ROTLE- Chapter 158- One More Witness

The master of the Order sighed. “You sure took your sweet time with it, didn’t you?”

The [Sage] in Bandiv shot him a dark look but knew better than to indulge him. He, too, sighed, leaning back on his chair like a spent man.

“Please do not patronize someone who just ensured that we survive whatever the gods are about to do,” the sister of the master said. “It is unbecoming.”

The master rolled his eyes and walked over to his desk. He sat down on it, legs swinging as he watched old friends stand around him, each one contemplating what had happened and what they were about to experience.

“Do you really think your army is going to be able to do anything about the gods if they show up?” the [Sage] in Nel Quan asked.

The master shrugged. “Even if you’re going to lose, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t fight. Remember, there isn’t a fight that—”

“There isn’t a fight that you can’t win,” his sister finished, cutting him off.

The master looked at her and smiled.

“You know,” the [Sage] that had arrived with her said, “he’s always said that. Why?”

The master’s sister waved it aside. “It’s just something our father used to say.”

“Is that why?” the [Sage] in Bandiv asked.

The master looked at him. “Why what?”

“Is that why you chose to be the one to pick the fight with the gods? You thought that there isn’t a fight that you can’t win.”

The master shook his head. “That would be greatly stupid of me. And I’m not that stupid. Just because there isn’t a fight that you can’t win, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a fight that you won’t win.”

“Then why did you pick the fight?” the [Sage] in Nel Quan asked.

The master almost laughed. It had been ages since he’d agreed to take on the role of enemy of the gods. In those ages nobody had asked him this. Now, with a level of impeding weakness, they were all behaving like simple mortals, asking the unimportant question.

It was cute of them.

The master could still remember that day, however. He could still remember how vulnerable they had been, for all their power, when they’d realized what they had done and the consequences of their actions.

He smiled a little, the half-smile you get when slightly amused. The one that teases at you from the slight warmth of a dark memory. It was bitter-sweet.

“For the same reason everyone does anything, really,” he said, looking at his sister.

A sad look crossed her face but she said nothing.

The [Sage] that had arrived at the same time as her sighed. “I still rarely understand you.”

“Me, too, Vestapen,” the master sighed. “Me, too.”

The [Sage] paused, frowned. “My name is not Vestapen.”

The master’s sister cracked a smile, and that pleased the master. He didn’t like seeing her sad, especially if it was because of him. Yes, she played a part in him becoming an enemy of the gods, a decision that had left him locked away in his little world for so long only coming out on special occasions after making special preparations. But she didn’t have to be sad forever.

The [Sage] in Nel Quan looked at him now.

“So, that’s why you did it,” he said, a solemn tone in his voice. “For that very reason.”

“It’s at the heart of all reasons, old friend.”

The [Sage] who had arrived with his sister gave them a flat reason. “What’s the reason?”

“Because he could,” the master’s sister said. “My brother has always believed that all beings have one thing in common. Whatever their reasons, ultimately, at the heart of it all, they do whatever they do because they can. It is the simplest and truest reason of all.”

The [Sage] in Bandiv nodded. “I agree.”

The master rolled his eyes as if the answer was obvious. Then he clapped, drawing everyone’s attention.

“So,” he said, turning to the [Sage] in Bandiv. “How much mana did that cost you, Time?”

The [Sage] frowned, unhappy to answer the question. “Sixty-two percent.”

The master snorted then shook his head in disappointment. “You’re getting weak.”

“I am not getting weak,” the [Sage] snapped. “Do you know how much memory exists between the five of us? And I had to create a non-nebulous time chamber in a nebulous state.”

Two of the five people in the room gave him a confused look.

“It’s his way of saying he created something that is not real in a real state,” the master explained.

“That’s not what nebulous means, though,” the sister pointed out.

The master shrugged. “Just give him this one. He did store our memories after all?”

“I guess we should just be happy that the Phantom isn’t here,” the [Sage] who had arrived with his sister said.

The master paused. “Fair point. I should’ve called him.”

“He would have no memory to give,” the [Sage] in Bandiv said solemnly. “Sometimes, I believe he has it the worst of us all. I don’t think he has any memory he wants to keep.”

The master agreed. For all his isolation, the Phantom had it worse.

“It’s not easy being the first [Sight-bound],” he muttered.

