Rehan's POV
[All the time I've spent with you, Adam…hah. It's strange. You really do have the mind of a brick, the stubbornness of carved stone, and the endless ego of someone who refuses to bow even after being shattered. You always believe you're the one who has to save everyone.The one who shields.The one who carries.The one who needs to bleeds first.
And… that isn't entirely a flaw.
It's your essence..
While examining your body, I saw it—something woven into you from the start. The essence of every world you've touched, lodged deep in your core, acclimating and stitching itself to the very root of your soul. A reservoir of power I can't fully comprehend. It shapes you, rebuilds you, reforms you… yet it still obeys the rules of whatever world you land in.It has always been there. Dormant. Waiting for the condition that could wake it.
You were chosen—whether you wanted it or not.
The System... It know's and chosen you...
In every possible future, every branch, every outcome… you are the singular point. The one so special the multiverse bends around you. So special that even Mono's hunger, his greed to tether himself to connect to the multiverse, would eventually lead him right to you.
Other entities want something like you...
They wants something they can never reach.
But you, Adam…you were destined.]
As she let out a weary sigh, her gaze settled on Adam—on the shifting concept of him. Every rule, every boundary that once defined his being seemed to loosen and unravel. Even the faint outline of his haloed form flickered, growing translucent at the edges, as though existence itself was slipping from him. His eyes shone an otherworldly white, bright enough to eclipse any trace of the person he once was.
Adam spoke, voice soft but resonant, as if echoing through layers of unseen space.
"The ethereal concept that everything must impose a cause and effect upon me… disappears."
And beneath his words, a quieter thought trembled—the one he never said aloud:
[And I still doubt that you'll fail… but I fear it. Forgive me.]
Shin's gaze bore into him, teeth bared in a twisted grin, neck tilting in an unnatural rhythm."Oh my, oh my! What are you?" he hissed, voice dripping with both awe and malice. "Such power… it's intoxicating. Come… become one with our apostle."
He ground his teeth, saliva glistening in the dim light, envy and gluttony warping his features. Pride flared through him, a wrathful fire, as he straightened, raising his head to look at Adam. The chewing of Karrin's flesh ceased—the cultists at his back froze in deference, watching.
"You'll have infinite glory!" Shin clapped his hands, spinning in a manic dance. Around him, others mirrored the movement, dark mist curling and twisting in the air. "Become the Apostle of Red! The servants of the Devourer, who will absorb and annihilate the world!"
He raised both hands high, voice trembling with manic delight."Predestined to come…"
Adam stood cloaked in a radiant aura. Every contour of his body shimmered with a light so pure it seemed to erase shadow. His eyes glowed entirely white, blank and luminous. In that brilliance, he considered the notion of significance—how small, how inconsequential the world must be to regard itself as worthy of his attention.
"You killed many people."He thought of the countless beings who had perished, of lives ended in fire, blood, and shadow. And yet… he could not restore them. He could not turn back time or mend what had been lost. Exception of replacing them...
The apostles and Shin laughed, a high, piercing sound that echoed unnervingly."Oh, those?" Shin said, fingers tapping rhythmically, "They should be grateful. They were chosen for sacrifice by my serial apostle members—the Apostle of Control, capable of bending any body to her will."
He flexed his fingers deliberately, opening and closing them like a rhythm of slaughter looking away naively. "Like cattle… do humans cry when they are eaten? No. It serves a purpose."
Adam's mind wandered calmly amid the horror. Every wound, every scar, every drop of rain striking his luminous skin, every concept of air and space—none could touch him. His body was fading, yes, dissolving, yet a strange serenity wrapped around him.
If I had the power to do everything…
He hesitated. I… don't know.
Karrin lurched upright in a sudden, manic frenzy. His jaw unhinged with a crack, teeth reshaping into razor‑edged fangs. Before any of the apostles could react, he tore into one of them—ripping flesh, bone, sinew—devouring them in wild, animal hunger. Blood sprayed across the trees as he climbed, bounding upward with clawed hands and feet, vanishing into the branches with another corpse clenched in his jaws.
Shin only sighed."Come on. Answer me. We don't have all day."
Adam's smile was faint, distant. I suppose… I just have to do what must be done.He remembered Yoku. Piercebox. People who acted even without impossible power. Even without absolutes, they still chose to do something. That memory steadied him.
With the soft flick of a finger, he whispered:
"All apostles, except Shin, in this area… disappear."
Their eyes widened—pure terror—before their bodies broke apart. Flesh unraveled into dust, screams cut short as their forms disintegrated into ash. Hands reached for faces that no longer existed. Bodies grasped for life they couldn't hold. Nothingness swallowed them whole.
Shin's pride cracked."You… you actually—!" His voice wavered, fury trembling beneath it. "You wasted a reservoir of collective power! My pawns… my kingdom!"Then his eyes glowed with a grotesque revelation. "I see it now…"
He lifted into the air in a sudden burst. Adam, with the same gentle calm, teleported Karrin far from the forest—grabbing him by the hair and dropping him into the town with annoyed indifference.
