Chapter 268 + 269

Hey! Thanks everyone for your understanding. I needed some time to fine-tune the chapters. The final chapter of the arc will be Chapter 270.
A double chapter to reward your patience, enjoy!

*

Chapter 268: When Rivals' Masks Fall – Part I

Amidst the ruins of Oasis, Priam watched the elemental flee with a mix of sadness and frustration. The Dragon within him craved the creature's power, eager to devour it. Consuming both the Tribulation fragment and a being of flame and plasma would have brought him that much closer to Pyro’s Unity.

But it was too dangerous. His allies hadn't realized the threat, but Priam had sensed the elemental's true horror. A ball of plasma capable of thought, with more energy than a nuke and freed from all constraints of a Tribulation, was a walking time bomb. Pun intended.

A fragment of Tribulation wasn't worth the lives of his friends, no matter his ability to rewind time. His pragmatic side agreed: if the elemental killed his allies, it would jeopardize his plan to kill Sumstreh. That would be short-sighted.

Next time, Priam promised himself, ducking under a plank that fell from Log-a-rhythm's branches. The Tribulation had spared none of the treehouses his father had built.

*

“Whatever happens, stay inside Log-a-rhythm,” Priam ordered the non-combatants.

Bertomne, Ymir, and Lamnas quickly obeyed, but the others took longer to accept the situation.

“... We're never gonna see you again, are we?” Rose muttered, staring at the ground with clenched fists.

Priam turned to Dishnu and Arnold. “Can you guys give us a moment?”

The two foreigners left, and Priam chose his words carefully. “I’m going to rewind time; we’ll see each other again in just four hours.”

If I don’t die before I can use Back in Time...

“The Rose you find won’t be me. She won’t have watched her friends die or faced her Tribulations.”

Priam searched for the right response. “You’re right... but our friends will still be alive.”

“I want them to live too!” Rose exclaimed. “But I don’t want to disappear... Maybe we could hide in the Concepts Archipelago?!” Her eyes lit up with hope. “That way, if your inner world rewinds with you, we’ll still be there!”

Priam grimaced. “I don’t think theConcepts would allow that. You’re System users, not objects or plants… But even if it worked, Back in Time doesn’t change the past. If you come with me, there will be two Roses. Do you really want to share your identity?”

This was why Priam refused to keep Sphinx in his inner world. Even if she returned with him, another Sphinx would still be trapped with Sumstreh. He couldn’t bear that.

“I…” Rose bit her lip as a tear rolled down her cheek. The only solution was to kill the past Rose, but she was too kind for that. “I want to see Kazuki, Louis, and the others again. Save them,” she whispered, turning to head back into Log-a-rhythm.

With a thought, Priam asked Moonie to follow her. Maybe the little wyrm could comfort the girl.

“You can’t help her,” Alain said, placing a hand on his troubled son’s shoulder.

“I chose Back in Time to help Sphinx. Now I feel like I’m being selfish with you all,” Priam sighed.

Alain shrugged. “You’re not selfish... at least not with those you care about. You’re doing the best you can, and no one’s asking for more. Not even Rose. Now stop worrying and focus on the future.”

“... I’ll save everyone,” Priam promised, hugging his father.

“You’ll try,” his father replied. “And I’m proud of you for that.”

*

The valley that once held Sumstreh's lair lay in ruins. Cresting one of the passes that led there, the group of rivals halted, stunned.

The forest was gone. Here and there, half-buried tree trunks jutted from the ground, but the green of vegetation had given way to the gray of ash.

Ahead, explosions shook the earth and sent clouds scattering. The spectral form of a giant rabhorn fought both a colossal skeleton and a giant tiger simultaneously. Instead of relying on physical attacks, the Fallen utilized rituals etched into the valley’s rocks to conjure thousands of light spears from the ambient aether. Leo, the leader of the Aelbes, dodged the projectiles before they even appeared, his instincts terrifyingly sharp. In contrast, the necro-colossus summoned by Seth stoically tanked the hits. Just seeing the spears made Priam's eyes bleed, forcing him to look away. 

He wasn’t ready to fight there. Arnold must have disagreed, as he took off toward the battle.

To his left, the three shamans lay sprawled on the ground, trembling under the assault of invisible forces. Priam sensed around them the same spiritual energy that made up the divine mark still present in his soul.

That Sumstreh could enslave three shamans while fighting two powerful Tier 4s was worrying.

A bluish smoke descended on a distant peak. The cloud exploded, releasing a missile that homed in on the rivals. Before they could react, the massive figure of a giant slammed into the ground in front of them. The dust cloud cleared to reveal Braato, his face pale and skin slick with blood.

