Reborn: Apocalypse (Volume 3): (A LitRPG/Wuxia Story)

by L. M. Kerr

  —-New Ability Acquired —-

  Temporal Bubble

  Accept the Ability? Yes / No

  .

  Chapter 22

  Yvvtal was not a Deity.

  He was a Toren, but at the time he was alive, the Toren race was merely a very powerful race. They had begun to unfold the mysteries of the Divine Language and seek out its wonders, but they had yet to attain the hallowed state of being a true ‘Deity.’

  As a result, Micheal could not obtain the ‘Essence’ of a Deity from him.

  What he could obtain, however, was a power that the murderous Toren had discovered through some of his research and experimentation.

  The Brand of Janus.

  Micheal smiled as he looked at the screen that had popped up before him. He immediately tapped yes, accepting the Ability.

  A moment later, a new screen popped up.

  .

  —-Temporal Bubble—-

  Space and Time are two concepts interwoven within each other. The Temporal Bubble Ability allows its user to create ‘Bubbles’ of Spacetime. Within these Bubbles, the user can manipulate the flow of time based on the amount of energy they input.

  .

  The somewhat barebones description made it clear what the Brand of Janus did. It allowed one to manipulate the time in a region to a certain degree.

  The Brand itself had quite some history behind it. Yvvtal had discovered it when he was testing the limits of what Torens could withstand when they had a unique form of ‘Temporal Energy’ withering away at their Soul. The Destroyer came up with this energy through a series of Artifacts created using the Divine Language.

  While the Artifacts couldn’t truly affect time, the Temporal Energy they created was enough to disrupt a being’s Soul, throwing them off-kilter or even throwing their body out of sync.

  After long experiments and studies, Yvvtal accidentally created the Brand of Janus. Out of his thousands of experiments, this was one of the very rare, random successes he had found.

  This Brand remained on the Soul of the bearer, modifying their Physique and granting them new powers. It, essentially, allowed a person’s Soul to become more in-tune with the concepts of Space and Time, especially when it came to imbuing things or regions with ‘Temporal Energy.’

  Yvvtal had researched the symbol that made up the Brand and eventually discovered an old, archaic remnant of it within the Divine Language. It was the legend of a being known as ‘Janus.’ A true Deity that was said to be able to see the past, the present, and the future simultaneously, with the awe-inspiring strength to reach through all three and draw them together.

  Yvvtal had figured out how to transfer the Brand to his Soul, but found little use for it. It was the Byren that Yvvtal had taken as his Inheritor that discovered the true might of the Brand of Janus.

  It was an incredible power. However, perhaps as a result of that, it was also very difficult to use, especially for a Toren, whose naturally weak comprehension greatly limited how well they could manipulate the Brand.

  Micheal knew this more than anyone: Anything that allowed someone to manipulate time was an incredibly, incredibly rare Ability that was bound to be extraordinarily complex.

  There was no Ability like this that could be purchased in the Shop.

  It was a powerful one that not only would have a plethora of uses, but would also be something he needed if he wished to obtain the Essence of a Deity here on the Second Layer.

  Micheal grunted as he felt a storm of knowledge rush into his head. As the Brand began to fully adapt and settle into his Soul, he felt as if his head was expanding slightly.

  It was as if he had been blind before, but now could see. He could sense things he had been unable to before, feel things that he had been unable to detect. The world around him seemed to come alive.

  He could feel faint waves in the air, something he recognized as spatial currents that operated quietly in the background. He could sense a slow, drifting sensation, the drawling pace of time moving forward. These feelings were very minor, something he could barely detect.

  But the fact that he could feel them at all was something that would’ve been completely impossible for the Micheal of before.

  “Incredible…” He muttered, at a loss. If he had to describe it, he would have to say these feelings were somewhat similar to his Sword Mastery. A type of mystical concept that he was just barely able to grasp and draw upon.

  “Temporal Bubble, huh?” He added, reading over the description of the Ability again.

