Kokabiel POV

  I materialized in my office, the notification still burning across my vision.

  [Warning! Warning!] [Chat group member The Fool has died!]

  Klein Moretti , the boy I shared an adventure with just a day ago was now dead.

  The words didn't make sense. I'd seen him yesterday s per DxD world's flow of time. He was alive, joking, complaining about Kazuma's terrible financial decisions.

  He was usually more conservative with others but with us, he was trying to put an effort to be friends. We talked about him becoming an outer god in his world and the cost of it. He didn't wish to go through a traumatic experience like mine.

  I remember his words as he walked away to rejoin the party, " I don't mind taking a little risk to obtain power, if I could protect my loved ones."

  Then he turned around and flashed a shy but charming grin. " And if things don't work out, I have you looking after us all, Mr. True Outer God."

  I just smiled and shook my head as he walked away.

  Now the system was telling me he was gone.

  I sank into my chair, pulling up the chat interface with hands that weren't quite steady.

  The group was already exploding with messages.

  [Advocate of Gender Equality: What the FUCK do you mean Klein's dead?!]

  Kazuma was laying in his bed tired after the fight with the destroyer. He was in a somewhat happy mood after ripping off Whitebeard's move and crushing the giant machine.

  But that notification had sent him jumping up to his bed.

  [Shadow Monarch: This has to be an error. The system must have glitched.]

  Jin Woo was equally stunned. He thought Klein was a pretty smart and dependable guy, with ways to escape any danger.

  But if the chat group showed this message, it's probably true. Just like how Kokabiel died countless times during his ascension to an Outer God.

  [Flash Goddess: Klein-kun was just talking to us! He can't be dead! Can he resurrect himself like Kokabiel?]

  Youruichi was shaking. In her long life as shinigami she has seen a lot of death. But the feeling of losing a comrade, it never fades. That's also why she wanted nothing to do with fighting any more.

  But when she saw that message, her first instinct was to travel to his world and help him. Despite her teasing ways, she valued her friends dearly.

  But she found the option being grayed out witha sidenote (No members exist in the current world you are trying to Access.)

  [Girl Who Loves Reading: Please, Kokabiel check on him. Only you can travel to other worlds with your powers. Maybe he's just injured badly and in a coma ?]

  Robin was sleeping peacefully in the Thousand Sunny as she woke up to the alert. She felt confused and worried about her new friend. But her powers weren't enough to deal with something that could kill Klein before he could even seek help.

  [Advocate of Gender Equality: How the hell do we even check?! Kokabiel was banned to travel in our worlds as his existence mesees with them. And I don't know where his world is! Does anyone have world travel vouchers?! I don't have points.]

  They were panicking. Desperate for answers, for someone to tell them this was all a mistake. That Klein was fine and the system had just malfunctioned somehow.

  I wished I could tell them that.

  But the chat group system didn't make mistakes. When it declared someone dead, it meant their life force within their physical body had been completely destroyed.

  But his soul wasn't gone. Neither did it enter the circle of life. Each souls get recycled after their body's death, and enters into the circle. Although it looked more like a tree.

  This tree of Life then condenses the souls and then redistributes them into the worlds. You see, the omniverse has a limit of how many souls it can contain. The tree of life is the amalgamation of that.

  It can't just mass produce new souls like printing money. So each soul has to be recycled and reused so that the circle doesn't break.

  Interesting fact, once Azathoth awakens, it is due to the circle being broken. When life becomes too much to contain, the noise shall awaken him, and end all of reality.

  Then I am supposed to engulf Everything within my dimensions and then after eons, restart the whole thing again.

  So how does someone from the omniverse , within it's time and space cycle become like me? Was it all predetermined? Even Hastur's action? I had the answer, but I just didn't wish to learn it.

  I barely regained myself, I don't wish to risk it. I had people to look after now. And worst case, I'll just open that box once all who know and love me have long since passed away.

  But it seems Klein might be lucky. I could feel his soul inside a sub dimension.

  Before anything, I needed to see what actually happened. I Needed to understand how Klein had gone from laughing with us to dead in less than a day.

  I closed my eyes and activated my omniscience which I usually kept sealed away.

  The power surged through me—that uncomfortable awareness I'd gained from becoming an outer god.

  It lets me see beyond worlds or dimensions, perceive events that had already occurred, occurring, or will occur. I can see and understand all that were deliberately hidden.

  Klein's world will resisted at first. The Lord of Mysteries universe was built on secrets and mysteries, and it didn't appreciate being observed.

  But my omniscience was designed specifically to pierce that kind of barrier, to see what shouldn't be seen.

  I got a message in the group chat immediately. Then a bunch of them. All from his world will.

