Loading stood motionless, his gaze fixed on Hegemon’s broken body as if expecting him to stir, to defy death once more. He had witnessed it countless times—Hegemon evolving, adapting, overcoming the impossible. And yet, something about this moment felt... off. Unease gnawed at the edges of his mind. He had finally achieved what he sought—a form capable of bringing down Eternity itself. But for a being like him, one without a soul, without a code, without the constraints of mortality, the gravity of this victory was unfathomable.

  With a single, fluid motion of his hand, the devastation wrought across infinite universes and the depths of the anti-void began to mend. The very fabric of existence stitched itself back together, erasing all traces of the battle. Worlds reformed, time rebalanced, and the echoes of destruction were silenced as everything returned to the way it had been—as if none of it had ever happened.

  His fingers reached out, brushing against the brittle remains of Hegemon’s body. Instantly, the bones darkened, turning glitchy and unstable, distorting as though corrupted by his very touch. A strange reaction unfolded—Hegemon’s form, despite death’s claim, fought to restore itself, flickering between its human state and something else. Loading’s essence merged with the lifeless body, his form shifting, integrating with what remained. His once-distinct clothing became a blurred, shifting mass of black, unreadable and shifting like a distortion like Loading. His new skin pulsed with a luminous glow, mirroring the vibrant vials that had remained strapped to his belt throughout the battle.

  Then, the body began to disintegrate. Piece by piece, it faded like dust caught in an unseen wind. Strands of long, blurred hair twisted unnaturally as they flickered, caught in a liminal space between existence and erasure. The transformation was incomplete, unstable—an echo of something neither alive nor truly dead.

  The only things that remained untouched by the distortion were the vials—still glowing with eerie vibrance—and the face. A face that was no longer truly Hegemon’s, yet still bore enough resemblance to be terrifying. It was a hollow, corrupted mask of what once was, frozen in a state between decay and rebirth, radiating an unnatural presence.

  Now, with Loading in full control of Hegemon’s body, the power coursing through him surged beyond Hegemon’s former true form. It was immense—stronger than anything Hegemon had ever wielded. But even with this newfound strength, it still paled in comparison to the sheer might of the Destroyer. The thought of using the Destroyer’s form to obliterate Eternity was tempting. Yet, the fragile state of Hegemon’s body was a problem. If subjected to the overwhelming force of such power, it would likely tear apart, shattering beyond repair. The risk was too great.

  Infected Hegemon turned his gaze toward the vast, shifting emptiness of the Anti-Void. The air itself trembled as two overwhelming presences emerged into the Mainframe—beings of extraordinary power, waiting. Without hesitation, he teleported straight into the Mainframe.

  The moment he arrived, he was met with two familiar figures.

  Standing before him was King Chaos, yet something about him was different. His stance was steady, his mind sharp—somehow, he was in complete control of himself. Beside him, The Administrator stared in shock, her usually composed demeanor shaken.

  “Hegemon? Is that really you?” she asked, her voice laced with uncertainty.

  The energy radiating from Infected Hegemon’s corpse was unmistakable. King Chaos narrowed his eyes, locking onto him with an intense, knowing stare. He could sense it—this was not just Hegemon. This was something else entirely.

  “You will open the gate to the outside. Now.”

  His voice was hollow, commanding, devoid of anything remotely human. The Administrator’s hands moved instinctively, her panels appearing in front of her in a defensive reaction. She analyzed the entity before her, then realization struck.

  “It’s both of them,” she muttered. “Loading and Hegemon at the same time… We were too late.”

  King Chaos didn’t hesitate. With a flick of his ruined hands, two dual Universal Blades materialized in his grasp, crackling with raw cosmic energy. The moment they solidified, he launched himself forward in a blur of motion, blades cutting through the air with lethal precision.

  He closed the distance in an instant, his strikes aimed to cut down Infected Hegemon before he could act.

  But then—he looked into his eyes. A single glance was all it took.

  A wave of terror crashed into King Chaos, primal and suffocating. It wasn’t just fear—it was the absence of all sound, all thought, all reason. A silence so absolute it roared inside his mind, paralyzing him where he stood. His blades trembled in his grip, his body frozen as if the very concept of movement had been stripped away.

  He could do nothing but stare into those eyes—those abyssal, shifting eyes—overcome by a fear so loud, it was deafeningly silent.

  The twisted grin on Infected Hegemon’s face widened, warping into something grotesque, something inhuman. His expression no longer held even a trace of Hegemon’s former self—it was a mask of raw malice, a thing of nightmares. His entire form pulsed with a deep, malevolent red glow as he raised a hand.

  Without hesitation, he struck.

  The impact was like a cataclysm. His palm slammed into King Chaos’s chest with an earth-shattering force, sending him hurtling through the air. His body crashed through multiple floating islands, shattering them on impact, before vanishing into the static abyss beyond.

  Before the dust could settle, The Administrator moved.

  Her teleportation was instantaneous, faster even than Loading had ever been. One moment she was standing still; the next, she was right in front of him, her fist rocketing toward his face.

  But Infected Hegemon didn’t flinch.

  A deep, dark blue aura shimmered across his form, forming an impenetrable barrier just as her strike landed. The force rippled outwards, distorting the air, but the barrier held firm. Without hesitation, The Administrator teleported again, reappearing behind him, summoning two high-energy projectiles at point-blank range—one red, one blue.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  She fired.

