Chapter 28 — Those Who Provoke the Gods
The silence of the Djinn realm was not an absence of noise.
It was a will.
It observed.
It held back.
It judged.
Every wall, every column, every fiber of this ancient empire seemed to possess a memory, and that memory, today, was strained to the breaking point, as if something invisible had just disturbed a centuries-old balance.
At the center of this tension, Merela was motionless.
Seated on a perfect tatami mat, a still-steaming cup of tea between her fingers, she embodied that rare contradiction: an absolute sweetness capable of giving birth to the worst kind of violence. Her breathing was calm, but around her, the air seemed to refuse to circulate freely.
Then—
The sound.
Tiny.
Porcelain touching wood.
A slow gesture. Controlled.
And yet… that sound echoed like a sentence.
Before her, ERROR stood straight.
His body was not stable. It never had been.
Red, shot through with unstable lines, as if his own existence were constantly correcting itself without ever succeeding, he gave the impression of being a mistake that the world could not manage to delete.
His black eyes stared at the Queen.
Without fear.
Without respect.
Without limits.
— "You failed."
Merela's voice was soft.
Almost tender.
That was precisely what made it dangerous.
ERROR tilted his head slightly, like a curious animal facing a truth it did not recognize.
— "No."
A smile stretched across his face, too wide, too perfect to be human.
— "I learned."
The silence contracted.
Merela did not move immediately. She observed.
For a long time.
As if she were seeking to measure not his words… but what he had become.
— "You had a target."
— "And I found a better one."
A heartbeat.
Invisible.
Then—
The room changed.
Without an explosion.
Without light.
But everything became heavier.
Slower.
More dangerous.
A pressure crushed the space, as if reality itself were bowing before a superior will.
— "Do not confuse initiative… with disobedience."
ERROR did not back down.
He did not bend.
On the contrary.
He smiled further.
— "I confuse nothing."
His voice vibrated slightly, as if several versions of him were speaking at once.
— "I adapt."
The fragments of galaxies in his chest stirred, their trajectories becoming unstable, almost aggressive.
— "This world is changing, Merela."
A step.
Tiny.
But real.
— "And you… you still want to play with dead rules."
This time, Merela raised her eyes.
And for a fraction of a second…
The world seemed to forget how to exist.
— "Be careful."
Two words. (Note: *Three in French, two in English*).
Sufficient.
The air trembled.
The ground groaned.
Even ERROR felt… something.
Not fear.
But a limit.
Then—
Everything fell back.
As if nothing had happened.
Merela turned her gaze away slightly, picking up her cup as if the conversation had never existed.
— "Begone."
Not an order.
A fact.
ERROR remained motionless.
One second.
Then his body fragmented.
Not into particles.
But into inconsistencies.
And he ceased to be there.
The world changed.
Brutally.
A dry wind swept across a cracked earth, a forgotten expanse where the sky itself seemed tired of existing. No kingdom, no map, no name could define this place.
And yet—
It was real.
ERROR appeared in the middle of this void.
Alone.
Or almost.
— "You have a way of talking to the Queen that's going to end up killing you."
The voice arrived before the presence.
Calm.
Stable.
Dangerously normal.
ERROR did not turn around immediately.
A smile was slowly born.
— "Interesting…"
He pivoted.
And saw him.
Ryuusei.
No explosive aura.
No demonstration.
No dramatic effect.
Just a man.
And yet… everything about him screamed something that even ERROR could not ignore:
He belonged to this world.
Better than he did.
— "You're making a lot of noise for someone who hasn't won yet," Ryuusei said.
ERROR tilted his head.
— "And you… you're making a lot of sentences for someone I don't know."
Ryuusei stepped forward.
One step.
Simple.
But every movement seemed perfectly inscribed in reality, as if he respected every rule… the better to master them.
— "You will know me."
The silence between them became a palpable tension.
An invisible line ready to snap.
— "You are playing with concepts you do not master," Ryuusei continued. "Reality. Miracles. Destiny."
ERROR laughed.
A broken sound.
— "And you?"
A step forward.
— "You think you understand them?"
— "No."
No doubt.
— "I control them."
A distortion.
Minuscule.
But real.
The space vibrated.
Even ERROR reacted.
Not physically.
But internally.
And that…
That was new.
— "Fine…"
His smile widened.
— "It's been a long time."
Ryuusei crossed his arms.
— "Are you going to keep playing with children…"
A piercing gaze.
— "Or do you finally want to face something real?"
The world seemed to hesitate.
As if it were waiting for the answer.
But ERROR backed away.
Not out of fear.
By choice.
— "Soon."
A whisper.
— "Very soon."
And he disappeared.
Ryuusei remained alone.
The wind picked up again.
— "Hurry up…" he whispered.
At the other end of the world…
The Human Order.
The UAP.
Here, the silence was not natural.
It was imposed.
A room, immense, perfect, cold, where every detail seemed to have been designed to recall one simple thing:
Here, the world is decided.
The governors were present.
Lined up.
Motionless.
Their gazes weighed heavier than weapons.
And at the center—
Arthur D. Blackthorne.
Seated.
Without effort.
Without tension.
But with a presence that crushed everything else.
To his right, Seigen.
The space around him… was not stable.
As if even reality hesitated to stay in place near him.
— "Arthur."
The voice of a governor broke the silence.
An instant.
Then—
— "Arthur D. Blackthorne."
Correction.
Immediate.
Cold.
— "If that's too long… you can call me Arthur D. Black."
No one answered.
The meeting continued.
Reports.
Figures.
Analyses.
— "The academy is producing too many unstable individuals."
— "The growth rate is exceeding forecasts."
— "Anomalies are appearing."
Arthur listened.
Without moving.
Without reacting.
Then—
He stood up.
And everything stopped.
— "Let's get to the heart of the matter."
The silence became total.
— "Bring in Azel."
The door opened.
And light entered with him.
Azel stepped forward slowly.
Wounded.
But upright.
As if falling were not an option he recognized.
— "Speak."
He did not seek to embellish.
— "The UAD is no longer testing."
A circular gaze.
— "They are targeting."
A shiver ran through the room.
— "Their objective is threefold."
Arthur did not move.
— "Continue."
Azel took a breath.
— "The first…"
A pause.
— "Lucifer."
The word carried weight.
— "King of the Djinns. King of Hell."
Silence.
— "The second… the Borealis."
A look toward the ground.
— "Already damaged… by ERROR."
Seigen opened his eyes slightly.
Space folded.
— "And the third…"
Even the air seemed to stop.
— "The Scroll of Divine Ascension."
The shock was immediate.
— "Impossible…"
— "If they obtain it…"
— "The entire system—"
Arthur raised his hand.
Absolute silence.
— "Then they shall not obtain it."
His voice was simple.
But final.
— "Prepare all units."
— "Maximum surveillance."
A look.
Cold.
Lucid.
— "And consider this certain…"
A heartbeat.
— "An attack is coming."
And this time…
Even those who governed the world…
Understood that something was approaching.
Something that respected no rules.
And that…
Did not ask permission to exist.