Chapter 136: Needed

(Another longish chapter :p) (All priced equally – 200 word/1SS)

“What… what?!” He stepped back away from the journal, falling down to his knees in shock. The world around him seemed to be closing in as he clutched at his head, his body shaking.

“I… am Yukeli? What?!” He sputtered out loud.

Thud

As he spoke, the entrance to this room that had previously been locked opened up with a loud thunk, revealing a long stone hallway.

In his mind, several things suddenly became clear to him. The reason why he had kept his memories intact. The reason why Yukeli was able to create an Ability by combining his other Abilities, something that is incredibly complex and requires an intense knowledge of one’s own soul to do.

The reason Yukeli was able to control his body without suffering from Discordancy. After all, a soul could only inhabit a body if that body and soul matched perfectly.

Tiny, little things that all added up.

‘Hahaha…’ The ancient voice of Yukeli in his mind laughed, reappearing once more. This time, however, it spoke with power, not a faded, quiet wavering voice, but a powerful, mighty voice.

‘No. You are not me. I am myself.’ Yukeli’s voice in his mind carried with it a hint of supreme confidence and pride.

‘You… you merely have the memories of my past reincarnated life.’

“I don’t… I don’t understand.” Dorian felt as if everything was collapsing around him.

“My memories are rea-” He was cut off.

‘YOUR memories, child? They are not YOUR memories. I have already told you.’ Yukeli’s voice seemed to be getting stronger,

‘THEY ARE MINE.’ His words echoed in Dorian’s mind.

“But… why? Then why?! What?” Dorian couldn’t understand.

‘It is simple…’ Yukeli began,

‘The Cycle of the Heavens wipes away all memories after Reincarnation. If I wanted to achieve perfection, I needed to escape the Cycle. I needed to throw off the chains of Fate.’ Yukeli responded, his voice gaining more and more impact,

‘And so I did.’

‘The research that made this possible took eons, even with the information Ausra and I gathered about other creatures and beings. The complexity required… thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of years were required.’

‘But I did it. I found a way to accelerate time by casting my mind into my Soul Spell Matrix, one that I had already begun to try and modify. A thousand years could slip by in a single month or less.’

‘I succeeded.’

‘I split my soul into 88 pieces after I Ascended, each filled with different memories or parts of my life, hidden in the farthest recesses. The agony I experienced is indescribable, such that even Gods would have been driven mad and fallen to the wayside.’

‘Yet I persevered.’

‘I sent those split remnants through the Cycle, and through them I managed to escape it and reincarnate.’

‘You, Firstborn, had my greatest hopes.’

‘For the other 87… I combined my split souls with the energy and bloodline of mighty beasts, powerful creatures that I thought should prove useful upon my return.’

‘But you… Firstborn… you were special.’

‘For, I gave you that which surpassed all other beasts and creatures. I wanted to give you the best possible start.’

‘And what better addition than a combination with a being whose intelligence has reached the peak, who had a special connection with Fate itself?’ Yukeli’s voice took on a hint of madness.

‘I gave you my heart.’

‘Ausra… did not understand. But that is alright. In the millions of years I spent alone, I came to understand the truly important things. Sacrifices… they needed to be made, to reach perfection. It pained me, understand, so incredibly much to do what I did. My hand nearly failed when it came time.’ Grief filled his voice, unrequited.

‘But I did what I had to do. What I needed to do. What needed to be done.’

Dorian’s breathing was heavy as he heard all of this, his mind going to the helpful genie in his soul, realizing even more now what had happened. The fact that Mira had been drawn to him now, it all made sense.

“What… what did you do?!” His voice was filled with horror.

‘I took the Soul Spell Matrix of the love of my life, and grafted it onto you.’

‘Such a step was unprecedented, and it seems that she has retained some level of autonomy within you, instead of simply combining with your Soul Spell Matrix as I had expected. Still, my experiment was a success.’ Yukeli’s voice took on a fanatic edge.

“You… you are a monster.” Dorian muttered, his heart shivering as he heard Yukeli casually discuss murdering someone he loved.

‘It is alright. You do not understand either. I do not expect others to see what I see. Without me, the 30,000 Worlds would be lost.’ Yukeli seemed to mentally shake his head,

‘But you… you will submit to me. You will give way, and allow our minds to merge fully, for my still incomplete memories to reabsorb you. Perfection must be achieved.’

“Like hell I will.” Dorian got back to his feet rather unsteadily, clutching at his head.

‘Hahaha… do you still not understand?’

‘Who do you think you are?’

“I am Doria-” He began, but was interrupted.

‘No.’

‘You aren’t.’

‘You merely have my memories of my past life.’ Yukeli interrupted him.

Dorian blinked, frowning.

‘You are not Dorian Wright.’

‘The memories you hold… they are not yours.’

“No…” Dorian responded, feeling something painful in him seem to tear.

‘You never lived that life.’

‘You are not special.’

‘Do you know what you are?’

“Stop.” Dorian clutched at his heart, his breathing turning ragged as he listened to the ancient voice in his head speak, instinctively knowing what he said was true.

