Chapter 162 – When Even the Multiverse Asks for a Break
The light that burst from the fissure wasn't an explosion.
It was a visual assault.
As if the multiverse had shouted:
"SURPRISE!"
and tossed a cosmic flashbang into the room.
When everything became visible again…
The HQ arena no longer existed.
What remained was:
– two traumatized walls,
– a floor in the fetal position,
– and three pebbles holding hands, hoping to survive the next chapter.
Lya coughed:
— Can we have one chapter without destroying everything? Just once?
Ryn, horrified:
— I think even the air is broken… I breathe and still suffocate…
Valen drew his sword, his eyes shining like stars ready to judge an entire universe.
— What's coming… isn't a monster.
It's an error.
An error too big to be foreseen.
Zarion nodded, very calm, too calm:
— Yeah.
Well, we'll die calmly then.
---
The Concept arrives (and nobody signed up for this)
The fissure stabilized.
For Elyon, it was worse than a threat: it was an insult.
A gigantic arm emerged.
An arm covered in runes, lights, shadows, things that shouldn't even exist in a storyboard.
Elyon's clone, proud like a kid who just scored 20/20:
— Stimulus: validated.
The real Elyon screamed:
— I SWEAR IF YOU VALIDATE ONE MORE THING, I'LL UNINSTALL YOU FROM REALITY!!
Liora placed a hand on her forehead, vein pulsing:
— I'll send him to the corner of the multiverse. I promise.
---
Then…
One eye appeared.
Then a second.
Then a third.
Then a fourth that had absolutely no reason to exist.
Ryn raised a finger:
— I… I think it's illegal to have that many eyes.
Nova stepped back:
— This clearly wasn't scheduled for this chapter.
It's a final boss that forgot to wait for its scene.
Drake narrowed his eyes, serious for once:
— It's not a creature.
It's a concept.
The whole room:
— WHAT?!
Drake:
— An idea made alive.
And I hate ideas that punch.
Naël blanched:
— But a concept of WHAT?!
The answer fell like a sentence:
— Concept: Ultimate Retribution.
Purpose: punish the source of Chaos.
Everyone immediately looked at Elyon's clone.
— IT'S HIM!! TAKE HIM!! HE'S RIGHT THERE!!
The clone:
— Stimulus… too high…
Liora, demonic smile:
— Now you're panicking, huh?
---
Valor, Annabelle, Valor Prime — The Trio of Chaos
Valor frowned:
— Annabelle… you feel that?
Annabelle, serious for once:
— Yes.
An overwhelming energy.
Even this premium copy is starting to look pale.
Valor Prime stopped regenerating.
— Analysis…
Error.
Unknown superior category.
Threat: exceptional.
Valor cracked his fingers:
— Fine. We finish this cosplay of me quickly, then go help the others.
Annabelle:
— Exactly.
We atomize, then play heroes.
Valor:
— Works for me, I like atomizing.
Valor Prime raised his hand:
— New objective: eliminate you. Then: eliminate the source of Chaos.
Valor and Annabelle:
— Wait, US FIRST?!
Annabelle snapped her fingers.
Transdimensional chains materialized around Valor Prime, compressing him with his own barriers.
Valor lunged…
A repulsion slammed him into the ceiling.
Valor:
— I forgot he copies my flaws too…
Annabelle caught him with magic:
— I told you. Let me handle it.
Besides, you burned half your mana against Drake.
Valor:
— False.
I still have plenty.
… Okay, a little.
… Fine, I get it.
Two axes linked by a chain appeared in Annabelle's hands.
— Valor, support.
And I'll teach you a new technique after.
Valor:
— I was about to complain but now I'm motivated.
Annabelle charged.
The axe spun, was hurled — Valor Prime blocked it by forming ice blades on his arms.
Clash.
Sparks.
Shockwave.
Annabelle rotated, rained blows, switched with Valor in a perfect teleportation:
VALOR – kick to the face → Valor Prime crashed down.
— So, copy? How do you feel? — sneered Valor.
Valor Prime growled and conjured magic circles.
Geysers of energy erupted.
Valor:
— Annabelleee? That's for you!
