《Brink Of Worlds》


 Chapter 1: Felled Star

    It had all happened so quickly. The explosions, the screams¡­ The end of the world.


    The ash-filled skyline hung over the decapitated city as if it were a blanket covering the horrors below. Skyscrapers stood unwavering but lifeless, the cracks in their bodies extending down to the smoke-filled streets. Craters and fissures decorated the cobbled roads. Some of them were still simmering with glowing heat, while others were littered with blackened bone fragments.


    Military carriages rolled solemnly past piles of bodies, scanning the skies for signs of the enemy. All else was empty, ghostly. Pigeons flapped in the distance, the only signs of life left in the rotting husk of Sirius City.


    It was hopeless.


    They were utterly, irrevocably outmatched. Outclassed by the demons that descended from the heavens. Outgunned by the enemies that dragged them to hell. It would take more than a miracle to turn the tide of the war, and not even the gods were bothering to show them any mercy.


    And yet they chose to fight on, determined to throw their lives on the line in the hope that another might live to see the next day. They fought on stubbornly, despite all the losses they had already endured. They resisted wilfully, despite the dark, desolate future ahead of them.


    But dawn never broke.


    ~ ~ ~


    The dull humming of technomagick engines filled the air, accompanied by a large shadow over the floor. A sleek airship landed without even a whisper of unnecessary sound, opening its bay doors with a soft whoosh of air.


    A brown-haired man stepped out first, his weary eyes surveying the snow-laden courtyard around him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me,¡± he mumbled as a pink glow coated his irises. ¡°Can¡¯t see a damn thing in this weather.¡±


    The morning fog retreated into the mountains, revealing a rusted sign that read: Guardian Council: Home of The Protectors. The rest of the building came into view soon enough, unveiling an assembly of robed individuals watching them through the windows.


    Another small group was standing at its entrance, waiting to greet their visitors.


    ¡°Took you guys long enough.¡± A blonde man stepped forward and greeted him with a smirk, which quickly gave way to a huge smile.


    A flash of red darted forward, hugging him tightly in her arms.


    ¡°Oh Gaius, thank the gods you¡¯re still alive,¡± the red-haired woman sobbed into his shoulders. ¡°I was so afraid I¡­ I couldn¡¯t see you for the last time¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Kleo,¡± Sorcerer Gaius Deusdedit said, before turning to the small group of people in front of him. ¡°It¡¯s good to see all of you.¡±


    The brown-haired man shook his head. ¡°We barely survived the fight at the outskirts. We¡¯re all that¡¯s left.¡±


    ¡°Even with you by their side¡­¡± Gaius cast his eyes downwards. ¡°The Unendings really are terrifying.¡±


    ¡°My sister, she¡­ Cybele didn¡¯t make it.¡± Warlock Kleopatra Vulcan let go of Gaius, choking back a sob. ¡°Those bastards stabbed her in the back. I couldn¡¯t save her¡­¡±


    A young man scuttled forward the moment they entered the building.


    ¡°Captain Felix Pagonis¡ª¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t call me that,¡± the brown-haired man said, before dropping his voice. ¡°A captain with no more men to lead is just another soldier.¡±


    ¡°No more men?¡± The young man¡¯s lips quivered as he fell to his knees in despair. ¡°Oh no¡­ No, it can¡¯t be! Cybele¡­ Cybele, no!¡±


    He was brought away.


    Felix Pagonis barely felt the hand on his shoulder as he struggled to hold in the tears welling up in his eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Mage Palladius Severan said solemnly. Felix could only purse his lips in response.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean a thing now,¡± he muttered to himself, before turning his attention to the red-haired man who had walked to the front of the room.


    And then, as if by some ancient magic, the building stirred to life. Murmurs increased around Felix as more people showed themselves from the shadows. Those who were already present straightened their bodies in respect for the Guardian Council¡¯s former leader.


    ¡°Brave men and women of Surone, we have lost much,¡± Warlock Alcaeus Vulcan began. ¡°These are dark and desperate times. The enemy¡ª the extinction of our kind¡ª is staring us in our faces. I know all of us have faced them at least once, and I know some of you are afraid. I¡¯m here to tell you that it¡¯s alright. It¡¯s perfectly natural.¡±


    He stepped forward, striking the ground with his staff.


    ¡°But I want you to know that I¡¯m not. I¡¯m not afraid to die fighting for our survival. Our enemies may seem endless; impossible to defeat, even. But it doesn¡¯t matter because we¡¯re all that¡¯s left standing between them and our world¡¯s demise.¡±


    The people in the room stirred. It might have just been the flickering candlelight, but they seemed to be standing taller now.


    ¡°Men have triumphed in already lost battles because they believed in their cause, and they believed it together. I¡¯ve seen it myself, and I¡¯m willing to bet I¡¯m not alone. So have faith, brave protectors. Have faith in the power of unity. Have faith in yourselves. Have faith.¡±


    Waves of stirring rolled over the survivors, multiplying upon themselves until the derelict building did not look so run-down anymore. No longer was this a hiding hole. No longer was this a place where refugees awaited their death. This was the Guardian Council headquarters.


    And this was the house of the protectors.


    An alarm blared throughout the building as a woman came running into the room in full battle gear. Felix narrowed his eyes in focus, calming his psychic senses. He didn¡¯t need the warning system to tell him what happened.


    ¡°Time¡¯s up,¡± she announced grimly. ¡°The Unending have found us.¡±


    ~ ~ ~


    The Unending.


    A shoddily put-together name for an invincible enemy. Like its namesake, these ¡®aliens¡¯ were ¡®unending¡¯, in the sense that they could not stay dead for long. Possessing a remarkable resistance to magic, The Unending massacred nations millions of people at a time. It took an absurd amount of effort to put one of them down.


    But even if it worked, they would just get back up by themselves as if they were re-raised by some crazed Necromancer.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Nobody ever figured out where these monsters came from, or maybe everyone was just too busy getting slaughtered to launch an investigation. All they knew was that The Unending would arrive via golden portals opened at random places, kill several hundred thousand people, and return to the portal once they were satisfied. There were no negotiations, no clear motivation, no strategy.


    Only mindless violence.


    To make matters worse, the environment gets warped wherever a portal opens, as if the portal itself messes up the fabric of reality with its mere presence. Whatever accursed planet or hell these demons came from, Earth definitely did not welcome them.


    Felix stood over the parapet, feeling his cape billow in the frigid winds. The portal was close enough to be visible to the naked eye, and the Unendings were pouring out like water from a leaking jar.


    He sighed audibly. After everything the Guardian Council had thrown at these demons, it still wasn¡¯t enough to put a dent in their numbers.


    ¡°Feeling nervous, Pagonis?¡±


    The Meta glanced at Severan, who was casting a hefty protection spell over the headquarters.


    ¡°If we win, there¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± Felix smiled wryly. ¡°And if we lose, it¡¯s not our problem anymore.¡±


    ¡°Get into position, everyone!¡± Vulcan¡¯s booming voice resounded from behind him. ¡°Kleo, prepare to discharge the thunderbolt spell! They¡¯ll never see this coming.¡±


    Felix¡¯s eyes glowed fiercely, feeling his telekinetic power hook onto the hatchet beside him. The Guardian¡¯s airship shuddered, powering down immediately as the pink energy ripped its power core out. After all, there was nowhere else they could run now.


    ¡°For all it¡¯s worth, Felix, I¡¯m sorry for discriminating against your kind.¡± Severan¡¯s solemn voice barely registered in Felix¡¯s ears as pink sparks crackled in the psychic¡¯s fingertips. ¡°Regret anything?¡±


    ¡°Never.¡±


    Power surged in the air as Felix threw his hands forward. The power core hurtled towards the approaching enemy, closely followed by a huge thunderbolt crackling through the air. Felix stood unflinching, watching the spell strike the power core.


    Purple light flashed, followed by the sound of a hundred thunders going off at the same time. White protective symbols blinked desperately against the incoming shockwave as the explosion tore through the portal, vaporising whatever came out of it.


