A week passed since the day Ai Hoshino unknowingly averted a disaster. A week since she saw that strange bird on a gas tanker. Since she smelled death hiding behind fragrance. Since she followed a riddle like a breadcrumb trail and stopped something terrible from happening.
A week since she heard his voice.
She sat alone in her room, cross-legged on her bed, staring out the window. Outside, the world moved on—cars passed, children yelled, dogs barked—but inside her mind, everything was still. It was as if her brain had kept one foot in that weird dreamscape where buildings vanished and skies stretched endlessly.
She hadn't told anyone what had happened. How could she?
Even now, her hand trembled slightly as she stirred her tea.
She whispered aloud, "What would I even say? 'Hey, Dad, I saw a bird that gave me a riddle that saved a mall. Oh, and I met a faceless guy who may or may not be real.'" She scoffed to herself, letting her sarcasm cover the anxiety. "They'd throw me into a padded room."
She looked down at her teacup.
And yet...
The voice. It had been calm, eerie, and oddly familiar. It had spoken like it knew her. As if everything she was, everything she could be, had already been decided. Like she was a puzzle piece waiting to be slotted into place.
"Who are you?" she had asked it.
But it hadn't answered.
Not yet.
Now, one week later, Ai felt a strange buzz in the back of her mind—a static pressure, like something was aligning again. A thread being pulled taut. She closed her eyes and exhaled, centering herself.
"If you're going to show up again," she whispered to the air, "you better not do that spooky teleport-illusion trick again. I'll throw my shoe at you this time."
The world blinked.
No sound. No transition. No warning.
Just like last time, everything disappeared.
She opened her eyes slowly.
Gone were the bookshelves. Gone was her bed. Gone was her room, her neighborhood, her city.
She stood in that same impossible field again. The grass rippled like silk beneath a vast, ocean-blue sky. A table stood at the center, untouched by wind, waiting. Two chairs faced each other. At the far end sat the same man.
Slightly long hair. Shoulders straight. Hands folded. His face—still hidden in a strange, shifting shade of black, like a shadow that refused to lift.
But this time, Ai didn't flinch.
She took a deep breath, walked forward, and stopped behind the chair across from him.
"I've been waiting," she said.
The man tilted his head slightly, as if smiling behind that blur.
"Then you've made a decision," he said.
Ai nodded slowly. "Yes. I'll listen. I'll accept what you said. That I might have powers. But only if you tell me one thing first."
"I'll take the powers. Or... I already have them, right?" she shrugged. "Either way. I'm in."
Zazm leaned back in his chair. "And here I was thinking you'd need more convincing."
Ai stepped to the edge of the table but didn't sit. "But I want answers. And this time, I won't be satisfied with riddles."
He tilted his head. "Ask, then."
She inhaled. "Let's start from the top. You said I have powers. And that there are others like me. You called us Catalysts. What exactly is that?"
Zazm nodded, slow and thoughtful. "Catalysts are... people with abilities. Unique ones. Powers that don't seem to follow any pattern."
"And where do they come from?" she pressed.
"I don't know."
Ai blinked. "...What?"
"I don't know," Zazm repeated, unfazed. "One day, I just had them. I thought I was alone at first. But over time, I found others. Some tried to hide it. Some couldn't. Eventually, I started calling us Catalysts. I don't know why we have these abilities. I don't know where they come from. But I know we're not normal."
Ai frowned, her posture stiff. "That's not exactly reassuring."
"I'm not here to reassure you," Zazm said softly. "I'm here to offer truth. Or what I know of it."
She finally sat down, eyes scanning his shrouded face. "So you just... woke up one day and could do impossible things?"
He nodded. "Exactly that."
"And others too?"
"Yes. Each with different powers. None of us know why."
Ai leaned on the table slightly, the tension in her shoulders slowly easing. "Alright. So you don't know the origin. Fine. Then tell me what you do know."
Zazm was silent for a moment. Then he pointed at the sky.
"You see this world? This isn't the only one. Our universe—it's not alone. It's one branch on a massive, endless tree."
