyes—
were completely empty.
Like something had erased the meaning behind them.
Kael whispered:
"…What happened to you?"
She tilted her head slightly.
Like she was trying to process the question.
Then replied:
"Designation: Correction Unit."
Kael stepped back.
"No… you're not her."
The figure paused.
Then answered calmly:
"Identity not recognized."
Kael froze.
"…What?"
She raised her hand slowly.
And the "statements" around Kael responded immediately.
Aligning.
Preparing.
Kael's breathing became uneven.
"What did they do to you…"
She stopped walking.
Then spoke again.
But this time, her voice carried something worse than emotion.
It carried absence.
"You are scheduled for deletion."
Kael's eyes widened.
"…Deletion?"
She nodded slightly.
"All records of Kael Ardent will be removed."
"All memory nodes will be purged."
"All connected anomalies will be reset."
Kael shook his head violently.
"No—no, I'm not letting that happen!"
The space reacted instantly.
The "statements" tightened around him like chains.
"Resistance escalated."
"Initiating forced correction."
Kael screamed:
"I EXIST!"
For a split second—
Everything stopped.
Even the Correction Space froze.
Even the statements hesitated.
And then—
A crack appeared in reality.
Not from outside.
From inside Kael.
A pulse erupted outward.
Black light.
Ancient.
Unstable.
The Correction Unit's eyes flickered.
Just for a moment.
Something changed.
"…That energy…"
Her head tilted slightly.
"…Not registered in system history."
Kael's chest burned again.
But this time—
he felt something responding.
Inside him.
Not fear.
Not pain.
Recognition.
A second voice echoed from within Kael.
Low.
Ancient.
Alive.
"So they finally built a place to deny us."
The Correction Space shook violently.
The Correction Unit stepped back for the first time.
"…Impossible…"
Kael gasped.
"…Who… are you?!"
The voice inside him answered:
"We are what they used to erase reality."
The statements around Kael began cracking.
One by one.
"ERROR…"
"ERROR…"
"CORRECTION FAILURE…"
The Correction Unit raised her hand sharply.
For the first time—
urgency.
"Contain him!"
But it was too late.
Kael's body began to rise.
Slowly.
Like gravity no longer agreed with him.
And then—
the entire Correction Space started collapsing.
The final thing Kael heard before everything broke was:
"If he remembers fully… the system will end."
Everything shattered.