  [ Lord of The Mysteries World Will : whoa whoa ....um sir Kokabiel, he is fine . Klein Moretti isn't dead! Please calm down!]

  [ Stop! You're literally trying rip a hole through my barrier! It's a Canon event!]

  [Please don't break me good sir!]

  I ignored the pitiful display of the so called world will and asked in my usual voice. I didn't type like usual.

  "I am perfectly calm as always. I merely wish to learn what happened with ...my friend. I won't destroy your world. But if you stop me, the outcome might lead to that."

  Lord of The Mysteries World Will was screaming in panic." Who the helll says they are calm when they are ripping apart a world with a thought! Fine, I'll let you see what happened but please don't do anything reckless.

  He is the protagonist so he will be fine.... Wait, what are you.... Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!! You broke it..... You broke my barrier! Even those guys can't do it! I need to call.."

  I raised a my hand to silence it and spoke softly " I will fix it once I leave. Do not interfere."

  The remaining resistance crumbled. The vision formed.

  And I watched Klein Moretti's last day unfold before me like a play I couldn't pause or stop.

  Lord of Mysteries World - Tingen CityAbout Eight Hours Ago

  Klein landed on his bed with a contented sigh, still riding the high from the One Piece adventure.

  His body ached in that pleasant way that came from hard training and successful missions. They fought some eldritch horrors together and partied like there was no tomorrow. And he got some valuable fighting experience.

  Good times. Really good times.

  Kazuma had been his usual comedic disaster self, causing chaos . They had a weird friendship forming already .

  Yoruichi was effortlessly cool yet somewhat teasing. She had the strength to back up her actions, even when she always tryied to make him blush.

  Robin was quietly brilliant and reliable when needed. She was... Interesting. Klein and her shared interests in knowledge and history, and their time spent researching the world was fun.

  Jin Woo was reliably competent and strong, and they clicked almost immediately, although he had concerns for his mental well being with the weird romanace routes being forced on him.

  As for Kokabiel... Klein still wasn't entirely sure what to make of Kokabiel.

  The angel, if he still could be called that, was kind and helpful, but there was this distance to him. Like he was playing the role of a friend while keeping his actual self carefully locked away.

  Despite his struggles, he genuinely cared about them. And each one of them trusted him blindly to have their back when needed.

  Still, he'd been good company. They all had been. Klein was already looking forward to their next adventure. It was about time he learned to live a little more.

  Klein pulled up the chat group interface, curious to see if everyone had made it back to their respective worlds safely. The screen flickered to life, already showing new messages.

  [Last Master of Humanity: hey guys, how did your mission go? Really sorry I couldn't join you.]

  [Heaven's Wrath: it went rather well. I hope you are doing well too, Ritsuka.]

  [Last Master of Humanity: oh, that's nice. I'm doing fine. Wukong san managed to sever the connection between heaven and earth, and now it's about to be normal again. What did you guys face there?]

  [Heaven's Wrath: Just a parasite who wouldn't bother again. I'll let the others fill you in the details. I have to return to Heaven. 50 years have passed in my world and I have some very pissed off siblings to apologize.]

  The chat went on between the others and Ritsuka before they were interrupted by Kazuma.

  [Advocate of Gender Equality: I returned in triumph.... Only to find there's a thing called 'the destroyer' causing havoc! And my stupid party members decided to go on a grand quest and ended up destroying more properties than the fucking destroyer! I hate my life!]

  Klein snorted. Of course Kazuma had immediately walked into chaos. The guy was a magnet for disaster. His party members were same.

  [Shadow Monarch: didn't you just get powers that could beat nearly anything in your weak world?]

  [Advocate of Gender Equality: because I just ate the quake quake fruit! I don't know how to use it like Whitebeard who trained his whole life, forget awakening it. If I didn't get the body enhancement lvl 2, my own power could destroy my body!]

  That was actually a fair point. The quake quake fruit was ridiculously powerful, but it required serious control to use properly.

  [Flash Goddess: You two really should be a couple. All of us together don't bicker as much as you two. And what about your cool new eyes?]

  [Girl Who Loves Reading: Yes, didn't you spend all your points on it?]

  [Shadow Monarch : Oi! Keep your disgusting fetishes away from me! I am only into woman who are not related to me or underage or have mental handicap! But yeah, why aren't your using your 'all seeing eyes' you bragged about?]

  [Advocate of Gender Equality: ..... Turns out sharingan drains my chakra too much. I bought the power compatibility card of Naruto, but it only gives you a measly amount of chakra.]

  Klein couldn't help himself. His fingers moved across the keyboard.

  [The Fool: so you bought some big guns and your arms are too weak to even hold them?]

  There was a pause, then Jin Woo responded.

  [Shadow Monarch: Klein.... you really went for the sucker punch, huh?]

