Visions flashed before his eyes, not from his own perspective, but from high above, as if looking down on the world from space. It was a new addition to his [Prediction] ability, where he would search the immediate future to test different simulated situations.
Now that he had broken through Tier five, Step five, and reached the peak of Step nine, he could somewhat connect directly with the world itself. His soul being strong enough to be aware of Eldramir’s true might.
“I need to focus,” he mentally berated himself, “Shine is waiting for me to return with answers.”
Focusing on the possibilities in front of him, he saw countless gruesome sights.
Most involved him losing to the combined might of the Broodlords. Although he was stronger than most of them, even when they teamed up, the older ones, and the Chaos Lord, were game changers.
Seeing an endless number of gaping maws opening up to rip him to shreds was unpleasant. As was being burrowed into by a thousand worms from the inside out.
He saw himself being eaten alive by a swarm of insects, surrounded by pools of Ichor as his family’s corpses littered the landscape within the core regions of the Desolate Lands. At times he became fertilizer for the Rot, and at others he was nothing more than a feast for the Cruor.
All these options and more passed through his sight. Getting past Woken and Strom was ultimately not a problem. Nor was getting to the core of the Desolate Lands.
The problem was what he would do once he got there.
“Is conceding to their demands truly the only way?”
He was beginning to lose hope. Not even Shine was able to help. Their strength combined with Ezekiel’s was simply not enough. What was worse, was the horrified screams that he could hear.
All born from the death of his Spirit, as their soul was dissolved in the Ichor of a Brood.
Thousands upon thousands of scenarios passed through Ezekiel’s mind. All of them ended in his death. His family’s death, and the ultimate end of humanity.
The only times that humanity lasted longer than a few months, the maximum that he could predict in this nigh ascended state, was when he let his family die, and refused to give in to the Broods’ demands. This was something that he was not okay with.
“There has to be a way! This cannot be the only choice!”
He screamed into the countless visions he witnessed, the sight of Shine sacrificing themself to deflect a lethal blow that was aimed for his head caught his eye. It was the only prediction he’d seen that had himself and a family member living.
He and Ellen fled for their lives. The rest of their family, and their Spirits, were dead. Not a single part of him felt that this was an acceptable outcome. Yet there was nothing he could do.
However, this sight brought back some of the hope that had been fading. It was possible. Out of the thousands and thousands of dead ends, he and his sister had made it out alive.
Now he just had to do it with everyone else.
The most noticeable thing that he had seen when witnessing this vision, was the fact that he needed to sneak into the Core Region. If he fought his way in, then he would be done for. Too injured to truly defend himself and negotiate. Something he never thought he’d be doing, even as a deception.
The second, was that he and Shine needed to be separated. Then, his Spirit could act as a backup escape plan. From there, he realized that he needed a sacrifice.
To save his family, and the world, or at least give it more time, he needed to give something up.
With these new parameters, more possibilities passed through him. It was getting to the point that he could feel the strain pulling his soul apart. Even with his new strength, since these weren’t visions guided purely by himself, he began to lose himself.
The might of Eldramir’s soul, even sleeping like it was, created a huge burden that would soon crush him under its might. But he had to continue. He had not seen his success just yet.
The images he saw began to fall apart, and he knew that there were things he wouldn’t be able to witness, due to the influence of the Broods on the world. The end result of his fight with Strom became blurry. As did the means that were used to get him into the core regions.
Eventually, he found a successful scenario, but one that relied far too much on variables that he couldn’t control. Ones where the sacrifice was still far too great.
“More! There has to be a way! Show me more!”
Finally, he felt himself slip, and a panicked yelp was all he could invoke before he was pulled away by the currents of time and possibility. With it, he began to drown, and his soul sank deeper and deeper as his vision faded away.
With a tug on his soul, he found himself opening his eyes. Shine’s featureless face, reflected on the flat of their blade, peered down at him, and a sense of worry and fear filled their bond.
“Again... We’ll take a break, then do it again. I almost saw it. There is a way to get what we want.”
Shine said nothing, and just sank from where they floated in the air to settle on his chest. Acceptance and confirmation that they would do so passed from the Spirit into Ezekiel.
