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"In the end, I was nothing but a whisper. A name soon to be forgotten…"
– Izayami Tsukihiro
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The blinding light faded.
I opened my eyes after the flash, and the room was in chaos. The table was flipped over, bookshelf had emptied, with the books all over the floor.
My gaze landed on the girl, floating mid-air. Her silvery-pink hair drifted like starlight water. The glowing orb from before swirled around her.
For a minute, it felt like time froze as I watched her in awe. Beautiful, Angelic, like an angel being sent down from heaven…
Her eyelids fluttered open, and hazy divine light gleamed within them. For the first time since I had found her, she was awake.
———
The sun rose brighter than ever, like a veil of light concealing the darkness. Sunlight spilled through the window, resting softly on her face.
She tried to take her first step but quickly lost her balance and fell — I lunged forward, managing to catch her in time.
Our eyes met. She blushed faintly, and the world seemed to slow. Every breath between us thundered louder than the silence.
"Liya…" I murmured, the words slipped from my lips like a long-forgotten memory.
"Tchh—" Haruto looked at us with an annoyed face. "Alright, that's enough romance for both of you." His tone dripped with sarcasm—jealousy hidden behind his smile.
My face turned red as I realized what I was doing. I immediately put her down, looking away embarrassed.
She chuckled softly, amused by my reaction. "It's okay…" Her angelic voice echoed through my ears.
Haruto smirked. "Bro, are you seriously trying to make a move on her?" Haruto jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow,
I punched his shoulder. "I-I didn't mean that! I was just… help–" My face burned.
Haruto pushed me off. "Yeah, yeah whatever, bro."
The girl chuckled, looking at our childish behaviour. Her hands gently stroked the floating orb beside her.
I kept explaining myself, but Haruto just grinned and ignored me—secretly enjoyed it.
———
Haruto laughed. "I think that's enough, bro." He signalled his eyes towards her. "Don't you wanna know her?"
I turned around, meeting her gaze. "I'm sorry, that was so embarrassing." I reached out my hand. "I'm Izayami Tuskihiro."
"Yurina…" she whispered, her voice fragile yet reaching us clearly. "Yurina von Dravenveil…" she reached out, accepting a handshake. The pulsing orb circled around us.
"Yurina..." I was enchanted by her voice.
Haruto slapped me at the back, causing me to flinch. "Just called me, Haruto." He bowed a little. "It's an honour to finally meet you, princess."
I glanced at him, then back at her, caught between the two. "Princess?!" Immediately, lowering my head.
Yurina shook her head. "There's no need for formalities." She gave an awkward smile.
Haruto and I raised our head. "Who are you?" I asked hesitantly.
Haruto walked over and leaned on a wall. "You rescued her from the Temple of Forgotten, yet you don't know her?" He sighed. "I'm disappointed in you, bro."
I raised my hand, muscles tensing as I pulled back for a punch. You little…! I glanced at him in frustration.
Yurina laughed nervously. "Please settle down." I glanced away from Haruto. "I am a princess of an empire in the realm of Nebenwelt."
"Nebenwelt?" I frowned in confusion. "What is that?"
———
"Don't you know?" She tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing as if the answer should have been obvious.
"Huh?" The sound slipped out before I could stop it.
"I forgot you're still new here, bro." Haruto exhaled through his nose, rubbing his temple once. "I should tell you the basic."
"Eternavexus is not a stable world. It is a gateway—an interlinked framework connecting multiple timelines, dimensions, and realities." His voice steadied as he spoke, like he'd recited this more times than he cared to remember.
I gave him a forced smile, scratching my back. I hope it won't take long.
"It is not a planet, but an ever-expanding landmass: a vast network formed from the collapse of a prior reality." He gestured faintly in the air, tracing shapes that didn't exist.
"For billions of years, Eternavexus has continued to grow, absorbing fragments of time and space, thriving not as a world—but as a system." The words hung heavy. I felt my chest tighten, trying to picture something that large.
"Eternavexus can be understood as a black hole made habitable. Civilisations exist along its outer ring—an immense, stabilized band orbiting the collapse at its center." He paused, watching my reaction, as if measuring whether I was still following.
I gave a thumbs up, hoping it looked convincing.
"At the core lies the Primordial Core, submerged within the Great Sea, where all converging realities are drawn." My stomach twisted at the idea of everything being pulled inward.
"Beneath the Core exists a sealed gateway to Nebenwelt—a parallel realm formed to contain what could not be allowed to remain in Eternavexus." His tone dropped slightly at the name.
My gaze moved from Haruto to Yurina, and I was caught between curiosity and doubt.