  [Advocate of Gender Equality: what did I ever do to you man! I am a poor guy who can only afford these things! I'm like broke to the power infinity.]

  [The Fool: yet you impulse bought thse things because they look cool.]

  [Flash Goddess: hahaha, Klein kun got you there Kazuma kun.]

  [Last Master of Humanity: Umm... Maybe buy things that don't make you cool, but actually helpful?]Ritsuka was trying to be nice despite giggling like a child.

  [Advocate of Gender Equality: You know what, I am just gonna go deal with the problem caused by my idiot party members. I can only take so much.]

  Klein smiled, closing the chat window. The banter was comfortable, familiar.

  It reminded him of his relationship with his Nighthawk colleagues, the easy camaraderie that came from surviving dangerous situations together.

  Speaking of spending points, he should probably figure out what to do with his own. 150,000 points was a significant amount.

  Enough to buy something really useful if he was smart about it.

  He opened the shop interface, browsing through the available items. There were powers from dozens of different worlds.

  Some familiar from anime and manga he'd watched in his previous life, others completely foreign. Klein kept browsing for a while.

  Two items caught his attention after a broef search. Both were from Yoruichi's world, Bleach.

  [The Almighty - Bleach] [Cost: 150,000 points (Sealed State Only)]

  [Used by Yhwach, the Quincy King. The Almighty grants its wielder absolute perception of all possible futures and the power to alter those futures at will.

  To Yhwach, the future is not something that happens—it is something that has already been seen, chosen, and confirmed.

  Once The Almighty is active, any future Yhwach observes becomes immutable, except by powers that directly transcend causality or divine authority.]

  Klein read the description carefully. Future sight combined with future alteration. It was similar to his Seer abilities but taken to an absolutely ridiculous extreme.

  Instead of seeing possible futures and making decisions based on them, The Almighty let you choose which future actually happened.

  Absolutely terrifying. No wonder Yhwach is such a monster. There was also video clips of the powers being used to be viewed for additional 500 points. He saw a glimpse of Yhwach fighting an old bearded man who was equally scary.

  The other item was equally impressive.

  [Kyouka Suigetsu - Bleach] [Cost: 150,000 points (Sealed State Only)]

  [Used by the traitor former captain Sosuke Aizen. Kyōka Suigetsu places anyone who witnesses its Shikai release under Complete Hypnosis, granting Aizen total control over all five senses—sight, sound, touch, smell, and spiritual perception.

  Once affected, the victim can never fully trust their own senses again.]

  Perfect hypnosis. Total sensory control. Klein could immediately see how useful that would be.

  As a Seer, much of his combat strategy involved misdirection and manipulation. Kyouka Suigetsu would take that to another level entirely.

  The problem was both items cost exactly 150,000 points for just the sealed state.

  According to Yoruichi, Zanpakuto had two releases—Shikai and Bankai. The sealed state would only give him access to Shikai, which while powerful, wasn't the full potential.

  Klein leaned back against his bed, staring at the ceiling. Maybe he should save up more? Get enough points to buy the full release?Or maybe get it first and train with it, before buying the bankai?

  Klein closed his eyes to take a short nap. He need the rest. But suddenly, His Seer abilities exploded with warning.

  Klein jumped upright, his heart suddenly hammering. Premonition slammed into his mind like a physical blow, not the gentle nudges he usually received, but a screaming alarm that made his head throb in pain.

  Danger. Immediate and Catastrophic danger.

  Something was going to go very, very wrong.

  Klein's mind raced. What could trigger a premonition this intense? It had to be something massive, something that threatened not just him but potentially the entire city. The only thing he could think of was....

  Oh no, is it related to that?

  The investigation. The one he'd been working on before leaving for the One Piece mission.

  Klein had discovered unusual spiritual fluctuations in Tingen's underground about a week ago.

  Strange readings that suggested something old and powerful was stirring beneath the city.

  He'd reported it to Captain Dunn and the other Nighthawks, but the investigation had stalled when they couldn't pinpoint the exact source.

  Then the chat group mission had come up, and Klein had shelved the investigation temporarily. He'd figured it could wait a few days. That the Nighthawks would handle it while he was gone.

  Now his Seer abilities were telling him that had been a catastrophic mistake.

  Klein was already moving, grabbing his coat and checking his revolver. His hands moved instinctively; loading demon-hunting bullets, securing his mystical items, mentally preparing himself for whatever was coming.

  But first, he needed to check on Melissa and Benson.

  If something was about to go catastrophically wrong in Tingen, his siblings needed to be somewhere safe. Somewhere far away from whatever was about to happen.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  *****

  Klein burst out of his apartment, already running toward their home.

  Melissa was studying when Klein practically kicked down the door.

