by L. M. Kerr
Clarissa reacted instantly, a long, black whip appearing in her hands. The air around her fluttered with purple light as she prepared to take action. Before she could do anything, however…
Shin's body blurred and then vanished in mid-air, reappearing right where he'd been standing.
"Ah, right. Teleporting. Whew." The sailor heaved a sigh of relief, wiping his forehead. He then coughed.
"Ahem, you should watch your balance there, lad Shin. It seems like you tripped." Admiral Cardbell nodded at Shin sternly, completely shameless.
"…" Shin stared back, incredulous.
"I was standing still. How could I have tripped?!" Shin glared at the Admiral.
"Yeah, he was standing still." Clarissa joined in and glared in solidarity as she stored her whip.
"Quick! Off to the Main Cluster, the Great Bridge won't last forever!" The Admiral opted to run away in lieu of a response, his body blurring as he leapt more than 30 meters high into the air, all while carrying the enormous metal anchor on his back as if it weighed nothing.
Shin and Clarrissa stared at his rapidly departing form as he landed atop the nearby cruise ship and began to jog down it.
Shin sighed,
"At least he's got style." He teleported after the man, ignoring Clarissa's look of sheer disbelief, his mind focused on the future.
.. .. .. .. .. ..
In a distant land far from the First Layer...
A slim, graceful wooden ship, coated in a glistening silver layer of paint, soared through the void of the Third Layer. This majestic looking ship passed by dozens of floating islands, shooting through the sky as it flew in one direction.
On board this ship, several armored or robed figures could be seen, their identities hidden by their robes or face guards. These figures milled about, tending to the flying ship as it flew through the air.
Within the bowels of this ship, a large Captain's Cabin existed. It was decorated luxuriously with various animal pelts and a large collection of books. Two glowing crystal torches lit the room up, spreading a warm white glow.
"The setup for the Reckoning is almost complete. The Second Layer is nearing full preparation. All 2,837 Seeds have reached a relatively stable point, entering a time for optimal growth." Constantine Lancaster smiled as he closed his eyes in meditation, the air around him shivering faintly. He was sitting at an ancient wooden desk, resting back on a comfortable looking armchair. The desk was cluttered with random odds and ends, stacks of paper, and a deck of cards.
"All I need to do is wait for the Sanctum to open. That may take a few weeks to even a few months, but I'm in no rush. It's impossible for even the White Mountain Sect or the Ground Demon Sect to interfere now. Even my Seeds are unaware of the whole plan. I'll be in the Fourth Layer before it even starts." The Vile King stretched his hands out in front of him with a satisfied sigh.
"Now that that's handled, what did I make note of? Ah, right, let's finish up with the First Layer… I only have 124 Seeds left in the First Layer. The rest are dead or moved on to the Second Layer." He frowned slightly,
"Hmm… Seed 571 is placed rather well in the Nightrunners. I can't believe I haven't managed to get any Seeds into the leadership of the Angels Arcadia, though I wasn't really trying hard." The Vile King muttered quietly to himself, light flashing beneath his closed eyelids.
"Oh? Seed 532 has found someone interesting, hmm? Someone with a teleporting Type Ability. Perhaps I should catalog all the Abilities in the Shop...." He shrugged. There were hundreds and hundreds of distinct, complex Abilities, with certain Abilities having sub-categories, bringing the total number of Abilities into the thousands. Even for him, it wasn't feasible to have read through and memorized every single one. Cataloging them by similarity would make it easier to track what Abilities someone might have.
Still, he let his Seeds find their own natural route to power, he was not there to babysit them. All he did was give them that extra push, enhance their potential and talent, boost their strength. The choices they made, Abilities they purchased, were their own.
"532, 532… you have great potential, especially now that Head Cameron is dying. Flourishing and becoming an S Ranker that takes over in his stead should be a cinch. I won't try to bring you up." He nodded,
"But now you've found me something interesting. That's the second interesting thing I've found on the First Layer in only a few days. How strange." He blinked for a moment, his eyes giving off light as he smiled,
"He's not at a level worthy of gaining a Seed yet. Maybe if he shows more potential in the future. As for the other one…" Constantine's voice trailed off as his mind flashed back, focusing in on a memory.
A memory of a cool, calm, and collected warrior that had somehow managed to murder one of his Seeds on the First Layer, a masked sword user that showed some incredible skill. From the memories he could sift through from his dead Seed, he couldn't miss the excruciatingly detailed movements and control the masked man wielded.
A memory Micheal wasn't aware the Vile King would have been able to see in such detail, his knowledge of the man's Ability rather limited.
"What did he call himself? I think I caught something after he killed Seed 1,879…"
"Ah, that's right."
"Heron."
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End of Book 1 of the Reborn: Apocalypse Series
To read Book 2 before Amazon release, head on over to:
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