Chapter 56: The Enemy Behind the Door Now Fight Or Die

"Now, we have to find out who opened the door."

The stranger had barely finished speaking when something struck the other side of the room.

The entire wall buckled inward.

Kael moved instinctively.

"DOWN!"

He seized Pi from the desk and threw himself sideways as a black blade tore through the space where his head had been. The weapon passed through the wall without resistance, leaving a long, smoking gash in reality itself.

Leon reacted immediately.

Golden mana surged around his arm, condensing into a sword just as a second blade emerged from the damaged wall.

CLANG!

The impact drove Leon backward.

His boots scraped across the wooden floor, and his mana blade shuddered beneath the force of the attack.

"That’s not a normal weapon!" he shouted.

"Excellent observation!" Kael replied, scrambling behind the desk. "Try observing how to stop it!"

A third blade emerged.

Elena raised her hand.

A violet barrier erupted between them, catching the attack with a deafening crack. The barrier fractured almost instantly, but it bought them enough time to move.

Mira’s fingers flashed through a series of gestures.

"Spatial Lock!"

Blue-white lines spread across the floor, forming a geometric pattern beneath the desk and surrounding furniture.

For half a second, the room stopped shaking.

Then the lines snapped.

Mira staggered, a thin line of blood appearing beneath her nose.

"Whatever is attacking us," she gasped, "it isn’t entering through ordinary space!"

Kael looked toward the damaged wall.

"Then where is it entering from?"

"Somewhere that doesn’t obey the same spatial rules!"

"Wonderful. An enemy who cheats at the rules of reality."

A fourth blade appeared.

This one didn’t target any of them.

It struck the black book on the desk.

The book flew open.

Every page turned simultaneously, releasing a storm of black letters that swirled through the room like a flock of furious birds.

The stranger’s expression changed.

"No! Don’t let it take the book!"

Leon charged.

He crossed the room in a burst of golden light, swinging his sword toward the blade.

The weapon vanished before his strike landed.

Leon stumbled forward.

A figure emerged behind him.

It was tall and thin, wrapped in a long, colorless robe. Its face was concealed behind a smooth white mask, and dozens of narrow black lines extended from its back, disappearing into the cracks in the walls.

Unlike the Fifth, whose mask was unmistakably porcelain, this one’s face appeared to be made from something that had never possessed a physical form.

Its mask had no eyes.

No mouth.

Only a single vertical line running down the center.

The figure raised one hand.

Leon was hurled across the room.

"LEON!"

Elena launched herself forward, catching him with a cushion of violet mana before he struck the opposite wall.

He landed on one knee, coughing.

"I’m fine."

"Stop saying that!" Elena snapped.

"I’ve noticed people tend to ask more questions when I say otherwise."

"Then perhaps you should stop giving me reasons to ask them!"

The masked figure turned toward the black book.

It moved without taking a step.

One moment, it stood beside the wall.

The next, it was directly in front of the desk.

Kael’s eyes widened.

"Absolutely not."

He kicked the desk.

The heavy wooden structure slid forward, slamming into the figure’s legs.

Or where its legs should have been.

The desk passed through it.

Kael stared.

The figure slowly turned its featureless face toward him.

"...That was more effective in my head."

The creature raised its hand.

The floor beneath Kael disappeared.

He dropped into darkness.

For a fraction of a second, there was nothing beneath his feet.

Then he felt Pi’s claws dig into his shoulder.

The creature bit the back of his collar and pulled.

Kael slammed onto the floor as the missing section of reality snapped back into place.

He rolled away, narrowly avoiding a black line that sliced across the boards.

The cut was perfectly straight.

Everything in its path had been divided without a sound.

Kael stared at the severed edge of the desk.

The creature hadn’t cut the wood.

It had cut the space the wood occupied.

"Right," he muttered. "We are officially past the point where throwing furniture is a reliable strategy."

Pi hissed at the masked figure.

The creature answered by turning its blank face toward Pi.