  She looked up startled from her engineering textbooks, startled. "Brother? What—"

  "Pack a bag," Klein interrupted. "Both of you. Right now. You need to leave Tingen immediately."

  Melissa stared at him. Benson emerged from his room, equally confused.

  "Klein, what are you talking about?" Benson asked carefully. "Leave Tingen? Why? It's our home."

  "There's going to be trouble," Klein said, trying to keep his voice calm and failing.

  "I can't explain everything, but I need you both to trust me. Pack essential items and get on the next train out of the city. Go to Backlund if you can. Just get far away from here."

  Melissa and Benson exchanged worried glances. Klein knew how he must look—wild-eyed, panicked, demanding they abandon their lives and flee the city based on nothing but his word.

  "Klein," Melissa said slowly. "You're scaring us. What kind of trouble are you talking about?"

  Klein wanted to tell them. Wanted to explain about Beyonders and sealed gods and the thing stirring beneath Tingen that was making every supernatural instinct he possessed scream warnings.

  But he couldn't. They were ordinary people. Knowing about the supernatural world would only put them in more danger.

  "I can't explain for your safety," he said desperately.

  "I know how that sounds. I know I'm asking you to trust me on faith. But please. Please just pack a bag and leave. If I'm wrong, you can come back tomorrow and I'll apologize for being paranoid. But if I'm right..."

  He trailed off. If he was right, Tingen might not exist tomorrow.

  Benson studied Klein's face for a long moment. Whatever he saw there must have convinced him, because he nodded slowly."Okay," Benson said. "Melissa, pack a bag. Essentials only. We're leaving."

  "But—" Melissa started.

  "Now, Melissa. Trust your brother."

  Something in Benson's tone made her stop arguing. She disappeared into her room, and Klein heard her frantically throwing clothes into a bag.

  Benson moved closer to Klein, his voice dropping. "This has to do with your... other work, doesn't it? The things you don't talk about?"

  Klein had never explicitly told Benson he was a Beyonder, but his brother wasn't stupid.

  He'd noticed Klein's odd hours, the strange injuries, the way Klein sometimes came home looking exhausted in ways that normal detective work didn't explain.

  "Yes," Klein admitted quietly. "And I can't say more than that. But you need to get Melissa out of the city. Get yourselves somewhere safe."

  "What about you?"

  "I have to stay. I have to try to stop this."

  Benson's jaw tightened. "Klein, it's dangerous."

  "I know. But if I don't... a lot of people are going to die."

  Klein gripped his brother's shoulder. "Take care of Melissa. If something happens to me, make sure she finishes her education. She's brilliant. She deserves to achieve her dreams."

  "Nothing's going to happen to you," Benson said firmly. "You're going to stop whatever this is, and then you're going to come find us in Backlund, and we're all going to laugh about how paranoid you were."

  Klein managed a weak smile. "Yeah. That's the plan."

  Melissa emerged with a hastily packed bag. Her eyes were red. She'd been crying while packing, but her jaw was set with determination.

  "We're ready," she said.

  Klein hugged them both tightly, like he was trying to memorize the feeling of them being alive and safe.

  "I love you both," he said quietly. "Never forget that." Despite everything, it didn't feel like a lie. He truly loved them even if he wasn't their brother in truth.

  "We love you too," Melissa whispered. "Please be careful."

  Klein released them and stepped back. "Go. Now. Don't stop until you're at least two cities away."

  Benson nodded, taking Melissa's hand and leading her toward the door. She looked back once, her expression pleading with Klein to come with them.

  Klein hesitated but then smiled. " Remember Melissa, even if I am far away, even if I'm not there with you... I will always be watching over you two. Always."

  Melissa sniffled and nodded, then turned away to hide her tears as she walked away.

  Klein shook his head. Someone had to stay. Someone had to try to stop whatever was coming.

  The door closed behind them. Klein stood alone in the apartment, listening to their footsteps fade down the hallway.

  At least they'd be safe. Whatever happened next, at least Melissa and Benson would survive.

  Klein took a deep breath, checked his revolver one more time, and headed toward the Blackthorn Security Company, the front for the Nighthawks' headquarters.

  Time to see exactly what he was dealing with.

  *****

  Klein burst through the door of the Blackthorn Security Company, his seer abilities screaming warnings that made his head throb. Something was catastrophically wrong.

  The reception area was chaos. Rozanne sat at her desk, her normally cheerful face streaked with tears as she frantically processed telegrams. Her hands shook so badly she could barely hold the pen.

  "Klein!" She looked up, relief and terror warring on her face. "Thank the Goddess you're here! It's—it's bad. Really bad. Old Neil is—"

  Her voice broke. "Old Neil is gone. And Captain Dunn and the others went to confront someone and there's been this massive spiritual disturbance and—"

  "Where?" Klein interrupted, his blood running cold. Old Neil was dead? The kindly old man who'd taught him so much about being a Beyonder, who'd treated him like a grandson, was dead.

