Chapter 92: Triumph

 Decree: Approaching Infinity

Humans have no free will. But they do have something that resembles an illusion of it: a decree.

A decree is the ultimate expression of one's comprehension of a valid concept in relation to the surrounding reality. It is the ability to choose a place in space and temporarily manipulate its shape, nature, or rules to one's will. No one is safe from whatever is enforced within that space, not even the user.

If the user doesn't know how to take advantage of their own decree, it can backfire, causing harm instead of achieving the desired outcomes.

Kayn floats in front of the sphere, with everything else on the macro level of existence still and unmoving. Only he phases through this space, as he alone possesses a technique that allows him to avoid the effects of his decree: Discrete and Continuous, of course.

This decree can only be attempted while in a state of flow. However, Kayn is hesitant and shaky about using it, as he recently dabbled with this specific decree and anti-matter, without fully refining them.

He places his hand upon the sphere. His nose starts to bleed as his veins strain and become visible. He is nearing his limits with immense concentration.

"Discrete yet Continuous,"

In a blink, the sphere shatters into pieces, revealing what it was hiding. Kayn could enforce his technique on such an object only because he pushed himself so far and the sphere no longer had momentum.

In the normal world, when Kayn teleports, it is not as simple as it seems. One of the factors of his teleportation is accounting for his momentum before and after teleporting, among many other taxing considerations. This makes it so he can only focus on teleporting himself in a flow state with the technique normally. But now, he is in a decree, where things are different. Despite the strain, he managed to achieve this feat.

Chunks of the sphere hover still in the air, far apart as if it exploded. Kayn moves further in, maneuvering through the chunks he didn't move. He needs some energy left for his final effort.

Not long after, he finally finds himself facing his brother once again.

Frozen in time, along with everything else.

Kayn takes a moment to contemplate.

Once he decides, he doesn't waste further time and proceeds.

"You will not suffer the same fate as father. I will make sure of it."

Forbidden Abstract Technique: Halo Reach

. . .

"GASSPP!" Neo jolts awake, sitting up from his lying position.

He breathes heavily for a bit and looks at his hands, "Am I still here?"

"Indeed you are," says Kayn, sitting next to him, looking around at the matter made from element zero turning back to element zero. "It's kind of surreal to see matter turn back to element zero."

Neo looks around for a moment and then notices something missing . . .

He turns his head to Kayn swiftly, accusation in his eyes, "You! What did you do to me!? What was that? I can no longer sense Xzina! What about our sacred oath?!"

"Daki might have taught you how to perform a sacred oath, but I doubt even he knows the intricate details of such a pact. It's not a toy to be messed with. Unless you have good grasp of it try your best to never use it again unless it's a final line of defense. Even then, second-guess yourself. It took all that I had to unravel yours and get rid of the calamity's attachment to you." Kayn lays back, enjoying the sun.

"You got rid of her?!"

"Yes. Ever since what happened to our father, I've been relentlessly researching many things to ensure no one dear to me shares the same fate again." Neo pays no attention to Kayn's words as something clicks in his mind.

Wait, he said he is fully spent?

Neo immediately looks towards the Nexus. But he feels something is off and hesitates.

"Don't bother trying. You feel it, don't you? The instant you try to run, I'll break the crystal and release my brother. It's checkmate," says Kayn, killing any hope Neo had of winning.

Neo relaxes and lays back, admitting defeat. He takes a long sigh.

"So... why didn't you do it yet?"

"Once I break the crystal, I'll probably lose my brother as well. I doubt the end result will be that he will take over or you will. Rather, both of you will merge into someone else, someone who is not the brother I remember,"

"So . . . I wanted a moment of solace about . . . well . . . everything."

. . .

Kayn looks around for a second. "Well, I don't see any doors around . . . guess we might be here a while. I'm actually kind of glad that's the case! I was intrigued to learn more about you, Neo, before I shattered it. The person who will merge with my brother."

"Do as you wish; you are the victor after all. You have . . . everything," responds Neo.

"No, I don't. Far from it, actually . . . and I can never obtain it. I don't think anyone can."

"Why not?""

"Because someone else already does."

Neo recalls Charlotte, and his tears begin to drop, "Then what do you do when you can't do anything for those you hold dear?"

"You do what you can," responds Kayn.

Neo shudders as he cries silently.

I never knew such feelings, such sensations existed. But lying in this shallow pool, talking in the warm sunlight and gentle breeze passing by . . . this might have been enough . . . had you been here, Charlotte.