  He had only known this Ability by the ‘Brand of Janus’ in his past life. It seemed the Shop had taken the liberty of naming it on its own. No humans had possessed the Brand before; Yvvtal had taken it with him after he abandoned his Byren host.

  On the face of it, this was an Ability that should not be something his body could bear. In fact, even Yvvtal, an extremely powerful Toren that had reached the limit his race could hit on the Second Layer, was barely able to host the Brand. The power it radiated meant controlling it, even if the Toren race hadn’t been naturally disadvantaged, would’ve proven a challenge.

  The Byren that had control of the Brand was only able to do so with Yvvtal’s aid.

  The only reason Micheal could bear it was because of the Shop’s efforts to make it compatible. This was the reason humanity could deal with so many thousands, or more, of differing Abilities with complete ease and zero issues.

  If he chose not to officially accept it and opted to try to contain it on his own, it would likely tear his Soul apart.

  “Not bad at all." He would take the time to review and practice using the Ability later. He could sense that he had the power to transform his Ki into a type of Temporal Energy, but getting used to that and figuring out how to properly use such a complex Ability would take time.

  Before that, though… there were still a few other things he needed to handle.

  ‘Our pact has been drawn, human! Take the antidote and cure yourself!’ Yvvtal’s voice took back its commanding edge, booming out in Micheal’s mind.

  “I may, in a few moments.” Micheal replied slowly as he stood up. He scooped up the Contract Seals and stored them in his Spatial Ring as he did, glancing around the rather barren room once more.

  “But before that, there are a few questions I’d like to ask you.” He began to walk towards the one door that led out of here.

  ‘Not only have you taken on the Brand of Janus without my aid, you are literally dying and yet can talk with such impunity?’ A mental sigh rang out in Micheal’s head,

  ‘You humans are an odd race.’ Despite his apparent irritation, after Micheal signed the binding Oath, the Fallen Deity seemed to be much more relaxed.

  ‘You have outplayed me, but we are as equals. Still, ask away, I will work with you, my Inheritor.’

  Micheal rubbed his chin as he reached the doorway, thinking over Yvvtal’s response. In that time, he pulled the door open and looked outside the room.

  A small hallway opened forward, leading directly away from him towards a corner turn. There were no other doorways that Micheal could see. The floor and walls here were all made of grey stone, cracked and worn with age. White, crystal torches were connected to the walls, lighting up everything clearly.

  Micheal returned his thoughts back to the conversation as he began to walk down the one path available to him.

  The Fallen Deity was very different from the being he had read about in history. Micheal had come into this convinced that the Toren was just like Xavier, a cruel murderer that was likely insane.

  However, the Toren’s personality, so far, seemed to be quite different. Something was off here.

  “Yvvtal. What do you think of the Toren race?” Micheal asked the first question he had rather directly.

  ‘What do I think of… my own kind?’ Yvvtal’s reply contained a hint of surprise, alongside a veiled, emotional response that seemed to convey half a dozen emotions, all mixed together illegibly.<
br />
  ‘That’s an odd question to ask, but I suppose it can’t hurt to tell you.’ The Toren seemed to mentally shrug,

  ‘They disgust me.’

  Micheal nodded slightly.

  That response made some level of sense, given the heartless nature of Yvvtal’s experiments. Micheal was absolutely certain of at least that much. The Fallen Deity had brutally experimented upon his own kind.

  “Why?” Micheal’s reply was poignant.

  Yvvtal was silent for a long time. Micheal managed to walk completely down the roughly 30-meter-long hallway before the Fallen Deity responded.

  ‘Because I have seen the Truth.’ The way Yvvtal said the last part of his sentence contained a certain level of emphasis, as if the “truth” he spoke of was more than just a simple statement of fact.

  When Micheal noticed that, his curiosity only deepened.

  “And what Truth is that?” He replied as he reached the corner of the hall. The turn led off to the right, where a large stone archway lay. Beyond that, Micheal could make out a grand-looking hall.