  "The cemetery! Raphael Cemetery! But Klein, the spiritual readings coming from there, it's not natural! It's too much!"

  Klein was already running.

  His feet pounded against Tingen's cobblestone streets as he raced toward the cemetery.

  His mind spun with questions.

  What had happened while he'd been away on the chat group mission? The investigation he'd shelved before leaving, had it led to this? Had his absence cost them crucial time?

  He could see the disturbance from blocks away.

  Above Raphael Cemetery, reality itself seemed to writhe and twist. A pillar of corrupt spiritual energy reached toward the sky, visible even to his normal vision. Black and oily, pulsing with malevolence that made Klein's skin crawl.

  Whatever was happening there, it was beyond anything a normal Nighthawk team could handle.

  Klein vaulted over the cemetery's iron gates without bothering to open them. Tombstones stretched out before him in neat rows, but many had been shattered, reduced to rubble.

  Scorch marks blackened the ground. The smell of burned flesh hung heavy in the air.Bodies lay scattered across the cemetery grounds.

  Klein's heart clenched seeing them. Members of the Nighthawk team, people he'd worked alongside, trained with, shared meals with.

  Some were moving weakly, groaning in pain. Others lay terrifyingly still.

  And at the center of the devastation stood something that shouldn't exist.

  The Child of the True Creator towered over the cemetery, easily fifteen feet tall. Its form was wrong in ways that hurt Klein's mind to perceive. Too many limbs that bent at impossible angles.

  Eyes that opened and closed across its surface in places eyes should never be. A mouth that was sometimes vertical, sometimes horizontal, sometimes both simultaneously.

  The creature's very presence warped reality around it, making the air shimmer with corruption.

  This was what had been sealed beneath Tingen. Not just a corrupted angel, but the incomplete offspring of an evil god. The True Creator, one of the dark gods that the orthodox churches fought desperately to suppress.

  And standing before it, facing down this abomination with everything he had left, was Captain Dunn Smith.

  Dunn looked like he'd been through hell. His usually neat coat was torn and burned, hanging off him in tatters.

  One arm dangled uselessly at his side, clearly broken. Blood covered his face, streaming from a gash across his forehead. His gray eyes had taken on a strange, distant quality, the look of someone who'd pushed their Beyonder abilities far past safe limits.

  But he stood firm. Despite the injuries, despite the impossible odds, Dunn Smith stood between the Child of the True Creator and Tingen City, using his Nightmare abilities to keep the creature contained.

  "Captain!" Klein screamed, raising his revolver.

  Dunn's head turned slightly at the sound of Klein's voice. Something flickered across those gray eyes—relief at seeing Klein alive, fear for Klein's safety, and desperate hope all tangled together.

  "Klein!" Dunn's voice was hoarse, raw from screaming. "Stay back! Don't come closer! This thing—it's too powerful! You need to run! Get out of Tingen and—"

  The Child of the True Creator roared, a sound that Klein felt in his bones more than heard. The creature's attention had shifted from Dunn to Klein, sensing fresh prey.

  "NO!" Dunn shouted, trying to pull the creature's focus back to himself. "Look at me, you bastard! I'm your opponent!"

  The being lashed out with an appendage that was part tentacle, part claw, part something that defied categorization. The attack was impossibly fast, covering the distance to Dunn in a fraction of a second.

  The appendage struck Dunn in the chest, lifting him off his feet and hurling him backward.

  The captain's body crashed into a large marble tombstone with a sickening crack. The tombstone shattered from the impact, and Dunn crumpled among the fragments.

  "CAPTAIN!" Klein was running before he consciously decided to move, his revolver already firing. Demon-hunting bullets struck the Child of the True Creator's mass, and the creature recoiled slightly, shrieking in annoyance.

  The wounds Klein had inflicted regenerated almost instantly, corrupt flesh flowing like liquid to seal itself.

  But at least he'd gotten the thing's attention off Dunn for a moment.

  Klein reached the captain, dropping to his knees beside him. Up close, the injuries were even worse than Klein had thought.

  Blood poured from Dunn's mouth , severe internal injuries. His breathing was labored, each breath a wet, rattling sound that made Klein's stomach clench with fear.

  "Klein," Dunn gasped, blood bubbling at his lips. "You... you need to run. Can't win this. Just run. Save yourself."

  "I'm not leaving you," Klein said, his hands already moving to check Dunn's injuries.But even his limited medical knowledge told him the truth, these wounds were fatal. Dunn was dying, and there was nothing Klein could do to stop it.

  "Stubborn... just like me," Dunn managed a weak smile despite the pain. "Should've known... you wouldn't listen."

