Ai's question caused a slight awkwardness in the atmosphere, everyone suddenly went quiet.
For a moment, no one answered. The air itself grew heavier, as if the Shadow Realm itself understood what was being remembered.
Zazm's expression darkened. His usual chaotic calm vanished, replaced with something quieter… older.
"That was Caspian Grey's throne," he said at last.
Ai blinked. "Was?"
Zazm's hand drifted to his coat pocket, but he didn't reach in. Instead, he looked down, as if measuring something buried deeper than words.
"He was one of us. A Catalyst."
He turned away from the throne and began pacing.
"We didn't know what his power was at first. He could copy any Catalyst ability for a short period of time—by touching them. We thought it was useful. Versatile. Unpredictable. He made a lot of things easier."
Miwa looked down at her hands, quiet now. Jahanox's jaw was clenched. Kiyomasa stared at the floor. Even Minos had gone still.
"But… Caspian was different," Zazm continued. "He always seemed like he was with us, joking around, playing it off. But there was always something behind that smile. Something cold. We ignored it. I ignored it."
He stopped walking and finally looked at Ai.
"He betrayed us."
The words hung in the air like lead.
"He recorded things he shouldn't have. Leaked information. Endangered people. Catalysts. Civilians. People who never asked to be part of this."
Ai's breath caught slightly. "Why would he…?"
"Power and wealth." Zazm replied in a flat voice as he glanced over at the throne.
Ai spoke in a low tone, "Didn't he already had power?"
"He wasn't satisfied will all this, he wanted to be superior, to do whatever he wanted and in his path we were thorns. That's why...." Nox clenched his jaw his fists tightened.
Minos noticed this and continued, "That is why he planned to kill Jennie and take her powers, using her illusion powers his goal was to trick everyone else.
Zazm at that time was busy somewhere and he thought it was the perfect opportunity to fool everyone and it truly was. After all, besides Zazm no one can tell Jennie's illusions apart."
Ai looked a little shocked but composer herself, "So his plan was to use Jennie's powers to fool everyone and gain everyone else's power?"
"Somewhat yes, his plan was failed due to Miwa and Minos trailing Jennie and Kiyomasa but he kidnapped Jahanox's parents and shot Kiyomasa and to make things alright and remove everything I killed him and all his allies."
Zazm finished his eyes hollow and his voice flat as if there were no remorse for what he did.
"Are you afraid of us, Ai?"
Zazm asked in a low tone, his eyes penetrating Ai as if looking deep into her soul.
Ai matched Zazm's gaze, "I don't know, to be honest for me all of this is scary right now but if you specifically mean the killing part them No!"
"I see...."
Ai gave one last glance at Caspian's seat, then turned her gaze back to the group. The mood remained quiet, but now a thread of unity had sewn itself between them.
The silence was no longer heavy with guilt.
It was a bitter memory.
The silence that had fallen over the throne room slowly began to lift—until Jahanox suddenly clapped his hands, the sound echoing through the obsidian chamber like a dramatic cymbal.
"Alright, enough brooding. You're all forgetting something," he said, standing tall with that signature seriousness that always seemed half-mocking, half-wise.
Everyone turned toward him, brows raised.
"Forgetting what?" Miwa asked, still half-leaning on the table.
Jahanox pointed a finger at Ai, then at the empty space between them. "When a new Catalyst joins… we party."
Kiyomasa immediately jumped to his feet, eyes gleaming. "YES! The legendary initiation feast! It's the time where we make Zazm go broke!"
Zazm blinked slowly. "…Excuse me?"
Jennie let out a quiet laugh, the kind that curved like gentle wind. "It's true. Caspian was the one who always covered everything before. Since he's not here anymore…"
Jahanox folded his arms with a smug smile. "Zazm's bank account takes the hit."
Zazm tilted his head, deadpan. "I'm literally the only one who understands cosmic finance and you want me to fund snack time."
Miwa slid across the smooth floor and slapped her hand down on the glowing table. "Let's go! I want strawberry soda and seventeen types of chips."
Zazm sighed with theatrical exhaustion, rubbing his temples. "Fine, fine… But are we seriously hosting this at my place again?"
Everyone including Jahanox and even the usually reserved Minos nodded in unison.
Kiyomasa, idly creating tiny firework sparks from his fingers, added, "Your house is big. And comfortable. And the fridge never runs out of stuff."
"And it smells nice," Miwa chimed in.