Annabelle opened a portal.
The geysers vanished.
Another portal opened beneath Valor Prime.
B O O M.
---
Back to the Portal — The Concept descends, and nobody's ready
A gigantic head emerged. A head forbidden by the laws of narrative coherence.
Drake stepped back, grave:
— If this continues… I'll use my evolved form.
Silence.
Ryn:
— … you have an evolved form?!
Drake:
— I've held back since Arc 2.
Valen smiled, star‑red eyes blazing:
— Finally. A real opponent.
Liora raised her hand to punish the Concept.
She was about to reset it — her most dangerous power.
The Concept turned its four eyes toward her.
— Restriction: Maternal Divine Reset.
Reason: This chapter cannot be rewritten.
Silence.
Cold.
Deadly.
Liora:
— … EXCUSE ME?
Did you just tell me NO?
Ryn:
— He didn't nerf you… he refused chapter authorization.
Valen:
— He bypassed divine law.
Impressive… but suicidal.
Nova:
— Even the multiverse itself doesn't talk to her like that.
He's going to die.
Liora, trembling with rage:
— You.
You will speak to me differently.
The Concept placed its hand on the ground:
— I want Chaos.
The clone.
The whole room:
— TAKE HIM! HE'S YOURS! ENJOY! HE'S RIGHT THERE!!
Elyon's clone:
— Stimulus… catastrophic…
Elyon:
— Shut up and RUN!!
The real Elyon's aura surged — so powerful it threatened to erase everything.
Liora said:
— Show him, my son, that no one can hope to stand against you.
---
Lya and Ryn join the fray
Lya licked her dagger, carnivorous smile:
— I'll take the Duplicator.
His powers intrigue me.
Ryn:
— I'm coming. I want to test what he can do.
---
The hall vibrated.
The Concept emerged fully.
And the story realized this chapter was going to be illegal.
Chapter 163 – When the Sky Holds Its Breath
The entire world seemed to flatten under a single presence.
Not an aura.
Not magical pressure.
Just… Elyon.
He hadn't manifested anything.
Released nothing.
Shown nothing.
Yet everything around him trembled, as if reality itself knew exactly who had entered the room.
Even concepts shivered — something no normal being, nor even superior ones, could provoke.
The wind tried to flee. Then realized it didn't have legs.
---
Elyon fixed his gaze on the Concept:
> — "If you touch my clone, know that you simply will no longer exist."
The Concept, sweating despite its status, replied:
> — "It's not you I'm interested in… but your clone, the one the Duplicator created."
Nearby, a minor concept whispered to his colleague:
> — "Brother, do you want to die in this chapter or the next?"
Liora, arms crossed, indifferent in appearance but eyes gleaming dangerously:
> — "Go ahead, my son. Show him.
The fact he could counter my order was only because the author gave him that privilege."
Another concept in the back took notes:
*Note: NEVER counter an order from Liora. Not even by accident. Not even in a dream.*
Elyon gave a faint smile. Subtle. Almost imperceptible.
> — "Don't worry, mother. Some have gotten too arrogant… to the point of canceling one of your orders."
Liora, curt:
> — "Go on, my son. Beat him up."
The Concept raised his hands, panicked:
> — "There's a misunderstanding! It was the author, not me.
He wanted me to make an entrance with lots of aura."
Elyon, cold:
> — "Next time… you'll refuse."
The Concept thought:
Yeah, right, I refuse. I refuse to die, especially.
---
Béatrice, trembling:
> — "Is it… normal that I feel like even thinking too hard might erase me?"
Ethan shrugged, calm as an empty library:
> — "It's Elyon. If you still feel it, it means he's not looking at you."
Marie's eyes widened:
> — "… Huh?!"
Ethan added simply:
> — "If he truly focuses on you, you don't realize it.
People call it 'disappearing without understanding why.'"
Marie turned pale.
A bit too quickly.
Even her paleness turned pale.
Liora sighed, exasperated:
> — "Stop scaring the children."
Elyon replied, placid:
> — "I'm not doing anything. You're dramatizing, as always."
