Well, I was already in this mess. Might as well make it worse.

With a heavy sigh, I shoved my hands into my pockets and started walking. The street was still bustling, but my mind was stuck on the weight of that connection—on the way he had looked at me. Or rather, the way he had felt me looking at him.

I needed a plan.

I needed control.

And if I couldn't have that, then I needed to at least pretend I did.

So, naturally, my first brilliant idea?

Piss him off.

I found a park nearby, one of those quiet little green spots squeezed between all the chaos of the city. A few kids were playing on the swings, an old couple sat feeding pigeons, and everything was just normal.

A perfect place for something very stupid.

I plopped onto a bench, stretched out my legs, and closed my eyes.

Then, I reached again.

Not pulling this time. No. I just... pushed.

Not much. Just a little flare of magic.

Just enough to get his attention.

And then, I spoke.

"You know, for a guy who's supposed to be terrifying, you're really bad at making an entrance."

Silence.

I grinned.

"Like, come on. You're All For One. The biggest bad in history. You should have a whole dramatic entrance by now. Smoke, lightning—maybe a spooky little monologue? No? Nothing?"

Still nothing.

But I could feel him.

Oh yeah, he was there.

Somewhere.

Listening.

Watching.

So I leaned back even further and went for the kill.

"Honestly, it's kind of sad. Here I am, little ol' me, just sitting in a park, waiting... and you're scared to show up."

I smirked.

"Coward."

That did it.

The air around me shifted.

It wasn't something normal people would notice, but to me? It was like the entire park had just tilted.

A ripple through reality itself.

A low, dark chuckle echoed through my skull. Not out loud. In my head.

"Oh, child."

My blood turned to ice.

"You really don't know what you're playing with, do you?"

And then—

The world shattered.

It wasn't dramatic. It wasn't some huge explosion or swirl of darkness like the villains in anime get when they make their big entrance.

No, this was worse.

One second, I was sitting on the park bench, smirking at my own genius plan. The next? The world shattered.

Everything around me—the sounds, the sights, the people—ripped apart like glass breaking in slow motion. I barely had a second to register that I was falling, like I had been yanked out of reality itself, before—

THUD.

I landed hard on something cold, metallic, and unsettlingly smooth.

I groaned. "Okay. Ow. That was rude."

As my vision cleared, I looked around, and—yup. Not the park anymore.

I was in some sort of void-like space. Black. Endless. Silent. The only source of light came from above, where distorted fragments of the real world still flickered, like pieces of a broken mirror struggling to reflect something that no longer existed.

A slow, deliberate clap echoed through the darkness.

And then—he appeared.

All For One.

Just standing there, like he had all the time in the world.

I sighed. "Oh great. You do know how to make an entrance. Took you long enough."

He chuckled, and I hated how it made my skin crawl. "You amuse me, child. Most tremble at my presence."

I raised a brow. "Yeah, well, I've got bigger problems than some ancient evil with a Darth Vader complex."

He tilted his head, like he was studying a particularly interesting insect. "And yet, you called for me."

I shrugged. "Yeah. Kinda hoping I could sell you some car insurance. You in the market?"

His fingers twitched. "Do you think this is a game?"

"Oh no, I know it is," I shot back, standing up straight and dusting off my pants. "I just also know that I'm not the one losing."

Silence.

Then, a slow, deliberate chuckle.

It was the kind of laugh that normally meant something really bad was about to happen.

I tensed, waiting for some kind of attack, but he didn't move.

Instead, he sighed.

"I see now," he mused, almost... amused? "You're not just reckless. You're suicidal."

I frowned. "Excuse me?"

"You know you can't beat me," he said simply. "Not alone. Not like this. And yet, you came anyway." He took a step forward, and the sheer weight of his presence made the space around us ripple. "You could have walked away. Lived whatever pathetic excuse of a life you're clinging to."

Another step.

"And yet, you chose to challenge a god."

I forced a smirk, even as my instincts screamed at me to run.

"A god? Bit full of yourself, don't you think?" I rolled my shoulders. "If you're a god, what's that make me?"

He stopped.

For a long, heavy moment, he just looked at me.

Then, ever so slightly—he smiled.

"...That is the question, isn't it?"

And then—he moved.

Fast.

Too fast.

I barely had time to react before his hand was around my throat.

I choked, my feet lifting off the ground as he effortlessly held me in the air. His grip wasn't even tight. He didn't need to squeeze. His mere presence was crushing.

"You've been quite the thorn in my side," he murmured, almost conversationally. "This little magic of yours... it's irritating."

I gagged, trying to pry his fingers off me, but it was like trying to move steel.

"You think you're clever," he continued. "That you can play in my domain. But you don't understand."

His grip tightened just slightly, and I saw stars.

"This world belongs to me."

I wheezed. My mind was scrambling, searching for something, anything—

And then—

My mark burned.

Not a little.

Not like before.

It ignited.

A surge of power exploded from my chest, and suddenly—

I was gone.

One second, I was in his grasp. The next? I was back on the park bench, gasping for breath.

The sun was still shining.

The kids were still playing.

The old couple was still feeding pigeons.

Like nothing happened.

I clutched my throat, still feeling the ghost of his grip, my heart pounding.

He didn't kill me.

Not because he couldn't.

Because he didn't want to.

And that?

That scared me more than anything.