Threads of Oblivion

Chapter 7: Shattered Horizons

The first scene

The collapse of the Nexus was no mere event—it was the death knell of reality. Time itself cracked open, unraveling like a bleeding wound. The world was a void, an expanse of chaos where the laws of existence shredded and reassembled, constantly, violently, beyond all recognition. Every footstep was an act of defiance against the entropy that consumed them.

The Aftermath Begins

Astra crumpled, gasping for breath, clutching her side where jagged, phantom pain stabbed at her ribs. Caelum, his face ashen but unwavering, steadied her, though his own strength was already fading, threads of his power flickering like dying embers. Darius stood apart, his cold, calculating gaze sweeping the devastation, eyes devoid of any warmth. Diana, her once-commanding presence reduced to a trembling silhouette, stood at the edge of the broken horizon, watching the fracture lines consume everything, as though they were the last vestiges of something that never had a chance.

"The Nexus is gone," Diana said, voice hollow with disbelief. "But this... this isn't balance. This is the end."

Caelum's hands twitched, threads of light weaving uselessly against the ravaging chaos. "The Nexus wasn’t just a prison," he rasped. "It was the keystone. Alaric built this... and now that it’s gone, reality is collapsing."

Darius stepped forward, his voice like shattered glass. "Then we stabilize it. That’s why we’re here." He attempted to impose order, his threads spooling out with mechanical precision, but they fizzled against the raw destruction.

Diana's gaze locked with Caelum’s, her voice trembling. "No... He’s still out there, isn't he? Alaric. He *knew* this would happen."

Caelum's eyes flashed with grim realization, his skin growing colder as the very air seemed to freeze in place.

The Reveal: Alaric’s Survival

From the fissures in the fractured world, a figure emerged—a hollow, rotting version of Nolan, his flesh distorting, unhinging, revealing the familiar, twisted gaze of Alaric beneath.

"Surprised?" Alaric’s voice slithered through the air like a poison. His smile was venomous, cruel. "I told you, Caelum. The Nexus was never the end. It was only the beginning. You’ve merely traded one prison for another."

Astra’s fists clenched, her threads crackling with incandescent fury. "You were supposed to be dead."

Alaric's laughter cut through her words, sharp and final. "Death? You misunderstand. I’ve *transcended* time. I am time. The Nexus wasn’t my prison, it was my *gift*—a chance to watch the world fall apart. And now, it will."

Caelum’s voice was ice. "You trapped everyone in that nightmare. You've condemned us all."

Alaric tilted his head, mocking. "And yet here I stand. Your mother's threads, and now yours, the only thing keeping this fragile reality intact."

The Fracture Beasts Return

Before anyone could respond, the rifts opened wider, and through them, the Beasts emerged—monstrous amalgamations of shadow and void, born of broken time itself. They were no longer mindless, but intelligent, hungry predators, born to devour the collapsing world.

"They're feeding on the collapse!" Diana screamed, her threads forming a shield that shuddered under the weight of their strength.

The Beasts roared, their forms writhing as they surged forward. Caelum and Astra reacted in unison, their threads spinning, snapping, cutting through the beasts—but it was clear: they were too powerful, too fast, as if the destruction of the Nexus had awakened a new breed of terror.