As Lastnine was flying to the scene, another shocking sight struck him. The woman accompanying Jack stabbed through Mary's heart, crushing it, causing Mary to collapse next to Jasmine. A barrage of bullets from Lastnine followed, piercing the two assailants. He grabbed the bodies of Jasmine and Mary, fleeing hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. He tried to use his reality manipulation ability to revive Mary, but Jasmine was beyond saving—the dagger used by the enemy had negated all attempts at regeneration, both by Jasmine herself and anyone trying to resurrect her. Mary awoke, feeling as though she had just died and come back to life, but before she could catch her breath, Lastnine pushed her and Jasmine's body back into his spatial dimension. At that moment, the two enemies arrived. Jack swung his dagger in front of Lastnine, his face full of contempt, and declared:
"This will be the day you die, you bastard. We'll take all your infinite wisdom and knowledge. Just thinking about it feels exhilarating."
Lastnine turned around, his eyes filled with an eerie emptiness, but his terrifying energy began to spread outward, rapidly reaching other worlds. Those worlds were heavily irradiated, their powers completely nullified, leaving nothing untouched—not even the aspects of the worlds or their inherent powers could resist. Helplessly, they faced total annihilation, erasing everything—worlds, souls, minds, bodies, and anything related to humanity or existence itself. All was reduced to absolute nothingness. Jack and the woman with him began to feel the effects. They layered dense energy around themselves, barely resisting the erasure and radiation from Lastnine after doubling their energy. However, they couldn't counter the nullification, as no matter how much energy they stacked, the nullification was twice as strong. They were stripped of their special powers and abilities, left to fight only with raw speed and strength. Enraged, Lastnine spat:
"You two filthy dogs ready to lie dead in your graves yet? If not, I'll personally dig them for you."
Lastnine charged forward, wielding his red dagger and slashing at Jack with blinding speed. Jack narrowly reacted in time, blocking the blow. The two of them relentlessly attacked Lastnine. The woman kicked at Lastnine's head, but his gun fired into her leg, followed by a direct stab into her body. Lastnine dodged Jack's slash and fired a white energy beam at him, paralyzing him. He then shot tendrils that pierced through Jack, attempting to erase him, but Jack's double-layered energy made him immune. Lastnine retreated and thought to himself:
"Energy layering, huh? An innate ability in everyone. The more energy you stack, the more piercing your attacks become, and the more resistant you are to negative effects, including my radiation. The energy take to the god or the entity from the higher the realm you can ascend to. For filthy dogs, you're pretty clever. But this will be your graveyard!"
Lastnine charged again, amplifying his energy. He flipped a coin—heads down. A sphere formed in front of his gun's barrel, and with one shot, a series of white beams erupted at a speed of zero, surpassing the very concept of speed. The blast obliterated everything—the continent, the planet, the world, hundreds of worlds, and an infinite number of worlds in succession. Using his reality manipulation, Lastnine erased the two enemies an infinite number of times. No matter how much energy they layered, they couldn't escape. The world they were in was destroyed, forcing them to flee to a new one, only for that to be annihilated as well, pushing them into another layer of reality. They tried to resist Lastnine's attack, but it was futile. The more they regenerated, the more they were erased. By the time Lastnine arrived, they were already down. Jack, however, managed to stand and charged at Lastnine for a final battle. But Lastnine's power wasn't just in his strength—it was in his intelligence. With a single shot, he completely negated Jack's existence, erasing his ability to regenerate, his information, concepts, narrative, causality, and fate. Jack screamed in infinite agony, collapsing before being erased into a void emptier than an anti-world. Lastnine turned to the woman and fired a shot that sent her to the same fate.
As Lastnine turned to leave, a massive surge of power erupted, suppressing his energy. Surprised but unfazed, Lastnine countered with his own energy, nullifying the suppression. He turned to see a creature touching Jack and the woman, interacting with their void-like remnants despite their complete erasure. Lastnine could do the same, but he was shocked to see someone else capable of it. He readied his gun, preparing to fire, but the creature was already standing before him, wearing a sinister smile. It spoke:
"Lastnine, I won't kill you just yet. But if you keep this up, next time I'll personally end you."
Lastnine smirked, wiping his glasses, and replied:
"You're threatening the wrong guy, kid. Guess how many times I can make you die?"
Both aimed their weapons at each other, their energies radiating across infinite worlds. But the creature quickly retreated. Lastnine watched it flee, noticing blood on his glasses. He wiped it off with a cloth and muttered:
"Filthy dogs dirtied my glasses. Next time, I'll erase every trace of you all."
Lastnine retracted his energy, which had spread 400 kilometers, and teleported back to his dimension. He saw Mary still trying to use her regeneration and revival powers, but to no avail. Tears streamed down her face, her expression one of utter despair. As Lastnine placed a hand on her shoulder, she shoved it off and shouted:
"Why couldn't you get here sooner? Why did you let this happen?!"
Lastnine roared back:
"Shut your mouth! If it weren't for me, you'd be dead! Do you think I didn't try to save you? If anyone's to blame, it's you for being too weak!"
Lastnine lit a cigarette to calm himself. Mary stood beside him, overwhelmed with guilt and self-blame, sobbing:
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, old man. I was too angry and blamed you unfairly… It's my fault. I wasn't strong enough to protect the one I love…"
Lastnine looked down at a pool of black water and said:
"No one is free from mistakes or regrets. That's an essential part of life. But recognizing it is what matters. I'll ask you once more, kid—do you want to bring Jasmine back?"
Mary nodded and asked:
"What do I have to do?"
Lastnine replied:
"Go to the anti-world, a place emptier than nothingness itself, where even the concept of nothingness doesn't exist. It's the opposite of existence and essence. There's no narrative, no future, no past, no present. Information cannot exist there. Only the dead return there, and all worlds will eventually follow."
