Chapter 70: When Everything Comes at Once
Kael didn't move.
Not immediately.
Because what Still said—
Changed everything.
"…All of them?" Lira repeated.
"…Yeah."
Still didn't look concerned.
Didn't look anything.
Just—
Certain.
"…That's not good," Lira muttered.
"…No."
Kael exhaled slowly.
"…That means we're out of time."
Echo's voice flickered.
"…Kael… we need to leave—now…"
"…Yeah."
He reached out—
Toward a fragment.
But before he could touch it—
The world reacted.
Hard.
Not like before.
Not unstable.
Not breaking.
Forced.
The sky above—
Split open.
Not into layers.
Into paths.
Multiple.
Simultaneously.
"…Oh no," Lira whispered.
"…Yeah."
Kael's eyes sharpened.
"…They're not waiting anymore."
Because now—
They weren't coming one at a time.
They were all—
Arriving.
The first to appear—
Was the system.
Not its voice.
Not its influence.
A presence.
Massive.
Structured.
Perfect.
Descending into the world like it owned it.
"…containment initiated…"
The ground beneath them lit up—
Complex patterns forming instantly.
"…That's new," Lira said.
"…Yeah."
Kael didn't move.
Because if he did—
It would lock him in place.
The second—
Came from above.
The entity.
Not distant.
Not observing.
Here.
Present.
Its form—
More stable than ever.
More defined.
More real.
"…convergence increasing…"
Its voice overlapped the system's.
Not conflicting.
Not aligning.
Existing.
At the same time.
"…This is bad," Lira said.
"…Wait."
Kael's voice dropped slightly.
"…There's more."
Because there was.
The air—
Cut.
Clean.
Sharp.
And they stepped through.
The hunters.
All three.
This time—
Not observing.
Not evaluating.
Acting.
"…target confirmed."
"…removal authorized."
"…no delay."
Lira clenched her fists.
"…Of course they're here too."
Kael didn't respond.
Because something else—
Was still missing.
And then—
It appeared.
Right behind them.
The man.
Calm.
Unbothered.
Like none of this mattered.
"…This is getting interesting," he said.
Silence.
Everything—
Stopped.
Not frozen.
Paused.
Because all of them—
Recognized him.
The system—
Hesitated.
The entity—
Paused.
Even the hunters—
Didn't move.
"…You weren't supposed to act yet," the man said casually.
No one responded.
That alone—
Was terrifying.
"…Kael…" Echo whispered.
"…they're all here…"
"…I know."
And for the first time—
Kael felt it.
Not fear.
But—
Scale.
Because this—
Was everything.
All sides.
All forces.
All outcomes—
In one place.
"…You caused this," the system said.
"…Yes."
The entity replied.
"…He enabled it."
"…irrelevant," the hunters said.
"…remove all variables."
The tension snapped.
Not gradually.
Instantly.
The world—
Collapsed.
Not destroyed.
Overloaded.
Every force—
Acting at once.
The system—
Trying to enforce.
The entity—
Trying to adapt.
The hunters—
Trying to erase.
The man—
Watching.
And Kael—
In the middle of all of it.
"…Kael!" Lira shouted.
"…Do something!"
Kael didn't move.
Didn't react.
Because for the first time—
There was too much.
Too many forces.
Too many outcomes.
Too many—
Conflicts.
"…Kael…" Echo whispered.
"…you can't stop all of this…"
"…No."
A pause.
"…But I don't have to."
Lira blinked.
"…What?"
Kael stepped forward.
Into the center.
Into the collapse.
Into everything—
Breaking.
"…They're all trying to control the outcome."
A pause.
"…So we take that away."
Still tilted their head.
"…That's not going to end well."
Kael smirked faintly.
"…It never does."
He closed his eyes.
Just for a second.
And let go.
Not of himself.
Of everything else.
The system.
The entity.
The hunters.
The man.
All of it—
Ignored.
Completely.
And in that moment—
Everything—
Lost its hold.
The patterns broke.
The pressure vanished.
The collapse—
Stopped.
Not fixed.
Not resolved.
Paused.
Again.
Silence.
Every force—
Stilled.
Unable to act.
Unable to process.
Because the one thing they all relied on—
Had just been removed.
Control.
Kael opened his eyes.
"…There."
A pause.
"…Now nobody gets to decide."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unstable.
Temporary.
Because this—
Wouldn't last.
It never did.
The man smiled slightly.
"…Interesting."
The system flickered.
"…error…"
The entity shifted.
"…unresolved state…"
The hunters—
Paused.
"…inefficient…"
Kael exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah."
A faint smirk.
"…Welcome to my world."