Chapter 50 - Challenge – Part 1

Thursday, 27th of May - Mind World:

Haru Watanabe, a brown-haired and black-eyed woman was levitating with her eyes shut in the Mind World.

She was one of the ten humans who had gained powers. Her power was telepathy.

However, something happened.

Perhaps it was a miscalculation on Nazar's part or someone else, but Haru's powers increased significantly. It went from mere telepathy to full range of psychic powers. Her psionic energies increased significantly, allowing her to use more than one ability.

She can not only use telepathy but telekinesis and other psychic powers too.

Currently, she was levitating with her eyes shut.

"Got it!"

An accomplished smile appeared on her face.

"That wasn't so hard "

She landed on the ground as eight more people showed up.

A black-haired, brown-eyed thin man named Jalil was the first to appear with a confused look on his face. He had the power to warp reality.

Then soon after, seven more people showed up.

A teenager with the power of flight, Illya Kolisnyk, who surprisingly looked very excited.

Another teenager with the power of invulnerability, Jose Santos, who seemed very frightened.

A brown-haired muscular man in a suit with black sunglasses, Chris Fisher, looked around and tried to understand this place. He had the power to manipulate gravity.

A member of the Canadian Armed Forces with super-strength, Matthew Jackson, had his arm wrapped in a casket. He tried to understand this place so he could perhaps tell his superiors about it.

A red-haired woman who always has a threatening look in her eyes, Katie Campbell, had a confused look in her eyes. She is telekinetic.

Another teenager with short black hair, Arno, looked around with a wary expression on his face. His power is Erasure. He can erase anything.

Zhi Yan, a teleporter looked around in an exasperated manner.

"Welcome to the Mind World," Haru said as she spread her arms slightly and smiled thinly.

She spoke in English but surprisingly, everyone understood.

She might be putting on a brave smile but she was scared of herself.

"Wh-wha-what is this place?"

Katie, who was also a psionic, felt a strong connection to this place.

Even though she might not have full set of psychic powers, she still uses psionic energies.

However, she couldn't explain the connection to herself, so it left her feeling a little uneasy.

"It's a world powered by the psionic energies. The same ones you use. However, only people with telepathy can access it, Katie."

Katie's eyes widened a little.

"How do you know my name?"

"Honestly? Not sure myself. I have been learning a lot of stuff. And your names are one of them."

"How we did we get here?" Chris asked.

He looked very curious.

"I pulled your minds into this world."

His eyes widened.

"Don't worry, no one will notice anything in the outside world. It will be as if the world is frozen."

They all let out a sigh of relief.

"So, why are we here? Are we fighting a villain?!"

Illya, unlike the others, was very excited.

Seeing that, Haru sighed slightly.

"Well…"

She waved her hand and the world changed.

All around them, they could see "pictures" of Nazar. Most of them were from another world, which Haru had pulled out of her own mind.

"Who is that?"

" That's…"

One of the "pictures" expanded and turned into a "video".

It was showing a video of Nazar killing people. It happened around July 2019 of the original timeline when a demon had given thousands of humans superpowers, so Nazar killed them because the Nameless One had killed his friend. He wasn't sure that it was the Nameless One back then, and all evidence had been changed by Nazar's God to point to one of the new superhumans.

Therefore, Nazar killed every single one of them.

"The guy who gave us our powers; Nazar."

Jalil touched his head as if he felt a little pain.

"Now that I think about it, he seems familiar."

"I don't know much about reality warping, but if I were to guess, it's an insanely powerful ability. So, I have a feeling that you might actually be able to remember the other…"

Haru remembered Nazar and the other timeline but she was not sure what it was.

"The other world."

"Hm?"

"I don't know much either. But I just wanted to tell you that the person who gave us our powers isn't a good person. He is a monster. This killer who won't stop at anything."

Everyone looked at the "pictures" which turned into "videos" and saw what Haru remembered about Nazar.

The only thing she remembers is a cold blooded killer who didn't care who he killed.

One of those "videos" showed spaceship. And a few other "videos" showed aliens.

All the other ones were paying attention to Haru but Zhi and Illya looked at the "videos" of aliens and spaceships.

"Woah, aliens are real?!" Zhi said in an excited manner.

"And that's such a cool spaceship."

Ignoring the other two, Haru continued.

"I don't know why he gave us powers but if I know anything, he probably wants to use us for his own selfish reasons."

"That isn't true at all."

Suddenly, they heard another voice.

Looking back, they saw a white-haired and red-eyed man standing before them.

Seeing that, their shoulders tensed up.

Even Illya and Zhi stopped looking at the spaceships and aliens excitedly.

"It's true that I gave you powers but not because I want to use you."

Nazar walked closer towards them.

"I gave you powers because it was time for humanity to move forward. For too long we have been stuck in the same place. So, I want us to move forward."

Haru gulped.

"And no, I don't want you to be my minions or anything. I just gave you powers. To see how YOU can change the world. Of course, if you don't want to, I will take it away from you."

"Then--"

"What you saw were all out of context. Let me justify my kills."

