Tomorrow
Jasmine, in her soul form, along with Mary, teleports to where Lastnine and Jacob are, accompanied by the dragon. They see Lastnine preparing a large backpack, and Mary and Jasmine shout loudly:
"Let's go have some fun, old man!"
Lastnine laughs and says:
"Alright, let's go."
Jasmine and Mary ride on Jacob, while Lastnine rides the dragon, and they fly off, traversing countless worlds. The wings of the dragon and Jacob tear through space itself. Mary, screaming with excitement, controls Jacob and shouts in delight at the thrill of flying at such high speeds. Jasmine, holding onto Mary's waist from behind, laughs as well, seeing Mary so thrilled for the first time. Her face flushes slightly, as it's the first time she's held the waist of the girl she likes. After a few minutes, they arrive at their destination. Lastnine sets up their gear, while Jacob and the dragon playfully romp around. Jasmine and Mary sit and tinker with something new. Suddenly, Mary stands up and says:
"I just created a new spell, wanna see?"
Jasmine responds:
"Show me."
Mary raises her hand toward a mountain and says:
"Zaltrol!"
She focuses her energy, and a white beam shoots out, obliterating the entire mountain. The spell can fire a single beam or multiple beams at once while consuming very little energy. Jasmine, astonished, says with a joyful expression at Mary's progress:
"That beam's even better than the old man's! That's awesome!"
Lastnine, sitting nearby, says:
"Sounds pretty cool, but what about you, little Jasmine? Got anything new, or just some fancy slashes?"
Jasmine stands up with a smile and says:
"Alright, watch this, old man."
Jasmine summons three chains, pulling out the soul and mind of a nearby creature and erasing it completely. Lastnine lets out an impressed "Oh" and says:
"Pretty strong, but still not on Jacob's level, hehe."
Mary and Jasmine look at Lastnine and Jacob with dissatisfaction and say:
"Then show us what you and Jacob can do, old man!"
Lastnine laughs and calls Jacob over, commanding:
"Jacob, use your roar!"
Jacob obeys and lets out a roar that shakes everything around them, destroying hundreds of layers of fictional reality. But it's like a drop of water in the ocean, as there are infinite layers of fictional reality. Lastnine waves his hand to stop Jacob. After witnessing Jacob's destructive power, Jasmine and Mary realize that their current strength doesn't even compare to a fraction of Jacob's. Lastnine, seeing their reaction, laughs and says:
"Come on, you two, don't act like I'm playing favorites. You've both made significant achievements and created impressive new skills. Keep it up, and you'll get there."
After speaking, Lastnine pats both of their heads, along with Jacob's, and they enjoy the serene beauty of this place—a world of tranquility where even killing or destruction brings a sense of peace and calm to those present. After relaxing for a while, they continue their journey to the next world. As soon as they land, an explosion greets them. When Jasmine gets up, she sees a full-scale battle unfolding—a clash between two groups of mages: one side, the resistance, and the other, an organization fighting against terrorists. Jasmine, in her soul form, feels pain, likely because the magic here can affect her soul. She crawls forward to observe the battle and notices Lastnine, Mary, and Jacob watching the conflict unfold. With every death, each soul departs to the anti-world. After hours of fighting, the anti-terrorist organization emerges victorious, capturing a few survivors and taking them away. Jasmine, Lastnine, Mary, and Jacob follow and witness the captives being executed publicly as a warning, their heads falling with each swing of the blade. Jasmine nearly vomits at the sight but calms herself. Turning to Mary, Lastnine, and Jacob, she sees they share her discomfort but seem accustomed to such scenes. After exploring, the group moves on to the next world—the Infinite World, where everything, from concepts to information, existence to non-existence, reaches the level of infinity. While the four are wandering, Lastnine and Jasmine sense something. Jasmine summons her sword, Infernus, and Lastnine dashes to the right, while Jasmine moves to the left, blocking a thousand-ton slash from Jack. Lastnine creates a shield, successfully blocking countless laser beams aimed at Mary and Jacob. Jam, wielding a bone scythe, looks at Jack and Alice with an displeased expression and scolds:
"What did I tell you? No fighting!"
Jack tries to argue:
"But—"
Jam cuts him off:
"I said this is the first and last time. Behave, or take a few days off before fighting again, or I'll kill you."
