Volume 5 - Chapter 13 (in-editing v1)

Volume 5 - Chapter 13

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Micheal felt his pulse spike as he registered what Vesper said.

‘A Time Loop.’ It sounded outlandish, but the more Micheal thought about it…

The more a bunch of tiny things that had been bothering him began to make sense.

A crackle of thunder echoed out as the world around him seemed to slow down, his mind racing ahead of him.

What were the odds an Apex attacked just as they arrived at Axellion?

How likely was it for Micheal to find a message hidden by Bastien while he was fighting a Titled Deity?

Why would Bastien send out a recognizable energy attack if he knew a powerful creature was hunting him?

How did Vesper recognize him and Shin?

And, perhaps most damning of all…

‘That feeling of déjà vu, and that strange echo in Time.’ His perfect memory let him recall the sensation he felt, just after they arrived on the Third Layer.

Memory was an odd thing. A biologist would tell you memory was cemented in the brain. A Wizard might claim all of one’s thoughts were reflected upon their Soul. Another Wizard might argue that the Soul doesn’t actually exist, and that the energy vestige all being’s possess was merely an extension of the body.

Regardless, it was an inarguable truth that one’s Soul, vestige or not, has an impact on their memory.

The Soul does not like to forget – by its very nature, human Souls seek stability and order. Any loss of that would be something he would feel, however small, as the Loops began to add on, and the loss began to grow.

‘It seems outlandish…’ He considered the hypothetical with a small frown.

All these coincidences... this convenient timing...

'A Time Loop would explain everything.'

Jay sol Arget was a Titled Deity.

The Unbound.

‘Nothing is outside of the realm of possibility… not even Time Loops.’

Only a single second had passed since Vesper’s revelation. The continuous upgrades Micheal had gone through had enhanced the speed at which he was capable of thinking.

“This right here.” Micheal pointed at the Apex.

“This is a trap for Shin?”  

“The timing has changed, you weren't supposed to show up yet… but it’s the still the same.” Vesper muttered, her head tilted to the side as she looked at Micheal curiously.

“Every time you two fight an Apex together in Axellion.” She pointed towards Shin.

“He dies at the hands of the Unseen One.”

The Unseen One.

That right there was enough to convince him.

‘Regardless of whether or not we’re inside a Time Loop, she has knowledge she should not possess.’ There was no other way to explain it.

She knew about the Endwalker.

In the meantime, Vesper gave Shin a small wave.

“Hi Shin!”

Shin waved back out of courtesy.

“Can you-“ Micheal paused as his words were interrupted by a series of tremendously loud ‘booms.’ He jerked his head to the side, staring at the source of the noise.

Waves of crackling lightning had begun to rain down, all concentrated into a single place.

The Apex’s head.

A guttural, rolling roar began to echo out as a torrent of lightning slammed into the Apex, twisting currents of energy that melted through the air, almost blindingly powerful.

Instead of harming the Apex, however…

The enormous creature began to absorb the energy.

As molten stone sloughed off the monster’s body, its tough, outer shell began to glow white. Visible lines of blue energy began to fluctuate across the skin of the Apex, vaporizing the rock that had encased the giant Void Predator.

‘This isn’t the time for this.’ He needed to make an excellent impression on Yama.

He needed the Round Table to be willing to trust him.

“Do you have any specifics? Have you warned us about this before?” Micheal yelled over the storm.

Vesper shook her head.

“I’m not sure how, we never made contact this early. But I do know that we have the same enemy, and I’d-“ She paused when Micheal held his hand up.

“We’ll talk about that after!” He gave her a meaningful nod.

“Right now…” He pointed towards the rampaging Void Predator.  

The situation at hand was simply too urgent, even if she was telling the truth.

As the Apex’s guttural growl continued to echo out, in the distance, Micheal noticed a flurry of green light appear out in the distance.

