The Planet of Stillness was not shaking.
There was no earthquake, no explosion, not a single warning sign.
And yet…
everything knew.
The air grew heavy.
The light bent at the wrong angle.
And the night… was no longer night, but anticipation.
Kim stood at the edge of the plateau, staring at the sky with indifference.
Nir felt suffocated,
and Biath was gripping his weapon without knowing why.
Then—
everything stopped.
Not time.
Not movement.
But probability.
As if the universe itself said:
"From here… I don't know what will happen."
A thin crack appeared in the sky,
not like a gate,
but like a wound that wasn't opened… only revealed.
From within it,
a being descended,
one that did not touch the ground.
Its throne was made of condensed emptiness,
and its body was not a body,
but an idea of permanence.
When it spoke,
not everyone heard it,
but everyone understood.
"So this is the forgotten planet?"
Its gaze fixed directly on Kim.
"And this… is the mistake."
Nir stepped back.
Biath felt his heart stop.
As for Kim…
he smiled.
A cold smile.
Not defiance.
But boredom.
He said in a lethally calm voice:
"If you came to ask…
you're late."
The ruler fell silent for a moment.
"I am Azrael.
Ruler of Stillness.
And this world—"
Kim cut him off:
"Is not yours."
A heavy void spread.
For the first time in thousands of years,
a ruler felt
that his words
had not been accounted for.
Azrael moved closer,
and the sky behind him began to lose its depth.
"You do not understand.
We are seven.
Seven thrones.
Seven worlds."
"And all of them…
have begun to look at you."
Kim raised his left eye.
The clock hands spun… then stopped.
"Good,"
he said simply.
"Let them all come, if they crave death."
Then he added, in a voice that made stillness itself crack:
"But let them know one thing…"
He stepped forward.
"I am not chosen as an ally.
Nor summoned as a weapon."
"And whoever reaches a hand toward me…
I will sever the throne he sits upon."
Somewhere far away…
six other thrones stirred.
And in Kim's heart,
chaos did not scream.
It laughed.