Reality didn't return. It snapped violently back into place, as if it had never left.
The next second, Zekai was back.
[ TRANSITION COMPLETE ]
Location: Valenreach — Greyhaven Intersection
Layer Status: Reintegrated
Displacement: Resolved
Residual Distortion: Present
---
The city intersection looked normal.
Too normal. Like something had been removed… and the world kept going anyway.
[ PERCEPTION WARNING ]
Reality Sync: 87%
Temporal Offset: Minor
Cause: Post-Distortion Recoil
---
People were everywhere. Around him, the crowd began reacting.
Their voices blurred together—too many at once, none of them making sense.
"Who is that?"
"He just appeared out of nowhere!"
"Was he floating?"
Zekai's feet touched the ground as if he had fallen from somewhere that no longer existed.
Aron's body was still in his arms.
The world had returned, but something felt off.
[ SUBJECT STATUS — ARON ]
Vital Signs: None
Soul Signature: Absent
Status: Deceased
---
Aron's weight hadn't changed. But it no longer felt like he was carrying a person. Like something essential was missing.
No one stepped closer. Not because they were told to—because something in them refused to.
"That body—"
"Is that… blood…?"
"Who is he carrying?"
But Zekai kept walking forward slowly.
His face had no expression.
He wasn't empty. He just had nothing left to show.
[ SUBJECT STATUS — ZEKAI KRYSTAN ]
Physical Condition: Stable
Internal Damage: High
Mental State: Suppressed Collapse
Primary Emotion: Grief
Secondary: Null Response
Voices overlapped. None of them mattered.
Phones were already raised, recording everything.
But Zekai didn't react. He just stood there.
"Move."
No… No…
Zekai didn't walk. He moved.
Or maybe he didn't. The distance simply… wasn't there anymore.
One moment he stood in front of them—
the next, he wasn't.
From where they stood, he simply appeared ten feet ahead—vanishing from sight and reappearing instantly.
He chose where he already was.
The crowd reacted a second too late.
"He was just here—where did he go?"
"Look—he's behind us!"
"How did he move there…?"
"…Is he even human?"
They weren't looking at him. Their eyes weren't really on him.
They were seeing something they couldn't understand.
Black-coated agents moved through the crowd with precision—fast, controlled.
Not panic. Not confusion.
Containment.
"Clear the area. Now."
No shouting. No hesitation.
Civilians were pushed back—not violently, but with no room to argue.
Then the weapons came up. Not aimed wildly.
Locked. Measured.
They surrounded Zekai, but no one stepped closer.
[ EXTERNAL RESPONSE DETECTED ]
Organization: BSA
Units: Armed
Intent: Containment / Neutralization
Threat Level: Moderate → Rising
---
They shouted at the civilians.
"Everyone, clear the area immediately."
"This area is now restricted."
At the same time, the agents raised their guns and aimed directly at him.
"Don't move."
"Identify yourself. Now."
[ INSTINCTIVE REJECTION ]
Hostility Response: Delayed
Cause: Unknown Pressure Field
Effect: Engagement Hesitation
---
Their formation tightened—but their feet didn't move.
Even the air around Zekai felt… avoided. Even with guns—they hesitated.
One of them adjusted his grip. Just slightly.
Like something about Zekai didn't match what he was trained for.
"Hey… hey… he feels like bad news…"
"Something's wrong with him…"
"...Why does it feel like he's the dangerous one here?"
Weapons stayed trained on him—but no one wanted to fire first.
Weapons clicked. Safety off.
"Stop right there!"
"Who are you?"
He didn't answer.
"Who's that in your arms?"
"Which world do you belong to?"
He didn't respond.
'Think whatever you want about me… Right now, I can't feel anything.'
"I don't have anything to say."
Zekai didn't even look at them.
The civilians couldn't understand what they were saying.
"Another world?"
"He looks human… then why are they saying that?"
