The Extra Who Shouldn’t Exist

EXISTENCE VALUE

In the eyes of the universe, existence is Recongnision and Acknowledgement.

Every being is allowed to remain real only so long as their presence is acknowledged—and they do not trespass upon the one law no mortal was meant to touch.

At birth, every soul is granted a base existence value—a minimum acknowledgment that anchors them to reality.

From that very first breath, that value begins to change.

Existence gains weight through impact.

Thoughts fade quickly.

Actions do not.

Every deed—whether kind or cruel, noble or vile—etches itself into the fabric of causality. Memories form. Stories spread. Emotions attach themselves to a name.

To be remembered is to be anchored.

The more lives one touches, the more threads they weave into the world.

The more mouths that speak their name, the harder it becomes to erase them.

Love deepens existence.

Fear sharpens it.

Hatred solidifies it.

Reverence engraves it into history.

Even infamy has weight.

The universe does not judge morality.

It judges significance.

A man who lives quietly and is forgotten carries little existence value.

A tyrant cursed for centuries becomes heavy with reality.

A hero sung by children becomes heavier still.

How one lived defines their worth.

How one dies seals it.

A meaningless death thins existence.

A death that reshapes fate—through sacrifice, betrayal, or defiance—condenses it.

When a being's story ends, their accumulated existence value determines what remains of them:

A forgotten echo.

A lingering presence.

Or a myth that refuses to die.

Yet there exists a line the universe does not forgive.

A Threshold.

The laws of reality—time, causality, death, balance—are not moral laws.

They are structural necessities limits that are placed on mortal's so to maintain balance and prevent them from causing desturction or chaos in th universe.

But when a mortal being breaks these universal law—

Not bends it.

Not exploits it.

But violates it—

They are no longer part of the system.

They become an error.

At that moment, the universe reevaluates them.

No matter how vast their existence value once was, the universe begins to erase.

Names become harder to remember.

Records fail.

Witnesses forget or die unnaturally.

Causality resists their actions.

Probability turns hostile.

This is not punishment.

It is pruning.

The universe deems the being unnecessary—and worse, dangerous.

Their existence value plummets as reality attempts to correct itself.

If that value reaches zero—

They are not killed.

They are unwritten.

No soul.

No afterlife.

No memory.

Only a gap where something once should have been.

------

Avaloria trembled.

Then—

It began to reverse.

Cracked streets pulled themselves together, fissures sealing as stone flowed backward into place. Collapsed towers rose from rubble, bricks snapping back into walls as if guided by invisible hands. Burned wood regained its color, ash reforming into beams and doors.

Roads smoothed.

Shops rebuilt.

Windows unshattered.

Markets refilled.

The empire healed itself in real time.

Rivers that had overflowed reversed course, water lifting and flowing back into shattered banks. Smoke withdrew into the sky. Fire receded into unburned air.

Then—

The impossible happened.

Bodies stirred.

Ash gathered.

Blood flowed backward into wounds.

Men, women, children—eyes fluttered open where corpses had lain moments before. Broken bones knit themselves together. Torn flesh rewound into unblemished skin.

Dragons rose from the ground.

Including those slaughtered by Alicia.

Wings reformed. Scales sealed. Hearts beat once more.

Confusion rippled through the reborn.

"…What happened?"

"Weren't we dead?"

"Why am I alive?"

Above it all—

Zarvok stared.

His eyes widened until they nearly burst from their sockets.

"Impossible…" he whispered.

"It can't be… it can't be."

Across the battlefield, Alex stood unmoving.

Time roared around him like a living thing.

Message windows flooded his vision.

[ Soul Affinity: In Effect ]

Another followed immediately.

[ Warning: Value of Existence is lowering ]

Another.

[ Critical Notice: Existence value approaching dangerous threshold ]

[ If value drops below 50, the conseques will horrible host please stop right now ]

Alex did not stop.

He did not hesitate.

He ignored every warning.

Time screamed louder.

The world continued to rewind.

Lives returned.

Deaths were denied.

Fate itself was dragged backward against its will.

People and dragons alike stared in disbelief as their ruined empire restored itself before their eyes.

They watched history undo itself.

They felt death reject them.

They could not comprehend it.

Only Zarvok understood enough to feel terror.

'He isn't just reversing events…'

'He's defying the universe itself.'

And Alex—

Alex kept going.

Even as his existence thinned.

Even as reality began to push back.

He continued to rewrite everything.

No matter the cost.

-------

Meanwhile.

The tremors of Alex and Zarvok's battle did not remain confined to Avaloria.

They spread.

Across continents.

