Chapter 53: 52. Void and Emptiness

Everyone inside the room stopped speaking, and they stared at me intently. There were many questions that I wanted to ask, but I had to be patient.

I tried to open my status screen, but it didn’t appear. I tried using other features of the system, but nothing worked.

So, the system doesn’t work here? This is odd…

Another mystery was my current form; My body was translucent and I was floating. I wasn’t sure if my current form was because my soul got transported outside of my body or if it was just a projection of my consciousness.

“Alright, everyone,” I said, “First of all, where the hell are we?”

I had some theories, but they all seemed farfetched.

The first possibility was that my soul got transported to some distant pocket dimension, and these ‘Jasons’ were transported from other universes.

The system didn’t work in this case because that pocket dimension must’ve been in a place that wasn’t integrated into the Intergalactic Systematic Union yet.

Another possibility was that I was dreaming, and these people were imaginations that my mind created to allow for creative thinking and multitasking.

However, I wasn’t confident about this one, as these guys had some knowledge that I’d never seen before.

The fight against the Primordial was sufficient proof of this notion, as they knew of a way to numb the painful sensation caused by the flames.

Let’s hope that these guys can answer this question…

One of the Jasons that were sitting in the front row stood up, and he spoke excitedly.

“Hello everyone, I am Jason Stubbs, but I guess you already know that. I work as a Domain Investigator; the closest description of my job using your time’s vocabulary would be a ‘fancy astrophysicist’,” he said as he giggled, “I am not sure if I am the most qualified one in this room to answer this question, but I’ll try my best.”

He raised his hands and moved his fingers in weird patterns. Suddenly, a blue hologram appeared in front of his face, and he moved it upwards so that I could see it better.

“According to what I heard from the other guys, most of the people here are from the twenty-first century,” he said, “Well, I am not. I come from the thirty-fourth century, and the system appeared on our Earth a couple of years ago. My calculations aren’t sophisticated enough to find the exact coordinates of our current location, but this hologram gives an approximated estimate.”

I nodded, then looked at the three-dimensional image in front of me.

There were a great number of black dots on the right side of the screen, and all of them were surrounded by a large sphere.

There was nothing around the sphere; it was completely desolate except for a single red dot.

It was isolated and far from the sphere containing the black dots.

The hologram itself was fascinating, so I inquired about it. Astro Jason said that it was a projection of his imagination and that all of us could do it if we tried to.

I tried to study the hologram, but the information wasn’t sufficient. I gave up and asked Astro Jason to give me a summary.

He sighed and shook his head, then started speaking.

“Each of the black dots is a universe, and the large sphere around them is the Multiverse Border,” he mumbled, “The red dot is our current location, and it’s located outside of the multiverse as you can see. It’s not usual for something to exist in the Void, and this is my first time seeing this phenomenon.”

The Void? The Multiverse?

I asked him about the Multiverse, and he confirmed its existence much to my surprise. He also said that the Void was the name that his people chose for the desolate space outside of the Multiverse.

I still wasn’t sure whether the red dot referred to the location in which this meeting was happening, or if it was the location of Loki’s pocket dimension.

Loki didn’t answer me when I asked him about our location, but I decided to insist once I went back.

I thanked Astro Jason for his help and asked the remaining people if they had any other information about our location.

A certain Jason raised his hand briefly, then spoke.

“You’re supposed to know the answer to that question,” he said, “You’re the Main Jason after all.”

Once again, another one of them calls me ‘Main Jason’…

“What do you mean by the ‘Main’ Jason?” I asked, “And what makes you think that I am the ‘Main’ one?”

The same Jason replied with a displeased tone of voice.

“You’re The Jason, we’re just other Jasons from other places,” he blurted, “We can tell just by looking at you. Even if one of us disappears, you’ll keep on living. However, we’ll die for sure once you bite the dust.”

“Aren’t the people here different versions of me? From other universes or timelines?” I asked.

A certain Jason spoke from afar, and I couldn’t pinpoint his exact location, but he was sitting in the back.

The lighting in this place wasn’t strong enough, thus I wasn’t able to see most of these guys’ faces.

“We’re sure that we have strong ties to you, but we’re just as oblivious to this whole thing as you are,” he said, “I have memories of spending my life as a delinquent, then going to prison for attempted murder. Being locked up is so boring, so I am glad that you invited us.”

So, my Latent Ability summoned for these guys? Does that mean that it summons other versions of myself, and I get to meet them?

I still wasn’t sure whether they were real people from other universes, or if they were just simulations that my ability created.

Nonetheless, I was curious about what the latest Jason said, so I resumed my discussion with him.

“You said that you were glad that I invited you,” I spoke as I furrowed my non-existent eyebrows, “Does that mean that you could’ve rejected my invitation?”

