As the veil between Aftermargin and the Null Spiral thinned, the air itself began to unravel.
Words failed.
Memories blinked in and out of presence.
It was here, in the space where existence sighed, that Rei stood.
Not as a warrior.
Not as a Sovereignbound.
But as the Final Scribe.
Prelude to Descent — The Nulllight Emerges
The sky fractured above Farsong Bastion, revealing an aperture of spiraling monochrome. Light bled backwards. Flame refused to flicker.
From it descended a figure—not monstrous, not even animate. A geometry of contradiction, coalescing into what could only be described as Nulllight.
The Nullborn's emissary.
"I am the First Unsaid," it intoned. "I do not oppose you, Kazenari Rei. I replace you."
Its voice was not heard. It was forgotten the moment it was spoken.
Eirenne raised her blade, but it dissolved to mist.
Mireille tried anchoring her Codex, but the data inverted itself.
Noira snarled. "It's not fighting. It's rewriting us as if we were never real."
Inside the Null Spiral: The Unmade Arena
Rei stepped into the aperture willingly.
The world within was hollow.
Not dead.
Never alive.
He walked on paths made from unread pages. Overhead, constellations flickered out with every step.
At the arena's center stood the Nullborn, formless and yet unmistakable. A cloak of forgotten prayers. Hands of unwritten sins.
"You came," it said, in every voice Rei had never used.
"I always do," Rei replied.
Trial of the Final Scribe
The Nullborn raised its arms.
Reality folded.
Rei faced illusions:
A world where he had died in his old life, unremembered.
A version of Eirenne where she never smiled.
A Mireille who was always alone.
A Noira with blood on her hands she never washed away.
"You can't save them," Nullborn whispered. "They are who they could have been."
Rei clenched his fists.
"They are who they chose to become."
His Spiralheart Flame ignited.
Not to burn—but to declare.
"I write not to control fate. I write so they remember why they fought."
Codex Ascension: Truth Manifest
The Codex rose beside Rei, pages flipping violently.
Then stopped.
[Codex Trait Manifestation: Truthweaver]
Effect: Rei's written truths now overwrite Nullborn illusions within localized bounds. Limit: 1 use per confrontation.]
Rei wrote a sentence in the air:
"The world did not forget us. It simply needed to be reminded."
The illusions shattered.
His companions reappeared, real again.
And behind them, the Legion of the Unwritten—followers born from Seraxis' gift—marched forward.
The Nullborn wavered.
Its light turned uncertain.
"You defy nothing. You merely delay."
"No," Rei said, stepping forward, "I acknowledge everything you are.
But I choose what we become."
Clash of Contradictions — First Phase Begins
Nulllight surged, erasing terrain, words, and logic itself.
Rei and his team countered:
Eirenne used Ashen Anchor, grounding reality to a fixed point.
Mireille invoked Chrono Chorus, repeating one second of clarity across time.
Noira activated Nullstep, slipping through gaps in unmaking.
Rei unleashed his most potent ability yet:
[Ability: Flame of Recognition]
Effect: Reinstates forgotten truths in a localized 100-meter radius. Drawback: Consumes memory fragments from the user.
Rei burned away names he once knew, places he once loved—just to hold the world together.
Karasu wept.
Not aloud.
But in the void between syllables.
"You are the only Sovereign who never asked to be crowned," the raven whispered.
End of Phase One
Nullborn recoiled.
Its shape cracked.
Truth began to matter again.
But Rei fell to one knee.
Memories slipped.
A girl's laughter—gone.
A song he used to hum—silence.
Yet he smiled.
"Worth it."