The tear in the sky widened.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Like something on the other side was taking its time.
Kael didn't move.
Didn't step back.
Didn't even blink.
Lyra did.
One step.
Then another.
Instinct screaming at her to leave.
"…That's not a monster," she said, voice low.
Kael tilted his head slightly.
"Disappointed?"
She ignored that.
Smart.
The thing inside the tear shifted.
Not physically.
Conceptually.
The air warped.
Sound dulled.
Even light seemed reluctant to exist near it.
Then—
It emerged.
A shape.
Barely humanoid.
Made of fragmented darkness and pale light, constantly rearranging itself like it couldn't decide what it was.
And above it—
A message forced its way into existence.
[Designation: NULL ENFORCER]
[Purpose: Anomaly Erasure]
Lyra's breath hitched.
"…Run."
Kael didn't.
The Null Enforcer moved.
No windup.
No signal.
It simply—
was in front of him.
A hand—if it could be called that—reached forward.
Kael reacted instantly.
"Glitch."
The space between them fractured—
But—
Nothing happened.
The Enforcer didn't slow.
Didn't flicker.
Didn't acknowledge the attempt.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"…System integrity on steroids."
The attack landed.
Kael twisted—
But not fully.
The Enforcer's hand brushed his side—
And reality… peeled.
Not flesh.
Not bone.
Something deeper.
Kael staggered back.
For the first time—
His expression changed.
"…That's new."
There was no wound.
No blood.
But something felt… missing.
Lyra moved.
Fast.
Faster than before.
Her blade flashed toward the Enforcer's neck.
It passed through.
No resistance.
No damage.
The Enforcer didn't even look at her.
"…It's ignoring me," she said, stunned.
Kael exhaled slowly.
"Because you're not the problem."
The Enforcer turned back to him.
Confirmed.
Target locked.
Kael straightened.
Rolling his shoulder slightly.
Testing.
"…So direct interference doesn't work."
He stepped forward.
"Good."
Lyra stared at him like he'd lost whatever remained of his sanity.
"…Good?"
Kael's eyes sharpened.
"Means it has rules."
The Enforcer attacked again.
This time—
Kael didn't use Glitch.
He waited.
The hand came closer—
Closer—
Then—
He moved.
Not away.
Into it.
At the last possible moment—
Kael shifted his position just enough—
And activated his skill.
"Glitch."
Not on the Enforcer.
On himself.
For a split second—
Kael's body desynced.
The Enforcer's hand passed through him—
Like he wasn't fully there.
Lyra's eyes widened.
"…You—"
Kael reappeared behind it.
Breathing slightly heavier.
"…That works."
The Enforcer paused.
Just for a fraction.
Processing.
Adapting.
Kael smiled faintly.
"Yeah, do that."
It turned.
Faster this time.
Its form stabilized slightly.
Less fragmented.
More… defined.
Lyra stepped in again.
"Then we hit it together—"
"Don't."
She froze.
Kael didn't look at her.
"You'll die."
Flat.
Certain.
No room for argument.
The Enforcer moved again.
This time—
Different.
The ground beneath Kael cracked—
Then vanished.
A void opened under his feet.
Kael dropped—
But twisted mid-fall—
"Glitch!"
The void stuttered—
Collapsed—
He landed hard, sliding back.
"…So it can manipulate space too."
The Enforcer didn't stop.
Didn't hesitate.
It raised its hand—
And the sky flickered again.
Lyra's voice cut through—
"…It's scaling."
Kael exhaled slowly.
"Yeah."
That was a problem.
The longer this went—
The stronger it got.
Kael's gaze sharpened.
"Then we end it fast."
For the first time—
He changed stance.
Lower.
Sharper.
Focused.
The Abyss System flickered.
[Skill: Glitch – Lv.3]
[Sub-Effect: Target Lock Ready]
Kael's eyes locked onto the Enforcer.
"…Got you."
The world seemed to narrow.
Everything else faded.
Distance.
Movement.
Timing.
All calculated.
The Enforcer moved.
So did Kael.
They collided—
For a split second—
Reality couldn't keep up.
"Glitch."
This time—
He didn't aim at the body.
He aimed at—
The connection.
The invisible thread tying it to the system.
And for the first time—
Something broke.
The Enforcer flickered.
Violently.
Its form destabilized.
The message above it glitched—
[ERROR]
[CONNECTION UNSTABLE]
Kael's smile widened.
"There it is."
The Enforcer reacted instantly.
Its form surged—
Trying to stabilize—
But Kael was already moving.
"Glitch."
Again.
The connection twisted further.
Cracked.
The Enforcer let out a sound.
Not a scream.
A distortion.
Like something wasn't supposed to feel pain—
But did anyway.
Lyra stared.
Frozen.
"…He's… breaking it."
Kael stepped forward one last time.
Calm.
Certain.
And reached out.
"Glitch."
The connection snapped.
The Enforcer—
Collapsed.
Not destroyed.
Disconnected.
Its body froze—
Then dissolved into fragments of light and shadow.
Gone.
Silence.
The tear in the sky sealed instantly.
The pressure vanished.
The world… stabilized.
Kael stood there.
Breathing steady.
A new message appeared.
[Emergency Threat Neutralized]
[Anomaly Status: Escalated]
"…Figures."
Lyra looked at him.
Not cautious anymore.
Not curious.
Something else.
"…What are you?"
Kael glanced at her.
A faint smile.
"Problem."
Far beyond the sky—
The Overseer no longer observed passively.
It acted.
[Initiating Phase 2]