Reality frayed like old parchment. Nishanth’s gold coins dissolved into static. Seraphina’s sword lost its edge—not dulled, butforgotten.

"It’s eatingmeaning,"Lilith hissed, her demonic ledger flickering."First Belgium, now sarcasm? What’s next—tax fraud?!"

Zara’s golden hand gleamed defiantly."Joke’s on it—I never understood sarcasm anyway."

A wave of void washed over the speakeasy. When it cleared:

The whiskey bottles now heldwarm milk

Nishanth’s suit wasbeige cardigan

Seraphina’s armor read:"HUG ENTHUSIAST"

[ VOID PROGRESS: 25% – DELETED: IRONY, CONFLICT, THE CONCEPT OF "INTEREST" ]

Location:The Alchemist’s Lair

A goth teenager in a"Nietzsche is My Bae"hoodie stirred a cauldron of existential dread.

"Pathetic,"the Emo Alchemist sneered."You fight nothing withgold? False binaries are so passé."

Zara lunged for thePhilosopher’s Stone—a jagged obsidian shard pulsing withun-answers. Her golden fingers brushed it...

CRACK!

The stone split. Half vanished; half fused to her hand, glowing with anti-light.

"Whoops,"she whispered. The Void recoiled—afraid.

[ NEW POWER: "ZARA THE NULL-HAND" ]

[ EFFECT: Canunmakevoid-touched things (10% success rate) ]

Lilith stormed theNorth Pole Archives, kicking aside cursed teddy bears."WHERE’S THE 0 A.D. NAUGHTY LIST?!"

A crib rattled. Baby Santa cooed, clutching a scroll dripping with primordial coal dust.

"Give. It."Lilith reached—and baby Santabit her finger, unleashing a wave of:

Unpaid elven overtime claims

Stolen cookie blueprints

Theoriginalsin: a tax-deductible fruit

[ MEMORY UNLOCKED: LILITH’S FIRST AUDIT ]

Flashback: Baby Lilith in tiny pinstripe diapers, wagging a quill at screaming gingerbread men.

"I was adorable,"she muttered, snatching the scroll."And terrifying."

The team stood at the edge of the Bleach Zone. The Void coalesced into ashifting Rorschach blotthat whispered:

"Why struggle? Simplicity is peace. No audits. No you."

Nishanth laughed—a raw, ugly sound the Void couldn’t erase."But Ilikeme."He threw Lilith’s baby Santa scroll into the blot.

FWOOM!

The scroll burned withcomplication: ancient ink, elven grievances, cookie recipes. The Voidscreamed in 17 forgotten languages.

[ VOID PROGRESS: HALTED AT 30% – DELETED: ITS OWNNAME]

A figure emerged from the static: ablacksmith hammering ideas into shape.

"I am the Last Smith,"they said, voice echoing with"what-if"."You fight with stolen tools. Forge yourownweapons."

They offered:

Nishanth: A hammer that turned debt into diamonds

Seraphina: An anvil that reforged "duty" into "choice"

Tabitha: Dragon-sized tongs that squeezed loopholes shut

Zara raised her Null-Hand."What about me?"

The Smith sighed."Child, youarethe weapon."

The Void writhed, wounded but vast. Lilith approached, holding Baby Santa’s coal.

"Truce,"she offered."We carve a worldwithtaxes, audits, and sarcasm. You get...this."

She dropped the coal into the Void. Itsizzled—corrupting nothingness withguilt.

The Void recoiled."...AGREED."

Reality snapped back:

Belgium returned (regrettably)

Zara’s margarita regained its tequila bite

Nishanth’s suit bled back to vengeful black-and-gold

[ TEMPORARY TRUCE: VOID CONTAINED (FOR NOW) ]

[ COST: BABY SANTA’S COAL (HE’LL WANT IT BACK) ]

The speakeasy morphed into ahellish nursery. Walls dripped sticky jam, the air reeked of spoiled milk, and demonic teddy bears chanted:

"Nishanth is a MEANIE! NISHANTH IS A MEANIE!"

In a highchair throne,Baby Santasucked on Lilith’s stolen coal, his diaper blazing with infernal runes.

"MY COAL!"he babbled, pointing a rattle that firedpacifier shurikens.

Zara ducked, her Null-Hand flickering."He’s weaponizingcuteness? Unfair!"

[ BABY SANTA’S POWER: "TEMPER TANTRUM REALITY WARPS" ]

[ EFFECT: CONVERTING TEARS INTO TICKETED VIOLATIONS ]

Zara’s golden hand pulsed as she tried to steal the coal.

"HAND, DON’T FAIL ME NOW—"

FZZT!

A wave of null-energy erupted. The speakeasy’s calendar disintegrated—along withevery Tuesday in the time stream.