“Are any of you a healer?” Braato asked, raising his arm to reveal a dagger lodged between two ribs.

Priam shook his head as Ophis stopped about fifty feet away. The insane gleam in the Snahert’s eyes and the empty scabbard at his waist told a grim tale.

“What—”

“Ophis screwed up,” Braato answered, predicting the obvious question.

The Snahert leader grinned, revealing two blood-stained canines. “Ophis made a mistake when he grafted my heart into himself, just like you made a mistake not checking your allies' condition before the fight.”

Either the man was speaking in the third person, or the body had a new owner. Fuck. Priam didn’t need to see the Tier 4's bare chest to know there would be a scar. Ophis had absorbed the heart of the skulc shaman, likely to purify his draconic bloodline. The result? His ego had been replaced.

“I didn't think the System could give me a cursed reward,” said Priam. If Ophis hadn’t taken the heart, he would have devoured it himself. By the way, why didn’t he devour it?

“The reward was the help to unlock Micro II; the items obtained are a personal gift,” the skulc shaman replied. “Moreover, the System rarely interferes in the affairs of dragons.”

Seeing the enemy willing to answer questions, Priam tried again.

“Why not help us defeat the Fallen? With your power, I’m sure it’s possible.”

Ophis might be dead, but that didn’t change anything for Priam. The important thing was the death of Sumstreh, not the identity of his temporary allies.

The skulc's smile widened into a crescent moon. “Because their original self was part of a pantheon I wish to join.”

As Priam opened his mouth to ask more, a chilling notification appeared.

Lvl Up: [Poison Body] lvl 27
CONST +1
VIT +1
META (Endurance) +1

This fucker’s talking to distract us!

Wrapping an arm around Esmée’s waist, Priam leaped backward. His instincts screamed, and he looked up to see a toxic cloud descending towards them. It took him just a moment to realize this was the end. The attack covered the whole sky and fell at the speed of a meteor. Braato lunged at the possessed, but he would be too late…

Suddenly, the skulc sneezed, and the skill froze. Braato’s tackle on its creator dispersed the cloud.

Landing a hundred meters away, Priam realized he was drenched in cold sweat. Without the Tier 4’s sneeze, he would be dead.

“Herg!” Esmée coughed. Seeing blood trickle from her mouth and nose, Priam feared she was severely poisoned. As Dishnu and Braato dashed forward to engage the enemy, Priam opened the Sun Shop, frantically searching for a detoxifying pill.

A hand on his cheek stopped him.

“It’s useless; it’s not the poison.”

“What?”

“… I told you, my father forbade me from endangering our civilization,” the princess reminded him, a smile on her lips. “I was ordered not to provoke the ire of a Tier 4.”

The skulc’s sneeze!

Esmée had just saved their lives. Priam glanced at her chest. The absence of a familiar sound struck him. “Your heart…”

“The geas made it burst.”

The ground trembled under the cataclysmic battles raging kilometers away, but Priam paid no attention. A young woman was dying in his arms, and that was all that mattered. Helplessness hit him hard as he searched desperately for any way to save her.

“I can keep your blood circulating with my kinetic control!”

The princess's gaze was gentle as she shook her head. “But you wouldn’t be able to fight at the same time. It’s pointless as this world is coming to an end.” Despite the looming threat of death, Esmée kept her eyes firmly on their objective.

In the distance, Dishnu hit the ground. The Guardian of the Forest, who had conquered a quintuple Tribulation, was completely outmatched by the skulc. He rose painfully, ignoring the poison, and charged back into the fray.

“I’m sorry,” Priam said, staring into the princess’s beautiful eyes.

“For what? Thanks to you, I dared to defy my father. More importantly, I proved to myself that my resolve was more important than my life.”

The princess had taken advantage of the timeline’s end to disregard her orders and give meaning to her sacrifice. A flicker of pride shone in her eyes: even death hadn’t made her back down.

A blinding flash made Sphinx roar. Summoning Pyro, Priam absorbed a wave of heat so intense it was turning the valley's stones to glass. Above them, Arnold was going nuclear.

“I’m going to summon my Tribulations,” Esmée murmured, opening her grimoire. Priam watched her frown as the System’s aura descended.

“...” He stayed silent while the princess explained the contents of her quintuple Tribulation. Despite her words, none manifested, but Priam respected the secrecy of his rival. Clearly, he wasn’t the only one chosen by an entity during their Tutorial.

As Sphinx leaped off his shoulder to block an avalanche of rock triggered by the battle, Priam gently wiped away a tear of blood trickling down Esmée’s cheek. So close to death, her royal aura was dissipating, revealing her youth and vulnerability. Though she was a formidable rival, she was undoubtedly the most fragile.

