The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In A Time Loop

“I feel close to grasping something about time, I’m sure of it!” Orodan declared as every vein in his body bulged under the mental strain, and his eyes, ears and nose bled. “I’m just missing a part of the puzzle, I don’t know what, but once I have it, I can grasp the meaning of time.

“I must admit human… at first I believed you talentless when it came to time, but perhaps thought your admirable work ethic and efforts would make up the difference,” the dragon said. “Yet, I see you’re talented in strange aspects of it.”

For the past four months Orodan had silently worked on understanding chronomancy. He simply had made no gains and that frustrated him to the point that he actively attempted to forget about it outside of training with Kultuanir, but he hadn’t ignored the time arts throughout this time.

But what were these strange aspects Kultuanir was referring to? That would be Orodan’s discovery that the time orb itself wasn’t manipulating time fully. It was a bold declaration that made the patriarch of the Time Wind dragon flight look at him as though Orodan was stupid, but it made sense!

What was time?

Orodan himself didn’t have the answer yet, but he’d made a discovery while playing with one of the reversal time fields generated by the orb. Throwing anything into the field would simply throw it back out, in the exact arc that it came in. However, Orodan discovered that breaking the apple mid-flight didn’t cause the time field to reverse the apple to a pristine state upon the reverse.

Kultuanir had of course said that the time orb was a mere training tool, not akin to actual chronomancers who could do such things. Indeed, Orodan had seen teams of chronomancers, healers and soul specialists in action where they could revert time, heal and bind the soul. A chronomancer of true power wouldn’t need supporting healers and soul specialists, and the only reason his foes in that battle had, was due to the prohibitive energy costs of using only chronomancy to do the job of resurrecting someone.

But, that Orodan had discovered this and then ruminated on it well enough to conduct numerous other experiments which exposed the shortcomings of the time orb, had left Kultuanir impressed. And most importantly, Orodan was beginning to understand something critical about the flow of time.

“This… it’s a mere object,” Orodan said. “Right from the beginning I feel this method of training isn’t as fruitful as it could be.”

“Not like that… what I mean is, throughout my training I’ve noticed a few things about time; specifically, when it comes to souls,” Orodan said. “Attempting to see the timeline of an object is easy, but the soul, it has a curious pathway into the timeline. As though by association it can connect to many things in a timeline.”

“An… intriguing analysis,” Kultuanir said, now seeming very interested in what he had to say. “And just how have you come upon this hypothesis of yours?”

“Well, I’ve slowly begun to grasp how time fields work, but even beyond that, how objects themselves fit into the flow of time. An object has a past as materials, energy was introduced or removed at different points, and its current state is a combination of many events. I have to directly examine an object to see its timeline and potentially alter it,” Orodan explained. “But my soul… it seems to connect to things outside of my purview, I don’t have even the first level of Time Mastery, but I feel there is something unique about the soul.”

“Hrm… talented indeed,” Kultuanir said. “Listen closely, for this is mere hypothesis on my end as well. But I too have experimented over the centuries and come to learn that souls function differently in the flow of time. Material objects, no matter how much energy they have, act as mere grains of sand flowing along the river, to be dragged along while having no agency or connection. But souls… I’ve found that souls act more like a net, with various connections to other souls and points in time. In fact, a feat I’m famous for is finding the Sapphire Gale patriarch’s sentimental treasure simply by rewinding time. The feat may seem godly… but it’s not quite as difficult as you would think once you focus on the soul…”

“And view the connections it has in the flows of time,” Orodan finished. “I see… maybe focusing upon that is what will lead me to Time Mastery.”

“Hahaha! It is the destiny of the young to aim high,” Kultuanir said with a bellowing laugh. “You must temper your expectations Orodan Wainwright. You are doubtlessly a prodigy, but even I can make a very limited glimpse into the flow of time through focusing upon a soul. It is a colossal effort, and you would be best served focusing on the fundamentals first.”

Unfortunately, this would be their last session before the upcoming events Orodan would be involved in which would inevitably leave him no more time in this loop. He was close though, and Orodan felt he needed just a bit more time to achieve what he sought.

That, or a breakthrough in the midst of chaos.

“Wow… I’ve never seen such dazzling lights. Their buildings are so pretty!” Aliya gushed. “Can we sample some of the street vendors?”

Orodan couldn’t blame her for being impressed. After all, at one time, he too was a bumpkin from Ogdenborough impressed by the sight of the first city he’d seen up north in Guzuhar. And Marasthus was a beautiful city, even if the splendor and exotic allure was played up a bit to attract tourists like Aliya.

“Catch,” Orodan said as he threw a fat purse which jingled as it sailed through the air. “I forget if it’s a hundred or two hundred gold coins in there… go wild.”

“T-teacher…! This is far too much gold! I’ll be robbed!” Aliya protested.

“Consider it training then. Spend your gold without getting robbed or scammed,” Orodan suggested. “Have fun!”

As he said this, he gave Aliya a gentle shove towards the nearest woman hawking her wares, and the merchant had a greedy look in her eyes as his student was pushed towards her stall first.

“An unorthodox form of training… shall I engage in it too, Teacher?” Zukelmux asked.

“Amusing as it would be, there’s no need for that. You’re too strong for anyone on the street to mess with and the benefits would be slim,” Orodan said. “Besides, there’s no true risk when the city’s guards and watchers are all monitoring her.”

“Of course you detected them, why am I not surprised? That skill of yours is just unfair,” Vespidia remarked.

“You only complain because it nullifies your ability to sneak around unseen,” Orodan retorted. “Sorry for ruining your fun.”

Aliya would be fine. Marasthus and all major cities in general were incredibly safe when guards, watchers and Elite-level response was prepared to respond at a moment’s notice. Master and Grandmaster-level backup was also a communications amulet away if a threat proved too dire. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that a murder in a large city was virtually unheard of except if sanctioned by a noble house. Unless explicitly told to look away by their betters, the guards and watchers of a city meant that crime was kept to certain standards, and even then, things were occasionally cleaned up a few times a year.

Thugs, street rats and organized crime unconnected to nobility weren’t a thing in major cities. Not when Adept-level guards and watchers with detection and perception skills existed and a high-level of staffing was maintained. Doubly so when important figures and their guests arrived for the Inter-Academy Tournament. The last thing the Kingdom of Shivenduran wanted were political tensions and accusations of incompetence if foreigners and tourists were victims of crime on their watch.

“And how does this benefit her then?” Vespidia asked.

“Well, sometimes the belief that you’re in trouble can cause you to invite trouble itself,” Orodan explained, recalling his own delinquent youth spent getting into problems. “I often learned a lot in those moments. Well… after I made it out alive.”

Compared to his life where he had no safety net, Aliya’s supervised training wasn’t quite the same. Her ties to him meant nobody would dare harm her. And it went unsaid that Orodan kept her in his Vision of Purity and was a teleport away.

“You and your weird methods of training,” Vespidia replied. “Although I can’t deny it’s effective.”

“Adversity can be a great teacher… if one survives it. Anyhow, looking forward to the fights, Zukelmux?” Orodan asked. “You’re a preferred spot holder so you’ll be going through a special elimination event.”

The Divine Tower Ascension, but Orodan wouldn’t spoil that.

“And might I add, you humiliated the Cosanox family by acting to ensure it. You didn’t have to threaten the administrators and Kalemar himself…” Vespidia said, not with disapproval but amusement. “Primon Cosanox will actually have to fight his way up fairly instead of relying on family connections to secure a preferred spot.”

“Feh… Zukelmux doesn’t need such advantages,” Orodan immediately declared, causing his student’s face to take on a look of pride. “But it was the principle of the matter. An unfortunate number of people wanted to deny him his due based on his race; all I did was ask those people to face my blade. A simple negotiation. Anyhow, Zukelmux?”

The goblin was the undisputed second strongest student on Novar’s Peak Academy after Vespidia. He’d already defeated Primon Cosanox as part of his series of fights to silence his detractors when he’d started the academy. His student more than deserved the preferred spot, even if he didn’t need it.

“Teacher, I… wish to fight someone in particular,” Zukelmux said. “Although I do not know if I’ll get the opportunity.”

“Oh? Who’s this?” Orodan asked. And he had a suspicion who, based on what he’d seen in Zukelmux’s memories.

“Yarner Honeybrook, I wish to test my spear and shield against him,” his student said. “That halfling’s clan is part of the alliance responsible for the destruction of my village.”

“He’s quite strong Zukelmux… he can also jump a tier to fight at the peak of the Master-level,” Orodan said. “He’s a powerful wrestler and furious in combat. It’ll be a difficult battle, but aside from the outliers who fight at the Grandmaster-level, you’re the only one with a good chance of beating him.”

He had faith in his student, but still felt it necessary to warn Zukelmux of his chosen nemesis’s capabilities.

“I must… I intend to look him in the eye and ask about what occurred that day, fourteen years ago,” Zukelmux said.

“You realize he’s similar in age to you, yes? It would be unfair to lump the sins of his forebears onto him, no?” Orodan asked, and Zukelmux begrudgingly nodded. “Although if he acts like an abrasive fool, feel free to teach him a lesson.”

With that said, the trio continued towards the arena and Zukelmux made a stop at a weapons shop, wanting to simply peruse their wares in a form of window shopping. Orodan was quite attached to his loyal sword and shield which he started each loop with, and Vespidia was happy with her dual daggers. Still, he spent a few minutes looking at the crafts of this Elite-level blacksmith and feeling envious of how talented she was when she gleefully told him she was only twenty.

Some people had all the luck.

He and Vespidia left Zukelmux to it as they walked out.

“I’m not worried about the elimination round for preferred spot holders,” Orodan said. “But there’s a good chance you face someone like Akelrim Vedharna before you get to fight Othorion. When it comes to-”

“Yes, yes. He can ride flying swords, projects a lethal sword light and can array multiple in a formation to devastating effect,” Vespidia chanted. “His Majesty has fought one such transmigrator before and that one also used the sword in a similar manner.”

In the past, it would’ve sounded shocking to Orodan, that beings from other worlds would make their way unto theirs. But the subject of Orodan’s second Quest was a being empowered by otherworldly Eldritch Gods. He had also encountered a Dwarven God who held influence over other worlds, and had been to a fallen world, the moon.

By this point, the fact that other worlds existed wasn’t anything earth-shaking for Orodan. Who knew if one loop, he would be the one exploring another world?

“I think your combat style should match up well against his,” Orodan said. “Last time we fought, he was probably the second-best melee specialist in the Tournament after me, ignoring the elf when he calls upon the divine. Fighting him head-to-head would be a poor idea… but again, you’re not someone who does that, are you?”

“Not at all,” she gleefully replied. “Unlike you, he doesn’t have the ability to see past my silent methods. So, I’ll happily stab him in the back all day.”

A part of Orodan slightly rankled at the strategy, but that was simply the bull-headed fool within who demanded a toe-to-toe battle against every opponent. Not everyone was Orodan Wainwright, and Vespidia might even best Akelrim easier than Orodan had in the last long loop.

“Fair enough, you’d know your strategy best, anyhow the arena should be nearby so-”

His Vision of Purity caught it, and none of the passersby nor Vespidia herself could react in time as the entirety of his might was concentrated onto Teleportation.

[Teleportation 11 → Teleportation 12]

[Space Mastery 37 → Space Mastery 38]

The anti-teleportation wards of Marasthus were nothing before him. Space was practically eviscerated as he overpowered the wards and caught the backhand about to reach Aliya.

Othorion Evertree’s eyes widened in fear as his arm was seized. The elf must’ve been briefed about Orodan.

Multiple enchanted items on Othorion’s body went off, akin to alarms, and the next instant, portals powered by divine energy opened up within the store they were in.

The Avatars of Cithrel and Athandelu were glaring at him, eyes glowing with divine power.

Behind Orodan, Aliya looked utterly terrified, and the shopkeepers were fleeing. Nearby he could sense members of the city guard about to intervene, but they couldn’t have prevented the first blow from being struck. Orodan did.

“Orodan Wainwright, I would ask that you unhand him,” Cithrel demanded.

“Your false Avatar was about to slap my student, for what?” Orodan asked as he threw Othorion’s offending hand back towards him with enough force to make the elf stumble back a step. “I would appreciate an answer.”

“Wait, allow me to apologize!” Othorion immediately exclaimed. “You are the Orodan Wainwright I’ve heard of? I apologize, I hadn’t intended to offend you. I did not recognize that this girl was your student. She can have the rare ingredient she was attempting to buy, in fact allow me to buy it for her.”

What a shift in tone.

On one hand, Orodan took issue with the fact that Othorion would try and backhand a child in an attempt to bully them out of buying something. But on the other hand, conflict with Othorion involved battle with the elven Avatars, which would likely destroy the entirety of the Kingdom of Shivenduran and cause an international incident of titanic proportions.

Orodan cared not about causing international events, but about the innocent lives that would be lost in the collateral.