These actions would be repeated after several hours and go on for about a day.
When the final result was established, the Void Spirit wasn’t happy, since there were still a few holes in the prediction, but with oaths and assurances from Ezekiel, they accepted the fact that the two of them would need to go through with it, nonetheless.
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The first thing that Ezekiel noticed was that he was surrounded by something that was regulating its temperature to perfectly match that of his body, and that there were several holes inside him that weren’t causing him any deliberate harm but seemed to be preventing him from regenerating his mana.
Something he only knew due to the complete and utter lack of any sort of sensation on his body, including the presence of mana. Which was strange, since the weightlessness and other aspects of his situation made him think he was floating in nothingness. At least for a few seconds.
That was wrong, however, since he knew what that was like, and the lack of danger pinging his senses meant that he was not in the depths of space, nor the space-between-spaces.
He also wasn’t meditating, since he knew full well what that was like, and there was a disturbing lack of being able to control his mental space. Which meant that he was awake and covered in something strange.
Coming to consciousness with an almost utter lack of mana, inside of a poor imitation of the Void, was not what Ezekiel expected when he woke up, but given what he had seen in his prediction, he knew where he was and what he needed to do.
Without delay, he began tapping his finger against the side of his leg. It was a small and worthless action that wouldn’t get him out of his current cage, but it would get the attention he wanted from the necessary party he was trying to alert.
‘Note to self, when predicting the most likely outcomes to occur over the course of a few weeks, focus more in depth on the third person perspectives provided by the world,’ he thought while continuing to tap his fingers.
Letting his mind wander, Ezekiel pondered the circumstances behind his current predicament.
Recalling the number of visions he had witnessed; Ezekiel knew that there was nothing he could do for the moment. From the moment that he was knocked unconscious, until the moment he emerged in the core regions, his predictions came up as blank.
He had no idea what was going on outside. Just that, when he would finally reach his destination, he would be covered in Ichor, and greatly disoriented.
Beyond that, he could only leave it in the hands of fate.
‘Shine... Shine, can you hear me?’ Since there was nothing else to do, he figured he could at least try reaching out to his partner. ‘Even if you can’t send words, anything to tell me you can hear me would be appreciated.’
Being at the peak of Tier five meant that he was able to circumvent several things that were capable of blocking his bond. Including the strange effects of Ichor, which usually weren’t a problem anyway, so long as he or Shine crushed the lingering [Will] within it.
‘It seems like I’m actually being carried by one of the Broodlords... Did they fucking eat me?’
Lack of reply from his Spirit was disturbing, since it meant that one of the few things equal to his level was currently blocking him. Of the Broodlords, he knew there was only one possibility.
“Drake Cross... the ultimate traitor. I didn’t think you’d be the one to carry me into your home.”
Ezekiel knew that the power levels of the majority of the Broodlords couldn’t be higher than Step three, and even that was a recent development. Usually, they could only reach Step one. Step two for the originals that were still alive after so many centuries.
That was what made the old ones the most dangerous.
Drake, however, was the strangest, and the only times he was ever known to attack was the few instances at the beginning of the Age of Despair, when the war between humans and Cruor first started.
He was known for drawing towns in Ichor, and the spread of the Desolate Lands was once attributed to his corruption of several regions.
Most Scholars and such disputed this possibility, since the sheer amount of land claimed during the Age of Despair was massive. Enough that, even after the first few Hunters broke through to Tier five, it was considered impossible for a mere Mythical being to effect such an area.
“You know who I am... I should not be surprised. Only the one chosen by the Ancient Void would be able to match my greatness and know my presence at sight.”
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The arrogant sneer that oozed out from all around him made Ezekiel shiver. Yet, at the same time, he felt that there was something wrong. There was something familiar in the tone of Drake’s voice that he couldn’t place.
“I was not the only one chosen. You were too, once upon a time.” For now, Ezekiel would ignore the familiar sensation he was getting from his captor. “It’s your fault for failing to meet the expectations placed on you, and ultimately breaking your contract.”
A squeezing sensation pressed in on all sides, and Ezekiel’s guess that he was inside the Broodlord was confirmed.