“Let’s make sure you get home,” Esmée whispered.

Dipping her nail into her own blood, she scribbled a few words in her grimoire before tearing it apart. Priam felt a force envelop him but stayed silent, engraving the beautiful features of the young woman in his memory.

When she turned back to him, her pupils were dilated with pain, fear, and hope. Her mouth opened, forming words without sound. Priam moved closer to hear better and was taken aback when she straightened up. 

Perhaps because she had been crafted to be alluring, the princess’s lips were of indescribable softness. Pressing his hand against her cheek, Priam drew her closer to deepen the kiss. When the two rivals finally pulled away, light shone in their eyes.

“Rose told me that in your culture, the woman can kiss first.”

“It happens when we’re lucky,” Priam joked to hide his sadness. Esmée’s hand caressed his cheek.

“... With me, you don’t have to wear a false smile.”

As the end drew near, the princess removed the mask she had worn all her life, and Priam did the same. The two young people looked at each other, letting their emotions sweep over them and revealing their true feelings.

“I’m scared,” Esmée whispered as death approached.

Priam’s lips reassured her.

*

[2 hours 33 minutes before optimal activation of Back in Time.]

*

Status:

PHYSICAL:
Strength 782
Constitution 1 387 (+1)
Agility 924
Vitality 1 338 (+2)
Perception 817

MENTAL:
Vivacity (D) 599
Dexterity 680
Memory 896
Willpower 1 193
Charisma 754

META:
Meta-affinity 920
Meta-focus 438
Meta-endurance 779 (+2)
Meta-perception (A) 441
Meta-chance 332
Meta-authority 252

Potential: 12 433 (+2)
Tier 0

Sun point: 0

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED

[Tribulation]: Six Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Time: 152 days 8 hours 40 minutes 46 seconds.

Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 600 / 6 attribute > 900 / 3 attributes > 1 200 / 1 attribute > 1 

*

Chapter 269: The Rivals' Masks Fall - Part II

Priam gently laid the princess's lifeless body on the ground. Her death, sudden and brutal, stirred a storm of emotions he could hardly digest all at once.

One feeling surged above the rest: rage. A deep, burning fury, monstrous and all-consuming. Priam hadn't known Esmée well; their paths had only crossed recently. Yet, he felt an overwhelming urge to inflict pain on whoever had condemned her to this fate.

With the Empyrean Emperor absent, Priam redirected his wrath towards a closer enemy: Sumstreh.

High in the sky, the Fallen effortlessly battled Arnold, Seth, and Léo. Priam's anger hadn’t blinded him to the point of ignoring the fact that his presence wouldn’t change anything in a direct fight. He could take on some Tier 3s and tank a lot of damage, but a Tier 4 would squash him like a bug. Still, even a bug can be dangerous.

His gaze shifted to the tribal shamans, who were trembling, unconscious as the enemy invaded their souls. If nothing was done, three puppets would soon rise.

With a single step, Priam rode the mist hanging over the battlefield. Placing a hand on Mama Apo's forehead, he established a mental bridge. With no defenses to repel him, he accessed her soul space directly. Inside, a massive, brilliant soul was under siege by a grotesque spiritual tentacle. Out of her six soul layers—two more than Priam's—four had already been breached.

[There is no Heaven].

The System had granted him this skill when he earned [Iconoclast] after urinating on a statue of Viracocha. Its ability was straightforward: create an energy capable of damaging a soul.

When [There is no Heaven] struck the tentacle, severing it like a hot knife through butter, Sumstreh screamed. The battlefield froze for an instant as the Fallen turned their gaze towards Priam.

"You dare?!”

The volume alone would’ve killed a pre-System human, and the echo triggered landslides.

“I dare,” Priam grinned cruelly before shouting to his rivals, “Hold them off while I shatter their soul completely!”

Maybe because they were a Fallen, a fragment of a former Tier 5, Sumstreh possessed a massive but flawed soul. They could tank a nuke head-on but were vulnerable to spiritual attacks.

The Fallen dove toward him, but was intercepted in the next instant by the Tier 4 necro. Roaring in rage, Sumstreh unleashed a laser beam that pierced through the corrupted titan, only to be stopped by Léo.

As the aerial battle raged on, Priam continued to corrode the Fallen's spiritual tentacle. It only took a few moments before it was cut in two. The part inside Mama Apo's soul dissipated, while the rest withdrew from the soul space. Sumstreh was retreating.

Priam followed. His Soul Tier was too weak to wield his soul with finesse, but he could latch onto the tentacle, which he did.