‘You are nothing more than a construct of energy.’

‘I created you from the Aether itself, from thin air.’

‘The memories you hold… are not your own.’

‘You are not Dorian.’

‘You are nothing.’

Every word echoed in Dorian’s mind, crashing about in unforgettable waves.

“STOP!” Dorian fell back to his knees as he covered his ears, yelling out loud as he tried to silence the voice.

‘You are NO ONE.’

‘You have never lived any life before.’

‘You have no mother. You have no father.’

‘You have no family.’

‘What you have of a soul is MINE!’

‘You are NOTHING without me.’

‘YOU ARE WORTHLESS.’

‘A MERE FORGOTTEN FRAGMENT OF MY MEMORIES, A PATHETIC, WEAK, FOOLISH SCRAP!’

‘I CREATED YOU. I MADE YOU. I AM YOUR GOD.’

The voice in Dorian’s mind reached a crescendo, slamming against him. He felt himself start to lose out, as if he was starting to fade away, his mind and soul reeling. Lights flashed within, slamming down into him. His memories seemed to blur.

The world around him seemed as if it was starting to fade away.

“Who… what… am I…” His words transformed into a frail, quiet whisper. Alone. Lost.

A fragile spark of light that was slowly beginning to die.

In the deep recesses of his soul, a slight gleam of light seemed to catch Dorian’s eyes.

The pale, flickering light of Will’s dormant soul.

“No… I cannot fall now…” Dorian felt a sense of self begin to reform, the world starting to come back into focus.

“I am… needed.”

‘DO YOU THINK YOU CAN RESIST ME? YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A SCRAP OF ENERGY, A REMNANT OF MY SPLIT SOUL.’

‘I AM A GOD. I HAVE LIVED FOR EONS.’

‘YOU ARE NOT EVEN A REAL MORTAL.’

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‘YOU ARE NOTHING.’

‘WHO ARE YOU TO STAND AGAINST ME?’

Yukeli’s voice slammed into Dorian once more, full of ancient fury and might. It was so loud, so overwhelmingly powerful, that it almost sent Dorian into unconsciousness.

He held on, however, stubborn determination filling him.

“I… I may be nothing…” His voice was ragged, his breathing harsh as he clenched his fists.

“But I cannot fall here.” He took a deep breath.

‘FOOLISH. IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE YOU FALL TO ME. YOUR DELAY IS POINTLESS.’

‘WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WILL DO NOW?’

Dorian shut his eyes, his mind fully reasserting itself as he pushed the voice back.

“I will do…” He began and then stopped, taking another breath.

“I will do what I think is right.”

“Others are depending on me. I don’t know what I am, or who I am.”

“But I will not give up now. I am needed.”

He clenched his fists tighter,

“And you will not stop me.”

Dorian’s words carried with them a tone of finality, bearing within it a level of strength and authority that he had never felt before. His determination seemed to crystallize as he spoke, the air around him trembling with might.

Dorian’s soul trembled. Faintly, he seemed to sense a strange feeling in the air. A mystic sense of energy, similar to the sensation he felt when he concentrated on the Law of Wrath.

Yukeli, in the back of his mind, seemed to grow silent, fading. The powerful voice lost much of its strength as Dorian reasserted himself.

‘Very well.’ Yukeli’s voice returned to its faint, aged voice, the vast authority and power it held before nowhere to be seen.

‘You have failed me, Firstborn.’

‘Thankfully, I accounted for a situation like this.’

Dorian felt energy begin to concentrate in the air. He took a few steps forward as he rubbed his head, walking to the entryway of the room. His heart was heavy and his emotions running wild. He put that aside, however, as he focused on the present.

This small study of Yukeli’s opened up into a large, stone hallway. Off to the side, Dorian could see a large grey archway at the end of the hallway, and through that what appeared to be a huge castle.

‘In case the Firstborn should fail… I have 87 other backups.’ Yukeli’s voice droned on in his mind.

‘Whenever an Anomaly dies, the remnants of my soul will seek out the nearest other portion, recombining.’

WHOOSH

‘You have failed me.’

Dorian felt a gust of wind slam into his back, the energy that had formed in the air dissipating. Behind him, he felt more than heard movement.

He spun around, on full alert as he looked back into the study.

Where two figures had appeared.

As Dorian looked at them, he instinctively recognized them on a base level.

For they were both like him.

Anomalies.

One was wearing a long set of robes, with their face covered.

The other was a woman, wielding what looked like a sword made of pure light, floating in the air with legs that seemed to be made of clouds.

‘And for that, you must die.’ Yukeli’s ancient voice slipped away as the being left one last message echoing in his mind.

Leaving him alone with two other Anomalies.

One of which let out a ferocious looking smile as she saw Dorian and the other Anomaly.

“Ah, my brethren! Rejoice, for I have come with the Truth! I, Veritas, will share it with you.”

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Back on top of the enormous Flame Empyrean Turtle, various flashes of light soared out as the entrances to the Ascension Ruins activated. Shouts of pain and the sounds of violence filled the air as the large battle royale continued but began to fade away as people retreated.