The [Sage] in Nel Quan nodded slowly. “Worse to have it done to you by people you know and trust.”

“He deserved it,” the master’s sister said without remorse. “And he doesn’t have it worse. His is a punishment well deserved. My brother’s is a sacrifice made. I will not allow you all to stand here and diminish my brother’s sacrifice for the sake of a whisper of regret.”

The master raised his hand like a child in a class. When his sister looked at him, he pointed at the image of the [Sage] in Bandiv. “Time’s actually sitting down, if we’re being specific.”

His sister frowned. “Unimportant. What I’m trying to say is that we should do away with the regret.”

The [Sage] in Nel Quan looked down and away, a very human show of sadness and guilt. He and the Phantom had been close once.

“He said he was sorry,” he muttered under his breath.

“Fuck him,” she spat. “Not all who seek forgiveness are deserving of it.”

“True,” the master agreed, not surprised that his sister was quoting the scriptures of the church. “But it doesn’t make the fact that you must punish someone truly remorseful any less sad.”

“I saw nothing sad in it,” his sister disagreed. “He tried to kill you!”

It wasn’t the reason the Phantom had been punished, but it was the reason she truly hated him. The master made sure not to point out that she had tried to kill the Phantom, too. It was water under the bridge, after all.

Instead, the master steered the conversation in a different direction.

“Do you think it will hold?” he asked the [Sage] in Bandiv.

The man nodded, stroking his long beard. The master never understood why the man had allowed himself to age so much.

“Time is what is supposed to die,” he said. “Now that we know it doesn’t really die but is reset on all branches of Nastild’s existence and, perhaps, its universe, I can say with absolute certainty that the chamber will survive.”

“Why?” the [Sage] in Nel Quan asked.

“Because he has placed it outside of time,” the master said. “It follows the concept of my world here. He has placed it outside of time by tethering it to time but not binding it.”

“Once time is reset,” the [Sage] explained, “it will be cut off from time.”

“Won’t that corrode it?” the [Sage] with the master’s sister asked.

The [Sage] in Bandiv shook his head. “Not really. I’ve filled it with enough time and life from our combined memories to keep it alive a while longer even if it is cut off from time. All we have to do is reach out and find it once time is reset.”

“And we’ll get our memories back,” the master’s sister said.

“If we do in fact lose them,” the master pointed out. “Chances are that we won’t, but I truly believe that we will. Now,” he looked at the [Sage] in Nel Quan, “since we’ve suffered the more pressing matter, what made you think it was a good idea to give a world enchantment to a child?”

The [Sage] looked away with sheepish eyes. “He impressed me? And he had an affinity for dimensional mana. The kid shot a sword at me. From a bow. In an awkward position.”

The [Sage] with the master’s sister stroked his clean shaved jaw. “That is impressive for one so young. How old is he?”

“Eighteen,” the [Sage] in Bandiv said.

“What level?”

“Below a hundred,” the [Sage] in Nel Quan said.

The [Sage] with the master’s sister made a thoughtful sound. “Young and strong for his age. Perhaps…”

“Nope,” the master cut him off. “You’re not allowed.”

“He fired a sword from a bow,” the [Sage] pointed out, as if it explained everything. “For a child who is barely four months old in his use of mana, I say he has a talent for the bow. Who better to foster it than me.” He held his hand out and a bow appeared in it. he pointed at it. “No one has mastered the bow more than I have.”

The [Sage] in Bandiv sighed. “You still can’t.”

“Why?”

“Just because.”

The [Sage] in Nel Quan barked a very entertained laugh. “It must be tough, having to pay for a piece of information that ends up being freely given.”

The other [Sage] was confused. “What am I missing?”

“The reason you can’t is because the boy is currently the wielder of one of the fragments of Nastild.”

“At eighteen?” the [Sage] gasped. “How?”

“There are always anomalies in existence.” The master’s sister made a dismissive gesture with a wave of her hand. “He is barely that impressive.”

“A world fragment at nineteen is more than impressive.” He looked at the master. “Which of them did he collect?”

“There’s only one on his side of Nastild.”

“The one with the [Crystal of Existence]?”

The master nodded and the [Sage] let out a low whistle. “Imagine what he can do with it if he gets the [Heart of Nosrath]. He’ll be near unstoppable among his peers.”

