One month later.
Life had settled into something almost ordinary.
The House of Choice had become a symbol of the new era. Former enemies worked side by side, recording history instead of rewriting it. The city laughed more than it feared.
For Zayden, peace was... strange.
He still woke before sunrise.
Still scanned rooftops without thinking.
Still expected another crisis.
None came.
Until one rainy evening.
A sharp pulse spread through his pocket.
The silver compass.
He stopped walking.
It had never moved before.
Now, its needle slowly turned.
Not north.
Not south.
Toward the sky.
Zayden's expression darkened.
"So... today's the day."
---
Across the city, Aria was arranging old records in the House of Choice when every light flickered.
Not violently.
Just once.
She looked out the window.
The stars were appearing much earlier than they should have.
One star shone brighter than all the others.
Then it vanished.
Her heartbeat quickened.
"The compass..."
She whispered the words before she even knew why.
---
Zayden reached the rooftop of his apartment.
The compass floated from his hand.
Its silver glow illuminated the rain.
A familiar voice echoed behind him.
"I was hoping you wouldn't need that so soon."
The Keeper stepped out of thin air, looking exactly as before.
Simple black clothes.
Tired eyes.
A faint smile.
"You."
The Keeper nodded.
"Me."
"I thought you said the next journey could wait."
"I did."
A pause.
"It changed its mind."
Zayden sighed.
"Who's 'it'?"
The Keeper looked upward.
"The Layers."
Silence.
The compass projected a map of countless stars.
One of them...
Went dark.
Not faded.
Extinguished.
Zayden frowned.
"What happened?"
The Keeper's smile disappeared.
"A world died."
The words landed like stone.
"A whole world?"
"Yes."
"What destroyed it?"
The Keeper looked directly into his eyes.
"It wasn't destroyed."
A pause.
"It was erased."
Rain continued falling.
Neither of them moved.
The Keeper spoke again.
"Someone has begun breaking the Layers."
"And if they continue?"
The map changed.
One light disappeared.
Then another.
Then another.
"They won't stop at one world."
---
Aria arrived just as the map vanished.
She looked from Zayden to the Keeper.
"You came back."
"I wish it were under better circumstances."
She noticed the concern in his voice.
That alone was enough to make her uneasy.
"What happened?"
The Keeper answered quietly.
"The peace you created..."
A pause.
"It attracted attention."
From somewhere beyond the endless Layers...
Something had finally noticed a world that had escaped the cycle.
And it was coming.
The compass emitted one final pulse.
Then a name appeared in silver light.
THE NULL KING
The Keeper's expression became grave.
"I hoped you would never have to hear that name."
Lightning split the sky.
And far beyond the stars...
Something opened its eyes.
---