The air around the ruined battlefield shimmered — a ripple of unseen energy that made the sky itself bleed colors never meant for mortal eyes.
Ethan Cross stood at the edge of the crater where Aetherion had fallen. His hands trembled slightly, not from exhaustion, but from the overwhelming hum of something awakening beneath reality.
Marcus's holographic visor flickered, static bursting across its interface.
> "This isn't residual energy," he said slowly. "This is… rewriting code. Reality's code."
Lydia turned, flames still dancing faintly around her wrists. "You mean—someone's hacking existence?"
Before Marcus could answer, the ground cracked open. Light poured upward like liquid glass, revealing another version of the world beneath — identical cities, identical stars, but… wrong. Skyscrapers twisted into spirals, and shadows walked against their owners.
From within that glowing abyss, they emerged.
Five figures — exact reflections of Ethan's team, yet colder, darker, tainted by cosmic entropy.
Their leader, a black-clad duplicate of Ethan, stepped forward, his eyes glowing an unnatural white.
> "You call yourselves protectors," the dark Ethan said. "But every time you fight, you fracture another strand of reality.
We are the consequence."
Kai's aura flared with unstable lightning. "What are you talking about, imposters?"
> "Not imposters," the dark Lydia said, her fire black as void. "We are the versions of you who failed… and kept fighting anyway."
The real Selene drew her twin daggers, stepping between the two teams.
> "If you're here," she said, "then something far worse must've sent you."
The ground shook. The sky tore.
Above them, countless portals opened like shattered mirrors, each revealing versions of Earth locked in endless war. Infinite armies of "heroes" and "villains" clashed — echoes of the same story, played differently across the multiverse.
Ethan looked up, realization dawning.
> "It's starting… the Multiversal Collapse."
Marcus's voice was barely a whisper. "If these tears keep spreading, there won't be a single timeline left."
The dark Ethan smiled faintly.
> "Then maybe it's time one world finally wins."
With that, the mirrors exploded. The two teams lunged at each other — light against darkness, fire against void, storm against storm. The impact sent waves through dimensions, shaking even the Watchtowers of the Celestials.
In that instant, every being beyond Earth — gods, machines, and cosmic watchers — turned their gaze toward one tiny planet.
The War of Realities had begun.
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