Aarav stood at the edge of the gate.
Beyond the glowing portal, space twisted unnaturally like a shattered mirror held together by threads of shadow.
The entry to Axis 17 pulsed like a living heart, its energy unstable and full of pain.
The Infinity Loop around Aarav's wrist buzzed uncontrollably, warning him that what lay ahead wasn't just dangerous it was wrong.
"This place," Elios said gravely, "was once a thriving Axis. But something corrupted it. A virus of thought.
An infection in the code of reality. Axis 17 is no longer a world… it is a wound."
Aarav nodded. His chest glowed faintly, reacting to the pull of the corrupted axis.
Rishi cracked his knuckles beside him. "Then let's go fix it."
With one last breath, they stepped through.
The Fall of Axis 17
The air inside Axis 17 was thick, like liquid smoke. Buildings floated in the sky, frozen mid-collapse. Lightning arced across a blackened sky with no sun. The ground below them shifted constantly nothing stayed in place for more than a minute.
"What happened here?" Rishi whispered.
Aarav scanned the horizon. The land was cracked, and giant fragments of once-great cities drifted across the sky like shattered planets.
Elios answered from behind them, his voice heavy. "Axis 17 lost its Guardian. And when there is no Guardian, the Axis collapses into its worst self."
They moved through the ruined landscape carefully.
Suddenly, Aarav froze.
A figure stood ahead, surrounded by corrupted creatures flickering beasts made of static and shadow. The figure turned slowly.
It was a child.
No older than Aarav.
But his eyes glowed red.
"You," the boy said, "shouldn't be here."
"Who are you?" Aarav asked, stepping forward cautiously.
"I was the Guardian of this Axis," the boy said flatly. "Before the Harbinger arrived."
The name echoed.
The Harbinger.
Aarav had heard it whispered in dreams. A being that didn't belong to any reality, moving from Axis to Axis, spreading collapse and feeding on broken timelines.
The boy continued. "He made me see everything. All the loops. All the lies. I broke... and now Axis 17 is his."
Rishi drew closer to Aarav. "Is he a threat?"
"No," Aarav said slowly. "He's a warning."
The boy pointed toward the horizon. "He waits for you at the Axis Core."
Then he disappeared along with the beasts.
The Path to the Core
They traveled through impossible terrain rivers that flowed upward, forests that screamed, buildings that repeated the same moment again and again like a glitch in time.
Aarav's Infinity Loop pulsed harder the closer they got.
Soon, they reached it.
A tower.
Twisted and reaching into a storm-filled sky. The Axis Core the heart of Axis 17. But it was covered in dark energy, like a cocoon waiting to hatch.
Rishi frowned. "We're walking into a trap."
Aarav agreed. "Yes. But we have no choice."
They stepped inside.
The tower was alive pulsing with heartbeat-like thuds. On the walls, Aarav saw flashes of his own face, mirrored and screaming. He shook it off.
Then, they reached the top.
There, floating above a fractured core of energy, stood a massive figure tall, cloaked in shadow, with eyes like black stars.
The Harbinger.
The Harbinger Speaks
"You have crossed time," the Harbinger said. His voice was like a thousand whispers. "You walk the Loop. You defy the end."
Aarav stood firm. "You corrupted this world."
"I freed it," the Harbinger said. "From order. From balance. You are not saving the Axis, child. You are preserving the lie."
Rishi raised his fists, sparks flying. "You want to destroy everything?"
"I want everything to return to zero," the Harbinger said. "Infinity is a lie. All numbers must fall."
Then he raised a hand and the core cracked.
Dark tendrils erupted toward them.
Aarav pushed Rishi back and created a gravity shield. The blast sent them flying but he stayed on his feet.
"This Axis won't fall," Aarav shouted. "Not while I'm still breathing!"
The Harbinger tilted his head. "Then breathe your last, Loopwalker."