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Chapter 296: Inventory Plus Ultra

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Gabriel heaved a veeeeeeeery long breath.

For all the years he had lived, swallowing down his anger and cooling down his mind was the most difficult task he had yet to master.

In the past, Janus had rebuked him time after time because his short temper was becoming his own reason for not having friends around him.

He was so adamant to tell the world that he was not an old man, despite living for more than 15 Cycles, and yet his grumpy old self were signs that his unsociability and aloofness infect some of his decisions.

Take for example why Tiara had remained frozen all these years despite only having 1/4 of its land area being affected by the frozen Ice Caps of the Extreme Northern Region.

Because of the war that had happened in the past regarding territories, in his anger, he locked the entire continent………. resulting to the current situation where only 13 Walled Cities managed to survive.

The lack of population led to the propagation of the monsters, the unbridled camping of the Demons, and the freezing of the lands.

Ones flourishing healthy lands became territories for monsters; plains were taken over by beasts, while valleys and inconspicuous forests and mountain ranges became bases for Demons to plant their grounds.

And Gabriel’s pride and ego prevented him from taking back his degree, thus, after so many years, the entire situation deteriorated.

Now….

Now that things were going haywire; where his own Teacher is dead; his Empire almost non-existent; and the task he was supposed to uphold in the verge of being tested; Gabriel’s temper was now being tested by an untouchable existence.

Such irony was really hard to accept.

“I am not old.” He couldn’t help but murmur.

His fists crackling, his Mana surging forth; little tornadoes began to form around his body and it was visibly threatening for a non-magic user like Siva.

“Tell me then.” Siva dropped all sarcasm. “Who is Janus and what am I really to this world? Why do I have these memories? Why do I hate Immortals? What is the secret of this world?”

Secret of this world……

Siva had tiny bits, fragments, of recollection that spoke of a [secret] that became a valuable thing somewhere around 50 years ago.

There was keyword in his [memories]: a key. But in his wildest imaginations, he couldn’t think of any mystical thing that could become a “key”.

Because this “key” might not be a physical key but a hypothetical one, or a figurative one, or a place, or a name, or a person, or an object, or a word…

There were so many possibilities but the only key to discover what this [key] is lies on that war, 56 years ago.

Gabriel shook his head and sighs again, short of being disappointed and being helpless on the irony of this situation. To think the last person to ever have the [key] to the secret of this world had lost his memory….. it was too ironic.

Gabriel answered, “Janus is a God of this world. A God that controls Fated Meetings, which thus creates the Karma of all things; he is the [God] of Destiny, The Creator. You are [The Destroyer] and your purpose is to Destroy. Tell me, do you know who and what is Terra?”

Siva paused for a moment, “She is my mother.”

Whether it was an unsure fact to him, whether it was figuratively or literally, Siva knows in his heart that Terra is his mother….. nothing more.

“Heh… really youre… Hrrrmmmm… anyways, she is The Preserver of Worlds. When [The One] had created the Universe, he needed an existence to watch over his creation so he gave a command that [Vishnu] must do her best to sustain the world and keep it in order so LIFE will propagate unhindered across the eons. For Billions of years, [Vishnu] upheld her job and LIFE flourished, and from the Primordial Times…. Gods were born.”

“The Primordial Gods.” Siva’s [memories] recalled.

“Yes.” Gabriel continued, absorbed in sharing his own knowledge, “The LIFE that [The One] wished to exist were the Primordial Gods. It was also then and there that [The One] began to betray his own creations.”

Siva didn’t notice that he too was being absorbed in this story. In his memories, a Battlefield in the Stars resurfaced with vivid clarity.

He saw there NOT only the Primordial Gods, but also Elder Gods, Chaos Gods, and Immortals… is this the betrayal he was talking about?

“When the last of the Primordial Gods were born, he planted a seed of darkness on one existence.”

“Is it Mefisto?”

Gabriel eyed Siva and shook his head, “Mefisto is but the ultimate product of [The One’s] greed and ambitions. This [Tainted One] is called Lucifer. He was the first Devil.”

Siva’s eyes went wide as soon as he heard the name. He put a hand on his face and he staggers as he recalled flashes of images regarding a great battle that included him and this so called Lucifer.

It was giving him an extreme headache so painful that it was close to the aftershocks of him using the “10%” of his total Reaction Speed potential.

“Wh-What is this?!!”

Gabriel indifferently looked at him, “You were the one who deleted Lucifer.” He said and then flicked his fingers, bringing the two of them back on the edge of the square in the temple entrance.

“I did what?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“….”

“Now, going back a few trillions of years, when Lucifer was [tainted] by [The One], Lucifer’s only purpose is to ‘consume’ the other Primordial Gods’ [Divinity]. Terra, unable to do anything, was pained to see the children she treated as her own massacring each other… albeit, as the product of the [Tainted One]’s actions, it also gave birth to the Elder Gods and Chaos Gods, while the great number of the Primordial Gods continued to battle endlessly, this battle also greatly expanded this universe where worlds upon worlds were created, and Mortals, Beasts, and Immortals began to exist.”

