Finding a lost transmigrator without their system was like finding a specific grain of sand on every beach on Earth combined. Functionally impossible.
"He wants to trap you," Heena said quietly, her voice cold with certainty. "Not just capture you. 'Trap' you. Permanently."
Estov's legs gave out. He sank to the floor, his face white as snow.
"He... he wrote himself into the story," Estov whispered. "He became a character in a world he knew I'd be assigned to. He manipulated the Bureau's assignment system. He... how is that even possible?"
"It's possible if he's been obsessed enough for long enough," Heena said. "How many worlds has he chased you through?"
"Hundreds," Estov said numbly. "Over two hundred consecutive worlds. He's never more than a few worlds behind me. Sometimes he arrives in the same world, and I have to abort my mission and flee."