"…Because I clean it with spatial folding, thank you very much," Zazm muttered.
Ai looked between them, visibly trying to keep up with the playful chaos. "Wait. You're throwing a party for me?"
"Yup," Kiyomasa said, pointing dramatically. "Whether you like it or not."
Jennie nodded sweetly. "It's our way of welcoming you properly."
Zazm raised one hand and everyone instantly paused. The room fell silent again as he looked at Ai.
"Before we go," he said, placing his palm on the massive black-glass table at the center of the throne room, "there's one more thing."
The table began to glow beneath his hand, soft purple threads of energy swirling outwards like ink in water. Slowly, in front of Ai, a glimmering stone rose from the surface—floating, humming with quiet power.
Ai leaned back slightly, startled. "Whoa…"
Zazm gestured toward it. "Everyone here has one of these. We all converted them into an accessory of our choice. You can do the same."
He stepped back. "It's connected to the Shadow Realm and your real-world location. With this, you can teleport between both places at will. It's also tied to your signature energy—your threads."
Ai raised an eyebrow. "You've got everything prepared, don't you?"
Jahanox smirked. "That's just how we do things."
"But the real question is…" Miwa leaned in dramatically, "what will you make it?"
Ai stared at the stone, thinking. After a moment, she glanced up at Zazm.
"…Can I make it a frame for my glasses?"
Zazm blinked. "Only the frame?"
Ai nodded. "I'll get lenses later."
Zazm tilted his head like a confused bird. "Just… make full glasses. Trust me."
She shrugged and touched the stone.
At her touch, the stone pulsed brightly, violet and blue flaring in an elegant swirl. Light wrapped around her hand as the stone reshaped itself—and before she knew it, a sleek pair of glasses formed in her palm.
The frames were matte black with a slight shimmer, and the lenses had a faint iridescent gleam, like oil on water. They looked… expensive.
"Whoa," Ai breathed. "They look really cool."
Zazm gestured toward her. "Put them on."
She did. And as soon as the lenses touched her eyes, everything became sharper. She could see the intricate carvings on the walls, the subtle heat signatures of everyone in the room.
It was like switching her entire perception from SD to 4K Ultra-HD with spectral overlays.
Jennie smiled. "Looks like they suit you."
Jahanox let out a low chuckle. "She underestimated the stone."
Zazm nodded. "They're not just teleportation tools. They're crafted from my threads but the real thing is they are tuned by Jahanox. He added a bunch of features."
Jahanox tapped the side of his own bracelet his chosen form of the stone. "If you ever lose it, just think about it, and it'll return to you. It's permanently bound to your frequency."
Minos added, "In short, it's magic tech. Fancy, functional, and freakishly cool."
Ai adjusted the glasses and smiled in awe. "Okay… now this is legit."
Kiyomasa stretched his arms. "Alright then! Let's head out before Miwa actually chews on the furniture."
"I wasn't going to— Okay, maybe just a little," Miwa replied, laughing.
Zazm stood and waved his hand, opening a shimmering gate to the real world. "Party time, then. Everyone grab your weird snacks and interdimensional gifts. Let's go make me bankrupt."
The Catalysts cheered, and Ai stepped through the portal with them, a soft smile playing on her lips.
---
Zazm's house—if one could call a sprawling, marble-laced, gravity-defying multiversal mansion a "house"—was buzzing with activity.
The living room was flooded with soft warm light from floating chandeliers that drifted lazily in the air. Music pulsed from somewhere unseen, a mellow, jazzy tune tangled with electronic beats. An ornate dining table stretched across the room, weighed down by expensive food from every dimension imaginable. Gold-laced sushi from a world where fish swam in the clouds. Steamed buns filled with sweet cosmic light. Even bubble tea that shimmered like stardust.
Ai's jaw was slightly slack. "He… he ordered all this?"
Jennie, standing beside her with a small plate in her hands, gave her a soft, amused smile. "You'll get used to it. Eventually."
Zazm, a soda bottle balanced on his forehead and a plate of pancakes in the other hand, was currently trying to beat Miwa in a high-stakes bottle flip challenge on the massive floor pillows near the couch. Miwa flipped the bottle with one hand while stuffing popcorn into her mouth with the other, eyes glittering with mischief.
"I'LL WIN THIS TIME!" she shouted.
"let's see," Zazm retorted, flipping his bottle—which hit the table, bounced off a spoon, and landed upright on a coaster.