    Felix narrowed his eyes. The portal was still open, but an explosion like that should have completely destroyed whatever was on the other side. After all, resurrection was pointless if there was nothing left to resurrect from.


    ¡°That was easy¡­¡± Severan chuckled slightly.


    ¡°Is everyone okay?¡± Vulcan asked, before supporting Kleopatra to her feet. ¡°Well done, you two. We should have enough time now to¡ª¡±


    An ear-piercing scream split the air.


    Felix swung around, cursing himself for letting his guard down. He roared like a wounded beast and sent a psionic beam from his hand. But he was too late.


    Mage Palladius Severan¡¯s lifeless body crumpled to the ground with a huge hole in his chest, flung away carelessly by a tall, spindly figure.


    Felix swung around, his eyes wild with panic. Not even that explosion could get all of them?


    ¡°We¡¯re surrounded!¡± Gaius yelled as he charged towards another Unending, only to be flung back with a single slap.


    Chaos broke out as the surviving monsters climbed over the parapet. A rainbow of spells hit their black, scaly bodies, but it did little to no damage to them.


    Felix clenched his fists, eyes ablaze with power as three of them walked menacingly towards him. Their golden eyes glowed fiercely as a blanket of red covered the area. The Meta fell to his knees, feeling abnormally heavy for some reason. Pained screams erupted all around him.


    He looked at the sky.


    The moon was a dark crimson in colour now, and appeared much larger for some reason. Mountains from afar were buckling under their own weight. Even the very ground he stood on was trembling. Felix gasped with realisation.


    The presence of the portal had somehow caused Earth¡¯s gravity to multiply at an alarming rate.


    Streams of golden light shook him back to the present. Felix gritted his teeth, pushing back his forcefield against them. He clenched his hand vindictively, and a hailstorm of sharpened rubble shredded his foes into pieces.


    A fireball narrowly missed him, followed by a desperate yell.


    Gaius was in the midst of fighting four Unendings at the same time, throwing out energy blasts and spells with inhuman speed. His body was barely recognisable; his regenerative ability struggling to keep up with the holes being punched in his body.


    Felix hesitated. The monsters he put down would be up again in no time, but Gaius needed his help more. Pink pooled in his eyes as he prepared to rush forward.


    But he had reacted too late.


    Gaius howled in pain as four beams of light hit his body. Orange burst in his eyes as the latent magic energy within him struggled to absorb the energy flooding into his body. Cracks ran through his skin. Light overflowed from his mouth.


    ¡°Gaius!¡±


    Gaius released a final scream as he burst like a balloon, taking out the four Unendings as the stored-up energy exploded from his body.


    Felix watched in despair as a glowing orb whizzed around where his body was, before being sucked into one of the monsters. He shook himself awake, turning his attention back to the battlefield. This was no time to freeze.


    Vulcan¡¯s decapitated head rolled to Felix¡¯s feet; its lifeless eyes staring into nothingness.


    ¡°Dad! Gaius! NOO!¡±


    Rage and pain contorted Kleopatra¡¯s face as her staff burned brighter than ever. ¡°ELDRITCH BLAST!¡±


    Felix raised a forcefield immediately as the indiscriminate explosion tore through the area, knocking out both Guardians and the Unendings. He took it down after a few seconds, raising his hand in warning¡ª


    Blood spurted from the woman¡¯s mouth as a sharpened hand went through her abdomen. And another. And another. And another. The appendages swung outwards simultaneously, accompanied by a splatter of blood.


    Kleopatra toppled to the ground, her body severed in half by the surviving Unendings.


    Felix swore in indignation, slamming his hands together. His eyes trembled with hate as the telekinetic force clumped The Unendings into a swirling mass of black.


    ¡°Damn it! Damn you all!¡± The psychic squeezed his fist. ¡°Nothing will remain!¡±


    Psionic energy crackled through the monsters, shredding all of them into fine dust. Felix fell to his knees, temporarily overwhelmed by the exertion, but the danger wasn¡¯t over yet.


    ¡°What the¡­ No, no, no¡­ Guh!¡±


    The ground crumbled away as rubble fell around him. Felix craned his neck against the overwhelming gravity. The entire sky was red now, covered by the rapidly approaching moon.


    ¡°I can¡¯t give in¡­ I won¡¯t!¡± Felix gritted his teeth, fighting back against what was at least four hundred times the Earth¡¯s gravity by now.


    Wind rippled his cape as the psychic burst upwards, his body flaring with an incredible amount of psionic energy. The moon loomed over him, although he could hardly see anything else through the glare of his own power. He shrieked with effort, punching into the powdery soil.


    Whips of psionic energy flailed out of the moon¡¯s surface as the psychic burrowed into the moon; every one of them several hundred metres wide. Huge chunks of moon rock rained down on the Earth as the moon began to split apart.


    Felix burst out from the other end of the celestial rock, shattering it into billions of pieces behind him.


    ¡°I did it¡­¡± he panted, struggling to breathe in the thin stratospheric air. ¡°I actually did it¡ª¡±


    An even larger shadow loomed over him. His eyes widened in horror as realisation finally hit him. It wasn¡¯t just the moon that was being pulled towards the Earth.


    So was Mars.


    Felix wasted no time, throwing himself between the two planets colliding this time. Darkness encroached on his eyes as he expelled every last psychic energy in his body. The mega-tsunami of pink flooded both planets as he struggled in vain to push them apart.


    But they were already too close together.


    And as the planets descended on the screaming man defiant enough to challenge the heavens, a tunnel of golden light materialised before his eyes.

 Chapter 2: Between Worlds

    Felix knew for a fact that the afterlife existed. Hell, he had even broken into Purgatory eighteen years ago. But unless he was having some sort of early onset dementia, an endless void was definitely not where he was supposed to go after dying.


    He tried wading around on the off chance that he was in some sort of obsidian liquid, only to find that he had no hands¡ª No. He did not even have a body. A twang of self-pity stung Felix. He was already beginning to miss being alive.


    ¡°Felix Apollo Pagonis.¡±


    Felix widened his non-existent eyes as the voice boomed all around him. It came from no particular direction, and sounded more like the void itself was speaking. Not that that surprised him, though. It was the fact that the voice addressed his father¡¯s name as well.


    A glowing doorway materialised in front of him. Light would have flooded out as well, but it seemed contained by some sort of unknown magic.


    ¡°You are unafraid. Good. I need a favour from you,¡± the voice continued.


    ¡°Tempted as I am to ask what¡¯s in it for me, I¡¯m going to have to clarify some things first,¡± Felix projected his thoughts to the void. ¡°Who the hell are you and what am I doing here?¡±


    ¡°I am Janus. God of beginnings and ends, entrances and exits, gateways and archways. Your world has ended, but you have not, thanks to me. I have halted your death and brought you here for a special purpose. Accept, and I will send you on your way. Refuse, and your destiny will resume its path.¡±


    ¡°Not much of a choice for a dying man, is it?¡± Felix muttered. ¡°What would you have me do?¡±


    There was a brief pause as if Janus was taken aback by his response.


    ¡°As a god of change, I possess the power to reset your universe; to give it a second chance. However, that power is vested in the two books I possess. The Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice. They are lost to me; scattered across the multiverse. I am a god; I cannot intervene in the mortal realm for too long. That is why I have chosen you to aid me in recovering my lost power.¡±


    It was Felix¡¯s turn to pause. Throughout his life, he had always been warned about tampering with the natural order, lest he tipped the precarious balance holding reality together. To receive an offer to do just that from not just any god, but one that most Metas worshipped, was conflicting, to say the least.


    But what more could he lose? His world was doomed. His life was over. How could he possibly screw things up more so than he already had? Why shouldn¡¯t he seize this chance to correct everything wrong with his world?


    ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡± he asked hesitantly.