Across oceans.

Across ley lines and skies.

For hours, the world itself seemed to quake beneath an unseen pressure. Time stuttered in distant lands. storms formed and collapsed without warning.

Seers screamed as their visions shattered.

And then—

It stopped.

As if the universe itself had forcibly drawn a breath… and held it.

──────────────────────

ELVEN EMPIRE — ROYAL PALACE

──────────────────────

Moonlight spilled through crystal arches as Thalion Moonshade Lareth'Thalas stood within the grand hall of the Elven Royal Palace.

Around him were those Alex had sent away before everything fell apart—people of the Human Empire, people spared from annihilation.

Serena stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty," she said with heartfelt sincerity, "thank you for the hospitality you've shown us. We will never forget this kindness."

Reynard followed, placing a fist over his heart.

"On behalf of the Human Empire… thank you."

Thalion shook his head slowly.

"Do not thank me," he replied. "After everything Alex has done for me… I can only ever be indebted to him."

Serena smiled at that.

Nearby, Alyssa stood with Lily clinging to her side.

In a small, trembling voice, Lily whispered,

"Mother… brother will be alright… right?"

Her words cracked.

Tears welled up.

Alyssa immediately pulled her close, holding her tightly.

"Don't worry, child," she said softly. "You know how strong your brother is."

She brushed Lily's hair gently.

"No one can defeat him. No one."

"I'm sure he'll come back… alright."

Yet even as she said it, uncertainty flickered in her eyes.

Alden stepped forward, his brow furrowed.

"Sir," he asked Thalion, "what's happening there? Did you find anything out?"

"We deployed spy drones toward Avaloria," Thalion replied. "We should receive something soon."

As if on cue—

A guard burst through the doors.

His face was pale.

His breath uneven.

"Y-Your Majesty!" he cried. "Your Majesty—!"

"In the Human Empire—!"

"You… you need to see this."

He activated his device.

A holographic screen bloomed into existence.

And the hall went silent.

On the screen—

Avaloria was reversing.

Shattered towers rebuilt themselves.

Cracked streets sealed.

Burned districts returned to life.

Then—

The dead stood up.

Blood flowed back into bodies.

Ash reformed into flesh.

Dragons rose from corpses.

Time itself was being dragged backward.

No one spoke.

No one could.

Ethan whispered, voice trembling,

"…Is he even human?"

Alden swallowed.

"I'm starting to wonder the same thing."

Only Azrael smiled.

───────────────────

AVALORIA

──────────────────

Time finally screamed itself hoarse.

The roaring ceased.

Alex collapsed.

His knees hit the ground, hands slamming against the stone as his body shook violently.

"I… did it…" he gasped.

"I really did…"

[ Origin Collapse has been deactivated. ]

His chest heaved. His vision blurred.

Slowly, he lifted his head.

Zarvok lay nearby, surrounded by dragons frozen mid-air, terror etched into their ancient eyes.

Alex forced himself to stand.

Every movement felt like his soul was tearing apart.

He straightened.

And spoke.

His voice carried across the sky—cold, commanding, absolute.

"Call your troops back."

The dragons flinched.

"Return to where you came from."

His gaze sharpened.

"If not this time…"

"Your deaths will be far more horrifying."

Panic erupted.

The dragons had seen death undone.

They had seen time obey.

They fled.

Wings beat desperately as they scattered across the sky, retreating as if chased by a ghost.

Dragonkin rushed forward, lifting Zarvok's shattered body with reverence and fear.

As they carried him away, Zarvok turned his head toward Alex.

"We will meet again," he said weakly.

Alex's eyes hardened.

"I've imprinted my mana signature into your core," he replied evenly.

"If you try anything like this again—on anyone—I'll kill you instantly and painfully.

No matter how much I liked talking to you.

And you hearing me 5 minute friend."

Zarvok gulped hard them smirked.

"I would be an idiot to fight you again."

A faint, strained smile crossed his face.

"Don't worry. Next time… I want to thank you properly. For your mercy."

"I'll come visit again."

"And if it's not a problem… you should come to the other continent."

Alex took a deep breath, steadying himself.

"I'll think about it."

Zarvok was carried away.

The battlefield fell quiet.

Then—

The air thickened.

Space warped.

An enraged voice thundered through reality itself.

"What have you done, Alex?"

Time froze.

The world held its breath.

A figure materialized before him—

unannounced, unavoidable, eternal.

Alex struggled to lift his head.

"Who… who are you…?"

The being's eyes glowed with endless stillness.

"I am Chronos."

"Now," the god said coldly,

"do you know and understand who I am?"