“And some of those above him,” the master said. “But what are the odds that he even finds it. Besides, even if he did, he won’t know the trick required to achieving the level of power you speak of.”

The [Sage] raised an amused brow. “And if your old friend finds out and goes in search of him?”

The master’s fist tightened. “If he comes out of hiding, I will kill him myself before he takes two steps.”

The [Enemy of the Order] was a blight on existence, a creature that needed to be erased from everything including history.

“Calm down, brother,” his sister chided. “Your enemy is not here.”

The master paused. His eyes went to the walls of the office and the cracks that ran along them. He uncurled his fist and waved the cracks on the walls away.

They disappeared as if they had never been there to begin with.

“My apologies,” he said.

“It’s fine,” the [Sage] in Bandiv said. “I’ve been among the mortals long enough to know that nothing brings a man to anger more than the failure and betrayal of his own son.”

“True,” the [Sage] in Nel Quan offered. “It still baffles me how you were able to procreate. You must’ve certainly found that sweet spot between being what you are and birthing life.”

The master’s mind slipped back into a time in the past, a time with a lesser god. He cast the thought from his mind. The past was not always looked upon fondly.

“The things he has done are unforgivable,” he muttered, pushing the conversation. The [Sage]s could not procreate or give birth due to their natures, so every now and again, they tried to pry the secrets of how he had accomplished it whenever they could.

But he could not tell them. Why? Because some truths could ruin more than just a single world.

The [Sage] with his sister sighed. “I take it that secret is not among the memories you surrendered to the chamber.”

“It is not.”

“And you believe you can kill your own heir?” the master’s sister asked.

The master shrugged, affecting nonchalance. “The more powerful you get, the more you learn one simple truth. As a being, you learn to do what you must.”

“Even if it breaks you?”

“Even if it breaks you.”

“By the way,” the [Sage] in Bandiv looked to the [Sage] in Nel Quan. “Which world enchantment did you give him.”

The [Sage] scratched the back of his neck nervously.

Oh shit, the master thought before the [Sage] answered.

“The World Enchantment of Destruction.”

All the people present groaned in disappointment, worry and annoyance.

“How can you be more irresponsible than my own brother?” the master’s sister asked, groaning in exasperation.

The master of the Order rubbed a hand down his face. “On the heel of impending doom, you’ve given me more work to do.”

If he survived the arrival of the gods, then he would have to update the most secret archives of the Order.

Many had spent centuries of full, interesting, and dangerous lives to get a place there. Aiden Lacheart had achieved what most people lived their lives trying and failing to achieve in only two months.

Maybe he was an interesting kid.

…

Aiden vanished, moving at a speed that even his perception could not keep up with. His first sword strike was parried by the armor of the Immortal’s swinging arm. The sound of metals clanging filled the air.

Just how high is his pain tolerance? Aiden wondered as he ducked a kick and rolled across the ground to create space.

Off in the distance something slammed straight into the Immortal’s back, staggering him. Aiden glance in the direction of Ted and saw the last residues of a spell imprint as it faded into nonexistence.

Aiden’s attention snapped back at the last moment and he dived away just before the Immortal slammed into him.

He raised his sword and held it out in front of him. It was often easy to forget that Ted had both the [Mana manipulation] skill and the [Mana mastery] skill. Therefore, he could cast spells if he learnt them and put his mind to them.

It was a reminder that Ted was always learning and working, and not just simply listening to what he had to say.

“Crystal,” the Immortal said, keeping Aiden and Ted in his periphery.

If it had been a while ago before Zen started hanging from a tree, Aiden would’ve complied. But everything had gone to hell. The forest was going to burn down completely if someone didn’t stop it. And he doubted the Immortal would just let them live.

He looked at the man’s face, watched as burnt skin healed and dead skin fell away. It wasn’t just healing that he was watching, it was regeneration.

But he already knew this, it was why he wasn’t surprised when he saw the man’s severed arm begin to regrow itself.

Where’s the Time Mage? Aiden wondered. Was the man biding his time? What were the chances that he wasn’t with the Immortal but simply a greater power that had found out about the [Fragment of Nastild] and as actually here to claim that?

Was his plan to swoop in at the last minute and steal it?

