NOVPUBJoshua—or maybe it was Zayriel now—stood at the heart of Ostarius.
The place was silent, filled with a strange, weightless stillness. The sky here didn't move. The air didn't shift. Time itself seemed to slow down around him as he stood quietly, arms at his sides, eyes staring into the emptiness beyond the horizon.
Thoughts came flooding in.
Images.
Flashes.
The battle.
The Architect of Ruin… and the power he lost control of.
That moment… that final moment—when the entire multiverse teetered on the edge of total collapse. When he—Zayriel—had to make the hardest decision of all.
He couldn't stop himself.
He couldn't stop it.
And so… he turned to Veyrion.
Trusted him.
Asked him to do the unthinkable.
Kill him.
End him… and seal everything. The power. The memories. Himself.
Send him away—somewhere small. Somewhere peaceful. Somewhere he couldn't break reality just by breathing.
So they did.
Zayriel was gone.
And in his place… Joshua was born.
As the wind softly returned to Ostarius, carrying the hum of ancient power through its crystal-blue fields, someone approached him.
Footsteps. Familiar ones.
Adam.
He stood next to Joshua, hands in his pockets, looking at the shimmering sky.
"So," Adam said casually, "you're now one of the most powerful beings in existence. How does it feel?"
Joshua turned slightly to look at him, then back to his hand—fingers trembling just a little as the sheer weight of the past washed over him.
"…I don't really know, man," he said quietly. "I just… wanted a normal life. Not this. I didn't ask for it."
He clenched his fist.
"I'm a threat to everything I want to protect. The Architect's gonna come back… and when he does, he'll bring death with him. Destruction. And now I've got friends—you, Alice, Jordan, the others. If you all get caught in it…"
His eyes narrowed.
"…I won't be able to stop it."
Adam blinked once.
Then laughed.
Like, laughed.
"Pfft—HAH! Yo, hold up," he said, holding his sides. "You think I'm weak?"
Joshua looked at him like he just sprouted two heads.
"I'm serious."
"So am I!" Adam said, grinning now. "You're strong, yeah. But you're not that far ahead. You're just now getting the hang of your power. Me? I've been stacking up since forever. And trust me, the way I made Alice an Absolute Monarch in a few minutes? I could have her—and the rest—transcend that without even blinking."
He leaned in a little, voice lowering.
"Even now… you're only ahead of me slightly. And that's for now. You wanna spar? I'm down. My adaptability's off the charts. Way better than Jordan's, but don't tell him that."
He chuckled again.
"I even beat him without using any adaptation. Just pure skill. If I go all out? He'd be dead before he blinks."
Joshua raised a brow. "…You sure you're not the threat?"
Adam winked. "Maybe. But I'm your threat. So let me help you."
He held out his hand.
"Train with me. Learn to use your powers without breaking the world."
Joshua stared at that hand for a second.
Then grabbed it.
A white flash swallowed them.
Adam's Personal Dimension
The shift was instant. The moment they arrived, Joshua felt it. The pressure. The density. This wasn't just some training ground.
It was a fortress of energy.
Stronger than anything he'd stepped into before.
"Whoa…" he muttered.
Adam grinned. "Cool, right? It's a hundred times sturdier than it used to be. Thanks to Nyros."
Joshua blinked. "Nyros?"
As if on cue, he looked around and—
His jaw dropped.
Everywhere he looked, there were Adams.
Dozens of them. Training. Sparring. Reading. Meditating. One was casually cooking noodles with energy beams.
And then…
A kid.
Floating midair with his hands behind his back like a tiny commander, inspecting other Adams and barking orders.
Joshua squinted.
"…Wait, what the—?"
Adam facepalmed immediately.
"NYROOOOSSSSS!!"
The floating kid turned, startled. "Hey Boss, you're back!" he said, grinning wide like a child caught red-handed.
Joshua turned slowly to Adam, eyebrow raised.
"…Is that your kid?"
Adam's face went pale. "NO. No no no. That's not—look, he's a manifestation of a new energy source I tapped into. I didn't make him like that, he just—formed! I'm technically his master!"
Nyros floated down, still grinning. "You sure you're my master? You don't pay me."
"YOU DON'T GET PAID."
Joshua just stood there, watching the chaos, then slowly began to laugh.
A real one. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
First time in a while.
"…This place is insane," he muttered.
Adam nodded proudly. "Yeah. Welcome to my world."
Joshua and Adam stood in the center of the massive arena inside Adam's personal dimension. The ground below their feet pulsed with energy. Above, the sky twisted with controlled storms and glowing threads of creation magic. Far off in the distance, giant constructs—like mechanical titans—stood idle, watching.
"Alright," Adam said, loosening his shoulders and rolling his neck. "Let's see what your awakened self can do, Zayriel or Joshua or whatever name you're rolling with today."
Joshua smirked. "You sure about this?"
"Oh I'm begging for it," Adam replied, grinning ear to ear. "Just don't cry when I beat you."
Joshua raised a hand.
He didn't even summon a weapon.
He just existed.
And that was enough to shift the atmosphere completely.
The energy in the arena turned thick. Almost unbearable.
Golden light began leaking from his body. On one side of his back, a glowing divine wing spread out like sunlight compressed into form. On the other side—something darker. Something jagged. A devil's wing, but pure void instead of shadow.
His eyes flickered—gold in the right, pitch-black in the left.
Even Adam blinked. "…Damn."
"I forgot how strong I really was," Joshua muttered. "Feels like I've been breathing through a straw all my life."
Suddenly—
BOOM.
He vanished.
And reappeared inches in front of Adam with a straight punch to the chest.
Adam raised a single palm.
CLANG!
The shockwave alone tore through the clouds in the sky above. Several of the other Adams in the distance tumbled backward or had to brace themselves.
"Not bad," Adam said, smiling. "But you're gonna have to do way more than that."
His body glowed red.
Then white.
Then nothing.
He twisted around and kicked Joshua in the side, sending him crashing into one of the energy pillars. The whole structure trembled.
Joshua flew out with a smirk.
"You've gotten stronger."
"I never stopped training," Adam said, now dashing forward with insane speed. "Let's go!"