  The Child of the True Creator roared again, advancing toward them. Its multiple eyes fixed on Klein with hungry intelligence. It knew he was a Beyonder, could sense the spiritual energy within him.

  Fresh food. Fresh power to consume.

  Klein's seer abilities flared, showing him futures branching out from this moment.

  In most of them, they both died here. The Child of the True Creator broke free completely, rampaged through Tingen City, killed tens of thousands before the Church could respond with enough force to stop it.

  Melissa and Benson would die in those futures. His siblings, who should have been on a train far away by now, would be caught in the devastation.

  But there were other futures. Unlikely ones. Futures where Klein did something desperate and impossible.

  He had the Antigonus family notebook. The cursed artifact that had been a constant weight in his coat pocket since he'd become a Beyonder.

  Filled with knowledge of the Fool pathway that mortals weren't meant to know. Secrets that could drive people insane just from reading them.

  If Klein used that knowledge directly... if he channeled the notebook's power through himself and his Seer abilities... he might be able to create a seal strong enough to contain the Child of the True Creator.

  It would kill him. The corruption would consume him completely, burn away his sanity and his life. But it might work.

  Klein pulled out the Antigonus notebook with steady hands. Strange how calm he felt now, faced with the certainty of death. Maybe it was his seer abilities helping him accept the future he was choosing.

  Or maybe he'd just finally found something worth dying for.

  A thought flashed in his head. What if he called for help ? Maybe Kokabiel could help.

  But he shook his head. He didn't wish to bother him. He saw Kokabiel's message. He was with his family, catching up with leaving for 50 years. He needed that peace.

  Klein sighed and looked above at tue night sky and thought quietly , 'The stars look so beautiful tonight.'

  He took a step forward.

  Dunn's eyes widened when he saw the cursed artifact. "No. Klein, no. That thing... will kill you. Don't... don't do this."

  "I have to," Klein said simply, meeting the captain's gaze. "There's no other way. You know that as well as I do."

  "There has to be..." Dunn tried to sit up, tried to stop Klein, but his broken body wouldn't respond.

  "Please. Klein. You're like... like a son to me. I can't... can't watch you die."

  Klein felt his throat tighten. "Captain. Dunn. Thank you. For everything. For taking me in when I had nothing. For teaching me what it means to be a Nighthawk. For being the father I never had."

  Tears streamed down Dunn's face, mixing with the blood. "Klein—"

  Klein opened the notebook.

  The effect was immediate and overwhelming.

  Power exploded through Klein's body—vast, ancient power that his Sequence 7 Beyonder characteristic was never meant to contain.

  The notebook's corruption resonated with his spirituality, amplifying both in a deadly feedback loop that threatened to tear him apart from the inside.

  Klein felt his sanity cracking like glass under pressure. Madness poured into his mind. whispers in languages that predated humanity, visions of things that should never be seen, knowledge that burned his consciousness just by existing in it.

  But within that ocean of insanity, Klein found what he needed. The ritual. The sealing method that could bind the offspring of an evil god.

  It required sacrifice. Complete sacrifice. A life freely given, consumed utterly to forge chains strong enough to hold divinity.

  Klein's life.

  Words flowed from his mouth unbidden—ancient Hermes, but older even than that. Languages from before writing existed.

  Syllables that hurt his throat to speak, each one burning away a piece of his existence just to vocalize.

  His spirituality blazed outward like a bonfire, fed by the notebook's corrupt power. Mystical chains erupted from Klein's body, forged from the fundamental essence of what made him Klein Moretti.

  Each link was carved from his memories. His personality. His hopes and dreams. His love for his siblings. His friendship with the Nighthawks.

  Everything that made him who he was, systematically consumed and transformed into bindings strong enough to hold a god's child.

  He whispered, " Now I understand what you went through..."

  The chains lashed out, wrapping around the Child of the True Creator.

  The creature roared, fury and disbelief mixing in that horrible scream. It had expected easy prey, weak mortals to consume. Instead, it found itself being bound by powers it couldn't understand.

  The entity thrashed, lashing out with all its corrupt strength. Attacks that could shatter mountains struck the chains, but they held barely. Straining under the pressure. But holding.

  "KLEIN, STOP!" Dunn was screaming now, trying desperately to crawl toward him despite his broken body. "You'll die! There won't be anything left! Please, there has to be another way!"

  "There isn't," Klein said. His voice sounded distant, dreamlike.

  The corruption was spreading faster now, consuming his mind piece by piece. He could feel himself disappearing, the person called Klein Moretti being systematically erased to fuel the seal.

  He poured everything into the chains. His spirituality.

  His Beyonder powers. His memories of Earth and Zhou Mingrui, the person he'd been in another life. His memories of becoming Klein Moretti.