Several of the portals had activated abnormally early, causing a great deal of confusion to spread among those present.

One by one, however, all the remaining entrances activated, transporting dozens of people into the depths of the Ascension Ruins.

On one entrance, several hundreds of meters down on the southernmost side of the Flame Empyrean Turtle, the proud figure of a beautiful, short-haired woman could be seen, wearing a ripped dress that was covered in blood. A set of vampiric teeth poked out of her mouth as she frowned, looking at a girl with tufted fox ears that was standing next to her.

“I’m coming to find you, Trajan. I will fix everything.” Helena muttered, her eyes filled with determination.

Dozens of corpses could be seen, lying near her entrance as the portal activated, transporting her away. Some Humans, Aethmen, as well as a few Shades and other creatures mixed in. All killed with a single blow.

Hundreds of meters to the north, another group stood standing aloof in another entrance.

“Why the hell did that other entrance activate on its own? Regardless, it’s a good thing we managed to pick up this one. Remember, do what the boss says.” A red robed Wizard barked out a set of orders towards three other men standing next to him, his eyes cool. He was one of the subordinate Wizards under the Blazing King, a powerful Pseudo-King Class Wizard specializing in Fire Magic.

“Yes sir!”

“Aye-aye!”

“As you wish.” The last speaker’s voice was cool and controlled. Spoken by a man wearing a long, black robe that covered most of his body.

Not a man, but, instead, a Vampire.

A voice full of pain and tiredness, with a bare, passionate gleam of hope fluttering within it, contrasting with the dead, empty eyes that Trajan was cursed with, ever since the Anomaly known as Veritas blinded him.

‘Mello… Where in the Heavens did you go?’ Trajan swore mentally as he stood with the other subordinates, his mind awash with confusion.

At another entrance hundreds of meters away, a trio looked around a deserted scene. Not a soul was left in sight trying to challenge them.

“Good work, team, we scared them off. We must go find the Great Lord.” Leader gave Aiden and Mira a thumbs up as he waved his hand, causing his bow to fade away.

Aiden merely shrugged, while Mira had a pensive look on her face.

“Grandmother…” She whispered quietly.

WHOOSH

The entrance activated, teleporting them away.

Not too far from them, a pair of Wizards looked down at an entrance portal that had already activated.

*HIC*

“Whelp, look’s like we’re too late.” Jiro shrugged as he looked at the portal and then around the rest of the shell. Flashes of light were soaring up all along it as the other portals all activated.

“We would have made it to another one if you hadn’t insisted on having a drinking ceremony halfway ther-” Taemin began, his voice full of irritation before he was cut off.

“Calm thyself, young Taemin. Life is about enjoying the little things. Don’t worry, we will simply wait for the Anomalies or your targets to appear outside the Ruins.” Jiro shrugged for a second time as he reached up onto his back, pulling off the fruit alcohol gourd.

“But I-”

“No buts. Besides…” Jiro muttered, rubbing at his chin,

“It might be a good idea to wait and prepare. That man… is not simple.” Jiro’s eyes flashed as he pictured Dorian. In Jiro’s mind, Dorian had an overwhelming appearance, with eyes that seemed as if they could crush anyone with a single glance, authority and power rolling off him in veritable waves.

“Not simple indeed.” Jiro’s mouth twisted in a real frown as the he, the Head of the Diamond Department, one of the strongest Wizards in the 30,000 Worlds, worried about how to handle Dorian should he see him again.

On the opposite side of where Jiro and Taemin were standing, one last group stood inside a portal entrance. A quintet of fighters, all dressed in shining white armor.

The Shade forces of the Church of Light.

“Damn it, Veritas… why did the other portal activate early? We barely managed to capture this one.” The Holy Prince Isaac of the Church of Light griped as he stood in the center of the portal, next to Jasper and Gerulf, the two most reliable fighters he had decided to take with him for this excursion, as well as two other Shade Wizards he’d brought as support.

His question went unanswered.

At the last possible second, as the portal was activating, a flash of movement could be seen.

A black-skinned human appeared out of seemingly nowhere, standing just within range of the Holy Prince’s portal entrance.

“Greetings almsgiver. Pardon this intrusion, but I noticed you had room.” The man spoke aloud, his open white shirt and pants flapping slightly.

Before Isaac or anyone could respond, all of them staring at the man in shock, the entrance activated, teleporting them away.

All around the great Flame Empyrean Turtle, the various portals lit up and activated, transporting dozens of powerful beings into the mysterious Ascension Ruins. The Fate that gathered around these mysterious Ruins in this moment was momentous, carrying with it implications that would shape the entire future of the 30,000 Worlds.

As all of this was going on, just a few dozen miles away, a small monkey let out a satisfied burp.

“Ahhhh. Now that was tasty.” Sun Wukong smiled as he tossed aside a massive, 10 meter long bone that had been stripped completely clean of meat, smacking his lips.

His eyes flashed as he looked out into the distance, where a gargantuan turtle was currently standing, floating atop the Magma Sea.

“Now, now… Time to get down to business.” He clapped his hands together, his body blurring as he began to run towards the giant beast.