Siva, who stood behind Gabriel with effort, looked at the sight of Alexandria that Gabriel was looking at right now.

It was a really grand view.

While his head cooled down and the pain began to subside, he couldn’t help but thinking hard on the new [memories] he remembered.

“Lucifer…” he murmured ightly.

Gabriel spoke and cut him, “After the death of countless Primordial Gods came the birth of the Terran Universe. It was named as such because the Primordial Gods who were not tainted by Lucifer, named it so to show their defiance of [The One]’s betrayal.”

At this point, Gabriel faced him, “It was then that you emerged…”

Again, images and [memories] resurfaced in his mind as Siva recalled the earliest memories he had of this world.

But he failed to remember, in all of these jumbled images and visions, just what was the earliest of his earliest [memories].

“To be precise,” Gabriel said and turned his back against him again, “You were the first oddity.”

“Oddity?”

“Yes, Oddity.”

As he spoke here, Gabriel flicked his fingers again and behind Siva materialized a PNF, a few crates of monster materials, 6 boxes of processed NanoCubes, a small box, and a piece of paper —a note with his name— in it.

“These are?” Siva faced Gabriel who wore a very reluctant expression looking at him.

“That Portable Nano-Furnace is Teacher’s and these monster materials and processed NanoCubes are those of the five kids with him. It is Teacher’s wish to give this PNF to you. Take it.”

Siva, still confused, walked closer, taking the note with his name and reading its contents.

[You have a knack for designing Inventions so I won’t have to teach you anything. These crates are the kids’ and these processed NanoCubes have all the Monster Resource of my shop back in Walled City of Aarun. That small box has an item called “Beast Blood Pendant” that will enable you to have the ability to communicate with any Beast or Monster regardless of their rank, race, and classification…. including Dragons.

Although I would suggest that you don’t face a Dragon until you are able to use the [Fortress] function of the Mobile Prison —but just ignore this part of this letter if you don’t know what the Mobile Prison is— hehe… well, aside from that, I can’t give you much of help but I do hope that when you read this letter, you have already unlocked the [Fortress] of Akhenaton.

My deepest regret in life is that I am unable to be of much help to your upcoming battles. Although I’ve tried my best to set up your future meetings, no plans are absolute and because my [Authority] had been depleted long ago, I could only do my best with my limited time and capabilities… still, I know that by the time you are reading this letter, I may probably be dead already and Gabriel will be blaming you for all of it, even to the point of picking a fight with you. But, please, don’t get mad at him. He’s just really sad because he was getting old and—]

“Achoo…”

“What is it?”

“Nothing. Don’t mind me. It’s just cold here.”

“(You’re an Immortal and you still feel cold?)”

[—and he doesn’t have much of a social life. I request that you do not let it get over you. In fact, I request that you treat him as a friend. He is just sad because all his friends have long since left him due to his long lifespan. Anyways, that’s about it. Gabriel will do his best to help you as best as he can though by the time you managed to talk to him, I’d assume that he’s still undergoing his Final Tests, so I don he’s going to just tell you a few things that you need to know.

And so, finally…

I request that you will protect Terroa and do your best to uphold Terra’s wishes. Whether you treat her as your mother or your sister, just please, protect the last world that she wants to protect.

That’s all I’d ever want.]

“The last world……”

Is this the secret?

Siva asked himself as he folded the paper and then took the small box. He took the pendant and wore it on his neck without pausing and then he turned to Gabriel before looking helplessly at the crates and the boxes.

“I can’t bring these all, including those three things on that room you left earlier so I will have to wait for the rest of the guys to come out.”

“You don’t have to.” Gabriel replied blandly.

After that, he flipped his palm and threw an item item towards Siva who caught it with one hand.

As soon as he did, Siva activated the [Identifier] function of the Auricle on his ear and almost gasp and choke at the sight of the item’s description.

«Inventory Plus Ultra»

Type: Accessory

Rarity: Unique

Weight Units: 5 we

Inventory Slots: 10 slots

Durability: 100/100%

Materials: *Unknown*

Manufacturer: *Unknown*

Item Description:

Blessing from an Ascension Candidate who took the path of Space and Time. Forced by circumstances or given by will, the Immortal had extracted his essence and injected his spirit to create an item unique in both existence and essence across the eons.

Grants:

*Inventory Slots +9,999,600 (Upgradable)

*Weight Limits Expansion (+2000 units to MAXwe)

>Enable Upgrade [LOCKED 1/9999exp]

>Enable Time-Space Cabinet [LOCKED 1/9999exp]

>Enable World Realm Utility [LOCKED 1/9999exp]

>Enable Split Dimension [LOCKED 1/9999exp]

…..or to be precise, Siva gasped at the fact that the item’s effects were upgradeable.

