ZERO: Before the Beginning

The sound disappeared.

Right after overcoming the Trial of the Nose,

I was cast into a vast silence.

For the first time, the temple demanded absolute stillness.

---

> [Temple of Senses – Gate 4: Trial of the Ear Activated]

[Transition Area: Middle Ear → Cochlea → Auditory Cortex]

[Environment: Zero-Gravity Emotional Field]

[Gravity Suspended / Emotional Echo Interpretation Required]

---

I floated up slowly.

My feet lost the ground,

and the concepts of up and down vanished from my body.

'…There's no sound. No direction either.'

That was when I realized—

this trial wasn't about listening.

It was about finding sound in silence.

No heartbeat. No breath.

Nothing resonated within or without.

But in that stillness, I sensed it:

I was not a mere lifeform.

I was… an emotional resonance vessel.

---

> "Just because the sound disappears…

doesn't mean emotions disappear with it."

It was Lucarin's voice.

But it didn't echo from any direction.

She spoke from within—

resonating from the emotional weapon etched into me.

Then I inhaled.

And at that moment…

somewhere, somehow—

I heard it.

A weeping voice.

> "I'm sorry… Taemin… I'm so sorry…"

It rang in my ear.

A sound that didn't exist…

but it held my emotions hostage.

---

> [Reconstructing Auditory System via Emotion]

[Echo of Memory Detected – Anchoring as Fixed Sound Source]

[First Activation: Emotional Echo – 'Voice That Never Deserved Forgiveness']

---

I started to walk through the silent void.

No gravity. No defined space.

But within it…

countless phrases from my past drifted like stardust.

---

> "Mr. Taemin, this isn't healing."

"You can't just come back now and expect forgiveness."

"Staying with you hurts more than being alone."

"Stop pretending you're okay… please…"

---

Words that once pierced me.

Shattered me.

Words I couldn't shake off.

And now—

they made me rise again.

---

> [Emotional Elevation Increased – Echo-Driven Acceleration Boosted]

[Cochlea Chamber Identified – Spiral Core Access Achieved]

---

I floated with emotion.

I steered with resonance.

And then—

Rings rose from all directions.

This was the innermost chamber of the cochlea,

the Resonance Core,

where all emotional echoes spun endlessly.

At its center, a silent entity stood.

No eyes. No mouth.

But I knew—

it was listening.

---

> "Whose voice… do you still remember?"

I did not answer.

Instead, I summoned the clearest voice from my memories.

> "In the next life… let's be happy."

Just one line.

One phrase—

but louder than a scream.

---

> [Emotional Echo Synchronization Complete]

[Emotional Weapon: ⟪Flame of Residue⟫ → ⟪Flame of Echoes⟫ Evolution Possible]

[New Ability: Absorb Emotional Sounds / Emit Echo Waves]

I reached out my hand.

There was no fire.

Only resonance.

A soundless vibration.

But it was—

my confession.

> "I lived… because I heard your final words."

The unspoken words—

split the space apart.

The cochlea shook violently.

And the entity at the core—

shattered into silence.

---

> [Trial of the Ear Cleared – Auditory Emblem Acquired]

[Emotion Purification Rate: 100%]

[New Ability: Echo Reception & Emotional Sound Emission]

[Emotional Weapon Evolution Conditions Fulfilled]

Now…

I can hear.

The words left unsaid.

The cries hidden in silence.

The guilt buried beneath quiet.

And from now on—

I will hear them all.

And I will speak them too.