Skyscrapers stretched into the sky, their neon lights flickering like dying stars. The air smelled of ozone and metal. The ground beneath them was no longer stone—but some kind of smooth, reflective surface, like polished steel.
Shukan immediately drew his daggers. "...What the hell just happened?"
Yurei spun around, scanning the streets. "This... this isn't Fallen Nexus."
The city was alive. Not in the way a normal city would be—there was no sound of people, no movement of cars—only the hum of massive machines lurking in the distance.
Then, something even worse.
The symbols from Fallen Nexus were here too.
Glowing across the walls. Carved into the streets.
They hadn't just been teleported.
Shukan clicked his tongue. "Nope. Not dealing with this." His eye gleamed gold.
Jikan activated.
The air around him warped as he reached through time, attempting to drag them back to Fallen Nexus.
But the moment he tried to pull them through—
Something stopped him.
Not like before. Not like when Chronos' Law Rewrite failed.
This wasn't resistance. This was possession.
Jikan flickered—glitching, distorting—like it wasn't fully under his control.
Shukan's vision blurred. His body felt like it was being pulled in two different directions at once.
Then, a voice.
"—This is where you should be—"
Shukan gritted his teeth, forcing more power into Jikan. Another voice. This one different.
"—You cannot overwrite what is already written—"
Then—
A shockwave exploded outward.
Shukan and Yurei were thrown back, crashing against the smooth metal street.
His eye dimmed. Jikan had been shut down.
Yurei staggered to her feet, staring at him. "...Did that just... fail?"
Shukan clenched his fists. "No." He looked up at the glowing symbols on the skyscrapers, his golden eyes burning. "Something shut it down."
Yurei's expression darkened. "Then we have a problem."
They weren't just stuck.
Something wanted them here.
They had been brought here on purpose.
Shukan spat out blood, wiping his mouth. He was done with this place.
First, they got teleported to somewhere that shouldn't even exist.
Then, Jikan got shut down.
No way in hell was he just gonna sit here.
Yurei glanced at him. "...You're thinking something reckless, aren't you?"
Shukan cracked his neck. "Of course I am."
He dashed forward, daggers glowing with golden energy, and slashed straight into the nearest building.
The structure CRACKED under the force of his attack.
A ripple of golden energy surged outward—his power expanding beyond just one strike.
The air twisted. The skyscrapers groaned, their metal foundations distorting as time itself wavered under Jikan's influence.
Shukan was trying to erase this city from reality.
For a second, it worked.
The buildings started to vanish. The neon streets blinked in and out of existence. The world was breaking.
Then—The city RESPONDED. Then he moved.
Yurei spun around. "...Shukan."
He barely had time to react—before the first of the robotic guards dropped from above.
One. Ten. Fifty.
More and more poured in, their bodies sleek, jagged, and inhuman. Their movements were too smooth, too perfect, as if they weren't following normal physics.
They weren't just responding to his attack. They had been waiting for it.
Shukan clicked his tongue. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."
The first guardian lunged, and the fight was on.
Chronos froze mid-step.
Aetheron immediately noticed. "Alright. That's not normal. What's wrong?"
Chronos' golden circuits pulsed violently. Reality had just been distorted somewhere nearby.
Something, no, someone had just tried to rewrite existence.
Chronos' mind raced. Jikan. That was Jikan's energy. Which meant Shukan had just tried to destroy something—and it had fought back.
Chronos clenched his fists.
Something had just OVERWRITTEN Shukan's ability.
Aetheron frowned. "Yo. Talk to me. What the hell is happening?"
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Chronos' voice was calm. Too calm.
"...Shukan and Yurei aren't in Fallen Nexus anymore."
Yurei spun, slashing through one of the robotic Guardians. It shattered into shards of glowing metal, but another one was already moving in to take its place.
Shukan's daggers flashed through the air, cutting through the machines, but there were too many. No matter how many they destroyed, more kept coming.
The city was fighting back.
Then, Everything went still.
The Guardians stopped moving.
Shukan and Yurei froze, breathing heavily, waiting for the next attack.
But nothing happened.
