> [System Broadcast – Final Tongue Phase: THE LAST SILENCE Initiated]
One survivor's voice will be erased permanently.
To resist, a Truth must be spoken aloud—one that no other survivor knows.
Failure results in irreversible deletion of the chosen's voice, memories, and legacy.
---
The Tongueless King's final form had no mouth.
Only a crown of flayed tongues, writhing like worms.
His body now towered above the survivors, stitched from burned prophecies and the bones of silenced heroes. Eyes—dozens of them—bled words that couldn't be read. Each blink erased something: a thought, a voice, a history.
And then—
> "One of you will lose everything you've ever said."
A tendril of silence lashed out—
—and wrapped around Jayce's throat.
"No—!" Lian shouted, stepping forward. But a wall of forgotten prayers blocked his way.
Jayce couldn't move.
He tried to joke.
Nothing came out.
He reached for his vehicle—his Golden Ice Cream Truck—but it was muted too, its song frozen.
> [System Prompt: If a hidden truth is not spoken, Jayce's voice, name, and story will vanish. Forever.]
Time slowed.
The survivors stood frozen, their memories of Jayce already starting to flicker.
A moment passed—
And then Kuro stepped forward.
Eyes hollow. Blade lowered. Voice quiet.
"I'll speak it."
Ria turned. "Kuro, what—?"
He inhaled.
"My hidden truth: …I was the one who handed Zeroth the coordinates to the first survivor stronghold."
Silence slammed down.
"What?" Lian whispered, stunned.
Jayce's voice remained locked, but his eyes widened in betrayal.
Kuro's voice shook.
"I thought it was a bluff. I didn't know it would lead to their massacre. I didn't know he'd burn it all. I was trying to buy time."
> [System Confirmed: Truth Accepted.]
[Consequence: Survivor Kuro's Trust Level with Group Reduced – PERMANENT.]
[Reward: Jayce's Voice Restored.]
Jayce gasped—then coughed—then laughed, a bitter, wounded laugh.
"You serious, man?"
Kuro nodded. "Yeah. And I'll carry that."
Jayce rubbed his throat, voice hoarse. "I won't forget it. None of us will."
The Tongueless King reeled, his body cracking—
The words around them screamed.
Books caught fire from the sheer weight of that truth.
His crown shattered.
The library cracked in half.
The floor gave way.
And the King fell—
Right into a pit of forgotten languages, devoured by everything he tried to erase.
> [Sixth Death Achieved: FINAL DEATH – THE TONGUELESS KING IS DEAD.]
---
AFTERMATH
The survivors stumbled out of the collapsing archive into a burned battlefield.
But something followed them:
A torn page. Blank.
> [System Notification – Legacy Opportunity]
You may now write your own ability using "The Last Silence." Only one survivor can use this page.
It will allow you to create an original, voice-bound power—but it comes with a price: one word you can never speak again.
They looked to each other.
And then…
Jayce reached for the page. His hand trembled. But he smiled.
"One word? That's a bargain."
"What word will you give up?" Ria asked.
He grinned.
"…'Why.'"
> [New Talent Created: Voice of No Regret]
Allows user to speak truths that bend reality. Cannot question his own decisions aloud.
Jayce pocketed the page. "Let's keep moving. No more silences. No more lies."
They walked toward the next world.
---