Whether or not Eldiron had briefed Othorion about the time loops, the elf had clearly been instructed to avoid offending Orodan. He could appreciate the attempt at an apology, even if he felt Othorion was attempting to make amends for the wrong reasons.

“Very well… I’m not in the habit of aggravating things when people seek peace,” Orodan said. “That being said, your apology shouldn’t be directed towards me, but my student. Aliya, what say you?”

“I… I can accept this, Teacher,” Aliya said, her voice trembling. Orodan wasn’t stupid enough to miss the fear in her voice and her concern for him. She was essentially swallowing the grievance if only Orodan needn’t be drawn into conflict. After all, to her the elven Avatars looked to be terrifying individuals.

“Are you sure?” Orodan slowly asked. “Yes, these two are tough, but I could take them. Although, with plenty of collateral damage.”

It wasn’t exactly bragging to say so, and neither of the two elven Gods took offense to his words. They’d likely seen scrying eye footage of his fight against Thavri Grimbreaker. Yes, these two elven Avatars were strong: stronger than any Avatar of the Prime Five. But utilizing primarily divine energy against Orodan Wainwright, was a doomed endeavor.

“I… I’m sure Teacher,” Aliya said. “I don’t want to see the city destroyed.”

Othorion Evertree’s spot in Orodan’s mental hierarchy of respect had dropped a considerable amount from this incident. While he wouldn’t say he disliked the elves in particular; Othorion himself was another matter. How one acted when they held all the power was telling of their character. Prior to Orodan’s arrival, the elf was all too happy to bully Aliya.

Orodan had done some bad things, including killing, experimentation on prisoners guilty of heinous crimes and at times giving people a beating to get his way. He certainly wouldn’t go around giving anyone a lecture on morality. A genuine apology and self-reflection might’ve been too much to expect, but hells, at the very least he would’ve had more respect for Othorion if the elf doubled down and arrogantly stood by his bullying. Apologizing simply because Orodan was more powerful was weak and an act of burial rather than resolution.

But he supposed other people didn’t have a time loop. And most folks beside himself had a self-preservation instinct.

“Then we can consider this matter dropped I hope?” Cithrel asked. “You have my apologies for Othorion acting in such an unbefitting manner. He will be disciplined accordingly for failing to act as a warrior of Aldenil should.”

“Yes, that will suffice. I appreciate your apology,” Orodan said.

Othorion and the two elven Avatars took their leave, and Orodan wondered if he’d scared the elves off from allowing Othorion to compete. But it seemed they had their countermeasures prepared given just how astonishingly quickly they’d teleported into Marasthus.

In truth, the elves weren’t the worst people, and he felt slightly bad about planning to cause them trouble. They’d certainly done him no wrong. But he’d given Vespidia his word, and even Cithrel’s unnamed husband seemingly disagreed with the length of Faraine’s ‘punishment’. He would have to free the captive Goddess if only to see what the story was for himself.

He turned around and looked at his wide-eyed and trembling student.

“All this mess simply because I threw you a sack of gold,” Orodan said with an amused smile on his face. “What am I to do with you?”

“Teacher, I’m so sorry! I just wanted to buy-”

A hand atop her head interrupted Aliya.

“I’m not angry or displeased, Aliya,” Orodan reassured with a smile as he ruffled her hair. “I’m glad you’re okay is all. And besides, how else will you learn important life lessons if you aren’t getting into trouble? Why… I got up to so much trouble at your age…”

Left unsaid was that he’d killed someone by the time he was her age, but better not to relay that lesson. It was an act borne of desperation.

“Still, I should’ve represented you better!” she exclaimed as she fought his hand off like an angry kitten. “My mother and father would be so angry at me if they knew how I offended someone of his stature. Were… were those two really Gods?”

“Yes, yes they were,” Orodan replied. “And don’t you spout any nonsense about ‘representing’ me, I don’t need that. Rather, the lesson you learned from this is important, isn’t it? Don’t offend anyone unless you’re strong enough to deal with the consequences.”

[Teaching 25 → Teaching 26]

Truly… Orodan felt like a sage.

“Ironic coming from you,” Vespidia interjected as she walked inside, having caught up. “Given how many people you offend.”

Never mind that.

“Well, as the saying goes… do as I say and not as I do,” Orodan said, attempting to preserve his pride and maintain his aura of wisdom. “Ahem… anyways, what were you trying to even get?”

“A rare ingredient, I don’t know what you see in it,” Aliya said as her face warped into a disgusted expression. “Scorpionfly stingers, I was trying to buy some for you and Zukelmux to eat since you kept talking about using it in a soup. Not that I want any of that… yuck.”

A genuine smile came onto his face.

Here he’d given her a fat purse filled with gold coins enough to buy expensive enchanted items, and she decided to spend the gold on him. She’d even attempted to stand her ground against Othorion Evertree for it. He was touched.

“Foolish student of mine…” Orodan reprimanded, but it was with a fond tone. “That money is for you to spend, now go spoil yourself properly. Consider it an order from your teacher. I doubt anyone else in the city will bother you after this.”

Aliya nodded and darted off, likely to peruse some of the shinier wares he’d seen her eying earlier. It was just him and Vespidia. The city watch had resumed monitoring from a distance once they realized no combat was imminent.

Frankly, Orodan was surprised none of Inuan’s Prime Five had appeared as response to the elven Gods descending upon the continent in Avatar form. But… in a sense, this time he was the Inuanan response. Perhaps upon seeing him handle the situation they’d felt their interference unnecessary?

“One good thing that’s come of this… is the knowledge that those two will respond extremely quickly to any attempts to interfere against Othorion Evertree,” Vespidia said. “Even if you wanted, you couldn’t interfere and force him to call upon Faraine. Cithrel and Athandelu would immediately descend.”

“Yes… I concur. This wasn’t the case in my last long loop, but I think I’ve drawn too much attention to myself and my capabilities this time. Wariness of me has made Eldiron monitor him more closely,” Orodan replied. “It really is up to you then, Vespidia. I hope you’re ready because the window of opportunity between me getting involved and your role… will be quite slim.”

“I’ll be ready… I have to be,” she replied.

In any case, dwelling on their upcoming attempt to free Faraine could come for later. For now, the introduction and initial rounds of the Inter-Academy Tournament were coming up.

Aliya was off in the competitor’s area as a guest of Zukelmux, undoubtedly having fun and hassling the goblin with questions as she watched the fights. Next to Orodan, was Vespidia.

The amplified sound of the announcer’s voice rang loud and clear.

“Winner! Mahari Ilya Vedharna defeats Kastirya Asonueva! I haven’t seen a mage pull a win like that in years!”

A part of Orodan hurt inside, and Pain Resistance didn’t dull it.

This was… or had been, his friend.

Mahari had of course bested Kastirya just like she had in the last long loop. With or without Orodan’s presence she was simply talented enough to do so. In similar fashion to last time, Mahari had launched only fire spells towards Bluefire’s second strongest student, who was a chronomancer.

The chronomancer’s time barrier had frozen all the fire spells in time, and just as the time barrier was reversed for them to be sent back towards Mahari… Orodan’s speed casting friend had sent an ice spell towards the barrier, causing an explosion of steam…

…which she used as cover to approach the chronomancer and beat her bloody with her fists. An ingenious strategy, and a style of fighting Orodan greatly respected her for.

“What a fight! Now that’s a talented mage if I ever saw one! Unlike that pathetic chronomancer who folded at the first taste of actual combat,” the commentator exclaimed.

“But Mister Mendax…! That chronomancer was Bluefire Academy’s second strongest student! For her to be bested means-”

Orodan tuned out the annoying commentators. For some reason, Vespidia loved the stupid and overly exaggerated commentary, and her face was red with suppressed laughter at every dumb word. As a result, he’d gone along with her and chosen a seat right behind the commentary team, much to his annoyance.

If Orodan had hobbies he enjoyed such as Cooking and training his Gourmand skill, then he could respect the fact that she enjoyed something silly as well. If anything, it showed another side to the zealous reincarnator assassin who was driven by vendetta to free her imprisoned Goddess.

She cast a silencing bubble around the two of them.

“I still find it strange that you threatened the commentary team over this girl,” Vespidia said. “With how you’ve been watching her fights… were you two close the last time?”

Orodan shook his head.

“Not in the way you’re thinking,” he clarified. “She was like a little sister to me, and I remember facing her and pushing her till she developed the Elemental Fist skill.”

“A Legendary rarity skill… not bad,” Vespidia replied. “She is quite talented and can punch well above what her age and skill levels would indicate. Still, it’s good to hear you aren’t in the habit of picking up lovers using your time loops. I can only imagine how painful that might be.”

“Nothing beyond mere physical affairs. And I can’t say I felt much for either of those people,” Orodan replied. “Nowadays I find my interest in such things has been waning. The thrill of a good battle beats any tryst in the night.”

“Good, I’m honestly relieved to know there was nothing between us,” Vespidia said. “Given how much time you spend with me, I admit I was worried we’d had something in a prior loop of yours and helping me was you attempting to feel better. Not that I’d ever be disloyal to my fallen wife, but a time loop does raise the question regardless.”

“Do you think I go around spending hundreds of loops attempting to learn peoples’ secrets in an attempt to seduce them? Well, you needn’t worry, even if I did, a reincarnated former elf granny like you isn’t exactly my type,” Orodan retorted, and then casually ducked her subsequent fist. “A friend though? I admit you’re becoming something of that sort.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t protest the label.

The afterlife did exist, and reincarnators often spoke of navigating the natural pull their souls felt upon death and escaping it. But it was rarer to meet someone like her who had a wife waiting for her in the next life.

Malzim managed the afterlife and the deceased for Inuan, while Guzuhar and Eldiron had their own Gods managing the souls of the departed.

“How does that work? I assume your wife is from the elven continent, yes?” Orodan asked and she nodded. “Then… would angering the Gods of Eldiron not make your journey into the afterlife difficult? What’s to say they haven’t held your wife’s soul hostage either?”

“A fair concern, but the Gods’ control over the afterlife is less absolute than you would think,” she answered. “Aside from ferrying the departed souls, there isn’t very much the divines are capable of doing to locate specific ones. Long as I pass naturally and I’m not near one of their Avatars when I die, I should be fine.”

It definitely added a layer of risk to Vespidia’s life. The Gods of Eldiron knew that she sought to free Faraine and would not be merciful if they managed to capture her soul. Orodan was spared such concerns due to being in a time loop, and even if he wasn’t, his current soul power meant no Gods could truly capture him before they were drained dry of their power in the attempt.

“Still a lot of risk; your Goddess must mean a lot to you,” Orodan said. “For you to crawl back to the land of the living just to try and free her.”

“I wasn’t always a Grandmaster,” Vespidia said. “Once upon a time, I was an angry young warrior with temper issues who would act without thinking. Well… I wasn’t as good as I thought and failed spectacularly during a critical rite of passage, leading to me being mocked and ostracized. Faraine… despite my failure, chose me as worthy of being host to her Avatar. She was there for me growing up.”

“Eh? How old were you? The Avatar hosts I know of are all old fogeys,” Orodan said.

“I was but twenty years of age when chosen as her host,” Vespidia replied, much to Orodan’s shock. “Yes, I know… some called me a spoiled child, one who had everything handed to her. But I proved myself many times over once chosen for the honor. In a sense, you and I have that much in common that we were both the recipients of power beyond our fathoming at a young age. I wonder how that affected me, being host to a Goddess when I was but an Adept.”

“Who knows? I’ve always craved a good fight,” Orodan replied. “I admit the time loops have forced me to see things a certain way, but at core… I haven’t really changed. My methods of getting a proper battle have evolved, but the principal desire still remains. Similarly, at core, have you really changed?”

“Oh? Do elaborate,” Vespidia said. “Wisdom from the notoriously bull-headed Orodan Wainwright, this should be good.”

“Look at how you lost your temper and lashed out during that meeting we had with the elves under the Dokuhan Mountains,” Orodan said, although he raised his hands to stop Vespidia when she looked ready to explode. “Not that I’m criticizing it; I’ll always respect someone picking a fight after all.”

“Then what are you trying to say?” she asked with a frown on her face. “If you’re trying to pick a fight, you’re doing a good job of it.”

“Precisely! Having the time loops foisted onto me changed me, yes, but it didn’t change who I was at core,” Orodan explained. “I still pick fights, but I simply do it at a higher level and in stupider ways. Similarly, you went from getting angry at Adepts to now getting angry and facing near vaporization from an Avatar. So did you really change despite all that power?”

Vespidia actually looked thoughtful as he said so, and Orodan felt wise beyond his years.

“So, what you’re saying is, you’re still a meat-headed fool, except in more elaborate ways?”

“Yes, exactly! Er… wait…”

Vespidia laughed at him, and Orodan sighed and returned to watching the matches.