Above Shin, the sky churned. Clouds twisted into a spiraling halo while a tornado of blood rose from the earth. A blaze of red lightning tore toward Adam—yet passed through him like smoke through light.
"Concept of that power," Adam said, "disappear."
Shin fell instantly. His body slammed against the soil, limbs twisting, bones snapping and stitching themselves together with grotesque strings. His head jerked back, neck half‑broken."Ahahahahahah! You—" Blood streaked from between his teeth. "You actually want to be special too, don't you?!"
He lunged. Air detonated behind him, the force of his movement creating a sonic boom. Ghouls formed from dark magic—wretched ghosts screaming out of spell circles—yet none could touch Adam. Not even his blades could scratch the air where Adam stood.
Because Adam wasn't there.
Shin struck empty space, spiraling into convulsions—thrashing like a man in a violent seizure."This isn't real! This can't— I refuse! I am the special one! The Serial Apostle! Eternal!"
Blood streamed from his mouth, nose, and eyes as he shouted at phantoms only he saw."NO! Don't come! I can handle this! Just bring my apostles back!"
Adam moved a finger.
Shin's arms and legs were sliced clean off—soundlessly—his scream ripping the sky apart. Yet he laughed through it, delirious, as the strings inside his flesh tried to reattach themselves.
"Your current power… disappear."
All the strings snapped. His body folded unnaturally, collapsing like a burst pod of hardened skin. Shin died in a tattered heap, pride extinguished.
But the forest trembled. Ten more apostles formed—one stepping forward, trembling violently. She bit her lip hard enough to bleed."This can't be happening… Don't you dare erase my authority—my power!"
She flung her hands forward, expecting fire, lightning, strings, anything.Nothing came.
"I can't— no— I'm the chosen one!" Her scream tore through her throat as she clawed at the air, desperate to summon a miracle that would not answer.
Adam stared, confused at how she mimicked Shin's delusion almost perfectly. He shook his head, weary, and teleported directly before her. The other apostles rose into the air like puppets—then vanished altogether desintegrating. The girl choked, body twisting unnaturally, clothes torn, hair violent and disheveled as her bones resisted bending.
"I can't believe you wrapped your whole existence around this… madness ideology," he said quietly.
She grinned through pain, eyes stretched open unnaturally."I won't disappear… I can't… Providence sees me… chooses me… loves me…"
Adam exhaled."What if I destroy your soul?" The conflict trembled in his voice.
She laughed—kicking at nothing, fists striking air."That won't work… hah… it never will…" Her voice quivered between faith and fear.
Adam ended her body in an instant.
Silence fell.
He dropped to the ground, breath unsteady. His eyes dimmed, turning red. His limbs trembled with weakness. His form flickered—fading, unstable, no longer invincible. The aftermath echoed inside him.
He felt… empty.
Even killing him didn't erase what he had done.Even ending him didn't undo what he had forced onto him.
What he carved into him… would never disappear... A hollow emptiness of being powerless.
Adam's eyes snapped open. His fading vision reflected a sudden burst of blue light—an oval portal spiraling into existence with a sound like tearing glass. From within stepped a figure wrapped in a heavy blue hoodie layered with a long coat, oversized streaked pants, floating boots humming with energy. Behind them—rows of drones, robots, hovering sentinels armed with blue circuitry.
And beside that figure…
A girl with short yellow hair, streaked now with silver, blue eyes glowing softly—one natural, one a bright mechanical iris.
Adam's breath caught.
"Yuruki?"
Her expression was exhausted—eyes sagging, shoulders slouched, face holding the weight of sleepless worlds. The robotic eye flickered; lights from her drones reflected across her headset. Yet despite everything—the fatigue, the metal, the scars—she smiled.
The kind of smile someone carries after pushing past despair and finding the one thing they never let themselves hope for.
She broke into a run and leapt straight into him, arms wrapping around him with sudden force.
"I promised," she whispered, voice trembling with relief, "I promised I'd meet you again. No matter what happened."
Adam stared down at her, horror and guilt knotting inside his chest. Her silver‑white streak shimmered against his fading white glow.
"I…" His voice wavered. "Forgive me."
Yuruki shook her head gently, her breath warm against his coat."That doesn't matter. You didn't do anything wrong."Her tired smile softened. "Even Yoku wants to see you… You wouldn't believe the distortion that rippled across the rules of the universe. The collapse. I didn't think it'd actually lead me right to you."
Her smile grew—then her eyes rolled back, and her body went limp in his arms.
"Yuruki?—hey!"
Panic surged, but when he pressed his hand to her cheek, he realized her breathing was slow and even.She wasn't hurt.
Just… asleep.
Adam held her in silence, the distant whir of drones fading as the world around him stilled.
In the quiet, with her weight resting against him, the chaos paused—if only for a moment.