A soft breeze moved through the dense forest canopy as flickers of light cut through gaps in the leaves. The stillness was unfamiliar. For the first time in what felt like hours or possibly seconds Nyxus breathed in real air.
He was lying on a path next to a village farm, his body partially sprawled against the roots of a thick, moss-covered tree.
Nearby, smoke languidly meandered from the chimney of a small farm constructed of gray stone and aged wood. And further ahead, in the valley, stood a village walled with iron and ancient brick, tall towers, flags waving, and a town square visible from even this distance.
The sign over the city gate read Sorahara. Access Denied then sat up slowly, rubbing his neck."Where am I now...?" he muttered, voice flat, but with a strange sort of bored curiosity.
His eyes glowed faintly. He starts to think about how he got to this point. He remembers himself fighting with Zerith.
A voice broke the silence."You alright there, stranger?" A man approached. He was a villager, plain clothes, and he was carrying a basket of firewood. He paused when he got closer, noticing the glitched aura distorting slightly around Access Denied's frame."You're not from around here, are you?" Nyx blinked slowly. "Not sure where 'here' is."
The villager knelt nearby, setting his basket down. "Well... this is Sorahara. You're lucky to wake up here and not in one of the CT Faction zones." Access Denied tilted his head. "CT Faction?" "Chaotic Faction," the villager explained, voice low. "They enslave entire worlds and erase free will across star systems. Access Denied didn't react. He pulled a twig from his hoodie.
Access denied replied inconsiderately," That sounds... annoying."
The villager stared at him. "You've never heard of them? They're led by Karma, the god of chaos himself."
Access Denied blinked. "Okay." The villager leaned in, lowering his voice. "His son controls this area. They call him Kaosu the 'Lord of Chaos.' Some call him Chaotic. Just hearing Karma's name makes people scared. But you... you don't seem scared."
Access Denied shrugged, looking at a nearby butterfly. "Scary names don't make someone strong."
Torin exhaled through his nose, his eyes drifting down the path. "I always wanted to join the Continuity Corps... since I was a kid," he muttered, almost as if speaking to himself.
"They protect the cosmic continuity, enforce the boundaries. Although impossible, I want to join the Corrective Tribunal, that's the big deal. They take out threats like Karma and Kaosu. They're the ones who keep things from completely falling apart."
He scratched the back of his head, a nervous laugh escaping. "I figured if I joined, I could help people. Do something big."
"Hmm Nyxus grunted, still watching the butterfly. "Sounds boring."
Torin frowned, looking at him in disbelief. "What? You don't think that's worth fighting for?"
"Fighting for… what, exactly?" Access Denied glanced lazily toward the burning village in the distance. "Some big organization that doesn't even care about this place?" He waved a hand dismissively. "The Cosmic Government's too busy with their own crap to bother with Sorahara."
Torin's face darkened. "Yeah… but, I have to try. I can't just sit here while the world goes to hell."
"Sure, you can." Nyx shrugged, his attention flickering briefly to the skies. "You can't just change the universe with a badge and some orders. You're too soft for this life. Stick to protecting the flowers or whatever."
Torin clenched his fists, frustration bubbling in his chest. "I'm not soft. I want to do something. I want to protect people, even if it means I have to fight alone."
"Mm-hmm." Access Denied turned his head slowly, his face blank. "Sounds real nice... but you won't get far thinking you can fix everything with good intentions." He paused, tapping his chin as if in deep thought. "You're like one of those guys who tries to stop a flood with a bucket... in the middle of a storm. It's cute. But also, it's pointless."
Torin's frustration grew. "So, you don't think people should try?"
Nyxus broke into a lazy grin, still not looking at him,"I didn't say that, try all you want. You might even do something cool, like stopping a meteor with your face.
Torin narrowed his eyes, " Do you think I'd fail?"
"Eh." Nyxus shrugged nonchalantly. "Not my problem. But if you really want to protect people, here's a tip: Don't get attached to any big ideas. People only care about the now."
Torin was ready to argue back, but before he could say anything, Access Denied raised a hand,
casually brushing past him. "Look, you can go on with your hero stuff, but just know this: no one's gonna give you a medal for being an idiot. Or maybe they will. I don't know.
"Just saying... if you're gonna try and be some big shot, make sure you've got more than a couple of dreams and a few good intentions. Or you'll end up on the wrong side of the universe's bad side. Trust me. I know how that goes."
Torin stared at him for a long moment, his frustration still building. "You're so... so careless! Don't you care about anything?"
"Hmm," Access Denied muttered, finally turning away. "Not really. I care about snacks, and sometimes... butterflies. But people? They come and go, besides most humans are all the same.
Torin blinked, a little taken aback by his cold response. "You're impossible."
"You're not wrong," Access Denied said, grinning widely. "But hey, if you want to go save the world or whatever, go ahead. Just don't drag me into it if you get squashed."
Torin replied frightened," Wait, do you think I will actually die," Access denied, replied," Maybe, you never really know on stuff like that." Recomposing himself, Torin said,"Do you want to come with me? I have chores to do and I want to introduce you to my family." Access Denied shot him a half-smile,"No thank you, I need to be rested, good luck with that though, I'll be here, waiting for a snack if you want to bring me one.
"Before Torin could respond a distant explosion reverberated across the valley Sorahara.
He dropped his basket, his worse nightmare seemingly becoming reality. "My family, my friends, they all live there!" He bolted towards the burning city. Nyx stood up slowly, brushing himself off. "Guess I'll check it out."
Sorahara's central plaza was engulfed in a crimson inferno. The explosion had leveled several homes, injuring many people. Cries of terror echoed through broken streets. Rubble blanketed the square, and in its center. The mayor knelt, trembling and standing before him was a figure drenched in chaotic energy.