"Oops," he whispered triumphantly.
Ai chuckled under her breath but leaned slightly closer to Jahanox, who sat with a cup of steaming dark tea, far from the playful madness.
"…Hey," she whispered. "Is everything okay with Zazm?"
Jahanox looked at her calmly, though something shifted behind his eyes. "Why do you ask?"
She stared at the boy still playing games and cracking jokes—his face smooth, his posture relaxed, his energy playful. But—
"There's a kind of sadness in his eyes," she said quietly. "Like he's carrying something too big. I don't even know what it is, but it's just… there. And it won't leave."
Jahanox looked at her for a few seconds, then gave a small smile. It was warm, but faintly bitter.
"Some people carry too much. But he's strong enough. He doesn't need anyone—that's how he's always been." He took a sip of his tea, eyes fixed on Zazm. "Trust me… he can deal with it. He always has."
Ai didn't answer right away. She just nodded slightly, then asked, "By the way… you guys don't need to sleep or eat?"
Jahanox suddenly perked up, shaking his head so fast his silver hair flared like a cape. "No, no—we absolutely need to! We're not aliens or gods. I mean, I wish. But no. Food? Food is my true love."
Jennie, who had been pretending not to eavesdrop, suddenly stiffened. Her fork stopped halfway to her mouth. She'd leaned slightly back earlier to catch their whispers—just a little curious—but she'd missed the food part.
She only heard: "true love."
Her eyes went wide.
She stood up abruptly and slid next to Jahanox, a faint pink creeping up her cheeks.
"W-what are you guys talking about?" she asked, trying to sound casual but clearly nervous.
Jahanox blinked. "Nothing special."
Ai shrugged with a sly smile. "Yeah, just talking about how Jahanox's one true love… is food."
Jennie blinked rapidly. "Oh—oh. That's… good. I mean! That's—fine! Yeah."
Ai tilted her head but smirked when she noticed the blush on Jennie's cheeks. She was about to tease her when she caught Kiyomasa across the room, violently shaking his head with wide eyes. Don't. Do not.
She stifled her grin and continued. "So anyway… When I met Zazm, he said he doesn't sleep. Like, ever."
Jahanox frowned. "Huh. That's weird. He's probably just joking."
Ai narrowed her eyes. "And… I don't think he can taste food."
Jahanox turned to her more seriously now. "…What do you mean?"
Ai looked around before leaning in. "Okay, I'm not joking—but I'm pretty sure he just ate the foil on his sandwich a minute ago. Like, didn't even notice."
Jennie, now curious and forgetting her earlier awkwardness, looked over. "Even if he was immersed in the game, how do you not notice that taste? It's awful."
"I know, right?" Ai said. "I mean… is that normal?"
Jahanox sat straighter now, his expression shifting. "No. It's not."
He looked at the table, scanning for something. Then he spotted it—a weird, jelly-like dessert with swirling colors and sparkles.
"Let's test this."
He picked it up with a fork and took a bite.
Immediately, his whole face contorted. "WHAT IS THIS?! It's sugar death! It's… it's cursed candy! Why is it so sweet?!"
Everyone looked over.
Minos raised an eyebrow. "Jahanox…? You okay?"
"Try this," Jahanox said, walking over to him with the dish.
Minos looked suspicious, but one look at Jahanox's serious eyes made him reconsider. He took a small bite—and instantly grimaced.
"Okay, okay, this is awful. My teeth are screaming," he said, wiping his mouth. "Why'd you even order this?"
"I didn't," Jahanox said, turning slowly to face Zazm. "He did."
Zazm was lounging, still casually playing, totally unbothered.
"I just tapped random options from the 'Try Everything' menu," he said.
"You need to try this yourself," Jahanox said, walking over with the plate.
Zazm waved his hand. "Nah, I trust your judgment. You all hate it, that's enough."
Minos stood too. "No, no. You're the one who dragged us into this sugar hell. You eat it."
Zazm narrowed his eyes but, seeing their serious faces, finally relented. He took the fork and ate a small bite.
For a moment, nothing.
Then he blinked once.
"…You're right. That's disgusting."
Jennie tilted her head. "Wait—you actually think so?"
Zazm nodded. "Yeah. It's… way too sweet."
But the way he said it made the room fall quiet.
Ai looked at him closely. Something didn't feel right. His reaction was too delayed. Too calculated. As if he'd figured out what it should taste like and mimicked their disgust.
