The chamber fell into complete silence.
Every eye was fixed on the open book.
Emma was the first to speak.
"...Previous Name?"
She looked at Liam.
"What does that mean?"
Liam didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
His own heart was pounding too loudly to think.
The silver letters shimmered across the page.
Liam Carter
Then, beneath it—
Previous Name: Classified
It didn't say Unknown.
It didn't say Missing.
It said Classified.
Someone...
Had deliberately hidden it.
The Keeper stepped beside the pedestal.
Its mechanical voice remained calm.
"Administrator records have suffered catastrophic corruption."
Liam looked up.
"Corruption?"
"Ninety-nine point nine nine eight percent of historical records have been erased."
Rachel frowned.
"Erased by who?"
The Keeper remained silent.
Several seconds passed before it finally answered.
"Information restricted."
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Liam clenched his fists.
"So even you don't know?"
"Incorrect."
"I know."
"You are not yet authorized to know."
That answer was somehow worse.
The book began writing again.
New words slowly appeared beneath Liam's name.
Administrator Candidate
Authority: 5%
Memory Integrity: 0%
Soul Integrity: Stable
Identity Lock: Active
Liam's breathing stopped.
Memory Integrity...
Zero percent.
His memories hadn't simply been forgotten.
They had been removed.
Emma quietly stepped beside him.
"Liam..."
"Do you remember anything?"
He closed his eyes.
His childhood.
His mother.
His university.
His friends.
Everything felt real.
Everything felt complete.
Yet...
If this book was telling the truth...
There was another part of his life.
One that had been completely erased.
"I don't know anymore."
Suddenly—
The entire Archive trembled.
A low warning tone echoed through the chamber.
The floating crystal spheres stopped moving.
One by one...
They turned crimson.
The Keeper's blue eyes flickered.
For the first time since they had met...
Its voice carried urgency.
"Warning."
"External intrusion detected."
Adrian immediately drew his sword.
"What happened?"
The Keeper looked upward.
As though it could see through kilometers of rock.
"The Archive has been discovered."
Marcus frowned.
"By monsters?"
The Keeper answered with one word.
"No."
Everyone felt the temperature in the room drop.
A new window appeared before Liam.
Unlike the gray Administrator window...
This one was completely black.
The letters were crimson.
SYSTEM OVERRIDE
Unauthorized Administrator Facility Located
Purge Protocol Initiating
Liam stared at it.
"...Purge?"
The Keeper turned toward him instantly.
Its eyes flared brighter than ever before.
"Administrator Candidate."
"You must leave immediately."
A violent explosion shook the entire chamber.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Somewhere above...
Concrete collapsed.
Emma nearly lost her balance.
"What was that?!"
Another explosion followed.
Closer this time.
The Keeper raised one metallic hand.
A glowing map of the underground facility appeared in midair.
Every corridor was illuminated in blue.
Except one.
One tunnel had turned crimson.
Something was moving through it.
Fast.
Far too fast.
Every security door in its path was already destroyed.
Rachel stared at the map.
"It's coming straight toward us."
The Keeper's voice became strangely quiet.
Almost...
Respectful.
"Executor Unit confirmed."
Liam frowned.
"What's an Executor?"
The Keeper answered immediately.
"Administrators who refuse deletion..."
A pause.
"...are hunted by Executors."
Another explosion echoed through the Archive.
This time...
Everyone heard it.
Heavy footsteps.
Not mechanical.
Not monstrous.
Human.
Slow.
Steady.
Each step echoed through the endless corridors.
...Thump.
...Thump.
...Thump.
The Keeper lowered its head.
As if mourning something inevitable.
"Probability of survival..."
Its voice faltered for the first time.
"...0.7%."
Then...
A calm male voice echoed from somewhere beyond the chamber.
"So..."
"I finally found you."
Liam had never heard the voice before.
Yet every instinct in his body screamed one thing.
Run.