“I am still fulfilling my task! So long as Eldramir lives, nothing else matters. Once the seals are destroyed, and the magic used to fuel them is taken back, Eldramir will be able to strengthen the [Shroud] that protects them. The world will be saved, and all will be well once more!”
Hearing this, Ezekiel was now certain of what he had felt before.
Drake was not in his right mind. He was just as zealous as Endaria, Marco, and all the other Lights, and those that had received the [Blessing] of the Radiant Lord.
“Nothing to say? Good. You know that I’m right!” The self-righteous words flowing from Drake’s being were sickening to Ezekiel.
Shaking himself out from his temporary stupor, and now far more cautious than before, he decided to continue the conversation for now.
“I don’t care if you’re right. Technically correct just means that you have one of many answers.” Ezekiel tried to shrug, but the pressure on him increased, and he could no longer move.
If it wasn’t for his increased abilities, he wouldn’t even be able to breathe at this point.
“I know full well what horrors you went through as a Void Mage. Perhaps not personally, but I was still hunted. I still lost friends, and others I was close to, due to the prejudices of humanity.” He glared at the nothingness he saw all around him. “It’s just a shame that the most vocal detractors to my existence were all your puppets.”
Drake scoffed. “The fact that you had a loving family means you know nothing of my pain! Of what I lost when I came to this world! It was meant to be my new destiny! To rise to the top and become the conqueror of this lesser Marble World!”
Ezekiel perked up. This was new information. Something he had never heard of before.
“Marble World? You mean the planet?”
Drake chuckled, and Ezekiel couldn’t help but cringe at the bubbly and scratching sound.
“That’s right! You are also not from this world, so you know what it is like to be reincarnated, and forced to live a lesser life than you once did!”
He didn’t, but Ezekiel wasn’t about to tell Drake that.
“You make it sound like you were a king in your previous world. Yet you also sound like you were aware of other worlds.” He tried to lead Drake into revealing more information, and a rapid and reverent reply came forth.
“I should have been king! If not for my damned disability, I would have been! When that blasted pendant told me that I could be reborn on another world when I was searching barren worlds for resources, I had thought that it would be an easy matter to reach my previous height of power and take this world for myself. Then my breakthroughs would be easy, and my throne would be returned to me!”
The sheer anger that Ezekiel felt in Drake’s voice was enough to jostle him around like an earthquake. Yet the more he spoke, the more Ezekiel knew that Drake was truly insane at this point. Though, he wasn’t about to let free information regarding the other worlds beyond Eldramir be wasted.
“Was it the unique laws that govern this world that were the problem? I know that only Void Mages could attune to the Relics spread about by the Ancient Void. Did the world you were in before this one not have a means of cultivating this element?”
The shaking grew worse, and Ezekiel could actually feel himself getting injured.
“It did not! My old world didn’t focus on the cultivation of esoteric energies! Let alone the most difficult of them all. To comprehend the laws of [Spacetime] is considered to be nearly impossible! Even for the gods that have transcended the first ranks of Divinity!”
A part of Ezekiel wanted to call out to the Broodlord to make him stop, since he was really hurting now, but he knew that something important was coming up, so he kept quiet.
“I was once a Demi-God! One step away from Divinity, and if it were not for my damned soul aspect being tied to [Spacetime] I would have succeeded in my advancement! My body had been forged to perfection, with all of my soul and body having been merged as one! Yet I couldn't grow stronger! For nearly a hundred thousand years, I could not get stronger! Then when I finally see hope, I end up trapped within this lesser world that is in its death throes. If it were not for the fact that the Chaos Brood was able to resonate with my meager attempts to cultivate my body, I would never have been able to regain as much of my old power as I have! Just one more step, and it will all be back!”
Though suffering from the constant shaking that resulted from Drake’s anger, Ezekiel figured he knew what was going on at this point.
It seemed that there were at least two major methods of cultivating power and rising to higher Tiers of existence. These were energy cultivation and body cultivation. Drake, in his past life, cultivated his body, and basically ignored energy cultivation.
Though it seemed that, upon reaching Tier five, it was possible to begin body cultivation, even if you used energy cultivation.
As such, being reincarnated as a human in a world where energy cultivation was their only method meant that he had no idea how to grow stronger. Especially since his soul aspect, or elemental affinity, was that of the Void.