Mary asked:
"How do we get there?"
Lastnine thought for a long moment before saying:
"I don't know."
Mary stared at him, dumbfounded:
"You know about this world but don't know how to get there?"
Lastnine retorted:
"It's like someone reading a complex equation doesn't mean they can solve it. Knowing is one thing, understanding is another, and getting there is something else entirely."
Mary, frustrated, said:
"So is there a way or not? Are you giving me hope just to crush it?"
Lastnine looked around and said:
"You'll only find out by searching. But there's one place that might give us answers—the interdimensional gate."
Mary asked:
"What's the interdimensional gate?"
Lastnine spoke as he reloaded his magazine:
"It's a place that connects and transports people to different worlds. Unlike normal teleportation, which only moves us within these worlds, the interdimensional gate can take us where we want to go. I don't know if it works for the anti-world, but we have to try."
Mary's eyes burned with determination, her energy surging infinitely. She declared:
"Then let's go. I want to bring Jasmine back."
Lastnine grinned and said:
"As you wish, kid. I wouldn't want to split up a couple into some yin-yang tragedy, hehe."
-In the Anti-World-
Jasmine's soul stirred, looking around. He wasn't yet fully consumed by nothingness, but it was slowly devouring him. He knew his end was near and closed his eyes, accepting his fate. Yet, his consciousness remained intact, sustained by the energy within him. Once that energy was fully consumed, he would become one of the void creatures, no longer human, existing as absolute nothingness—beyond even the concept of nothingness. But he still knew who he was, what kind of person he was, and that he still had someone he loved, someone who gave him a reason to keep going. His death had meaning. He began to meditate, his empty soul finding peace, entering a state of training.
-Back to Mary and Lastnine-
Lastnine and Mary traveled from world to world, searching for the interdimensional gate. Along the way, they discovered that each world was sustained by its own concepts and information, governed by its own rules and narratives. Each world was independent and equal, according to the many-worlds interpretation, where no world was lesser than another, and all were real. Within that reality was something called the fictional layer. There were infinite fictional layers, each transcending the one below it, treating lower layers as mere sheets of paper. Yet, no matter how many infinite layers existed, they could never surpass the world containing them. As Mary and Lastnine observed these layers, Lastnine thought to himself:
"This world is far bigger than I imagined."
After weeks of effort, they found the interdimensional gate in a vast library. They stepped through the gate, and Lastnine commanded:
"Take us to the anti-world."
A click sounded, and they arrived in a place so empty that Mary nearly turned to nothingness herself, only resisting by amplifying her energy. Lastnine and Mary looked around, but Mary saw nothing—just void and haze. Lastnine, however, saw everything: the dead, turned into voids emptier than nothingness. He said nothing and walked in a specific direction. Mary followed, confused, until he stopped and looked down. He said:
"Use your reality manipulation."
Mary nodded and activated her ability. Now she could see what Lastnine saw. She spotted Jasmine meditating. Though everything about him had ceased to exist, his energy was unmistakable, even in the void. She shouted:
"Jasmine!"
Jasmine, shocked, said:
"Mary and Lastnine?! How are you here?!"
Lastnine smirked and said:
"Here to save you, kid."
Jasmine replied:
"I can't be saved anymore. My fate is sealed here. I can't do anything. You two need to leave."
Mary shook her head and said:
"Not unless you come with us! You're important to us!"
Moved by her words, Jasmine said:
"Then help me escape this place!"
Lastnine grinned, grabbed Mary and Jasmine's energy form—since he could interact with the void—and ran. Countless void creatures chased them, trying to drag Jasmine back, as a dead soul leaving would cause the world and anti-world to collapse. Lastnine didn't care. He used his reality manipulation to create a gate identical to the interdimensional one and threw Mary through it. She pulled Jasmine along, but the boundary between the living and this world was unyielding. Mary pulled with all her might, tears streaming down her face as she screamed:
"Jasmine! Don't leave me, please!"
Hearing her and situation they in, Lastnine unleashed his full power, pulling Jasmine free from his fate, narrative, and predetermined end. Jasmine was no longer bound by his destiny or story. An explosion erupted, destroying the interdimensional gate Lastnine had created. The world and anti-world began to collapse, along with the fictional layers, as their rules, concepts, and information were shattered by Lastnine's actions, which defied everything. He carried Jasmine's soul and Mary out of that world, returning to his own. After the long journey, they burst into laughter, and Lastnine said:
"Don't worry, kid. I'll find you a new body. But this time, it'll be different. That body will just be a vessel. Your true form, I'll bring to a higher realm, because your power has grown enough to ascend beyond even that. So don't worry."
Jasmine thought for a moment and agreed. Lastnine pierced through Jasmine's energy, extracting his essence. Jasmine shifted from an energy form to a soul, fully restored. Lastnine bid them farewell and teleported away. Mary and Jasmine, now a soul, stood together. Mary looked at Jasmine, tears falling as she hugged his soul tightly and said:
"Do you know how scared I was, thinking I'd lost you forever? Please, don't ever leave me again."
Jasmine, surprised but smiling, hugged her back and said:
"I won't leave you again. I love you more than anything. Don't worry."
They embraced as shooting stars fell in their world, creating a breathtaking scene.
-In a Realm Higher Than the One Lastnine Mentioned-
Lastnine teleported to a realm so transcendent it treated infinite higher realms below it as mere books. His essence was fundamentally different, surpassing everything, even this realm. He placed Jasmine's essence next to his own and said:
"From now on, anyone who dares touch these kids will die by my hand. But these kids have some real potential… Perhaps some are already scheming bigger plans."