Chapter 26 – Shattered Hours and Broken Counters
Judson landed like a curse from above.
Hair slicked, suit ash-gray, and a casual cigarette dangling from his lips. His eyes scanned the crumbling world below with the same interest someone might give a slightly burnt painting.
The Ruined Civilization, once timeless and locked away under Aetheros' protection, shook under his arrival.
Riv screamed first. Not out of fear—but recognition. "He's not supposed to be here! Aetheros said—"
Aetheros, holding his broken counter like a cracked relic of responsibility, blinked slowly. The glow in his robe dimmed. "Judson… That wasn't part of the thread."
Judson rolled his neck with a cracking sound that echoed across the floating platforms. "Yeah, well… threads snap."
Before anyone could speak again, the sky above split—again.
Out of the rip fell chaos. Beelzebub.
His entrance was ridiculous: a velvet cape, a German beret pressed proudly to his chest like a badge, and a counter larger than his ego floating behind him. On it, tally marks moved like insects. He waved.
"Council says I'm late! But fashionably so."
Behind him, a strange floating webcam orb—The Council—hummed with judgmental light.
Riv's jaw dropped. "Why is he here?!"
Beelzebub winked. "To monitor. To meddle. And maybe… to destroy the script."
Aetheros's eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't exist here yet."
"Neither should he." Beelzebub pointed lazily at Judson.
The Tower Master, now a fractured shadow of his former self, raised his hand to summon the final spear of law—his last hope.
It pulsed like a divine judgment. The ground shook as it formed.
Neo, still barely conscious, muttered, "No more… no more gods, please…"
Judson stepped forward. "Ah, don't worry, kid."
He pulled something from his coat.
A match.
He struck it on his shoe, lit his cigarette again… and flicked the flame.
The match exploded into a galaxy.
The spear shattered before it launched.
The shockwave knocked Luna unconscious. Rosaria fell to a knee, covering Riv. Beelzebub clapped with a grin. "Okay, I like him."
But then—
Lucian appeared.
No grand entrance. No rift. Just pressure.
Reality bent.
And then broke.
He walked from the shards of the second floor of the Tower, drenched in a light that didn't reflect off surfaces.
He looked at Neo.
Lucian didn't speak.
He ran.
And punched Judson across five floating islands.
The fight began.
---
[The Fight – Century's Edge]
Judson wiped blood from his lip and chuckled. "There you are."
Lucian's arms were wrapped in spiraling black fire. Fifth Week: Unity – Unchained. His rage made it unstable.
Judson raised a hand—and caught a building falling from the chaos. He hurled it at Lucian like a spear.
Lucian slashed it in half mid-air, then teleported behind him.
Punch.
Dodge.
Flurry.
Judson countered with lazy genius, weaving through Lucian's deadly rhythm like he was skipping beats in a song.
But then Lucian changed.
His eyes stopped glowing.
They dimmed.
"Don't blink," he said.
Judson did—and Lucian hit him nine times in one second.
The final blow buried Judson into a chasm below.
Beelzebub sipped from a goblet of suspicious liquid. "He's faster than last time. I'm aroused."
Aetheros facepalmed. "He wasn't supposed to awaken it now."
Lucian stood atop the edge of the chasm.
Then Wilsbo appeared.
Nobody saw when.
He was just… there. A man with calm eyes and a gun that shouldn't exist.
He pointed it at Lucian.
"You're making too many waves," he said. "The Council says stop."
Lucian turned his head. "I'm not listening to gods."
"I'm not a god," Wilsbo replied. "I'm worse. I'm a man with rules."
He fired.
Aetheros blocked the shot, barely. His time cloak disintegrated.
Beelzebub stood now, stretching. "I vote chaos. Let's have a multi-variable clash."
Riv screamed, "STOP IT!"
The world froze.
Not metaphorically.
Everything—clouds, colors, even fear—paused.
Riv stood in the center, tears falling from her eyes.
"I don't care who's strongest! You're all monsters!" she sobbed.
Lucian looked down at her.
And the rage broke.
His knees hit the ground.
He held her.
Tight.
"I'm sorry."
Everyone felt it.
The weight.
Even Beelzebub took off his beret.
Then… the Council voted.
Lucian was to be judged.
Wilsbo raised his gun.
Aetheros readied time.
Beelzebub smiled.
And Judson crawled out of the abyss.
"This ain't over."
Lucian stood slowly.
"No. It's just beginning."
[To be continued…]
(