Lvl Up: [Mind Bridge] lvl 11
META (Affinity) +2
META (Perception) +1

At the end of a spiritual tunnel, Priam entered a new soul space—Sumstreh’s. A vast but fractured soul loomed before him. Instead of a sphere, it resembled an unnatural patchwork sewn together by a child; massive, but grotesque.

Nevertheless, the quality of the aether and the spiritual pressure in the Fallen's soul space was extreme. At the source of it all, an unfathomable ego reigned. The gaze of an ancient god fell upon Priam, making him tremble.

A mortal could not withstand the gaze of the divine without consequence.

A force as vast as the sky descended upon his soul, and the Champion felt his strength slipping away. Due to their difference in Soul Tier, the mere spiritual gravity of the Fallen’s soul was enough to annihilate his own. Soon, it would dissipate, and he would die—perhaps for good this time.

Neither his willpower nor his attributes could change anything, and Priam let out a whimper before recalling his Phoenix mentor’s advice. There was a forbidden way to resist a god’s will.

Trees of Merit

[Iconoclast - Legendary] - Tier 0: You're beginning to feel your soul. ACQUIRED

[Iconoclast - Legendary] - Tier 1:  Your soul is proud; it resists external modifications. ACQUIRED

[Iconoclast - Legendary] - Tier 2: Your soul is pure; its flaws erased, its sins forgiven, it resists the apocryphal. ACQUIRED

[Iconoclast - Legendary] - Tier 3: Your soul is sacred; it learns to ignore the authority of other souls. ACQUIRED

[Iconoclast - Legendary] - Tier 4: Your soul is celestial; it actively resists divine influence. ACQUIRED

[Iconoclast - Legendary] - Tier 5: Your soul is sovereign; it influences other souls. NEW

1 Unused Merit Point.

More than body and mind, the soul was the core, the foundation of one’s being. Frustration filled Priam as the System granted new qualities to his soul. He was forced to alter the very essence of his being to survive. His soul became clearer to his senses and solidified further. Its shape turned perfectly spherical, and the last traces of Sumstreh’s divine mark vanished.

Priam's soul was being reborn, pristine and sublime. 

As the pain gave way once more to fury, Priam assessed his situation and pressed his lips together. The last few weeks had been so lenient that he had forgotten one of the Tutorial’s lessons:

Adapt or perish. And I'm damn good at adapting.

To survive, Priam was willing to kill and suffer, to run and play, to resist and change. As long as he was alive, there was hope.

“An [Iconoclast]... You've just signed your death warrant. They hunt every celestial soul.”

When his eyes opened again, Priam flashed a mocking smile at Sumstreh. The hairs on his arms had stood on end the moment the System modified his soul. The Merits of Iconoclast were designed to resist the gods, and he had triggered an alarm. Soon, someone would come to punish him. No matter, Back in Time will cover me.

Sumstreh’s spiritual influence over his soul was no longer a violent deluge but a mere summer drizzle. To kill him now, the Fallen would have to descend from his throne and get up close and personal. Léo and his rivals would make sure that didn’t happen.

“You should be worried about yourself.”

[There is no Heaven] transformed his aether into spiritual poison, and Priam went on the offensive again. This time, he targeted not a tentacle, but the Fallen’s soul itself—specifically, one of the cracks covering its first layer, the one governing common skills. Sumstreh had likely patched together different soul fragments to recreate his own, and Priam aimed for the seams.

Sharpened by [There is no Heaven], his will struck at the Fallen’s weakness like a blade seeking a chink in armor. The enemy’s soul trembled, and the monster howled. If he destabilized it further, the damage would become crippling, and victory would be his.

Out of the corner of his eye, Priam saw Ophis rushing toward him, Dishnu and Braato on his heels. The intruder’s Domain crushed his own and began to bear down on him. Priam grunted, feeling something infiltrate his body, but he managed to stay on his feet.

Lvl Up: [Poison Body] lvl 28
CONST +1
VIT +1
META (Endurance) +1

The poison distilled by the Tier 4 was terrifying, but Priam’s resistances and physical attributes guaranteed him at least a minute of survival. From the sound of the Fallen’s screams, that was more than enough. The skulc extended a putrid hand toward him, determined to stop him physically. His shadow quivered, but Priam soothed Jasmine. I got it.

Dedicating a parallel thought to handle the intruder, Priam blocked with his arm. His left hand gripped the opponent’s wrist, and his right palm landed on Ophis’s fresh scar. Channeling his kinetic reserves accumulated before the battle, the Champion let them explode through his meridians.

