Chapter 25: The Knife at the Gate
...
The Barrier of Eden
Luther stood alone at the golden barrier.
The storm howled around him, stinging his face with ash. Yet the shimmer of Eden's force field hummed steady before him... its light bending ever so slightly under his presence... a presence of not a human but a god.
He raised a hand. His fingers brushed the surface. The barrier hissed where he touched it, threads of the divine weave fraying, curling away like burned silk.
The streets beyond had grown silent.
Citizens crowded the walls and rooftops now, packed shoulder to shoulder, staring down into the storm below. For once, they did not scream. They did not chant. They simply… watched.
Their once glorified hero.. to a horrifying monster. A monster that weept... not the tears of being Eden's savior. But tears of its destroyer. With a mere glance air couldn't exist...
Even the soldiers stationed at the gate faltered. Shields clutched tighter. Rifles pointed but fingers unsure.
One of them... a young man barely older than a boy.. whispered under his breath:
"At this point… it isn't even fair."
And still, the Knife pressed forward.
With each step, the barrier crackled. And with each breath, the people of Eden felt something deep in their bones: their gods had lied.
...
The Throne and the Seraph
Far above, in the Spire, Zero watched from his throne room.
His threads of foresight sparked and spat violently now, each attempt to read the future burning his hands. The tapestry of Eden was fraying faster than he could weave it back together... and he hated how much that thrilled him.
Behind him, the Seraph stepped down from its pod. Its golden wings spread wide, gleaming. Its latticework shone brighter than the barrier itself.
Zero smiled faintly, eyes alive with cold fire.
"Come, Knife," he murmured.
"Come and see what waits for us."
He spoke aloud now, and the chamber carried his voice:
"Seraph. Intercept him at the barrier. Watch carefully when he finds Paku. Wait until they've both tired themselves out."
A pause. His smile widened.
"And then… kill them both. Make it accidentally. Dont damage Luther's body too much "
The Seraph bowed its head and left, a blinding light gliding silently through the Spire halls.
...
Mr. P's Lab
Down below, the lab was quieter now.
The clones still worked, still barked, still scrambled to reroute security feeds... but there was focus in their chaos now, not panic. They moved with the grim knowledge of what was coming.
Mr. P sat at his workbench, a cigarette dangling between his lips, as he finished the strange device he'd been assembling since the previous night... a compact thing of black and gold, humming faintly with divine energy.
He pocketed it, muttering under his breath:
"Right tool for the right moment."
From the shadows, Rei finally spoke.
"You really think you can stop both of them?"
Mr. P didn't look up. He just smirked faintly, blowing smoke sideways.
"Stop them?" He chuckled dryly. "Hell no. I'm just here to make sure they kill the right thing first."
He stood, dusted off his coat, and headed toward the elevator.
Rei's voice followed him:
"Where are you going?"
"Doing something," Mr. P replied over his shoulder. Then he grinned.
"If I'm going to die tonight, I'd rather die in the right place. Either way don't cry over my die body. "
And then he was gone.
...
The Oval Black Dawn
The remnants of the Choir gathered in the wreckage of the Oval.
The hall still bore scars of Luther's outburst ... sigils cracked and blackened, acolytes groaning on the floor.
Clone 3 stood amidst the ruin, mask chipped, cloak torn. Lust stood opposite him, her mirrored skin dulled with blood.
They argued quietly, but their words were knives.
"He's fulfilling his purpose," Clone 3 insisted. "Everything is still… salvageable."
"Salvageable?" Lust snapped, her voice cold. "You think you're still playing Paku's game. But the knife was never ours to hold either."
Clone 3 fixed her with a long, icy glare.
But said nothing more.
Instead, he turned to a console and typed a final message to Mr. P:
"He's past the gate by now... Whatever you're going to do... do it now."
...
The Knife Hunts
Luther closed his eyes and breathed.
The ashstorm fell away in his mind. The murmurs of the crowd faded.
And then he felt it... three faint soul frequencies scattered in the city. Three pieces of Paku Shinomiya. His clones...
One by one, he reached out and crushed the two weakest threads, feeling them go dark.
"What an obvious trick Paku ..."
The last one burned hotter. Stronger.
And so he followed it.
Through alleys and streets and shattered plazas he moved, the crowd parting around him like water. People flinched at his presence. Soldiers didn't dare raise their weapons.
At last, he came to the ruins of what had once been a quiet corner of Eden's administrative quarter.
And there, standing amidst the wreckage , tinkering, with a cigarette in one hand and a faint grin on his lips, was Paku Shinomiya.
...
The Meeting
Mr. P raised a hand in mock welcome.
"Ah. My prodigal god." He looked around at the destruction. "Y'know, I just had this place cleaned. You really are the worst houseguest."
Luther stepped closer, golden veins flaring, eyes hard and wet with rage.
"Why." His voice was low. Dangerous.
"Why did you do it. Why her. Why me. What the fuck was it all for."
Mr. P took a drag, exhaled smoke into the ashstorm.
"Oh, Luther." He chuckled softly. "You think if I told you, it'd hurt less? Nah. Pain's part of the package, kid. Always was."
Luther's hands trembled as he closed the last few feet between them.
"Who… are you?" he asked. His voice broke.
"Tell me. Who the fuck are you? "
Mr. P's grin widened, and he opened his mouth to deliver another joke.
But Luther moved first.
His hand shot forward, faster than light... and a blade of lattice burst through Mr. P's chest.
" I am done with your silly jokes."
Blood sprayed into the air.
Mr. P coughed once, the cigarette falling from his lips, his body sagging forward against the golden arm skewering him.
He stared into Luther's eyes. His own blood ran down his coat in rivers.
And then faintly, brokenly, but still smirking... he whispered:
"Checkmate."
Luther's breath came ragged. His hands shook as the golden veins on his skin burned hotter than ever before.
And somewhere in the city, sirens began to wail.
...
Closing Image
In the Spire, Zero leaned back in his throne, watching through Seraph's eyes as the scene unfolded.
And for the first time in years, he laughed.
END OF CHAPTER 25