Kael brought Lyra safely home and spent the night researching everything the Timeline Library held about Erevan.
What he found was horrifying.
Erevan's first regression was noble.
He tried to save humanity.
He fought monsters, saved cities, protected millions.
But in each timeline, something went wrong.
A betrayal.
A death.
A failure.
Each reset hardened him.
After a hundred regressions—
He stopped fearing death.
After two hundred—
He lost empathy.
After three hundred—
He began killing other regressors to prevent interference.
And by the six-hundredth regression?
Erevan believed he was the only one worthy of sculpting the Final World.
Kael whispered to himself:
"He's not fighting for survival… he's fighting for ownership."
The system chimed.
[Warning: High-level regressor approaching city border]
Kael's blood chilled.
Erevan was coming.
Not to kill him—
But to test him.
Kael stood, grabbing his coat.
If Erevan wanted war this early…
Kael would show him the consequences.