It was like they were fighting empty air, but only they knew the threat hiding behind that spot in space and dinsion—well, all except for one.
The Bubble User narrowed his eyes as the space in front of the spot began forming into a spear once more.
Unlike the people around him, he couldn’t see the thing they’d been attacking. He was rely following the direction of their attacks. If not for the spatial distortion, he wouldn’t even know that the thing was already launching another strike.
Fortunately, because of the wall between their dinsions, the entity behind the spot in the sky had to exert trendous force to break through and send an attack—just like the spear now on its way toward them.
People with defensive abilities tried to stop it. The Bubble User ford layers of bubbles around the space-made spear to try and slow it down, but like the other Skills, they couldn’t stop its descent.
He shielded those without the ability to dodge, covering them in bubbles to push them a safe distance away. However, the massive deletion of space still caught so of the bubbles, further reducing their numbers.
"Tsk." The Bubble User frowned at the Chosen One, who was attempting to attack the spot by turning ti into an explosive. "This is a suicide mission. We have to retreat."
"Master, we can’t," said the Chosen One—a young man with blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes. His fra was frail, his face still carrying traces of innocence. "It has to end here."
The deaths of their comrades echoed through the Hive Mind as the thing attacked again—this ti raining down small space spears.
Yet despite the black holes devouring their allies, the people didn’t lose their will to fight.
"End here?" The Bubble User looked at the black holes beneath the red sky, then at the Hunters still clinging to hope, still striving for victory despite the death raining down around them.
His body, and the Chosen One’s, were shielded by bubbles as they floated from place to place, dodging the space spears that ford black holes upon impact.
"Yes," the Chosen One replied, his tone low and cold. "It has to end here. Everything."
"You saw the future... how far?" asked the Bubble User, the man who had trained him since he was a child.
"Everything ends here, under the red sky of the two moons. All deaths lead to this mont... all paths converge in this place..." Tears stread down the Chosen One’s cheeks as he fought with everything he had against the particular spot in the sky. "Master... I don’t want to die."
Hearing this, the Bubble User sighed and gently patted the young man’s back. "The future ends here, right?"
"Yes," the young man nodded, gritting his teeth. "No matter what I did... even when I went back to the past... it all stops here."
Upon hearing this, the Bubble User closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, they glinted with acceptance. "How many tis?"
"Hundreds... no... I don’t know... I lost count." As the Chosen One spoke, the emotion drained from his face, leaving it cold and empty. His outstretched hands, once reaching to help others, slowly slackened as he lost the will to fight—even to lift a finger.
Slowly, his arms dropped to his sides, and the deaths of the Hunters ca faster.
The Bubble User also stopped using his bubbles.
Being the only one capped at Level 50 while the rest were at least Level 90... the only thing he could do was delay their deaths—and be nothing more than a decoration on the battlefield.
Well, even if he broke his ceiling and reached Level 90, if the Chosen One said this was the end, then this was the end.
Letting out another sigh, the Bubble User turned to the spot in the sky that was raining down space spears. "So... 80 years. It took 70 years just to reach my Level Limit... but why here?"
"All roads end here," the Chosen One said. "All paths..."
As his words trailed off, he turned to another spot in the sky.
"Looking in another direction... that’s a bad sign." The Bubble User followed his gaze, but as usual, he couldn’t see anything.
There was a required Level to see their enemy—and that was Level 90. A level he would never reach in his entire life, no matter how hard he tried. His talent simply wouldn’t allow it.
The space in front of the new spot churned, and more space spears rained down.
Two spots in the sky, both unleashing spears that, upon eting any resistance, would explode into black holes.
The Hunters were caught off guard, but before they could steady their hearts, another presence erged from yet another direction.
And it didn’t stop there...
More presences. More sources. Until it felt like the sky itself had surrounded them.
The Bubble User was left speechless, watching the Hunters look everywhere—eyes wide, heads turning toward the endless sky.
"How many are there?" he asked.
"Thirteen," the Chosen One replied, just as the other Hunters began to drop their weapons.
Even the giant chanical armor sat down, steam hissing from its joints as though it had grown too tired to keep fighting.
"I see." Nodding slowly, the Bubble User created one final bubble and admired it. "So this really is the end, huh? How many tis have we had this conversation?"
"This is the first. I’ve always fought them, even when we were surrounded."
"The first, huh... You’ve done enough." The Bubble User placed a comforting hand on the young man’s shoulder.
"But you haven’t," the Chosen One said, turning to his master.
"Well... is that how you treat your master? Don’t look down on —I basically raised you," the Bubble User replied, speechless.
The Chosen One gave a small smile, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "I’ve been thinking... If my path ends here... what about yours?"
"We’re the sa. I’ll die here beside you," the Bubble User said as the pained screams of the Hunters echoed through the Hive Mind—until the connection vanished altogether.
"No, we’re not," the Chosen One said, his body suddenly glowing as clocks materialized around him. "My life ends here... but yours... I’ll defy my Ti to give you yours."
The Bubble User’s eyes widened in shock. "No! If you do that, you’ll erase yourself from Ti itself! You’ll cease to exist in every lifeti!"
"Master... everyone admires you. You’re our teacher. You’re the only one with the mind to surpass the rest of us. You’ll go back... and fix everything your student couldn’t. You are our only hope..." As the Chosen One’s words echoed, the space spears drew closer, while his body turned so bright he resembled a white sun.
"Stop it!" the Bubble User shouted, reaching for him—but his hands passed through nothing, and the world was swallowed in brilliant light. The roaring explosions fell silent, as though everything had just been a dream.
The Bubble User looked around, now standing alone in a world of white.
"I told him to stop..." he muttered, just as the white world cracked, revealing the void beneath. The fractures spread until the white shattered like glass.
Then he felt it—his body falling into the void.
He closed his eyes... and let himself be swallowed by Ti.
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