Chapter 1: The Girl in the Guillotine
They say I caused the collapse of the world.
Funny. I can't even remember my own name.
But I remember the guillotine.
I remember the girl who laughed beneath it.
The sky was black glass, cracked with lightning. A noose of red clouds hung above the crumbling cathedral.
Hundreds stood below—masked, cloaked, silent.
I stood above them, chained to stone, a noose around my neck. The executioner's blade hung over someone else.
A girl. Barefoot. Pale. Unblinking.
And smiling.
"Welcome back, Kairo," she whispered.
"It's your 108th death."
Trial of Trust – Floor Zero
Choose one:
☐ Save yourself
☐ Save the girl
Time remaining: 00:05
I had no memory of her.
Not her face. Not her name.
But the familiarity in her voice hit like a knife pressed behind my eye.
Who was she?
Why did she speak like she knew me?
Why did she sound like I had betrayed her?
Time ran out.
I chose neither.
The blade fell.
Not on her.
On me.
Death registered
Resurrection in progress
I gasped awake underwater. Salt flooded my throat. Cold crushed my lungs. I thrashed—
Until I realized I wasn't drowning.
I was being born again.
Metal restraints bit into my wrists. My chest heaved. I was lying in a stone coffin shaped like a chair, surrounded by flickering candles and rusted chains.
A red screen burned across my vision:
EIDOLON SYSTEM INTERFACE
Subject: Kairo Valen
Cycle: 108
Floor: -1 – Shadowhold
Core Sigil: Fragmented
Sanity: 78%
Willpower: 19
Obscurity: [Glitched]
Memory Anchor: 1/4
Condition: Shadow-Bound | Bleeding | Cognitive Drift
Seven doors. One mirror.
I stared into it.
The face I saw wasn't mine. Not from this life. Not from the last.
But the eyes?
They were tired.
So damn tired.
A figure stepped through the mirror.
A girl.
The girl.
She was still barefoot. Still pale. Still smiling.
"Welcome back, Kairo," she said.
"Did you remember who you let die last time?"