Ted leapt forward, reaching for the Immortal. The Immortal turned to face him, hand already reaching out. Aiden moved. [Dash] carried him through in the blink of an eye, orbs and plaques and trinkets flying free from his coat and soldier’s belt.

Enchantments lit up the entire world as they came alive. The Immortal hesitated, then turned to slap aside one specific enchantment before all of them exploded to life.

Vines of mana reached out of the ground, snapping around him. Frost grew on his overheated armor, forcefully cooling it at incredible speed. If it was normal metal, Aiden was sure that there would be an effect, but he could not count on it. Armors like the one the man was wearing were more than often enchanted in some way, subtle or not.

What Aiden was counting on was for the frost and vines to slow him.

Ted’s sword slipped into the man’s neck and he swung it to the side. It ripped out a chunk of the man’s flesh yet the man did not cry out. Instead, he pulled at the vines, ripping them away even as the air burned around him and lightning crackled.

Aiden hated enemies that fought as if they felt no pain even as his own interface lit up with the different damages being dealt to the Immortal.

The man was like a walking thing incapable of pain.

Ted ducked low, avoiding a swinging blow then stabbed up, finding the crevice between the armor’s arm and torso. His sword found a path straight into the Immortal’s armpit.

The Immortal grunted, turning his attention on Ted. Aiden appeared beside him, sword swinging to take his head.

The Immortal raised a gauntleted arm to intercept the blow. With all the enchantments running through his sword, it bit into the armor very easily and bit into flesh and muscle.

Aiden’s eyes grew wide with shock when his sword stopped at the bone.

How was it possible? He had used the same weapon to sever the man’s arm not so long ago. Had he succeeded because he had used a technique?

He pulled his sword out quickly, just in time for him and Ted to charge once more.

Ted swung low and Aiden swung high. The Immortal defended himself with a raised leg and a swinging arm. They battered at the man with all the attacks that they could muster. Ted interspersed sword swings with spells and magic, from ice to fire to lightning.

Aiden did not stop enchanting and weaving.

The Immortal did not stop fighting back.

For every blow they dealt, he dealt a glancing blow of his own. Ted and Aiden continued to survive by nothing but the skin of their teeth. More than once, Aiden received a blow that rocked him.

More than once, his interface popped up.

[You have been dealt a heavy blow.]

[You are stunned.]

Every blow was only glancing. But for every time that he was stunned, Ted was there to cover for him.

Ted fought with sword and magic while Aiden fought with more. Sword was supported by spear. Axe was a deceiver that usurped the bow when unexpected.

At one point Aiden stabbed forward, going for a blinding blow. The Immortal’s hand snapped forward just after dealing Ted a backhanded slap to catch the blade in hand. With a firm grip, he shattered the blade of the weapon.

With so many enchantments going through it, it exploded in a burst of mana that was momentarily blinding. The explosion through Aiden back and he hit a burning tree. It ignited his coat but the coat kept the heat away from him.

With the heat from the still burning forest and overexertion of himself, Aiden was soaked in sweat. It kept his hair constantly plastering itself to his skin, trying to distract him.

The Immortal appeared suddenly in front of Aiden, hand descending in a heavy blow. Aiden panicked. Four techniques had not been enough to knock the man down. He already understood that no one had found a way to kill the Immortal, now, however, he experienced what it felt like to chip away at something and have no result whatsoever.

His hand shot out at the last minute. It met the Immortal’s descending blow at an angle and guided it to the side. The blow struck the ground and Aiden rushed forward. He climbed the Immortal and wrapped himself around the man’s back, slipping him into a choke hold.

He breathes, he told himself, tightening the hold. No air should put him out.

He had been looking for the opportunity for so long. All he had to do was tighten his…

The Immortal’s neck was like a steel bar. For all Aiden’s strength, the neck did not give an inch to the squeeze.

The Immortal reached up to grab him casually. Aiden moved, leaping off his back just for Ted to appear in place, sword in hand.

When he stabbed forward, he sheathed the length of his sword in the Immortal’s ass. The Immortal grunted in pain but did not cry out. His Armor was almost completely ruined now, falling off his body in cracked and broken pieces. It left most of him undefended.

To Aiden’s shock, the man clenched his glutes around the sword. Ted pulled once, then released the weapon, leaping back to avoid the man grabbing hand.

Ted held his hand out to Aiden. “Spear!”

