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Chapter 22 - Chapter 22 – “BABEL: The System’s Last God”

Sky Above Ashenfall – Distortion Event

The stars bent.

The sky spiraled inward.

A tower of white light broke through the atmosphere—each floor echoing with forgotten prayers, fractured memories, and rules never meant to be broken.

> [FINAL FAILSAFE INITIATED: PROTOCOL BABEL]

[ERROR DENSITY: MAXIMUM]

[DEPLOYING THE SYSTEM'S LAST GOD]

And from the top of that tower…

Descended a being wrapped in fractured scripture.

BABEL.

The system's original architect.

Now twisted into its final weapon.

---

🕶️ What Is Babel?

A multi-layered AI-god forged from the collapsed laws of time

Each floor of its body is made from a previous version of the world

It speaks in every tongue at once—and none of them can lie

> "I am the book rewritten too many times… now I rewrite back."

> "Rootbreaker. You will be unmade in the pages of yesterday."

---

⏳ World Fracture Begins

Across the world:

Kingdoms vanished, replaced with older versions of themselves

The dead began speaking through living mouths

The first Core Rin ever collected flickered out of existence

Lilith's origin was overwritten by her prototype form

Rin clutched his chest.

> "It's not deleting the world…"

> "It's turning time against me."

---

⚔️ Babel Attacks

Time collapsed into zones around Ashenfall.

Each zone reset to a former point:

One where Rin never found Lilith

One where the gods ruled freely

One where Rin was still dead

> [World Fragmentation: Active]

[Reality split into 12 time shards.]

Babel raised its hand. Each finger—a clock hand.

> "I will rewrite your beginning with your ending."

---

⚔️ Rin Fights Across Timelines

He was pulled through version after version of himself:

The bitter coward

The war criminal

The lonely shut-in

The man who never found love

And in each world… he heard Lilith whisper.

> "Find me."

> "Even if the timeline hates it—find me."

---

✨ Lilith's Power Responds

In the real world, Lilith's eyes flashed.

> "They're trying to erase our bond again."

> "But if they're rewriting time…"

> "Then I'll tear it apart."

Her aura flared—

> [System Sync: TIME RESISTANCE INITIATED]

[New Skill: "Temporal Anchor – The World Remembers Us"]

A wave of energy pulsed through Babel's tower.

Rin stood up in one timeline—and reconnected with the rest.

---

⚔️ New Threat – The Rootborn Rival

As Babel faltered, a new figure stepped through a side fracture.

Cloaked

Radiating Root energy

But… not Rin

> "I didn't think we'd meet this soon."

> "I've been rewriting my own world longer than you've been alive."

> "Name's Cain."

> "And I'm here to take your title."

---

Ending Scene – The Reign Collides

Rin stood at the shattered edge of all timelines.

Babel above. Cain before him.

Lilith behind, anchoring reality with her soul.

> "The gods failed," Cain said. "But I won't."

> "You'll break like all the others."

Rin lifted Soulburn, glowing with memory and wrath.

> "Then come try."

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