The moment Luo Shu laid eyes on SCP-3125, the Defender, he found himself at a loss for words.
Neither real nor illusory.
He could see it—yet also the rock wall behind it.
Pikachu's headlights pierced straight through its form.
Tiny cave insects flew unimpeded through its body… only to drop dead the instant they exited.
Neither human nor inhuman.
For a fleeting moment, its face resembled Luo Shu's own—East Asian features.
But when he focused, its visage shifted.
No—stare longer, and it wasn't humanoid at all.
Neither dream nor reality.
A crushing mental pressure bore down on Luo Shu, leaving him dazed.
Was this real? Or was he still trapped in the Heaven's Cigar's hallucination?
Neither present nor absent.
As his mind frayed, the Defender's form began flickering—in and out of existence.
Until Luo Shu even doubted his own existence.
Have I truly lived in this world?
Have I truly experienced all this?
Am I the dreamer or the dreamed?
This was the most formidable anti-meme the anomalous world had ever known.
Only after an unknowable span did SCP-3125 relent, its mental grip loosening.
Before Luo Shu could speak, it declared:
"I know why you've come. Leave. I will not reveal the truth to you."
"Why?!" Luo Shu's voice cracked with frustration. "Aren't you a Keeper of Secrets? Aren't I the Anomaly Encyclopedia's bearer? Don't I deserve the truth?!"
His anger stemmed from insecurity. That mental assault had laid bare his weakness.
In the anomalous world, strength of will was paramount.
Mental anomalies.
Memes and anti-memes.
Reality bending.
All stemmed from unshakable consciousness.
SCP-3125's message was clear:
You are too weak.
If even it—this godlike anti-meme—hid in a Cuban cave, what right did Luo Shu have to demand truths?
As expected, the Defender confirmed his fears:
"You lack the strength to face the truth."
Luo Shu fell silent, listening.
"Yes, I am a Keeper. By the King's decree, I have waited here for millennia—to one day share the truth."
The King?
The Anti-Meme King.
Another staggering revelation.
"But truth is the key to correctness. The scalpel that excises falsehoods. The weapon that reshapes worlds."
"To wield it unprepared is like handing a nuclear briefcase to a child. You wouldn't even know whose destruction you'd trigger—yours or another's."
"You cannot yet defeat 'The God'—a mere pawn. How then will you oppose the hand that moves him?"
"His power rivals mine. Return when your mind surpasses my own."
"I've waited this long. A little longer changes nothing."
So it was true.
He was unworthy.
Yet Luo Shu refused surrender.
If strength was lacking, he would forge it.
"How do I grow stronger?" he demanded.
The Defender almost smiled. "The method has always been in your hands. Why ask me?"
Luo Shu's consciousness plunged into the Anomaly Encyclopedia.
Was this the purpose of the "Truth-Bringer"?
Rapid ascension?
In six months as a D-class, he'd become the world's most feared "Dark Lord"—all through the Encyclopedia's power.
No more needed to be said.
He would grind forward.
Before leaving, he made one final request:
"If you wish for my growth, grant me your power."
"Easily done."
The Encyclopedia glowed, adding a new entry:
[Page 132]
[Designation: SCP-3125]
[Title: The Fugitive (Marion Wheeler) / The Defender]
[Object Class: Keter]
[Description:]
Neither real nor illusory. Neither human nor inhuman. Neither dream nor reality. Neither present nor absent…
[Containment Protocols:]
Anti-memes cannot be contained! Anti-memes cannot be described!
If you learn anything of this entity, PRETEND YOU KNOW NOTHING.
Any attempt to document it—or even hear such documentation—invites the Defender's wrath.
[Anomalous Property: Power of the Defender]
Truth demands not wisdom, courage, or resolve—but POWER.
In 1642, Galileo defended heliocentrism. They burned him.
In 1687, Newton proposed gravity. They knighted him.
THE STRONG DECIDE WHAT IS TRUE.
These secrets shall not be spoken—save by my leave.
Violators will be ERASED FROM NARRATION.
[Status: Subordinate]
A tyrannical ability.
Testing it, Luo Shu sensed every mind within 10 kilometers.
Should their words or actions breach a rule he set, punishment triggered—their very existence scoured from collective memory.
Their bodies might remain, but none would see, hear, or interact with them.
A lonely death.
To verify its potency, Luo Shu's avatar in [My Cultist World] stirred.
Upon its divine throne, it proclaimed:
"Blasphemers shall perish."
Across a million square kilometers, thousands vanished—
Enemy infiltrators.
False devotees.
All expunged in an instant.
A diluted version of reality editing.
The power of a god.
For the first time, Luo Shu's avatar truly became divine within that lower narrative.
Yet he soon realized:
The ability was weaker in his hands than the Defender's—or even his avatar's.
Range:
Defender: 100 km radius.
Luo Shu: 10 km (1/100 the area).
Potency:
Effectiveness hinged on mental strength disparity.
Against superior wills? Useless.
As the entry stated:
"THE STRONG DECIDE WHAT IS TRUE."