Juno's eyes flared, her expression irritated. “Why the hell are you here then?”

Kaisler shot her a look as if she were wasting his time. “None of your fucking business.”

Before the conversation could escalate further, a strange rumble filled the air. The sky above darkened, a swirling vortex of storm clouds enveloping them. The temperature dropped even further, and suddenly, they felt the ground shift beneath them.

The cold became unbearable—like the very life force had been sucked out of the air. Kaisler felt his breath freeze as he exhaled, the sharp sting of the temperature attacking his skin.

In a blink, the group was teleported again, but this time, there was no lush, vibrant landscape waiting for them. Instead, they were standing on a vast, frozen expanse, where the wind howled through empty, barren trees, and snowflakes whipped around like shards of glass. The temperature was easily -50 degrees Celsius.

The frozen world stretched out endlessly, devoid of life. Plants were encased in ice, the earth cracked and brittle under their feet. It felt as if everything in this world had died long ago, and nothing had ever grown since.

Kaisler’s breath puffed into the air in quick, visible bursts. He clutched his arms, the cold making him shiver uncontrollably. “This is bullshit,” he muttered, looking around. “This isn’t what I signed up for.”

Buddy, who was unfazed by the cold, pulled a small device out of his pocket, scanning the area. “It’s not about signing up, It’s about surviving. Let’s move.”

Juno huffed and pulled her collar up. "You weren't joking about the cold." Her breath came out in visible clouds, but she looked around, eyes scanning for any sign of life. “How are we supposed to survive in this?”

Kray rubbed his hands together, clearly irritated by the situation but maintaining his focus. “We survive because we have to. No other choice.”

Kaisler gritted his teeth. “I didn’t come here to freeze my balls off.”

Buddy, still casual, grinned. “Stop whining. You’ll get used to it. Besides, I didn’t bring you here for no reason. There’s a reason the Nexus dropped us here. We’ve got work to do.”

Kaisler shot him a glare. “Always gotta make it sound like it's some grand plan, huh?”

Buddy smiled, unbothered. “This isn’t a vacation, kid. We’re out here to find the answers. Now, quit complaining and start figuring out how to survive, or you’ll freeze your ass off first.”

The bitter wind howled around them as the frozen expanse stretched on endlessly. Kaisler was still shivering from the intense cold, his breath a thick cloud in the air. He shot a glance at Buddy, who seemed completely unfazed by the freezing temperatures, casually adjusting his jacket as if this were just another day in the multiverse.

Kaisler: “What is this place?”

Buddy: pauses for a second, then shrugs “Oh, yeah, I never explained it to you, did I?”

Kaisler: annoyed “Explain what?”

Juno: glancing at him incredulously “Seriously? You don’t know what this place is, and you’re trying to lecture me about being here?”

Kaisler: raising an eyebrow “What?”

Buddy: turns serious, his voice low “This place is a dead multiverse sector—a strand of the multiverse that can't expand anymore because it’s… well, it’s dead. It couldn’t handle the power it had. It’s collapsing.”

Kaisler: cuts him off, clearly frustrated “I get it, stop fucking yapping. Let’s clear this shit. Juno, what’s your power?”

Juno: pauses, then confidently answers “I can change the temperature of everything. Anything. I can make things hotter or colder, manipulate the heat or chill around us.”

Kaisler: raises an eyebrow “Really?”

Juno: proudly “Yep.”

Kaisler: “And what about your friend, Krar?”

Juno: her expression tightens, not wanting to talk about it “Let’s not talk about it.”

Buddy: his tone shifts to something more serious and cold “Tell me now, or he’s dead.”

Juno looks at Buddy, then reluctantly gives in, knowing how powerful he is.

Juno: reluctantly “Okay, okay… Krar’s power is that he can make anyone’s ability go into overdrive. He amplifies their powers and makes them five times as strong.”

Kaisler: nods, clearly formulating a plan “Alright, listen up. Krar, maximize Juno’s ability. Juno, you’re gonna revitalize this multiverse strand, make it warm again. I don’t care if it costs you your life. We need to survive.”

Buddy: frowns, his voice sharp “Wait—bro, you’re telling kids to warm up the entire multiverse strand, even if it costs them their lives?”

Kaisler: shrugs, cold and determined “So what?”