Liora, ironic:
> — "Me? Dramatic? Elyon, you literally arrived with a presence that made a Concept falter.
A Concept. You're the one with the problem."
Marie and Ethan moved to the back, spectators of a cosmic battle they absolutely didn't want to interrupt.
Ethan murmured:
> — "How far back do we move?"
Marie:
> — "Yes."
---
Elyon stepped forward.
Nothing moved.
But everything in the scenery seemed to adjust to his presence, as if the universe had straightened its spine.
> — "Concept. You touched something that was not meant to be touched."
At that moment, somewhere in the multiverse, a rule‑concept of "Do Not Touch" felt validated.
The Concept contracted, took on a human form: pink hair, blue eyes, an androgynous, sexless silhouette.
Its eyes froze.
> — "If you're not happy… come take it back."
Silence.
A dense silence.
Not heavy.
Not threatening.
Dense, like a billion possibilities collapsing into a single point.
A silence so dense that a chronicler tried to write it on a page… and his quill snapped.
---
Annabelle and Valor
Valor faced Valor Prime.
The clone had absorbed the attack but shielded himself behind a barrier.
> — "You're starting to get annoying…" growled Valor Prime.
Valor sneered:
> — "The clone's heating up, looks like."
Annabelle, determined:
> — "Let's finish quickly, Valor."
She charged at full speed, her two axes linked by a chain.
The blows rained down.
Valor Prime kicked, Annabelle flew backward.
She planted her axes into the ground to brake.
Valor took over.
He extended his hand:
> — "Boom, boom, boom!"
Three compressed air strikes hit Valor Prime.
Annabelle teleported in front of him, struck with her axes.
The clone was pushed back.
Valor conjured his annihilating blue flames:
> — "It's time to end this fight.
Disappear, horrid copy of the great Valor!"
Annabelle sighed:
> — "You can't just say 'disappear,' can you?"
Valor:
> — "No. It has to be stylish."
---
The Duplicator
Lya rose from the ground, standing before the Duplicator:
> — "Your powers interest me, Duplicator."
Ryn arrived, followed by Nova, calmly reading a book.
The Duplicator chuckled:
> — "I'll create clones of you, you know."
Lya smiled:
> — "I know you have a limit.
Copying someone like Elyon must have finished you."
The Duplicator, provocative:
> — "We'll see."
Nova, without lifting his eyes from the book:
> — "You can try. But I warn you… I don't lend my chapters."
Ryn:
> — "Translation: you're going to hurt yourself. A lot."
Nova, turning a page:
> — "Did I say that? No. Not yet."
---
On the other side, Elyon and the Concept faced each other.
The sky held its breath.
Even the Void seemed to wait…
And the author, somewhere, opened a bag of popcorn.
Chapter 164 – When Existence Refuses to Blink
The silence was so dense it felt like even the Void was holding its breath.
Elyon and the Concept faced each other.
No movement.
No aura.
But each second weighed like an eternity.
Somewhere, a second protested. It hadn't asked for this.
---
The Concept, in its human form with pink hair and blue eyes, gave a cold smile:
> — "You think your clone is untouchable? I can take it back.
Know that every gesture has consequences… and after summoning me here, he won't get away so easily."
A minor concept whispered to another:
> — "Why is he talking so much? Does he really want to die?"
Elyon, calm, replied:
> — "You already made the mistake of laying your hand on what belongs to me.
And trust me… you won't get the chance to do it again."
The Concept sneered:
> — "You talk as if you were the author."
Elyon, with an imperceptible smile:
> — "No. I'm worse."
Liora, in a corner, muttered:
> — "And there it is. He's pulling out those kinds of lines again."
At those words, the air vibrated.
Not an explosion.
Not a wave.
Just… reality remembering it had limits.
It grumbled inwardly:
> — "Since when?"
---
The Concept vanished and reappeared before the clone:
> — "You thought you'd get away with this?"
The clone stepped back.
The Concept was about to speak, but a kick struck him.
He blocked, but was hurled backward.
He smiled, then declared:
> — "Disappear."
The clone began to fade… before vanishing completely.
Elyon felt rage rising within him.
