The break should have been loud.
Prophecies collapsing. Contracts snapping. A kingdom losing the axis of its future—any sane world would have reacted violently.
But Lugnica did not.
It simply paused.
Anos Voldigoad felt the hesitation ripple outward, the system searching for a replacement event. Fate could no longer rewind, so it reached for escalation.
Killing intent flared.
Not reckless.Not emotional.
Professional.
"So," Anos said calmly, "you deploy a correction unit."
The air behind him twisted.
Elsa Granhiert stepped out of the alley, blade gleaming, smile carved with hunger.
"Well, aren't you interesting?" she purred. "I was hired to retrieve an insignia, but you seem far more fun."
Anos did not turn around.
"You were hired to preserve a script," he said. "Unfortunately, the script has been discarded."
Elsa lunged.
Her movement was flawless—optimized by experience and reinforced by fate's subtle assistance.
It meant nothing.
Time around her slowed—not stopped, simply disinterested.
Anos turned and caught her wrist.
"You kill because the world forgives you afterward," he said. "That indulgence ends now."
Elsa laughed. "You talk too much."
She tried to pull free.
Her body refused.
Anos tightened his grip—not physically, but conceptually.
Elsa's existence trembled.
"What—what did you do?" she hissed.
"I evaluated you," Anos replied. "You are not required."
The world attempted one final adjustment.
Elsa's contract flared, authority reinforcing her survival.
Anos denied it.
The contract unraveled.
Her smile cracked.
"No—wait—!"
She vanished.
Not blood.Not a corpse.
A blank space where a character should have been.
The alley fell silent.
The blonde thief stared at the emptiness, trembling.
"She… she was there," Felt whispered. "I know she was."
"Your memory persists," Anos said. "Reality does not."
The black-haired boy sank to his knees, heart pounding.
"That was supposed to be the point where I die," he muttered.
Anos glanced at him.
"Yes," he said. "You are behind schedule."
He turned and walked away.
Behind him, fate tried desperately to fill the void.
It failed.
Because the assassin who should have corrected the timeline—
Had never existed.