  He recognized that area as the throne room that he had visited earlier, in his Soul form. That place didn’t exist in reality, though this hallway clearly did. He wondered what would happen if he tried to walk through the archway.

  ‘It’s- wait. What the-’ Yvvtal’s chain of thought was abruptly interrupted as a violent shaking overtook the hallway Micheal was standing in.

  Micheal stumbled down on one knee as he lowered his center of gravity, stabilizing himself as he looked around in confusion. In the back of his head, a faint headache was beginning to form, as if the air around him was growing increasingly heavy in pressure.

  “What’s happening? What is this?” Micheal’s voice was deadly calm as he talked out loud. His newfound senses warned him that... something was coming, and coming fast. He didn't understand what, though, the strangeness of this new power leaving him confused.

  ‘This shouldn’t be happening… is it because I chose you so soon? How absolutely beyond the norm…’ Yvvtal’s voice sounded strangely detached as he muttered in Micheal’s mind.

  “Yvvtal. What is this?” Micheal repeated himself coolly.

  ‘My Inheritance requires a rather large amount of energy to operate when it is shielding my consciousness. To account for that, I built in several Energy Drawing Fields that draw on the natural energy of the surrounding area and chose this area, a rather energy-rich Magic Forest.’ Yvvtal began to explain, sending a transmission of information into Micheal’s mind.

  ‘Because it is no longer shielding my consciousness, my Inheritance was automatically set to stop drawing in energy. However…’ Yvvtal’s tone seemed to convey a mental frown,

  ‘My Inheritance has only regained its active state for a short period of time. Normally, it should gradually lower its energy consumption after I leave, boosting the energy levels of the surrounding area back to normal. Because I picked my Inheritor so soon, it seems the commands have clashed.’

  “What does that mean for me and the others within the Inheritance?” Micheal’s voice was still cool as he replied in turn. The headache in his head was beginning to build up.

  ‘Those that aren’t within the Inner Core region might sustain some injuries, but they should survive just fine. You, though…’ Yvvtal mentally sighed,

  ‘The energy backlash has already overloaded my controls and locked you in. In a couple of minutes, an extremely concentrated meteor of energy will crash through and then burst upward, spreading to the outside world. If you have any methods of escape, I suggest you use them now.’ The Toren seemed to accept his fate, though his voice was laced with irritation and disappointment.

  Micheal blinked slowly. He took a deep breath and then closed his eyes, as if thinking intensely. After a few seconds, he opened them up again.

  “You said it’s a highly concentrated meteor of energy? As in, the natural energy of the world?” He replied quickly.

  ‘Yes.’

  “And it will crash through here, without fail?”

  ‘Yes.’

  Micheal began to smile,

  “Alright, I can use this.” His mind ran over the Abilities he had at the moment, including his Ki Cultivation and Impact Release, as well as some general knowledge on Ki Cultivation from his own experience.

  ‘You- you are going to use this?! What?!’ Yvvtal seemed to find new life in his disbelief of Micheal’s words.

  “Anyway, weren’t we just having a rather important talk? Why don’t we settle that now, rather than putting it off for later? You never know what might happen, it’s best to get these types of things handled immediately.” Micheal changed the subject as he rubbed at his head, ignoring the headache.

  ‘There are only 3 and a half minutes left until the full backlash arriv-’

  “Yes, yes, that’s plenty of time. I’ll be fine, trust me. So about this Truth of yours…”

  If Yvvtal had possessed eyes at this moment, he would have glared daggers at Micheal. However, while he couldn’t control his Inheritance at the moment, he could still tell if Micheal was lying. And, astoundingly in his metaphorical eyes, the fact that Micheal said he would be fine was truthful.

  Several seconds passed in silence before Yvvtal began to speak once more.

  ‘Very well, human. The Truth. I have tried to pass this Truth on before, but none listened. It is a tale that is understandably hard to believe.’ Yvvtal sighed another time, his voice morose,

  ‘One day in my youth, I was betrayed by some of my closest comrades and left for dead. However, just moments before all seemed lost… a scorpion stung me.’ A hint of a smile appeared in his tone,

  ‘I know it sounds childish, to think a scorpion’s sting would save my life. But that it did, sending Temporal Energy, as I later learned, within me to reverse my injuries. It was a rather mysterious event that allowed me to miraculously recover and live on.’