Ai stared. "You mean... the multiverse?"
"Yes," he said. "Each universe branches off from another. Like a fractal. The closer the branch, the more similar things are—same physics, same people, same history with minor changes. The further you go, the stranger everything becomes."
"Like... a universe where cats rule the planet?"
"Maybe," he said with a chuckle. "Or one where gravity goes sideways. Or one where Earth never formed."
Ai's mind buzzed. "And our universe? Where did it branch from?"
"Don't know," he said. "But somewhere out there... something's wrong."
She froze. "What do you mean?"
"There's a disruption," Zazm said. "A crack, a disturbance—call it whatever you want. It's spreading. Infecting nearby universes. Corrupting them."
"Corrupting how?"
"Time breaks. Logic collapses. People disappear. Sometimes, entire histories are rewritten."
Ai's stomach tightened. "So it's like... a multiversal disease."
"Exactly."
"And this... disruption, where did it start?"
"We don't know," Zazm said, his voice quiet. "Somewhere far. But it spread to us. Slowly. Subtly. And now it's accelerating."
Ai leaned forward. "So that's your goal? You want to fix this... infection?"
"Yes. That's why we exist. Or at least... that's what we've decided. None of us were told to do this. No higher voice gave us orders. We just saw the signs. The rips. The damage. And we started trying to stop it."
Ai blinked. "You're flying blind."
Zazm smiled faintly. "Aren't we all?"
She sat back, overwhelmed. "How many Catalysts are there?"
"Eight. Including you and you're the last one."
She raised a brow, "Last one?"
Zazm nodded, "With you all the Catalysts on this planet has been found."
"So there are eight Catalysts, right." She asked thinking about something to which Zazm replied with a nod.
She nodded slowly. "And their powers?"
He shrugged. "They're all different. I controls time and space. Another can create illusions. One manipulates elements—fire, water, ice... Others have mental abilities. Or things we don't fully understand yet."
"And me?"
Zazm looked at her for a long moment.
Zazm looked up and gave a small smile. "Let's see what your powers are, shall we?"
He extended his hand across the table, palm open. "Zazm Mystic," he said, voice calm and laced with an almost amused tone. "Catalyst. Controller of time and space."
Ai raised a brow, hesitating for a beat before placing her hand in his. "Ai Hoshino," she replied. "Overthinker. Not-so-willing participant in mysterious conversations."
The moment her fingers touched his, the black haze masking his face slowly began to fade, like fog lifting after a long night. A warm light touched his features—a youthful face with strong lines, tired eyes that still sparkled with wit, and a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Ai blinked. "You... you're actually good-looking."
Zazm tilted his head with a soft, teasing smirk. "I never had any intention of hiding my beautiful face. Just wanted to make an entrance."
Ai gave a short laugh. "You're a narcissist."
"Perhaps," he said, the smile fading into something gentler. "Or maybe I just enjoy a little theater."
Zazm stood up and motioned for her to do the same. "Stand still. This might feel strange."
Ai obeyed, her nerves prickling. The air shifted. She could feel it—the moment something awakened in him. His eyes changed first. No longer bright and playful, they turned almost mirror-like, reflecting lines of golden thread weaving through the air. They pulsed around him like strands of energy, forming constellations only he could truly read.
Her skin broke into goosebumps.
Zazm noticed and said gently, "Don't be scared. This is Nexus's Gaze. I made it to see the truth hidden between realities."
He moved his hand through the air slowly, brushing aside invisible threads. "It took me a long time to develop this. You see you can't directly look at such small level without harming your mind and eyes so I just got an upgraded version."
Ai's eyes widened. "And you're using that... on me?"
He gave a single nod, eyes still glowing. "Yes, I use them and they are the simplest way to find the powers but your threads they weren't normal."
She tilted her head slightly, unsure. "What do you mean?"
Zazm circled around her slowly, looking at the lines of fate only he could see. "When I first started tracking other Catalysts, I'd look for erratic threads. Those were often signs of awakening powers. But yours... yours were aware of me. They reacted to my gaze before I even met you. They felt... conscious."
