Time... frozen.
Sound... dead.
The world... petrified.
But—
They were not alone.
He stood before him.
Moving.
Breathing.
Smiling.
Inside a time... where no one moves.
"Welcome... to the real hell."
The words echoed in his head.
For the first time...
He took a step back.
> "How...?"
>
The man did not answer.
Instead—
He raised his hand.
And struck him.
In frozen time.
His body slammed into the ground with force.
The pain... was real.
[WARNING!]
[Temporal Control Field Breached]
"Damn it..."
He rose quickly.
[ACTIVATED: TIME ERASE]
The attack vanished.
He returned to a moment before.
He evaded it.
But—
The man...
Turned toward him once more.
"I told you..."
"I see everything."
He froze.
"Even... what has been erased."
Silence.
Then—
He smiled.
A cold smile.
> "Then..."
>
"I will not erase."
For a moment...
The atmosphere shifted.
The fight was no longer a mere "erasure."
It was...
Something else.
He lunged.
But this time...
He did not use the ability.
A direct strike.
The man blocked it.
But—
He was surprised.
"Oh..."
"You've started to think."
A strike.
Another.
A third.
Physical combat.
Raw.
Without deception.
But—
The difference was clear.
The man was stronger.
Faster.
More experienced.
A powerful blow—
Sent him to the ground.
Blood.
His breathing was heavy.
[WARNING: PHYSICAL CONDITION LOW]
The man laughed.
"Is this all?"
"The Great Glitch?"
Silence.
Then—
He said it calmly.
> "No."
>
He slowly raised his hand.
But this time...
He did not point it at the man.
Instead...
Toward himself.
The man froze.
"...What are you doing?"
He whispered:
> "I am erasing... my weakness."
>
[CRITICAL WARNING!!]
[Self-Targeting Unstable]
"It doesn't matter."
Time...
Shattered.
Not a pause.
But—
A fracture.
Memories...
Pain...
Fear...
Hesitation...
All appeared around him.
Then—
They began to vanish.
A scream—
But it did not come out.
[ERASURE IN PROGRESS...]
The man rushed toward him.
"Stop!!"
But—
He was too late.
[EXECUTION COMPLETE]
Stillness.
Time returned.
He stood there.
But—
He was not as he was.
His eyes...
Vaster in their emptiness.
But—
Colder.
Quieter.
More dangerous.
[NEW EVOLUTION UNLOCKED]
[Partial Self-Erasure – ACTIVE]
He looked at the man.
Slowly.
"Now..."
He vanished.
He appeared directly in front of him.
Speed—
Unnatural.
A strike.
The man could not fully evade it.
He retreated.
For the first time—
He smiled... but with gravity.
"Heh..."
"So that's it."
> "You've become... even more hollow."
>
He did not respond.
He vanished again.
Appeared.
Vanished.
Appeared.
But this time—
The attacks were not erased...
Instead—
They became real.
[ABILITY INTEGRATED WITH COMBAT]
A strike—
Connected.
Blood—
Spattered.
The man pulled back.
"Interesting..."
But suddenly—
He stopped.
He looked at him.
Deeply.
"But..."
He smiled.
"You don't realize..."
He raised his hand.
The red thread...
Exploded.
[DANGER!!]
"What you erased..."
Silence.
Then he whispered:
> "...Was not just your weakness."
>
He froze.
"...What?"
The man approached.
Slowly.
"You erased... the thing that kept you human."
Silence.
No response.
But—
Inside him...
Something...
Was no longer there.
Something...
That was important.
But he...
Cannot remember it.
[WARNING:]
[HUMANITY LOSS INCREASING]
He smiled.
A tranquil smile...
But this time—
Terrifying.
> "It doesn't matter."
>
He raised his hand again.
"As long as..."
"I erase you."
And in that moment—
The fight was no longer...
Between two humans.
Rather
> Between a void... and something that refuses to be erased.
>