  Yvvtal paused for several more seconds as if reminiscing.

  Conscious of the impending disaster that was about to strike, Micheal urged him to continue, wincing as his headache grew more and more fierce,

  “And…?”

  ‘While I lay comatose, asleep under the healing energies of that mysterious scorpion, I saw a vision.’ Yvvtal’s voice took on a grim tone,

  ‘A vision of the future.’

  Micheal’s breath caught when he heard this. His heart began to pound, even as his body shook from the increasingly heavy pressure in the air.

  ‘And in that vision, I saw what was to become of me, my people, and reality. And it was there that I took on the burden I must now carry.’ Yvvtal’s mental voice became heavy as he spoke,

  ‘My kind successfully unlocked the secrets of the Divine Language and attained Divinity, ascending. The greatest dream of our kind, the biggest hurdle we faced in achieving greatness. It was a thing to be celebrated, a glorious achievement that should have brought me great joy.‘ Micheal could feel a sad smile form in Yvvtal’s consciousness,

  ‘Unfortunately, after my people attained that hallowed Divinity, they began to change. We became arrogant and prideful, wrathful and hollow, cruel and vengeful. This Divinity we achieved granted power without wisdom, leading to unfettered brutality. As I looked upon the future, my sorrow for what was to come grew… as did my fears.’ The ancient Toren’s smile faded,

  ‘Before my vision ended, what I feared the most came to pass.’ Sorrow tinged Yvvtal’s voice, grief and helpless anger that rose without control,

  ‘Something changed. All of a sudden, my kind began to travel from world to world, slaughtering innocents in the billions. Entire species of intelligent life were wiped out. It was genocide on a scale the likes of which I have never seen.’ Yvvtal’s words became tormented, ridden with guilt,

  ‘And it was then that I realized what my purpose in life was. My ordained destiny, the ultimate mission I had sought.’ Self-hatred tinged his voice as he went on,

  ‘I had to cha
nge the future. As a Toren, it was, and still is, my responsibility.’ Yvvtal sighed, an ancient sigh full of exhaustion,

  ‘Once I realized I could not stop my people from seeking out Divinity, it all became rather simple. My path ahead became clear.’

  ‘If I couldn’t change my people’s future, then I had to erase it, in its entirety.’

  Micheal’s eyes began to widen as the Toren added one final line.

  ‘I needed to wipe out my own kind.’

  .

  Chapter 23

  Micheal found himself genuinely surprised. Not only did this completely blow away his own expectations, it also changed how he thought of the Destroyer.

  All of a sudden, many of the Toren’s most heinous actions, while not something he could approve, made much more sense.

  “Why not seek to guide them, to change the future you have seen and teach them?” Micheal took the discussion in a new direction.

  ‘…you do not truly understand my race and how they would change after attaining Divinity. I did what I could to stop my people, but ended up in this state. Now they have become monsters that I cannot save.’ Yvvtal mentally shook his head.

  Micheal frowned, but didn’t reply.

  He knew, all too well, of the cruelty the Tribes of Deities were capable of. He didn’t know if it was something that changed in their mental outlook, but most of the Tribes treated non-Deities as servants or lesser beings.

  The world around Micheal shook once more, waves of energy growing more and more powerful in the background. Micheal winced, holding up his hands to his ears for a second as he felt them ‘pop’ from the pressure.

  “Yvvtal, if you had successfully taken over my body, what would you do right now?” Micheal continued his questions, ignoring this impending doom as he tried to understand the Toren better.

  It might be callous of him to think about using the Toren, but Yvvtal was extremely strong, with the potential to become even stronger. If he could tap into the Fallen Deity’s strength, or set him up to continue his attacks on the Toren Tribe, it could benefit humanity a great deal.