Victor awoke feeling… better than he should’ve. He rose quickly and quietly, the years having left him no choice but to. When he did, he noticed that the ache in his muscles wasn’t as bad as it should’ve been. When he traced his fingers over the wounds that he took, he found little in their place.

Right… Altesians. He was in one of their tents after all. The last thing he remembered was defeating a Demigod, and he felt proud of himself for it. Even if the title the monster held was in name only.

Before anything else, Victor took a look at his status and the abilities he’d unlocked.

[

NAME: Victor Amadi

AGE: 26

SEEDS: [[Timewalker’s Origin]]

[[Weaponsmith Heart]]

[[Crystallized Lightning]]

[[ ]]

[[ ]]

STATS:

STRENGTH: 50

SPEED: 30

SENSES: 17

RECOVERY: 45

SENSE OF TIME: 51

STRUCTURAL SENSE: 30

ELECTRORECEPTION: 55

AMMO:

9mm Round x 160

5.56 Round x 60

ABILITIES:

(Timewalker’s Origin): [Unlock Sense of Time] [Anchor Placement] [Carryover Bestiary] [Carryover Item Compendium] [Sense of Time Boost x 7] [Strength Boost x 4] [Speed Boost] [Recovery Boost] [Senses Boost] [Slowdown] [Speedup] [Carryover Seed Information]

(Weaponsmith Heart): [Unlock Structural Sense] [Basic Strengthening] [Ammo Count] [Time Bullet - Slowdown] [Time Bullet – Speedup] [Infuse Attack] [Trap Ward] [Structural Sense Boost x 3] [Recovery Boost x 4]

(Crystallized Lightning): [Unlock Electroreception] [Charge] [Lightning Bolt] [Paralyzing Lightning] [Electroreception Boost x 8] [Strength Boost x 2] [Speed Boost x 2] [Voltaic Form Level 1] [Bullet Alter – Lightning Charge]

]

Voltaic Form? Victor touched the ability and its description expanded before him.

[[Voltaic Form Level 1]: (Requirement: Electroreception above 50) You become stronger and faster, you gain a resistance to lightning and this Seed’s other abilities become stronger for a limited amount of time at the cost of a massive amount of stamina. the strength, cost and duration of this ability depends on your Electroreception and Strength. Anyone who comes near you will be shocked.

Zeus himself surrounds his body with lightning at all times. Maybe it’s paranoia, or maybe he thinks himself so above that he wouldn’t let any lowly person touch him.]

That was what he’d used. He’d barely thought of the thing, but he knew it was something Amadeus eventually got later on in the loops. But what he hadn’t considered was the feeling.

The energy bursting forth from every pore of his skin had made Victor giddy, and he could scarcely keep himself in a single place after using it. He’d wondered why Amadeus had such a goofy smile on him whenever he used the thing.

Guess I have an answer to that.

The next ability was something much more mundane.

[[Bullet Alter – Lightning Charge]: (Requirement: Crystallized Lightning and Electroreception above 50) You can paralyze your enemies with your bullets. The strength of paralysis depends on your Electroreception and Structural Sense.]

He picked up the frigustone pistol beside his bed and tested it out. Lightning began to arc from the barrel of the gun as soon as he focused on his Crystallized Lightning and Weaponsmith Heart. The beating of the Seeds formed a harmony that fueled the Synergetic ability. And though it wanted to be unleashed, Victor let the power fade away.

It was no use now. There were no enemies to fight. He just wished he had more of that and less reason to keep gaining power. Until the day that was possible, he’d keep gaining power. And keep stockpiling it until he could juggle Immeasurable Level Threats like bottles.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Victor put on his clothes and walked out of the tent a while later, to the glee and amazement of the surrounding Altesians. They surrounded Victor and balked praise and worry in equal measure. It made it hard for the Timewalker to move around, so he chose to jump over their little heads and walk straight over to Aidano instead.

The chief of the Altesians wasn’t in such a jolly mood. In fact, the little Altesian was shaking with worry so much Victor wondered if his brain hadn’t turned to a slurry yet.

“You seem hella nervous for someone on the winning side,” Victor told him.

“Vic-tor, we’ve now struck directly against Cecilian himself. I do not think he will be kind to us,” Aidano replied.

“You won’t have to worry about that when we kill him,” Victor replied bluntly. That caused the chief to raise a brow.

“You’re so confident of this, Vic-tor. Tell me, do you have one of the Nine backing you? or perhaps you possess a Seed that lends you your courage?” Aidano asked.

“Something like that. Now, where’s my team?” Victor asked.

When Aidano guided him towards them, he found a group of tied up Vices nearby. They were some of the only Demigods who were able to run away from the group. Loki had a hand at the ready if a single one of them unleashed their lightning, which explained why they hadn’t escaped yet.

Ashley and Leo were sat near one of the Demigods, and a fire burned in Ashley’s hands before the monster.

“Just tell us where the iron is and we’ll let you go,” Ashley told him. She brought the fire closer to the Vice’s face, but it didn’t budge.

“Say whatever you want, mortal. We won’t tell,” the Demigod said, lightning crackling fiercely in his eyes.

“Really? Even after what we did to your leader into a pulp?” Victor asked, approaching. He didn’t bend down near the Demigod, forcing him to look up at him. When he did, the Vice noticed something about Victor.