Nazar waved his hand the Mind World changed.

The "pictures" and "videos" changed.

It showed things from Nazar's perception.

"When I "killed" all those people in 2018… Do you know what they were?"

"Humans."

Nazar laughed.

"That's what I thought too. They, however, were anything but humans."

Everyone looked at Nazar in surprise.

"They were undead. The same ones who attacked Earth in 2019 and we had casualties that went up to millions. Even though I "killed" them, but they weren't dead."

Some of them started to look confused.

"They were undead. They are already dead so they can't be killed again. They had made a deal with the devil who was ruling Earth for decades."

"And the other ones?"

"Ah, that."

Nazar lowered his gaze.

"That's on me. I found out that they were given powers by a demon and my friend was killed at the hands of someone the same day… One misunderstanding led to another and it ended in bloodshed."

He raised his head and looked at Haru in the eyes.

"But it's not like they were good people. One of them killed three people, including a child."

Of course, no one else knew about this. But Nazar also knew this wasn't going to justify him killing thousands.

"But at the end of the day, it's on me. All of them. I had the intention of killing them, even if they turned out to be evil or undead. So, I understand that you are wary of me."

Nazar waved his hand and the Mind World became blank.

"Remember."

As he said that, the other eight people in this place remembered their old life completely.

Of course, since they were not in their bodies, they couldn't feel pain.

"On the 31st of October 2019 of the original timeline, a bright white light… It started at the end of the time and went back to 2000. If I hadn't stopped it then everything would have been destroyed."

Everyone opened their eyes in horror.

Of course, they saw the light but they didn't know what it was until now.

"Anyway, you can do whatever you want with your powers. It's up to you. You can be heroes or villains. I couldn't care less and I won't tell you otherwise."

Nazar had always wanted them to change the world around them without his influence.

"Soon there will be more of you. A lot more of you. So…"

Nazar smiled.

"If you are choosing to be heroes, make sure to learn how to battle supervillains who will definitely come. Maybe in a week. Or a month. Or a year. But they will come."

"Did… Did you heal everyone?"

Hearing Katie's question, Nazar nodded.

"Thank you."

Nazar was confused but he pointed towards Jalil with his index finger.

*You should thank him instead. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have healed every one. He put me in a difficult position."

"Anyway, how did you get here? And find us?"

Nazar narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I keep a close eye on the planet. And since I noticed a rise in psionic energies, I knew something was up. So I tracked you down here."

Nazar smiled and then vanished into thin air.

The superhumans were left alone and confused.

Haru gulped in fear.

"Wha… What do we do now?"

Hearing Katie's question, Haru lowered her gaze.

"I…"

"Whatever side you are on or whatever you want to do with your powers… You need to train."

Everyone looked at Chris.

"You need to learn how to utilize your powers the best."

"Well, I have been 'training' but who is going to teach us?" Zhi asked in a confused manner. "I still can't control where I end up. I fell in front of a train the other day and nearly died. So, it would be cool if someone were to teach me. Can you do that, Mr Glasses?"

Haru clicked her tongue.

"I don't know if I can help some of you, but I can at least help you," she said as she pointed towards Katie. "And maybe you too, Illya."

"Oh?"

Haru went closer to Katie and placed her index finger on her forehead.

Both of their eyes lit up with yellow energy. That was the colour of psionic energy.

Removing her finger from Katie's forehead, she gasped.

"Holy shit!"

Katie was breathing heavily.

"So many new techniques…"

"Yeah, you are good to go."

Haru looked at Illya.

"I am not sure how it will help since I can fly… But it's different, right?"

"Oh, don't worry about me," Illya sounded excited as he floated. "It took me a few days to learn it. I am quite a fast learner."

"Oookaaaaaaaay then."

"I can fly pretty fast. But I wish I didn't burn my clothes regularly."

"So, what about me? I can't erase anything big," Arno said in an exasperated manner. "I have been trying at erasing different things but it's not enough. I can't erase specific things."

"Your power is…?"

Arno looked at Chris who was standing near him.

"Erasure. Apparently, I can erase anything."

Chris' eyes widened in fear.

He looked at the skinny man near Arno.

"And you?"

"Me?" Jalil pointed at himself with his index finger. "Oh, something called reality wrapping… Reality warping? Or something like that."

Chris gulped.

"I won't use my power against humans. I promise."

"And I don't even know what I can do."

Arno and Jalil wanted to reassure him but Chris was still scared.

"Ca-can I leave now?"

"Yeah, we are done anyway."

She took a deep breath.

"I just wanted all of you to be careful. Sorry about all of this."

Haru waved her hand all of them ended up in their own bodies.

Haru sighed.

She sat down and held her head in her hands.

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Soon - Unknown Planet - Messier 81:

On an oceanic planet, a black-haired and red-eyed human-like person, wearing a black armour was flying above the waters.

"It has to be here…"

Reaper, one of the deadliest assassins and bounty hunters around, was searching for his target.

Flying above the oceans at a fast speed, he wasn't making any sound.

Today, he was not here to kill someone or as a bounty hunter.

