The abandoned metro tunnels were colder than Kael remembered from previous timelines.
The air hummed with unstable mana—regressors had been here, warping reality with each regression attempt.
Kael descended deeper, guided by echoes of the timelines he'd seen.
His footsteps splashed through shallow water.
Metal pipes groaned above him like dying beasts.
Then he sensed them.
More than a dozen presences, thick with murderous experience.
The Black Clock Cult.
Kael stepped into a vast chamber lit by candles arranged in spirals.
Hooded figures surrounded an altar.
And tied to the stone slab—
"Lyra!"
She lifted her head weakly. "Kael… why are you here? You shouldn't—"
A cultist struck her across the face.
"Silence, Anchor."
Kael's vision went red.
The cult leader stepped forward, removing his hood—
A man with cruel eyes and a grin too wide to be human.
[Regressor Detected: Salek Vorn]
[Regression Count: 68]
Salek bowed mockingly.
"Kael Ardyn. Erevan sends his regards. He said you'd come running, like a desperate dog chasing its master."
Kael didn't reply.
He walked forward slowly, step by step.
The air cracked with mana.
Salek raised a hand. "Kill him."
Two dozen cultists surged forward—
But to Kael, they were moving in slow motion.
He activated Timeline Library mid-combat, analyzing every cultist instantly.
All their past battles.
Their formations.
Their flaws.
It was like fighting with a god's knowledge.
Kael ducked below a sword slash, elbowed a cultist in the throat, then used that body as a shield against two incoming spears.
He spun, kicked, grabbed, broke bones—
Each movement clean and lethal.
Within seconds, bodies lay scattered like broken puppets.
Salek's grin faltered.
"You're… stronger than last cycle."
Kael cracked his knuckles. "I'm done letting regressors destroy this world."
Salek tried to flee.
Kael caught him and slammed him into a pillar.
The system chimed.
[Regressor Eliminated]
[Absorbing Timeline Data…]
[Warning: Data overloaded. Stabilizing mental state…]
Kael staggered slightly but stayed conscious.
He rushed to Lyra, untying her.
She trembled. "I-I knew you'd come…"
He lifted her gently. "Let's go home."
But as he carried her out of the chamber—
The candles extinguished.
A cold voice whispered from the darkness:
"How predictable of you… Kael."
Kael froze.
That voice.
Erevan.