  Every moment with Melissa and Benson. Every case with the Nighthawks. Every laugh, every tear, every small moment of joy and sorrow that made up a life.

  All of it fed into chains that wrapped tighter and tighter around the Child of the True Creator.

  Klein thought about the chat group. About Kazuma's ridiculous schemes that somehow worked. About Jin Woo's quiet strength and dependability. About Yoruichi's effortless cool and Robin's thoughtful wisdom. About Kokabiel's strange kindness beneath that wall of emotional distance.

  He hoped they wouldn't blame themselves for his death. Hoped they'd understand he'd chosen this freely, with full knowledge of the cost.

  The entity was sealed now, bound by chains it couldn't break. The tear in reality that had allowed it to manifest sealed itself, corruption contained once more.

  And Klein Moretti burned away like paper in a flame.

  His body began dissolving into ash, the corruption from the notebook consuming what remained. His consciousness fragmented, pieces of himself disappearing into nothing.

  His last thought was regret. Not for dying, he'd made his choice and accepted it fully.

  But regret for everything he'd never get to do. Adventures he'd never have. People he'd never meet.

  Watching Melissa become an engineer. Growing old with Benson.

  Regret that he'd finally found belonging with the Nighthawks and the chat group, only to lose it all so quickly.

  The chains solidified, sinking deep into reality. The Child of the True Creator was sealed, trapped by bindings it couldn't break.

  And Klein Moretti began to burn away.

  "Tell Melissa and Benson," Klein gasped as his body started dissolving into ash. "Tell them I'm sorry. Tell them I love—"

  A gunshot rang out.

  Klein's head snapped back, a bullet hole appearing between his eyes. His body collapsed, the corruption from the notebook consuming what remained.

  Dunn screamed—a raw, broken sound of pure anguish.

  From the shadows stepped Ince Zangwill, a smoking revolver in his hand. The former archbishop smiled coldly, his eyes showing no remorse.

  "Goodbye, Klein Moretti," Ince said calmly. "Your sacrifice was necessary for the story."

  In his other hand, he held a quill—0-08, the sealed artifact that could write fate itself. The quill had orchestrated everything. Old Neil's death. The Child of the True Creator's manifestation. Klein's return at exactly the right moment.

  All of it had been written by 0-08, and Klein had died exactly as the story demanded.Dunn tried to stand, tried to attack Ince, but his injuries were too severe. He collapsed, watching helplessly as Klein's body finished dissolving into ash.

  Ince Zangwill smiled down at Dunn, and something in that smile made the captain's blood run cold. This was the smile of someone who'd orchestrated everything.

  In Ince's hand was a quill. Not an ordinary quill, but a sealed artifact—Dunn recognized it from Church records. 0-08. The cursed artifact that could write fate itself, that twisted reality to create stories it found entertaining.

  "You..." Dunn gasped, blood pouring from his mouth. "You monster. You killed him. You killed them all!"

  "I killed a pawn," Ince said dismissively. "Nothing more. Though I admit, the boy played his part well."

  Dunn gasped, understanding flooding through him. "You did this. Old Neil. Klein. You orchestrated all of it."

  "Guilty as charged," Ince said pleasantly, as if discussing the weather. "Though I had help."

  He gestured to the quill in his hand. "0-08 does love a good tragedy. And this one, a young hero sacrificing himself to save the city, witnessed by his dying captain, his father figure, this is exactly the kind of story it craves."

  "You monster," Dunn tried to stand, tried to attack, but his body wouldn't respond. "Klein was innocent. He was just a kid trying to help people. And you killed him for a story?"

  "He killed himself," Ince corrected mildly. "I simply arranged circumstances so that would happen. There's a difference."

  "There's no difference!" Dunn's voice cracked with rage and grief. "You murdered him! You murdered Old Neil! You've destroyed the Nighthawks!"

  "I've created art," Ince said. "The quill demands stories, and I provide them. Your team was simply convenient material."

  He raised his other hand, and Dunn saw he held a revolver.

  "Now, I'm afraid your part in this tragedy needs to reach its conclusion," Ince said.

  "Can't have witnesses who know what really happened. The official story will be that a sealed artifact broke free, and brave Captain Dunn Smith and his promising young assistant Klein Moretti died heroically containing it. Very tragic. Very moving. The Church will give you both posthumous honors."

  Dunn laughed—a broken, bitter sound. "You think killing me changes anything? The Goddess will know. The Church will know. You can't hide this forever."

  "I don't need forever," Ince said. "I just need long enough to complete my plans."

  Dunn's vision was fading, darkness creeping in at the edges. The injuries from the Child of the True Creator were fatal. He had minutes at most.