    ¡°You must stay alive at all costs,¡± the god replied. ¡°With my diminished powers, I can only send you to another world once. If you die there, there will be no resurrections this time. Both of us only have one shot. Do you accept, Felix Pagonis?¡±


    ¡°Staying alive¡­ Sounds easy enough. Very well, I accept.¡±


    A gentle warmth flooded Felix¡¯s soul as an incorporeal outline of his body flashed a few times. He would have lost his nerve there and then, if he still had any. But as it was, he settled for hovering in darkness until Janus was done with whatever he was doing to his soul.


    ¡°I have marked your life force. You now have the ability to sense whenever you are near one of the solstices. Once you have found both books, you will hold the power to command the rebirth of worlds, and I will summon you back to my side.¡±


    The glowing door burned brighter as Felix felt himself being dragged towards it.


    ¡°I now return to you your power and your body,¡± Janus commanded authoritatively. ¡°With my blessing and the power vested in me, I now send you through the rift between worlds. Fair travels, Felix Pagonis. May you succeed in your mission.¡±


    And then Felix was falling. Or at least, it felt like he was. There was no direction in this place, after all. Threads of latent memories brushed across his body as he soared through the seemingly infinite void. Some were familiar, although others were not. Felix wondered if these were not actually memories, but possibilities that only occurred in other worlds.


    ¡°You will be a god among mortals. Don¡¯t let life tell you any different.¡±


    He stretched out his hand, trying to grasp the wispy ¡®memory¡¯ that only flowed through his fingertips. More streams of unfamiliar memories collided with him.


    ¡°You¡¯re just a man who raised me. We¡¯re not family.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m scared. Don¡¯t let them take me away.¡±


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    ¡°Orpheus! Marcia!¡± Felix struggled vainly, trying to get a hold of them. ¡°No, stay with me! Don¡¯t go! Don¡¯t leave me, please¡­¡±


    Light assaulted him from behind once more. He turned his body around, shielding his eyes with his hands as the glare intensified sharply.


    ¡°Oooh shit!¡± Felix yelled, feeling his body tumble through the doorway.


    And then he slammed face-first into hard, mahogany dirt.


    ~ ~ ~


    Felix pried his eyes open, expecting to see the glowing door, but it had already vanished without a trace. Spitting out the bitter-tasting dust, he pushed himself off the ground and spun around in a slow circle.


    The familiar purple hue stared back at him as he took his time to soak in his surroundings. Everything else also looked pretty much the same, except for the swarm of drones practically covering the sky.


    He heaved a sigh of relief; at least Janus had sent him to a universe similar enough to his own. The man clutched his slightly throbbing chest; his soul was resonating with what he could only assume was one of the Solstices. So all he had to do was start searching for one miserable book on an entire planet¡ª


    ¡°Shit, shit, shit¡­ You there, sir! Please, you must help me!¡±


    A mass of brown crashed into Felix from the side. His body jerked back and forth as a pair of hands shook him roughly. Felix brushed them off, but the man was persistent.


    ¡°Please help me! You¡¯re not dressed in robes. You¡¯re a Meta, aren¡¯t you?¡± The man¡¯s heterochromatic eyes were wild with panic. ¡°Please tell those Grave Markers that you were the one who gave me the spellcraft! Please, just this once! I¡¯ll pay you for your trouble, I swear!¡±


    Felix furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. ¡°What spellcraft? What¡¯s a Grave Marker¡ª¡±


    Another group of men, presumably the ¡®Grave Markers¡¯ this guy was so afraid of, showed themselves. They were all dressed in brown leather jackets, not so different from the one the frightened man was wearing, and covered in enough silver to make a metal detector malfunction.


    ¡°Nowhere else to run, ya slippery bastard.¡± The largest of the men pried Heterochromatic man off Felix¡¯s body, before stomping on his stomach. ¡°I told you to stop running, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    Large man was kicking him repeatedly now. ¡°Don¡¯t! You! Know! I! Fucking! Hate! Cardio?!¡±


    He stopped for a moment to wipe the sweat from his forehead as the rest of the men pinned the squirming heterochromatic man to the ground. Felix watched silently as the leader brought a knife to his neck.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m going to ask you this one time, ya gob-suckling shite.¡± The man¡¯s voice was barely audible, but it dripped with venom all the same. ¡°Who gave you our spellcraft?¡±


    Felix¡¯s eyes widened in shock as the gob-suckling shite pointed at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s not yours, I swear!¡± the heterochromatic man yelped desperately. ¡°It¡¯s just a regular tome; this Meta here gave it to me. I didn¡¯t steal your goods! I really didn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°A Meta, eh?¡± The leader stared at him for a while, before signalling for his men to let go. ¡°Fair enough, Metas can¡¯t utilise spellcrafts anyway.¡±


    Heterochromatic man coughed and sputtered for a moment. ¡°Thank you, Lucius. Thank you¡­ If you will excuse me¡ª¡±


    Lucius cut him off with another punch to the gut.


    ¡°I¡¯m not done with you, Savvos.¡± He dragged the screaming man up by his hair. ¡°You¡¯re a little blabbermouth, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re coming back with us.¡±


    ¡°W¡ªWha¡ª? What¡¯d I do? What¡¯d I do?!¡± Savvos¡¯ legs kicked the air frantically. ¡°I ain¡¯t done nothing wrong, Lucius! No, don¡¯t take me there! Think of all the spellcrafts I¡¯ve peddled for you. If your boss kills me, you¡¯ll lose your customers!¡±


    Lucius shoved Savvos towards his lackeys, who tied him up with a magic lasso.


    ¡°Do you seriously think I give a shit about what she wants?¡± He pulled out a wand and cast a teleportation portal. ¡°This is personal. You¡¯ll catch on.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Felix stepped forward as a huge part of him screamed in protest.


    The last thing he wanted was to be involved in an inter-dimensional gang squabble. But if this gang peddled in spellcrafts, there was a high chance they would¡¯ve at least heard of the two Solstice books. It was a long shot, but it was still better than searching every single corner of this world.


    ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± Lucius snarled, stepping forward threateningly. ¡°You want what he¡¯s having too?¡±


    ¡°Take me to your boss.¡±


    There was a flash of steel, and Felix found his right eye staring straight into Lucius¡¯ pocket knife.


    ¡°And why, in the ever-loving fuck, would I do that?¡± the man growled.


    ¡°Because you don¡¯t know how I¡¯m acquainted with Savvos here, and your boss is going to want to have that information as well.¡± Felix folded his arms boldly as a faint trace of pink flickered in his irises. ¡°And between you and I, you haven¡¯t really been earning her favour recently, have you?¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d you know¡ª Listen here, you little rut. If you¡¯re playing any games¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªYour boss will deal with me anyway.¡± Felix smiled slightly. ¡°You have everything to gain, and I¡­ have everything to lose.¡±


    There was a brief moment of contemplation before Lucius put his knife down. Warmth stung Felix¡¯s wrists as he felt a magic lasso wrap around them. The familiar rumble of a warp portal opening drifted to his ears as the gang walked through one by one.


    Felix smirked, withdrawing his telepathic contact from the man¡¯s mind.

 Chapter 3: Queen Of The Jungle

    ¡°Dude, why¡¯d you do that?¡± Savvos whispered to Felix, despite clearly being within earshot of their captors. ¡°You¡¯re not saving me, man. The Grave Markers aren¡¯t ones to be trifled with.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing this because I¡¯m some kind of saviour,¡± Felix hissed back. ¡°There¡¯s something I need to know, and their leader is a good place to start searching.¡±


    He felt something hit the back of his knee, so he took the cue to kneel like a prisoner about to be hanged.


    ¡°You¡¯re either not from around here, or you¡¯re out of your gods-damned mind.¡± Savvos shook his head slightly. ¡°The best we¡¯re getting out of this is a thorough bashing. Lucius is a Tier Four Meta and his boss is a Tier Five. They¡¯ll beat us like a pair of bongo drums.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that¡­¡± Felix mumbled.


