Kael sighed in annoyance as he stepped off the transit and onto the crowded street.
Heavy traffic had forced the vehicle to stop several blocks away from his destination, leaving him with no choice but to walk the rest of the way home.
If there was one completely normal thing that Kael absolutely hated, it was walking.
He never understood people who did it for fun.
Who willingly chose to walk around for no reason?
He’d rather stay locked inside his room and die of boredom than spend hours wandering around outside. Some people said it helped clear the mind.
Kael thinks they are all insane.
As he made his way through the crowded streets, he glanced at the news notifications appearing across public displays and phone screens around him.
Robberies. Thefts. Assaults. Even a few murders.
Apparently, there had been a sudden spike in crime throughout the district today. Several roads had been blocked off by authorities, forcing traffic into fewer routes and creating the massive congestion currently plaguing the city.
Normally, Kael wouldn’t have cared.
But this particular incident sounded familiar.
As he compared it against fragments of memory from his future self, realization slowly dawned on him.
It matched.
A small incident that had happened during this period.
Nothing world-changing. Nothing significant enough to alter history. The authorities had stepped in and dealt with it before it could spiral out of control.
The only reason he even remembered it was because Lyra had constantly nagged him during that period.
"Don’t go outside."
"It’s dangerous."
"Stay home."
Back then, he hadn’t cared.
His future self by this time rarely left the house anyway, so whatever happened outside wasn’t his problem.
Now things were different.
Instead of Lyra worrying about him, he found himself worrying about Lyra.
A strange reversal.
His thoughts drifted toward the two items currently sitting inside his inventory.
The Staff of Unmaking.
And the Seal of Reversal.
The latter was something he’d obtained during the Tower’s second trial.
He had already checked its information.
It wasn’t bad at all.
---
[D-Rank — Seal of Reversal]
Rank: D
Requirements:
- Class: None
- Level Requirement: 30
Abilities:
-—Seal of Reversal—•
Active.
Reverses the damage of your next strike.
Converts 30% of damage dealt into healing for the user.
---
-—Rebound Guard—•
Active.
Next attack received deals 20% reduced damage.
50% of the reduced damage is stored and added to your next strike.
---
-—Vita Echo—•
Passive.
After healing from Seal of Reversal, gain 15% increased attack speed for 3 seconds.
Stacks up to 2 times.
---
The only problem was the level requirement.
Level thirty wasn’t exactly low.
Still, it wasn’t an impossible hurdle.
The next time he entered a Rift, he could simply bring Lyra along and power-level her. With his current strength, carrying someone through lower-level content wouldn’t be difficult.
Once her level increased, she’d be far safer than any normal civilian.
Satisfied with that plan, Kael continued walking.
Then he stopped.
Movement had caught his attention.
His gaze shifted toward a narrow alleyway between two buildings.
Inside, two rough-looking men had cornered a young girl against the wall.
The girl looked around his age.
Long silver hair cascaded down her back, framing a delicate face currently filled with fear.
One of the men casually twirled a dagger between his fingers.
"Come on, little lady," he said with a grin. "Don’t make this difficult."
His companion laughed.
"Nobody’s coming to save you."
The girl’s shoulders trembled.
She pressed herself further against the wall despite having nowhere left to retreat.
"P-Please..." she whispered. "Stay away from me..."
The two men only grinned wider.
Clearly, they were enjoying themselves.
Kael raised an eyebrow.
Then he sighed.
"Spike in crime indeed."
Not even five minutes from home and he had already stumbled onto one.
The question was whether he should get involved.
Then a thought suddenly entered his mind.
His eyes brightened.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Wait..."
"Why didn’t I think of this earlier?"
This was perfect.
The perfect opportunity.
He had just acquired Interference and hadn’t even tested it yet.
These two idiots could become his first test subjects.
Honestly, they should feel honored.
How many people got to become guinea pigs for an ability extracted from a Quasi-Transcendent being?
Not many.
The more he thought about it, the cooler it sounded.
A smile began spreading across his face.
A very self-satisfied smile.
A smile that screamed narcissist.
Thankfully, he caught himself before it got worse.
"Ahem."
Returning to seriousness, Kael focused on the alleyway.
"Alright."
"Let’s see what this thing can do."
The moment he activated Interference, the world changed.
Not physically.
The alley remained the same.
The buildings remained the same.
The people remained the same.
Yet everything felt different.
It was as though reality had become fragile.
As though the entire world was a giant structure held together by invisible threads.
And somehow...
He could touch those threads.
Kael felt like an anomaly standing within a delicate system.
A single movement.
A single thought.
A single action.
Everything seemed capable of triggering countless chain reactions.
Even twitching a finger felt like it could send ripples through reality itself.
Of course, he knew that wasn’t actually happening.
He wasn’t powerful enough to distort reality.
Not yet.
But somewhere deep inside his mind, a strange instinct whispered otherwise.
Given enough power...
Perhaps he could.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to explore the sensation.
His mana began plummeting.
Fast.
Far faster than expected.
Merely activating the skill consumed an absurd amount of mana, and maintaining it drained even more every second.
Kael immediately understood.
Even with his current mana pool, he probably couldn’t keep this state active for more than a few dozen seconds.
Maybe less.
So he acted.
His focus shifted toward the two criminals.
The instant he designated them as targets, countless threads suddenly appeared before his perception.
Threads of possibility and probability.
Thousands.
Millions.
No...
Far more than that.
Infinite.
The sheer number nearly caused his head to explode.
Pain lanced through his skull as he instinctively tried to comprehend them all.
Kael immediately stopped.
His gaze locked onto the countless shimmering strands.
Then he reached toward one.
Not randomly.
His intuition guided him.
The moment his awareness touched it, the thread vibrated.
Like the string of a harp being plucked.
A ripple spread across it.
The next instant, the strange state collapsed.
Reality returned to normal.
The threads vanished.
The pressure disappeared.
His mana stopped draining.
Yet Kael knew something had already changed.
The interference had been made.
And now...
The consequences were beginning to unfold.