LXIV

I did it. My plan worked.

As the beam of light from the World Path engulfed us, I executed my gamble. I used Soul Link on the path itself, allowing me to hack into its flow. It wasn’t something I had ever tried before—hell, I wasn’t even sure it was possible—but desperation fuels creativity. The moment I connected to the path, I mentally traced the Lovers Tarot Card, the one I had given to Leora weeks ago, and used it as a port for the teleportation.

When we landed, my knees buckled under the strain. The World Path’s aura pool had shared a fraction of its power with me, and while exhilarating, it left me disoriented.

Ranas didn’t waste a second. He lowered his short sword, his gaze sharp and calculating, but kept his main sword trained on me. His aura was oppressive, like a predator ready to pounce.

I managed to conjure three butterflies, their ethereal forms glowing faintly as they fluttered around me. They moved in spirals, leaving behind faint trails of aura threads that shimmered like starlight. I could still feel my tenuous connection to the World Path—a thread of power coursing through me. But it wasn’t infinite, and I no longer had the doll fragments that once served as my armor.

A sharp cry snapped me out of my thoughts. I glanced at Leon, our baby boy, who was in Leora’s arms. He was rattled, his little face scrunched up in fear as he wailed.

Leora shushed him gently, her voice soft and soothing despite the blood trickling down her temple. “It’s okay, Leon,” she murmured, rocking him slightly. “Everything will be fine. Daddy’s here.”

Her words made something in me tighten. Daddy’s here. I had to make sure those words held true.

To my left, Selena was rummaging through her utility belt. She pulled out a mini-shotgun, its compact form glinting in the faint light. With a flick of her power, she unshrunk it into a full-sized weapon. She glanced at Leora.

“Where’s your weapon?” Selena asked.

“Destroyed,” Leora replied curtly, her eyes never leaving Ranas.

Selena muttered a curse under her breath before pulling out a mini-longsword. She unshrunk it and tossed it to Leora.

Leora caught it in one hand, inspecting it briefly. “I’m not used to a longsword,” she admitted, gripping it with visible hesitation. “But it’s better than nothing.”

With Leon in her other arm, she pointed the edge of the longsword at Ranas. Her stance was unsteady, but her resolve was ironclad.

I focused my aura, spreading thin threads from my fingers to the butterflies. Five now. The ethereal creatures danced in the air, their glow intensifying as the threads connected them.

Ranas chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that carried no warmth. “This is what you’ve got?” he said, his tone mocking. “A rattled boy, a woman holding a baby, and… butterflies?”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I adjusted my stance, pulling the threads taut. The butterflies moved in synchronized patterns, weaving a lattice of shimmering light in the air.

Selena cocked her shotgun, the sound echoing ominously. “You’re gonna regret underestimating us, old man.”

Ranas’s smirk faded, replaced by a look of mild irritation. “You’re wasting your breath. I’ve already told you: no one is faster or stronger than me.”

“Maybe,” I said, finally speaking up, my voice steady despite the storm of emotions raging inside me. “But even the strongest aren’t invincible. For example, even you have no resistance against the flow of time.”

Ranas tilted his head, his expression unreadable. Then, with a burst of aura, he charged.

This world was such a riot, huh? A fucking power fantasy where people like Ranas existed—monsters wrapped in flesh and bone.

I couldn’t even perceive his movements. One moment he was in front of me, the next, his sword was already swinging. If it weren’t for Selena yanking me by the collar of my suit, my head would’ve been rolling on the sand.

“Focus, Reynard!” Selena snapped, her voice sharp.

She leveled her shotgun and fired an aura-infused round at point-blank range. The blast was deafening, the force enough to crack the air itself.

Ranas caught the bullet between his teeth.

Yes, his fucking teeth.

He bit down, crushing the bullet into shards of aura and metal, spitting them out with a casual disdain.

“Pathetic,” he said, his voice dripping with mockery.

He followed up with his short sword, a blur of steel aimed directly at my chest. My butterflies detonated in response, bursts of energy rippling through the air.

Ranas didn’t flinch. He persevered, slicing through the explosions with unrelenting precision. His intent was clear—he was going to decimate me.

“Move!” Leora’s voice cut through the chaos.

She shoved me aside, forcing Leon into my arms. Her movements were fluid, a practiced grace honed over years of survival and combat.

Leora parried Ranas’s sword with the longsword Selena had given her, then vanished in a flicker of light.