“Winner! Yarner Honeybrook defeats Primon Cosanox! What a one-sided battle! He was crushed in a single slam!”

“Hahaha! What did I tell you?! This impotent little chronomancer just had that look of someone used to weaselling their way into things via family connections and nepotism. The moment he was faced with a true warrior he folded like a twig!”

“M-mister Mendax! Primon Cosanox is from noble house Cosanox in the empire! Surely his defeat simply means Yarner Honeybrook is simply too strong!?”

“Bah! Noble house Cosanox isn’t worth the cloth their banner’s set upon! With a chronomancer like that bearing their name… the boy might as well use those abilities to clean the privy in my house!”

Scathing and outrageous commentary for the loser as usual. But, brutal as the criticism was, it did contain a hint of truth. His student had bested Primon Cosanox in three separate duels at Novar’s Peak Academy, and each time the aspiring chronomancer had eaten dirt and gotten angrier for it. In the last long loop, Primon was one of the preferred spot holders for Novar’s Peak Academy, and while he’d done well and earned his spot last time, it wasn’t to be this time. This loop, he’d had to fight from the bottom and unfortunately ran into Yarner Honeybrook.

Time passed.

Vespidia left to go join the competitors in their area and more or less the same combatants passed through to the later rounds as they had in the last long loop. And before they knew it, the Divine Tower Ascension event was upon them.

“We’ve had some incredible fights thus far, but now before the eliminator round it’s time to play the surprise game to determine which two preferred spot holders will get knocked out of the tournament entirely!”

The announcer spoke, and the crowd’s raucous cheers erupted. With Vespidia’s departure, Orodan decided to move atop the roof of the Grand Arena of Marasthus, away from the clamor of the crowd and most importantly, away from the dumb commentary team.

With some free space away from onlookers Zaessythra decided to come out. Even if people saw a flying book, at a distance they’d simply think it an eccentric enchanted item and not a sapient being trapped within a phylactery.

“So…”

“So? I wasn’t aware we were on speaking terms after you gave me the cold shoulder since our last conversation,” Orodan replied. “Hello, Zaessythra.”

“Hmmph! Don’t think to chide me, boy,” she spat. “I still maintain that you’re an idiot beyond all idiots. However, I’ve come to realize that getting you to change your mind when you’re truly stubborn about something is impossible.”

“I’m simply making note of who ruined your life and everything you had,” Orodan retorted. “I understand you being worried for me, but I thought you’d be happy that I have this Hegemony on my list.”

“As I said before, do as you will,” she replied. “I only hope the consequences you suffer from provoking their ire aren’t beyond your ability to handle.”

The topic was put to the side after that, and they bantered and passed the time until the lineup for the Divine Tower was standing at the ready through scrying eye footage.

His student Zukelmux was among them, and Orodan had no doubts whatsoever about his student’s ability to place in the top four of this event. While he wasn’t expecting Zukelmux to beat any of the top contestants who could fight with the power of Grandmasters, he could comfortably beat every other student in attendance, save for the halfling he had an eye on.

The tower looked the same, as it did last time, except with one minor difference.

A centipede of the Elite-level guarding the gate. It looked somewhat similar to some of the Elite-level centipedes he’d fought during his descent towards the energy well in Jerestir in the last long loop. Perhaps the tower randomly generated guardians?

As Orodan watched Vespidia execute it in a single blow, he couldn’t dwell on it much. But as time went on, his suspicions began to be aroused.

“You have a frown on your face… something the matter?” Zaessythra asked.

“The creatures within the tower are different from when I was fighting in the last long loop,” Orodan said.

“Perhaps the tower changes guardians randomly? Even in my time this tower was an enigma often theorized about,” she offered. “Not everything in a time loop will be the same.”

Orodan accepted it, but still had lingering doubts in the back of his mind. And they were proven correct within the next few minutes as the scrying eye orb footage showed Vespidia fighting and killing something incredibly fast.

Too fast for anyone else, but Orodan’s eyes were quick.

He wouldn’t miss the Master-level hundred-headed sea serpent she just slew. It was a hydra, one whose teal energy looked shockingly similar to the one he’d tussled with so long ago in the Sea of Uxumar when traveling to Guzuhar for the very first time.

While he could respect Vespidia attempting to speedrun the tower like he had, at the moment Orodan’s concerns lay elsewhere. As the elven reincarnator clashed against a familiar Depths Worm, Orodan’s suspicions grew further.

“Your frown’s deepened even further…” she said. “You’ll get wrinkles on your forehead if-”

“This shouldn’t be possible. How… how does the tower remember the foes I’ve fought?” Orodan asked, his eyes wide. “That’s clearly a monster I’ve fought. The Death Roach she’s fighting now as well! Who built this? Zaessythra? Was this tower present in your time?”

“It was… even back then people thought it an enigma and none knew which God built it,” she explained. “The people of our sister world often proposed wild theories about it.”

“It makes no sense… it runs on divine energy, yet it goes beyond the scope of what any Gods I’ve seen should be capable of,” Orodan said. “Somehow, this tower remembers things that I’ve fought. Across the loops!”

Even she was silent as they both absorbed the information.

Orodan had to see it for himself, perhaps then he could get a better explanation.

He’d already been to the divine tower in his last long loop, so a quick Teleportation brought him outside of it. Two Grandmaster-level observers looked at him in recognition and curiosity.

“Ah, Orodan Wainwright? To what do we owe this pleasure?” one of them asked.

“Apologies, I must study this tower closely,” he replied, wasting no time with pleasantries.

If they were offended, they didn’t let it show.

Vision of Purity examined it closely, and he could see all manner of his prior foes within, with a familiar Eldritch-corrupted Void Horror at the top. Admittedly, none of the enemies were above the single-Grandmaster level, which made him worry less for Vespidia and Zukelmux. Orodan had suspected it last time as well, but the Arch-Devil he’d fought was also a mere single-Grandmaster, powerful as it was. But he had a feeling the actual slain Arch-Devil in reality was stronger than the re-creation the tower provided.

And the base of the tower…

“My detection cannot see the end of it…” Orodan said. “How deep does this tower go beneath the earth?”

“Ah, interested in the divine tower? Even the ancient Hasmathorians were most intrigued by it,” one of the old Grandmasters spoke. “Some even worshipped it, treating it as divine as the Gods themselves. Any damage within is repaired by the next day, and the actual bounds of the tower are indestructible according to records of Gods attempting to smite it down. Some theorize it goes all the way down to the abyssal depths.”

“I see… thank you for the knowledge,” Orodan said. “I don’t suppose there are any records of which God made it?”

“None that we’re aware of, Mister Wainwright,” the man replied.

In fact, Orodan suspected the top half of the tower might be a ruse, meant to deceive people into thinking it was just divine. Hells, he had thought so too in his last loop. Just at the very edge of Vision of Purity’s range… Orodan began to ‘detect’ familiar System glyphs further down the divine tower’s foundation. That it was surrounded by rock allowed Orodan to contrast it with Vision of Purity and make out the familiar symbols of the System.

This then, was an enigma, not just to Zaessythra and the ancient Hasmathorians, but to Orodan as well. Just what was the divine tower? If it truly was related to the System in some way and went as deep as Alastaia’s world core… who even made it? From the tip of the tower, it looked as though someone angrily hurled a javelin into the world.

Orodan was slightly concerned about Vespidia facing the Eldritch ‘Avatar’, but the eldritch energy it used was thankfully the non-corruptive kind, much like that one Minotaur he’d fought in the abyssal depths.

Two hours of battle passed, and Orodan had to admit, if anything proved how strong the Eldritch Avatar was…

…it was the fact that even re-created as a single-Grandmaster, every single competitor within the tower working together, had still just barely won.

Vespidia looked near-death, Othorion looked close to overdrawing his divine power, and Akelrim’s energy was almost spent.

If a de-powered re-creation was so potent, then Orodan would need his all for the real thing coming down in two weeks.

“I can’t believe how unfairly powerful that monster is… how are we supposed to face it in actuality?” Vespidia asked. “And how is the tower able to re-create foes from your past loops? Even on Eldiron it was an enigma to be studied and one of the reasons the council of Aldenil has been pushing to expand their influence on Inuan.”

“As for fighting it… let’s hope Balastion’s plan works and our combined strength is enough,” Orodan replied. “And believe me, I’m wondering the same thing about the tower. I plan on investigating it in the future.”

Vespidia hummed in assent as she went off to the fighter’s area.

She’d naturally come in first during the Divine Tower Ascension, with Akelrim Vedharna coming in second, and Othorion Evertree coming in third. Naturally, his student Zukelmux had come in fourth on the rankings, which was no surprise since he was the strongest contestant present who wasn’t a reincarnator, transmigrator or one who relied on divine power.

The halfling would be a tough fight, but Orodan had faith in Zukelmux to succeed. They’d trained extensively after all.

The Divine Tower Ascension was over, and now, it was time for the eliminator round, where the contestants from the lower brackets would face the eight remaining preferred spot holders.

The first match of the eliminators was Mahari against the other preferred spot holder from Goldleaf Academy.

Mahari started off the battle with her usual blitz of speed-cast spells, and to his credit the rapier-wielding elf stood his ground and calmly evaded all of her spells before closing in and holding the tip of his weapon to her throat. Excellent in combat as Mahari was, fighting a tier-jumping melee specialist who could evade spells seemed to be her limit for the moment.

Zukelmux won his match against Elidibus Astarti by rushing the spirit mage quickly and not giving the elemental spirits much chance to get to work. Yes, the young spirit mage from Rubywater could summon a Master-level spirit, but that mattered little when his opponent was a goblin warrior capable of jumping a tier to fight at the peak of the Master-level.

Jegdalo Mezzer ravaged the powered armor wearing dwarf once more, Vespidia eliminated her opponent as soon as the match started, and both Akelrim and Othorion won their matches easily. Yarner Honeybrook and one other contestant, a female dwarf abusing alchemy, advanced as well, but Orodan had the feeling the dwarf would be mere cannon fodder for stronger opponents.

The hustle and bustle of the tournament went on, and soon, the quarterfinals approached.

The first match would be Yarner Honeybrook against Zukelmux, and Orodan watched as his student had a grim look in his eyes and proceeded onto the arena ready to inflict violence.

“For the first match of the quarterfinals, we have the mighty goblin warrior who has defied all expectations, Zukelmux of Novar’s Peak Academy! Facing him, from Rubywater Academy, will be the strongest halfling seen in generations! Yarner Honeybrook, hope of Clan Carrotfoot and the halfling association!”

Both fighters glared at one another as they approached, and while Orodan remembered Yarner as being a pleasant warrior, he had an ugly look on his face as he approached Zukelmux. In turn, his student also held nothing but violent intentions towards the halfling.

Orodan saw lips moving and from the expressions on both faces, the words exchanged hadn’t been pleasant.

Oh well, a fight was always a good method of resolving differences. In Orodan’s opinion anyways.

“Begin!”

Both fighters barely waited for the announcement to finish before a furious clash occurred in the center of the arena. Yarner shot out punches, kicks, and Zukelmux met the halfling’s flurry with spear thrusts and shield bashes. Ironically, his student had the actual Shield Bash skill, while Orodan himself did not. Mainly because he used All-Strikes with his shield and saw no need for it.

The exchange continued for a full minute, and it soon became apparent that Zukelmux was superior in a pure trade of blows, which of course meant that Yarner would want to take the fight where the halfling felt most comfortable. The ground.

Yarner Honeybrook shot in low for a double-leg takedown…

…only to have Zukelmux sprawl out atop him and use his shield to pin one of his arms to the ground as the takedown attempt had exposed the halfling.

“Nicely done!” Orodan cheered.

Of course, Zukelmux knew how to defend against someone with a high-level Wrestling skill. It was something they’d worked on extensively.

While the goblin’s own Wrestling skill was near-Elite, in combination with the Combat Mastery Orodan had painstakingly forced him to develop, and Orodan’s own tutelage regarding defending against Wrestling… his student had no trouble fending off Yarner’s attempts to grapple him to the ground.

A second attempt was made, which was followed by a third, and the numerous blows Yarner suffered from Zukelmux’s spear and shield during his takedown attempts finally dissuaded the halfling. In fact, in attempting takedowns and suffering such damage in the process, the halfling wrestler’s odds of victory weren’t looking good.

Thirty more minutes of battle passed as Yarner continued taking a beating. A slow whittling down via attrition from spear thrusts and shield bashes, all while takedown attempts were unsuccessful and the halfling couldn’t bring his Wrestling to bear.

Zukelmux brought out an Exquisite rarity skill of his, Multitudinous Thrust, and in one final motion the battle was over as Yarner Honeybrook was sent flying to the ground. The halfling chose to yield after that.

Orodan was exceptionally proud of his student. With that, Zukelmux had successfully advanced to the semi-finals.

Vespidia buried a dagger in the poor dwarf’s head, Jegdalo Mezzer surrendered to Othorion Evertree once more, and Akelrim easily bested the rapier-wielding elf.

