The tendril slipped
“Chronos, how do we fight this?”
Chronos sighed, pooling energy into his core. “I have a plan, but—”“It’s risky.”
“Oh, fantastic.” Aetheron dragged a hand down his face. “Are we fighting or running, because I’d really like to know.”
Yurei slammedshockwave rippled through the ground.
“We don’t have time for this. You what that thing can do.”
Shukan snapped out of his daze. “Er… Yeah.”
The Void Spawn lunged.blurred
through space.
“Hell no.”sighed.jumped—an afterimage refusing to fade.
His body twisted midairleg carving through spaceguillotine.
And then—impact.
His leg connected.
The Void Spawn spiraled through the airskidding
to a forced stop—right next to the gaping door it had emerged from.
CRACK.
“Chronos.”
Aetheron muttered just loud enough for him to hear.
“Already on it.”glinting
as he chanted— “…Law Rewrite.”
Golden glyphs flared to lifecast an ethereal glow“Rule one. Probability bends in our favor.”
Nothing felt
Aetheron shot Chronos a look. “Uh, Chronos? Did your law malfunc—”
Before he could finish, the Void Spawn lunged—fast. Too fast.
Then—BANG.
A sickening, wet impact.
It missed.
It missed—when it was RIGHT THERE.
Shukan scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Well…Chronos sure as hell never did that before.”
“You should be Aetheron isn’t a forgotten memory right now.”pulsing
A sizzling soundthe king’s roar shook the walls.
And then—
A beam of searing blue lightripped through the room.
Jikan reacted instantly, jerking Shukan away.
Yurei kicked off an ice spike
Chronos? He just leaned backbarely grazing past.
Shukan huffed. “Didn’t you say probability bends in our favor?!”golden eye glinted violently.
Chronos exhaled, stepping forward. “It did.”
Aetheron lowered“That beam looks like it can tear through reality.” “Did that thing us?”
Yurei shot him a look
Shukan flipped his daggers“Where the hell did the Void Spawn go?”
“High chance it was obliterated.”
“Or it ran away.”“Just a thought.”
Shukan cautiously steppedsquelching“Weird. Where’s the thing that tried erasing us?”
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A black, burning substancedripped
“Ack! What the hell?!”
And found the remainsstuck to the ceiling.
“I uh… found where the spawn went.”
Aetheron looked up, confused.
“…How the hell did it even get up there?”
“Probably jumped. Still got caught in the fire, though.”
“Makes sense.”laughed.
“Get your asses over here and .”
Shukan yelled.
Shukan steps closer to the blast site.curling inward, trying to regenerate.
Shukan stops moving.scream.wrong.
Then—
“...evael ton lliw uoY.”
Aetheron blinks. “What?”
Chronos stiffens. He knows what this is.
It’s speaking in reverse.
Shukan exhales sharply. He repeats the words out loud, voice slow, deliberate. “You will not leave.”
The temperature drops.
Aetheron swears under his breath. “Hell no.”
Then— Chronos grabs Shukan’s arm. Hard. “LOOK where the sound comes from. And DON’T. LOOK. AWAY.”
Shukans focus breaks for a millisecond. All it took was a blink. The pressure shifted.
Aetheron’s eyes widen as the room twists. He tries to act—shift his weight, brace himself. But the world doesn’t bend that way.
Before he can even process what’s happening, something yanks him off his feet—hard.
One second, he’s fighting to hold onto reality—his wings are spread wide, his radiance flaring.
The next second? The ground beneath him disappears. He’s plunging through the air, faster than he can process, the walls of the flesh room melting into a blur of colors.
“Aetheron!” Shukan’s voice rings out, but it’s drowned by the howling rush of wind.
Aetheron’s wings flare, but they don’t respond—they’re locked. The void's pressure is crushing, the air itself shifting around him, warping.
He grits his teeth, desperate to summon his power, but the wings? They’re useless.
His wings should work. They work.
But they don’t. They’re locked down, the force trying to shred them with each second that passes.
Nothing makes sense.
The world’s becoming a smear of color—light and dark colliding as he continues to fall. The wind screams in his ears, everything out of control.
“No, no, no!” His thoughts spiral. He flares again, more energy than before—but it’s still not enough.
"Chronos!" He screams, but it’s too late.
He’s falling fasterblackness
ahead.
Back in the flesh room, Shukan’s panic growsfalling Aetheronroar of the Voidbeam holedragged through
"AETHERON!
Chronos moves
But Aetheron? He’s already out of reach.
“This can’t be happeninghis fists clenching
Yurei turns to him, her icy resolve still set. “Do something.”
“We need to go after him—now.” Chronos growlsShukan doesn’t hesitate. "Tch—fuck it.
His golden veins ignitejumpsVoid’s pullgrabbing him
Chronos follows without a word
Yurei? She kicks off the flesh wallsice-arm pulsingdives headfirst into the abyss
Aetheron’s vision blurstwistingtwisting
The thing that grabbed him?It’s still here.
A shape. A distortion. A presence.
Every time he focuses on itgone.
Every time he blinkscloser
His wings still won’t work.slipping away
Then—he feels it.
A hand.
Cold. Wrong. Slipping into his ribs like it’s searching for something.
"—The fuck—"
Aetheron thrashesfallingVoid tearing at him.
Aetheron’s body spins uncontrollably
The wound in his ribs burnslike something is trying to root itself inside.
His wings? Still useless.He can’t even feel them.
Above him—the flesh-covered ruins are shrinking.
Below him?
A blackened stormshattered architecture, twisted gravity wells, and energy distortionspulverize him on impact.
And the thing that grabbed him?
It’s still here.
Aetheron clenches his teeth, eyes darting. He tries to look at it—but his brain rejects what it sees.
It’s not a creature.
It’s a presence. A whisper of movement. A law breaking before his eyes.
And it’s still touching him.
Shukan, Chronos, and Yurei plummet down after himtoo far ahead.
“FUCK, we’re not closing in fast enough!” Yurei growls. Her ice-arm pulsesa jagged ice trail explodes from her fingers, creating a descending slide through the air.
Shukan grits his teeth. Time-step won’t work here.
Not when the space itself is twisted.
Chronos’s eye flashes gold.
"Law Rewrite: Downward acceleration inverts—"
Nothing happens. overriding
Shukan’s fists clench. “WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN?”
A sound booms through the abyss.
Not a roar. Not a shriek.
A chime.
Like a bell ringing at the end of existence.
Then—Aetheron jerks.
He isn’t just falling anymore.
He’s being dragged.
Faster.Down.Down.Down.
The thing’s grip tightens—Aetheron’s body violently twists midair.
Chronos’s golden glyphs flicker erraticallyuncertainty.
Shukan’s breath is steady—but his eye glows harder.
“Then what is it?”
Chronos stares at the presence dragging Aetheron down.
A shadow moving through lightconcept refusing to be perceived.
He exhales. “A system enforcer.”
Yurei’s pupils shrink.
Shukan’s face darkens.
Chronos’s voice is quieter than before. "Something meant to erase us.