“Lightspeed.”

She reappeared behind him, her blade already swinging.

Selena wasn’t idle either. She flicked three grenades from her utility belt, unshrinking them mid-air before tossing them toward Ranas with pinpoint precision.

I twisted my aura threads, weaving them into a makeshift net to entrap and bind him.

Leon clung to me, his small arms trembling as he hugged my chest. His fear was palpable, a reminder of what was truly at stake.

Leora, ever the warrior, took the lead. She called out the name of her most powerful technique:

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“Lightbringer.”

Her longsword erupted in a burst of radiant gold, white, and blue. The aura around it shimmered with such intensity that it felt like staring into the sun.

Ranas exhaled deeply. Just his breath was enough to sever my aura threads, shredding them like fragile silk.

Then, impossibly, Ranas slashed down on Leora’s sword. His main blade cleaved through it from tip to hilt.

Leora let go of the sword just before the force of his swing could bisect her. She rolled away, narrowly avoiding death, but her weapon was gone.

Ranas turned his attention to the grenades Selena had thrown. With a flick of his short sword, he deflected them at an angle that sent them hurtling back toward me, Selena, and Leora.

I didn’t see how Leora managed, but I reacted instinctively. Using my aura threads, I slung myself around Selena, using her as an anchor point to dodge the incoming explosion.

I landed behind her, just in time to see her catch one of the grenades mid-air. With a flick of her wrist, she hurled it back at Ranas.

The grenade detonated in a flash of light and sound, but Ranas emerged unscathed, his aura shielding him from the blast.

He grinned, his eyes filled with a maddening confidence.

I finally got a good look at Leora. She was breathing heavily, her expression nervous but resolute. Blood streaked her face, but she was still standing. Still fighting.

I handed Leon to Selena, who cradled him protectively.

“Take care of him,” I said, my voice low.

Selena’s eyes widened. “Reynard, what are you—”

I stepped forward, walking past her, past Leora, until I was standing alone in front of Ranas.

What the hell was I doing?

I wasn’t a fighter. Not really. I hadn’t even awakened my aura for long, and I was barely scraping by with borrowed techniques and stolen time. I was just a mundane—an ordinary man trying to survive in a world that didn’t want me.

But here I was, standing in front of a monster like Ranas, pretending I had a plan.

Maybe I was stupid. Maybe I was insane.

Did I think I was a big shot because I had a few bodies in my closet? Because I had a title among the lowlifes? King of Favors? The Author? Those names meant nothing to a being like him.

A telepathic whisper tugged at my mind. It was Atropos, her voice clear through the link to the Hermit card.

“One minute and ten seconds. That’s how long until the World Path can fire again.”

One minute and ten seconds. I had to stall.

I sighed, my eyes fixed on Ranas. My personal abilities weren’t enough to kill him—not even close. But maybe, just maybe, I could distract him long enough.

I asked him a question, my voice calm despite the chaos.

“Do you know this world didn’t use to be flat?”

Ranas eased slightly, his swords lowering by a fraction. Curiosity, perhaps? Or just indulgence?

“This world,” I continued, “this post-apocalyptic hellhole, wasn’t always like this. Once upon a time, it was round. There were countries, nations, civilizations. There were no cryptids, no rifts. Just humans, living their mundane little lives.”

Ranas tilted his head, his gaze sharp. “And your point?”

I smirked. “Then one day, the world broke. It didn’t shatter from outside—it ripped itself apart from within. The first rift opened, what the ancient people called the End of the World. That’s how it all began.”

His expression hardened. “While your knowledge of classified history is admirable, it means nothing to me. Get to the point.”

“Alright,” I said, leaning forward, my tone turning sharp. “In this broken world, you’re strong. No one can deny that. But if this were the Old World? You’d be nothing. A nobody. You wouldn’t last a day.”

Ranas scoffed, amused. “Of course I would survive. I am strength incarnate.”

I shook my head, a malicious grin spreading across my face. “You wouldn’t. Nukes, Ranas. The Old World had nukes. You’d be ashes before you even knew what hit you. Hell, even without nukes, you’d die of social death. People like you don’t thrive in a world of rules and order. You’d crumble.”

His patience snapped. “I’ve grown tired of your rambling.”

Ranas shifted into his fighting stance, his aura flaring like a wildfire. The ground beneath him cracked, the sheer pressure of his presence making it hard to breathe.

I matched his intensity with a laugh.

