Time didn't slow.
It fractured.
For the first time in Loki's life, Mindveil Perception pushed beyond instinct.
The world split into sharp layers — like shards of broken mirrors, each showing a different angle of the same moment.
Each version of the Nullhound's charge.
Each potential kill path.
Each possible outcome.
All happening at once.
All waiting for Loki to choose.
Axis watched the air around Loki distort, bending light itself.
"…You're awakening," Axis whispered.
The Nullhound lunged forward, jaws opening wide.
Its teeth glowed with null-energy — an ability designed specifically to erase awakened powers.
Even one bite could end Loki permanently.
The creature's voice resonated through mechanical static:
"TERMINATE—TERMINATE—TERMINATE—"
Loki exhaled once.
The world snapped back into motion.
But slower than him.
Much slower.
He stepped to the side — one centimeter.
Just enough.
The Nullhound's claws tore through the air where Loki should've been.
Loki flicked Silent Edge outward—
a light, precise motion—
cutting a narrow line across the beast's armor.
Sparks flew.
The Nullhound recoiled, surprised.
Axis took a step closer.
"You just cut a Class-7 armor plate with a half swing.
That's… not normal, Loki."
Loki didn't respond.
His eyes were glowing — deep blue, almost electric.
The world dimmed at the edges.
Lines glowed across the battlefield —
angles of movement,
impact trajectories,
fracture points on armor,
weaknesses in every step the Nullhound took.
Loki saw everything.
Every possible motion.
Every possible mistake.
Every possible death.
"New ability," Axis murmured.
"Not time-slowing…
prediction amplification.
You're seeing outcomes."
Loki said quietly:
"I see where to strike."
The Nullhound roared and launched forward again — faster this time.
But Loki had already predicted its speed increase.
Three outcomes.
Two fatal.
One survivable.
He chose the survivable path, stepping into the attack instead of away from it.
The Nullhound swung—
Loki ducked under its claws.
The beast snapped at him—
Loki leaned just far enough for the bite to miss.
Every movement was surgical.
Mathematically perfect.
Axis watched, fascinated.
"No wasted motion…
no fear…
you really are the Silent Calculus."
The Nullhound whirled around, charging again with a shriek of metal on metal.
Loki's eyes flashed.
Fracture point found.
He gripped Silent Edge with both hands — something he almost never did.
His stance lowered.
Breath stilled.
Even the rain seemed to hold its fall.
Axis whispered:
"…He's going for a single decisive strike."
The Nullhound leapt.
Loki moved.
One quiet swing.
No roar.
No shout.
Just a whisper of steel.
The blade met the Nullhound's spine joint — the exact fracture point Mindveil revealed.
A perfect cut.
The Nullhound collapsed mid-air, its body falling apart in two clean halves that hit the ground with a metallic crash.
Silence.
Rain falling again.
Axis blinked once.
"…That was beautiful."
Loki sheathed Silent Edge without a sound.
But the victory didn't last.
Every soldier in the alley deactivated their visors at once — their helmets retracting with synchronized clicks.
A holographic pattern lit their eyes:
Zero.
A glowing, rotating zero.
Axis cursed under their breath.
"No… already?"
Loki turned slightly.
"What is it?"
The soldiers spoke in unison, their voices layered, unnatural, as if something else was talking through them.
"LOKI.
WE HAVE SEEN YOUR AWAKENING."
"DIVISION ZERO HAS CALCULATED YOUR THREAT INDEX."
"PREPARE FOR DIRECT INTERVENTION."
Axis backed up instantly.
"Loki…
run."
The soldiers' bodies froze—
turned white—
then shattered like mannequins made of glass.
Pieces clattered to the ground.
From the empty helmets…
something began stepping out.
Tall.
Pale.
Faceless.
Humanoid.
Generated from the shards of the soldiers themselves.
A Zero-Form Construct.
Axis whispered, voice tight:
"If the Nullhound was a test…
this is the real executioner."
Loki raised Silent Edge again.
Mindveil glowed brighter than ever.
And the faceless creature spoke with a voice like static and cold steel:
"LOKI.
YOUR EXISTENCE HAS BEEN FLAGGED FOR ERASEMENT."