    There was a loud thud all of a sudden, and Savvos¡¯ body crashed in front of him. Felix scarcely had time to open his mouth in shock when a boot pressed the man¡¯s face onto the floor.


    ¡°No witnesses now, Savvos.¡± Lucius signalled for his men to close the doors. ¡°Time to give you what you really deserve.¡±


    ¡°If you had only squealed about my Boss, I wouldn¡¯t have given a shit.¡± Lucius¡¯ foot turned into concrete as he lifted it, before crashing it down on Savvos¡¯ face again. ¡°But you just had to leak my name to the constables!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Savvos¡¯ voice was barely audible through his blood-stained teeth. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡ª¡±


    ¡°And now, my name is on their fucking list! They raided my warehouse and seized all my spellcrafts!¡± Lucius roared. ¡°If Boss doesn¡¯t kill you, I will. I¡¯ve got nothing else to lose anyway!¡±


    ¡°My family¡­ Please¡­¡± Savvos whimpered. ¡°Warlock Vulcan threatened to kill them if I didn¡¯t tell her who my handler was. I¡­ I had no choice.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck about your family!¡±


    Savvos¡¯ bloodshot eyes widened in horror as Lucius pulled out a pulsating spellcraft. Felix clenched his jaw; it was obvious what the gangster was intending to do.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s time you partake in what you¡¯ve been peddling.¡± Lucius opened the spellcraft as his men held the struggling Savvos down. ¡°Five years in rehab; ten years to get clean. You won¡¯t be seeing your family in a long time. That¡¯ll teach you to keep your bloody mouth shut.¡±


    Glyphs trickled out of the tome, hovering dangerously in the air as the gangster brought the corrupted spellcraft closer to Savvos¡¯ trembling face¡ª


    ¡°Oi, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Lucius swung to Felix, his face contorted in both confusion and anger. ¡°The fuck did you say? What the fuck did you just say?!¡±


    Felix glared at him, ignoring the sharpened finger thrust in his face. ¡°If you want to keep your hand, you shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    That was the last straw. Lucius snarled as his body turned into shiny steel immediately. Felix¡¯s eyes shot to the Meta¡¯s right hand, only then noticing that he was holding his knife by its blade instead of the handle. He scoffed in realisation.


    This wouldn¡¯t take long.


    A powerful blast of psionic energy knocked out the rest of the goons immediately. Lucius was still charging towards Felix, clearly too overwhelmed by his anger to notice what had already happened to his men.


    Felix cocked his head to the side.


    There was a sickening sound of metal twisting as Lucius released a blood-curdling scream, holding his mangled metallic hand in pain. The knife slipped from his hand and his skin regained its normal texture immediately. The gangster growled aggressively, pulling out a pistol with his other hand.


    ¡°Oh no, a gun. My weakness; it¡¯s small guns. Whatever shall I do?¡± Felix sang sarcastically before pink filled his eyes.


    Lucius¡¯ body twitched but the metal from the gun could not spread past his wrist, stopped by a faint pink glow. His breathing picked up pace as his hand trembled, fighting against the telekinetic force twisting it to point the gun at his own head instead. He squeezed his eyes shut. The trigger pulled itself back¡ª


    There was a loud crack.


    The gangster opened his eyes again, now hyperventilating and practically swimming in his own sweat. A blue light was hovering mere millimetres from his temple, stopped by an invisible force.


    ¡°Look, I¡¯ve come a long way to get here, and I¡¯ve watched a lot of people die. Friends, family, good people.¡± Felix stood to his feet, snapping out of his bindings effortlessly. ¡°And they¡¯re all counting on me to give them a second chance. I don¡¯t have time to deal with your petty mobster politics, ya understand? Now, answer me before I send that plasma bolt into your brain. Where is your boss?¡±


    A strange trumpeting noise echoed around the huge hallway, almost in response to his question. Felix swung around just in time to be sent flying by a huge mass of grey. He halted his trajectory immediately and stared at it in confusion.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    What on earth was a rhinoceros doing here?


    There was another growl as Felix leaned back, narrowly avoiding a tiger pouncing towards him. A herd of elephants as well as a whole pride of lions showed themselves as well, charging towards him aggressively.


    What the hell? Is this place some kind of zoo?


    Roars of defeat filled the air quickly as Felix darted around and knocked them unconscious without effort. His psychic senses rang erratically. All the animals possessed the same psychic signature, which meant someone had to be telepathically controlling them from somewhere. He encased himself in a force field and focused his telekinetic senses.


    ¡°Where are you¡­ Gotcha.¡±


    The psychic opened his eyes and pulled his clenched fist towards himself. Sure enough, a figure burst through the plaster wall, soaring towards him. Felix let go of his telekinetic grip, allowing her to tumble onto the ground. Psionic energy coated his arm as the figure got up quickly. They roared at the same time, swinging their hands forward¡ª


    And then they froze.


    ¡°F¡ª Felix?¡± the woman breathed in disbelief, letting her technomagick pistol drop to her side. Felix¡¯s reaction was not as subdued.


    ¡°Marcia?!¡±


    ~ ~ ~


    No way. There was no way in hell his sister was still alive.


    At least, that was what Felix wanted to tell himself. And yet, the rational part of him was telling him otherwise, despite his stubborn side insisting that it couldn¡¯t be true.


    For one, Marcia was literally standing right in front of him, fully corporeal and all. Sure, she looked at least fifteen years older than the ten-year-old girl he was used to, but there was no way he couldn¡¯t recognise her. And for another, Felix was in a different universe. Was it really all that surprising that his sister was alive in this one?


    ¡°You¡¯ve got some nerve, wearing my brother¡¯s face.¡± Marcia¡¯s voice was husky and chilling, a far cry from the sweet young girl Felix had last remembered. ¡°Whoever you are, your death will be painful for insulting me like this.¡±


    A huge crocodile crawled up menacingly towards the man, releasing a low, guttural growl. More reptiles surrounded Felix, and both Lucius and Savvos shuffled away inconspicuously, all animosity be damned for now.


    ¡°You¡¯re all grown up, Marcia. And you¡¯ve made so many friends too,¡± the man said hesitantly, hoping that this version of his sister had at least shared the same childhood as him. ¡°How many of them are there, thirty-eight?¡±


    Marcia¡¯s expression remained neutral, but the motionless animals around her betrayed her emotions.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± she whispered.


    ¡°Thirty-eight. Three. Eight.¡±


    There was a moment of silence.


    And then Marcia snapped her fingers. The horde of animals promptly transformed into streams of energy, pouring into the technomagick device on the woman¡¯s waist.


    Her lips curved into a small smile. ¡°You baked thirty-eight pies for my four friends¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªBecause I misheard you when you said you were inviting your friends from Class 3A over to our house.¡± Felix finished her sentence.


    He chuckled slightly at the fond memory. It was twenty years ago, but his sister¡¯s dumbfounded face when he brought out the huge tray of pies was still as clear as day in his mind.


    ¡°It really is you¡­¡± Marcia¡¯s eyes were glistening with welled-up tears. ¡°But¡­ that¡¯s impossible. You¡¯re dead. I saw you die with my own eyes. I couldn¡¯t save you. How?¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey. What¡¯s going on?¡± Lucius cut in, gesticulating wildly. ¡°We¡¯re not fighting anymore? Boss, who¡¯s this guy?¡±


    Marcia swung around violently, stomping up to him. The gangster shrank away in fear. His stature was by no means smaller than hers, but the mafia boss was exuding such a potent air of authority that even a lion would cower before her.


    ¡°I heard everything, Lucius. Have I not been treating you well?¡± she stated flatly. ¡°Have I not made clear that if there¡¯s one thing I hate, it is people who are disloyal?¡±


    ¡°It¡ª It¡¯s not my fault!¡± Lucius stammered. ¡°It¡¯s Savvos! Savvos let his mouth slip about us! He leaked our name¡ª¡±


    The man staggered to the side, clutching the red palm print on his mouth.