Advancing to the semi-finals then were four contestants: Vespidia, Othorion, Akelrim and Zukelmux, who against all odds really had made it to the semi-finals through the good fortune of not encountering a monstrous competitor and his own skill.

“Quite the little warrior you raised, alas, a shame that he ran into someone who cheaply calls upon divine power,” Zaessythra said.

“Without divine power, Zukelmux could have beaten that arrogant elf,” Orodan replied. “Win or lose, in making it to the semi-finals he’s proven he’s technically the best warrior of his generation on the continent. Reincarnators, transmigrators and the divine aside, who else can claim to best Zukelmux?”

Zukelmux’s match against Othorion Evertree had gone as expected. Until the elf began calling upon Faraine’s power, Zukelmux had been winning. Othorion wasn’t particularly good at combat and instead relied upon near-endless divine energy. Naturally, the second he felt Zukelmux’s strength, the elf called upon borrowed power.

“Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have the mighty Orodan Wainwright as his teacher,” she remarked. “Do you think Vespidia is ready for her upcoming trial?”

“We’ll see, won’t we? It was good we ran into Othorion earlier in that shop; it gave us a reference point for how quickly those two Avatars can show up to assist him. Their response was quicker than I’d initially planned for,” Orodan replied. “As it stands, Vespidia will have to work even quicker to make it through a window that’s already tight. And of course, that involves actually forcing him to call upon the power of Faraine.”

“And what of her current opponent? You don’t fear for her chances against this transmigrator?” Zaessythra asked. “Why, back in my day we’d hang the heads of these otherworldly guests off the peak of the citadel’s spires in Vylrystia. I don’t know why so many of these young masters and their flying swords find their way into the bodies of deceased people in this system.”

It was a good point. Balastion and now Zaessythra spoke of facing these transmigrators from a world with flying swords. Was it close to them, or was some other mechanism at play?

Either way, as for Vespidia’s chances against Akelrim?

“She’s toying with him,” Orodan remarked. “I admit, if she was stupid enough to engage in a head-to-head battle, he’d be the victor. But what use is his sword light and that formation of flying blades if he can’t see her nor land a blow? She’s struck twice already, and each blow was a severe one. He’s on his last legs as we speak.”

And it was true. Akelrim’s breathing was heavy and labored as blood flowed freely from his back where Vespidia had inflicted her sneaky wounds. He desperately attempted a few more passes of his sword light, firing it around wantonly in all directions hoping to hit something, but he never did. Orodan could sense Vespidia nimbly moving out of the way, even as she remained invisible.

It wasn’t a final blow that ended the ordeal, but Akelrim’s own grudging surrender. The transmigrator must’ve realized he was in a hopeless position.

“Winner! Vespidia Aulmalexis defeats Akelrim Vedharna to advance to the finals! An unseen terror slaying all opponents with a vindictive blade!”

They hadn’t really spoken since the eliminators began, and neither did they need to. Vespidia knew how to handle her own business. For what came next… would determine whether she achieved her life’s goal.

Competitors were given a rest period to return to full strength, but Vespidia waived hers as she must’ve felt fine and been eager. Soon enough, the announcer was ready to call the final match of the Inter-Academy Tournament.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“To our esteemed audience, the brave Vespidia Aulmalexis has elected to forgo her offered rest period! As a result, the finals can be underway!”

The crowd cheered madly, and even though Vespidia was a Novarrian, the crowd held some slight favor towards her as they wanted to see Othorion beaten. Word of the elf’s incident at the shops had spread, and the public always favored a good story where the underdog defied divine power, heretical as the thought might’ve been if it was one of Inuan’s Prime Five.

“Without further ado, I present what we’ve all been waiting for! The finals of this year’s Inter-Academy Tournament! On one side, we have Vespidia Aulmalexis! The mysterious hidden blade from Novar’s Peak who cuts down all foes with no mercy! And on the other, we have Goldleaf Academy’s finest, the channeller of divine providence… Othorion Evertree!”

Neither Vespidia nor Othorion’s face showed any signs of emotion as they spoke to one another during the face-off. However, near the end, Othorion turned red with fury, and he stomped away to his designated position as his eyes began glowing with power. As for Vespidia, only a smirk was on her face as she seemingly taunted the elf.

“Begin!”

Othorion positively erupted with divine power, and Vespidia immediately disappeared. In response the elf’s eyes turned green and he immediately launched divine energy enough to envelop the whole arena. The defensive wards protecting the audience immediately flared, and multiple Grandmasters of spatiomancy acted to empower an intricate warding scheme which transported whoever was in the arena someplace else.

Vespidia had gone invisible, but Orodan could see what was happening. She had been quite badly wounded from the all-consuming divine attack… but she’d managed to survive.

This was part of their plan and her gambit. The arena was a poor battleground for someone like her to face Othorion Evertree. It was too limited, enclosed. It would leave her at the mercy of wide area attacks which would eventually force her to concede.

She’d survived the worst of the ordeal then, even if Orodan was still concerned about her fighting in such a state now that they’d been transported to the deserts of the Aswarthian Peninsula. The scrying eyes however, continued recording the battle from a distance, and Orodan could sense very small spatial tunnels connecting to the battleground which the officials were using to monitor the match from afar.

Orodan also used these and sent Vision of Purity through them to keep an eye on the battle. This way, he saw both the scrying eye recording and the ‘sight’ his Vision of Purity gave him.

In the desert itself, a titanic battle raged.

Vespidia, looking in pristine condition, engaged Othorion Evertree in a melee whirlwind where both sides seemed almost equal even as the elf’s eyes blazed with divine fury and he looked perplexed that she could keep up. Worse of all, none of his blows were quite landing upon her, simply being expertly evaded.

Periodically, Vespidia’s dagger seemed to hover just near a vital point before a critical wound would appear there. Othorion grew more and more enraged as the fight drew on as he was wounded. The divine elven warrior seemed baffled that Vespidia, not known for her staying power in a toe-to-toe melee, could hold on in such circumstances.

Perhaps Othorion had been expecting numerous sneak attacks which slowly whittled him down. Not an opponent he’d need to use such power against. And he couldn’t even land a blow on her!

Orodan through Vision of Purity saw exactly what was happening, and things were going according to plan. He remained ready to act.

The battle continued for fifteen more minutes, and despite calling upon the full power of Faraine and having his skin crackle, Othorion remained unable to land a blow. The battle came to a halt for a moment, and the two combatants looked to be exchanging words, although Orodan couldn’t hear what. They seemed to come to an agreement.

Othorion’s eyes glowed with madness, and Vespidia’s were calm and collected.

This would be the key moment.

As Othorion sailed towards the unharmed Vespidia the elf must’ve realized something was wrong as ‘Vespidia’ began to flicker, as though a spell was running out of energy. Unfortunately, he’d already given control to Faraine for the last-ditch attack both parties had agreed upon.

And as ‘Vespidia’ vanished, revealing that she was naught but a clever illusion of light magic, space tore apart as Orodan himself stepped into the path of the attack.

[Teleportation 12 → Teleportation 13]

The real Vespidia suddenly became visible, sagging to her knees as the last mana potion left her lips and her charred body was apparent. She was heavily wounded.

How exactly had all this occurred? Had she conjured a clone to fight toe to toe against an Avatar?

Not quite.

Rather, the one benefit to using Absolute Soul Dominion on Vespidia and nearly quixtupling her mana generation months ago was that she could freely use a branch of magic she was quite talented in, but which was too strenuous to otherwise maintain throughout an active battle.

Light magic…

…specifically, illusions.

Perhaps if he was calmer, Othorion Evertree would’ve stopped to wonder why she was entirely unwounded; why she managed to wound him without her blade visually entering. If only he’d realized that the real Vespidia was inflicting stealthy wounds as he fought her illusion.

If only he’d realized that giving control to Faraine for a final attack was a mistake, especially when the agreement was a lie.

Because it meant striking Orodan Wainwright instead.

Orodan received the attack, and the warrior within saw where it came from, and reciprocated it more than fivefold across the dimensional divide.

[Warrior’s Reciprocity 75 → Warrior’s Reciprocity 76]

A feminine wail of horrific pain rang out, and the set of body enchantments upon the elf’s body glowed brightly and immediately shattered into motes of light, overtaxed beyond their limits.

“…pain… pain! Never have I felt such horrible pain!” Faraine wailed.

Space tore apart and two elven Avatars almost immediately entered the glassed desert, ready to cast runic magic upon the body of Othorion Evertree that was now under the control of Faraine.

Unfortunately for Cithrel and Athandelu, Orodan had already wrapped the full force of Absolute Soul Dominion around the elf’s body. The attempt at runic magic binding and chronomancy immediately failed.

[Absolute Soul Dominion 76 → Absolute Soul Dominion 77]

Their attention then immediately turned to Orodan himself. The elven Avatars were strong, far more than any Avatar of the Prime Five, and two titanic beams of divine energy capable of destroying smaller nations erupted towards him.

In a bid of desperation to prevent innocent devastation, he cast Spatial Fold…

[Spatial Fold 41 → Spatial Fold 46]

…and the attacks were diverted up towards the sky, tearing a gigantic hole in the clouds as they left Alastaia.

“Orodan Wainwright! Stop this immediately! I don’t know how you crossed the dimensional divide to strike at Faraine, but you’re freeing a prisoner of ours! You are picking a fight with us for no reason when we’ve done nothing to offend you!” Cithrel roared. “The next attack will come with double the force and will destroy most of the East!”

“I apologize, I have nothing against you either. But I gave my word to help with her liberation,” Orodan replied. “And as for a second attack… it’s already too late.”

Before either of the two elven Avatars could question his words, the one factor they’d ignored thus far made her final move.

Re-imprisoning Faraine within Othorion Evertree’s body was not difficult, but what could the elves do if the link between host and Goddess was severed?

It was a question a glowing divine dagger posed as Vespidia plunged it into Othorion’s back.

“Vylmela… it is you… I sense your soul after so long…” Faraine uttered.

“I’m sorry I failed you before… be free now my lady…” Vespidia softly said as the glow left Othorion Evertree’s eyes. Faraine was free at last.

A scream of raw rage erupted from Cithrel.

“You… you! I try so hard to avoid offending you given your power, and still you deal me such a grievous blow?!” the elven God-Queen roared. “This means war! Give me one reason I shouldn’t raze Inuan to the ground here and now.”

“I’ll give you two. The Eldritch Avatar that will land in two weeks, if you destroy Inuan you’ll have no buffer against it,” Orodan answered. “And of course… me. Your divine beams of power are ineffective against me. I wouldn’t recommend fighting here and now… unless you want to lose an Avatar or two. When Faraine is at large, should you be considering a fight here and now?”

[Intimidation 14 → Intimidation 15]

He was surprised at the level gain. That it increased meant, on some level, the elven Gods considered him a genuine threat with his Divine Resistance and overall power. He wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could simply destroy Eldiron. The unnamed but pleasant elf he’d met under the Dokuhan Mountains was a figure that gave him pause, and whoever that was didn’t look to be an Avatar.

That being said, it was a decision of simple logic. The elves had nothing to gain in picking a fight here with him yet stood to lose a lot.

“You will come to regret this, Orodan Wainwright,” the God-Queen declared. “We have enemies enough; therefore we accept your offer for delayed hostilities… for now. But you’d do well to watch who you yourself make enemies of throughout these time loops. You might just suffer the kind of harm that isn’t so easily fixed.”

“I’ve accepted that risk already,” Orodan replied, and the elven Avatars tore space apart to retreat back to their home continent presumably.

Vespidia looked charred beyond measure, or should he say…

“Vylmela? Was that your name when you were a wrinkly old elf?”

That she was injured didn’t stop her from throwing her dagger at his face.

Two weeks passed quicker than he would’ve liked. Much as it wasn’t his way, Orodan found himself oddly… clinging onto his moments with the people important to him.

Aliya was spoiled to the extreme, Zukelmux was paraded around Novar’s Peak like a hero and Orodan had the finest chefs in Novarria prepare the most luxuriant feasts possible for his heroic student who’d done so well in the tournament.

He spent time with Balastion, visited Destartes and simply tried his best to fit time with them into his schedule of training. In all honesty, the only thing he spent his time on was attempting to acquire Time Mastery, but it still bore no fruit, much to his frustration and bitterness. He just wished he had more time.

And Vespidia… his friend had a look of peace and contentment in her eye which Orodan didn’t like one bit.

It was twenty-four hours before the enemy’s descent that he found her atop the peak of the royal citadel, overlooking an empty Novar’s Peak which had been entirely evacuated in preparation for the battle.

“How’s Faraine doing?” Orodan asked.

“Good, quite good,” Vespidia replied, a look of serenity within her eyes. “Her pursuers hound her across the divine realm still, but she is nothing if not resourceful and clever.”

“I don’t like it,” Orodan immediately declared.