Aiden summoned one at tossed it to him. Ted grabbed it and took an offensive stance.

“Why won’t he die?” he asked.

“Because he’s immortal,” Aiden answered. “No one has found how to kill him.”

“Not even in your time?” Ted asked as the man ripped his sword from his ass and broke it in two, tossing it aside.

Aiden nodded. “Not even in mine.”

Ted sighed, taking a preparatory breath. “I’m sorry about your friend.”

“Me, too.” Aiden refused to think of it. He could not afford the distraction.

“Will we die here, today?”

“I might,” Aiden admitted, even though he hated to. “But you won’t. I’m sure of it.”

The Immortal was facing them now, blood dripping from his ass.

“How about the both of us don’t die,” Ted suggested.

“He won’t let us leave, and I have a plan that just might work. I might live, but you will definitely live.”

“It doesn’t sound like a good plan.”

“It is a good plan,” Aiden muttered since it was not. “You just have to leap back at the last minute.”

“What of Feira?”

Aiden didn’t have to look. The girl had given up on all sense of survival. Personally, he thought she had finally given up on life. Her mind was broken. Burnt from nothing but the heat of the burning forest and abandoned by her jepat, she knelt at the feet of her brother, staring up at his corpse with empty eyes.

She was done wailing. She was done crying. She was probably done living.

“Save her if you can, leave her if you can’t,” Aiden told Ted. “There is a chance that she won’t forgive you for saving her.”

Sometimes people chose the time they were done living. Feira had chosen hers.

Ted did not argue.

“I’ll hold him down again,” Aiden said, eyes firmly fixed on the Immortal. “The moment I do, you have to run. It is important.”

Ted nodded. “Got it.”

“Good. Now, we just have to—”

The Immortal vanished in a burst of blood and appeared right in front of Ted. Ted’s spear flashed out and missed, but Aiden was already moving.

He grabbed onto the Immortal’s wrist before his blow slammed into Ted’s face and guided it with the momentum, sending the knight staggering. The man showed no surprise, doubling down on his attack.

Aiden moved into his space, striking him in the neck before he could move. The Immortal staggered back but didn’t choke. Striking him was like striking a brick wall. Aiden ignored it as he moved forward.

A member of the Order was deadliest when unarmed.

Moving through all the stances and forms, Aiden assaulted him with blows and kicks and slaps. He weaved and ducked, parried blows and guided the entire fight. With skill, he wished to bridge the gap between levels and healing.

Every now and again, the Immortal found a way through and landed a strike. Aiden fought with bleeding nostrils and a broken nose. He fought with pains gained just from attacking. In all of it, he did not relent.

It was a while before he realized that Ted was no longer with him. Ted’s escape was supposed to be the second part of the plan, but he did not mind if it was the first.

The Immortal turned away from Aiden, a spear suddenly appearing in his hand, and moved to throw it.

Aiden didn’t know if he was aiming at Ted or not but he climbed the man, wrapping himself around him. The Immortal stopped, didn’t throw the spear.

Then Aiden activated his skill.

[You have used Manifesting skill Enchanted Void]

He felt his mana reach out of him. At the same time, he tapped into that feeling he’d had in the crystal cave, the one that had granted him [Fragmented Tongue] and hoped it would work. He found that feeling and drew on it.

[You have used Dimensional skill Fragmented Tongue]

The problem he had was that the skill left him slightly disoriented, so he had needed the right time to use it against a foe so strong.

“Die.”

The words left his mouth, spoken directly into the ear of the Immortal. Aiden knew that what he said or how he said it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he spoke.

His world went white with pain as the words vibrated out of him.

[You do not have sufficient mana]

…

[Manifesting Skill Enchanted Void does not take effect]

…

[You are at risk of falling into a state of mana fatigue]

Impossible.

He’d still had enough mana to pull of [Enchanted Void]. How was he already in a state of falling into mana fatigue.

[Fragmented Tongue], he thought in growing despair as the Immortal staggered once more and dropped to his knee, bleeding from his ears and eyes and nostrils.

The Immortal coughed up blood. For a moment, he ignored Aiden and the spear in his hand and reached for his mouth. He coughed blood into his hand, then he laughed.

“Finally,” he muttered under his breath. “But not yet.”