Jack, furious but powerless, nods reluctantly. Jam turns to Lastnine with a sinister smile:
"Isn't this Lastnine, the one with nullification abilities? So glad to meet you for the first time."
Lastnine responds:
"Not the first time, is it? You were dragging those two along with you before."
Jam laughs and says:
"So you can see my true form?"
Lastnine replies:
"Correct. My left eye, the Eye of Judgment, allows me to see you. As long as I look at you or you look at me, no amount of infinite layers of invisibility will be enough."
Jam, surprised, says:
"Well, well, it seems my enemy is more capable than I thought."
Lastnine smiles and says:
"I'd love to have a fair fight with you someday."
Jam replies:
"Why not?"
Jam and his group leave, leaving Jasmine and Jacob bewildered. Jasmine, angry, asks Lastnine:
"Why didn't you just kill them, old man?"
Lastnine gestures for Jasmine to be quiet and says:
"We don't need to. They'll leave on their own. Besides, we have Jacob. Why worry about those fools?"
Meanwhile
Jack, furious, says to Jam:
"Why didn't you let me kill them all?"
Jam calmly responds:
"We don't need to. Those two kids are weak and could be killed in one blow. But Lastnine and his companion are on a different level. They could easily take us out, especially Lastnine with those eyes…"
Alice, curious, asks:
"What's with his eyes?"
Jam answers:
"That left eye doesn't just see through infinite layers of invisibility—it has other abilities too. But that's all I know. Be especially cautious of those two."
Alice and Jack nod, and the three head to another world.
Meanwhile
Jasmine, Mary, Jacob, and Lastnine move to another world and stop to eat. But when they unpack their food, it's gone—the dragon ate it all. Lastnine sighs and leads the group to a restaurant. When they arrive, Lastnine tells the three to find a seat while he orders. A waitress approaches, and Lastnine orders noodles, a beef steak, fried rice, and fried fish. The waitress takes the order and hurries off. Lastnine returns to the table and says:
"Alright, I've ordered. Do whatever you want while we wait. I'm resting for a bit."
Jasmine and Mary hear this, and Jasmine asks Lastnine:
"Can we visit mine and Mary's world after this?"
Lastnine responds:
"Your and Mary's world? Sounds worth a visit. We'll go there after we eat."
Jasmine, remembering something from yesterday, asks:
"Why did you get so mad about that tracking device yesterday, old man? Did it bring up some bad memories?"
Lastnine looks at the sky and says:
"Don't ask too much. Just know it brought up some bad memories."
Jasmine doesn't press further and sits quietly. Suddenly, a shout comes from behind Jasmine and Mary. They turn to see Sarah and John, their old classmates. Jasmine and Mary approach them with smiles and ask:
"What are you two doing here?"
John replies with a grin:
"We just killed a level-six dragon. What about you two?"
Jasmine answers:
"We're heading back to our world to visit. It's been a while."
Sarah asks:
"Are you two alone?"
Jasmine shakes her head and says:
"Nope, we're with my teacher and our new companion."
She points to Lastnine and Jacob sitting nearby and says:
"Those two. The guy in black is Lastnine, our superior, and Jacob, our new companion."
John and Sarah glance at Lastnine and Jacob, unimpressed. John scoffs:
"That weakling and that monster are your superior and new companion? Pfft, they're probably just level four."
Mary, enraged, snaps back:
"Hey! Our superior could beat you both so bad your parents wouldn't recognize you!"
Jasmine tries to intervene, but John grabs Mary by the collar. Jasmine attempts to stop him but is frozen by Sarah's ice magic. With a single touch, Lastnine melts the ice and grabs John's hand, crushing it with a squeeze, causing John to collapse in pain. Lastnine glares at John and Sarah and says:
"I don't like using excessive force, so you'd better behave and leave before I lose my temper."
