A world where Su Chen never existed is… wrong.
Not broken.
Not destroyed.
But hollow.
Like a perfect song played with no soul.
This world—Worldline Null—functions without chaos, without tragedy. The Empire thrives. Rika is a respected general. Lina runs an orphanage in the Eastern Vale. The Platinum Reign maintains peace with surgical precision.
And yet—people feel it.
The ache in their bones.
The dreams they can't explain.
The missing.
In a crowded city plaza, a young girl pauses mid-step. Her eyes widen.
"Mom…" she whispers, pointing up at the sky. "The sun just blinked."
Her mother frowns. "Don't be silly."
But she looks up.
And in the bright blue sky, a black mark appears—like an ink blot soaking through reality.
[SYSTEM REPORT: Su Chen Detected in Null Worldline.]
[World Identity: DENIED.]
[ERROR: This version of reality cannot contain you.]
Su Chen walks through the streets, invisible, intangible—a ghost in the timeline. Buildings shimmer when he nears. Faces flicker. People pause mid-breath, as if something inside them remembers.
He stands in front of Lina's orphanage.
She's laughing with children, sunlight touching her face.
He watches.
Silent.
Still.
Then—one of the kids, a small boy, stops playing. He turns. Looks straight at Su Chen.
Even though Su Chen shouldn't be seen.
"Who are you?" the boy asks.
Su Chen leans down, face expressionless.
"No one."
"Are you the reason I have nightmares?"
"Yes."
"Are you the reason people cry in their sleep and don't know why?"
"Yes."
The boy thinks for a moment. "Are you going to hurt us?"
Su Chen hesitates.
Then smiles.
"I already did. Just not in this version."
[System Update: You are an anomaly. This world will now evolve to purge you.]
[Incoming Response: ARCHITECT CLASS ENTITY DETECTED.]
A ripple cuts through the atmosphere.
Reality twists inward.
And then, from the sky itself, a being descends—not a god, not a demon, not a machine.
An Architect.
Shaped like logic, voice like thunder etched in ice.
"Su Chen. You should not exist."
Su Chen raises his head. "Neither should love that kills."
"You are poison in the multiverse."
"I'm the cure," he says calmly. "I'm what happens when enough love turns to ash."
"We will unmake you."
He opens his coat.
Inside: countless world fragments—shattered timelines clinging to him like armor. Every betrayal, every death, every broken promise, fused into weapons.
"You'll try," Su Chen says.
He raises a hand.
And with a whisper, summons the first blade forged from a memory that never happened.
Elsewhere: In the Forbidden Timeline
Lina wakes screaming.
Her hand clutches her heart.
She remembers him.
She remembers everything.
And it's not just her.
Across the multiverse, every person who ever loved, hated, or feared Su Chen—
—remembers.
Even in worlds where he never lived.
Even in dreams.
Because Su Chen is no longer a man.
He's become an idea.
And ideas… can't be killed.
End of Chapter 60