The capsule slowly opened, releasing a cloud of smoke.
Zerathos stepped out.
He remained silent for several seconds, his expression distant—as though lost in deep thought.
Reuben: Zet? You okay?
For a moment, Zerathos said nothing.
Then—
Zerathos: …Yeah. Everything's fine. Don't worry.
Suddenly, his body began to levitate.
Zerathos: —I will rid this pointless world, Reuben.
Without another word, he shot upward and flew out of the chamber.
Moments later, Reuben felt the ground begin to tremble.
Alarmed, he rushed outside to see what had happened.
What greeted him was chaos.
Buildings collapsed, fires spread across the city, and destruction filled the streets—all caused by Zerathos.
Reuben stared in disbelief.
He had created a monster.
Determined to stop the catastrophe he had helped unleash, Reuben began thinking of a way to stop him.
To stop a monster, he would need to become a monster himself.
So Reuben returned to the alien structure and conducted a second, more thorough study of the machine. During his research, he discovered that its power could be distributed globally, granting abilities to people across the world.
Determined to stop Zerathos, Reuben activated the process.
When he pressed the final button, the energy from the four outer orbs surged toward the central one. A brilliant beam of light then shot straight into the sky, creating a blinding radiance—the same mysterious light that had been mentioned in earlier chapters.
Reuben collapsed onto the ground.
When he regained consciousness, he discovered that he had gained extraordinary abilities: flight, immense strength, incredible speed, and the power of erasure.
Across the world, others also awakened to newfound powers. However, none of them possessed abilities that could rival Zerathos.
Zerathos himself now wielded flight, telekinesis, and shortprecognition.
Many attempted to oppose him—but they fell, reduced to dust and scattered like ash in the wind.
By the time nine cities had already been reduced to ruins, Reuben knew it was time to confront him.
Reuben soared through the sky until he finally found Zerathos, who stood on the verge of destroying the tenth city.
Reuben: Zet, stop! You're killing people!
Zerathos: Ah, Reuben… you came at last. Join me, and we can cure this broken world together.
Reuben: What are you talking about? This isn't like you.
Zerathos looked at him calmly
.
Zerathos: It showed me the future… what mankind will do to itself. They destroy one another, tearing and shredding each other like animals. I had to stop that from happening.
Reuben: And look at what you've done. You've killed innocent people and destroyed their cities.
Zerathos: You think I mindlessly killed those people? Destroyed their cities for no reason?
He shook his head.
Zerathos: I killed only those who play a crucial role in humanity's self-destruction. I am saving humanity!
Reuben remained silent for a moment.
Zerathos: Help me save humanity. You wouldn't betray your friend… would you?
Reuben clenched his fists.
Reuben: I know you believe what you're doing is right.
He prepared himself to fight.
Reuben: But I can't let you take any more lives.
Their battle shook the world itself. Each clash between them unleashed enormous shockwaves that rippled across the land.
At one point, Reuben managed to erase half of Zerathos' body, nearly ending the battle.
But fate turned against him.
In a single moment of misfortune, Zerathos struck back—driving a fatal blow straight through Reuben's heart.
Reuben's life ended there.
________________________________________
Kael suddenly snapped back to reality.
Everything around him was unchanged. The little girl was still crying beside her father, and the man was still lying on the ground, still losing blood, and clinging desperately to what little life remained within him.
Zerathos: Now you remember. Here's a parting gift.
With a cruel motion, Zerathos hurled Kael down the stairs and onto the ground below.
When Kael looked up, his vision darkened.
Before him stood several black figures, their faces twisted into demonic shapes. They parted slowly, revealing the true horror behind them—his friends and his mother, bound and helpless.
Two of the figures seized Kael, forcing his head upward.
They made him watch.
The knives slid across their throats.
Kael: No… no, no, no, no! Leave them alone! I'm the one you want—take my life instead of theirs! Please… don't do this!
But his pleas meant nothing.
One by one, the blades cut deeper.
Kael: Nooooo…!
Kael screamed as he watched his friends die, one after another.
Then it was his Elise's turn.
The knife slowly touched her neck, and blood began to spill.
Kael could not allow it.
Breaking the rule he had sworn never to violate, he unleashed his power—erasing the attackers completely as he rushed toward his mother.
More black figures charged at him, but Kael no longer cared.
He would not stop.
He continued erasing them, one after another, until at last he reached her.
He dropped to his knees, cradling his mother in his arms.
Her breathing was faint.
Her eyes slowly met his.
Elise: You… saved… no one.
Kael's vision slowly returned to normal.
There was no one in his arms anymore.
Instead, the people around him were screaming in fear and terror, running away from him as though he were the monster.
He looked down.
On the ground lay nothing but scattered pieces of clothing.
The realization struck him all at once.
Kael: (Stares at his hands) Oh God… what have I done…?
[Ten minutes later]
Kael stood silently near a train platform.
The trauma of what had just happened weighed heavily upon him. The smile that once came so easily to his face was now gone.