“You killed one of our own to get that Seed, didn’t you?” he asked Victor.

“I killed a Vintaric. But I guess it was a member of your ‘Pantheon’. You’re both disgusting insects, after all,” Victor taunted. The Demigod scowled, but made no move towards him.

“Tell us where Cecilian is hiding the iron. Now,” Victor told him.

“Never.”

“Loki, kill this one,” was what Victor wanted to say to him. He knew Loki would’ve obeyed. Scared the other Demigods, maybe even gotten him the location of the iron. And in doing so, Victor would cross a line. A line he’d known about as soon as he entered the loops.

He could kill this Demigod right here, show the others he was a threat, and get the information he needed. But even if the blood faded away from his hands, it wouldn’t leave his mind. Victor would’ve killed a prisoner, and tainted himself in a way that would carry over to the next loop.

His mind went to Amadeus’ kids and what they thought of him. How they looked up to him. and what they’d think if he were to follow through. Victor couldn’t cross that line, because there were too many damn hands holding him back.

So, he moved onto the next Demigod instead.

“You seem much more reasonable than your brother over there…” Victor started.

****

They spent a while interrogating the Demigods and their release. Many of them weren’t cooperative, but enough time in the Altesian camp, a bit of separation from the gaze of their fellow Pantheon members and a few sweet words about what Cecilian would do won one or two over.

Those few spilled the answers, and Victor made sure to keep quiet of which of them it was. He didn’t want to see them lynched as soon as he set them free. A part of him couldn’t deny the satisfaction he’d get from watching them bicker over it, but that could wait.

The problem then was getting topside.

“We’re lucky that the warehouse is off the beaten path of the city. Guessing Cecilian didn’t want people to see his workers coming in and out of the joint,” Victor told his group inside of one of the tents. Aidano was there as well, and he fidgeted with his hands.

“If the Stars above ground spot you, they’ll smite you on the spot, Vic-tor,” Aidano told him.

“We’ll need disguises topside,” Victor replied.

They’d needed to head back to Angel Heights for that. Leo and Loki stayed behind to help while Victor interrogated the Wielders back home for illusionary powers.

Those could come in a variety of ways. Isabelle’s threads from the first loop could eventually be used to make clothing, given enough material. Others simply materialized clothing out of nothing, which had ended up embarrassing for the few that found the time limit on those abilities.

Light based illusions were loud in that they stood out. But it was their best bet. Victor found an unwitting and untrained Wielder who had a Seed befitting those powers. With the girl in hand, they fashioned illusions that up close looked more than a little sloppy.

“I look like a butter-faced kid,” Leo complained when the illusion was cast over him.

“So, just like when we were kids?” Ashley replied, much to her brother’s chagrin.

His hair looked like roughly made clouds to anyone who didn’t look too closely. His eyes also glowed, but somehow the glow didn’t hurt him. the kid they’d dragged along had shrugged. Even she didn’t know; it was all instinct to her.

“Just don’t let a Vintaric or anyone else get too close. We’ll move in quickly and raid the place, then get out just as quickly,” Victor explained. He’d taken on the role of their leader, with his skin cracking in places to reveal golden light.

“How long did you say these would last?” Loki asked him.

“Just an hour or so. Impressive for the kid, but not enough for us. That’s why we’ll have to haul ass,” Victor replied.

They had sacks tied to their clothing in places hidden by the light-based illusions. Ashley had taken the Wielder back, and she’d wished them luck on their mission. She’d brought back notes from each of the group, but Victor hadn’t bothered to fill in his. If the mission went south, he could spare the few years it would take to reset the world.

Aidano met them at the lip of the cave where they were to leave. The lights of the giant towers that littered Angel Falls made it sparkle like always. The others stared out into it mesmerized, but Victor knew there was no beauty hidden beneath the buildings.

Only bloodthirsty Angelos looking to strike down anyone among them they thought weak.

“Again, I wonder why you do this for us, Vic-tor,” he voiced his concerns.

“What’s there to wonder? You’ll get your protection once your Angelo pupates, and we’ll get an ally,” Victor replied.

“Because when you talk of the Angelos, or the others that roam this land, the ones you call Vices, I see something in your eyes.”

Victor stopped to look at the Altesian.

“And what is that?”

“Something dark. You would’ve killed those Demigods. Yet you didn’t… Tell me, was it because your friends were around?”

“…Partly,” Victor told him.

“That is what I refer to. Answer me this, Vic-tor. If you had the chance to press a button, and end all life on this planet we know it, saving your own in the process, would you take it?” Aidano asked him. He had none of the usual nervousness he associated with the Altesian.

“No?”

Yes.

“Why would you think that?” Victor asked.

Aidano hummed to himself.

“I understand. I wish you luck in your mission, Vic-tor,” Aidano said, before retreating back into the caves.

Victor took a look outside once more. If he could grasp the entire city in his arm, crush it down in an instant, would he?

Absolutely. It was nothing less than they deserved for the years of suffering they’d inflicted on his people. Most all Vices he’d met in his loops were monsters, save a few. And he was sure the Altesians were only kind to him because they were weak.

So, he’d kill them all if it meant his own world survived. And he’d sleep all the easier for it.