At the heart of Sorahara, devastation reigned. Cobblestones laid jagged; market stalls splintered. Villagers cowered, clutching one another as a crackling red energy pulsed from a stone dais. There, Kaosu stood, his corrupted veins flickering. At his feet, the mayor kneeling was dragged toward him, convulsing.
Anyone who neared Kaosu writhed in pain, heartache, headaches and even blacking out. The villager collapsed, trembling. The sheer presence of him made people drop.
Literally
A villager who ran ahead now collapsed, clutching his chest. Around him, others fainted, vomited, or screamed, chaos blooming in their bodies like a virus. A few began twitching, foaming at the mouth. Kaosu raised his hand slightly. Another man collapsed. Everyone dropped… except one.
At the edge of the crowd, crouched beside a toppled cart, was Access Denied. He was munching on a burnt fruit bun a villager had dropped in panic. " Mmm this is good, I can't believe someone left this snack here for anyone to get."
In concern for his new friend's wellbeing Torin shouted out," What are you doing, run while you still have the energy!"
Access Denied munches on more food unaware of the chaos. Kaosu turned, eyes narrowing.
…Hey, Imbecile." Access Denied looked up, still chewing. "Hmmmm?" Kaosu's tone grew sharper. "What's your name and why is my chaotic energy not causing you to faint; are you even human?"
Access Denied replied ," are you the person that made this food? It's really good.
Kaousu replied" Do I look like a chef to you?"
Replying back confused, Access Denied said," Well I mean if you think about it—". "
Good grief, just forget about it."said Kousu. Access Denied tilts his head. Kousu says" I'll say this once more, what's your name, and why is my chaotic energy not causing you to faint and are you even human?"
Brushing crumbs from his lap, Access Denied replies,"Hello I'm Access Denied, no, I'm not human and what 's chaotic energy?"
The silence was so thick it felt like a glitch had just torn through the sky. Kaosu blinked. "I am Kaosu, son of Karma. I have divine blood, you fool."
Access Denied looked past him. "Is that a goat?" A villager barely able to talk muttered," You've doomed this world.
Just before Kousu delivered a punch, he felt an energy, one that he's never felt before, almost as if earth, no the universe was beating like a metronome, no something more alive, a heart. What could be the cause?
Chaotic aura had hammered Torin's mind like iron stakes, each pulse a roar of failure: You're small. You're powerless. Just give up.
Yet over the ringing in his ears he heard his daughter's laughter, felt his wife's hand in his, remembered sitting beneath the harvest moon while Sorahara's bells chimed.
If I collapse now, who will pull them from the fire?
Vision blurry, Torin forced his legs beneath him. He faced Kaosu—the very embodiment of ruin—and shouted, voice cracking but unbroken:
"Lord of Chaos or not, these people are my family!"
Kaosu tilted his head, amused that an ant dared speak.
A tremor rocked Torin's knees, but he planted his feet. Tears streamed down dusty cheeks. "Maybe I can't fight like the heroes in legends… but I can try."
"Maybe I'm not a warrior," he said. "Maybe I don't know ancient code or divine energy. But I can try."
He placed his hand on his heart.
"For them… I'll always try."
A tremor rocked his knees—but he planted his feet. And then…
It happened.
A sapphire shimmer wrapped his body.
Light—not of violence, not of chaos, but pure resolve—flared from his chest outward, like ripples in divine ink.
For a single, universe-splitting moment, Kaosu's chaos faltered.
The villagers, groaning in agony… paused.
The screams softened.
Even the red in the sky… dimmed.
It was like the spirit of compassion, had touched Torin's back and whispered:
"You stood when you could've knelt.
So now, I stand with you.
Kaosu's eyes narrowed as he mocked."Touching." Then his fist ignited with compacted destruction—an elegant, focused blow.
Not wide-spanning devastation. No, this one was potent, condensed enough to cave in a mountain.
He tried driving his fist into an elder of the village, torin shielded them. His bones cracked. Organs shifted. Torin's body collapsed backward like a broken frame. Dust settled. Silence reigned.
But— Torin stood. Legs shaking. Chest bleeding. Eyes foggy—but open. And somehow—barely conscious—he spoke:
"You call yourself the Lord of Chaos… Yet you forget—chaos is but the storm that carves the mountain's shape, not the mountain itself. I may be small and fragile…
But within me flows the quiet force that endures beyond the tempest… Hope The constant in a world that insists on rewriting itself. No matter how many times you try to erase me… I remain— The stubborn heartbeat beneath the noise. The will that refuses to vanish into nothingness."
Kaosu stood still. Something, something flickered behind his eyes. For a moment, he saw it. A fragment. A version of himself that could've existed. Not as Karma's son. Not as an heir to destruction. But as something free.
He saw a boy, laughing barefoot in a meadow. A life not wrapped in godhood or prophecy. One where chaos wasn't inherited—but left behind. Then— Kaosu clenched his fists.
The vision shattered like glass under pressure. His face contorted in a rage so deep it scorched through his smug demeanor.
"Don't show me that," he snarled. "Fiflthy mortal."
With a roar, he pelted Torin with a barrage of chaotic strikes. A deadly combo.
Fist after fist, strikes that could collapse temples and sink plateaus. Bones snapped like branches under divine weight.
The ground cratered beneath each blow. Chaos poured from Kaosu's limbs, wild and merciless.
Torin didn't scream. He just took it. His body flung like a ragdoll, blood spraying into the wind—yet he still tried to stand. "As the dust settled and the screams dimmed, Torin's knees buckled. He stood still—bleeding, broken—yet his eyes refused to close. And somewhere, across the crowd, someone finally stopped chewing." Just before kousu finished his attacks he heard something.