    ¡°Your name,¡± Marcia said calmly. ¡°You¡¯ve been an ungrateful little shit, haven¡¯t you? Stealing my spellcrafts for your own gain¡­ Who do you think you are?¡±


    ¡°H¡ª How¡­ did you know?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say a little birdie on my shoulder told me so. Would you like to know how the constables found your warehouse?¡±


    The man widened his eyes in shock.


    ¡°It was me, foolish man. I bribed them to bring my property back to me,¡± Marcia hissed. ¡°Pity they only put you on a list instead of arresting you. Looks like I gotta do everything myself¡­¡±


    Lucius went pale as the woman¡¯s hand danced around the strange device on her waist. He fell to his knees immediately.


    ¡°Please, no! Not the beasts!¡± he begged. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything! Don¡¯t feed me to the beasts!¡±


    ¡°Fortunately for you, I¡¯m in a good mood today.¡± Marcia glanced at her brother, letting her hand fall to her side. ¡°Get out of my sight and never come back.¡±


    ¡°But boss, I¡¯ve done so much for¡ª¡±


    ¡°Go, before I change my mind. My brother won¡¯t be here to save you every time.¡±


    Savvos didn¡¯t need another invitation. He scrambled to his feet and limped out of the castle as quickly as he could. Lucius took a few seconds to cast a hate-filled glare at Felix before running out of the building as well.


    Felix felt a small hand tug on him.


    ¡°Come, brother.¡± Marcia smiled sweetly at him, in stark contrast to her Kingpin-like demeanour just a few seconds ago.


    ¡°You must tell me everything.¡±

 Chapter 4: Brother From Another Mother

    Felix stood around the huge room awkwardly while his ¡®sister¡¯ fussed around her cabinets, taking her time to pick out a suitable wine for their ¡®reunion¡¯. Not like he was exactly feeling uncomfortable around her, though. It was the fact that they were not alone.


    Various animals prowled around lazily as they kept a wary berth from Felix. Others were fast asleep, huddling with each other. The rest of the bedroom was covered in intricate but plain coloured patterns, presumably to keep the animals calm. A leopard leaned up lazily against Felix, but he resisted the urge to pet it. He didn¡¯t want to risk having his fingers bitten off.


    ¡°So, you came from a different universe, didn¡¯t you?¡± A cup of dark-coloured wine was thrust towards Felix. He downed it in a single gulp, and promptly used every fibre of his being to stop his face from scrunching up with the bitterness.


    ¡°How¡¯d you know that?¡± Felix asked, letting his mouth hang open in surprise instead.


    ¡°I saw my brother die eighteen years ago. With my own eyes, might I add,¡± Marcia replied simply, taking a small sip of her alcohol. ¡°Plus, we¡¯ve always been aware of the existence of other worlds. We just never figured out how to travel there.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am from another world. And in my world, you¡­ you died.¡± Felix pursed his lips. ¡°Afterwards, we all died. We died in war, fighting an invincible alien army¡ª No, sorry. It wasn¡¯t even a war. I¡¯ve been in a lot of fights, but this¡­ This was no fight. It was a slaughter, and we were the pigs.¡±


    Marcia leaned forward, staring at him intently. ¡°Pray continue.¡±


    Felix took a moment to sigh. He had contemplated coming up with some story to get what he wanted, but there was a strong compulsion in his gut to simply tell Marcia the truth. Perhaps it was because she was quite literally his sister from another mother.


    ¡°I died. Or rather, I was on the verge of death when a god finally decided to take pity on me. Or perhaps he just wanted to toy with me. God Janus.¡±


    ¡°God of beginnings and endings?¡±


    ¡°Entrances and exits, gateways and archways. Yes, the very same god our kind worships.¡± Felix nodded. ¡°He gave me a second chance. An impossible mission, to be precise. To search for the source of his power lost across the multiverse¡ª The Summer Solstice and The Winter Solstice. With that, I¡¯ll have the power to reset my universe; to give it a second chance so that none of that ever happened. My sister, my parents, everyone I have lost¡­ They can come back to me.¡±


    Marcia tilted her head. ¡°And you believe him?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s either that or I die.¡± Felix shrugged. ¡°So yes. Yes, I do.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask how he lost his books?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask why he chose you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask why his powers are vested in the books instead of himself?¡±


    ¡°No¡ª I was busy trying not to die, okay? I wasn¡¯t thinking about anything else.¡±


    The woman leaned back against her sofa, crossing her legs elegantly. Her eyebrows remained creased as she stared out of the window, deep in thought.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say¡­ For the sake of¡ª Let¡¯s just say Janus was telling the truth.¡± Marcia gestured absentmindedly. ¡°What makes you so sure things aren¡¯t just going to play out the exact same way in your world? Some things are destined to happen. It¡¯s only natural. We need to move forward.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t, because I¡¯ll never know for sure.¡± Felix¡¯s voice softened. ¡°I never expected to see my sister again, but here we are.¡±


    Marcia inhaled sharply, before blinking her eyes a few times.


    ¡°Anyway, I heard from your men that you¡¯re sort of the authority around here when it comes to dealing with spellcrafts,¡± Felix continued. ¡°Ever heard of those two books?¡±


    The woman shook her head. ¡°I only peddle corrupted spellcrafts. So unless those two books have the ability to get a Magi euphoric, I doubt I know anything about it. I¡¯ve been doing this for ten years. If one of my spellcrafts matched that description, I¡¯d be the first to know.¡±


    ¡°Say, how old are you?¡± Felix asked eagerly.


    ¡°Twenty-eight.¡±


    The man chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m thirty-six. Our ages are still the same number of years apart. And it¡¯s fortunate we shared the same childhood.¡±


    Marcia smiled wryly. ¡°Not all of it.¡±


    ¡°H¡ª How did I die in your world?¡± Felix asked hesitantly. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡±


    ¡°You really want to know?¡± The smile slipped off Marcia¡¯s face as she held a hand out. ¡°See for yourself.¡±


    Felix declined the gesture.


    ¡°It¡¯s been eighteen years, dear sister. My powers have grown considerably since then. I no longer need to make physical contact to access your mind,¡± he said. ¡°All I need is your permission.¡±


    ¡°Then come right in, big brother.¡±


    ~ ~ ~


    ¡°Felix!¡±


    The little girl broke away from her captors and ran towards her brother, holding him tightly. Warm hands wrapped around her as she sobbed into his shoulders. It was over; he was here. She was safe now.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Titus Angelo, I gave you what you wanted.¡± The eighteen-year-old boy let go of her, turning around to glare at her kidnapper. ¡°Let my sister go. I¡¯ll take her place instead.¡±


    The mobster boss rolled his eyes to the side, pretending to think deeply. ¡°No. No, I don¡¯t think I will. She has essence to spare, even if you have an entire ocean of it. I still need her just in case yours isn¡¯t enough, so I think I¡¯ll be keeping both of you.¡±


    ¡°You lying shit!¡± Felix roared, pink coating his eyes.


    Titus held up a remote, and the fuming boy ceased his aggression immediately. Marcia trembled in fear, now acutely aware of the power syphoning device around her neck.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought, boy.¡± The green-haired man grinned, before signalling to his men to hook a similar device on Felix¡¯s neck as well.


    They took them away.


    Marcia spent the next few weeks in a hellish routine of being thrown into an arcane circle and getting her Meta essence syphoned out. Her powers were never fully depleted each time, but she was getting weaker by the day. To make matters worse, her brother was kept in a separate room. She presumed he was going through the same ordeal as her, although she never got to see it for herself.


    But Felix was already hatching a plan.


    At first, it was bits of paper in her food tray. And then it turned into pieces of wood with instructions engraved on them. Wherever Felix was held, he was obviously having his meals before her. It did not take long for Marcia to start communicating with her brother via telepathically controlled rats.


    And the fateful day, too, did not take long to arrive.