Every black line extending from its back suddenly tightened.

The figure’s posture changed.

For the first time, it appeared uncertain.

"Unregistered witness," it said.

Its voice sounded like several people speaking from opposite sides of a vast room.

"Return to your designated position."

Pi bared its tiny teeth.

"NO."

The word shook the room.

Kael froze.

Pi had spoken before, but never with such clarity or force.

The masked figure recoiled.

The black lines attached to its back snapped taut, and several of them began to writhe as though something on the other end had been startled awake.

"Unauthorized response," it whispered.

"Unregistered witness."

"Unwritten variable."

"Return."

Pi’s golden eye blazed.

"NO!"

The seventh bell rang again.

This time, the sound didn’t echo.

It struck.

The masked figure flew backward, crashing through the wall and disappearing into the ruined city beyond.

For one stunned moment, nobody moved.

Then Kael slowly looked at Pi.

Pi looked back.

"Pi."

Kael blinked.

"You can do that?"

Pi tilted its head.

"Pi."

"That’s not an answer."

The creature promptly bit his finger.

Kael withdrew his hand.

"Of course. Why would I expect a useful explanation?"

A groan came from the other side of the room.

Leon pushed himself upright.

"I have a question."

Kael glanced at him.

"Only one? You’re improving."

"Did that creature just get launched through reality by your pet?"

"Apparently."

"Can it do it again?"

Pi puffed out its chest.

Then it sneezed.

A tiny spark of golden light drifted from its nose.

Leon stared at it.

"I feel considerably less reassured."

"Join the club."

The stranger rushed toward the black book.

Most of its pages had returned to normal, but one remained open. A black stain was spreading across its surface, swallowing the writing.

He pressed his palm against the page.

"No, no, no..."

Kael approached him.

"What is it?"

"The book has been marked."

"By the masked creature?"

The stranger shook his head.

"Not the creature itself. Something controlling it."

The stain expanded.

A line of silver writing appeared within it.

THE SEVENTH WITNESS HAS BEEN FOUND.

A second sentence followed.

THE SEVENTH WITNESS MUST BE RETURNED.

Then a third.

FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN CORRECTION.

Kael read the final word twice.

"Correction?"

The stranger’s face had gone pale.

"It means the world will attempt to remove whatever it considers an error."

Kael slowly looked around the room.

At Leon.

At Mira.

At Elena.

At Pi.

Then at himself.

"By remove, do you mean kill?"

The stranger didn’t answer.

He didn’t need to.

A deep vibration passed through the walls.

The city beyond the window changed.

The ruined towers straightened.

The crimson sky brightened.

For a brief moment, Kael saw the city as it might have appeared before its destruction: people walking along its streets, merchants arranging their goods, children running between buildings.

Then the image froze.

Every person turned toward the window.

Every face was identical.

Each one wore the same smooth white mask.

Kael felt his stomach tighten.

The figures raised their heads in unison.

Their voices reached the room through the glass.

"Correction begins."

The window shattered.

Not into pieces.

Into a thousand fragments of darkness.

And from each fragment emerged a masked figure.

Leon swore.

Elena’s violet mana flared.

Mira immediately raised both hands.

"Everyone, behind me!"

A spatial barrier expanded around them just as the first attackers entered the room.

The barrier held for less than a second.

Then the enemy struck.

The first figure came at Leon.

He met it head-on.

His golden blade clashed against a weapon that appeared only at the instant of impact, releasing a shock wave that rattled the shelves.

Leon twisted, redirected the force, and drove his shoulder into the enemy’s chest.

His opponent didn’t move.

Instead, its arm blurred.

A black blade formed along its forearm.

Leon barely raised his sword in time.

CLANG!

The collision sent him sliding backward.

The masked figure pursued without hesitation.

Leon changed tactics.

Rather than meeting the next strike directly, he stepped aside and allowed the blade to pass. He brought his sword around in a tight arc, aiming for the ccreature’s shoulder.

His weapon passed through.