"Nebenwelt is not merely dangerous." Her gaze drifted away, fixed on something only she could see. "It is where the most destructive species and entities ever to exist were confined when reality itself chose survival over mercy."
"So, you're a princess from that realm? How did you end up in the temple?" The question felt clumsy the moment it left my mouth.
"I was betrayed," Her fingers curled against her palm. "By those who called themselves Apostles."
"Apostles?" I asked. The word tasted wrong.
Haruto didn't answer immediately. "They're selected individual that represents the embodiment of an Architect." He paused before turning to me. "Like you."
Yurina flinched, backing away in a fighting position. "Are you one of them?" The orb swirled beside her.
"What? No. I mean—yes, but no. I do have the authority of chaos… I just can't use it yet," I stuttered.
"We're not one of them," Haruto said after a pause. "But we do have unfinished business."
"Yes… whatever he says." I looked at her with a convincing eyes.
Haruto acted like a fool as always—reading a book that fell to the floor as if it's not a big deal.
Yurina smiled with a hint of awkwardness, letting down her guard as she sighed.
———
SKKRRRIIEEEKKK!!
A piercing cry ripped apart the silence.
KRRSSHHH!!
Glass shattered—A winged abomination made of rotten flesh and exposed bones burst through the window. Wall collapsed. For a moment everyone froze.
Something dangled at its mouth… looks like an arm. Human arm. Its sharp claws clenched a headless corpse tight. Its eyes wondered across the room in search of prey.
My instincts kicked in. I shielded Yurina while Haruto summoned his katana. The creature snarled, claws dripping with black goo. That thing launched itself at Haruto. Fast and menacing. I reached my hand towards him. "Watch out!"
Haruto sighed. "May your soul rest in peace…" With a single swing, the creature was shredded into countless pieces. It was a quick death. The floating sanctum was barely in ruins due to Haruto's relentless strikes.
"What.. is that?" I looked terrified at the abomination. "It looked like it wasn't supposed to exist."
Yurina's voice carried a heavy weight. "It's a creature created by the Apostle of Life—stitched from the dead." she continued. "Its DNA rewrote, making them an anomaly beyond recognition."
With another swing, Haruto's katana was clean of blood, as if the splatter had never happened. "We called it, Gravemaw." He looked at me dead serious. "This town is under attack."
I felt uneasy. "Attacked? by who?"
"Must be Apostles…" Yurina voice trembled, the words barely reaching anyone's ears.
A system interface popped into my vision.
[W̷̱͝A̴̖͐R̸̠͘N̶͙̓Í̶͕N̶͇͝G̷͔̓!]
[MULTIVERSAL THREAT DETECTED]
[ERROR_23]
::[Reality Integrity: Ċ̶̨̠̝̐Ö̷̡͓̲͔́͋̋͋M̸̡̤̞͊P̷̛̩͗̿͝R̸̡̤̦̍̇̽͠O̸̠͊̐͘͝M̷̻̲̍I̶̢̼̓͆͝S̸̢͚͛E̷̮̝͆̈́̑D̶̡͕̀̆̄͊]
::[Multiversal Overlap Detected]
[Eliminate all of the 'Gravemaw' 1/637]
[Survive the attack 0/1]
This is not the same warning he had received before. It made me doubt my own ability.
Shit, I have a bad feeling about this.
Haruto walked toward the cliffside, stepping through the collapsed wall left behind by the Gravemaw's rampage. Followed by me and Yurina.
———
The district was manifested with Gravemaw. Building on fires. Knights and mages fought desperately to protect the civilians.
Yurina looked at the massacre in terror—wings burst open from her back, and she launched herself into the battlefield.
"Oi! Wait a minute!" Haruto reached his hand towards her. He let out a long sigh, his eyes following her as she disappeared from the cliff. "Izayami, look for anyone who's controlling them." Then he pushed off, chasing after her.
"On it." I remained at the floating sanctum, observing from the sky and noticed someone. A man stood still in the middle of the disaster. The 'Gravemaw' weren't even paying attention to him, made me curious. "Is he the Apostle of life?" I muttered.
BOOOMMMMM!!! Lightning thundered—My gaze shifted to the eastern part of the district. Entire blocks of buildings there lay in ruins.
Isn't that the Magistrate, Haruza? But… who is that?
Haruza staggered forward, panting from the battle. Before him stood a man wreathed in flames, fire curled around his body like a crown of destruction.
My teeth clenched. Every muscle in me screamed to act. "Whoever he is…he must be the cause of all trouble."
Wings of pure wind formed, vast and ethereal, trailing energy as they flapped, then hurled me skyward.
———
📄 End of Chapter 6
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