---
The Sphere of Forgotten Roots didn't sit on the ground.
It hovered.
Five meters above the black-marble floor of the Unmapped District's core, pulsing with a heartbeat that had no sound—only a faint, internal echo.
Each pulse made the sky ripple.
Each ripple sent a twitch through Takumi's fingertips.
Lisette hadn't followed. She couldn't. The district rejected her. Or maybe… he had entered a place that simply wasn't part of her branch anymore.
He approached alone.
And the Sphere reacted.
Its mirrored shell rotated—no seams, no entrance.
Until Takumi placed his hand against it.
And the world vanished.
---
There was no sensation of teleportation.
No shift.
No flash.
No falling.
Just… a gentle subtraction of reality.
---
He opened his eyes to find himself in a white room.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
A desk. A whiteboard. A glass coffee cup, placed perfectly aligned with the corner of the desk.
He knew this place.
Takumi's breath caught.
"This is…"
> The office.
Your old one.
Behind him, a man stood—identical in face, but younger. No cloak. No system. Just a collared shirt, slacks, and a perfectionist's posture.
Takumi turned slowly.
His younger self smiled.
> "Hello, me."
---
> [Reality Layer: Mental Origin Construct]
This space recreates your former self's last stabilized state before system upload.
Forgiveness Threshold: Unmet
Exit condition: Reconciliation or Collapse.
---
Takumi took a seat. The younger self mirrored him.
No words passed for several minutes.
Then, the younger Takumi leaned forward and asked:
> "Why did you let go of the structure?"
The question hit like a fist.
Takumi exhaled. "Because I had to survive."
> "You didn't survive. You adapted. You became them."
"I didn't join the Spiral."
> "But you chose chaos."
Takumi clenched his jaw.
"Because structure broke me. Because when the system changed, no one cared how I built it. They just rewrote it."
The younger self's eyes narrowed.
> "So you became like them. Bent the world like they did."
Takumi stood.
He walked to the edge of the whiteboard and wiped a formula clean.
The younger version flinched.
"You never let this line get erased," he said.
"I know."
> "So why now?"
Takumi turned.
And for the first time in the entire journey, his voice cracked.
"Because the line doesn't matter if I forget how to forgive the hand that drew it. Even if that hand… was mine."
---
The younger self stared.
Then slowly—quietly—nodded.
The office blurred.
The white began to fade into silver.
And the voice of the system returned.
---
> [Forgiveness Achieved: Self-Origin Loop Closed]
You may now exit the Sphere of Forgotten Roots.
New Skill Gained: Inner Axis Lv. 1
"Once per day, become immune to external instability effects for 30 seconds."
Passive Upgrade: Fractured Mastery → Fractured Dominion
---
Takumi stood in a space that was no longer the office, no longer the Sphere, but both.
He had become something else.
Something anchored inside the chaos.
And then a new presence arrived.
A woman in Spiral priest garb, eyes covered in layered veils, each marked with shifting script.
She bowed slightly.
> "Congratulations, Refuser. You passed the inner gate."
He didn't respond.
She continued:
> "You now understand the loop of identity. The Spiral recognizes this. And offers one final bargain."
A scroll unfolded before her.
Written in symmetrical lines.
Perfect.
Tidy.
Seductive.
> "We will restore your old world," she said.
"We will return you to the system, to your old life. Everything you lost—restored."
Takumi read the scroll.
Then looked her in the eyes.
"Price?"
> "You must surrender Fractured Mastery. And forget what you've learned here."
He didn't hesitate.
"No."
---
The scroll burned.
Her smile faded.
> "You've chosen to remain broken."
Takumi walked past her.
"No," he said.
"I chose to stay whole—without needing to be perfect."
---
The Sphere shattered behind him.
And he stepped into Halrion again—
—different.
The air no longer swayed him.
The buildings no longer threatened his balance.
The world still refused structure.
But now…
He refused to need it.
---
🔹 End of Chapter 14