Ai's heart skipped. "You thought I had powers already?"
"At first, yes," Zazm admitted. "But then I realized it wasn't activation—it was something else. Something more reactive than aggressive. And I had a guess what it might be."
He stepped in front of her again, lowering his hand. The threads faded from the air.
"Well?" Ai asked, her voice steadier than she felt. "What's the verdict?"
Zazm offered a half-smile. "Your power is exactly what I expected."
She narrowed her eyes. "You keep saying that. What does that even mean?"
Zazm folded his arms. "You have heightened senses, Ai. But not in the way people usually imagine."
Ai blinked. "Like hearing and sight?"
He shook his head. "Far more than that. Your senses are attuned to the state of the universe itself. You can feel shifts in its direction. Read the momentum of events. And maybe—just maybe—understand where it's all heading."
Ai stepped back slightly, overwhelmed. "So… like danger sense?"
"Exactly," Zazm said. "But on a cosmic scale."
Her thoughts raced. "But why is that important?"
Zazm's smile faded. "Because I've tried seeing our universe's condition for a long time. I control time and space... and even then, I can't feel the trajectory. Something is clouding it. Blocking me. But you... your threads bypass that. You can see what I can't."
A silence passed between them before Ai spoke again. "So... what now?"
Zazm smiled, "That's on you usually you'll go on to meet other Catalysts."
"Wait you mean right now?" Ai asked in confusion.
Zazm tilted his head and nodded slightly, "Ofcourse right now!"
"Wait I'm not ready and besides I didn't tell my father anything." Ai retorted her reasoning making total sense.
Zazm put a hand on his chin looking deep in thought, "Well it's fine how about we go tomorrow then?"
Ai let out a sigh of relief, "Yeah that's fine, by the way what are you gonna do till then?"
Zazm pointed at himself, "Me?"
Ai nodded.
"Umm it's nearly night time, I would just walk around streets and lay down on top of some building that's all...." He said like thinking what to do.
"When are you gonna sleep exactly?" Ai asked curious.
"I don't need sleep...." Zazm said as he looked down with a smile his eyes mesmerizing something nostalgic.
"Wait does catalysts don't sleep?" She asked her tone even more curious now.
Zazm shook his head, "Nah every catalyst has to eat, drink and sleep and do other stuff like normal people."
"Then what about you?" She asked.
Zazm didn't answer instead he just got up, "Anyways it's getting late I'll see ya tomorrow."
"Wait--"
But before she could say anything else the world shifted and she found herself lying back in her room.
---
The sky above the Shadow Realm shimmered with a strange twilight glow—neither day nor night, but something in-between. Vast fields of obsidian grass rustled with unnatural wind, and floating islands drifted lazily overhead like clouds on a sugar rush.
And in the middle of it all stood something… entirely unexpected.
In a place where light bent like rubber and gravity had no real say, the Shadow Realm had somehow become a theme park.
Not a creepy, horror-style carnival either. This was a fully functioning, gravity-defying, logic-defying explosion of rides, color, and chaotic joy.
Jahanox stood in the center of it all, arms crossed proudly in front of a sign that read in glowing purple letters:
"We are still arguing on the name!"
It was his latest creation though"abomination" might've been more accurate to anyone with a sense of OSHA regulations.
"Kiyomasa, hold the Ferris wheel steady!" Miwa shouted as she floated past, psychically holding up half the ride while spinning in midair herself.
"I AM!" Kiyomasa yelled back, coated in dirt, water, and what might've been candy syrup. "But who made the seats rotate this fast!?"
Miwa giggled from her floating perch. "That's the new mode, the rest weren't fun! You press the big red button and"
"Don't press the big red button!" Jennie shouted from the cotton candy machine she made from illusion but it worked just like real deal.
"Seriously! Last time Minos got stuck upside down and he got turned into pink panther after he got swung in the machine!"
Across the way, Minos was calmly conjuring tiny dolls of everyone present, then setting them on a self-built rollercoaster made of floating rings and shifting metal.