"Oops,"Zara whispered. Outside, citizens screamed as:

Monday nights bled directly into Wednesdays

Tuesday-born people flickered like bad signals

Taco Tuesday became acosmic war crime

[ REALITY FRACTURE: "THE TUESDAY GAP" ]

[ VOID PROGRESS: 35% – DELETED: WEEKDAY #2, TACOS, MIDWEEK HOPELESSNESS ]

TheCelestial Courtreconvened. The God of Taxes wore an "#1 DAD" mugshot tee under his suit.

"Lilith breached our divorce decree!"he roared, slamming down evidence:

Ahellfire prenup

Security footage of Lilith stealing hisfavorite abacus

A glitter-bombed alimony check

Lilith countered by playing his karaoke tape. The jury—12 stone gargoyles—covered their ears as he screeched:

♪ "AND IIIIIIIIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOOOOOATHE YOOOOOU!" ♪

"ENOUGH!"The judge’s gavel cracked."Lilith pays $666 billion in emotional damages...orcleans his cosmic bathroom for eternity."

Lilith smiled sweetly."I choose... option C."

She snapped her fingers.

Baby Santa’s stolenNaughty Listmaterialized—withthe God’s nameat the top.

The tax-dragon descended on the courtroom, roasting the God’s evidence withdragonfire spreadsheets.

"ACCOUNTING ERROR DETECTED!"Tabitha boomed."YOU CLAIMED 12 ’DEPENDENTS’... WHO ARE ACTUALLY YOUR GOLDFISHES!"

The God paled."They’reemotional supportgoldfishes!"

"FRAUD!"Tabitha’s claws tore open a portal toTax Hell."YOUR AUDIT IS OVER...PERMANENTLY."

The God screamed as tentacles dragged him away.

"CURSE YOOOO—"SLAM!

[ VERDICT: GOD OF TAXES – GUILTY OF FELONY FUDGED DEDUCTIONS ]

[ SENTENCE: ETERNAL DATA ENTRY IN THE 9TH CIRCLE OF TAX HELL ]

Nishanth faced Baby Santa, holding aglowing pacifier forged by the Last Smith.

"Trade you,"he offered."This for the coal."

The pacifier emitted purecomplication:

Quantum physics lullabies

Paradoxical peek-a-boo

Algebra rattles

Baby Santa’s eyes widened. He dropped the coal, grabbing the pacifier—and promptlycoded himself into a nap.

[ BABY SANTA: NEUTRALIZED (TEMPORARY TODDLER COMA) ]

[ REALITY RESTORED: TUESDAYS RETURN (TACOS STILL MISSING) ]

As Lilith reclaimed her coal, static crackled:

"You won a battle. Not the war. I am... patient."

Nishanth crushed a void-touched whiskey glass.

"So am I."

Lilith’s"Screw You, Ex-Husband" Galawas in full swing.

Venue:The 9th Circle of Tax Hell (renamed"Lilith’s Lounge")

Decor:Chandeliers of seized abacuses, napkins from shredded tax returns

Entertainment:Damned souls forced to perform"Single Ladies"with audit trails

Nishanth raised a glass of liquidated assets."To the God of Taxes—may his spreadsheet cellsalwaysmisalign!"

A scream cut through the music. A guest flickered, his tuxedo dissolving intogray static.

"THE VOID’S EARLY!"Zara yelled, Null-Hand flaring.

But it wasn’t the Void.

The glitching man solidified—into asentient Mondaywith a briefcase and a thousand-yard stare.

"I am Monday Prime,"it droned."You erased my siblings. Now I eraseyou."

Zara’s Null-Handsparked wildly."I didn’t mean to unmake Tuesdays! It was anaccident!"

Monday Prime snapped its fingers.

The dance floor became acubicle farm

Champagne fountains flowed withlukewarm coffee

Atime clockpunched itself onto everyone’s wrists

[ DEBUFF: "SUNDAY SCARIES x 100" ]

[ EFFECT: Crippling existential dread + mandatory overtime ]

Thursday strode through the chaos, now clad inVoid-white armor, her once-warm eyes empty.

"Monday is but a tool,"she intoned."The Void offersorder. No more messy...weekends."

Lilith snarled."You tradedbrunchfornothing?"

Thursday raised a hand—andcancelled Lilith’s hellfire quill.

"I traded chaos for purpose. The Void simplifies. It...cleanses."

Behind her, the Void’s static devoured a screaming imp.

Nishanth faced Monday Prime."You want Tuesdays back? Fine. Take mine!"

He threw acrystallized Tuesday(stolen from a time vault).

Monday Prime caught it—andscreamed.

