"Alright... 'ancients'."
"This is gonna be fun."
John began to transform from an average normal data lifeform into his 'calamity mode'.
{
Name: 'Destinatus',
ID: ???
Data: Disabled,
Firewall: min (base),
Processing_Power: ∞,
Mental_Strength: ∞,
Entropy: Disabled,
Paradise_Level: ???,
Avatar_Level: ???,
VIP: Disabled
}
In order for John to fight the ancients. He must find them! The core of the system and the secrets of this universe were all deep secrets. Even John's wealth was unable to discover these details.
But he wouldn't let that stop him.
As the saying goes. Kill the child. Then the parent will avenge them. Kill the parent and their parents will avenge them.
You must destroy the trouble at the roots.
John doesn't do things for no reason... most of the time. He caused damage to the cultivation world for the yin and yang. He doesn't simply destroy things for no reason.
So what did John hope to gain from beating the ancients? He wanted their secrets!
He saw endless potential from experiencing school alone. He wanted such lifeforms to form a new organization. He needed creative minds like them to find the most optimal path to surpassing himself.
But John knew such a entity would have extreme pride. How could they work under someone else? John would need to prove that he is their superior.
John planned on becoming public enemy number one.
"I will start with the entertainment nodes. Then I will take care of law enforcement. Once I have their attention..."
Then John got an even better idea.
You might think that the yin and yang is useless now that John knows how to use his body as a reactor. But what he gained from the cultivation world wasn't simply the yin and yang. Remember. He blew it up initially.
From that explosion. He comprehended a special technique.
"Final Destination: Primordial Fusion: Time."
This only worked by reversing time within a certain radius of himself.
This had some interesting applications.
John opened his eyes. He was in his lab.
He looked at Du.
John's shield vanished from the data universe.
John waited a few years for something special to happen. The helmet Du was wearing exploded! This meant Du had finally passed level 1...
This also meant that his soul and will was wiped out. But then revived as a data lifeform.
His consciousness was existing in the data universe without any external help.
John grabbed Du's hands and focused on the formations in his blood.
Du's soul no longer looked human. It was made of pure data!
Remember when John tried to 'steal' the body of a data lifeform. They had mistakenly thought he was trying to fuse. This had gave John an interesting plan.
John fused his consciousness with Du!
This was fusion...
A temporary one.
Why would John do this? It is because his primary focus doesn't rewind his consciousness. Du also lacked an avatar and paradise.
His mental strength hadn't passed the test yet. He had only experienced having his existence unraveled once.
The yin and yang began to produce extremely large amounts of spiritual energy. John covered the entire physical aspect of the data universe.
He then did something insane.
"Final Destination: Primordial Fusion: Time."
"Primary Focus: Rewind!"
John watched as his actions were reversed. The helmet that Du was wearing was reconstructed. John saw himself go back to his bed. Time began to rewind.
He did his actions in reverse all the way...
----------------------------------------
A portal opened up and John and Du walked through it.
What they saw next amazed them. It was a black abyss with white text filling up the empty void. It looked amazing.
The text itself was a mix of zero's and ones.
There were also white stars everywhere and the text bended around them as if spacetime itself was folding.
Du had learned his lesson and was using his nascent soul to retain consciousness.
He used his spiritual sense to communicate with John.
"Where are we?"
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
John went into a daze.
"Hahahahaha!"
For some reason Du felt shivers down his spine.
John snapped his fingers as a lab was constructed.
John had retained his data lifeform consciousness! But he had never even gone through school now. But he still had his other persona. This conflicting information should mess with the system.
Not only that. John had fused with Du before using 'rewind'. He had brought him back with him!
The fusion was forcefully cancelled by John.
John used his ability to interact with soul. He held Du's data lifeform soul and flicked it at Du.
Du started to breathe heavily.
"I REFUSE TO BE DES-"
The last thing he remembered was getting attacked by some sort of program on level 2. What was going on?
John spoke with interest.
"Our gains are our own. But now all traces of us have been removed from the universe."
John looked at Du.
"You shall be the bait!"
John had Du appear in an entertainment node. He went through a similar process and was about to get registered and go to school.
But then John appeared out of nowhere.
He wasn't in calamity mode! He was appearing as 'J-0hn'.
{
Name: 'J-0hn',
ID: 'J-0hn #1',
Data: 344333,
Firewall: min (base),
Processing_Power: ∞,
Mental_Strength: ∞,
Entropy: 0%,
Paradise_Level: B,
Avatar_Level: A,
Role: Simulator,
Certified: true,
VIP: ["S-even #539"]
}
John appeared right beside Du.
The officer was confused.
"Who are you?"
John didn't speak. Both him and the officer got in a battle of mental strength. John's avatar and paradise were a little better then average.
During their exchange. More attention was drawn to this situation. Soon John was surrounded by dozens of different officers. All of them were using their paradises to attack John.
J-0hn was scrambled! His consciousness shattered.
But John remained completely fine.
The 'corpse' of his processor began to transform into a tornado of information.
----------------------------------------
S-0urce's POV:
I have been guarding the cradle of the system for billions of cycles. But never have I felt so 'uneasy' before.