Thus, he had tried to cultivate his body once more, failing due to the laws that governed mana, and somehow, after being banished to the ancient Desolate Lands, stumbled across the Broods. Where he learned that they could grant him the body cultivation he so dearly desired. At a cost, of course.
However, these were not the most important things that he had learned.
‘I see... so at least one method for reaching Tier six is to merge my body with my soul... How the heck do I do that?’ It wasn’t the complete answer, but it was more than Ezekiel was expecting.
It also seemed that a certain level of comprehension pertaining to one’s element, or soul aspect, was needed to reach Tier seven. Though he wasn’t too certain about that.
But it seemed that Drake had noticed his silence, and by this point the Broodlord had calmed down. Much to Ezekiel’s misfortune.
“You’re interrogating me.” Drake said in a flat and unamused voice.
“I’m genuinely curious as to what the greater universe is like. I fully intend to go there one day, after all. Would you be willing to explain how, exactly, a person can merge their soul with their body?”
The sickly sound of Drake’s laughter filled Ezekiel’s ears once again. This time it was enough to make him nauseous. It was also far more malicious in its intent.
“No... I don’t think so... In fact, the reminders of my past that you brought forth are more than enough to make me want to kill you. Even more than before. Yet my master still has a use for you.”
Listening to Drake threaten his life just made Zekiel smile. It was an incredibly familiar territory for him. So, he couldn’t help but make one last taunt.
“For a man who says he should’ve been a king, you sure to excel as a servant.”
Several piercing pains across his body told him that Drake hadn’t liked that, and he had done something to attack Ezekiel. Which, from the Ichor he could feel invading his body, was likely poisoning him from the skewers inside his body.
“Be silent. We are almost at the core regions.”
Ezekiel did as he was told, a small, mocking smirk plastered on his face.
The Ichor now inside him slowly being converted into his mana. Unhindered, since Drake could not infuse it with his [Will] into it, lest he cause far more detrimental harm to come to Ezekiel.
Now, all he had to do was wait for the right opportunity.
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After what felt like several days’ worth of time, Ezekiel found himself shooting out of the Ichorous body of the Chaos Broodlord. Hitting the ground with a wet ‘splat’ he immediately started coughing and hacking up the Ichor that had filled his body and lungs.
With his ability to now survive in a vacuum due to the extensive evolution of his body thanks to his ascension to the top of Tier five, he didn’t really need to breathe, but being able to was nice.
From what he could tell, he was in an ancient castle, but one that was roughly made. It wasn’t constructed by Cavern Mages, since there was cement and blocks visible in the walls. The rubbery tubes and tendrils that let Ichor flow between rooms were also an off-putting sight.
There was also a thick miasma that filled the air. It was also stronger than any he had felt before. To the point that Ezekiel was certain that it would prevent him from being able to use magic. Not that he had that much mana to use at the moment anyway.
Though, no longer being inside Drake’s amorphous body meant that he could now regenerate his mana. Even if he had to focus on closing his wounds and keeping them shut first.
He also felt his connection to Shine snap back into place. The relief and concern he felt flow into him from his Spirit was a balm on his soul.
But the good times were not to last.
“Oh no...” a soft and feminine voice filled his ears.
He looked around the room, and wiped off the oily Ichor that was still on his face. Hanging in several cages was Riley, who had her Spirit next to her. Neither looked particularly healthy, and even her hair had dulled to a simple brown. The lack of mana for an extended time had seemingly drained even the color out of her body.
“Why are you here? You have to have known what they want from you...” her voice was weak, and Ezekiel could only hear her due to his enhanced senses.
He stumbled over to her cage, looking up at her from below.
There was a slurping sound, and when he looked back, he saw that there was no one else inside the room. Facing his wife once more, he spoke freely.
“I wanted to see you, and I’m going to save you. Save all of you.” Riley stared at him, directly in the eyes, and began to cry. She had noticed that Shine wasn’t there.
“Who’s going to save you?” she asked.
This time, Ezekiel didn’t say anything. He just remained quiet.
“I don’t know,” he said after several seconds, “But I will not die here. I will not be kept away from you, not forever, at least.”