"This one screams when it loops," he said thoughtfully, adjusting the Jennie doll so its arms were permanently flailing. "Accuracy is important."
"You're all insane," Kiyomasa muttered, as his foot got stuck in a jelly trampoline and he fell down. "Past few weeks, all we've done is mess around like this! We're Catalysts, not circus performers!"
Jennie leaned out from her stand. "We made the circus because we were bored!"
"It's for training!" Miwa said, laughing as she spun into a front flip mid-air.
Jahanox finally turned to them with a calm, satisfied smile. "It is training. You're using your powers, learning precision, endurance. The chaos is... part of the curriculum."
Minos nodded solemnly. "We're hitting one arrow to two bird."
"You mean two birds with one stone....."
"I mean what I said," Minos replied, molding a tiny Kiyomasa doll with exaggerated frown lines.
Kiyomasa groaned and pulled himself out of the trampoline. "Fine. Whatever. At least make a new ride that doesn't require a waiver."
Jennie popped a piece of illusory popcorn in her mouth. "You signed a waiver?"
"I wrote the waiver!" Miwa snapped.
Just then, a glowing ripple formed near the castle. The sky—if one could call it that—parted like ink swirling in water, and two figures stepped through.
The air shimmered as Zazm and Ai stepped through the portal, emerging into the Shadow Realm. Before them loomed the Obsidian Castle—a colossal structure of dark stone that seemed to absorb the surrounding light. Its spires pierced the sky, and its massive gates stood as silent sentinels to the mysteries within.
Ai's eyes widened as she took in the sight. "This place... it's incredible."
Zazm nodded, a hint of pride in his voice. "Welcome to the Obsidian Castle. It's been the stronghold of the Catalysts."
As they approached the gates, they swung open with a deep, resonant creak, revealing a vast entrance hall adorned with intricate carvings and glowing runes that pulsed with a soft, ethereal light.
"How did you all even made this?" Ai asked as she looked around observing everything.
"Well we didn't specifically, you see this place is a shadow dimension, originally, it existed in the shadow of Jahanox---" Zazm paused suddenly and spoke "Oh you'll meet him."
"So this Jahanox this place is connected to his shadow? Like is that his power?" Ai asked as they walked through the huge halls of the castle.
"His power is something that'll be easier to hear for him as for this place, currently this is connected to his shadow but not entirely."
Ai tilted her head in confusion, "Not entirely?"
Zazm paused and looked up, "As I said, I can control time and space, I cut this space and through a little stabilization formed an entirely new dimension."
"You speak as if creating a dimension is just a weekend thing." Ai said her voice filled with shock.
A small smile appeared on Zazm's place, "Not right now, it's extremely hard to form a new dimension but not to simply cut it and make it exist on a different plane."
"So what you did is like separating the space, so it's not just a place accessible through him?"
Zazm nodded his head clearly impressed, "Suprising."
Ai looked at him, "What is?"
"Nothing, it's just surprising someone beside Jahanox can understand all this." he said as he gave her a look of surprise.
"Well this stuff sure is complicated but I've studied my fair share of all this so yeah...." She said dusting off the impression.
"By the way how big is the castle we've been walking for a while." Ai asked looking around the hallway.
"Well it's extremely big but I thought I should give you a little tour, so what do you think?" Zazm said in a plain tone his hands resting in his pockets.
"Well you've surprised me this castle and everything inside and this dimension itself."
Zazm gave a nod of agreement.
As they moved through the castle, Zazm's brow furrowed. "It's odd. The castle feels... empty."
Ai glanced around. "Maybe everyone's out for training?"
Zazm shook his head. "No, I would sense their presence if they were near. Something's off."
They entered the Throne Room, a vast chamber with a high vaulted ceiling and a throne carved from a single piece of obsidian. The room was silent, the only sound the echo of their footsteps.
Zazm approached the throne, placing a hand on its armrest. "This is where we hold our councils."
"Wow!" Ai exclaimed as she walked around glancing at all the thrones.
"They are beautiful, every single one of them is unique. But wait...." she walked towards a plain and empty throne and pointed at it.