“And what is it that you don’t like?” she asked. “We’ve achieved much.”

“That look in your eyes, like you’re looking forward to your own death,” Orodan said. “Why?”

She let out an amused laugh at his question.

“Ah… pardon me Orodan. It’s just that I sometimes forget you’re not even thirty altogether. Truly, the time loops came for you at such a young age,” she spoke. “Well, you see… I’m thousands of years old. And I’m quite tired. My Goddess is free, my duty done… and my wife has been waiting for a long time.”

Orodan frowned. Logically, he understood her reasoning, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Perhaps that explained why Vespidia was so slow to be dragged towards training. Just how long had she been intent on this journey to free her Goddess? Orodan found himself remembering that not everyone had the abnormal willpower that he had.

“That’s right… I forget that you’re an old elf hag sometimes,” Orodan said, and it was a sign of Vespidia’s mental state that she didn’t attempt an attack for the comment. “I respect you as a warrior and… as a friend, Vespidia. I don’t like where your thoughts are going, but I’ll respect your decision all the same.”

Vespidia stared at him for a moment before a serene smile formed. For such an angry person, it was a rare to see her like this. Was this what she was like when her duty was done? Her natural anger, gone?

“…thank you,” she replied. “And what of yourself Orodan? Intend on dying again?”

“What? No!” Orodan immediately said. “I… don’t wish to see all this gone. This time, I intend to defeat this Eldritch Avatar.”

“And what of the next threat? The next big battle you’ll chase? In the last six months I think I’ve come to understand you… you’ll never be one to sit down, to rest. Sometimes… I get the feeling you aren’t even human, with that anomalous drive of yours,” Vespidia said. “And when you chase the next big foe and die once more… what then? Will it all end and send you back to Ogdenborough once more?”

“I won’t!” Orodan angrily shouted back, causing Vespidia to simply shake her head with a smile.

In a move quite uncharacteristic of her, she decided to lay down upon the railing and kick her feet up, with her hands resting behind her head as she looked at the stars above.

“I’m sorry…” she quietly said.

“For what?” Orodan asked.

“That you have to go through all this,” she answered. “I mentioned once that having lovers must be quite painful for you. I’ll echo that sentiment again, I pity you, Orodan Wainwright. I’m sorry that fate was a cruel mistress and chose you to inflict this upon.”

“Tch…! You’re pushing the wrong buttons Vespidia!” Orodan said as his fist clenched. “If you want to fight, just say so and-”

“And you might kill me, I hope?”

“What? You’re my friend, why would I kill you?”

“Because I want to go… especially if you’re in a time loop,” Vespidia said. “Not only would seeing you struggle like a madman at the end be painful to watch, I’d also not get a lot of time with my love in the next life. Do me a favor, will you?”

Orodan sighed and let go of his temper.

“And what’s this favor?” he asked.

“Please free Faraine in each long loop of yours. I know, I know… selfish of me to ask,” Vespidia said. “But I’ve never felt this peace before. And one more thing… maybe try to stay alive for a decent while after my death. I’d like to get an adequate amount of time in the afterlife with my other half before it all resets again.”

Was she really just going to die? Everything within himself rebelled against the notion, but his honor compelled him to accept her decision no matter how he felt about it.

“You… fine! But I have a condition of my own,” Orodan said, and Vespidia looked to him in curiosity. “One day, one loop… I’ll become strong enough to rip your wife from the jaws of death itself and resurrect her. On that day, on that loop, tell me you’ll give up this foolish notion of resting in the afterlife like some senile crone in her rocking chair.”

“Hah! An insane target, a fool’s dream, Orodan Wainwright,” she replied. “Though, I suppose if any madman has a hope of resurrecting someone who’s been dead for over fifteen-thousand years, it’d be you. Fine, deal. Not that I’ll remember it.”

Such was the nature of a time loop after all.

They remained in silence for a while after until Vespidia decided to depart as she had preparations to make for the upcoming battle.

Zaessythra then proceeded to come out of his ring.

“You too? Don’t tell me you also have some sentimental speech ready for me,” Orodan said, having had enough of that.

“I was going to be polite for once and ask after you,” Zaessythra said as she fluttered about. “After all, that was a heavy topic, confronting the potential loss of everything.”

“I won’t lose, I refuse,” Orodan vehemently stated. “Just because I let that dumb assassin prattle on a bit doesn’t mean I agree with her outlook.”

“Orodan… let’s focus on the present and on different matters,” she said. “Clearly this is an emotional topic for you.”

“Vespidia’s fatalistic outlook is almost as annoying as your insistence that I avoid your enemies,” Orodan said. “You don’t expect me to ignore the plights of those close to me, do you?”

“I ask you to avoid provoking the Hegemony’s ire because I’ve come to care for a bull-headed idiot like you. You helped me remember who I am. Are you so self-centred that you cannot realize when someone else considers you important to them?” she asked. “But, again, let us not speak of such things. The time for us to convene with that emperor draws near. Are you ready?”

He shook his head clear of his emotions. His heart was a tangled mess of feelings of loss, frustration and desperation involving not only this loop, but also the tied into the feelings he held about the last long loop.

“I really do hate these long loops with a passion,” Orodan thought to himself, and then replied to her. “Yes, I’m ready. Let’s go meet with Balastion and his war council.

“There are fourteen hours remaining before the Eldritch Avatar lands upon Guzuhar, your Majesty,” Demosthenos Albathrax, the cursed reincarnator, spoke. “All our allies are present, all Avatars of the Prime Five are in this chamber with us, and the World Guardians and Gods of Guzuhar await in the Valley of Spires with a teleporter ready to immediately transport them once they see proof of our plan working.”

“Good, thank you for the situation report Demosthenos,” Balastion spoke and then stood taking the floor. “Currently, our astronomers and diviners are the ones monitoring its course, and if this plan works, they’ll be the first ones to notice and show us proof which we’ll then present to our allies. At approximately twelve hours before landing we project it will be close enough for Orodan Wainwright to affect it with his spatiomancy, and then… we strike!”

Orodan ignored the sight of his mentor Arvayne Firesword among the Prime Five. In this loop nothing had occurred between them, although Orodan would not let his grudge against Agathor, Eximus and Ilyatana go anytime soon.

More discussions and specifics about the city’s defences were discussed and the plan of battle was expanded upon with various strategies discussed.

For starters, even though Thavri Grimbreaker would not be joining, the under-mountain confederation had sent a battery of artillery and crew to assist in the upcoming battle. From what Orodan had seen of those weapons, they weren’t bad at all.

The conversation then mainly steered towards how to actually engage the Eldritch Avatar, and the general consensus was that Orodan and Balastion would do the bulk of the work while the Avatars of the Prime Five, Vespidia and Demosthenos provided their support. The ranged and magic specialist Grandmasters of the Novarrian military would also be providing continuous firepower upon it alongside the artillery of the dwarves. And if their allies joined, Sarastuga the Blazing Light was an incredibly strong World Guardian whose might in melee was comparable to a quadruple-Grandmaster, so that would be quite welcome.

The discussions continued on for a while longer and even turned towards how to deal with Eldiron afterwards. In Orodan’s opinion this was akin to counting one’s dragons before they hatched, and it must’ve showed on his face as Balastion took him aside during a break in the conversation and cast a silencing bubble around them.

“My friend, your grim countenance does not suit you,” Balastion said. “Are you not an eager lover of battle? We face our most glorious one today, what troubles you so?”

“If it was just me I was worried about, Balastion, I would die a million times and enjoy every single death in my battles against the approaching foe. However, not only do the evacuated civilians upon the Romnara Isles depend on us, so do many of the people I’ve grown close to.”

“The pressure is too much-”

“I pressure myself harder than any foe or situation could ever hope to,” Orodan interjected. “Pressure isn’t the issue; the Eldritch Avatar is. It always finds some way to prove itself stronger than I thought, but I have killed it before. With all we have arrayed against it, I believe this fight can be won. What does concern me however… is your preparations with the crown and obtaining Eldritch Resistance. Not once have you actually detailed how you’ll be fighting the threat.”

“Have faith my friend, you’re not the only one with a Mythical skill,” Balastion reassured.

“Yes, but resistance skills are notoriously harder to acquire than most other types,” Orodan replied. “And this isn’t an element that will simply kill you, but instead convert you to the enemy’s side.”

“And what else would you have me do? Give up the crown?” Balastion asked in frustration.

“Fighting the Eldritch normally does not instantly corrupt beings. It’s the longer-term exposure to it afterward that leads to corruption and the maddening,” Orodan explained. “That crown on the other hand is a different matter. Using Eldritch so directly will hasten your corruption incredibly quickly should you fail to acquire the skill. I’m not advising against it, rather, all I wish to say is… remember who you really are when that dark moment comes, and you’re tested.”

Balastion nodded and seemed to consider Orodan’s advice seriously at least.

“Come then, the council draws to a close and we have less than two hours remaining before your time to act arrives,” Balastion said.

The remainder of the council consisted of well-wishes, some final questions, and some particulars regarding the placement of the ranged support in the rear.

Soon, Balastion’s chamber was vacated, and all combatants got to their positions.

Orodan, Balastion, Vespidia, Demosthenos and the Avatars of the Prime Five stood upon a balcony at the peak of the royal citadel, the highest point of the city.

It was nighttime, and the clouds were entirely clear, blown away through the work of multiple mages beforehand. In such clear visibility conditions, Orodan could easily see the purple star descending towards Alastaia in the distance.

It looked incredibly far away, but…

“Let’s pull it down now,” Orodan said. “I feel I can affect it from this distance.”

“Truly?” Balastion asked, and Orodan nodded. “Very well, send out the order for all troops to be ready and have the communications team be ready to send proof to our potential allies in Guzuhar. We’ll attempt this in ten minutes.”

Ten minutes passed, and all preparations were complete. Everyone was now waiting on Orodan to perform.

And perform he did.

Every single empowerment skill was activated to its maximal extent, and the most overpowered Spatial Fold Orodan was capable of was sent towards the fell purple star making its way down.

The royal citadel immediately shattered from the raw power he was generating and Balastion had to move everyone else someplace safer.

Deep in the void of space, Orodan could feel the connection to his folding of space. It was his soul energy powering it after all, and his Space Mastery was far higher than it had been when he’d cast the spell for the very first time.

He had grown incredibly powerful over his time in the loops, and the proof was apparent in how the enemy reacted.

Immediately, he felt panicked resistance against his meddling against space. Anti-spatiomancy items were common among people expecting combat often, so it wasn’t a surprise that the Eldritch divinities also had methods of countering such spatial manipulations.

Unfortunately, they were up against Orodan Wainwright. And his energy generation was endless and put even Gods to shame. The Eldritch Avatar immediately abandoned its meteoric shell as it began writhing in the void of space like a rabid cockroach, desperate to shuck off Orodan’s spatiomancy. From the almost surprised and desperate movements he sensed, he had an inkling that the three fell powers empowering it weren’t expecting to face a foe who had so much raw power at his fingertips.

The resistance was great. Beyond any anti-spatiomancy ward he’d ever tried tackling. But attempting to resist endless power was a futile endeavor.

[Spatial Fold 46 → Spatial Fold 52]

[Space Mastery 38 → Space Mastery 43]

Massive gains from attempting such an extreme feat against so powerful a foe.

“Prepare yourselves! It’ll be landing soon!” Demosthenos roared with a manic smile on his face. “Our allies from Guzuhar are coming through the portals as well, they believe us now! Haha!”

One gigantic portal opened up nearby, and through it came three World Guardians, a majestic lion, a familiar wintry dragon, and a burning phoenix, alongside numerous Guzuharan Avatars and Grandmasters. In his experience, the Guzuharan Grandmasters and their Avatars would be fodder, but the World Guardians would contribute well.

And then, it arrived. Or more accurately, it was dragged down to someplace it hadn’t planned on landing.

Space folded all the way to the Eldritch Avatar’s current location in the void between stars; a distance that was more than three times that of the moon to Alastaia. And with a full body motion of Whirlpool Whirlwind, Orodan gave the enemy one last encouraging pull so that it could come through the folding of space he’d created.

[Whirlpool Whirlwind 59 → Whirlpool Whirlwind 62]

A gigantic gray humanoid landed in a splayed-out heap in the middle of the city, destroying plenty of buildings. As it was halfway between rising its pupil-less white eyes glared at the defenders waiting for it.

There was a reason the Eldritch Gods typically chose the Valley of Spires to land in. It was where the ground was most contaminated with Eldritch energies, and where their corruptive influence was greatest. For it to land in Novar’s Peak?

Less than ideal.

“Good evening. I apologize for the rough trip, but we’ve been waiting for you,” Orodan said, and then readied his weapons with a positively feral smile upon his face. “Welcome… to Novar’s Peak.”

Chaos erupted immediately as Orodan Wainwright was the first person to close the distance and engage it in melee with a Flash Strike.