Lvl Up: [Adaptive Golden Meridians] lvl 13, 14
META (Focus) +6
META (Endurance) +12

For an instant, the skulc’s right shoulder held, but then the immense force triumphed. The Tier 4’s pupils quivered as his arm gave way in a spray of blood.

Still holding the severed member, Priam watched Ophis’s body get catapulted backward at over a kilometer per second, colliding with Braato’s bent knee with a terrible crack. In his colossal form, Dishnu took over, smashing his fists into the enemy. The Tier 4’s silhouette was swallowed by the earth, and Priam tossed the useless arm into the Tribulation Chamber of Concepts Archipelago. The Snaherts leader’s genome might be useful.

A fit of coughing made him spit black blood on the ground. Tired, Priam diagnosed his body. His pathways had burst, but his arteries had taken over thanks to [Bloodless]’s Merit. He ordered Promesse to amputate his poisoned arm and refocused all his attention on his spiritual attack. Under his assault, Sumstreh's soul was reaching a critical point.

His will wielded [There is no Heaven] to deliver the final blow to his adversary. Finally, the spiritual fissure widened, destabilizing the first layer of his soul. With a tremendous mental crash, it exploded, sending spiritual fragments in all directions.

Sumstreh's scream shook the world. Arnold, Seth, and Léo backed away as the enemy began convulsing. Watching the fallen's Domain violently fluctuates, one could tell how deep the spiritual wound was.

“If I have to die, I won’t go alone!” they swore.

The valley trembled as a titanic amount of energy rose toward the sky to create a basic ritual.

Four overlapping runes materialized, so bright and massive that they eclipsed the glow of the Necromoon. Priam’s magical senses told him each contained enough aether to destroy not just the valley, but the entire floating island. Sumstreh’s preparations were profound.

“If you don’t let me go, we’ll die together,” threatened the Fallen. The specter struggled to maintain their form, a sign that they were seriously injured.

“We just need to destabilize one of these runes to cancel the ritual!” Priam shouted, seeing his allies hesitate.

“He says that because he can resurrect!” roared the former god. “He wants us all dead so he can claim the rewards for himself.”

Priam cursed, remembering that Sumstreh had partial access to his modified status.

“You can resurrect?” growled Seth, suspicious.

“Only once,” Priam admitted. Without knowing his rivals' skills, lying would be foolish, and his secret would be safe once he went back in time. “But I’m about to trigger a sextuple Tribulation in less than an hour, so I don’t plan on dying now.” Priam hoped the truth would sway his rivals; they were so close to victory. “Trust me, together, we can easily destroy one of these runes before the ritual activates. Then, we’ll claim the rewards!”

He could feel Seth hesitating. If Léo or Arnold agreed to the plan, Priam was sure they could kill Sumstreh.

His gaze met Arnold's, and the homunculus opened his mouth.

“A massive corrupted army is attacking your tribes right now,” he said, firing a plasma cannon that engulfed Dishnu's poisoned form. 

Priam's eyes widened, as did Léo's and Braato's. The chiefs grabbed a cord at their belts and tore it. In the next instant, all the Tier 4s from the tribes had vanished. Seth shot a dark look at the homunculus before ordering his necro-titan to charge after them.

Silence stretched for a few moments before Priam sighed. He was more tired than angry.

“Why? Victory was within reach.”

Arnold levitated down to the ground, landing with the grace of an angel. Behind him, Sumstreh descended as well.

“Because the First is the number one priority. The only thing more important than being his ally is seeing him dead.”

Priam loomed so large in Arnold’s mind that the Var Elegis had decided to gamble on Sumstreh’s help and the possibility of a septuple Tribulation to eliminate his greatest rival.

The situation was so dire that Priam burst into laughter.

“You're going to pay for this.”

His shadow quivered as Sphinx settled on his shoulder. It was time to draw the curtain on this timeline.

*

[2 hours 30 minutes before optimal activation of Back in Time.]

*

Status:

PHYSICAL:
Strength 782
Constitution 1 389 (+2)
Agility 924
Vitality 1 340 (+2)
Perception 817

MENTAL:
Vivacity (D) 599
Dexterity 680
Memory 896
Willpower 1 193
Charisma 754

META:
Meta-affinity 923 (+3)
Meta-focus 444 (+6)
Meta-endurance 798 (+19)
Meta-perception (A) 443 (+2)
Meta-chance 332
Meta-authority 252

Potential: 12 440 (+7)
Tier 0

Sun point: 0

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED

[Tribulation]: Six Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Time: 152 days 8 hours 2 minutes 16 seconds.

Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 600 / 6 attribute > 900 / 3 attributes > 1 200 / 1 attribute > 1 500