"Why is there such a simple throne in the middle of all these cool ones?"
Zazm looked towards the throne aswell, "That is your throne, you can shape it however you like that's how we all did it."
"Wait so I can make it into whatever I want?" she asked genuinely curious and Zazm nodded.
"But before that let's go, I've found everyone." Zazm said as he turned around.
"Found them?" Ai ran a little to catch up with him.
"I tracked their threads, all of them are at some distance." he said as his eyes narrowed slightly.
Ai noticed the furrow on his brow "Is that a bad thing?"
Zazm rubbed his neck, "Well no not exactly but let me ask you think what happens when you leave a bunch of kids alone for a while?"
Ai got confused for a second but then replied, "I don't know perhaps they start doing whatever they want?"
Zazm snapped and pointed his finger at her, "Exactly! They would start doing weird shit and if those kids have superpowers....."
"That would be way worse...." Ai completed his sentence with a nervous chuckle.
---
Rollercoasters twisted through the air with physics-defying loops. Floating bumper cars zipped by with no drivers.
Cotton candy machines the size of buildings chugged out clouds so thick they drifted like fog.
There were slides that went sideways, merry-go-rounds that sang operatic solos, and a haunted house shaped like Jahanox's face—with glowing red eyes and smoke billowing from its ears.
In one corner, Minos sat peacefully with a tea cup in one hand, conjuring an army of living dolls out of dark glittering strings. The dolls waved at each other and marched into formation like a parade.
In another corner, Kiyomasa was trying to control a cannon that fired fireworks made entirely of colorful water.
"I swear this one's safe this time!" he shouted, right before the cannon spun around and fired waterfireworks directly into the sky, bursting into a giant shape of his face giving a thumbs up.
On the tallest ride what appeared to be a rotating teacup tower that levitated in slow motion, Miwa floated upside down, telekinetically guiding people into the ride while laughing hysterically.
"Who wants to defy gravity and motion sickness today?" she cheered, flipping mid-air.
Jennie stood near the cotton candy fountain, holding a clipboard and taking notes. "We've had zero injuries for five hours. That's a new record," she beamed.
"Don't jinx it!" Kiyomasa yelled.
Just then, from a swirl of space and light, Zazm and Ai appeared.
Ai was dressed in a practical jacket, boots, and her usual calm expression… until she opened her eyes.
"What the.."
Zazm blinked once.
Then twice.
Then gasped—loudly.
"WHAT. IN . THE . HELL?!" he shouted, hitting his hand dramatically on his head.
"W-wait what is all this?" Ai asked in confusion as she looked at the chaos.
"Like hell I would know," Zazm spoke slightly irritated as he walked near the park.
"Is this normal." Ai asked still in confusion.
"It wasn't this bad till the last time...."
Ai stepped beside him, eyebrows rising. "Is that a rollercoaster that goes into a volcano and comes out of a giant rubber duck's mouth?"
Zazm whirled around. "What is happening here?! Jahanox!"
From a dark crystalline throne in the center of the park, Jahanox sipped from a neon coconut and waved lazily. "Welcome to Catalystland. I made a theme park."
"A theme park?!" Zazm shouted, hands flailing. "You built a whole fucking amusement part in the Shadow Realm?! BECAUSE?!"
"We were bored....." Jahanox said casually shrugging.
Zazm was about to say something but hid his face behind his hand and spoke with a whisper, "Because they were bored...."
Kiyomasa ran up holding two churros. "Hey Zazm, want one? It's shadowflavored!"
Zazm stared. "What the hell is a shadowflavored churro?!"
Miwa floated down, upside-down again, and waved at Ai. "Hi new girl! Welcome to our slightly irresponsible death park!"
Ai blinked. "You guys have no sense of subtlety."
Jennie came jogging up. "It's not all irresponsible. We used it as training, too!"
"Yeah!" Kiyomasa added, stuffing his face. "We're building power and memories!"
"Memories of what, dying in a cotton candy explosion?!" Zazm cried.