[Flash Strike 65 → Flash Strike 66]

And a titanic close quarters war began which almost immediately annihilated the entirety of Novar’s Peak. It was sad to see the city destroyed, but the roots and what was built within were what was important, not the buildings. The city’s ringed walls still stood strong despite the impacts.

And those ringed walls were part of a gigantic ritual which drained its very eldritch energies and prevented it from fielding its full power.

Ranged firepower from all sides smashed into it, and Orodan, Balastion, Sarastuga and the Avatars of Agathor and Halor fought it in melee. It genuinely was being pushed back.

[Endless Blitz 76 → Endless Blitz 77]

[All-Strike 83 → All-Strike 84]

Most importantly, Orodan continually got in the way of its attacks and forced it to pay dearly for striking him.

“Abomination! Which meddling otherworldly power has sent you?! We spread truth and the greater forces of the universe send such a champion against us?!” the Eldritch Avatar roared, the divinities empowering it speaking for the very first time.

Things were going well, and Orodan knew this was the prelude for its wide area attack which would wreak devastation upon their forces. But he had fought it twice now, knew the move, and this time he had spatiomancy in his toolkit.

The wide area eldritch blast went out…

…and Orodan’s Spatial Fold surrounded it, redirecting it all towards himself.

[Spatial Fold 52 → Spatial Fold 53]

[Space Mastery 43 → Space Mastery 44]

[Eldritch Resistance 52 → Eldritch Resistance 53]

A shriek of horrid pain went out, and it was loud enough that Orodan suspected it could be heard in the neighboring nations.

“You would dare to strike against us with our own truth?! The falsity of your hubris will be exposed shortly mortal!” it exclaimed, and its assault immediately doubled as it flew into a mad rage and began targeting Orodan specifically.

Yes, he had Eldritch Resistance and his defensive skills. But those didn’t help when it decided to forgo Eldritch and simply eviscerate Orodan with its bare hands. Harmony of Vitality kept him from getting killed and it was suffering some severe damage in assaulting him, but it still harmed Orodan to be the victim of its ire.

And just like last time it decided Orodan was an easy target to grab. His vision was enveloped by two massive purplish-gray hands, which began squeezing him into a meatball and grinding him down utterly.

But this wasn’t the old Orodan of the last long loop.

Harmony of Vitality had improved enough that it wasn’t the eventual death sentence it could’ve been last time, and most importantly…

[Teleportation 13 → Teleportation 14]

Orodan had ways out of such grasps now. Frankly, if the pressure was a bit greater, he might’ve even stayed and used it as training, but his Body Tempering was high enough that it would take time, and he couldn’t afford to play around in this battle.

The battle continued, and fifteen minutes passed. Orodan, Sarastuga, Balastion and Agathor were holding evenly and managing to slowly whittle it down bit by bit.

It was unbelievable… they were actually winning! This would be the loop where Orodan completed the second Quest!

“Cruel, cold universe… Alastaia would send us a gift to cultivate into our host… and then to deny us with a champion with the ability to resist our truth and harm us with it…” it spoke as it realized it was in a losing battle. “The universe cares not for any of us… is our truth doomed to be forever silenced?”

“Focus! If we hold out, we can defeat it!” Orodan yelled. “It’s losing!”

“Excellent! Let me strike a blow that will truly turn the tide of this battle then,” Balastion said, and Orodan had an ominous feeling in his heart. The divine artifact upon Balastion’s head glowed, and eldritch energy spewed forth targeting the Eldritch Avatar’s very soul. “Let the foul influence of the eldritch divinities be purged from one of Alastaia’s former guardians!”

At the same time, Vespidia readied her divine dagger and prepared to charge forth, intent on severing the connection between host and fell divinities.

And this was where everything went wrong.

“Oh? Such a curious artifact you use. Untapped clay, ready to be molded into our truth,” it spoke, and Orodan’s instincts went haywire. “A connection from you to us, attempting to send us away. But your talent in molding the formless is lacking… and a connection goes both ways. Hear our truth, mortal.”

Orodan tried stopping it, but whatever connection Balastion had established between the crown and the Avatar wasn’t one so easily broken, and neither did he have any skill to manipulate the Eldritch.

“Balastion! Hold strong! Remember who you are!” Orodan shouted, and for a moment he thought the first emperor truly would hold.

Unfortunately, Balastion Novar, the first emperor… had his eyes turn pupil-less, and purplish-gray veins of energy begin to erupt all over his skin. And he was looking at Orodan with madness in his eyes.

And the eyes of the man known as Balastion Novar… never left Orodan Wainwright, even as the first emperor lashed out and decapitated the Avatar of Agathor in an unexpected move.

Suddenly, the tide of battle shifted, and Sarastuga and the Avatar of Halor were struggling greatly against the Eldritch Avatar.

There was no time to bark orders, only to act. Orodan practically flew towards Balastion, and his sword and shield met the first emperor’s blade before the man could kill anyone else.

Balastion was strong, but in a one-on-one Orodan had the feeling he could take the man. That was, if time wasn’t a concern and the Eldritch Avatar wasn’t in the middle of brutally mauling Sarastuga. Cyvrosdyr and the phoenix World Guardian stepped into melee to provide some reprieve, but neither of them were melee specialists on the lion’s level, and things were immediately looking very dire.

“Balastion Novar… first emperor of Novarria, have you forgotten your dream of world peace? Your desire to see foul influences purged from Alastaia and the mortal races living in harmony?” Orodan asked as he entered a weapon deadlock and pushed Balastion down to his knees with raw physicality and rage.

“Novarria… a world of peace… hahahah! The truth is all that matters… and I must spread it to this world… for the three eldest…” Balastion said. The man had fallen to the corruption, and Orodan could do nothing besides end his life. And even that was on a timeline as his allies were being butchered. The Avatar of Halor was killed just as Balastion finished speaking.

Orodan backhanded the maddened Balastion into the ground and was ready to continue fighting when Vespidia landed nearby.

“Orodan! We have little time… just… just look after whatever’s left, alright?” she asked, and Orodan’s heart sank as he knew what was coming next. She looked to the sky and clasped her hands together in prayer. “Faraine… I know you wander free now, and I know I’ve failed you once. But I beseech you one more time for the protection of our world… please… stand with me against the Eldritch once more!”

For a moment nothing happened, but the next… Vespidia’s eyes began burning with glowing green power.

“Orodan Wainwright… I cannot linger for long lest my pursuers return, but thank you for all you’ve done,” the elven Goddess spoke. “Ensure Vylmela’s sacrifice isn’t in vain. Please… it’s what she would want.”

And behind her eyes, unlike most other Gods Orodan had dealt with, he could swear Vespidia’s familiar gaze was there.

A portal immediately opened nearby, and two familiar elven Avatars stepped out.

“Faraine! You have much to answer for!” the God-Queen of the elves roared as she bolted right for Vespidia.

Unfortunately for her, the Avatar of Faraine was already near the Eldritch Avatar, just as it finished ripping poor Sarastuga’s head off. In her hands… a familiar glowing divine dagger.

Vespidia would normally have little hope of reaching the Eldritch Avatar for a blow in melee, but when empowered by a Goddess? Especially when empowered to the point that her skin and flesh practically melted off by the split second in a clear suicide attack?

The divine dagger looked comedic as it slid inside, making a pathetic wound which wouldn’t even register as a paper cut on something that big. As she delivered the attack, Vespidia’s body exploded in gore and the divine power left her before the elven Avatars could catch up. Orodan said a prayer, hoping Malzim or Faraine would ferry her to the next life to reunite with her wife peacefully.

The elven Avatars themselves took one look at the current situation, and seeing that their target had escaped, simply vacated the battlefield, not wanting to risk themselves against the Eldritch when Orodan and Novarria was doing it for them.

Bitterness filled his heart at their nonchalant escape. This was their world too!

In any case, the wound the Eldritch Avatar received was tiny… but its sudden wail of pure horror and agony told a different story.

“Sacrilege! Abomination! Where is our sibling?! How dare you break our union?! The natural order is three, but to be reduced to two… enough!” it screamed, and then turned its rage towards Orodan. “You… will pay for this.”

The maddened Balastion Novar rose to his feet as well, and behind him was the furious Eldritch Avatar who looked intent on slaughtering Orodan where he stood. Every other melee combatant had been slain. Sarastuga? Dead. Cyvrosdyr and the phoenix? Slain. The Avatars of Agathor and Halor? Captured and preserved in a net of Eldritch energy. Orodan hadn’t directly seen a God be corrupted by the Eldritch yet, but it couldn’t be pretty.

And the reduction in allies wasn’t done either.

“Orodan Wainwright… forgive me… but I cannot accept being corrupted,” Malzim said. “I… I am truly sorry… but I must retreat.”

His heart, already heavy with the loss of so much, didn’t quite care about Malzim deciding to flee. As much as Orodan owed the God of Death, even Balastion Novar had said Malzim was a coward unwilling to fight with any risk present.

Eximus and Ilyatana joined Malzim in abandoning their Avatar hosts, and soon, the Novarrian forces began fleeing in a decision of self-preservation, leaving just Orodan standing against the corrupted first emperor and the Eldritch Avatar by himself.

Why not? Two against one… not the worst odds.

Balastion reached Orodan first, and the first emperor lost the melee exchange. Unfortunately, the Eldritch Avatar stepped in, and it did win the melee trade, sending Orodan into the ground and beginning a vicious mauling with Balastion assisting at key intervals.

With Orodan being suppressed, the maddened first emperor took the opportunity to begin dismantling the ritual which drained the Eldritch Avatar of its power, and with it gone… it soon returned to near-peak form. Minus one Eldritch divinity possessing it.

“Ahh… such relief, to easily draw power from the truth once more,” it spoke. “And now, to make this world see what we see.”

Orodan knew by now what its wide area attacks looked like before they came, and this one would be titanic. He had an inkling it would corrupt a good majority of Inuan, and Orodan couldn’t allow that.

As the attack released, an utterly overpowered Spatial Fold was cast, drawing all the Eldritch towards Orodan himself. He would keep Inuan clean of the foul taint.

[Spatial Fold 53 → Spatial Fold 55]

[Space Mastery 44 → Space Mastery 45]

“Despicable vermin… why do you defy us? Do you not know when to cease your meddling? If you wish to perish first, then we shall assist,” the Eldritch Avatar said.

With that, Orodan’s beating resumed, and he was torn apart, sliced into pieces, turned into puddles, and nearly obliterated multiple times through the application of brute force once the enemy realized that Eldritch was less than effective.

Yet, no matter how bad the assault, Orodan refused to die.

Half an hour passed, then an hour. And the Eldritch Avatar began to catch on.

“This one… truly does possess endless power, what a curiosity, we have never seen its like before,” it spoke in its fell voice. “Sweetling… give us that artifact. If this anomaly refuses to fall, then we shall simply bypass it entirely and spread the truth a different way.”

Orodan didn’t like the sound of that.

He desperately attempted to stop whatever it was doing but was repeatedly sent flying many miles away each time.

In the distance, he saw a flying book approach him after one such flight from a mighty blow. He’d sent her to the Romnara Isles alongside the evacuated civilians, but she seemed to have returned of her own volition.

“Zaessythra! I don’t know what they’re doing, but I need to stop them,” Orodan said desperately. “Any ideas?”

“Orodan… that crown, it’s capable of viewing and interacting with the souls of almost half the world. The first emperor couldn’t use it at full power due to his lack of Eldritch Resistance, but that Avatar has no such restrictions,” she explained, and Orodan’s eyes widened as he was about to rush back. “Wait… I have a plan that might work.”

“Well? What is it?” Orodan asked.

“When I told you I can’t access my Status, it was only true at the time,” Zaessythra explained. “Since then, however, I believe I can repair my own soul and access it once more. It will definitely draw the sort of attention that will likely fix this problem.”

“But… would that not involve-”

“Yes, it will involve me dying,” Zaessythra explained. “But that’s a small price to pay when you’re in a time loop, right?”

“No, I refuse,” Orodan said. “I’ll…”

“Die? That would end the loop anyways… I’m sorry Orodan,” she said softly, and one of her pages came up to dab at the moisture he didn’t even know was gathering in his eyes. “You really are something else. Whoever chose you for these time loops did a good job, but they also consigned you to a painful existence. I expect to be taken on many adventures in the next loop and berate you at every step. Thank you for helping me remember myself and just… remember me, okay?”

“I refuse… how do you expect me to just let you die?” Orodan asked, his voice trembling.

“Because I’ve already healed my soul and am accessing my Status as we speak,” she spoke and then stilled. “Ahh… so that’s what it is. Be careful Orodan… I still don’t remember what the process for getting there was, but it’ll cause you a lot of trouble once you reach it. The level of-”

[Dimensionalism 6 → Dimensionalism 7]

The level gain was unexpected, but it was the only reason Orodan knew the dimensional boundary was being torn asunder. And something came out from that opening.