No, today, he felt something. Something that didn't feel right at all.

"I can feel it right around here."

He had a mission nearby where he assassinated a high ranking priest. As he was leaving, he felt something weird yet familiar from this planet.

Whatever it was, Reaper knew it very well. But he just couldn't remember what it was at this moment.

The energies on this oceanic planet were being constantly messed up.

Looking ahead, he noticed a large doorway being opened to another dimension. So, he slowed down a little in order to analyse it.

"Hm. That dimension…"

Reaper's expressionless face changed.

"Is that…?"

His eyes widened in surprise.

He analysed the doorway further. He knew what it was but he still wanted to make sure he gets all the necessary data before he jumps to conclusions.

While he was analysing, someone came out of the doorway.

"That… Who is that?"

The number of people who can manipulate the quantum physics. And Reaper knows all of them since everyone with this ability can sense one another around the universe.

Manipulating quantum physics allows the user to access the energies from a dimension called the Quantum Realm. Using those energies, these people can manipulate energy, matter, time, reality and do so much more.

Of course, the extent of their abilities depends on the user. The more knowledgeable someone is of the Quantum Realm, the better they can use their powers.

However, he doesn't recognise this being in front of him.

"He isn't powered by the Quantum Realm."

This being in front of him was not powered by the Quantum Realm like everyone else.

And if someone is not powered by the Quantum Realm, they can never open a gateway to it.

"What is he--"

Before Reaper could finish, the other being had jumped and punched Reaper in the chest.

"Brgg!!"

Reaper had fallen to the bottom of the ocean in an instant.

"Whhhoooooooooooooooo………"

The other beast spoke like a beast.

"Arrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeee…………. youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?"

The energies he was giving off was nothing Reaper had ever seen.

Looking at the beast, he had never seen or heard of this kind of being.

The beast before him stood at 3 meters tall. The beast resembled a bulky man with a dark glow surrounding it.

But Reaper could see behind the dark glow.

This beast had teeth that resembled orcs, white eyes that resembled a Griffin, a big nose that resembled a Unicorn, two horns that resembled the demons, ears that resembled the dwarves, and a face shape that resembles a gorilla.

The beast had legs that resembled a werewolf and arms that resembled the Fenrir.

Its body was covered in hair completely. It had long and wavy hair on its head.

The features of this beast left Reaper speechless at the bottom of this oceanic planet.

He has never seen or heard of such creature.

"Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu……….. arrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeee………"

The beast transformed the water into something else.

Reaper noticed the hydrogen and oxygen atoms being replaced by something he couldn't understand.

The water turned pitch black as it restrained Reaper.

"Nottttttttt… himmmmmmmmmm."

The beast could talk naturally in water.

Controlling the water, he formed a lance made of water and shot it towards him.

"Youuuuuuuu…. arrrrreeee…… nooottttttt…."

Of course, Reaper managed to put up a shield at the last second and block the coming lance.

"Godddddd………"

Reaper noticed that the beast's speech was changing.

(God?) Reaper thought. (Which one? There are many Gods.)

Throughout his career, he has met a lot of people who can be considered a "God".

(The Omega People? The sixth dimensional Gods? Who?)

He struggled to free himself from the dark water.

The beast was coming closer towards him. Reaper tried to teleport out but it wasn't working.

He tried to change the dark water back to normal but it wasn't working.

(Well, I don't have another choice.)

Reaper's body started to glow a little.

(Whatever this thing is, I can't seem to get away from it.)

The beast held Reaper by the head and tried to crush it.

(This beast's power is… I need to try and kill it.)

Even though the beast was sucking the energy out of him, his body was still getting brighter and brighter.

"Whereee…. iss… God?"

"I… I don't--"

"Don't speak, mortal."

The beast punched him in the stomach.

All of a sudden, his speech had gotten better.

Reaper's eyes widened.

(Did he steal my ability to speak too? What else did he steal? My power and knowledge?)

"Where is he?"

"Wh-who?"

"The real God… Nazar."

(Why did I not think of him?!)

Reaper's energies were lowering but even then, his body was getting brighter. Slowly but surely.

"Who are you?"

"Hrm."

Reaper was sure this beast snorted.

"I am…"

Reaper waited in anticipation.

"God Eater."

"...Huh?"

"Now then…"

The beast placed its other hand on Reaper's head.

"You have little remains of his energies. I shall eat it. And yours too. Tell me, where is he…? Ah."

Reaper noticed that his energies were being drained significantly faster than before.

"Earth."

(No time.)

His body glowed up and…

BOOM!

The blue oceanic planet was no more.

Reaper blew himself up like a nuclear bomb and destroyed the planet with it.

There was nothing of the planet remaining except for a few debris here and there.

However.

Bright blue energies came together and formed a humanoid shape.

The shape changed and formed a man.

Reaper.

He clicked his tongue.

He looked at the empty space which was occupied by this oceanic planet mere moments ago.

“The God Eater…”

His armour appeared around him once more. He had created it by manipulating the matter in dark space.

“He stole…”

Reaper gulped.

“It’s gone.”