THE WANDERER
1570 Words
The figure wasn’t moving.
For 3 days, it was 5km away. Just walking.
Never closer. Never farther.
Enma’s scout team reported it every morning.
Kurenai called it “creepy as hell.”
Jin said “it’s watching us.”
*CRIMSON SYNC: Enma 28%. Kurenai 32%. Jin 26%*
On day 4, it stopped.
1km from camp.
Enma stood on the gate. Alone.
“Show yourself!”
No answer.
The figure raised a hand.
*BOOM.*
The ground between them exploded.
Not an attack. A message.
“Come talk,” a voice said. Old. Tired. “Alone.”
Kurenai was behind Enma in 2 seconds. 50%. “Like hell.”
Enma put a hand up. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” Kurenai said. “That’s not human.”
Enma looked at the figure. Hooded. Cloaked. Face in shadow.
But the eyes. Red.
“I’ll be back in 10,” Enma said.
He jumped down.
---
*THE MEETING*
1km. Empty desert.
The figure was waiting.
As Enma got closer, he could see details.
The cloak was made of patches. Hundreds.
The hood hid everything but the mouth and eyes.
And the eyes. Red. But not Sync red.
*Older.*
“Stop there,” the figure said.
Enma stopped. 30%.
“Who are you?” Enma asked.
The figure laughed. Dry. “I’ve had many names. The Wanderer. The Watcher. The First Failure.”
It pushed the hood back.
*AN OLD MAN.*
100 years old. Maybe more.
Skin like paper. Hair white.
But the eyes. They were the same as Enma’s at 90%.
“The Architect’s brother,” the man said.
Enma’s blood went cold. 35%.
_“Liar,”_ the King whispered. _“She had no brother.”_
“Prove it,” Enma said.
The man held out his hand.
A scar. On his palm. Same shape as Enma’s. Same place.
“I was number 0,” the man said. “Before you. Before her. Before the Wall.”
Silence.
“What do you want?” Enma asked.
The man looked at the camp. “To warn you.”
“About what?”
“About what comes next,” the man said. “The Wall falling was just the start.”
He pointed up.
The sky. Normal blue.
“Behind that is Hell,” the man said. “And Hell is hungry. The tear you closed? It’s healing. But something else is coming through.”
Enma frowned. “What?”
The man looked at him. “The Demon King’s Master.”
*CRIMSON SYNC: 40%*
Enma didn’t move. “There’s something above the Demon King?”
The man nodded. “The one who made him. The one who made the Sync. The one who made me.”
He took a step closer. “And it’s coming for you, Vessel. Because you’re the only one who can stop it.”
Enma laughed. Bitter. “Me? I can barely hold 90%.”
The man smiled. Sad. “You don’t need 100%. You need 0%.”
Enma stared. “What?”
“Control,” the man said. “True control. The Architect never taught you that. She only taught you to fight.”
He held out a hand.
In it: *A STONE.* Gray. Like Enma’s. But whole.
“This is how,” the man said. “This is how you beat it without becoming it.”
Enma didn’t take it. “Why me? Why not you?”
The man looked at his hands. Burned. Scarred. “I tried. 200 years ago. I failed.”
He looked at Enma. “Don’t fail too.”
*CRIMSON SYNC: 45%*
Footsteps.
Kurenai. And Jin. And Aoi.
They were all here. Armed.
The man didn’t flinch. “The other Core. And the spare.”
Kurenai pointed a sword at him. “Who are you?”
The man looked at her. “Hello, 07. You look just like her.”
Kurenai’s eyes narrowed. “Like who?”
“The Architect,” the man said. “When she was young.”
Kurenai lowered the sword. A little. “...What?”
The man turned back to Enma. “You have 7 days, Vessel. Then it arrives.”
“How do you know?” Enma asked.
The man touched his chest. “Because I can feel it. In my blood. In yours.”
He dropped the stone.
Enma caught it.
“Teach me,” Enma said.
The man shook his head. “I can’t. You have to learn it yourself. But I can show you where.”
He pointed east. “The Ruins. Floor 0. Where the Wall began.”
He pulled his hood back up. “I’ll be there. If you want to live.”
And he walked away.
Into the desert.
Gone.
---
*THE DECISION*
Back at camp.
Everyone was arguing.
Aoi: “It’s a trap.”
Hana: “What if it’s not?”
Kurenai: “I don’t trust him.”
