★209
HINATA'S POV
Weeks had gone by since the incident, but nothing had really changed.
The place felt too quiet, like everything had been left exactly as it was and no one wanted to be the one to disturb it. The island has been on locked down eversince, denying both entry and exit.
Atlas never came back from Raja but Towa has been captured. Elaine is still unconscious, leaving just the two of us.
Asteri's body was still there. The injuries were gone now, healed so cleanly it was hard to believe how bad they had been, yet he hadn't moved at all. No sign of waking, no reaction to anything around him. Just… still.
"He looks like he's asleep."
I said, more to fill the silence than anything else, my eyes fixed on him.
Zhou stood beside me, watching just as closely, though he looked far less unsettled by it.
"Knowing Antares, he's planning something."
He replied.
"That weapon may have affected him, but it wouldn't be enough to finish him."
I nodded, even if part of me wasn't fully convinced.
"He's strong. His creations can't kill their creator."
Zhou shifted slightly.
"But that dagger wasn't completely under his control."
"I know."
I let out a small breath, rubbing the back of my neck before looking back at Asteri again.
"Still… he'll survive."
For a moment, neither of us said anything. It wasn't exactly tense, just… uncomfortable. The kind of quiet that makes you start thinking more than you want to.
"I'll take the Dragons and go check again."
I said at last.
Zhou glanced at me.
"You've been on edge for days. Try to relax a bit. He'll come back on his own."
"I do trust that."
I replied, though it didn't come out as firmly as I meant it to. I hesitated, then added.
"I just need to find him first."
That probably didn't make much sense, but I didn't bother explaining it. I turned to leave but stopped all of a sudden.
Something felt off. I couldn't hear anything, and nothing around us had moved, but I knew I hadn't imagined it. I turned back quickly and he was there.
A figure standing right in front of Ati-chan's body.
I didn't see him move. One second there was nothing, the next he was just… there. Like he'd always been standing in that spot and we'd somehow missed it.
A chill ran through me before I could stop it. There was no disturbance in the Energy, which should've been possible.
Zhou's eyes narrowed as he reacted immediately.
"Move, and you die."
His voice cut cleanly through the stillness, low and certain, leaving no room for doubt. It should have been enough to stop anyone but it didn't.
The intruder didn't even acknowledge him. His attention remained fixed on Asteri's body, as though nothing else in the room mattered. Slowly, almost lazily, he raised a hand.
Sharp, metallic cracks rang out, filling the air. It sounded like chains snapping, one after the other, echoing through the space in a way that didn't feel entirely physical. The noise settled uneasily in my chest.
"So he's the first to break free of Resist…"
Zhou muttered, more to himself than to me.
He moved immediately after. A spear formed in his grasp as if it had always been there, and I reacted without thinking, wrapping it in Yin and Yang flames before he launched it forward. The attack tore through the air with enough force to distort it but the unexpected always happens in these moments.
The spare just… stopped. It hung there for a split second, suspended in front of the intruder, before the lavender flames flickered out and the weapon crumbled into nothing, breaking apart like ash caught in a breeze that didn't exist.
My breath caught as he spread his fingers slightly. The violet barrier surrounding Asteri wavered, then peeled away, as though it had never truly belonged there. It flowed towards his hand, drawn in and absorbed without resistance.
Darkness followed, seeping outward and wrapping around Asteri's body before pulling it in as well.
My eyes widened.
"Wait..."
I could complain but Zhou was already moving.
He crossed the distance in an instant, faster than anything I'd seen from him before, his blade drawn and aimed straight for the intruder's face.
"Give him back."
The strike should have landed but it was too late.
The figure vanished before the blade could reach him, leaving nothing behind, not even a trace of movement, as if he had simply been removed from the space altogether as fast as he came.
Zhou held his position for a fraction of a second, then lowered his sword, his expression tightening.
"We're leaving."
There was no hesitation in his voice, no room to argue. I didn't question it. I reached for him, and the world folded around us as we teleported away but even in that split second, I felt it.
A presence was following. Tracking us perfectly. Space stretched out in every direction, vast and empty. The figure stood alone in the void, unmoving.
White hair drifted around his face, shifting slightly despite the absence of wind, as though something unseen was brushing past him. There was no urgency in his posture, no sign that anything had just happened. He simply waited.
A faint distortion rippled through the darkness as Zhou and Hinamatsuri appeared moments later, their arrival sharp against the stillness.
Zhou stepped forward immediately.
"I said..."
"Long time no see, Sensei."
A voice called out. It didn't come from in front of us or behind. It wasn't tied to any direction at all. It seemed to settle into the space itself, quiet but unmistakable.
Zhou froze. For the first time, his composure cracked, if only slightly. His eyes shifted, searching, trying to find where it had come from.
"Asteri? No, Antares?"
"Stand back and don't intervene. This is their fight."
The voice answered again, and this time a portal opened above us.
Asteri emerged from it slowly, descending with a kind of effortless grace as though the space itself was lowering him into place.
He had always carried himself with a certain presence, the kind that made people stop and look without quite knowing why, but this was different. The white, red, and gold of his attire caught what little light there was and seemed to give it back in return, the colours blending into something that felt far more deliberate than mere appearance. There was nothing excessive about it, yet it was impossible to ignore.
He came to a stop just outside the portal, suspended there, his gaze fixed entirely on the one who had taken Ati-chan.