“Good. I’m tired of this too.”

Atropos’s voice echoed in my mind.

“The World Path is ready. Secure Leora and the others.”

I tapped into the Soul Link I’d left on the World Path. The connection surged through me like a live wire, raw and volatile.

“Ranas,” I said, my grin widening, “in this Broken World where the planet is flat, what do you think the chances are that the World Path will teleport you into empty space?”

His eyes narrowed, his stance tightening.

“Considering the safety protocols of the World Path?” I continued, “Probably zero. But exile to the furthest edge of the Forbidden Region? Oh, that’s definitely possible.”

Before he could react, I detonated one of the butterflies circling him. The explosion wasn’t meant to hurt—it was a distraction. The other two butterflies flitted around him, their threads tightening into Soul Chains.

Ranas tried to move, but the chains bound him in place.

The beam of light descended.

“What—” he started, confusion flickering across his face as the light enveloped him.

I flipped him the bird, laughing like a madman.

“Enjoy your trip, you overpowered fossil!”

The light devoured him, his figure vanishing into the ether, bound by my Soul Chains and dragged to the farthest reaches of the world.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, Leon’s soft cries broke through, grounding me back in reality.

I turned to Leora and Selena, my grin fading.

“It’s done,” I said, my voice trembling with exhaustion.

For now, we were safe. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was far from over.

The silence that followed Ranas’s disappearance was deafening. The light from the World Path had faded, leaving behind only the dull hum of wind and the faint cries of Leon in my arms. My chest heaved, my aura flickering weakly as the toll of my gamble set in.

Leora limped toward me, her steps uneven, her face pale but determined. She placed a trembling hand on Leon’s head, brushing back his hair with maternal tenderness. “You did it,” she whispered, her voice heavy with relief.

I shook my head, forcing a tired smile. “We’re not out of the woods yet. That guy... he’s not the kind of problem that disappears forever. But at least we bought time.”

Selena crouched beside us, her usual smirk replaced by a look of grim focus. She inspected Leora’s wounds with a quick glance, then rummaged through her utility belt, pulling out a vial of something that glowed faintly blue.

“Drink this,” Selena said, handing it to Leora. “It’ll stabilize your aura. You’re leaking more energy than you should.”

Leora hesitated but eventually nodded, uncorking the vial and downing its contents. The glow from the liquid seeped into her, and some of the tension left her shoulders.

As for me, I stood there, clutching Leon tightly, staring at the spot where Ranas had been. My mind was a mess of exhaustion, fear, and something else—something fragile and persistent.

Hope.

In this broken world, hope was a dangerous thing. It could be a thread that held you together or a noose that strangled you. And yet, here I was, clinging to it like a lifeline.

Leon shifted in my arms, his small hands grabbing at my shirt. He was so tiny, so fragile. And yet, when he looked up at me with tear-streaked cheeks and wide, trusting eyes, I felt something stir in my chest.

A reason.

“We can’t stay here,” Selena said, breaking the moment. She gestured to the horizon, where faint figures were beginning to appear—more cultists, no doubt. “The World Path can only take us so far. We need a plan.”

Leora straightened, her resolve returning. “We keep moving. There’s a safe house not far from here, but it’s deep in hostile territory.”

“Of course it is,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “Why would anything be easy?”

Selena shot me a grin, the edge of her usual humor returning as she handed me Leon. “What’s the matter, big shot? Don’t think you can handle it?”

I opened my mouth to retort, but Leon tugged on my collar, his tiny voice interrupting.

“B-butterfly,” he mumbled, pointing at the air.

I followed his gaze and saw one of my ethereal butterflies still fluttering around us. Its glow was faint, but it was there, weaving a slow, steady circle.

A thread of hope.

I reached out, letting the butterfly land on my finger. Its glow pulsed, a soft warmth spreading through me.

“We’ll make it,” I said, more to myself than anyone else. “One step at a time.”

Leora nodded, her eyes sharp despite the exhaustion etched into her face. “We have to. For him.”

Selena smirked, her shotgun slung over her shoulder. “And for us. Can’t let this little party end just yet.”

The three of us stood together, battered but unbroken, a fragile thread tying us to the faint promise of survival.

Hope wasn’t just a thread. It was a lifeline, and as long as we held onto it, we still had a chance.

“Let’s move,” I said, adjusting Leon in my arms.

And so, we walked into the unknown, guided by that single, unyielding thread.