Jin: “But what if he’s right?”
Enma was silent. Holding the stone. 25%.
It was warm.
Finally, Enma spoke. “We go.”
Everyone looked at him.
“To the Ruins,” Enma said. “Floor 0. We learn this. Or we die in 7 days.”
Kurenai sighed. “Fine. But I’m coming. And if he tries anything—”
“You can hit him,” Enma said.
Kurenai grinned. “Deal.”
---
*THE RUINS. FLOOR 0.*
It wasn’t a floor.
It was a crater.
1km wide. Glass sand.
And in the center: *A TOWER.* Broken. Made of bone.
The Wanderer was waiting.
“This is where she built it,” the Wanderer said. “The first Wall. The first Sync.”
He walked to the tower. “Come.”
Inside: empty. Except one room.
A lab. Old. Dust.
And on a table: *A BODY.*
The Architect.
But younger. 30s.
And she was alive. Barely.
Breathing. Eyes open.
“Brother?” she whispered.
The Wanderer knelt. “Hello, little sister.”
The Architect looked at Enma. “You... you came.”
Enma knelt too. 20%.
“You lied to me,” Enma said.
The Architect smiled. “I did. A lot.”
She coughed blood. “I’m sorry.”
Enma didn’t answer.
The Architect looked at the stone in his hand. “That’s it. The Anchor.”
She looked at Enma. “To beat what’s coming, you can’t use the Sync. You have to let it go.”
Enma frowned. “What?”
“0%,” the Architect said. “Not suppression. Release. You give it back.”
She touched his hand. “The Sync is a demon. It wants you. But if you let go, it has nothing to hold.”
Enma looked at the stone. “Will it hurt?”
The Architect laughed. Crying. “Yes. Like hell.”
She looked at Kurenai. “And you. You too, 07. You have to do it too.”
Kurenai crossed her arms. “Pass.”
The Architect grabbed her hand. “Please. For me.”
Kurenai’s face softened. “...Fine.”
The Architect looked at all of them. “7 days. Then it comes. The Master.”
She closed her eyes. “I’m tired, brother.”
The Wanderer held her hand. “I know.”
The Architect smiled. “Goodbye, Vessel. Goodbye, 07.”
And she died.
---
*TRAINING: 0%*
3 days.
No fighting.
No Sync.
Just breathing.
Just pain.
Enma sat in the crater. Holding the stone.
Every time the King whispered, he let go.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 20%... 15%... 10%...*
Kurenai was next to him. Screaming.
The Sync didn’t want to leave her.
Jin was helping. Holding her hand.
Day 5:
Enma hit 5%.
Kurenai hit 8%.
Day 6:
Enma hit 2%.
Kurenai hit 3%.
Day 7.
Morning.
Enma opened his eyes.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 0%*
No red.
No voice.
Just him.
Kurenai opened hers. 0%.
They looked at each other.
“...I feel light,” Kurenai said.
Enma nodded. “Me too.”
The Wanderer was watching. “Good. Now the hard part.”
“What hard part?” Jin asked.
The sky cracked.
Red.
And through it: *A HAND.*
Bigger than the Demon King. Bigger than the Wall.
And a voice.
*“VESSEL.”*
The ground shook.
The Master had arrived.
---
*THE MASTER*
It stepped through.
20 meters. Then 50. Then 100.
Skin like the sky at night. Stars inside it.
4 faces. All looking different ways.
And 12 arms.
It looked at Enma.
“Hello, little King,” it said. 4 voices at once. “I’ve been waiting.”
Enma stood. 0%.
Kurenai stood next to him. 0%.
The Master tilted a head. “Where is it? Where is the Sync?”
Enma didn’t answer.
The Master roared.
The desert melted.
“YOU DARE DEFY ME?”
It swung.
Enma moved.
No red.
No power.
Just speed.
Just skill.
Just him.
He dodged.
Kurenai dodged.
The Master hit the ground. A crater.
The Wanderer was watching. “Yes. Like that.”
The Master looked at Enma. Really looked.
“You’re empty,” it said. Confused. “Where did you put it?”
Enma smiled. “I didn’t put it anywhere.”
He held up the stone.
It was glowing.
“I gave it back,” Enma said.
The Master screamed.
It charged.
Enma ran.
Not away.
*At it.*
Kurenai ran too.
Two humans.
Against a god.
*TO BE CONTINUED*
- Writer