With a small flex of his legs, he jumped up several dozen feet into the air to grab onto the cage. With a flex, he broke open some of the bars, and climbed in. All while ignoring the skittering sound he heard from below.
Without her mana, Riley would never have been able to break them. Even with her enhanced physique from her ascension to Tier five. Ezekiel, on the other hand, had a naturally stronger body, and was nine Steps higher than she was. So, such a task was simple for him.
“For the moment... what did you get up to?”
It was a simple question that was utterly out of place, here in the core of the Desolate Lands. Yet it still brought a smile to Riley’s face.
From there, the couple just talked about what it had been like for them over the past year.
Doing their best to ignore the situation they were in. At least for a little bit.
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It wasn’t until several hours later that Ezekiel and Riley were disturbed. Riley and Celia had fallen asleep not long ago, but Ezekiel remained vigilant. Both to keep his injuries from getting worse, and to watch out for any Cruor that might check in on them.
By this point, his mana had fully recovered, yet he took no action to try and escape.
“So... You are the Herald of the Void.” A deep and rumbling voice echoed through the chamber that he and Riley were in.
“You must be the Fanged Lord,” Ezekiel said while putting up a barrier to keep sounds from disturbing Riley and Celia’s slumber. “You’re more polite than I had imagined.”
The spiny armor that covered Rafael’s body was an obvious indicator to who this was. Even though he had taken on the most humanoid form Ezekiel had seen on any who weren’t Derrick.
“Indeed. Come along. It is time you release the seals on our masters.” With a wave of his hand, the bottom of the cage fell open. “I’m surprised you haven’t tried to escape yet.”
Ezekiel simply floated down, carrying Riley and Celia with him. Not once disturbing their rest.
“I’ve inspected her. The Swarm Queen put eggs in her. Along with the rest of my family, I’m assuming.” It had been the first thing that he had done when he had gotten to Riley.
In all of the visions he had seen, the sight of insects bursting from his family member’s bodies was one of the most horrific. He would not take the risk of letting such a thing come to pass.
Rafael just grunted in acknowledgement before turning away and beckoning Ezekiel to follow.
They walked for a few minutes until they reached a familiar sight.
It was a perfectly circular landscape that was partially connected to the decrepit castle that they were in. One that was utterly devoid of life and would kill anything that entered it.
“You should recognize this. You saw the one for the Rot in the south. Though it was only at the outermost edges of the core regions, you did step into the area of the seals just over a year ago.” Rafael’s voice drew Ezekiel’s attention back to the present.
“I want to see them,” he said, his voice waking Riley, now that he had dropped his protections. She still held onto him, however, and kept Celia curled up in her lap as he carried them.
“We know.” Rafael waved his arm again, and a fleshy wall receded, showing his mother and sisters being dragged out, alongside the Broodlords that were accompanying them.
He noticed that one was missing.
“Figures that Derrick would be the first to die.” Ezekiel couldn’t think of another reason that the Winged Lord would be willing to miss this. “So, will you be using me to release all the seals, or just the one, and then relying on your slaver to do the rest?”
A heavy thrum of energy rolled over the area. Ezekiel was immune, but his family and the Broodlords were not. They flinched in pain, and Ezekiel clenched his hands. He didn’t like seeing his family in pain.
“If they die, I have no reason to help you.”
The energy stopped, but Ezekiel was not relieved. This act meant that the seals were incredibly weak. So, his prediction of them breaking within the next few years was correct.
“If that happens, we’ll just kill more Void Mages and use their energy to do it instead.” Rafael pushed Ezekiel forward, but he ignored the Broodlord.
Instead, he carried himself and Riley to his family. They all had their Spirits with them, and it was clear that they were okay, but Ezekiel could still sense the multitude of precautions that had been taken to keep him from just teleporting out of there.
He didn’t know what was being done to keep them from mutating, probably the [Will] of the Broodlords was the only thing stopping it, and he didn’t have the power right now to undo it.
The Miasma was still blocking his magic, so he would have to wait until the perfect time to see it done. The moment when the Broods would retract their power, just enough for Ezekiel to do what they wanted him to do.
Right at the moment when he released the seal.