The figure’s counterattack struck him across the side.

Leon stumbled, pain flashing across his face.

"Physical attacks barely work!" he shouted.

Kael ducked beneath a blade aimed at his head.

"Then stop attacking physically!"

Leon looked at him incredulously.

"That is what a sword is for!"

"Use the mana part!"

"Thank you, Kael! Your tactical genius has saved us all!"

"You’re welcome!"

Kael grabbed a broken chair leg and swung it at an approaching enemy.

It passed through the creature.

The masked figure tilted its head.

Kael looked at the chair leg.

Then at the enemy.

"Well, this is embarrassing."

The creature raised its arm.

Kael dropped flat.

A black blade swept over him, slicing through the shelves behind his head.

Books burst into the air.

Kael rolled beneath the desk, scrambled out the other side, and snatched up the silver quill from the floor.

The instant his fingers closed around it, the silver mark on his palm burned.

The enemy stopped.

Its blank face turned toward the quill.

Kael stared at it.

"Oh?"

The creature took one step backward.

Kael raised the quill.

It recoiled again.

A slow, unpleasant smile spread across his face.

"Now we’re getting somewhere."

He lunged.

The creature immediately dissolved into darkness.

Kael’s smile vanished.

"Oh, come on!"

A black blade appeared behind him.

He twisted, but he was too slow.

The weapon struck his shoulder.

Pain exploded through his arm.

Kael staggered, nearly dropping the quill.

Elena intercepted the next attack.

Her violet blade struck the enemy’s wrist, and this time, the weapon actually connected.

The masked figure recoiled.

Elena’s eyes widened.

"Kael! The quill!"

He looked at the weapon in his hand.

The silver symbol on its shaft was glowing.

The enemy wasn’t afraid of the quill itself.

It was afraid of what the quill represented.

Or perhaps what it could do.

Kael tightened his grip.

"Elena, keep it occupied!"

"With what?"

"Your excellent personality!"

"I am going to end you after this!"

"Please schedule an appointment!"

Elena charged.

Her sword flashed through a series of precise strikes, forcing the masked figure to retreat. She wasn’t trying to destroy it. Instead, she targeted the black lines extending from its back.

The first line snapped.

The creature shuddered.

The second severed.

Its movements became sluggish.

The third broke.

The figure dropped to one knee.

Kael understood.

"The lines! They’re connecting it to something!"

Mira’s voice rang out from behind her barrier.

"Then we need to sever every connection!"

She extended both hands.

Blue-white symbols appeared around the creature, locking the space around each remaining line.

The masked figure suddenly screamed.

It was an awful sound, like metal being dragged across stone.

The other enemies stopped fighting

Every blank face turned toward Mira.

Kael’s instincts screamed.

"MIRA, MOVE!"

Too late.

Five black blades materialized around her barrier.

They struck simultaneously.

The barrier shattered.

Mira was thrown backward, and the spatial symbols vanished.

Elena abandoned her opponent and raced toward her.

Leon tried to intercept the nearest attacker, but three more appeared around him.

Kael stood in the center of the room, the silver quill in his hand.

His shoulder throbbed.

His breathing had become uneven.

He was surrounded by enemies he could barely touch, fighting in a place that followed rules he didn’t understand.

And his companions were getting hurt because they had followed him.

Again.

Something cold settled in his chest.

He was tired of being the person who arrived too late.

Tired of hearing that someone had waited for him.

Tired of discovering promises he couldn’t remember making.

But most of all, he was tired of allowing other people to pay for decisions that belonged to him.

Kael raised the quill.

"Hey!"

Every masked figure turned toward him.

He forced a grin onto his face.

"If you’re looking for the Seventh Witness, congratulations."

The silver mark on his palm blazed.

"You found him."

The black lines extending from the creatures tightened.

The stranger shouted from across the room.

"Kael! Don’t do it!"

Kael ignored him.

He pointed the quill at the nearest masked figure.

"But here’s the thing."

His smile disappeared.