A sound echoed through the empty streets.
A low, distorted hum.
A voice, layered and broken.
"—Found you—"
Yurei's blood ran cold.
It was here.
From the shadows of the cybernetic city, it emerged.
The figure that had overwhelmed them before.
The thing that adapted to everything.
It had learned from their last battle. And now, it wanted them dead.
Shukan immediately moved, daggers already in hand. "Oh, HELL no."
He lunged forward—
And got knocked back instantly.
The figure didn't even let him get close.
It had already adapted to his speed.
Yurei threw up a frozen barrier, trying to slow it down—but the moment her ice touched it, the figure's body shifted.
It copied her ability.
Its arm turned to ice—then shattered the barrier like it was nothing.
Yurei stumbled back, eyes wide. It's even faster than before.
Shukan rolled to his feet, eyes blazing. "Tch. Alright. You want a rematch? Let's go."
The figure tilted its head. Watching. Calculating.
Then it spoke.
"—Jikan... does not belong to you—"
Shukan's heart skipped a beat.
"...What?"
The figure didn't answer. It just attacked.
Chronos stopped walking.
Aetheron saw the look on his face and knew something was wrong.
"...Oh. That's bad, isn't it?"
Reality trembled.
Aetheron FELT it now.
Not just Jikan's energy. Not just Shukan's power.
Something else. Something WRONG.
Chronos' voice was quiet."It's here."
Aetheron frowned. "What's here?"
Chronos clenched his fists. "The thing we ran from."
It finally hit Shukan. He couldn't win. Not at this level.
Shukan moved.
He didn't think. He didn't plan.
He just ran.
One second, he was standing in front of a monster that couldn't be beaten.
The next—he was already gone.
Yurei barely registered what happened.
One moment, she was bracing for death. The next—her entire body was weightless, the world blurring into streaks of neon and metal.
Shukan had grabbed her and MOVED.
Not teleportation. Not time manipulation.
Just PURE speed.
Too fast.
Too fast even for himself.
For the first time in his life—his body was ahead of his own thoughts.
His mind couldn't keep up.
The city twisted around him—buildings warping, colors blurring into streaks of gold and blue.
He tried to think—but his brain was too slow.
For the first time, Shukan felt what it was like to be left behind by his own power.
It was terrifying.
But he didn't stop.
Because if he did—they were dead.
The moment Shukan disappeared, the figure twitched. It adapted.
The Guardians were already moving, recalibrating, tracking the energy signature.
But the figure didn't follow.
Instead—it watched.
"—Jikan... is still incomplete—"
"—He is still... unworthy—" "—Run, then. It will not matter—"
"—I will take it soon—"
Then, it vanished.
It didn't need to chase.
It already knew where they were going.
Chronos staggered back, gripping his head.
Something just SHATTERED the flow of time.
Aetheron's wings flared. "What the hell was THAT?!"
Chronos' voice was sharp. "Shukan just ran."He snapped his head up. "No—he FLED."
Chronos didn't just sense movement—he sensed something NEW.
A speed so great that even Jikan was struggling to keep up.
Aetheron clenched his fists. "...That means it found them."
Chronos exhaled sharply. "We need to move. Now."
Aetheron felt it before he saw it.
The air twisted. Reality warped.
Then—
It was just there.
The figure stood before them, its form shifting—unstable, glitching in and out of existence.
Chronos' golden circuits flared. "...No."
Aetheron's eyes narrowed. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."
The thing they had RUN FROM was standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM.
And this time—it wasn't waiting.
"—Chronos—"
The voice was wrong. Layered. Broken.
"—You have something I require—"
Chronos stiffened. He already knew. Law Rewrite.
It wasn't just after Jikan. It wanted both.
Jikan governs time. Law Rewrite governs the very rules of existence.
If it took both— it wouldn't just be unbeatable. It would CONTROL REALITY ITSELF.
Chronos' golden eyes burned. "Over my dead body."
The figure responded by attacking IMMEDIATELY.
The figure MOVED.
Faster than last time.
Faster than Chronos had ever seen.