Minos, still calmly seated with his dolls, spoke up. "Technically it's two birds with one arrow. Bonding and power refinement."
"Thank you, Minos. You are absolutely not helping," Zazm replied, still visibly distressed.
Jahanox finally stood. "Relax, Zazm. It's controlled chaos. We're improving our Catalyst manipulation through environmental distortion and stress adaptation."
Ai tilted her head. "Is that true?"
"Probably not," Zazm muttered. Then louder, "You all built a functioning theme park—with a monorail system! Who even designed this?!"
"Miwa did," Jennie and Kiyomasa said in unison.
"I gave the duck volcano personality!" Miwa beamed.
"It judges you while you ride through," Minos added solemnly.
Zazm took a long, dramatic inhale.
Ai leaned over and whispered, "Is this normal?"
He exhaled. "This is... somehow worse and better than I expected."
Then, as if nothing was wrong, Jahanox floated down and handed Ai a "Catalystland Visitor" badge. "First time's free. Don't worry, we fixed most of the reality-warping glitches."
Ai looked at it. "Most?"
"Fifty-seven percent," Jahanox confirmed.
"Get up you all, we are going to the meeting room." Zazm said as he activated his Nexus's gaze and simultaneously teleported everyone to the throne room.
The laughter and distant humming of rollercoasters gradually faded as the Catalysts filed into the Obsidian Castle's throne room.
The grandeur of the chamber dimly lit by floating orbs of amber light, with obsidian pillars rising to a ceiling shrouded in shadows commanded silence.
Zazm stood at the center, his black cloak trailing slightly behind him. At the head of the semicircle of thrones, he waited as the rest settled into their seats—each throne a unique reflection of its Catalyst's power.
Everyone took their seats and now all eyes were on Ai.
Zazm smiled faintly. "Everyone… this is Ai Hoshino, the final Catalyst."
Ai stepped forward slowly, her eyes scanning the room—calm but observant, alert but not tense. She took a breath and turned to look at the throne that was just behind her.
On the obsidian floor, the simple throne rested like a blooming midnight flower waiting to bloom.
It had no defined edges each surface curved and rippled, as though made from an unseen wind solidified.
Threads of silver light ran across it like glowing veins. At the top of the backrest, a crown of crystal antennae slowly turned, humming with quiet energy.
Above her head, a spectral halo spun slowly—shifting hues with the room's mood, like her senses were extending into the very air.
The armrests pulsed with wave patterns, like sonar. The seat itself seemed made from layered translucent planes, each a slightly different texture—smooth, rough, ridged—reflecting her hyper-sensory perception.
Miwa whispered from the side, "Her throne is beautiful…"
Jennie nodded quietly. "It reflects a mind that doesn't sleep."
Kiyomasa was grinning. "She looks cool."
Ai just stared at it. "It's… alive?"
Zazm chuckled softly. "Your throne adapts to you. Just like your senses. Go on."
With a small, steadying breath, Ai stepped onto the platform and sat.
The throne adjusted.
Like it had been waiting.
"I think it's time we all introduce ourselves properly. Ai, meet the Catalysts. Catalysts, meet Ai Hoshino—the one whose presence you've all sensed in some way."
Jahanox stood first, nodding politely. "Jahanox. My ability is… well, I can replicate any non-Catalyst ability. Temporarily. I can stack up to three powers at once—but the stronger they are, the longer the cooldown. Flight lasts seconds. Reality-warping might take years to reuse. I specialize in analyzing and countering."
Ai nodded. "That explains the shifting throne."
Jahanox smiled briefly. "Very perceptive."
Kiyomasa jumped up. "Kiyomasa Saito! I control the elements. Fire, water, ice, wind, metal, blood kinda everything natural. I'm a little slow to pick on things so yeah...." he said slightly embarrassed.
Zazm raised a brow. "Atleast you're self aware."
Kiyomasa slumped back into his seat. "Well yeah..."
Miwa waved cheerfully. "Miwa! I have telekinesis and telepathy. I can fly, move stuff, talk to people in their heads. Sometimes too much. Sorry in advance!"
