The three streaks of black fire slammed into the palace courtyard with the force of falling stars, vaporizing the manicured stone and sending a plume of white-hot dust into the night sky. The shockwave shattered the remaining glass in the grand ballroom and sent the kneeling nobles tumbling across the marble like discarded dolls. Nicolás stood his ground on the balcony, his feet anchored by a weight that the laws of physics could not explain. He watched through half-lidded eyes as the dust settled to reveal three figures standing in the center of the smoldering crater. They were encased in jagged, bio-organic armor that pulsed with a rhythmic, sickly violet light, looking less like men and more like parasites shaped into the form of warriors. These were the God-Eaters, the ultimate enforcers of the Over-Syndicate, and their very presence caused the air to smell like burning copper and rot."Target identified," the leader of the trio rasped, his voice sounding like two grinding tectoni

The black steel whistled as it cut through the steam, aiming straight for the center of his throat. Nicolás did not blink. He did not even raise his arms to defend himself. Instead, he simply tilted his head a fraction of an inch to the left. The blade hissed past his ear, severing a single strand of damp hair before it slammed into the quartz wall behind him. The impact shattered the stone, sending white shards flying like shrapnel through the mist. Nicolás reached out with his right hand, his fingers moving with a slow, deliberate lethality. He caught the masked man by the throat before the assassin could even pull the blade back. The porcelain mask stared at him, cold and unmoving, but Nicolás could feel the lack of a pulse beneath the silk rags.Who sent a puppet to do a gods job? Nicolás asked, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.The masked figure did not speak. It tried to twist the blade, its body moving with a mechanical, unnatural speed that defied human anatomy. Nicolás sighe

"The Audit has reached its final stage!" The voice boomed through the shattered windows of the boardroom, vibrating the mahogany table until the signed contracts fluttered like frightened moths. Nicolás stepped onto the jagged remains of the window frame, his bare chest still humming with the golden residue of the previous blast. He looked at the two gates, one pulsing purple with necrotic rot and the other shimmering with the cold, silver light of administrative erasure."I am not doing dua hal sekaligus," Nicolás declared, his voice flat and heavy with irritation. "That is the definition of multitasking, and I have a strict policy against it."Renata grabbed his arm, her eyes darting between the obsidian claw in the plaza and the silver rift in the clouds. "Nicolás, if the Audit overlaps with the Abyss of Work, the mana frequency will create a resonance that could liquefy every human within five miles. You have to shut them down!"Nicolás looked at his system interface, which was no

The heavy obsidian slabs flew off their hinges, crashing into the dark interior of the tower with a thunderous boom that echoed through the hollow depths of the Sunken City. Nicolás stepped into the shadows, his arm still wrapped firmly around Renata’s waist, while the heavenly bells above continued their rhythmic, aggressive tolling. He didn’t look back at the chaos in the plaza or the thousands of soldiers who had suddenly found their will to fight extinguished by his aura. He was focused on the silence of the tower and the lingering scent of old dust and stagnant power.You are actually going to do it, Renata whispered, her voice a mix of awe and trepidation as they walked deeper into the gloom. You are going to fight the Heavens.I am going to make them stop that ringing, Nicolás replied, his voice flat. It is giving me a migraine. And if they really think they can touch my favorite cafe, they are going to learn what it feels like to be deleted from the server of existence.They r

Renata did not run. She stood her ground, her fingers digging into the scorched leather of Nicolás’s sleeve while the figure in the tunnel stepped into the dim, pulsating light of the ruined cavern. The air did not just turn cold, it froze in a way that defied the laws of thermodynamics. Every molecule of oxygen seemed to turn into a jagged diamond of ice, scraping against their lungs as they breathed. The figure was tall, draped in a suit of interlocking silver plates that looked like high-end office wear turned into medieval armor. His face was a smooth sheet of polished chrome, reflecting Nicolás’s glowing white eyes back at him with a distorted, mocking clarity."Run?" the Manager asked, his voice echoing with the sterile clarity of a corporate intercom. "There is no running from a finalized termination. You have avoided your duties, Lord Nicolás. You have accrued a debt of existence that the universe can no longer subsidize. I am here to collect the principal, the interest, and y