Hmmm…
Things are clear now.
I understand everything.
I am Kae.
And standing before me are two monsters—Yash Chandrika Putra and Krishna.
This body of mine on Planet Devoid is merely a clone.
A clone is nowhere near the power of my real body.
Even so… defeating both of them at once, in this state, would not be easy.
Interesting.
Yash had no choice but to spill everything about the future.
I listened.
And I was surprised.
Many of my plans unfold exactly as intended.
The important ones, at least.
The pillars of my ambition remain untouched by time.
Krishna only glanced at me a few times while Yash spoke.
Silent.
Measuring.
I was intrigued by the future that awaited us.
Yet the smile remained on my face.
It never fades.
The mark the Immortalus Society Authority branded upon me ensures that.
Eventually, Yash stopped speaking.
Everything lay bare between us.
The three of us stood there, exchanging cautious glances.
The tension was thick.
We are not fools. All three of us are peak minds.
Tricking one another is nearly impossible.
[Krishna]: I see. So that is the future.
[Kae]: Looks like I will be the most hated man for the next few centuries.
[Yash]: I can't be certain of that.
Krishna fell into deep thought.
[Yash]: Now that your queries are cleared… may I leave? I still need to erase your memories.
[Krishna]: No need. I know the future now. I will act the same in this timeline and ensure no alternate timeline is created.
[Kae]: Sweet words. Words I cannot trust.
[Krishna]: I wasn't speaking to you.
[Kae]: Those words wound me more than any blade.
[Krishna]: They should.
[Kae]: You are quite the mean one. No wonder you deserved that future.
[Krishna]: And you were crying like a child at your end.
Ah.
He always prepares problems that demand the finest answers.
I knew what he was thinking.
He suspected that Yash might be my pawn.
A carefully planted piece to guide him into my grasp.
Yash drew his sword and took a battle stance.
Krishna activated his Yeta Shield.
Yes…
I had wanted to witness that for a long time.
As for me?
I would watch.
An observer. Or perhaps a historian of gods.
[Yash]: Must this be resolved with violence?
[Krishna]: Perhaps not. But I wish to test you. This is a rare opportunity.
[Yash]: That is a rather lame excuse.
Indeed.
Krishna fighting Yash while I stand here?
I might as well enjoy the spectacle—and collect information.
The battle began.
Their defensive mechanisms clashed first.
The shields collided and nullified one another.
Yash also possesses Yeta Shield.
Noted.
Yash launched a kick toward Krishna's head.
Krishna caught the leg and hurled him out of the labyrinth entirely, shattering it in the process.
I teleported out as the structure collapsed.
Yash emerged unfazed.
He unleashed a barrage of Sorcery spells.
A prodigy.
And yet he claimed he had not mastered Sorcery fully.
Krishna was keeping pace, though not without effort.
It was a wondrous battle.
Their casual punches emitted energy comparable to Tsar bombs.
If not for my absorption barriers, the planet itself might have vaporized under their exchange.
Their speed was extraordinary—far beyond sound.
At least seventy-five times, by my estimation.
Krishna's edge lay in experience and mastery.
Yash, for all his talent, lacked refinement in his own techniques.
After creating an eighty-meter gap, Yash activated his Range Shiftling.
[Yash]: Range Shiftling:—
I could not hear the rest.
But I saw it.
His attacks landed on Krishna before they were even launched.
Effect preceding cause.
Then I heard it.
[Yash]: Temporal Break.
So.
The Range Shiftling activates prior to its verbal completion.
A dangerous technique.
Or so I believed.
[Krishna]: Range Shiftling: Space Convergence.
Every attack that had struck him before being launched vanished.
Moments later, those same attacks struck Yash.
Krishna bent space within his range and redirected the assault.
Though a few of Yash's attacks still landed.
They teleported behind one another in rapid succession.
Their thoughts were alike.
Predictive. Ruthless.
Krishna feigned an opening, aiming a physical strike.
Yash sensed it and used Reality Fog, switching places with a dummy identical to himself.
[Yash]: This is troublesome. I may need to use my latest technique.
He placed his palm upon the ground.
A mark formed.
Krishna noticed and kicked him away.
[Krishna]: Range Shiftling: Gravitons.
A black hole formed near Yash, shifting along with him, attempting to swallow him whole.
[Yash]: Range Shiftling: Reverse Graviton.
Countered.
Cleanly.
Modern techniques… not so different from ancient ones.
Yash landed on a nearby mountain and placed a second mark.
Krishna realized the pattern and engaged in close combat, denying Yash the chance to place a third.
I watched, amused.
Krishna's hand-to-hand combat was refined beyond measure.
No fixed pattern.
He shifted styles mid-combat—Earth Dist, Fire Fangs, Rocky Kicks, Wavy Hands—each transition seamless.
Yash could not match him in pure martial exchange.
Even I would struggle against Krishna in unarmed combat.
Yash focused on evasion.
Fire Fangs was the most destructive of the styles.
If unleashed upon a star, it could erase it.
My absorption barrier strained.
In my real body, such feats would be trivial to endure.
For this clone, they were not.
Then Yash stopped dodging.
He accepted several blows intentionally.
The pain bought him a moment.
A teleportation portal formed beneath his hand.
The third mark.
A massive prism materialized around them.
Yash leapt out easily.
Krishna was trapped.
I could tell Krishna was holding back.
He had not used his most powerful Range Shiftling.
Yash chanted.
The prism shrank.
For a moment, I wondered—
Had he killed Krishna?
No.
Krishna did not die.
He fell unconscious.
Ah.
A memory trapper.
More refined than mine.
A technique that attacks
consciousness directly.
My version would not have worked against Krishna's peculiar mind.
When he awakens, he will remember none of this.
Yash edited the recent past.
Afterward, he broke my barrier.
Or rather—I allowed him to.
He used the same technique on me.
My vision dimmed.
I slept.
I awoke upon my throne in the Monster Realm.
And I remembered everything.
Yash must have returned to his timeline after delivering Krishna's unconscious body to the Immortalus Society.
How do I still remember?
The body on Devoid was merely a clone, carrying a fraction of my consciousness.
Before my memories were erased, I transferred them to this body.
I now know the future I intended to secure.
And I have witnessed the danger Krishna poses should he awaken his transformation.
It is a pity he did not reveal his strongest Range Shiftling.
He is cautious.
Too cautious.
[Kae]: Next time… I will not miss.
------
EXTRAS
The next day, Arun asked Krishna about Planet Devoid.
[Arun]: What happened there? With Yash?
[Krishna]: Who is Yash?
[Arun, in mind]: This damn man…
Krishna and Arun stared at each other for an entire hour.