Chapter 56 – The Memory That Shouldn't Exist
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The Silent City
Luo Fan walked forward cautiously. The Forgotten Realm stretched endlessly, its streets lined with ruins of erased realities. Buildings flickered between shapes—one moment an ancient temple, the next a futuristic skyscraper—as if they couldn't decide what they once were.
The air was thick with whispers. Faint voices, distorted and broken.
> "…was I ever real…?"
"…forgotten, but still here…"
"…why does he remember…?"
> "Alright, I'm officially creeped out." EchoStar's voice crackled nervously. "Let's grab whatever insane cosmic mistake we're here for and get OUT."
Luo Fan didn't answer. He could feel it.
Something deep in this city was calling to him.
A presence that shouldn't exist anymore.
And yet—it did.
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A Glimpse Into the Past
He stepped onto an abandoned plaza, where the ground was made of shattered reflections. Each step revealed a glimpse of a lost moment.
A young girl, crying as she reached for a collapsing star.
A warrior, standing alone against a horde of faceless shadows.
A scholar, burning a book that never should have been written.
Luo Fan's heartbeat quickened.
These weren't just memories.
They were lives that had been erased.
And yet… something about them felt familiar.
> "Uhh, Boss? These visions? Kinda look like—"
HIS past.
Luo Fan's breath caught. "EchoStar. What am I looking at?"
> "I… don't know. These memories shouldn't exist anymore. Not after the Reset."
Luo Fan tensed. If these were his erased moments, then that meant—
Someone had saved them.
Someone had hidden them here.
But who?
And why?
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The Forgotten Figure
A shadow flickered in the distance.
Luo Fan's body moved before he could think—chasing it.
He sprinted through the shifting streets, dodging between collapsing ruins. The shadow was fast, slipping through the cracks in reality itself.
But Luo Fan wasn't about to lose it.
> "Uh, chasing a literal ghost? GREAT IDEA."
Luo Fan ignored EchoStar's sarcasm. If this thing was running, that meant it had answers.
With a final burst of speed—he lunged.
His hand grasped the figure's wrist—
And the world froze.
Luo Fan's mind exploded with a thousand fragmented memories.
And then—
A voice.
Soft. Familiar. Haunting.
> "You weren't supposed to find me."
The figure turned.
And Luo Fan's breath stopped.
Because he knew this person.
> "…Xiao Ling?"
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[To Be Continued...]