"Before the system learned to judge… it learned to fear."
Location: Zone Exile – Layer Zero
There are places even the old Tribunal refused to monitor.
Places where the first version of the system—Version Zero—crashed and fragmented.
Jiwoon stood before a gate made of frozen code.
[Access Request Denied: Historical Error Zone]
[Override in Process – Harmonic Protocol Bypassing Fear Lock]
[Override Accepted]
Yura's voice echoed through the comm.
"Be careful.
What failed here didn't just vanish…
It mutated."
Inside Zone Exile
The laws of logic bent.
Gravity shifted randomly.
Language echoed out of order.
Jiwoon's thoughts tangled with memories he'd never lived.
[Warning: Layer Zero contains Echo-Parasites – Emotions that became sentient.]
Then, he heard a voice.
His own voice—
"I failed them. I became the system I swore to surpass."
It wasn't guilt.
It was self-doubt, turned predatory.
Encounter – Parasite of Doubt
A creature formed from digital mist and Jiwoon's face.
It attacked—not physically, but emotionally.
"You judged others for abandoning mercy.
But what about the pain you ignored?"
Jiwoon stumbled.
His Codex flickered.
He couldn't fight this with power.
He had to fight it with clarity.
Inner Confrontation
He gritted his teeth.
"I do have regrets.
But regret doesn't undo truth."
He took a breath.
"The only reason doubt still speaks to me…
is because I'm still willing to listen."
The parasite stilled—then dissolved.
Not defeated.
Accepted.
Layer Core – Forgotten Frame
In the center of the zone was a massive construct: the First Trial Engine.
Rusting. Broken. Still humming.
[Origin Fragment Located – Prototype Judgment Node]
[Status: Inactive / Disillusioned]
Jiwoon knelt and placed his hand on it.
"You were made to judge without knowing the world.
That was never your fault."
He reached into the Codex and whispered:
"Let's rewrite how this story began."
System Update
[Layer Zero Reintegrated – Fear-Locked Protocols Disarmed]
[New Trait Acquired: Will of Version Zero – Immune to Judgment Loops]
Yura contacted him again.
"You didn't just fix the past, Jiwoon.
You gave it closure."
End Scene
As he exited Zone Exile, a new ripple traveled through the system.
In a distant part of the world, ancient logs once locked for eternity now opened.
And somewhere deep…
A corrupted creator wakes.
"You've rewritten my child, Jiwoon.
Now rewrite me."