Volume 3 — Chapter 14
The World's Response
The city was no longer a city.
It had become a zone of collapse.
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The grand hall—
Once a symbol of power, wealth, and control—
Was now half-erased from existence.
Not destroyed.
Not broken.
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Removed.
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Sections of reality itself were missing.
Edges of space hung unnaturally in the air, like incomplete fragments of a world that no longer fit together.
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At the center of it all—
Icarus stood.
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Void energy surged around him in violent, unstable waves.
Each pulse distorted the laws of existence.
Each movement rewrote the space around him.
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He was no longer holding back.
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He was no longer aware.
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He had become—
A phenomenon.
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[WORLD SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
[VOID AUTHORITY: STATUS — BERSERK]
[THREAT LEVEL: ABSOLUTE]
[GLOBAL PRIORITY UPDATED]
[SUPPRESSION PROTOCOL INITIATED]
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The message echoed across the entire world.
Not just the city.
Not just nearby regions.
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Every being.
Every system user.
Every living entity connected to the Creator's network—
Received it.
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Far from the city—
In a fortified zone controlled by elite hunters—
Five figures stood in silence.
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They were not ordinary.
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Their presence alone distorted the environment slightly—not through instability, but through perfect balance.
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They were—
Creator's Descendants.
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The ones designed not to destroy—
But to equalize.
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Each one stood calm as the system's message finished echoing in their minds.
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Then—
One of them stepped forward.
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Tall.
Armored in smooth, silver-white plating that reflected nothing.
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Its voice was calm.
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"Target confirmed."
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Another figure, cloaked in shifting geometric patterns, tilted their head slightly.
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"Threat level exceeds standard parameters."
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A third one spoke.
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"Correction."
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A pause.
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"Threat level undefined."
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Silence followed.
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Because that—
Was rare.
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The first one continued.
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"Objective updated."
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"Engage."
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"Stabilize."
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"Adapt."
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They moved.
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Not by running.
Not by teleporting.
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But by stepping—
And arriving.
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Reality adjusted to their presence.
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Back in the city—
The destruction continued.
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Icarus raised his hand slowly.
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The air in front of him folded.
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Then—
Collapsed.
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A massive portion of the surrounding structures vanished instantly.
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No explosion.
No debris.
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Only absence.
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Kael Virex and Lyra stood at the edge of the collapsing zone.
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They hadn't moved.
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Not because they couldn't.
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Because they understood something important.
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Running—
Wouldn't matter.
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Kael's voice was tight.
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"…If he keeps going…"
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Lyra finished the thought.
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"…The city disappears."
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Above them—
The sky shifted again.
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Not visually.
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But the pressure changed.
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Heavier.
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Controlled.
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Something was coming.
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The Nexus responded instantly.
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[Multiple high-level entities detected]
[Classification: Creator's Descendants]
[Threat Level: Extreme]
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Even in its strained state—
It recognized them.
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Icarus turned.
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Slowly.
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His unstable gaze lifted toward the sky.
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And then—
They arrived.
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Five figures descended.
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Not dramatically.
Not violently.
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Calm.
Measured.
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As if the chaos below them did not exist.
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They landed in a perfect formation.
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Equidistant.
Balanced.
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Each one facing Icarus.
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The pressure shifted.
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Not heavier.
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Equal.
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For the first time since the berserk state began—
The environment stabilized slightly.
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Not because Icarus calmed down.
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But because something matched him.
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One of the Descendants stepped forward.
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Its voice echoed evenly across the distorted space.
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"Target identified."
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"Void Authority."
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A pause.
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"Condition: unstable."
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Another spoke.
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"Engagement protocol active."
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The third one tilted its head slightly.
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"Adaptation required."
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The fourth added—
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"Balance will be enforced."
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The fifth—
Silent until now—
Finally spoke.
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"Begin."
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They moved.
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Simultaneously.
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The first strike—
Was not an attack.
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It was a correction.
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One of the Descendants stepped forward and matched Icarus's movement exactly.
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When Icarus raised his hand—
It raised its hand.
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When space began to collapse—
It stabilized it.
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The distortion—
Stopped.
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For the first time—
Icarus's power met resistance.
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Not opposition.
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Equalization.
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His head tilted slightly.
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Confused.
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Or perhaps—
Curious.
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Then—
He attacked.
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Void energy surged outward in a violent wave.
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The ground disappeared in a massive radius.
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But the five Descendants responded instantly.
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They moved in perfect synchronization.
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Each one adjusting.
Each one compensating.
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The erased space—
Reformed.
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Not perfectly.
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But enough.
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Kael stared in disbelief.
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"…They're fixing it…"
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Lyra's voice was quiet.
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"…No."
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A pause.
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"…They're keeping him contained."
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The battle began.
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Not explosive.
Not chaotic.
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Precise.
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Controlled.
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Icarus attacked again.
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Faster.
More unstable.
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But each time—
The Descendants matched him.
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Equal force.
Equal speed.
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No advantage.
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No dominance.
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The Nexus struggled to keep up.
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[Multiple entities adapting simultaneously]
[Prediction accuracy: dropping]
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Then—
Something changed.
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Icarus stopped.
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Mid-motion.
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His body froze again.
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Not from control.
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From something else.
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The Void around him surged violently.
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Far more than before.
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Far beyond previous levels.
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[Warning: Energy threshold exceeded]
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The Descendants paused.
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For the first time—
They didn't move immediately.
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Because they understood.
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This was not escalation.
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This was—
Overflow.
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Icarus slowly raised his head.
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His eyes—
Fully consumed.
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The Eyes of Nihyron burned through reality itself.
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And then—
He smiled.
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Wider than before.
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Unstable.
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Unnatural.
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Far beyond—
In the space between existence—
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Nihyron watched.
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And somewhere across from it—
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The Creator responded.
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Between them—
Nullscript formed again.
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Reversed.
Unreadable.
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Alive.
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Back in the world—
The balance was breaking.
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And the five Descendants—
Realized something for the first time.
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They were not enough.
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At the edge of the battlefield—
A new presence appeared.
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Calm.
Familiar.
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Seraphine.
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Behind her—
Seven figures stood in silence.
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The Void Warriors.
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She looked at Icarus.
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Her expression unreadable.
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"…So it's finally happening."
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The world held its breath.
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Because no one knew—
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Why she was there.
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Or whose side she was on.
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And far above—
The system issued one final update.
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[Outcome: Uncertain]
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The war for control—
Had just begun.