  He crawled toward where Klein had fallen, his hand reaching for the ash that was all that remained of the young man who'd been like a son to him. Ince allowed this act of kindness.

  "I'm sorry," Dunn whispered. "Klein, I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect you. I couldn't—"His hand closed around the Antigonus notebook, now dark and inert. Klein's final legacy.

  Ince aimed the revolver at Dunn's head."Goodbye, Captain Smith. Thank you for your contribution to the story."

  The gunshot echoed across Raphael Cemetery.

  Dunn Smith, Captain of the Tingen Nighthawks, died clutching that notebook. His last thought was regret that he'd failed to save Klein Moretti.

  Ince Zangwill stood over two bodies and a sealed evil god's offspring, 0-08 writing frantically in his hand. The quill was pleased with how the story had turned out.

  Such beautiful tragedy. Such perfect sacrifice.

  Ince walked away, leaving death and ash behind him. He had more stories to write. More tragedies to orchestrate. 0-08 was never satisfied for long.

  Above Tingen, dawn was breaking. The city began to wake, completely unaware that Klein Moretti and Dunn Smith had died in the night, sacrificing everything to save people who would never know their names.

  *****On a train heading to Backlund, Melissa and Benson Moretti dozed fitfully, exhausted from fear and confusion. They didn't know yet. Wouldn't know for days.

  But Klein had saved them. His last act had been ensuring his siblings survived, even if it cost him everything.

  The Antigonus notebook lay in the ash where Klein had fallen, dark and silent. Waiting for someone to eventually find it and continue the cycle.

  *****Heaven - Present

  I opened my eyes, the vision fading. My hands were clenched so hard It was like black holes force compressed, but my newly regained emotional state was manifesting physically.

  Klein was dead.

  Murdered in treachery. First by sealing the corruption, then by Ince Zangwill's bullet while he was already dying. And Dunn Smith, who'd tried desperately to save him, had been executed to hide the truth.

  All of it orchestrated by a cursed quill that wrote tragedies for entertainment.

  "Ince Zangwill," I said quietly, my voice deadly calm. "And artefact 0-08."

  My twelve wings materialized, black as the darkness of night, with starlight swirling within each feather.

  The temperature in my office dropped as my power leaked out, frost forming on the walls.

  Klein hadn't just died fighting. He'd been a pawn in 0-08's story. Sacrificed for the quill's amusement while the real villain walked away clean.

  Gabriel rushed in immediately. She flinched when she saw my state. She spoke hesitantly. " What happened brother? Why are you so angry? Please calm yourself and tell me!"

  I sighed and let the power fade away. I walked towards her and embraced her gently. " I am sorry sister, I have to visit another world now. I have a friend... Who was killed. I need to sort some things. I truly am sorry Gabriel."

  Gabriel wanted to ask for more but controlled herself. "How long?" She asked shakily after a breath.

  I shook my head. " Maybe one year at most. Earlier if possible. I don't want to leave you guys like before."

  Gabriel sniffled and clutched my clothes. " And you promise to return? To Heaven, to us?"

  I smiled softly. " You are my family, of course I'll always come back, no matter what."

  She smiled at that. " You promise?" She raised her pinky finger.

  I chuckled as she still remembered this small gesture I once taught her. I don't know how I knew it, just felt it.

  I hooked my pinky finger around her and whispered, " I promise."

  She nodded weakly. " I'll tell the others. Don't worry about us. Go and help your friend."

  Looking at her one last time, I teleported beyond the DxD world. The void between worlds. I pulled up the chat interface. The others were still panicking, waiting for answers.

  I had to tell them about this.

  But first, I was committing a name to memory.Ince Zangwill. Former archbishop turned traitor. Current wielder of 0-08.

  My omniscience showed me where Ince was now, still in Klein's world, believing himself safe with 0-08's reality-warping protection.

  He wouldn't be safe for long. I could erase him with a single thought, but I also saw how his death will be necessary for Klein to advance to Sequence 4.

  I began typing in the chat group, my movements mechanical as I struggled to contain my rage.

  [Heaven's Wrath : I've confirmed what happened to Klein. He's dead, for now. I'm going there myself.]

  I saw some messages popping up but I closed the chat as my body burst into nothingness. And there stood my true form.

  Since I'm going there, I'll need something not mortal but yet not fully my outer god self.

  My enormous body started condense into a human like shape, but without any visible human features except my eyes that showed the worlds swirling within.

  I hope that world will is strong enough to handle this. It is stronger than DxD world but better be safe than sorry. I placed countless seals and illusions to hide my true self. Otherwise the world along with nearby others will perish.

  Although some gods of that world might still perceive a hint of my true self. This would stop them from interfering.

  Then, like Icarus flew towards the sun, I flew towards the Lord of The Mysteries World.