A crumbling concept whispered softly:
> — "Brothers… prepare yourselves. We're going to suffer."
---
Béatrice, trembling:
> — "I… I think I'm going to faint."
Ethan, stoic as an empty library:
> — "If you faint, you're lucky.
Because if Elyon decides to look at you… you won't even have time to fall."
Marie, panicked:
> — "But why is he like this?!"
Liora, sighing:
> — "Because he's my son. And because some concepts thought they could play with us."
Valor, watching from afar, grinned:
> — "Hey, Elyon, if you want, I can punch him for you.
Well… if you let me survive long enough."
Nova, without lifting his eyes from his book:
> — "Valor, shut up. You'll just end up copied by the Duplicator again, and we don't need two clowns."
Valor, offended:
> — "Hey! I'm a unique clown!"
Ryn:
> — "Yes, and that's the problem."
---
Elyon stepped forward, face filled with rage.
The Concept, still standing despite the cracks, declared:
> — "I did what I had to do.
You don't understand, Elyon.
I'm not a creature.
I'm an idea.
You can't kill me."
A concept in the distance raised a hand:
> — "I'm an idea too! Can I leave?"
Liora:
> — "You stay."
Elyon, curt:
> — "You're right.
I won't kill you.
I'll erase you."
The Concept smiled:
> — "I've already achieved my goal: eliminating your clone."
A shiver ran through its androgynous body.
It tried to release an aura, but nothing came out.
The air replied:
> — "Not today, brother."
As if Elyon had already locked down its possibilities.
Then Elyon struck it with a punch that sent it flying.
The Concept rose, laughing:
> — "Ah… you're really angry."
Marie:
> — "How can he laugh?!"
Ethan:
> — "It's a defense mechanism.
Some laugh.
Others pray.
He… only has that."
---
The Duplicator, watching the scene, chuckled:
> — "Copying Elyon nearly destroyed me… but copying the rest of you, that I can still do."
Lya, emerging from the ground like a shadow:
> — "Try. You'll see."
Nova, turning a page of his book:
> — "You should really think. Copying Elyon drained you. Copying me… is suicide."
Valor:
> — "Did you hear that? Even she's warning you! If Nova says it's suicide, it's suicide times twenty!"
The Duplicator, provocative:
> — "We'll see."
But suddenly, he began bleeding from the mouth.
He touched his face, shocked:
> — "How… is this possible?!"
Ryn, leaning toward him:
> — "Maybe copying the wrong person cost you more than you thought."
Lya, with a carnivorous smile:
> — "Looks like the Concept, by erasing Elyon's duplicates you created, affected your essence."
The Duplicator screamed at the Concept:
> — "Why did you do that?!"
The Concept, cold:
> — "I don't care."
Lya, ironic:
> — "Looks like you're in bad shape.
Convenient, isn't it?"
Valor, laughing:
> — "Perfect. The Duplicator's bleeding… finally a useful bug."
Nova, without lifting his eyes:
> — "Valor, if you keep commenting like that, I'll ask for you to be copied mute."
Valor, horrified:
> — "Mute?! No way! That's against human rights!"
Ethan:
> — "You're not human."
Valor:
> — "…True. I said nothing."
---
The Concept tried to regain a dignified posture, but its knee cracked.
Even its knee seemed to say:
> — "Run, brother. Run far away."
Elyon inhaled. A simple breath.
The ground vibrated.
The sky compressed.
A concept fainted just from watching.
Liora rolled her eyes:
> — "Elyon… no need to redo the scenery, I just finished cleaning it."
Elyon, without turning:
> — "Not my fault. He annoys me."
The Concept swallowed.
A gesture a concept wasn't supposed to know how to do.
It attempted one last smile:
> — "I… I think we can talk, you know?"
Elyon:
> — "Too late."
The Concept:
> — "I figured."
He said this as his body began to regenerate.
Chapter 165 – When Reality Asks for a Break
The light twisted.
The air vibrated.
And at the center of the arena of existence, the one once called the Concept of Retribution raised his head.
But this time… he had a name.
Némésys.
Pink hair, icy blue eyes, an expression far too blasé for someone who had just faced Elyon.