  The blasts struck dead-on—only to be deflected effortlessly by the same shimmering shield. They ricocheted wildly, vanishing into the void. Slowly, Hegemon turned his head toward her, his gaze locking onto her with an eerie, unnatural stare. His eyes glowed ominously before unleashing twin beams of pure destruction.

  The Administrator’s firewall activated just in time. A digital barrier flared to life, intercepting the attack, dispersing the energy into cascading light. Without missing a beat, she conjured her blade, its edges humming with raw power, and lunged forward.

  She struck with precision, her movements a flurry of masterful swordplay. But Hegemon’s body flickered—now glowing a brilliant orange. He didn’t just dodge. He moved effortlessly, weaving through her attacks with almost playful ease. Each swing of her blade missed by mere inches, his movements blurring faster than the eye could track. He wasn’t just evading—he was toying with her.

  Then, the battlefield shifted.

  A wormhole ripped open behind him, and from its depths, King Chaos came soaring back into the fight. But he wasn’t alone.

  Hundreds of wormholes materialized across the space around them. From each one, glowing golden chains shot forth, a web of bindings designed to ensnare even the mightiest of beings—restraints that, under normal circumstances, would have given Hegemon pause.

  But this was no longer the Hegemon they knew. Without even turning his head, he moved.

  His form became a blur of motion, glowing orange streaks slicing through the air as he effortlessly avoided every chain, every strike, every attack. He was beyond untouchable—an entity moving at speeds that made even the impossible seem sluggish.

  And as the chains missed their mark, the grin on his face grew even wider.

  Attacks rained down from all directions—above, the sides, everywhere. Infected Hegemon twisted and blurred between the incoming strikes, effortlessly evading as if he were moving through a preordained script.

  Then, a sudden shift. A bright [!] flashed above his head.

  Instinctively, he raised his arms in defense, but this time, the warning wasn’t just for show. In a split second, multiple golden chains shot forward, wrapping around his limbs and torso, crackling with energy as they tightened. His body jerked violently, the chains cutting into him, forcing him to the ground.

  The [!] disappeared. It had worked.

  King Chaos and The Administrator had found the countermeasure—using his own attack signature against him. It was a tactic both Hegemon and The Administrator had relied on before, but now, it had been turned into a weapon against him.

  The Administrator wasted no time.

  Beams of radiant light materialized around her, then shot forward in a blinding cascade, converging on Hegemon. At the same moment, another wave of chains—these glowing a deep purple—snapped toward him from every angle, a perfectly coordinated assault meant to overwhelm even him.

  But Hegemon was already adapting.

  His body pulsed with a vibrant purple glow, and in an instant, he leapt into the air, contorting mid-flight in an unnatural, fluid motion. He dodged every attack in one seamless movement, twisting through the storm of projectiles like a specter untouched by reality.

  And then—he retaliated.

  His fingers pointed downward, and from each fingertip, beams of concentrated energy erupted in a chaotic spread, tearing through the battlefield. The sheer force annihilated the floating island below, sending King Chaos spiraling into the void.

  Reacting swiftly, The Administrator flicked her hand, and in an instant, three red firewalls materialized—two shielding herself and King Chaos, while the third formed beneath him, preventing him from plummeting into the endless static abyss.

  The lasers struck the barriers, the firewalls holding, but only barely. The longer they withstood the onslaught, the more cracks began to form, the energy bleeding through.

  King Chaos took his chance.

  Summoning more Universal Blades, he sent them flying toward Hegemon. The glowing weapons found their mark, stabbing into his body multiple times, piercing through the corrupted flesh.

  Hegemon barely reacted.

  His form flashed yellow, and in an instant, he lunged straight for King Chaos, his speed breaking reality itself. But before he could reach him—

  A blade.

  The Administrator’s sword, thrown with pinpoint precision, slammed into his skull, embedding deep. The sheer force sent Hegemon spiraling downward, crashing onto another floating island, the impact shaking the very space around them.

  Silence. Then—movement.

  With an almost casual motion, Hegemon ripped the weapons from his body, one by one. His form shifted, his skin glowing green, and in mere moments, the wounds sealed shut, as if they had never existed.

  Then—red.

  A sudden, violent burst of power erupted from him as he launched off the island, obliterating it entirely in the process.

  But they were ready.

  More wormholes opened in the space around him. This time, light blue chains shot forth, wrapping around his limbs mid-flight, stopping him cold. His movement ceased, his body now suspended in midair, bound once more.

  Another [!] appeared above his head.

  Then—the screaming began.

  His voice, distorted beyond recognition, rang out as the flashing intensified. But this time, the outcome was different. The world around them snapped to black—a void of absolute nothingness.

  Then, a voice.

  A slow, deliberate whisper, dripping with contempt.

  "Getting caught in it the first time? Shame on me."

  "Getting caught in it again…?"

  His head tilted unnaturally. The grin returned.

  "Shame on you."

  A sudden, instantaneous surge of pain erupted through Hegemon’s entire form. A force akin to raw damage—as if his very essence was being torn apart.

  His body was launched across the Mainframe, crashing through unseen barriers of code and data, sent reeling from the sheer force.

  The Administrator was already moving.

  She translocated above him, blade in hand, and with a single, precise strike—

  She plunged it deep into his body.

  The moment the blade made contact, a crystal began to form, expanding outward, solidifying, locking Hegemon in place.