"I don’t work here."

He slashed the quill through the air.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then a silver line appeared across the room.

It passed through the masked figures, the black blades, and the lines connecting them to the walls.

Every enemy froze.

The silver line brightened.

A single word appeared in the air.

REJECTED.

The connections snapped.

The masked figures collapsed into fragments of darkness.

One after another, their bodies dissolved, leaving only their featureless white masks behind.

The room shook violently.

Kael dropped to one knee.

The quill slipped from his fingers and struck the floor.

His silver mark went dark.

For several seconds, he couldn’t move.

Then Leon appeared beside him.

"Kael?"

"I’m alive."

"That wasn’t my question."

"I know. I was answering the more important one."

Leon offered him a hand.

Kael accepted it and struggled upright.

Across the room, Elena was helping Mira sit up. Mira looked pale, but she was conscious and able to move.

Pi had taken refuge on top of the black book.

It appeared extremely pleased with itself.

The stranger approached Kael.

His gaze moved from the fallen masks to the quill on the floor.

"What did you do?"

Kael rubbed his injured shoulder.

"Improvised."

"You used the quill to sever their connections to the world."

"Is that what happened?"

"Yes."

"Then I’ll call it a successful improvisation."

The stranger didn’t smile.

"That wasn’t an ordinary attack. You rejected the connection between those creatures and whatever was controlling them."

Kael looked at the quill.

"Can I do it again?"

"I don’t know."

"Can I use it to reject my homework?"

"No."

"Shame."

The stranger crouched and picked up the quill.

Its silver glow had faded.

"Listen to me. What you just did was dangerous. You didn’t simply destroy the attackers. You severed a rule that allowed them to exist here."

Kael’s expression grew serious.

"And?"

"And something on the other side noticed."

The clock above the fireplace began ticking again.

Twelve minutes past midnight.

A new crack appeared in the ceiling.

Then another.

The stranger looked up.

"We have to leave."

Mira pushed herself to her feet.

"Where?"

"Anywhere that isn’t here."

"That is not a particularly precise destination," Leon said.

"It’s the only one available."

The stranger moved toward the door.

But before he could reach it, every remaining mask on the floor turned toward Kael.

Their smooth white faces cracked.

From within each mask came a whisper.

"Seventh."

Another whisper joined it.

"Returned."

Then another.

"Correction."

The voices multiplied until the room was filled with them.

The stranger stopped.

His shoulders stiffened.

"No..."

Kael looked at the masks.

"What now?"

The black book slammed shut.

A deep sound rolled through the walls.

Something enormous had moved beyond the room.

The stranger slowly turned toward Kael.

"They weren’t trying to kill you."

Kael’s blood ran cold.

"What?"

"They were trying to confirm your identity."

The floor split open.

Beneath it lay a vast darkness filled with countless silver threads.

Each thread stretched toward a different version of the ruined city.

And at the center of the darkness stood a figure wearing a white mask.

The Fifth.

Except this time, its mask was cracked.

Its head hung forward.

Black chains wrapped around its arms and chest, disappearing into the darkness beneath its feet.

Kael stared.

The figure raised its head.

Its white eyes found him.

Then it spoke.

Not through the walls.

Not through a vision.

Directly into Kael’s mind.

"You shouldn’t have used the quill."

Kael clenched his jaw.

"Why?"

The Fifth looked toward the chains binding it.

For the first time, Kael understood that the chains weren’t merely holding the figure in place.

They were holding something else back.

Something vast.

Something that had begun to move.

The Fifth’s voice trembled.

"Because now it knows you can cut the connection."

A silver thread snapped in the darkness.

Then another.

The chains around the Fifth tightened.

And from somewhere beneath the ruined world came a voice that sounded exactly like Kael.

"FOUND YOU."

ThebFifth looked up in horror.

The room began to collapse.

And the last thing Kael saw before the floor disappeared beneath him was the Fifth reaching toward him, its chained hands trembling.

"RUN!"