Buddy: shaking his head “They’re only kids, Kaisler.”

Kaisler: glaring “It’s either that or we die. You think this is a game?”

As Kaisler speaks, reanimated corpses of the dead begin to rise from the ground, their eyes glowing with unnatural light. They groan and shuffle toward the group, weapons drawn.

Kaisler: eyes widening in shock as he sees the undead rise “Yo, Buddy—NOW would be a time to help!”

Buddy: looks at the approaching horde, then calmly crosses his arms “No.”

Kaisler: shouting in disbelief “What do you mean, NO?”

Buddy: not looking at him, nonchalantly “No. You fight. I’ll watch. I’m too powerful for this bullshit. I’ll save you if you’re dying, but for now, you handle it.”

Kaisler: gritting his teeth, frustrated beyond belief “BULLSHIT!” he yells

Buddy: glancing at him, still calm “I’m going to get the multiverse core so we can leave. Don’t take your time. We need to get out of here before this whole place collapses.”

Kaisler: snarls, still furious “Don’t take your time, asshole.”

Buddy: with a faint grin, turns to leave “I will.”

he summoned 20 invisible threads, the strands shimmering faintly as they latched onto his hands. His strength, amplified by the strings, transferred directly to his limbs, making every muscle burn with a force far beyond what he had ever experienced.

With each punch, he felt the world around him shatter. His fists collided with reanimated corpses, sending shockwaves through the air. His punches weren’t just destructive—they were cataclysmic. Each hit caused the ground beneath him to crack, the air to ripple.

His punches, now dealing 2,500kg of damage each, moved at Mach 25. Every strike sent a resounding shockwave across the battlefield, destabilizing his surroundings. Kaisler’s body was reaching its breaking point—his muscles screamed, his bones felt like they were splintering, but the drive to survive pushed him further.

Meanwhile, Juno stood at the rear, her power flowing through the battlefield. She raised the temperature around her enemies to over 3,000 degrees Celsius, the heat incinerating the undead. They burned to ash, their bodies disintegrating in the blistering inferno she created.

Krar, standing at the edge, was playing his part as well. His power surged through Kaisler’s body, pushing him into overdrive. Each movement felt as though it defied human limits, the speed and power of his blows multiplying. He was moving at Mach 30 now, his punches doing 4,000kg of damage with each swing, each strike rippling with so much force that it affected everything in the area.

Kaisler was on the edge of his mental and physical limits, his mind straining as he tried to keep up with the speed, the damage, the intensity. But despite the overwhelming power coursing through him, he couldn't stop. His body was being pushed beyond its limits, and he could feel his mental stability crumbling. Yet, as the battle raged on, the threads he controlled began to move at Mach 35, each one dealing damage on a scale that even he couldn’t fully comprehend.

He summoned 120 threads, each one invisible, weaving through the battlefield with a speed that was almost impossible to track. They struck like a storm, each thread tearing through the remaining reanimated soldiers. The threads cut through them with such precision and force that the damage they caused was on a lunar scale—each impact creating a shockwave of moon-level destruction.

Kaisler felt his body shaking, his breath ragged, his vision blurring as he continued to push through the pain. He could feel his mind unraveling, the strain of maintaining his overdrive taking its toll. The threads around him were his only anchor, keeping him tethered to reality as he fought, relentlessly, until finally, the last of the 3,000 soldiers fell before him.

The battlefield fell silent, save for the sound of Kaisler’s labored breathing. His vision swam, and his legs gave out beneath him. He collapsed to the ground, his body shaking as he fought to stay conscious.

The aftermath of his battle was overwhelming—his body had exceeded its limits, and his mind was beginning to fracture under the strain. But even as his physical form crumbled, his mind was consumed by flashes of his past—the past he had avoided for so long.

As he lay there, gasping for air, the memories came crashing in. Faces from his past—old friends, moments of pain and loss, choices he’d made, and regrets that haunted him. The weight of his history bore down on him, threatening to break him as surely as his physical limits had.

But even as his mind spun, a quiet, determined voice rose within him. I won’t break. Not now. Not after all of this.

Kaisler shut his eyes, focusing on the threads that still lingered in the air around him. He would face his past. He would face the demons within him. But first, he had to survive.

(will contune to part three of the chapter)