In the distance, his friends appeared, waving at him as they approached.
Diego: Hey, Kael! We're here!
They quickly made their way toward him.
Michael: We rushed as fast as we could after hearing the news.
Charlie: Thought you might not make it. Glad you're okay… but good grief, who knew it was him all along.
At that moment, the next train arrived.
Kael:(Speaking with an unmotivated voice) Guess we'll have to board a yacht near the end of this sector. It should be that way.
Charlie: Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go.
The train is now about to depart.
Diego: Did he say anything to you, Kael? Kael…?
They turned around—
—but Kael was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, they found his watch and a folded piece of paper resting on the lid of a trash can.
Diego picked it up.
He unfolded the letter and began reading it aloud.
Diego: By the time you read this letter, I will already be gone. I'm sorry I had to leave, but I had no other choice. Soon, my crime will be revealed, and there will be no escaping it. I have become the monster people fear.
From now on, you're on your own. You're free to do whatever you believe is right, because I am no longer your leader.
I only hope you can forgive me.
Your friend,
Kael.
Leona: Wha—What does this mean?
At that moment, their watches buzzed with a notification from WHA.
Kael had officially been branded a traitor to the World Hero Association for mass murder.
The message included CCTV footage showing what appeared to be Kael committing the crime.
A bounty had already been issued for his capture—alive—so that he could be brought before WHA.
Diego: No… no. This can't be him. Someone must be controlling him.
Michael: But... he admits it in the letter, didn't he?
Diego: But… why?
Michael: There's something he's hiding.
Leona: Where could he have gone?
No one could answer that question.
Kael had already boarded the last train, heading back to see his mother one more time.
On the news screens inside the carriage, reporters were already talking about him—branding him a deviant and urging the public to contact the police if he was spotted anywhere.
Kael quietly pulled up his hood and slipped on a surgical mask to avoid being recognized.
The train was approaching the next station. It was a sky train, usually used for short-distance travel, so only a small number of passengers were on board.
At the station, several police officers were already waiting.
They searched the passengers carefully when the train stopped, scanning each face and even checking inside the train itself. But after several minutes, they found nothing.
Eventually, they allowed the train to depart.
What they didn't realize was that Kael had already slipped beneath the train itself.
Using his erasure ability, he removed a small portion of the floor and lowered himself underneath the carriage, clinging to the underside to avoid detection.
When the train finally passed over a wide grassy field, Kael dropped down.
As he fell, he repeatedly erased small pockets of space above him, slowing his descent until he landed safely on his feet.
Several nearby people stared at him in confusion.
Kael simply looked at them.
Kael: Bonjour.
Then he quietly walked away as quickly as possible.
Zerathos returned to his lair and settled upon his throne.
Zerathos:(thought) Seems sparing Riptide was a mistake after all. My disguise won't work anymore… so I'll have to remain in the shadows. Killing Reuben… or should I say Kael… would have been too easy. Too merciful. So instead, I chose to break him. That should buy me enough time.
He rose from his throne and made his way to a restricted chamber—one only he and a select few of the Dark Knights were permitted to enter.
Inside… stood the alien structure.
Zerathos gazed at it with quiet satisfaction.
Zerathos: After nearly being killed, I returned here and shifted the structure's location using my telekinesis.
He stepped closer.
Zerathos: It still had a trace of energy left… so I used it. And in return, it granted me longevity… and regeneration. I eventually discovered that it recharges… but only after centuries—
Time passed.
Day after day.
Week after week.
Month after month.
Year after year.
Decade after decade.
Century after century.
—And in that time… I learned how to become far more powerful. Five hundred years passed… and at last, it fully recharged. I attempted to use it again… but Reuben had already tampered with it and instead of transferring all it's power to me, it transferred half of it to me… and half of it to the world. It stripped me of flight and telekinesis… in exchange for something far greater—Absolute Causality Manipulation… and an enhanced form of precognition.
He slowly raised his hand, as if grasping something unseen.
Zerathos: I then discovered a method to accelerate its recharge… using the Black Breath… and fifteen hundred hosts.
A faint smile crept across his face.
Zerathos: With that, I will attain ultimate power— the power that surpasses all others. At present, we have secured 997 hosts…And soon… very soon… my plan will begin.
The doors opened.
Gilbert stepped in.
Gilbert: Boss.
Zerathos: What is it, my trusted advisor?
Gilbert: The primary target has withdrawn himself and has been branded a traitor by his own people. Your plan… has succeeded.
Zerathos: Good.
Gilbert: What of the others?
Zerathos let out a quiet breath.
Zerathos: Let them come. We'll give them a proper welcome… and they shall witness the birth of a new genesis.
Gilbert: I'll inform the others.
Gilbert turned and left the chamber.
Zerathos remained alone.
Zerathos:(thought) Humans… so easily deceived. To think they believed the fabricated asteroid event I created, it just proves my point. And now… nothing will stand in my way. The end... is near.