But more than that, again, he was bewildered at the [LOCKED] status of the granted abilities.

“This bracelet…..”

“Thank my Master for it. I spent a lot of time to make this item because of his request. I know that this will be of help to you but in exchange for that item, I don’t want you to let my Master down. And I also want you to know that with this, my promise to help you in my Master’s stead is fulfilled. In the future, if you seek my help, I will always ask for a great compensation. Hmp. Nothing is free in this world.”

It’s not even a request, but it was a demand. This ‘Immortal’ gave him a large boon but in exchange, he had to do Janus’ bidding that should be easy, if he was still sane at the time of its fulfillment.

Siva was obviously conflicted. He knew that the thing Janus wants him to fulfill was easy to each and every letter of it; but it’s just that he had to be still him and not [Siva] when the time comes.

“I am not going to thank you then.”

“(Ungrateful bastard!) Hmp. That’s your advanced payment so you better do a good job.”

“….”

“….”

“….”

“What?”

“What was Janus’s mission for me? Is it just the same as Terra’s?”

Gabriel paused to think since this was also not something that was confirmed to begin with. To be exact, it was only a vague “request” from Terra but the exact specific was unknown.

“Can you tell me what Terra left you?”

Siva bit his lip in hesitation. Though not that it was visible, but he closed his mouth and this made Gabriel think that Siva himself was also not sure of what Terra wanted him to exactly do either.

And so before Siva could say anything, Gabriel, in these small hesitating moments, opened his lips to say his piece.

“To plainly speak of it, I think Terra’s and Master’s missions for you are the same.”

“Is it to preserve Terroa? To keep it safe?”

“That should be it. But do you know from whom?”

Siva paused before replying in surety. “Mefisto.”

Gabriel chuckled with multiple layers of uncurbed sarcasm and he shook his head.

“No. From you! The things I don’t want to tell you, the things that you wanted to know, you have to be the one to find the answers yourself. And from the time I saw you fight against Mefisto when you chipped off a part of the moon I think you already know where to find your answers.”

Siva thought at the time that he fought Mefisto above Apus Epirus after he barged in during the attack in Alexandria.

Although the memory was a bit hazy and doubtfully his, he still had the lingering impressions of that fight and as well as the last moments after it.

When his thoughts travelled there, a single word emerged in his mind.

“Chronos.”

“Hmp. At least you’re not as stupid as I think you would be.”

Siva squinted his eyes and planned to retort but he realized that Gabriel was just provoking him and also at the fact that he just gave him an item —and a Unique Item with good functionality at that— he couldn’t bear if the guy would change his mind because of anger and take it back.

He did his best to hold it in.

Siva knew that he couldn’t force the man to tell him the answers so in this matter regarding his own fragmented [memories], he could only deign to forcefully change the direction of his curiosity.

“Then….” Siva prompted, “Going back to your story, what happened to the Primordial Gods after… after I emerged? No, can you tell me then how I emerged during that time and where and when was it?”

Siva thought that the incident happened millions of years in the past of Terroa.

In his mind, he had already formed a few hypotheses but he did not dare to be openly blunt about it or he’d just end up on a dead end.

Could it be that after I logged in for the first time in this game, something akin to Horizon Logs had happened to me? (AN: LOL, just a reference and I meant it as ‘logs’ as in “Captain’s Logs”)

Or could it be that all these things happened to me in Lausanne, four years ago?

It was his “accident” that he has no memory of.

From the things he’d patched from fragments of information he heard, saw, and discovered until now from many different sources, most especially from AG’s and his own uncle’s words, to also include Samantha… that mysterious woman who kissed him in that village north of Dragona; it can be possible that at the time, four years ago in that city in Sweetzerland, the two of them were in this game together?

Four years ago…

Everything that is happening to him right now had begun four years ago in Lausanne, Sweetzerland, where the headquarters of the UNICORN is now currently located.

“In the end, the UNICORN is really connected in all these things… especially in Terroa…”

Hate was sprouting in his mind and while he hated AG, Mefisto, the Devils, and his fate, he now was also starting to hate the UNICORN because of the things he found in his house.

“I’m sure AG and the UNICORN is connected…”

At this moment, he recalled the words Graham spoke to him: that he doesn’t have the ability to protect Baron even he has the strength to take him away from AG.

While he summoned all his patience waiting for the silvery-blonde haired Gabriel to reply, Siva did not notice that his own hands were trembling.

Gabriel noticed it and turned his back against him, facing Alexandria and looking far at the horizons.

“These all happened countless years ago… or to put it closely, an Eternity’s worth of Eon Cycles in the long eras of the past.”

After he spoke, he sighed and turned his face to the side, “In Human years, that’s 999 trillion times more than 999 trillions of your suns and their sun years, multiplied by 999 octillion times…… combined.”

.

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The Terran Universe, expanding in mystery….

As Siva adds another name on his list!!!

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