"Hey, didn't you see? He just appeared out of nowhere from the sky."
None of them were asking the same question.
But all of them wanted the same answer.
Earlier, Zekai and Aron had disappeared.
Along with them, forty-three civilians and BSA agents had vanished without trace.
Now—only Zekai had returned. Carrying Aron's lifeless body.
Hearing that, the agents lost their patience and stepped forward.
"Don't you understand what we're saying?"
"Leave. Now."
One man from the crowd spoke up.
"Why should we leave? Who are you to tell us that?"
Immediately, the agents raised their guns and aimed at the civilians.
"We are government agents. This is your last warning."
"Obey… or face consequences."
Hearing that, the civilians had no choice but to leave.
"Damn… we're missing a good scene," someone muttered while backing away.
Before anyone could process it—something fell from the sky. A strange sound echoed from above.
A sound—wrong. Too heavy.
A body hit the ground. Not whole.
Everyone froze in place.
[ MASS EVENT DETECTED ]
Object Classification: Human Remains
Source: Distortion Layer Residual
Return Process: Incomplete
---
Then another.
Then more.
Pieces of people. Arms. Legs. Heads. Broken torsos.
They weren't falling.
They were returning.
The sky didn't open. It rejected them.
They fell one after another onto the road. The remains of the missing forty-three people.
They didn't fall all at once.
More followed. Then more. Like the sky hadn't finished returning them yet.
[ CASUALTY UPDATE ]
Missing Subjects: 43
Recovery Status: Partial
Survival Probability: <1%
---
Those weren't bodies falling. They were being rejected.
Not all of them came back the same way.
Screams filled the air instantly.
"AHHHHHHH—!"
"What is happening?!"
People panicked.
"No—no—what is this?!"
"Why are human bodies falling from the sky…?!"
One of the bodies hit the ground— right in front of someone filming.
The phone slipped from their hand.
No one picked it up. People backed away in horror.
One of the agents, who seemed like the unit leader, reacted immediately.
"Oh no… this is bad."
He shouted to his team.
"Move! Clear everyone out—now!"
He pressed a button on the watch strapped to his wrist and sent a voice signal.
"Unit 5, command repeat—situation is out of control. Initiate emergency protocol immediately."
A reply came within seconds.
"Command acknowledged. Code X activated. Initiate the process."
After receiving the order, he quickly scanned the surroundings. The civilians had already dispersed.
Another agent removed his gloves and raised his hand. A black energy formed in his palm.
In the next moment, the air distorted—then the surrounding area blurred and sealed, as a layered barrier formed around Zekai and the agents.
From the outside, no one could see what was happening inside.
Inside the barrier, the agents' tone turned harsh.
"We don't have time to talk."
"Talk. Now. Or we end you right here."
Zekai's grip tightened, just enough to hurt.
He heard them. He understood every word. It just didn't reach him.
[ STATUS RESPONSE ]
KILL THREAT DETECTED
[ DO OR DIE ]
"No!"
His vision was blurred.
'I can't see anything clearly.'
After shifting through that dimension, the overwhelming power inside him… he still didn't have control over it.
Zekai remained still. He hadn't done anything.
And yet—he was the one being cornered.
Then—a weak sound came from among the scattered bodies.
"…help…" The voice didn't belong in the silence.
It broke it.
A man was still alive.
His body was mangled. He lay on the ground, barely conscious.
One of his arms was gone.
Two severed hands lay beside him.
Neither of them were his.
Blood spread beneath him as his eyes struggled to open.
[ SUBJECT DETECTED ]
Name: Helmith
Vital Integrity: Critical
Survival Probability: 27%
Immediate Aid: Required
---
His eyes opened—just enough to prove he wasn't dead.
Yet.
The chaos hadn't ended. It had just begun.
The world hadn't recovered.
It had only just begun to understand something was terribly wrong.
✦ End of Chapter 24 - Return ✦