Ai gave her a kind smile. "I don't mind. I like listening."
Miwa squealed. "Yay! Someone polite!"
Minos gave a quiet little bow while sitting. "I… make things from quantum matter. I'm learning. Right now I can make dolls, small items, toys. But eventually, I'll be able to make much more serious stuff. Weapons, tools, maybe even artificial worlds."
"Scary," Ai said, curious. "But amazing."
Jennie stood with elegance. "Jennie Aurelia. I specialize in illusions. I can vanish completely, phase through solid matter, and my illusions are undetectable… unless Zazm looks directly at them."
Ai glanced toward Zazm. "Why only him?"
Zazm shrugged. "Comes with my power. All living threads have these threads flowing out of them, illusions don't have them."
"You mentioned these threads before and they are pretty cool but I'm curious about something." Ai asked as she put her fingers on her chin.
Zazm moved his head as if asking her what's the question.
"How do you see these threads?" She asked and her question caught everyone's attention but before Zazm could answer she continued.
"I mean if they keep flowing out of every living thing doesn't that mean there are millions of threads everywhere? If you keep seeing them how do you see other stuff or do you have an option to turn it off or on?"
Zazm smiled a little amused from her question. He looked around and saw everyone else also looked interested in the question.
"It is not like an on or off thing, it's that they are always present there but if I want to see them, I simply need to think of focus a little and then I see them..."
Zazm continued while he tried to looked for correct words, "How can I explain this..... It's more like an instinctive thing, like we breathe every second but we can also stop that or speed it up, I think that's the best way I can put it."
"So you can choose it, like the threads are always there it's just on you how you want to see them?" Minos asked his eyes looking directly at Zazm.
"Yes!"
"Every power is truly fascinating, I would like to learn more about everyone's power." Ai said with a smile.
Jennie gave Ai a warm smile. "Welcome, Ai. I look forward to working with you."
Finally, Zazm stepped up again.
"Zazm Mystic. I manipulate time and space. I can fold distance, freeze time, or accelerate it. I also created the Shadow Realm… including this castle, the gateways, and the threads that connect universes."
He looked at Ai with a softer gaze. "And I brought you here because your powers… are vital."
Ai's fingers curled slightly around the throne's armrest. "I can feel it. I'm connected to everything here. It's… loud. But clear."
Jennie looked toward Zazm. "What exactly is her ability?"
Zazm nodded solemnly. "Ai has heightened senses. Not just in the usual way. She can perceive the very state of the universe—its condition, its direction, what it's heading toward. You could say… she's our warning system. But it's more than that."
Jahanox raised a hand, "Correct me if I'm wrong but can't you also see if a universe is disrupted or not? How does her powers come in handy here?"
Zazm leaned back a little tapping his fingers on the throne, "Several universes are disrupted and in order to fix that, we'll have to find the place where it all started from.
I can see disruptions, the threads but I cannot directly see the condition. For example I know a universe is disrupted and how much is it but I cannot tell where we have to go to fix the disruption."
Jahanox nodded, "Let me make it clear in case everyone didn't get it, what Zazm meant was that since 'several', remember several in case of universes means billions or possibly trillions of universes.
Zazm can see their disruption but he can not accurately lead us those universes where the cause of the disruption the problem lies."
He looked at Zazm and asked with a smirk, "Am I right?"
Zazm nodded.
"I'm sorry but how exactly would that work?" Jennie asked still seemingly confused.
"Imagine we go to another universe, there Ai will investigate properly in depth what's the issue and by finding those small clues I'll take us to the universe that has that same or around those lines problems."
The room went still.
"But wait are we really gonna go to a different universe?" Kiyomasa curiously asked.
"That depends but regardless we'll know soon enough." Zazm said in a plain tone lost in thought.
Ai's eyes scanned the semicircle of thrones once more, her sharp senses quietly ticking through the rhythm of the room. She lifted a hand slowly and pointed toward a dark corner—where one throne stood still, untouched.
"…I was wondering," she said softly, her tone careful, "but where is that Catalyst?"
Everyone froze.
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