Atesh didn't bother to eat or hide his extraordinary characteristics. Besides looking like Gou from the perspective of his friends. It was as if he had become possessed. But everyone was struggling just to survive. Atesh also could make his soul fluctuations warp the subconscious mind. They didn't notice his peculiarity.

Atesh felt that if he was to build himself an organization or a new society of humans. He would need to do things to the extreme! So he spent his time 'sleeping' when in reality he was meditating with his eyes closed looking for opportunities. Due to his sovereign comprehension. Finding supplies was quite easy.

His survival group had enough food and water. Atesh was used to spending decades alone in his experiments. Even when he was on Gaia's island. He hardly interacted with the elves. This wasn't an uncommon trait for them.

His survival group encouraged him and tried to keep him alive. They thought he had gotten sick and was dying. As people often are near death when they stop drinking and eating. It was a weird feeling being looked after. Especially in such a dire situation.

"Don't you guys think there is more to life?" Atesh asked his friends.

"I'm just waiting for death..." Zhar said while sighing.

"My parents are long gone. All I have is you guys!" Jay said.

Atesh had gradually grown fond of this group of survivors. They were rather simple. He had forgotten what it meant to be human. As the days went by while he pretended to be Gou. He remembered him doing things one would consider evil.

For example, in universe F555. He had destroyed reality through his experiments. That was why he needed to abandon that universe and revive in F554. Even now... his end goal was quite evil. He wanted to open up a connection between this universe and F554.

"Am I evil?" Atesh had considered himself ruthless. With his loss of memories. He had a vague premonition that he had become the antagonist of the story. Just him using souls for energy was demonic in itself.

Right now. Humanity was living in a utopia. Well, the elites were anyways. He wanted to tear that down and steal the technology for his own use.

"I stopped considering myself human a long time ago."

"I have started to think of them as insects..."

Atesh felt that despite his long lifespan and adventures. Emotionally, he was stunted. He decided to spend a few years as Gou. He considered this emotional tempering. He was introverted and wasn't used to interacting with the world.

He wasn't used to talking with others at all.

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"Reality rejects hidden existences and that is what I am destined to become. If I am considered evil... So be it!"

"I will accept all the bad karma and carry this curse across reality!"

Atesh felt having a body that wasn't constructed from mental energy. Perhaps having a body with a high affinity with nature. Just like how in the past he was influenced by instinct of animals when seizing their bodies. He felt that his elven body's nature was making him question his actions.

It wasn't that he had a conscience anymore. It was that this body and soul had one! There are entities out there that humanity cannot fathom. He was becoming one of them. But as long as you had the body of a human. You would start to think like one.

The moment he came to this conclusion. He felt relieved.

Atesh walked into the hut where he lived. He expected to see his survival group. But what he found was Jay lying on the ground bleeding out.

"..."

Atesh healed him using his connection with the water dimension. Jay looked at him with wide eyes.

"H-how?" Jay was confused.

"Th-they took them..." Jay whispered.

"Took who? Where?" Atesh felt his plan should be moved up. World domination should start soon!

He avoided searching Jay's soul to avoid damaging it.

But he used sovereign soul to feel his friends souls.

"They aren't far..." Atesh left the hut and took to the skies.

Soon he arrived at a building. This looked out of place here. It was an actual structure that looked as if had been built professionally.

He used sovereign mind to enhance his hearing.

"Tell us! What artifact did you find? How are you able to live so well?" Atesh heard a man questioning his friends.

"Artifact?" Atesh realized that this was a gang that had formed. His friends had a constant supply of food. So they looked far more healthy then they should have. This led to his group attracting attention.

"We... we don't have an artifact..."

"Ahhhh!" Screams were heard as one of their knees was busted with a bat.

The building started to shake.

"An earthquak-!?"

The entire top half of the building was in the air. Everyone inside was floating in the sky. Atesh looked at the gang and in an instant all of their heads exploded.

His friends looked at him as if they were looking at a monster! Atesh healed their wounds.

"Are you...Gou?"

"You did find an artifact?"

Atesh laughed.

"Not exactly... but you can think of it that way!"

They were soon untied from their chairs as they floated down to the ground.

"It isn't safe to talk here. Follow me!"

All of the devices on them were crushed and discarded by Atesh.

Lo, Zhar and Ta started to float into the sky as they traveled towards their hut. They were too shocked to even speak. This all felt unreal. Since when did Gou have such abilities? Why would he hang out with them to survive?

Atesh landed and picked up Jay and then blasted off. After flying across the world. He found a relatively clean spot. Clean as in being away from the trash heaps.

Atesh remained floating. A hole was dug in the ground using his will.

"Let's go!"

Everyone floated down into the seemingly bottomless pit. Then Atesh covered the hole, completely blocking out all light. The others couldn't even see their hands.

Atesh held out his hand and a flame appeared in it, this lit up the area.

"Now that we aren't being monitored. I have something to tell you all."

The illusion covering Atesh vanished.

"I am not Gou..."

"I am Atesh of Gaia's Island!"