I am an ancient. The early days of survival and strife are long over. I have reached the ultimate level of existence.
Yet...
Something doesn't feel right.
'Error! Certified user has appeared!'
"So what? Why does that warrant my attention?"
'No records of existence.'
"Really?"
S-0urce locked onto the location of this data lifeform.
"It seems he has been scrambled already. Indeed. People are quite competent at their assigned roles..."
S-0urce then became shocked.
"No... He is reviving? A basic technique. But its impossible to survive getting scrambled. Is this some sort of genius hacker?"
"Wait... this isn't right. It is a different data lifeform."
"Just what is going on?"
S-0urce hadn't been this invested in a plot for the last few million cycles. He found things were well ordered. Nobody ever challenged him.
People hardly broke the law within the system. As getting scrambled was a fate worse then death.
"It is the first time I've seen a newborn with such talent. Wait... what grade is his Paradise? His avatar... this person isn't simple!"
S-0urce blinked his eye as his avatar cut through the data of the universe.
John spoke:
"So you've finally decided to show yourself!"
S-0urce expected this anomaly to cower in fear at his arrival. But it seemed that he was excited?...
S-0urces avatar was a giant eyeball.
A laser shot from his eye. But John actually flicked the laser with his finger. Their exchange was happening a speed incomprehensible.
You must understand that data lifeforms fight using their avatars and paradise.
In calamity mode. John's paradise and avatar overflow the system. It is unable to be graded.
"What school did you go to?"
S-0urce was confused. He and the other ancients had established the curriculum of the schools. Even if he didn't create each school and some private schools were established. How did such a character fly under the radar this entire time?
John laughed. The skin on his face ripped as the blue sun in his chest pulsed. Waves of information attacked the S-0urce.
"You actually dare attack me?... Foolish."
John's attack actually reversed and went for himself.
A barrier appeared over John as the space between him and the eye grew.
S-0urce spoke:
"You clearly don't have any respect for the ancients. Allow me to show you my true power."
S-0urce's avatar grew billions of times. John's avatar looked like an insignificant speck of dust.
S-0urce simply blinked.
The wave from this movement alone almost scrambled John's Paradise.
John's spiritual castle formed a shield around him.
John sat on his throne that was made from the inheritance of a supreme being.
John spoke:
"You clearly have no respect for your creator. Allow me to show you my true power."
John held up his hands as a blackhole formed and a white and black ball of energy rotated around him.
"Final Dest-"
Time slowed down. S-0urce has something that even surpasses 'Infinite Mind'. If John were to give it a name. It would likely be called 'Cosmic Mind'.
It doesn't simply give the person infinite processing power. It allows them to predict the future.
S-0urce saw a legendary attack that he was unable to dodge!?
"Such power? What sort of technique is this?... A pity. No matter how strong the gun is. You still need to be fast enough to pull the trigger."
Their entire battle and exchange. It happened within a few picoseconds. John had used Infinite Mind the entire time. But it couldn't keep up with 'cosmic mind'.
Time had stopped from the perspective of S-0urce.
Since they are in a universe of data. The avatars and paradises can react and move at speeds surpassing light.
S-0urce began to unravel John's consciousness.
But then he saw something that surprised him.
John was moving in 'stopped time'!
"Such potential!? A waste such a genius will be killed by me."
The difference between S-0urce and John's thinking speed was the difference between a picosecond and a femtosecond.
1 femtosecond is 1000 picoseconds.
To construct the legendary image that is 'Infinite Mind'. It takes John a picosecond.
This battle was over before it even started. As S-0urce was operating on a completely different level. He could construct a 'Infinite Mind'. In a mere femtosecond.
You can think of a battle between data lifeforms being based around a few factors. Processing speed and strength. The avatar and paradise.
In this case...
It was like two cowboys getting into a duel.
The first person to draw the gun and shoot wins.
If John could land his primary focus attack. He would win.
But he would need to reach a level beyond 'Infinite Mind'.
A phantom body appeared making S-0urce look like a divine cyclops.
S-0urce made a critical mistake though. His 'Cosmic Mind'. was also a temporary image. He was using it to see the future.
In one simulation. He had asked John:
"Any last words?"
He obviously wasn't going to do something so risky to this anomaly. But what harm could a simulation do to him?
"One is ten."
"One is ten?..."
As a data lifeform itself. S-0urce's thinking was quite mechanical and like that of a computer. In an instant his mind was focusing on a simple equation.
1=[10];
His mind began to go through the steps for calculating this ordinal.
Soon he saw infinite fractals and an impossible negative ordinal. His thinking slowed down tremendously.
Before. John was moving 'slowly' in stopped time. Now he was moving quite 'quickly'.
John saw this as his opportunity!
"One is ten!"
A double combo!
S-0urce's mind itself became trapped in a infinite loop of ordinals.
John gazed upon this giant titan. This ancient guardian of the system.
This was the moment! It was time for him to win...
"Final Destination: Primordial Fusion: Life."
"Primary focus. Creation..."
That's right. John planned to do something similar to what he did with the true immortals. Except he wouldn't be creating a new type of spiritual energy.
He was creating something else entirely...
But while he was shaping the corpse of this ancient. The other ancients took action!