The invader didn't look away. Behind the strange, almost alien mask, there was no expression to read, only a steady, unwavering stare. His black cloak shifted faintly, not quite moving like fabric should, carrying a dim, unnatural glow that set him apart from the emptiness around us.
Before I realised it, Ati-chan was looking at me. That was when I let it go.
His eyes were cold, unmistakably so, and that same golden gaze I had seen the day we first met stared back at me without a trace of warmth.
For a moment, I almost called out to him, the name catching in my throat, but the words never came. Something about him felt distant, wrong in a way I couldn't quite explain, and yet I knew, no matter how much had changed, that Asteri was still Asteri.
From the edge of the portal, a set of steps began to form, unfolding downward as though they had always been part of it. A figure appeared at the top and began to descend, her movements measured and composed, each step carrying a quiet elegance that drew my attention without effort.
As she came closer, my breath caught.
"M… m..."
The sound died before it could become a word. I just stared, trying to make sense of what I was seeing, because the person walking towards us was me. Hinamatsuri.
"Ordinarily, identical existences from different timelines shouldn't cross paths."
Zhou said under his breath, his tone low and controlled.
"You've gone beyond that threshold, and Asteri is holding everything in place to prevent any kind of disruption."
I barely registered his words.
Our eyes met, and she gave a small, easy wave, as though this were the most natural thing in the world. Still trying to process it, I lifted my hand and returned the gesture without thinking.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mother of Dragons."
She said, her voice calm, addressing me by a title I was still getting used to hearing.
"Nice to meet you too… Hinamatsuri."
I replied, unsure of what else to call her, since I had no idea what name or title she carried where she came from.
She smiled faintly, then turned her attention elsewhere. "Sorry for taking your time, my love."
She said, her tone softening before she stepped back towards the portal. She paused for a brief moment and added.
"We'll be waiting for you."
With that, she turned and disappeared through the opening. The portal closed soon after, and the space around us felt different again, quieter in a way that settled heavily.
The new Asteri said nothing. He remained where he was, his expression unreadable, offering no reaction to what had just happened.
After a moment, Zhou broke the silence.
"Young Lord, what is the 'business' you mentioned?"
"Like I said, it's between them. I won't be interfering."
The unseen voice replied.
"The Divine Hero chose this place, and I see no reason to force them out."
'If Zhou is conversing with him, it means it's Antares, not Asteri. Besides, his voice is different. It's not the voice of the Asteri I know.'
"Timeline Disruptor, Quantum Quake… I'm glad you answered my summons."
The one Antares had referred to as the Divine Hero finally spoke, his voice calm and controlled, carrying the exact same tone and cadence as the Asteri I knew.
It was unsettling how familiar it sounded, even though everything about him felt… off, like I was looking at a version of someone I recognised but didn't fully understand.
"Q–Quantum Quake?"
Zhou repeated, the surprise in his voice slipping through before he could hide it.
"The Divine Hero?"
I asked quietly, my gaze still fixed on him.
Ton, standing beside me, answered without taking his eyes off the scene.
"It's the same idea. Just like your Asteri is known as the Misfit Scourge, this version carries a different title. He must have been a Hero in his own world."
That was enough to piece it together. I gave a small nod and let it go, focusing instead on what was unfolding in front of us.
"Not much of a talker?"
The Divine Hero's gaze dipped slightly as he addressed the intruder, his tone calm but edged with quiet expectation.
There was no reply. If anything, the silence only deepened. Quantum Quake remained where he stood, unmoving, the mask hiding whatever expression lay beneath. For a brief moment, it seemed as though he had no intention of responding at all.
Then a low hiss slipped through the stillness. It wasn't loud, but it carried, sharp enough to draw attention without effort. His hand lifted slowly, and as it did, a dark glow began to gather around it, faint at first before growing denser.
The aura that followed didn't flare outward like ordinary power; it seeped from him instead, curling and spreading in thin, smoke-like strands that clung to his form, giving the impression of something restrained rather than released.
[[IMAGE]]
[[IMAGE]]
"Straight to business. I like that… But.."
He puased for a moment, the space behind him began to fracture.
Portals opened one after another, spreading outward in layers, each revealing a different version of Asteri drawn from elsewhere. They stepped forward just enough to be seen, their presence overlapping without colliding, their eyes all settling on Quantum Quake with the same cold, exhausted disdain, as though this was not the first time they had faced something like him.
"Like a Dark Star, your existence distorts the fabric of space and time."
The Divine Hero continued, his voice steady as it carried across the void.
"Left unchecked, you would reduce an entire timeline to ruin."
"So that's his sin."
Ton murmured beside me, more understanding than surprise in his tone.
"In the abyss of the infinite, your star will be extinguished, and your existence cast into a darkness from which it will not return."
There was a finality to the way he said it that made it clear this was not a threat, but a decision already made.
Ton shifted immediately, reaching to pull me back as the pressure in the space began to rise, but before he could act, the world around me slipped. One moment I was beside him, the next I was somewhere else entirely, the transition so sudden it left no room to react.
His expression darkened.
"Lightless, Antares."
He muttered under his breath before retreating into his own defences, abandoning any attempt to follow.
"I permit you all to deliver judgement."
The Divine Hero's voice rang out again, cutting cleanly through everything. He raised his hand and pointed downward in a single, deliberate motion.
At once, every version of Asteri responded. The portals surged with light as the countless selves moved in perfect synchrony, their focus narrowing onto a single point.
Then, without hesitation, they descended together, their combined presence pressing in from all directions as they closed in on Quantum Quake.
To be continued...