If he was ever asked what a God might look like, he might’ve said mortal-looking, perhaps with glowing power surrounding them. That was what he saw of the statues of the Prime Five in cathedrals and temples after all. What he didn’t expect, was a fifty-armed being, lethal weapons of gold in each hand, a hymn of pure radiance echoing throughout the world upon its arrival. And it was as big as a nation, darkening the land as it floated overhead. Its face… a strange mixture of geometric shapes which contradicted one another.

This was no Avatar; this was a God directly stepping into the material plane. Divine energy emanated from it in quantities that Orodan had never seen before. And not only did it have that, but it was also emanating massive amounts of its own soul energy through simply existing.

This was a God in the flesh, capable of using both divine energy and soul energy of its own.

“Transcendent… I thought I sensed the emergence of one here,” it spoke. “One listed as deceased in our records… ah, the one known as Zaessythra, escaped to a phylactery? This shall be rectified.”

Orodan defiantly stood before it, but Zaessythra gave him a powerful hit over the head.

“Stay away Orodan! It comes for me, yes… but it will also purge the Eldritch,” she explained. “The attack will damage you beyond anything you’ve ever felt… just leave. Continue your loop, grow strong, and find answers. Hmmph… in a way, even this is an answer for you, isn’t it? Be careful once you reach this level, the wider universe won’t want to leave you alone then.”

“You know the punishment for refusing service under the Hegemony,” it spoke. “Hold still, make this easier upon yourself.”

One moment Orodan was standing alongside Zaessythra, ready to shield her and receive the attack… and the next, a pulse of pure force emanated from her book-bound form and flung him many miles away.

“No!”

The only thing Orodan saw before his vision was consumed in light, was a beam of soul energy fired down towards Zaessythra. And many more such beams rained down all over the city.

The main beam was incredibly concentrated; however, the ancillary beams were incredibly powerful too, and he barely survived getting hit with one. He was utterly suppressed, unable to get up and move much at all.

Despite that, he tried slowly crawling through the burning beams which reduced him to a handful of cells at times, desperate to reach her. Only after ten minutes did the bombardment finally stop, and the suppression ended. In the skies above, the disinterested God who was somehow capable of directly entering the material dimension, faded away into the divine realm once more.

And Orodan swore to himself, this would be repaid. Whichever God that was, had made the wrong enemy today.

“Zaessythra! Where are you?!” Orodan shouted. “Say something you dusty old tome!”

After a minute of searching, he slowly began to accept it. His heart was heavy with the pain of loss, and he turned it outwards into rage as his fist clenched. Orodan had experienced death himself and grown up around enough of it… but this hurt all the same.

What even was pain, if not losing the people you treasured and had formed bonds with?

[Pain Resistance 89 → Pain Resistance 90]

The System message came across as rubbing salt into a wound. It brought him no satisfaction at having made a qualitative understanding about pain.

In the distance he could see a damaged, but slowly reforming Eldritch Avatar.

His weapons had survived the bombardment and he gripped them tightly. Better he hold them, than discover just how wet his eyes were. For her, for everyone who’d fallen today, Orodan Wainwright refused to give in. He would finish this ordeal.

The Quest itself hadn’t failed yet, which meant that despite all the destruction caused by both the Eldritch Avatar and that unknown God, the world still considered itself relatively unharmed.

Slow footsteps took him across the hellscape that was a cratered Novar’s Peak. The beautiful city was no more, all evidence of its existence wiped out entirely from the battle and subsequent visit by a God. The Eldritch Avatar was slowly reforming still, but it wasn’t Orodan’s first stop.

The man whose eyes had somehow regained a semblance of their usual wisdom, was.

Orodan knelt down, a grim look upon his face as he looked down at Balastion Novar. Most of his body was gone, only a good portion of his upper body and head remained. The man’s undoubtedly high skill levels in some physical skills were keeping him alive.

“I can still heal you, let me-”

“No, Orodan… no,” the first emperor said. “I have caused trouble enough, and our true foe still remains. Gaining Eldritch Resistance now after all this devastation I’ve wrought… hah! What a bitter pill to swallow! And it isn’t perfect either, my skill level is low and I still risk falling to it the longer I’m exposed.”

Orodan said nothing and kept his gaze low to the ground.

“You must think me a failure… a weakling,” Balastion said. “You would not be wrong in a sense. It wasn’t my strength of arms that was inadequate, but my resolve and how I led Novarria. A world of peace and harmony… heh… how can I create such a world when I tolerated poor behavior from my allies and compromised to accept imperfect alliances?”

“In the end though,” Orodan said. “At least you found who you really were, no? Acquiring Eldritch Resistance necessitates it.”

“Aye… that I did. Being an emperor, leading an empire… perhaps it was all a little overblown. A shame that I only see it now, in the end,” he said. “Living in a world of peace wouldn’t be the worst thing, but to lead it? It took me till now to realize it wasn’t worth it.”

“You’ve done good things, Balastion,” Orodan said. “Failures don’t invalidate your successes either.”

“Enough of that, Orodan. In the next loop you encounter me… do me a favor, will you?” Balastion asked, and Orodan nodded. “Destroy this damned crown which has brought me naught but misery. And for now, grant me the mercy of going out while I’m my own self… I dread returning to that shadowy nightmare. The voices are still whispering…”

As he said this, Orodan could see the purplish-gray veins on Balastion’s skin pulse, attempting to re-assert control. With a heavy hand then… Orodan did what was needed, and All-Consuming Rage put an end to the last of the man’s vitality.

“Be at peace, Balastion Novar, first emperor and founder of Novarria,” Orodan said out of respect, and then rose to his feet.

The Eldritch Avatar had been all too happy to allow him his moment as it meant it received a chance to recover further.

“Curious thing… this one’s name is Orodan Wainwright? We have an offer, if you would but listen?” it asked, and then continued anyways without Orodan’s reply. “Do you not see how cruel the Gods can be? Tyrannizing us within the material realm and slaughtering our siblings? Why not join us? We admit, killing you would be most unpleasant, but together… we can strike back at the oppressors.”

A critical precipice, and Orodan felt that his decision here would influence whether he became the subject of a Quest.

Yes, Orodan now held a vendetta against whichever God that was, likely from the Hegemony or tied to it. But…

…he hated the Eldritch even more.

It must’ve realized the look on his face signified an answer as it too prepared for battle.

“Foolish… do you truly hope to face a host so mighty it annihilated civilization upon its ascent? When we empower it as well?” it asked. “Your stand will be hopeless, even if putting you down will waste time otherwise better spent spreading our truth.”

Everyone else had either fled or had fallen. The Novarrian military was nowhere to be seen, every other World Guardian, Guzuharan Avatar and being of power on their side was dead, and the Avatars of Agathor and Halor were nowhere to be seen, likely destroyed when that unknown God bombarded the area.

Orodan Wainwright stood before the Eldritch Avatar, all alone. Just as it always was in the end.

“Every time I fight you, I’m always the last one left standing,” Orodan said. “But now, you’re down an Eldritch God, I’ve grown stronger, and it’s a one-on-one… let’s see how it goes this time.”

No more words were said as the two began clashing in an utter storm of melee. And immediately it became apparent that the Eldritch Avatar was still Orodan’s superior in a toe-to-toe battle.

It was faster, stronger, and more skilled. His only saving grace was the fact that he had Eldritch Resistance and excellent self-healing skills, blunting its assault considerably. Otherwise, it was significantly stronger than the Void Horror he saw past the first gate, even with it having only two Eldritch Gods empowering it.

If the ritual array of Novarria was present Orodan might’ve had a fairer chance; unfortunately, Balastion had destroyed that after his corruption and he was forced to bear the full might of eldritch power unchecked.

The furious exchange of melee continued for thirty more minutes, even if it was one Orodan was on the losing end of. And throughout the battle, his basic mastery skills gained a level each. Sword Mastery, Shield Mastery and Combat Mastery each gained a level. But it wasn’t enough to make a difference still.

How then, could Orodan best his foe? He was fighting alone, it was a true one to one battle between warriors, and he had no advantages. His brain scrambled to find a solution, but none came.

He received thirty more minutes of a beating until the Eldritch Avatar finally spoke.

“Weak… such persistence yet your actual strength is lacking before us,” it spoke. “Perhaps we shall bind you and force you bear witness as we spread the truth to Alastaia… and to think your kind calls our gospel ‘filth’. Your kind are the unclean ones, ignorant of our message.”

Unclean ones…

…filth.

Yes, the Eldritch was dirty. It was filth. A stain upon the world and Orodan’s senses.

And all filth, needed a good cleaning.

He wasn’t sure what he was doing, but something deep within beckoned him to activate Absolute Soul Dominion and throw it towards the Eldritch Avatar with as much force as possible. Ordinarily, it would be pointless as it had simply too much power, and attempting to grip its soul would cause Orodan to expend energy enough to destroy his own body.

However, it wasn’t the only skill he used.

Absolute Soul Dominion as the offense, Soul Defense as the shield which protected him as he delved within, Whirlpool Whirlwind as a force for suction, to bring it all to him, All-Consuming Rage to absorb all the filth within and burn it for power, and Basic Healing to restore what was lost during the cleanse… and at base, the foundation of it all…

…Cleaning.

It came so naturally to him. Of all the skills he’d dabbled in across the loops, of all the archetypes he could claim to be. Beyond even being a warrior, the one thing he had the greatest talent of all in… was Cleaning.

It was the single largest skill combination he’d ever attempted, and he wasn’t sure how or why it all came together, but his natural talent in Cleaning ensured it did.

At the end of the day, what was Cleaning? As a concept, it relied on the user’s own perception of what was clean versus unclean. Sand for instance, dirty when on a floor, but what about on sandpaper? Desirable.

Then… Cleaning… was really just… order. The order to clean everything perfectly in every facet. To strive for perfection in cleaning, then meant targeting each and every aspect of something.

His anomalous talent in cleaning brought all the skills together into what he was creating.

His soul utterly trembled at the colossal effort, and he felt waves of a strange energy emanate from it, it almost felt similar to the energy the world gates ran off of. It wasn’t divine and it wasn’t soul energy either. The very fusion of this skill… was sending out a gigantic beacon and his Fate Disconnect stood no chance of stopping it from emanating.

This skill felt quite strange within his soul core too, as though naturally, it was open to adding more in the future beyond its current form.

With a final push, forcing it all together, it came to be.

A Domain of Perfect Cleaning.

[Skill Combination - Absolute Soul Dominion 77 + All-Consuming Rage 83 + Soul Defense 54 + Whirlpool Whirlwind 62 + Basic Healing 25 + Cleaning 87 → Domain Of Perfect Cleaning 65 (Celestial)]

[New Title → Bearer Of A Celestial Skill]

[New Title → Celestial Adept]

[New Title → Perfect Cleaning Adept]

Celestial…

…this then, was the next rarity beyond Mythical. And he wasn’t sure if any God he’d seen even had one.

It should’ve been good news, and ordinarily, it would be. But not in a situation like this, especially given the attention it would draw.

If acquiring a Mythical rarity skill caused the Avatar of a Goddess to descend upon him… then this new Celestial rarity skill, brought calamity upon him and his world.

[Warning - You have become the target of a Quest]

[Quest Subject → Recruiting A Celestial Genius - Capture Orodan Wainwright and bring him back to Xian. Grow the strength of our world and reach beyond the heavens]

And those weren’t the only ones.

[Warning - You have become the target of a Quest]

[Quest Subject → Celestial Blood - Capture Orodan Wainwright and bring him back to Narictus. Grow the power of the bloodlines upon our world, long live the eternal night]

[Warning - You have become the target of a Quest]

[Quest Subject → A Soul Worthy Of Hell - Capture Orodan Wainwright and bring him to the first hell. Grow the power of the devil race, usher the birth of a new Prime Evil]

[Warning - You have become the target of a Quest]

[Quest Subject → Subject #125 - Capture being, identification: Orodan Wainwright. Return to World X2. Directive one: examination. Directive two: alliance]

[Quest Subject → Guardian Alastaia’s Talent - Capture Orodan Wainwright and protect him from otherworldly intruders, maintain the strength of Alastaia]

Orodan didn’t have the time to dwell on the various Quests he’d become the Subject of. Yes, the situation looked quite dire, and he felt the earth slightly tremble, and the stars shift, but he couldn’t afford that at the moment.

His first order of business… was to cleanse this foul Eldritch Avatar.

His new Celestial rarity skill shot out and enveloped the enemy. And a roar of pain erupted.

“What… what are you doing?! Cease this scouring purge you perform upon us!” it screamed in outrage and dare he say… fear.

Vision of Purity clearly saw what was occurring as his new skill began cleaning the Eldritch Avatar inside out… and for the first time, the Absolute Soul Dominion part of his skill successfully pushed past the System barrier and into the soul core.