The Tuesdayresisted unmaking, flooding it with:

Taco cravings

Unfinished productivity guilt

The relentless passage of midweek time

"TOO... MUCH...MEANING!"Monday Prime shattered intoconfetti of forgotten meetings.

[ THREAT NEUTRALIZED: MONDAY PRIME ]

[ TUESDAYS RESTORED: 78% (TACOS STILL PENDING) ]

Lilith lunged at Thursday, barehanded."You took my quill? I’ll take yourface."

They grappled, tearing through:

A mountain of alimony checks

The God of Taxes’ prison cell(he waved sadly from behind bars)

A vault of "emotional damages"

Thursday pinned Lilith."The Void is inevitable. Evenyouwill be simplified."

Lilith spat in her void-white eye."I’m ademon accountant. Iinventedcomplication."

She jammed akaraote tapeinto Thursday’s ear.

Britney Spears’"Oops!... I Did It Again"blasted—and Thursdayglitched violently.

[ THURSDAY: SYSTEM ERROR ]

[ VOID CONNECTION: INTERRUPTED ]

The gala lay in ruins. Thursday fled, but her parting words echoed:

"The Void comes for Baby Santa next. His tantrums are too chaotic to exist."

Nishanth helped Lilith up, her suit torn, eyes blazing.

"We need that coal back,"he said.

Zara lifted her Null-Hand—now crackling withvoid-energy and golden sparks.

"Let’s go steal a toddler."

The portal dumped them into acubist nightmare of rattles and rubber ducks. Gravity shifted every three seconds.

Pacifiersorbited like angry moons

Stuffed animalswhispered tax loopholes

A river ofwarm milkflowed uphill into a black hole labeled"Naptime"

"Coal’s there!"Lilith pointed at afloating cribwhere Baby Santa slept, Void-static crackling around him.

"Guards at 3 o’clock,"Seraphina growled.

Pacifier Primehovered menacingly—a titanic binky with laser eyes. Its rattle-tentacles lashed:

"INTRUDERS DETECTED. INITIATE TIME-OUT PROTOCOL."

[ BATTLE START: TEAM CHAOS VS. INFANTILIZED COSMIC HORROR ]

Zara’s fused hand—gold and void—pulsed as she dodged laser-pacifiers.

"What happens if I...mixthem?"She slammed her palm onto the nursery floor.

FWOOM!

Realityrebelled:

Gold coins turned toscreaming chocolate

Void-static becameglitter glue

Pacifier Primesqueaked helplesslyas its lasers firedconfetti

[ NEW POWER: "CHAOS ALCHEMY" ]

[ EFFECT: Fuse 2 concepts → random, catastrophic cuteness ]

Lilith ripped open ahell-portalto Tax Hell’s 9th Circle. The God of Taxes gaped from his cell.

"Liliantha? Is that—"

"Play dead, moron!"she hissed, teleporting himintothe Void-infested crib.

The Void recoiled—recognizing prey.

"TAXES... COMPLICATIONS... DELETE."

Tendrils speared the God. He screamed as hisaudit trails dissolved.

"NOW!"Lilith lunged, snatching Baby Santa and thecoalwhile the Void fed.

[ SACRIFICE ACCEPTED: GOD OF TAXES LIQUIDATED ]

[ LILITH’S KARMA: "YOU OWE ME ONE, ASSHOLE" ]

Baby Santa woke—andhowled.The sound wasn’t a cry. It was asupernova of pure chaos:

Reality stitches frayed

Void tendrils turned torainbow slime

The Diaper Dimensionsneezedthem back to the speakeasy

Zara stared at her now-normal hand."Did... did we win?"

Nishanth held the coal—its glow dimming."He bought time. Not victory."

Above them, the skyripped open. The Void descended—not as static, but as acrystalline absenceshaped like a blade.

"SIMPLIFICATION... IS MERCY."

[ FINAL BOSS UNLOCKED: "THE VOID’S TRUE EDGE" ]

The Last Smith materialized, anvil glowing.

"That blade unmade a thousand realms. You cannot fight it withsteel."

Nishanth grinned."Good thing I usegold."

He tossed the coal to Lilith."Forge us somethingexpensive."

The Smith’s hammer struck the coal. The speakeasy filled withprimordial firelightas:

Lilith’s quill became ablazing ledger-sword

Seraphina’s armor gainedrunic diaper pins(divine protection)

Zara’s dagger shimmered withstolen void-light

[ ARTIFACTS FORGED: "WEAPONS OF ULTIMATE COMPLICATION" ]

The Void Blade hovered, singing a hymn ofterrible silence.

"LAY DOWN YOUR CHAOS. EMBRACE NOTHING."

Nishanth raised his newgold-void revolvers.

"Sorry. I’ve got aprior engagement."

He cocked the hammers.

"Witheverything."

TO BE CONTINUED ....

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com