The space between Ethan and Null suddenly pulled inward—
as if the entire universe was collapsing into a single point.
Blue and black light clashed,
twisting like two storms trying to swallow one another whole.
Ethan couldn't feel any solid ground beneath him,
but his grip on his glowing blades tightened stronger than ever.
Null's voice came from everywhere —
above, below, inside, outside —
as if the Void itself was speaking through him:
"Identity is an illusion, Ethan.
You are the fracture.
I am the truth."
Ethan turned for a moment —
Maria was clearer now.
Her face soft, calm…
but her eyes were pleading:
"Don't lose yourself."
Then—
right in the center of the Void,
a massive Black Rift tore open.
Its edges flickered like sharp, tearing shadows,
and inside it stood the one thing Null had hinted at all along—
A third Ethan.
A silent, expressionless version.
No emotion.
No fear.
Just pure calculation.
Null's voice swelled with pride:
"The Unbound.
The version of you that feels nothing."
The Unbound Ethan stepped forward,
moving slowly,
like he wasn't a possibility—
but the final conclusion of Ethan's existence.
Ethan's heart hammered painfully.
"Why… why does he look like that?"
Null's eyes burned like black fire.
"Because he is what you become
when every memory breaks
and every emotion dies."
The temperature in the Void dropped sharply—
cold enough that Ethan's breath turned to frost.
Unbound Ethan raised his hand.
Streams of cold, blue code shimmered from his palm —
beautiful, deadly, precise.
But what shook Ethan the most
were the eyes.
Empty.
Completely, utterly empty.
Maria's voice trembled:
"Ethan… don't let him replace you…"
Null roared:
"Choose.
Break… or be broken."
The Void's walls split apart,
time, memories, code — everything collapsing and tearing at the seams.
Now, three Ethans faced each other:
– Ethan, full of emotion
– Null, born from rage
– The Unbound, stripped of humanity
And then —
Ethan drew a slow breath.
His voice came out steady.
"I don't choose any of you."