Jahanox exchanged a look with Ai. The air in the room had shifted.
Zazm noticed. His eyes flicked between them, reading their faces.
"…I'm sorry, okay?" he said, tone casual. "Just put it down. Not that deep."
Instead of arguing, Jahanox stood and walked calmly toward Ai and Jennie. His voice was level, almost too calm.
"Try this dish. Just a bite."
Both girls blinked in confusion. Jennie looked hesitant. Ai narrowed her eyes.
"…Why?"
"Just try it," he said again.
A little afraid, they each took a small spoonful.
Jennie made a face immediately. "That's barely sweet at all."
Ai nodded, glancing at Zazm. "There's barely any taste. Did you… really think this was too sweet?"
Even Kiyomasa perked up now. "Wait, what's going on?" he asked, rising from his seat.
The air thickened, like static in the air before lightning struck.
Miwa, still chewing something else, noticed the tension. "Huh? What's up? Why do Ai and Jennie look like they just drank unsweetened tea? You two like sugar that much or something?"
Jahanox sat down slowly, posture stiff with intent. His eyes locked on Zazm's.
"Zazm," he said clearly. "This dish—you said it was sweet, right?"
Zazm, slightly confused by the shift in mood, raised a brow but nodded. "Yeah? It is. I said that already."
He glanced around, noticing how serious everyone had become. "Why's everyone acting like I just tasted poison or something? It's just a dish."
But Jahanox didn't let go.
"The dish I just tried wasn't sweet. It had barely any flavor at all."
The silence hit like a thunderclap.
Zazm tilted his head slightly. "…What?"
Minos stood beside Jahanox, his arms crossed. "Same here. I heard what you said. But this dish? Not sweet. Not even close."
Now everyone stared at Zazm.
Jennie leaned back slowly, spoon forgotten in her hand. Ai's gaze was sharp, searching. Even Miwa had gone still, setting her fork down, eyes wide.
Zazm looked around, then let out a little smile.
"Okay, okay," he said, waving his hands lightly. "I see what this is. You guys are trying to pull some weird group joke on me. I played along."
His tone was light as always. Face unreadable.
"Obviously, I knew it wasn't sweet. I was just playing along with your stupid joke, alright?"
But Jahanox leaned forward, eyes not leaving his.
"Then tell us," he said slowly. "What did the dish actually taste like?"
Zazm blinked. Then shrugged, still calm. "I only had one bite. How am I supposed to tell? It's gone now anyway, everyone's poked at it."
There was no crack in his expression. No twitch, no stumble.
But Jahanox's smirk widened.
"Got you."
Zazm's brows furrowed. "…What do you mean?"
Jahanox stood, walked to the far end of the table, and picked up another identical bowl.
"I knew you'd do this. That you'd try the weirdest dish without thinking. So I made sure to test something."
He held up the second dish.
"I intentionally picked this dish since it had a clone which tasted different.""
Zazm's posture subtly stiffened.
Jahanox stepped forward, holding a spoonful of the second one. "Now. Humor us."
Zazm leaned back, his smile thinning. "This is so stupid. Are we seriously doing this?"
"Just taste it," Jahanox said.
Everyone was watching. Zazm slowly took the bite.
He thought for a moment.
"…It's salty. Tastes like food. That's all."
Minos immediately reached over and took his own bite. He paused, chewing, then raised his head.
"This one's sweet."
Silence.
Ai's mouth opened slightly. Kiyomasa's hands tensed at his sides. Jennie had gone completely still.
Jahanox looked back down at Zazm. His voice was colder now.
"The first one was bland. Barely had any flavor. This one is sweet."
He let the weight of the moment hang.
"What explanation do you have, Zazm… for why you can't taste food?"
Zazm stared at them. His smile didn't waver.
But for the first time—it was clear.
There was no joke in his eyes.
He sighed quietly, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes for a moment.
"…There's no getting out of this, huh."
No one answered.
Zazm opened his eyes again and stared at the ceiling, as if deciding how much truth to give.
Zazm stared at them all, the silence pressing like a weight on his shoulders. Then he leaned back slightly, his voice calm—measured, even—but low and steady like a distant storm.
"…I don't taste anything anymore," he said. "I don't feel hunger. I don't smell food. Sleep doesn't come. And it's not because I chose to be numb."
Everyone was still. Not even Miwa moved.