‘Magic Shields.’ He recognized the technique immediately. One of the most common Spells, there was an entire school of Magic dedicated to different variations of the 2nd Circle Spell ‘Magic Shield.’

His keen vision just barely let him make out a group of robed Wizards gathering atop the lip of the Southern Reservoir wall. He enhanced his vision with his Ki, letting him peer through the translucent walls of green energy were being constructed, defending the immediate area against any form of attack.

‘Guild Wizards? Wait- that’s Dunkore.’ He recognized one of the Wizards.

In the first timeline, Micheal had spent about half of his time on the Third Layer based out of Axellion. The City-State was one of the most accepting of Humans, in no small part thanks to the efforts of the Round Table.

It was not particularly surprising to see Dunkore here.

A leading member of the Inner Sea Mage’s Association, Dunkore Salm was a 4th Circle Wizard with a big secret.

‘He’s a disguised Dimensional Traveler.’ Dunkore was trapped on the Third Layer when the 7 Layers was formed, unable to traverse the Dimension Walls now that they were shrouded in Paradox-derived Time Energy. The man was a fanatic, obsessed in his desire to discover a ‘Parallel World.’

‘He’s probably contracted through the Guild to defend Axellion.’ It explained why he, and the other Wizards, had rushed to defend the reservoir.

The Mage’s Guild was an organization that spanned the entire Third Layer, the largest official collection of Wizards present. It acted as a forum of sorts, giving various Wizards the connections they needed to find active work and trade.

Very few Wizards were willing to swear to one Lord or another – most craved fierce independence, so as to pursue the Path of Magic. Like-minded Wizards pursuing similar paths formed various Associations, sort of like mini-guilds within the Mage’s Guild. The Inner Sea Mage’s Association was a notable group, focused on crafting Artifacts.

“Look, reinforcements!” Shin yelled, pointing off to the side.

Micheal’s eyes tightened as he spotted hundreds of Void Natives gathering, several large, distinct groups of warriors forming up around 800 meters to the north. There were two distinct groups of warriors, wielding similar armor and weapons to the Guards he and Shin had interacted with. Hundreds of them.

‘Three groups.’ He mentally corrected as he noticed a third, smaller gathering of warriors, bedraggled Void Natives that looked half beaten to death already.

‘There’s Commander Bellor. He didn’t die.’ Micheal spotted the Guard Commander they had interacted with earlier. Bellor looked rather worse for wear, his armor beaten up and torn, but he was still standing.

He had lost track of the Commander when he engaged the Apex, focused intently on the massive Void Predator.

Micheal paused for another split second as his thoughts raced.

‘How do I win?’

Micheal took another second as his heart pounded, taking in everything around him, all the details he could see and know, without getting overwhelmed. Chaotic situations like this were a dime-a-dozen in the 7 Layers.

“How do we win?” Micheal whispered.

Shin needed to live.

He needed to make a favorable impression.

Vesper’s warnings.

Convoluted plans were formed and then discarded as he tried to find the ideal path forward, before shaking his head.

‘Keep it simple.’ There was no reason to overthink.

“Shin!” Micheal yelled as he tapped his Spatial Ring.

“Here!” He handed Shin his recently bought pair of Neo-Levitation Bracers.

Shin grabbed the Artifact and quickly put it on, before turning to Micheal with a questioning gaze.

“Stay up!” Micheal pointed upwards, towards the raging storm above.

“Above the storm! Stay above, up high, until the fight’s over!”

‘He can’t die in battle if he’s not a part of the battle in the first place.’

Rather than try to defeat Jay sol Arget’s attempt on Shin’s life directly… it was better to avoid the engagement entirely.

‘Never fight your enemy on their own terms.’

Shin unconsciously clenched his fists.

He wanted to argue back. To say he was useful, that he could make a difference in the fight, and that he could take care of himself.

Why should he trust what this random woman said?

But, as he looked at the giant monster roaring in the distance…

He took a deep breath and nodded back at Micheal.