There was a reason Gods feared the Eldritch. It was due to its ability to corrupt even them, but how was this possible? It was because in possessing an Avatar, a God’s consciousness, and a part of them had to descend unto the host. It was how Faraine had been re-captured in the last long loop by the elven Avatars, and why she handled her business so quickly once she possessed Vespidia. Divinities were vulnerable when possessing an Avatar, and the Eldritch Avatar itself capitalized on this.

But… the vulnerability went both ways.

The Eldritch Avatar also required the divinities controlling it to maintain a part of themselves within, and now that Orodan had a hold over it with his skill?

They could only scream.

[Domain Of Perfect Cleaning 65 → Domain Of Perfect Cleaning 66]

He saw clearly as the very eldritch energies running through it were scoured and drawn towards him, to be burned and used as fuel towards his own attributes. What helped greatly as a matter of fact… was that the being within, the Void Horror who had so long ago been corrupted, was actively assisting Orodan in the matter.

Grayish-purple veins began to subside, the Eldritch energies in the air began to thin… and its pupil-less white eyes began to regain a semblance of consciousness.

Orodan would clean the Eldritch right out of this Avatar and restore it to being a regular Void Horror.

“No! We do not consent to this! We shall return, Orodan Wainwright, and Alastaia will face our truth once more,” it declared, and they furiously attempted to flee.

While Orodan could’ve held them captive within their Avatar the same way they held other Avatars captive… he didn’t press the issue as he had little time remaining. With one final angry screech of raw rage… the Eldritch divinities departed their Avatar altogether.

And the Void Horror lay motionless, unconscious from the strain, but Orodan sensed it was alive.

[Quest Completed → The Chosen Eldritch Star - Eldritch Avatar purified, Eldritch Gods thwarted, world protected]

[Reward Granted → Permanent +0.1 Title Multiplier]

The reward sounded intriguing, but Orodan had no time to waste. He had less than ten minutes.

He’d defeated the Eldritch Avatar within five minutes by completely purifying it and forcing the divinities inhabiting it to flee. If they’d actively fought the entire thing, or the Void Horror within hadn’t assisted him, then it would’ve taken far longer. And of course, he’d only faced two Eldritch Gods instead of three thanks to Vespidia’s sacrifice.

Five minutes had passed, and Orodan had a feeling that he had ten minutes left given how the rumbling beneath the earth was getting progressively more powerful.

He refused to end the loop like this… Zaessythra, Vespidia, Balastion… so many people had given their lives only for Orodan to remain alone? His attention turned towards the one other thing that had survived all the battles and that unknown God’s bombardment…

…the Eldritch crown of Balastion Novar.

Orodan had always wondered just how Balastion Novar knew about certain secrets, such as Akelrim Vedharna being a transmigrator or the psionic infiltration of Novarria by Eldiron, and after Zaessythra had told him, he understood. The crown was a divine artifact that could see souls over great distances, and when channelled at full power, it could see the souls of almost half of the world’s beings, so great was its distance.

Balastion couldn’t have used it to its full potential. He didn’t have Eldritch Resistance, and even once he gained it in the end, he still risked falling to its corruption over long term exposure.

But Orodan was not the same as the first emperor.

The crown was placed upon his brow, and Orodan channelled the entirety of his soul energy into it right from the get-go. Going slowly wasn’t his way at the best of times, and now when everything was on the line, he didn’t even consider the thought.

The artifact creaked dangerously as it received titanic amounts of soul energy beyond what it was meant to handle. Orodan heard the whispers of the dangerous truth the Eldritch preached of, and he felt some minor damage go through to his body despite his Eldritch Resistance.

[Eldritch Resistance 53 → Eldritch Resistance 54]

Orodan had less than ten minutes left, not a lot of time. But it would be enough… it had to be.

What was time? And what was its connection to the soul?

Orodan had pondered the question for a while. Just before leaving for the Inter-Academy Tournament, he’d ruminated on it, and now, he was about to make a gamble. Souls were unique in how they functioned in the river of time. Unlike material objects, souls had connections, like a focal point which had threads going out to objects, places, events, and even other souls.

Previously, Orodan couldn’t really get a proper grasp of this as he had too little to work with.

But now as he beheld the souls of every being upon Alastaia… Orodan saw it. His understanding of time finally reached a milestone.

Only in using the crown and viewing all these other souls had he understood why he hadn’t gained Time Mastery. Orodan’s own soul was a bit strange with its connections in the river of time. Whether it was due to the time loops or the fact that he was viewing his own, he didn’t know.

And he made a discovery that even the old dragon Kultuanir hadn’t.

Fate had threads which all connected into a tapestry, such was known as the tapestry of fate which fate readers and diviners could glimpse into in attempts to find people and see their potential importance. And while Kultuanir, the patriarch of the Time Wind had caught onto the basic fact about souls being different within the river of time… what the old dragon lacked the energy and Eldritch Resistance to do… was channel enough energy into the crown to see enough souls at once to make the next step of his discovery.

That there was a river of time which could be viewed in its entirety as well.

His mind was on the verge of shattering from the strain of all the information. Frankly, he couldn’t even parse the information accurately to understand who was where as he beheld all these souls. They were of varying strengths, with powerful beings deeper within the depths and nearer to the world core of Alastaia. Five particular signatures however did stand out to him. One soul was underground and making an absolute beeline for him, and four other souls from incredibly far beyond the world were also on a collision course with Alastaia, converging towards his location.

But they weren’t his focus.

The river of time and all the connections he was viewing were.

A timeline where souls were the focal points which connected to other souls, objects, places, and events. And with a colossal effort, Orodan Wainwright threw his all into this timeline… and sought to reverse it.

[New Skill (Exquisite) → Time Mastery 17]

His body was reduced to a mere handful of cells as he channelled near-lethal amounts of soul energy towards altering time. And slowly but surely… the river of time began to warp with dangerous turbulence, as the time around certain souls and events began reversing.

And then…

…certain things began to go backwards.

[New Skill (Legendary) → Time Reversal 5]

Selectively manipulating certain souls in the river of time was difficult, particularly if they caused great waves or were of high skill levels. The energy costs were extreme beyond measure, and Orodan doubted even Eximus could do a fraction of what he was attempting.

[Eternal Soul Reactor 91 → Eternal Soul Reactor 92]

He saw the soul of Balastion in the timeline, at peace and floating towards the dimensional boundary of the afterlife and reversed time for the first emperor. He saw the World Guardians, the Avatars, the Novarrians, he saw them all and reversed their courses. And he saw the soul of Zaessythra, horrifically savaged as it was, and attempted to drag it back. He faced some sort of powerful resistance in tampering with hers, as though whatever killed her had left a countermeasure.

Against his brute force and endless power however, such countermeasures failed.

Alas… trouble always had a way of finding Orodan Wainwright. In breaking the countermeasure, he’d triggered some sort of in-built alarm it had.

[Warning - You have become the target of a Quest]

[Quest Subject - Timeline Vandal #17 - Slay Orodan Wainwright and preserve the timeline, maintain order in sector 7 for the Hegemony]

That sounded ominous… but Orodan refused to fail! He could not… he would not!

He would bring everyone back and reverse the effects of this horrid battle. He refused to believe there was any other alternative.

Ten minutes had passed, and a gigantic hand shot out of the ground, ready to envelop Orodan. However, at the last moment, the Void Horror that had slain him once he set foot past Alastaia’s first gate… hesitated.

“B-brother… he is… he is free?” it asked in utter astonishment. The gray humanoid giant looked upon its unconscious brethren, the former Eldritch Avatar host, and looked to be in utter shock “How? Have you… were you the one responsible for this?”

Orodan would have liked to reply, but he was a mere handful of glowing flesh from the sheer amount of soul energy he was channelling. He was too focused upon his current task.

“I… I see…” the Void Horror said. “Thank you… but we must go… I sense utterly calamitous forces coming for you. We cannot linger here, Orodan Wainwright. Alastaia has bid me to come rescue you. I am afraid I must take you with me, you will be safe within Alastaia’s world core.”

Orodan was of course, vehemently opposed to that outcome. Being dragged into the world core as ‘protection’ sounded horrid. Unfortunately for both the Void Horror and Orodan, something else came into the picture and took the decision out of their hands. Or rather, a certain God returned.

[Dimensionalism 7 → Dimensionalism 8]

The dimensional boundary tore apart in a display of raw fury as a familiar fifty-armed God returned, the geometric shapes composing its face were rippling violently. Perhaps it was the expression of rage?

“Overlooking you was a mistake, pest. To think such a powerful thorn was hiding in plain sight…” it uttered. “To overpower the timeline protections I placed upon her soul, what are you? No matter, die.”

The concentrated beam of soul energy that had struck Zaessythra was fired towards him.

Zaessythra was on the verge of reforming into her book-bound form, as was Balastion and many of the fallen allies he’d fought alongside. However, it was too late, and Orodan still refused to accept it.

If he tried channelling any more soul energy, he really would die. And when the attack hit him, he would die regardless.

As the beam was about to strike, he saw two utterly gigantic cosmic eyes of an ethereal nature take shape behind the fifty-armed God, and they were peering at him intently for a moment.

The next instant, they widened like saucers.

“Astalavar! Do not kill it! It is a time loo-”

Darkness took him, and Orodan’s rage and bitterness burned bright the entire way.

A keening wail ringing in the night sky awoke him.

And the sounds of the harpies were immediately drowned out…

…as all of Ogdenborough heard Orodan’s howls of pure rage and pain.

He got to his feet and immediately channelled power enough to destroy the Republic many times over and threw it all into Time Reversal… but it was to no avail as the souls he was looking for had no time link back to the last loop.

It was gone… it was all gone.

And Orodan’s roars of rage were heard across all of Volarbury County as soul energy erupted from him, covering the skies, filling the air, amplifying his voice like that of an enraged God.

Unfortunately, he had no time to rest as System messages flashed by his vision.

[Warning - You have become the target of a Quest]

[Quest Subject → Recruiting A Celestial Genius - Capture Orodan Wainwright and bring him back to Xian. Grow the strength of our world and reach beyond the heavens]

[Warning - You have become the target of a Quest]

[Quest Subject → Celestial Blood - Capture Orodan Wainwright and bring him back to Narictus. Grow the power of the bloodlines upon our world, long live the eternal night]

[Warning - You have become the target of a Quest]

[Quest Subject → A Soul Worthy Of Hell - Capture Orodan Wainwright and bring him to the first hell. Grow the power of the devil race, usher the birth of a new Prime Evil]

[Warning - You have become the target of a Quest]

[Quest Subject → Subject #125 - Capture being, identification: Orodan Wainwright. Return to World X2. Directive one: examination. Directive two: alliance]

[Quest Subject → Guarding Alastaia’s Talent - Capture Orodan Wainwright and protect him from otherworldly intruders, maintain the strength of Alastaia]

Beneath him the ground trembled, the sign of the Void Horror from below coming up for him. Above him, the stars shifted; otherworldly intruders were on the way to capture him for their own ends.

Much like his Mythical skill had drawn attention before, his Celestial skill was doing the same now. Except, on a far larger scale.

Fifteen minutes till the Void Horror reached him, and based on his calculations, thirty minutes till the first of the otherworldly comets reached him from the wormholes that had opened up.

His heart was pained and heavy with loss. He’d known this was the most likely outcome, yet still refused to accept it.

He only hoped his friends had found peace in their last moments.

For Balastion, for Vespidia, and for Zaessythra… Orodan would go on. A maniacal grin overtook his face as he gripped his weapons tightly in both hands.

Fifteen minutes before the first foe reached him, and another fifteen before the otherworlders did. Each loop then, would be fifteen minutes long at minimum. His new set of short loops for the foreseeable future.

And at the end of it all? He planned on descending the world core and getting some answers, even breaking the damned thing if need be. Why did the divine tower remember his foes across loops? Who’d built it? Who the hells were Astalavar and the Hegemony? And what was that pair of gigantic eyes the size of stars?

Too many questions, not enough answers. Orodan intended to beat the answers out of every single interview subject on his list.

But fifteen minutes was a long time. Enough so that it was time for some perfect cleaning.

If they were coming for him anyways, what did he care? His Celestial skill shot out, and within a second, the surrounding ten blocks of Ogdenborough were cleaned. Wounds were healed, souls were enriched, the ground was bettered, houses were made whole… and altogether, everything was perfectly clean.

The perfect cleaning of Ogdenborough and Volarbury County; it would undoubtedly cause a lot of chaos and become a national event. And followed by that… death. As many times as it took until he had his answers and could beat back these otherworldly intruders.

Angry as he was, pain he might’ve felt, but his words of wisdom to Vespidia during the tournament weren’t wrong. Yes, he was in a time loop, but that hadn’t really changed who he was at core. Only evolved it.

On the day he’d received his strange power, Orodan had been grinding away at his various skills all morning.

And now that he was in a time loop?

He had more skills and foes to stubbornly grind away against.