    The laboratory doors swung open, presenting the dreaded arcane circle to Marcia for the umpteenth time. She stood abnormally still for a moment, praying that her guards would not notice the shadow lurking in the corner. Marcia stumbled forward as they pushed her roughly¡ª


    Her captors collapsed to the ground without further sound.


    The girl turned back at her brother, who was now stuffing their bodies into a cupboard along with the other guards. Felix fished out a remote from one of their pockets and pressed a button.


    Marcia quickly pulled the collar from her neck as it deactivated with a soft hum, tossing it to the floor in disgust.


    ¡°Be quiet, Marcia.¡± Felix raised a finger to his lips, before pointing it at a nearby computer. ¡°See the screen? I want you to press the ¡®Abort¡¯ button once it turns blue. Can you do that for me?¡±


    Marcia nodded meekly, climbing onto the desk.


    ¡°Good girl.¡± Felix cracked a warm smile despite how pale his face was and put his hands on the magic barrier surrounding the arcane circle. He traced its outer edge for a brief moment before stopping abruptly.


    A faint pink glowed in his fist as he drove it through the barrier and shattered it. The boy collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.


    Every fibre of Marcia¡¯s body wanted her to rush to his aid, but she willed herself to stay put. Tears welled up in her eyes in worry. If her brother had been at full power, he would¡¯ve broken through the barrier without a sweat. Felix must have been left with less than one per cent of his power by now. Whatever sick experiment Titus Angelo was performing, it was clearly killing his own kind. Not like that gangster gave a shit, though.


    Felix Pagonis forced his body up again and trudged towards the bloodstained tome sitting in the middle of the arcane circle.


    ¡°Ready, Marcia?¡± His voice was barely audible now.


    Marcia¡¯s heart raced as she nodded. Felix took a deep breath and put his hands on the book¡ª


    A deafening alarm blared through the building as the magic barrier reactivated itself, trapping Felix inside the circle. The computer screen blacked out as well, fizzling dangerously with energy. Marcia climbed down from the table just in case the computer exploded.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± she cried out in confusion, pounding her small fists helplessly against the barrier.


    ¡°The Guardian Council is at our doorstep!¡± Titus¡¯ voice blared in the loudspeakers, as if on cue with her question. ¡°Brothers and sisters, gather at The Vanguard! These Magis will not take away our freedom again!¡±


    ¡°Crap, we can¡¯t cancel the spell using the system now!¡± Felix yelled as he struggled to pull the book away. He looked around frantically for a few seconds, before closing his eyes in resolve.


    ¡°Marcia, find a way out of this place,¡± he said calmly. ¡°No matter what happens from now on, remember that I will always love you.¡±


    ¡°W¡ª What? No, I won¡¯t leave without you!¡± Marcia clawed at the barrier futilely. ¡°Felix, come home with me!¡±


    Her brother shook her head, smiling at her for one last time before placing his hands on the tome. ¡°I have to destroy the spellcraft. I can¡¯t let anyone use it to hurt people anymore.¡±


    Pink energy gushed out of his body and flooded into the book, overloading it with arcani. Felix screamed with effort.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Marcia screamed. ¡°Brother! NO!¡±


    ¡°No, Marcia!¡± Felix yelled as red light engulfed his body. ¡°Don¡¯t look! AAARGH!¡±


    A flash of white seared Marcia¡¯s retinas, before the shockwave blasted her into the wall. Corrupted Arcani seeped into her body as the explosion tore through the room and disintegrated all its equipment.


    The girl crawled on the floor painfully. The corrupted magic was still ravaging through her whole body, but she was miraculously unharmed otherwise. Her laboured breathing slowly steadied as she looked at the now inert arcane circle.


    Her brother¡¯s lifeless eyes stared back at her.


    ~ ~ ~


    Felix shook his head at the abrupt ending of the memory. It was almost as if Marcia put up a mind block on purpose. He blinked a few times, trying to process what he had just seen. After all, witnessing the death of someone who looked exactly like him was a little unnerving, to say the least.


    ¡°That¡¯s all you need to know.¡± Marcia curved her lips upwards without emotion.


    ¡°What, that¡¯s it? So, I died destroying the spellcraft and you managed to escape.¡±


    ¡°That sums it up, yes.¡± She nodded. ¡°Except I didn¡¯t. The Guardian Council saved me after dispatching Titus Angelo. Or what was left of them, anyway. Angelo wiped out more than eighty per cent of them by himself.¡±


    Felix smiled grimly. ¡°He isn¡¯t a Tier Five Meta for nothing, after all.¡±


    ¡°As are we both¡ª¡±


    The woman wheezed without warning, clutching her chest in pain. White clouded her eyes as she collapsed to the ground and began convulsing. Felix leapt out of his seat in shock.


    ¡°Marcia! Marcia!¡±

 Chapter 5: Leverage

    Felix kneeled over his sister, his face contorted with worry. It took him a few moments to realise he had absolutely no idea what he should do. He reached for her instinctively¡ª


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t¡­ come closer¡­¡± Marcia barely managed to squeeze out the words from her rapidly constricting throat. Strange green symbols were flashing in her eyes and clouding her irises.


    A flash of red barely missed Felix as it shot towards the woman. Felix stared in surprise as a hawk dropped a spellcraft at least five times its size beside Marcia. She groaned weakly as she rolled to her side, flipping the book open.


    Dark green glyphs floated out of the spellcraft immediately, following a barely visible current of air into Marcia¡¯s nose. Colour returned to her face as she inhaled deeply, letting the magic symbols flow into her mouth as well. Felix¡¯s expression darkened with recognition.


    Marcia shut the spellcraft after several seconds of inhaling corrupted magic. Felix gave her another few seconds to stabilise herself.


    ¡°You¡¯re one of them?¡± He folded his arms, questioning her sharply. ¡°You¡¯re addicted to these spellcrafts as well?¡±


    ¡°What? Are you going to give me a big-brother lecture now?¡± The woman chuckled softly, unfazed by his tone of voice. ¡°I¡¯m the Kingpin of Narcotics, dear brother. Is it really so surprising that I partake in my own crime?¡±


    Felix released his breath loudly. She was right. Who was he to tell her how she should live her life, especially when she had been living without her brother for eighteen years? Besides¡ª


    Hold on, something did not add up.


    ¡°I thought Metas couldn¡¯t consume corrupted spellcrafts? I heard Lucius mentioning that,¡± he asked. ¡°Why are you affected by these spellcrafts?¡±


    Marcia cast her gaze downwards. ¡°You¡¯re right. But ever since the explosion in Titus¡¯ castle, I¡¯ve gained the latent ability to interact with Arcani like a normal Magi. I even picked up a little Necromancy myself.¡±


    Felix¡¯s eyebrows remained creased. He didn¡¯t mean to peek, but Marcia had just reinforced her mind block so considerably that he could sense it even if he wasn¡¯t paying attention.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ve got my addiction under control,¡± the woman continued. ¡°I just took it up to numb the pain from¡­¡±


    Her voice trailed away.


    ¡°Point is, everything is under control.¡± She shook her head as if to fling some bad memories out. ¡°I¡¯m the most powerful woman in Sirius city, now that the Guardian Council has been dissolved by the Ex-President Cosmo Benedictus.¡±


    ¡°W¡ª What?¡± Felix blurted out. ¡°Why on Earth would he do that?¡±


    ¡°Saw them as a threat to his rule, perhaps.¡± Marcia shrugged. ¡°He paid dearly for it, though. Benedictus was dragged out of his house and burned alive by a mob of Metas after his racist policies were exposed to the public. Nobody else was on his side to help him, and he couldn¡¯t fight off thousands of people, as powerful of a Magi as he was.¡±


    ¡°So who rules Surone now?¡± Felix asked.


    ¡°Pollux Isles. Since our country was plunged into a civil war, they took the chance to colonise us. There are barely any constables left to police crime. Fat load of drones, though; our new Sultan is a bit of a technomagick freak. Even our prisons are¡­¡±


    Marcia¡¯s eyes sharpened for a moment.