It closed the distance in an instant, its hand warping into a jagged, shifting blade—
It was aiming for Chronos' core.
Aetheron reacted first.
A BLAST of radiant energy EXPLODED from his palm—
But the figure ADAPTED.
The moment the attack touched it— it absorbed the energy and FIRED IT BACK at Aetheron TENFOLD.
BOOM.
Aetheron was sent CRASHING through the underground tunnel, smashing through walls.
Chronos didn't flinch.
Golden circuits surged.
"LAW REWRITE: CEASE ATTACK FUNCTION."
The command struck the figure—but instead of stopping— It laughed.
"—I have already evolved past that command—"
Chronos' stomach dropped.
It had kept the immunity from their last battle.
Law Rewrite wouldn't stop it anymore.
And now, it was coming for him.
The figure STRUCK.
Chronos barely dodged—but the sheer force of the attack shattered the stone behind him.
Aetheron pulled himself from the rubble, shaking off the hit.
"Okay—NOW I'm mad."
He flashed forward, wings glowing—slamming a concentrated blast of radiant force at the figure's back.
It hit. HARD.
BOOM. The tunnel collapsed around them.
For a moment, silence.
Then—
"—Predictable—"
The figure stepped out of the dust—completely unharmed.
"—You cannot defeat me. I have already seen this outcome—"
Chronos gritted his teeth. It's already adapting again...
They couldn't beat this thing with conventional attacks.
Which meant only one option was left.
They had to escape.
Shukan skidded to a stop, boots scraping against the smooth metal street.
He felt it.
Chronos. Aetheron. Their energy. Above? No. Underground.
Reality had shifted.
Shukan's golden eyes flashed. "Oh, hell no."
Then he MOVED.
He crouched. Energy surged through his legs.
Then he JUMPED.
Shukan Jumps So Hard He Breaks Reality
The force shattered the ground beneath him.
He wasn't just jumping.
He was PIERCING THROUGH EXISTENCE ITSELF.
The air around him fractured—
The sky twisted—
The very laws of reality BENT under his speed.
For a brief second, Shukan SAW it.
The layers of existence. The distortions that hid Chronos and Aetheron.
He wasn't just moving through space. He was TEARING THROUGH DIMENSIONS.
Meanwhile – Chronos & Aetheron
The figure was seconds away from killing Chronos.
Aetheron had already moved—but they were too slow.
"—This outcome is already decided—"
The figure's blade-arm swung—aiming straight for Chronos' core.
Then everything BROKE.
A sonic explosion of raw force CRACKED through the underground tunnel—
And a golden blur SLAMMED into the figure, sending it FLYING through the walls.
The impact shattered the ceiling.
Chronos barely processed what just happened. One second, he was about to die. The next—
Shukan stood in front of him.
Breathing heavily. Eyes BURNING with golden light.
Jikan was flaring uncontrollably.
And for the first time ever—Jikan wasn't just active. It was ANGRY.
Jikan Wants the Figure DEAD
Jikan doesn't feel emotions... but right now, it is FURIOUS. The Figure messed with something it SHOULDN'T HAVE.
Shukan clenched his fists. He felt it.
Not just power—pure, overwhelming HATRED.
Jikan HATED THIS THING.
Shukan smirked, rolling his shoulders.
"Damn, Jikan. Never felt you like this before."
Chronos stared at him. "...What did you just do?"
Shukan turned his head slightly, eyes still glowing.
"I stopped running."
The figure emerged from the rubble, completely unharmed.
But for the first time—it hesitated.
Because now, Jikan wasn't just watching.
Jikan was HUNTING.
The Figure emerged from the rubble. Its form shifted, warped, and glitched—adapting AGAIN.
It had never lost. It had only evolved.
But something was different now.
It hesitated. A fraction of a second.
And that's when Jikan spoke to Shukan.
Not in words. Not in visions.
In certainty.
It already knew what would happen next.
Chronos' golden circuits flickered. Something in his mind shifted.
Not a voice. Not a command.
A realization.
Law Rewrite wasn't a power—it was a perspective.
