"Hm?" The String Tuner raised his gaze slightly and turned to look at the scarred young man behind him.
He Ao was in bad shape, but he was not dead.
He floated beside the String Tuner, watching him with a smile.
The String Tuner's expression soon settled. He raised a hand. "Then I'll just kill you again."
But no strings descended from the sky. Light shimmered across the World Foundation where the strings had pierced it, and the damage began to heal before their eyes.
The String Tuner's body flickered violently, putting distance between himself and He Ao.
Then he raised his hand and tried once more to grasp at empty space.
Ding—
A faint pluck of a string sounded deep within the world.
Strings seemed to emerge from the surrounding void.
But they quickly faded before their eyes, growing insubstantial until they vanished into the void.
By the time he tried to raise his hand a third time, no sound came from the World Foundation at all.
"What did you do?" Only then did his face darken completely as he looked at He Ao.
"I just hid us both." He Ao smiled at him. "Your power comes from a god. But right now, your god can't find you."
The String Tuner's main source of power was the Mechanical God. That power mimicked the Talent Sequence he had lost and sustained his status as a Pseudo-God. With the Mechanical God's power cut off, his status and strength naturally fell back to the angel level.
"What did you use?" The String Tuner looked up at He Ao. "When did you do it? How did I not notice?"
"Haven't you realized?" He Ao watched him with a smile. "Right now, we're in a state of 'fusion.'"
The String Tuner's face darkened as