Chapter 417: _Hello, Father

Amazon Rainforest

"Leave."

Javier subconsciously shuddered when the entity’s voice echoed in his head.

For starters, it being sentient enough to pass a coherent thought to him proved it had some kind of plan. A purpose outside mindless destruction.

But it also told him that this was going to be more difficult than merely fighting another dungeon beast.

At the side, Ambrose glanced over at Valentine.

’Do you have any clue on what he’s doing?’

The Necromancer didn’t move.

’Javier’s power is classified as chlorokinesis. On a basic scale he can manipulate plant life. But once you take it much broader... he’s capable of being at one with nature. Trees, plants, vines. All of it becomes an extension of himself as long as they exist within a certain ecosystem.’

Ambrose blinked.

Okay, that was admittedly such a cool power.

Yet it also meant something.

This entity was able to erase civilizations through ’poisonous spores’. So far it’s been able to use the forest like one big weapon against them.

If it could wrest control away from an SS-Rank Esper who viewed the Amazon as his own domain... then that placed its power far beyond their current estimations.

’You have overstayed your welcome,’ Javier, unaware of the discussion happening about him, countered fiercely. ’This isn’t your world. It’s not your forest to take—’

’Take?’ For a moment he thought he heard the entity laugh. ’You say that like you and your... people own this planet to begin with. Just like the pests in the other world.’

The green light in Javier’s eyes flickered.

Maintaining connection with the forest was like a mental tug of war.

There was only so much energy he could expend before—

His muscles locked all of a sudden.

Ambrose frowned.

The air stilled.

Leaves that had been falling all around them froze before they could touch the ground.

He spun his head from Valentine to Gabriel. Then to every Hunter around the Rift and even to the Rift itself.

’Aura, am I imagining things or is everything on pause?’

[Scanning...]

[Temporal anomaly detected.]

’Temporal... huh?’

[Analysis complete.]

[Temporal flow unavailable.]

[ConceptDesignated: Time.]

[Status: Frozen.]

[ReasonHostRemainsActive: Soul not synchronized with native universal timeline.]

He took a couple steps forward.

What the actual fuck could be causing a time freeze right now?

[Well, there are a few possibilities I can come up with starting with: the Archon currently roaming the planet. Kali who seems very attuned to the concept of time. Or—]

"Shit." Ambrose brushed a hand through his hair. "This isn’t either of them at all."

Sweet Jesus.

Orion!

★★★★★

Aurelia City

Walking down the bustling streets of the Hunter capital were Kali and Apollo, both dressed like normal civilians and completely unrecognisable.

Kali smiled at a child who stared too long while walking past with her mother. Then she turned to Apollo.

"I’m guessing you have no luck with finding the Archon still." The god of light murmured, slipping his hands into his coat’s pockets.

The former sighed. "None unfortunately. I have projections actively scouring the planet as we speak." She stretched a hand, using a projection to discreetly pull a pastry to her before dropping its money’s worth. "At this point I’m beginning to think she’s not someone we can even find."

"Then who can? The miracle child?"

"I wasn’t aware that’s what we were calling him now."

"It’s unofficial."

Kali bit back a chuckle.

Her eyes moved to the morning sunlight.

A flock of pigeons flew overhead, pulling a smile from her. Sometimes walking among the rest of humanity like she was nothing but another random person helped remove her mind from just how bleak the future was.

"Hey, Apollo? Do you think—"

The smile slipped from her face.

The pigeons overhead froze in place, wings outstretched as though painted into the sky. A cyclist remained suspended halfway through turning a corner while leaves caught in the morning breeze hung perfectly motionless around the street.

Apollo stopped walking.

Kali immediately noticed.

Not because he’d sensed anything. Because he couldn’t move.

Her eyes slowly drifted toward him.

The god of light remained frozen mid-step, his coat caught in an invisible breeze that no longer existed. Around them, every pedestrian, every vehicle and every drifting particle of dust had become perfectly still.

She was the only one left moving.

"This isn’t me..." Her expression hardened.

As one whose powers were deeply intertwined with the Sea of Time, there were very few temporal phenomena capable of escaping her notice.

This wasn’t someone slowing time. It wasn’t acceleration. It wasn’t even temporal imprisonment.

The concept itself had simply... stopped.

For the first time in awhile, Kali felt something dangerously close to unease.

"It can’t be..." Her mind immediately discarded herself as the culprit.

There shouldn’t have been another being on Earth capable of something remotely close to this.

Except...

"The miracle child?"

Without another second’s hesitation, the space around her rippled.

Rather than tearing open a portal, Kali stepped directly into the invisible current connecting every moment in existence. Normally it flowed endlessly around all living things.

Now it resembled an ocean that had suddenly become perfectly still.

She crossed it in a single step.

★★★★★

Somewhere Else, Washington DC

Ramona sat outside a quiet café, lazily stirring a cup of coffee as morning traffic remained frozen beyond the sidewalk.

A waiter stood perfectly still beside another table.

Steam no longer rose from anyone’s drinks.

The entire city had become a painting.

She smiled.

"It’s already beginning."

Taking another sip, she closed her eyes for a brief moment.

"The boy is unravelling."

There wasn’t an ounce of concern in her voice.

Only anticipation.

★★★★★

Hale-Ferguson Residence, Aurelia

The figure quietly regarded Orion.

Unlike the frightened little boy standing before him, he looked composed.

Older.

His features were sharper, his gaze carrying a strange maturity no child should possess.

Around them, Devon, Loki and Thoth remained exactly as they’d been frozen, the entire living room trapped within absolute stillness.

Orion swallowed.

"What... did you do?"

The older Orion tilted his head. "What I always do."

"You should undo it."

The older boy smiled. "Why?"

"Because..." Orion’s voice trembled. "Everyone’s frozen."

"They’re safe."

"They’ll be scared."

"They can’t be scared if time isn’t moving."

Orion opened his mouth. Nothing came out.

The older Orion slowly walked closer until barely a step separated them.

"You keep pretending your power is something dangerous," he said softly. "So every time you’re afraid, you lock it away."

His finger gently tapped Orion’s chest.

"But I’m the one carrying those fears."

Orion’s breathing became uneven. "I don’t want to hurt anyone."

"I know." The older Orion’s smile turned almost painfully gentle. "That’s why I exist."

He looked around the motionless room.

"At the end of the day... I’m the one who takes over whenever you can’t bear it anymore."

The words settled heavily inside Orion’s little heart.

"You don’t have to keep telling yourself your power is evil." His glowing eyes met Orion’s. "You only have to believe you can control it."

Something inside Orion flickered.

The brilliant white radiance filling his irises gradually softened.

Around the frozen room, a clock’s second hand gave the tiniest twitch.

Then another.

Time began flowing once more, albeit at a slower pace.

At that exact moment, space behind Orion violently distorted.

A spatial gate tore open.

Almost simultaneously, a second ripple spread through the room as Kali stepped directly out of the Sea of Time.

Ambrose and Kali looked at one another for the briefest instant before both turned toward the two Orions standing in the middle of the living room.

[Oh? That was unexpected.]

The Older Orion angled his head to his father, lips curling.

"Hello, father. Good on you for joining us."