---
Némésys rubbed his cheek, still marked by the blow that had sent him flying through three overlapping realities.
> — "Alright… I admit: that was a bit too strong.
Elyon, who do you train with? Hurricanes?"
Elyon didn't answer.
He advanced.
And each step slightly warped the ground, as if creation itself hesitated to move aside.
Liora sighed behind him:
> — "Good grief… Elyon, stop walking like that. You're stressing the geometry."
Elyon, without taking his eyes off Némésys:
> — "I'm stressing the one who dared erase my clone."
Némésys raised his hands:
> — "Erase is a big word! He… deactivated. With style."
Nova, barely lifting his eyes from his book:
> — "Since when does disappearing while screaming 'NOT MY SEASON 2' count as style?"
Valor burst out laughing:
> — "I admit, that was hilarious."
Liora clapped her hands, annoyed:
> — "STOP!
We've got Elyon ready to destroy a Concept, Nova mocking everything, and Valor laughing…
Can someone at least pretend to take this seriously?!"
Everyone fell silent.
For half a second.
Then Valor added:
> — "But the season 2… really—"
— "VALOR!" shouted Liora.
---
Némésys conjured a glowing sphere in his hand, his power of retribution.
> — "I warn you, Elyon. You strike me, I return the impact a hundredfold.
That's how I work."
Elyon stepped closer.
> — "Interesting…
But I'm not the one who will strike you."
Némésys blinked, surprised:
> — "Oh? Then who?"
Elyon raised his hand.
A snap of his fingers.
The ground fractured.
The air exploded.
Even the Void pulled up a chair to watch.
A black portal opened, and a mass began to emerge.
A titanic shadow, recognizable among thousands.
Death itself.
And she was not in the mood.
Death appeared, black robe spread like wings, scythe in hand.
> — "WHO dared erase MY Elyon‑number‑two?!"
Némésys paled:
> — "… oh no. No, no, no, not her—"
Death turned toward him.
A magnificent… and extremely dangerous smile.
> — "Hello. Want a deadly hug?"
Nova closed his book:
> — "Ah. There it is. Liora, your son and your Death just triggered a cosmic event. Again."
Liora rubbed her face:
> — "I swore if this happened again, I'd hit someone.
Némésys, want to volunteer?"
Némésys quickly raised his arms:
> — "I have a cosmic right to respect, thank you!
And I remind you it wasn't me, it was the Author who wanted me to erase someone to move the plot forward!"
Valor raised an eyebrow:
> — "The Author's that serious?"
Nova:
> — "Yes. And reckless. You can tell: he created Valor."
Valor:
> — "… You're looking for a fight."
---
Death pointed her scythe at Némésys.
> — "Give me one reason. Just one reason not to reduce your human form to astral dust."
Némésys, panicked but trying to keep some grace:
> — "Uh… because if you touch me, you automatically trigger proportional retribution!
I'm literally designed to punish any aggression!
I am—"
Elyon raised a finger.
Just one.
And Némésys choked:
> — "Wait…
Wait but—
I no longer feel my power of retribution.
It's gone.
HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!"
Elyon answered calmly:
> — "I disabled it."
Némésys:
> — "You…
YOU DISABLED A CONCEPT??
With a finger???"
Nova, blasé:
> — "Elyon can disable an Author with a finger.
So a concept…"
Valor:
> — "It's true. The other day, he disabled my salary too."
Elyon:
> — "That was intentional. You asked for it."
Valor, outraged:
> — "I only said I was more handsome than you!"
Liora:
> — "Valor, you just literally signed your death warrant."
---
Némésys slowly backed away, searching for an escape.
He knew he no longer had his power.
No protection.
Nothing.
Elyon advanced, calmly.
> — "Némésys.
You erased my clone.
But more importantly…
You thought you could touch something that belongs to me.
And that… has a price."
Némésys trembled.
> — "Elyon… we can talk?
Renegotiate?
Find an agreement?
I can offer you a cosmic coffee! I—"
Elyon placed a finger on his forehead.
Total silence.
Even creation made a backup before he pressed.
And—