The moment Akira and Kuroo stepped through the shimmering portal, the world twisted. Time, space, and even thought bent unnaturally. They landed—not with a thud—but in eerie silence, as if the ground itself respected what they were.
Before them lay an endless garden of white grass, swaying under a sky that shimmered with a thousand shifting constellations. At the center stood an ancient temple, cracked but radiant with celestial energy.
> Akira: "What... is this place?"
> Kuroo: "Definitely not hell. But maybe the waiting room to it."
The mysterious man who led them here stood at the temple's gate.
> Mysterious Man: "This is the Threshold. A place between timelines. The last resting ground of the gods who died protecting your reality."
He turned to face them fully. For the first time, they noticed the scar across his left eye, and the faint glow that surrounded his body.
> Man: "I am known as Azrail. Once a guardian of the balance, now a rogue keeper."
> Kuroo (frowning): "So why bring us here?"
> Azrail: "Because the true enemy—the one who controls the Void's puppet—you've only seen a glimpse of him. He is called… The Devourer of Origins."
Akira's eyes widened. That name—it sounded like something ancient. Primal.
> Azrail: "He feeds on realities, breaking the threads of fate and merging corrupted versions of timelines into abominations. If he succeeds, every version of every world will become… him."
Suddenly, the temple rumbled. A dark mist seeped through the cracks, twisting into clawed hands trying to escape.
> Azrail: "He's already testing us. This temple holds the seal of the original Light and Darkness Gods. If it breaks…"
Before he could finish, monsters burst out—twisted amalgamations of timelines, beasts made of memories, alternate futures, and broken fates.
---
The Battle at the Temple
Akira leapt into action, forming spears of radiant energy, striking one monster that resembled a corrupted version of himself—a version where he had become a tyrant.
> Akira: "I won't let that be my fate."
Kuroo fought beside him, slashing with darkness-cloaked chains. One creature tried to devour him, but he turned into shadow and reappeared above it, dropping down with a death blow.
> Kuroo: "You think you're chaos? I am chaos refined."
Azrail watched for a while, then stepped forward.
> Azrail: "Good. But not good enough."
He raised his hand. The temple responded, emitting beams of light that locked onto the monsters, weakening them. Akira and Kuroo took the chance and unleashed a dual attack—a beam of purifying light merged with a spiral of void-infused darkness.
The monsters evaporated in screams that echoed through the timelines.
---
After the battle, Azrail knelt at the temple doors.
> Azrail: "We bought some time. But the Devourer… he's nearly here. You must face your echoes next—past versions of yourselves, and choices you could've made."
> Akira: "You mean… alternate us?"
> Azrail: "Yes. To unify timelines, you must overcome every piece of your fractured self. Only then can you face him… together."
Kuroo smirked, but his eyes were serious.
> Kuroo: "Looks like we're about to fight the only ones as dangerous as us."
> Akira: "Ourselves."
They walked into the temple's glowing core.
The echoes waited.
End of Chapter 29