It had always known the rules. It was simply waiting for Chronos to notice them.
"It does not know what it is."
"It does not know what it has become."
"It is evolving toward nothing."
Chronos' breath hitched.
Law Rewrite PITTIED the Figure.
Because the Figure wasn't "winning." It was simply changing, endlessly, forever—without reason.
That's why Jikan already knew.
The Figure's evolution had no destination.
It was just running in circles.
The Figure TWISTED.
Its form exploded outward, breaking into dozens of shifting versions of itself—each one rewriting its existence in real-time.
It was evolving past identity. Past form.
It was trying to become something Jikan couldn't predict.
But Jikan didn't care.
Because this outcome was already decided.
Before it even happened, Jikan had already accounted for it.
Shukan smirked, rolling his shoulders.
"Too slow."
The Figure stood in its new form.
It was no longer one being.
It had multiplied.
Dozens of shifting, fractured versions of itself glitched in and out of existence.
Each one evolving, rewriting, adapting in real time.
It had evolved past form. Past identity.
It was becoming something beyond recognition.
Something that should have been impossible to predict.
But—
Jikan had already seen it happen.
And Jikan had already rejected it.
The moment the Figure reached its "new form"—it GLITCHED.
It flickered.
Its body SHATTERED inward, collapsing on itself—
As if it had evolved into something that wasn't allowed to exist.
Because Jikan had decided it would not.
The Figure twitched.
For the first time ever—it hesitated.
It tried to evolve AGAIN—
But Jikan SHUT IT DOWN.
Shukan's golden eye blazed. "Yeah, no. You're done."
Before the Figure could adapt—its form FROZE MID-EVOLUTION.
It wasn't being erased. It wasn't being rewritten.
It was being DENIED.
It couldn't move. It couldn't adapt.
Because Jikan had already determined this outcome was over.
The Figure twitched violently.
It was trying to force another change—trying to escape.
But Jikan wasn't letting it. It couldn't evolve anymore.
For the first time—it was TRAPPED in its own body.
The evolution it had relied on, the power that made it unstoppable—was now its cage.
For the first time ever—it felt FEAR.
And Jikan knew. The golden energy in Shukan's eye flared.
Jikan was about to END IT.
The Figure twitched, body still flickering, still trying to evolve—
But Jikan had shut it down.
It couldn't move properly. It couldn't adapt. It was weak.
Vulnerable. For the first time ever—it was a target.
Shukan took a deep breath, his golden eye dimming slightly.
He could feel it. Jikan had won.
It didn't need to fight anymore. The Figure froze in place.
Then— Jikan let it go.
The moment the pressure lifted, the Figure MOVED.
It glitched backward—distorting, reforming—
It fled into the collapsing tunnels.
It was running.
But it didn't realize... it had already lost.
Chronos watched it disappear into the darkness.
His golden circuits pulsed.
Law Rewrite whispered to him again.
"It has no future."
Chronos sighed, tilting his head slightly. "...Yeah. I know."
Then, he raised his hand.
And rewrote the Figure's fate.
Deep in the tunnels—
The Figure twitched.
It had escaped. It had survived.
Or at least... it thought it had.
Then—it froze.
Something was wrong.
It tried to move—but its body wouldn't respond.
It tried to evolve—but the command never activated.
Then it realized.
Its future had already been decided.
Chronos had rewritten its fate before it even reached the exit.
It was already dead. It just hadn't caught up yet.
And then—
It ceased to exist.
No explosion. No scream.
Just nothing.
Chronos lowered his hand.
Aetheron whistled. "Damn. That was kinda cold."
Chronos exhaled. "It wasn't necessary to kill it before."
"But it was never going to survive after running away."
Shukan cracked his neck, smirking. "So... we good?"
Jikan pulsed softly in his eye—
Calm again.
Chronos nodded. "Yeah."
The Figure was gone.
For good.
The dust settled.
The Figure was gone.
Jikan's presence had dimmed, its golden energy pulsing faintly in Shukan's eye. It was satisfied.
Shukan took a deep breath— And then the fatigue hit him like a landslide. His legs collapsed beneath him.