    ¡°Felix, I just thought of someone who can help you!¡± Her voice rose in excitement. ¡°It¡¯s not a spellcraft, but there were rumours of a man; someone who claims he has the means to travel worlds using a tome from Janus himself.¡±


    Felix¡¯s heart leapt. ¡°Truly? Where can I find him?¡±


    ¡°In Sirius City¡¯s most heavily guarded prison. Devil¡¯s Gate Gaol.¡±


    He slumped his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose I can just waltz in there and request a visit?¡±


    ¡°Security is tight, and the building construction itself was designed to keep unwanted visitors out.¡± Marcia shook her head. ¡°It used to be the Guardian Council headquarters, after all.¡±


    Felix¡¯s mouth hung open in surprise before he composed himself. ¡°Any idea about the identity of our quarry?¡±


    ¡°No, he was an unregistered Meta. That guy is in solitary confinement, having apparently gone mad from peering into other worlds too many times,¡± the woman replied. ¡°Mad Badger, the prison wardens called him. He used to be a hired assassin, until he found that book and started slaughtering people at random. Even the most hardened criminals resorted to calling the constables on him when he started going after them. They¡¯d rather rot in jail than have their flesh filleted by a madman.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Is he a Meta?¡± Felix asked.


    ¡°Yes, with regeneration capabilities as well as enhanced reflexes; a very troublesome combination of abilities to deal with.¡± Marcia¡¯s voice darkened. ¡°When the constables finally boxed him in, there wasn¡¯t a spot in the room that wasn¡¯t covered in blood. That man wiped out seven stations¡¯ worth of manpower before he finally succumbed to their spells.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t he just escape into another universe using the tome?¡±


    ¡°Probably because he couldn¡¯t. The constables speculated that all those murders were him trying to activate the book since there were multiple glyph patterns drawn in blood as well.¡±


    ¡°Know the way there?¡± Felix asked.


    Marcia raised an eyebrow. ¡°Planning a prison break-in?¡±


    ¡°Perceptive. You are my sister, after all.¡± Felix smirked, tapping his head. ¡°It won¡¯t be difficult. Just a little mind trick and I¡¯ll be invisible to both the men and the cameras.¡±


    ¡°You mean ¡®we¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡±


    There was a loud knock on the door.


    Marcia¡¯s eyes glowed pink, and a chimpanzee hobbled over to slide it open. A young man stood on the other side of the door, his face wrought with worry. Felix narrowed his eyes. It did not take psychic powers to figure out something terrible had just happened.


    ¡°Boss, Warlock Vulcan is here.¡±


    ~ ~ ~


    Marcia¡¯s cloak swept out of the door, leaving Felix in the room by himself. Not like it mattered, anyway. With Felix¡¯s telepathy spanning a solid range of a hundred metres now, he might as well be watching her movements from the sidelines.


    Still, she wanted nothing more than for her brother to be by her side. But Warlock Vulcan had worked with him before, and would definitely recognise Felix in a glance. Marcia shuddered at the thought of what the government would do to an ¡®alien¡¯ like him.


    Besides, she had matters of her own to worry about for now.


    The woman standing before her was dressed in her usual black military jacket. Polished badges decorated the helm of her sleeves, while the rest of her outfit was neatly pressed. Flaming red hair flowed elegantly to her shoulders, complementing her navy blue undershirt.


    ¡°Warlock Vulcan, what brings you to my fine establishment?¡± Marcia decided to speak first. Her men paced the room restlessly, casting nervous glances at the unwelcome woman in their midst.


    ¡°Please, Miss Pagonis. Have we not known each other for long enough? We were once sisters, remember?¡± The woman flashed a wide smile, although her voice was dripping with malice. ¡°Kleo will do. Or Kleopatra, if you insist on formalities.¡±


    The mobster boss kept her silence, waiting patiently for Kleopatra Vulcan to answer her question.


    ¡°You know what the heaviest thing in this world is?¡± Kleopatra said. ¡°Responsibility. Being in charge of people, keeping them in line, killing them when things go wrong¡­ It¡¯s a lot of work¡ª¡±


    ¡°Just tell me what you want,¡± Marcia snapped impatiently. ¡°Governor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been good to you, haven¡¯t I? Your little narcotics business has only been thriving because I, the governor of your sector, allowed it,¡± Kleopatra continued. ¡°And also because it maintains order in my sector, but that¡¯s¡­ on me.¡±


    ¡°Are you here to change the terms?¡± Marcia asked, noticing her gang members tense up at the question. ¡°Haven¡¯t the Grave Markers been paying you enough to leave us be?¡±


    ¡°Goodness, no.¡± The governor chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not here to increase your ¡®taxes¡¯. I¡¯m only here to say my farewells. I¡¯ve been transferred to the Devil¡¯s Gate as Chief Warden.¡±


    Marcia hid her surprise.


    ¡°Congratulations then,¡± she muttered. ¡°Farewell to you too, K¡ª¡±


    ¡°Not¡­ quite just yet.¡±


    She froze.


    ¡°As I was saying, responsibility takes a lot of work,¡± Kleopatra said curtly. ¡°Your lackey, Lucius, has confirmed some intel that I already took from one of his peddlers. Ran straight to me about an hour ago and babbled everything about where you keep your goods.¡±


    Marcia clenched her jaw in silent anger.


    ¡°Of course, I did you a favour and executed him on the spot. I know how much you hate disloyal subordinates.¡± Kleopatra shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°Now, you have to agree with me on how important supply and demand is when it comes to consolidating power. The inmates there are going to be desperate for narcotics. I spent years building my power in your sector, and I don¡¯t intend to start from scratch in Devil¡¯s Gate.¡±


    ¡°What are you¡ª¡±


    A silver staff materialised in Kleopatra¡¯s hand as a blue light ran through her clothes, transforming them into battle wear. Commotion erupted in the room as the Grave Markers, both Magi and Meta, powered up in response.


    ¡°We can do this the easy way or the hard way.¡± Kleopatra stood unflinching as magic hummed in the crystal on her staff. ¡°Hand over all your spellcrafts to me now and we can keep this alliance. Refuse, and I will discharge my duties as an official to dissolve your gang.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯ll lose either way?¡± Marcia spat, swiping her hand across the device on her waist. ¡°Bitch. Go fuck yourself.¡±


    There was a mild whirring as the energy constructor flooded with her Meta essence, ready to print out an army of animals on command.


    ¡°No?¡± Kleopatra clicked her tongue in mild annoyance. ¡°Didn¡¯t think so. Well then, Marcia Pagonis. You¡¯re under arrest.¡±


    ¡°We outnumber you,¡± Marcia snapped in response as her gang members stepped forward threateningly.


    Kleopatra Vulcan simply smirked, before snapping her fingers.


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡±

 Chapter 6: One More Day

    A tiny flash of movement was the only warning Marcia got. It was enough for her to react in time, but not everyone was as lucky.


    Drones burst into her lair like a swarm of giant angry wasps. They wasted no time, locking onto their targets and firing plasma bolts into the skulls of her men. The gangsters¡¯ lifeless bodies hit the floor before they even had the chance to process what just happened.


    Marcia rolled to the side, mentally barking at her constructor to attack.


    Artificially recreated animals solidified from the streams of blue energy gushing out from her waist. Her eyes flared pink in tandem with the makeshift zoo, and the horde of animals joined in the fight as well. Chaos broke out as the abandoned castle ballroom quickly turned into a warzone.


    Marcia looked around, before spotting the source of her trouble. She gritted her teeth at the figure sauntering away and fired her pistol at the woman.


    ¡°Ow! What the fuck, you bitch!¡± Kleopatra stumbled to the side, clutching her cheek where the plasma bolt had grazed it.


    Marcia threw her body towards the woman, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. She flung her hand and swept the staff out of reach.


    Kleopatra snarled and lunged towards her.


    Marcia dodged her feral attacks, before locking their legs together and straddling her enemy¡¯s waist. She raised her fists, raining blow after blow onto Kleopatra¡¯s face.


