Chapter 16: Threads of Madness
The world twisted.
Rayden's footing collapsed as the cobblestones beneath him turned into sand, then fire, then a river of broken glass. Time warped under the Pale King's will, shifting reality like pages in a book. Past, future, and nightmare folded together.
But Rayden didn't fall.
His Berserk System growled inside him, surging against the chains of the Pale King's power. Madness Threading burned through his veins, not as a defense—but as a challenge. For every second the Pale King tried to erase, Rayden replaced it with rage.
He launched forward.
His blade sang, leaving red scars in the air, but the Pale King bent sideways—casually—like water pouring from a cup. No resistance. No impact.
"You fight time with fury," the Pale King mocked. "How… primitive."
Rayden didn't stop. A second slash. A feint. Then a backstep—calculated. The King moved again, but this time Rayden activated the true nature of his evolving skill.
[Skill: Madness Threading Lv. 2 – Chaos Stitch Activated]
Effect: Anchor a memory to physical space. On reactivation, space reverts to that anchored state. Cooldown: 45 seconds.
He had anchored the moment the King dodged.
Rayden triggered it.
The world stuttered.
Reality snapped backward by a blink. This time, he adjusted the blade's angle. The Pale King reappeared in the same motion—and the sword sank deep into his shoulder.
A shriek split the air. Not pain—surprise.
The Pale King staggered, ichor dripping from his wound. His voice lost its serenity. "You dare… rewrite me?"
Rayden grinned savagely, blood staining his teeth. "Not rewriting. Correcting."
The villagers screamed again, collapsing into piles of ash. The time fog lifted slightly. The world steadied—but the King hadn't fallen.
Instead, he raised both hands. From the broken sky above, mirrors began to fall—shards of light and reflection, each showing a different version of Rayden. One wept. One screamed. One stood over a mountain of corpses.
"These are your fates," the Pale King whispered. "Choose."
Rayden hesitated.
Just for a second.
The reflections tried to pull him in—emotional anchors created by the King to stall the mind, to fracture the will. He gritted his teeth, activated Unchained Fury, and closed his eyes.
He swung blindly, trusting rage over reason.
Steel met bone.
The illusion shattered.
The Pale King reeled, bleeding from his mask. The sky above Duskvale cracked with thunder. The world began to crumble under the clash of two Systems—one of control, the other of chaos.
"ENOUGH!" the King roared.
He exploded into black light.
When the storm cleared, he was gone—but so was most of the village.
Rayden stood in the ruins, panting, shaking.
[Quest Complete: Hunt of the Pale King]
Reward: Mask Fragment – Timebreaker Relic
New Passive: Temporal Drift Immunity (Lv. 1)
System Corruption: 15%
He looked at his hands. They were trembling—not from fear, but anticipation. The System was evolving faster now, syncing deeper with his soul.
He knew what it meant.
More enemies would come.
More blood would follow.
But so would answers.