The first tremor came at dawn.Not through the ground — through me.
Something was wrong with the air itself.Every atom vibrated with that same signature I'd felt inside the Watcher before consuming him — like a memory refusing to die.
[ALERT: Anomaly Detected – Dimensional Pulse Source: 1.2 km East][Energy Type: Watcher Residual – Reconstructed Core Signature]
"Reconstruction…" I muttered, materializing a humanoid form beside Lala's balcony.The sky had taken on a pale hue — silver veins crawling across the morning clouds like circuitry.
"Stay here," I said softly.Lala's eyes widened. "Scourge—what's happening?""Something that should have stayed dead."
And before she could answer, I was gone — a streak of black and violet across the horizon.
I found it near the edge of Sainan's forest — the world flickering like bad code.And then it stepped through.
The Echo of the Watcher.A construct of energy, humanoid but faceless, its voice a vibration that shredded silence.
"You are deviation.""You are infection.""You must be rewritten."
It lunged, claws of light carving through space itself.I dodged — barely. Its strikes left static tears behind, reality folding and twitching in their wake.
[System Sync: "The World – Overwrite Form" Ready][Temporal Stability: 91%]
"Let's see if time still listens to me."
I snapped my fingers.
And everything stopped.
Leaves hung mid-fall. The echo froze mid-attack, claws inches from my throat.For ten seconds, I owned existence.
Within the still frame, I reached into its chest — rewriting its molecular rhythm, its light density. Turning its structure against itself.
"Overwritten," I whispered.
When time resumed, it exploded into fractal dust.But the sound it made wasn't pain.
It was laughter.
"You cannot erase the Source.""You can only delay the rewrite."
Before I could respond, a pulse tore outward — shockwave, pure and dimensional.It cut through me like light through glass.
[System Damage: 8%][Reality Distortion – Expanding]
Then I saw it — a small sphere of light where the Echo had vanished.A remnant. A seed.Still alive.
I clenched my fist. "Not again."
[Override Protocol Engaged][Ability Fusion Attempt: 37%]
Pain ripped through me — not physical, but existential, like time folding around my consciousness.The World… evolved.
[Skill Upgrade: "The World – Requiem"]Function: Absolute Localized Time Loop – Ten Seconds Repeatable Reset
The air calmed. The forest stilled.
But I was trembling.
Even power this perfect came with a cost.Each use rewrote not just reality — but me.
And as I turned back toward Sainan, I felt Lala and Haruna's voices in my mind — worried, searching.Their connection steadied me.But under that warmth, a whisper lingered.
"You think you've mastered time.""But soon, time will master you."
The voice was male. Familiar.The same one from before.
And this time… it laughed.