John, in agony, scrambles away in panic, with Sarah following. Lastnine frees Jasmine from the remaining ice, helps her and Mary up, and the three return to their table. The food arrives, and the four of them dig in. After a satisfying meal, Lastnine pays, and they leave the world, heading to Jasmine and Mary's homeworld—the World of Talents, where talents are born and trained. As they approach, a red beam shoots toward them, but Lastnine's shield blocks it, and they land safely in Nevudas, the hometown of Jasmine and Mary, a place where people farm, weave, and work using their abilities, not just their hands. Jasmine leads Lastnine on a tour of the village, while Mary takes the dragon elsewhere. At every house, Lastnine is warmly welcomed and given fruits, vegetables, and other gifts, which he accepts with a smile, bowing and thanking them. When they reach Jasmine's house, she takes off her shoes and says:
"Make yourself at home, old man. No one's here, so don't worry."
Lastnine says:
"You and Mary were orphans, raised in the palace as fighting machines, but after the fourth civilian uprising, you both lived in this village before meeting me."
Jasmine replies:
"Heh, using your past-reading ability, old man?"
Lastnine nods and says:
"It's just a branch of reality manipulation, so it's normal for me."
Jasmine tries to use a similar ability on Lastnine but finds nothing—no script, no past, no future. She thinks to herself:
"Old man… no plot, no past, no future? That means he's no longer tied to his world. Everyone is connected to their world—if it's destroyed, they die. Yet he's still here. Even the destruction of his world doesn't affect him because he's no longer bound by any script, past, or future."
Lastnine looks at Jasmine and says:
"What're you thinking about for so long?"
Jasmine startles and says:
"Nothing, old man."
Lastnine looks around and says:
"Where's Jacob?"
Jasmine, surprised, says:
"Huh? I thought Jacob was with us."
Lastnine steps outside and sees Jacob waiting. He sighs in relief and calls Jacob inside. Jacob shrinks to Jasmine's height and walks in. Jasmine, curious, says:
"Size-shifting?"
Jacob nods. Lastnine takes off his shoes, while Jacob doesn't need to, as his integrated armor adjusts to fit its wearer. Lastnine asks:
"When's little Mary coming back?"
Jasmine shakes her head and says:
"No idea, old man. Mary said she was going to meet some teachers and friends."
Lastnine crosses his arms and says:
"It's been three hours already."
Jasmine, worried, asks:
"Should we go look for her?"
Lastnine replies:
"No need. You both have far-sight abilities, so relax."
Jasmine uses her wide-range vision to scan the surroundings and sees Mary being brutally beaten by a general of the Crimson Emperor. Each punch shatters Mary's bones, and she cries out in pain as a blow makes her cough up blood and collapse. Jasmine hears Mary's cries and shouts in fury:
"You bastard—"
A bullet, followed by a barrage of bullets, is fired. Instead of traveling, the bullets instantly pierce the general's body. The gun's nature ignores distance, time, and space, hitting its target absolutely. The preemptive shots make the Crimson Emperor's general scream in pain. Jasmine arrives two seconds later, using her chains to pull out the general's soul and mind, erasing him completely, leaving only a lifeless corpse. Lastnine and Jacob appear behind her. Jasmine tries to use reality manipulation to heal Mary but realizes she hasn't mastered it, blaming herself as tears stream down her face:
"How can I be so useless?"
Lastnine pats Jasmine's shoulder, stands beside her, and uses his reality manipulation to restore Mary's critical injuries. As Mary slowly sits up, Jasmine hugs her, trembling, and says:
"Be more careful next time. You almost made me cry."
Mary, surprised, hugs her back and says:
"Yeah, I'll be more careful next time."
Lastnine examines the general's corpse with his eye and analyzes it, concluding:
"This guy was a subordinate of the Crimson Emperor, one of the Five Great Emperors. He's tough to kill, so you two need to start training now."
Jasmine and Mary nod silently, and the four head back.
Meanwhile
Jam, Alice, and Jack arrive at a black castle filled with grotesque creatures. Jam smiles, pulls out his scythe, and starts the battle with a preemptive strike, shouting with a sinister grin:
"GRAVITY!"
A massive gravitational force crashes down on the creatures. Weaker ones are crushed beyond recognition, while stronger ones hold their ground. Jam laughs, raises his arm, and clenches his fist, pulling everything into a black point, sucking them all in. He then unleashes a black slash, killing every creature gathered there. Jam, Jack, and Alice head to the throne and see a figure, an overwhelming presence that makes Jack and Alice shudder but excites Jam. He sees the figure's empty black eyes, smiles, and says:
"Hello, Emperor void."