This was an important point, as the usefulness of this ability depended on whether the Jasons were free to indulge me with their presence whenever I needed some help.

“Yeah, we could theoretically reject the invitation, but why would I do that?” he spoke, “I am a prisoner, and this is a priceless opportunity for me to have some time away from that wretched place.”

Right…

This meant that important people like Dr. Jason and Astro Jason might not be present when I needed their help, and only the miserable versions of myself had enough free time to come here for a chat.

Suddenly, I felt strong dizziness, and the surroundings grew hazy. I tried to concentrate, only to feel a sharp headache.

All the Jasons got up from their seats, and they spoke in unison.

“It’s a shame that we have to cut our meeting short, it seems like you’re at your limit. Most of us are busy people, and we only accepted your invitation this time because it was your first time calling The Legion,” they snapped their fingers at the same time, then added, “Nothing is free in this world, Jason. The Legion bids you farewell.”

The Legion…

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I couldn’t concentrate enough to catch everything they said, but that word left a strong impression on me.

I closed my eyes, and a system screen appeared in front of me.

[An Old Acquaintance]

-Loki is not your friend, but he’s not your enemy either. Don’t overshare about your ability unless you have no choice. -Remember; Nothing is free in this world.

 

Is this one of Loki’s pranks?

Suddenly, I recalled a certain memory once I finished reading the message.

‘Nothing is free in this world’, huh?

I’ve heard these words before, from a certain cloaked figure. I wasn’t sure how he could contact me even though the system didn’t work in this place, but I decided to keep his advice in mind.

It’s safer anyways to keep some information to myself, at least until I learned the true motives behind Loki’s help.

Then, I woke up.

‘Loki’ was in front of me, and he was grinning.

*

Jason woke up, and the pentagram on the ground disappeared. A replica of the drawing that was on the ground appeared on the kid’s back, but it was much smaller than the original.

Alright, this should allow him to access his latent ability once he learns how to manipulate mana without the help of the system.

Jason’s was different from usual, and he seemed to be lost in thought. He had an accelerated cardiac rate, and he was breathing faster than normal. He got up and kept staring at the wall in front of him. I waved in front of his face, but he didn’t even blink.

It wasn’t usual for a creature of his power to display these symptoms unless he encountered an incredibly bizarre event.

His latent ability was time-space-based, and using such abilities was mentally taxing.

I wonder what the exact effect of his latent ability is.

I tried to read his thoughts to discover the reason behind his weird reaction, but I wasn’t able to access his memories of the time he spent unconscious. They seemed to be encrypted, and I couldn’t browse them at all.

My inability to do so disappointed me, but the kid could answer my questions anyway.

“You’re feeling anxious kid,” I said, “What’s wrong?”

He flinched, then smiled.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I am just trying to process my memories,” he replied, “Johannes’s memories were already too much for me, and now I have something else on my plate.”

This was an opportunity to ask for more information about his latent ability, but I made sure not to be too pushy.

“Did you meet some kind of Eldritch Horror? Do you even remember what you went through?” I asked.

There was a possibility that a meeting with a scary being stressed him, and there was a chance that his memories got jumbled up like the time he first used the Latent Ability.

“My memories are in a state of disarray,” he mumbled, then added with a stern tone of voice, “Aren’t you going to tell me where we are right now?”

I didn’t understand the reason behind his sudden question, but I decided to tell him anyway.

I am sure he’ll fully cooperate once I answer a couple of his questions.

I snapped my finger, and a certain wall of the room became transparent. The space outside was dark, but there were many beautiful stars.

There was also a giant planet not too far away from us, and I was sure that Jason would recognize it.

He advanced toward the transparent wall, and he opened his eyes widely.

“Is this Earth?” he asked with an amused tone of voice. He had a slight smile on his face, and his eyes twinkled.

“Yes,” I said, “I put my pocket dimension this close to Earth to observe in real-time the events that occurred when everyone was still inside the tutorial.”

Earth didn’t seem that different from afar, as it still had the same look. Many foreign races arrived there when humans were inside the tutorial and they did some renovations. Furthermore, the wildlife was adapting to the system’s arrival.

Jason nodded, then he said that he didn’t remember much about his ability except the fact that he met many people who looked just like him.

I wasn’t satisfied with the information that he gave me, as I felt that he hid some details from me.

“We’ll continue speaking about this subject after you go back to Earth,” I said, “Once you take off your clothes, you’ll see a new tattoo on your back. It’s related to your Latent Ability, so don’t worry about it too much.”

“For real! You’re sending me back to Earth?” He asked excitedly.

“Of course!” I replied.

Then, I snapped my fingers and he was gone.

I am sure he’ll like the place that I sent him to.

#

Special shoutout to:

chris

Water Dragon

GenericKane

Bladesunder

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