"I froze my body in time," he continued. "Not all of it. Just the parts I thought I needed to shut down. I didn't want to stop my heart, or blood flow, or brain activity. That would've been suicide. But I froze the essentials—the things that made me feel... human."
His fingers tapped softly against the armrest. "I thought I could control it. That I could cut away the parts I didn't need—the parts that kept me up at night."
Zazm looked toward the window, eyes distant. "But I didn't account for how precise time manipulation really is. I wasn't ready. I lost more than I meant to."
He looked back at them. "My taste buds. My sense of smell. Even the small things—the warmth of sunlight, the joy of food. I didn't destroy them… but they're frozen too. Trapped in that loop."
Zazm clenched his fists, "It all just became too hard, when I tried to sleep I wouldn't be able to, I'll hear screams see blood and even if by some miracle I fell asleep then the nightmares.
When I try to eat something the taste will make me puke, the food would remind me of blood and all. I couldn't keep on going like that so I simply got rid of it all."
Miwa's hand was over her mouth. Ai's brows were furrowed deeply. Jennie looked like she might cry again.
But before anyone could speak, Zazm's voice cut cleanly through the air.
"Don't cry. It's not that big of a deal in the near future I'll be able to precisely control them, right now my food problem has been fixed but I can't unfroze my body because the threads are too delicate and they require to be treated.
Treated with power I don't yet possess, if I do that there is a chance I might end up dead. That's just how fragile we humans are."
They froze.
Zazm's eyes were sharp now. Focused. That same fire they'd all seen before in battle—unshaken and unwavering—was there.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not some broken soul begging for pity. I made a mistake with my powers. I pushed too far, too fast. But I'll get it back."
He stood slowly, hands in his pockets, posture casual—but something powerful radiated from him. Calm. Commanding.
"I just need a better grip. More control. If I can freeze my senses, I can unfreeze them. It's not a matter of if, it's when."
Kiyomasa looked up, wide-eyed.
"And besides," Zazm added, glancing around at all of them, "a leader shouldn't flinch over losing a little flavor. There are real battles ahead. Real threats coming for us."
His smile was faint, but real. Confident.
"If I can't taste sugar, then so be it. I'll savor victory instead."
A silence followed—different from before. Not heavy with worry, but filled with quiet respect.
Zazm looked at each of them in turn. "So don't cry. Don't act like children. We've got a multiverse to fix."
Jahanox, after a beat, nodded. Minos looked down, biting back a smile. Even Miwa wiped her eyes, her grin slowly returning.
Ai crossed her arms, but her expression had softened. Kiyomasa looked up at him with something close to admiration.
Zazm sat down again, arms resting on his knees, posture relaxed—but something in his voice cut sharper than before.
"Now… for the serious talk."
His tone shifted. Instantly, all chatter died. The others quieted, turning to face him—Ai and Jennie sat straighter, Minos leaned forward, and even Miwa stopped chewing her gum.
Zazm's gaze drifted from one Catalyst to the next, pausing briefly on each.
"It's time to decide," he said. "The multiverse is breaking. Collapsing from something—someone—that doesn't belong. An anomaly."
He held up one finger.
"And we won't fix this by staying here. One universe won't give us answers."
His voice was calm. Firm. Like someone reciting a truth carved into stone.
"We're going to travel," he said. "Through other worlds. Other universes. Until we find where it all began—where that first crack formed. And once we do... we eliminate it."
The room was silent.
Then Zazm added, more softly, "Once that's done, I'll reverse time. Across every universe."
Heads turned.
"Everything that was broken—ripped, rewritten, destroyed—it'll be undone. The timelines will re-align. And it'll be okay."
Miwa blinked, stunned. Minos narrowed his eyes. Ai's fingers curled tighter in her lap. Jennie looked down, trying to process.
But it was Kiyomasa who raised his hand, like a child in school. "Um—Zazm?"
Zazm tilted his head, giving him space.
Kiyomasa swallowed. "If… if you're reversing time to when everything was okay… does that mean my grandma comes back? And my parents, too?"
He looked hopeful. Fragile.
Zazm's gaze lingered on him.
"That's how it should be."
A spark lit in Kiyomasa's eyes.
But then Zazm paused.
He turned to Jennie and Kiyomasa.
"And that means…" His voice dropped. "There's a possibility… your parents might return too."
A stillness fell over the room like the moment before a thunderstorm.
Kiyomasa froze. "What?"
