Inside the Time Barrier — The Death of Persephone
Silence.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
Persephone stood frozen.
Not because she couldn't move.
But because…
For the first time—
She understood.
Her wings trembled slightly.
The black feathers that once flowed like liquid void now stuttered… breaking apart at the edges like corrupted code unraveling.
Her breathing slowed.
Then staggered.
"…No…" she whispered.
Her voice cracked—not in fear…
But in disbelief.
Her body tried to regenerate again.
Forced it.
Pushed everything—every ounce of that artificial circuit—into recovery.
Nothing happened.
Kaelen stood in front of her, Axiomfall still embedded through her shoulder.
Unmoving.
Unshaken.
"You felt it, didn't you?" he said quietly.
"That moment… where your body should've healed."
Axiomfall pulsed.
Blue.
Then deeper.
That ancient dragonic hue surfacing again.
"I removed it."
Persephone's eyes widened.
"You… can't—"
Kaelen twisted the blade slightly.
Not violently.
Not brutally.
Precisely.
"You built power you didn't understand."
He stepped forward.
Closing the distance completely.
"And now…"
His voice dropped.
Cold.
Absolute.
"You're dying because of it."
Persephone screamed—
Not from pain.
But from collapse.
Her wings shattered into fragments of black energy.
Her skin cracked—red and black fracturing like broken glass.
The cocooned power that once defined her began to unravel violently.
"No—NO—!"
She lunged.
One last desperate attack.
Claws aimed straight for Kaelen's throat—
He didn't dodge.
He moved forward.
Axiomfall slid upward—
Clean.
Silent.
And—
Cut.
Time didn't just split.
It ended.
Her body froze mid-motion.
Half a step from killing him.
Then—
It separated.
A clean, flawless divide.
No explosion.
No dramatic burst.
Just…
Silence.
Persephone's body collapsed into fragments of fading energy.
Her artificial circuit destabilized completely—
And dissolved.
Gone.
Kaelen stood there.
Still.
Unmoved.
"…Rest," he said quietly.
Not out of mercy.
But finality.
Outside the Barrier —
The moment Persephone died—
Something shifted.
Loki stopped smiling.
Not because he was worried.
But because—
He no longer needed to pretend.
"…So she lost," he muttered.
Almost bored.
The five versions of him stood still.
Then—
They all turned their heads at the same time.
Toward Kaelen.
Then—
They collapsed inward.
Not disappearing.
Not fading.
Merging.
Into one.
The staff in his hand pulsed—
The blue crystal cracked slightly—
And something deeper leaked out.
Not illusion.
Not deception.
Distortion.
Reality around him bent.
Not visually.
Not dramatically.
Subtly.
Wrongly.
Gene's eyes widened slightly.
"…Oh."
Jess frowned.
"…That's not illusion."
Kimotsu tightened his grip on his blade.
"…It's rewriting perception at the source."
Loki chuckled.
"Close."
He lifted the staff.
"I don't create illusions."
A step forward.
"I create possibilities…"
The ground beneath him warped.
Split into overlapping layers.
"…and force you to exist in the wrong one."
Denma tried to step forward—
His body lagged behind his intention.
Faith attempted to heal—
The energy dispersed before reaching its target.
Gene snapped his fingers—
But his dream-layer failed to anchor.
Everything felt…
Out of sync.
Loki smiled wider.
"You're not fighting clones."
He pointed the staff.
"You're fighting versions of me that could have been real."
Denma charged anyway.
Pure instinct.
Pure power.
His punch landed—
But phased halfway through.
And then—
A second Loki—
One that hadn't been there—
Appeared—
And drove a fist into Denma's ribs.
CRACK.
Denma flew back.
Jess tried to intervene—
But her movement desynced.
She arrived a second too late.
Kimotsu struck—
Clean.
Precise.
But the target shifted—
Just enough—
And Loki countered.
Faith pushed healing to its limit—
But the battlefield itself rejected consistency.
Gene tried again—
But even his domain fractured.
One by one—
They fell back.
Breathing heavier.
Energy draining.
Circuits fluctuating.
"…Tch…" Denma wiped blood from his mouth.
Faith staggered slightly.
"…This is bad…"
Jess clenched her jaw.
"…We can't stabilize anything…"
Kimotsu exhaled slowly.
"…He's not overpowering us…"
Gene finished the thought lazily.
"…He's making reality betray us."
Kaelven Stands Alone
Loki stepped forward.
Untouched.
Unbothered.
"Well then…"
He tilted his head.
"Was that your best?"
Kaelven cracked his neck.
Grinning.
"…Nah."
He stepped forward—
The only one still steady.
"Now it's my turn."
He vanished—
Appeared in front of Loki—
Clash.
Fast.
Sharp.
But—
Loki adapted.
Shifted.
Countered.
And—
BOOM.
His staff slammed into Kaelven's side.
Kaelven was sent flying—
Straight into the wall of the Hero's Association.
The structure cracked.
Collapsed inward slightly.
Dust filled the air.
Silence followed.
Footsteps.
Calm.
Measured.
Kaelen walked forward.
Hands in his pockets.
He looked at Kaelven—
Lying in the rubble.
"…Finished already?" Kaelven muttered, coughing slightly.
Kaelen shrugged faintly.
"Yeah."
A glance at Loki.
Then back.
"But I see you having some problems."
A small pause.
"You want my help?"
Kealven pushed himself up slowly.
Wiping blood from his mouth.
"…I was just distracted."
He rolled his shoulders.
"I mean…"
A grin spread across his face.
"His hits tickle compared to John."
A short laugh.
"Well… he is in a different category after all."
Kaelven reached for his sword.
Darkside.
The blade slid free.
Dark.
Heavy.
Hungry.
On his right palm—
A number appeared.
100,000.
Loki's eyes narrowed slightly.
Kaelven exhaled.
"…Release."
The number flickered—
Glitched—
And then—
1,000,000,000.
The air cracked.
The ground trembled.
And Kaelven smiled.
"Now…"
He pointed Darkside at Loki.
"Let's run it properly."