“Got it!” His best friend was counting on him, and that mattered.

This was important. He wasn’t going to act stupid just because he wasn’t happy.

“Go!” Micheal yelled, and Shin acquiesced, vanishing as he teleported away, vanishing from sight.

‘When your enemy is a reality warping God…’ Micheal thought as he turned back towards Vesper.

It was best to err on the side of caution.

If Vesper was wrong, all it cost him was a little less efficiency, and a little more time.

If she was right…

‘At least I’ve showed trust here.’ It boded well for their relationship in the future. She absolutely had information he needed.

And it was here that the battle began to turn.

A loud, warbling keen cut through the air as the Apex’s glowing form grew to a brilliant crescendo of light. Countless lightning strikes had filled it with an enormous amount of energy, its very essence vibrating with sheer power.

The Apex gathered all of that energy... and then it unleashed it.

A beam of raw, electrical might shot forward through the air and collided with the green Magic Shields shielding the Guild Wizards atop the reservoir wall.

The impact sent strands of vibrant green energy and white electricity in different directions, and formed an enormous cloud of steamy fog as it vaporized nearby rain.

Slowly, blow by blow, the Magic Shields began to fall.

“I’m going to help!” Micheal began to run towards the Apex, Lightshorn clutched tightly in his right hand as he threw himself off the rooftop.

Rather then let himself fall on the ground, Micheal spawned two of his Life Orbs under his shoes, and used them to fly alongside the buildings he passed. Even with the rain actively cooling the area, the massive sea of lava left by Yama was still incredibly dangerous. A number of buildings were currently on fire inside, with only the rain preventing the spread of a dozen house fires.

“I’ll help too!” Vesper’s sing-song voice chimed back.

Micheal caught sight of her at the edge of his vision. She was floating through the air right behind him, the rain and wind parting around her as she expertly manipulated her Mana.

‘It’s the same Magic as the Duke.’ Micheal noted.

Duke Armon Atlas was an Archmage.

He was a being that had formed 6 Mana Circles, an achievement which was extraordinary in its own right. Across the entire Third Layer, there existed, at the present moment, merely 3 Archmages, and only 2 that were Void Natives.

The Duke specialized in a specific field of Magic, one he mastered so highly that his skill alone made him capable of facing down an Apex entirely on his own.

“I’ll get us right next to it!” Vesper clasped her hands together.

“Magic heed my call!” She yelled dramatically, her words shifting to the Language of Magic.

“Wai-“ Micheal’s words were cut off as she cast the Spell in an instant, her casting speed leagues beyond Micheal’s own as she cast one of her, and Duke Armon's, signature Spells.

“Gravity Warp!”

With an abrupt lurch, gravity shifted. Suddenly up was no longer up, and down was no longer down. The direction of gravity had not only changed, but also intensified.

Micheal adapted as he twisted his body, readjusting himself as both he and Vesper began to fall towards the Apex, rapidly picking up speed as they hurled forward.

“Follow my lead!” He yelled at her, trusting her to take care of herself.

Vesper simply smiled back, her eyes never leaving Micheal.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Dozens and dozens of miles far to the north of Axellion, the sky was calm and peaceful, large, grey clouds slowly slumbering by. Hundreds of floating islands were interspersed above the Void haphazardly, some teeming with plant life, while others were small, rocky, and barren.

It was a typical, calm day on the Third Layer.

A fraction of a second passed…

And then, abruptly, it wasn’t.

In that same second, a barely visible white blur shot by, rocketing through the sky at breakneck speed.

A loud, ear-shattering sonic boom rang out in this figure’s wake as they blasted through the clouds, leaving behind an enormous wind tunnel that split apart the great, grey bodies of floating moisture.

It was impossible to get a clear look at the soaring being as he passed through the clouds, drawing the eyes of anyone close enough to hear the sonic boom.

The only thing anyone that looked could make out was…

Pure, white armor… and a fluttering, red cape.

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