Zazm didn't flinch. "There's no guarantee. Nothing is fixed. If the anomaly caused ripples that killed them—then yes. They'll come back. But if they died naturally, before the point we rewind to… then no."
He turned back to the group.
"Same goes for everyone," he said. "Your families. Your homes. Your friends. There's a chance they'll return. "
His eyes met Kiyomasa's again. "And there's a chance they won't."
The weight of it pressed down like gravity.
Ai stared blankly at the table. Jennie's hands trembled slightly. Miwa's wide grin had faded completely. Minos clenched his jaw, unmoving. Jahanox remained still, but his fingers curled into fists.
Zazm stood now, walking to the center.
"But here's the real cost," he said.
"When I reverse time your memories will vanish. All of this… our journey, our talks, the battles, the friendships, the laughs… Me. Him." He gestured at Jahanox. "Everyone you met during this time… will fade."
Jennie's eyes widened. "We'll… forget?"
Zazm nodded. "Every moment."
Silence.
"I'll remember," he said, more quietly. "Because I'm the one reversing it. And possibly… Jahanox might, because of his ability. But the rest of you…"
He glanced at them again—each of them carrying different emotions now.
Ai's brows were knitted, staring off in thought, hiding her worry behind a wall of logic.
Jennie's eyes had started to water—again.
Minos looked frustrated, like he hated being helpless to this rule.
Kiyomasa's lips quivered, as if holding back a hundred questions.
Miwa just whispered, "So… we'll forget you?"
Zazm didn't answer that. Not directly.
Instead, he smiled—softly. A rare, bittersweet smile.
"But don't worry," he said. "When all this is over… we'll find you."
His voice was barely above a whisper. But it echoed in their minds.
"We'll find you. Somehow, somewhere. Maybe not in the same way. But we will."
Then he added, "That's a promise, a promise I'll keep if we remain successful."
"You would find us right?" Miwa asked slightly hesitant.
Zazm nodded with a smile looking at everyone, "I will!"
The heavy silence lingered like dust in the air, but Ai Hoshino finally broke it, pushing her glasses up slightly, voice calm and piercing:
"But the real question is… how are we going to travel to a different universe?"
Zazm turned to her, interested. She continued:
"A timeline exists within a universe. It follows that universe's laws of physics. So technically, shifting through timelines is possible because you're still within the boundaries of one system. But other universes…?" She narrowed her eyes. "That's something else."
Zazm nodded slowly, almost impressed.
"Exactly. It's not just timelines that are ruptured. It's multiple universes. Entirely separate worlds. And each of those has its own timeline… each obeying different sets of rules. When the anomaly appeared, the damage wasn't limited to one system. Everything—universes and their timelines—began fracturing outward."
Miwa frowned. "Wait, like—parallel worlds? You're saying we're dealing with… multiverse physics?"
Zazm gave a small shrug. "That's how Stephen Hawking described it. Each universe exists like a bubble… floating in a vast cosmic ocean. And a little ways away… is another bubble. Another universe. Or maybe even an entire multiverse set."
Ai squinted slightly. "But how are you so sure those universes really exist? The theory's unproven."
Zazm smiled faintly, that same cryptic calm as always. "I just am. You'll understand later. But for now… that's not what we should be worrying about."
Minos folded his arms. "Then what should we worry about?"
Zazm's tone grew serious again. "Travel."
He looked at all of them.
"The space between universes… is vast. Far beyond anything our minds can grasp. But more than that, it's surrounded by something terrifying—nothing."
Kiyomasa tilted his head. "Like the space between planets? Just… empty?"
Zazm shook his head.
"No. The space between planets still exists on the spacetime fabric. That fabric is made of dark matter and gravity. It can be measured. Traveled. But what lies between universes… is pure void. Not space. Not dark matter. Not even time."
Jennie's eyes widened. "So like… literally nothing?"
"Yes," Zazm said quietly. "A place where no laws exist. No physics. No sensation. No consciousness. Step into that space, and your body will vanish. Your mind won't even register death. You'll just… cease."
Miwa's face paled. "That's horrible."
Minos scowled. "So it's suicide if we try to travel through that."
"Unless," Jahanox cut in, his voice firm, "you explain how we're actually supposed to do it."
All eyes turned to Zazm again.
He smiled—cool and composed.
"That's where Jahanox's powers come in."
Gasps flickered across the room.
"Wait, his powers?" Miwa asked.
Jennie leaned forward. "What do you mean?"
__________________________