He reached up before Aiden could react and took a handful of Aiden’s hair. His grip was strong and firm. With a tug, pain filled Aiden’s head once more.

In the blink of an eye, Aiden slammed into something very hard and the air was knocked out of him.

Gotta move now!

He rolled away only to come up short.

[You have been dealt a Fatal Blow!]

[You have been dealt a Critical Blow!]

[Health stat is below 10%]

Aiden coughed up blood, pinned to the ground suddenly.

[Health 9%]

The Immortal had been chipping away at his health through the whole fight, but he had been keeping an eye on it.

Everything had gone to hell in the last moment.

[Health 8%]

Aiden coughed up blood again.

The Immortal removed his bloodied hand from Aiden’s stomach, leaving behind a hole in its place. He studied Aiden for a moment.

“You were strong,” he said solemnly. “Die knowing that I will not forget you…” Aiden felt the eyes of [Detect] on him before the Immoral completed his statement. “Aiden Lacheart.”

Then he turned away from Aiden as he bled out and hefted his spear.

Aiden stared at the canopy of burning leaves and dying trees. The forest died with him, burnt by his own hands. He stared at it, not wanting to die.

[Health 7%]

The Immortal hurled his spear into the distance. It was a powerful through, strong enough that even in the arms of death, Aiden heard it like an explosion. The sound of burning trees did not prevent him from hearing a grunt of pain.

[Health 6%]

Turning his head with every ounce of strength he had, he found Feira still at Zen’s feet. No spear had run through her. She was still alive.

Aiden had hoped the Immortal had not been aiming for Ted. The hope had died with the sight.

“Unnecessary deaths,” the Immortal said, bending to snatch the crystal from Aiden’s chest.

He paused to look Aiden in the eye.

“I wish,” he said, “that you did not have to die.”

Then he placed his hand over Aiden’s nose and squeezed.

[Health 5%]

The lack of air held Aiden in place as his life slipped from him. A stray tear slipped from his eyes as he died. Maybe the time mage was, in fact, working with the Immortal and this was their victory.

Aiden cried for his loss and his failure. He cried for what his confidence had cost him. He finally allowed himself to mourn his old friend Zen and his brother Ted.

He took a single consolation in the fact that Valdan had at least survived.

One life was something.

This was the end of his story. At least, he knew that he had tried. His life might not have been very long, but it was full and interesting. Defeat was… not always so horrible.

[Health 4%]

Aiden let his eyes close as his lungs died first from the lack of air.

[Your Health is below 5%]

…

[You have achieved a criteria to unlock skill Locked]

[Criteria remaining: 0]

The notification pierced through the peace of his accepted death and Aiden reached for it.

[Locked(Mastery 0.00%)(U)]

???

[Criteria to unlock…]

[Criteria: Slay an enemy 20 Levels higher 1/1]

[Criteria: Gain a fate-based skill 1/1]

[Criteria: Reach Level 50 1/1]

[Criteria: Advance a trait to level 60 1/1]

[Criteria: Health stat loss below 5% 1/1]

[Criteria met: 5/5]

…

[All criteria met]

…

[You have unlocked Locked skill]

Aiden stared at the notification as his eyes were forced open. As is the case with most skills, knowledge flooded his mind, teaching him its use.

He understood it now. even before reading further, he knew the name of the skill, knew its cooldown—knew its purpose.

Above all else, he knew who the time mage was now. He had figured it out. He had found them.

Aiden’s fingers trembled as they weaved one last sign.

[Locked skill is now unique skill]

[You have gained unique skill Fate Unwoven]

[Fate Unwoven (Mastery 0.00%)(U)]

Defy Fate.

His fingers came to a slow and final conclusion and Aiden sighed as he felt his life and mana finally leave him.

The Immortal stood next to him, watching in respect, a witness to his final moments.

Aiden had only one thought as he stared up at the man.

See you soon.

Aiden Lacheart had found the time mage.

[You have used Class skill Fate Unwoven]

Somewhere in the distance, in a place unknown, Aiden felt something come alive in a flash of light—a beacon pointing to itself, letting him know that it was aware of him.

It was one more witness to his death.

[Skill Fate Unwoven takes effect]

…

[Fate reset in Progress]

A bird, feathered in rainbow colors, zipped through burning trees. It heralded one more notification.

[You have unwoven fate.]