    But her temporary victory was short-lived.


    Hard wood met her back as she released a short gasp, losing her telepathic focus on the animals. Marcia staggered to her feet, massaging her stomach gingerly where Kleopatra had kicked her away. She dived for the staff again, but the Magi was prepared this time.


    The taste of iron filled her mouth as Kleopatra caught the side of her head with a steel-toed boot and kicked her away. Marcia barely felt herself tumble on the ground as everything went dark for a brief moment.


    ¡°Bet that felt good for you, huh?!¡± Kleopatra¡¯s voice slowly registered as awareness temporarily seeped into Marcia¡¯s senses. ¡°That fucking hurt!¡±


    Kleopatra snapped her fingers again, and the drones turned their attention to the mobster boss instead.


    The world spun as Marcia tried to get up, dazed by the concussion Kleopatra had just given her. She tried again, but only crumpled back to the ground as an unbearable headache shot through her. No¡­ Get up, dammit. I have to get up!


    The familiar sound of plasma cannons charging up sent alarm through her entire being, but it wasn¡¯t enough to revitalise her. Everything was turning dark again¡ª


    Metal groaned as the drones trembled slightly. Cracks shot through the cannon muzzles as the emerging light faded away. Kleopatra could only open her mouth in surprise before an invisible force clumped all the machines into one giant metal wreckage. Marcia strained to turn around.


    ¡°Felix Pagonis?!¡±


    And that was the last thing Marcia heard before pink light flashed behind her.


    ~ ~ ~


    Felix did not have to wait too long for Marcia to wake up. The damage done to her head was mild, to begin with, and it was a damn good thing she had stocks of healing potions readily available in this place.


    He had left her men to take care of her while he watched over Kleopatra¡¯s unconscious body. She was easy enough to knock out. It only took a solid blow, in addition to the fact that she was caught by surprise. But her memories were disturbing, to say the least.


    Unlike the heroic Kleopatra of his world, this version of her had estranged herself from her family and chosen to forge her own path after failing the Guardian Council tests. Unfortunately, she turned corrupt almost immediately after becoming an official, and Surone¡¯s unstable regional politics only gave her more reason to lust for more power.


    He cast another glance at the knocked-out woman. She did not look so vicious now, despite everything she had done before.


    ¡°I can fix this for those I can yet save¡­¡± he mumbled to himself. ¡°I know how to get that power. I just need to find the books. I just need to¡ª¡±


    ¡°Felix.¡±


    He turned around, breaking into a wide smile. ¡°Oh, thank the gods you¡¯re alright.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to need the gods, alright.¡± The look on Marcia¡¯s face as she walked in was a lot more grim than it was tired. ¡°Kleopatra Vulcan is an important official. If she doesn¡¯t make it to the gaol on time, the government is going to get suspicious and crack down on us.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯ll go in her place.¡±


    ¡°What? Why on Earth would you do that?¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°I heard everything, sis. Kleo¡¯s going to be the new warden of Devil¡¯s Gate, right? That¡¯s where I¡¯m headed too,¡± Felix said, waving Kleopatra¡¯s staff. ¡°If I use her authority, I can grant myself access to speak with the Mad Badger.¡±


    Marcia folded her arms. ¡°That¡¯s a lot you¡¯re risking on something so uncertain. I can think of a hundred ways things could go wrong.¡±


    ¡°And I can come up with a thousand ways to fix them,¡± the man replied quickly. ¡°I¡¯ve already acquired my path there from her memories. It¡¯s a good thing our dear governor here has been to that place a few times before. This is the quickest and most direct way to save my world¡ª To save all our worlds. With the power to change the multiverse, I can save everyone. No one will have to suffer anymore.¡±


    The siblings shared a moment of silence before Marcia broke it with a loud exhale.


    ¡°I¡¯ll order my men to keep an eye on Vulcan until I return,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure your men are a match for her?¡± Felix creased his eyebrows. ¡°I saw the aftermath; a lot of them died in her drone attack.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s weakened, now that she doesn¡¯t have her staff or her drones to command. I¡¯m sure they can handle just one woman. And once today is over, she¡¯ll no longer have authority in my sector, so she can¡¯t pursue us.¡± Marcia¡¯s jaw was visibly clenched. ¡°I have to go with you, and you¡¯re not stopping me. I can¡¯t¡ª I won¡¯t risk losing you again.¡±


    Felix pursed his lips for a brief moment, before pulling her into a tight hug.


    ¡°You won¡¯t. I¡¯ll be with you to the end, I promise.¡±


    ~ ~ ~


    The gentle rumbling of the truckle carriage was rocking Felix gently like an exasperated mother trying her best to lull her baby to sleep. He remained silent, allowing his psychic senses to rest for the first time since he entered this world. Smooth silver pressed back against his skin as he clutched Kleopatra¡¯s staff tightly.


    Thankfully, the trip to Devil¡¯s Gate wasn¡¯t complicated. A single trip was enough since the gaol was open to many contractors moving in and out. Kleopatra probably would¡¯ve been driving her personal carriage into the place, but that was a luxury Felix could not afford now. So as it was, the siblings had to settle for sneaking into the back of a truckle carriage and smuggling themselves in.


    ¡°Do you miss them?¡± Marcia asked out of the blue.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Your family, I mean. You¡¯re an orphan too, right?¡± she clarified herself, her face downcast. ¡°I just¡­ I really miss them, y¡¯know? I really miss our family.¡±


    Felix closed his eyes as his childhood flashed in his mind. The cheering when he got his psychic powers, the made-up adventure games he would play with his sister, the day of the traffic accident that took their parents¡¯ lives¡­


    The man opened his eyes again, suddenly realising that they were glowing pink along with his sister¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°S¡ª Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to read your memories¡ª¡± he began, but Marcia giggled softly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be. I¡¯m glad our memories are so similar.¡± She gave him a warm smile, which faded quickly. ¡°If only we¡¯d just stay home that day, huh?¡±


    ¡°If only¡­¡± Felix¡¯s voice dropped.


    ¡°Y¡¯know, after you died, I was taken in by the Guardian Council. Kleopatra¡¯s father was their leader back then. He felt really guilty, even though it wasn¡¯t his fault,¡± his sister continued. ¡°And so he wanted to raise me as an adoptive daughter because he couldn¡¯t bear seeing a ten-year-old girl live all by herself.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that didn¡¯t work out in the end,¡± Felix mumbled.


    A tear rolled down Marcia¡¯s cheek. ¡°I was blinded. Blinded by resentment. Consumed by hate. To my stupid mind back then, the Magis and law enforcers were the source of all my troubles. So I sought to undo everything. I ran away from his house, and I¡­¡±


    Marcia¡¯s lips quivered.


    ¡°I ran back to the very same group of people who kidnapped me. All because they were Metas just like me.¡±


    ¡°Do you regret it?¡± Felix asked.


    ¡°Every day of my life,¡± the woman replied bitterly. ¡°I grew up with the gang of Metas and rose the ranks, eventually becoming their boss. I had respect. I had power. I had money.¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t have a family. I really wanted my real family back, and so I¡­¡± Marcia wiped away her tears. ¡°If I had the chance to redo everything¡ª If only I was given a second chance¡­ I wouldn¡¯t have¡­ I wouldn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    She squeezed her eyes shut, her lips trembling again.


    Felix placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me if it still hurts you, Marcia. And besides, you fared much better than I did.¡±


    His sister looked at him quizzically.


    ¡°In my case, you were the one who died. I couldn¡¯t save you on time before Titus Angelo syphoned out your entire essence. And unlike your actual brother, I didn¡¯t follow that vile man back to his castle.¡± Felix pursed his lips slightly. ¡°Not like that would¡¯ve made a difference, anyway. But I was a sore loser, so I decided to rob Purgatory for your soul.¡±


    ¡°You know Necromancy too?¡± Marcia¡¯s eyes widened with shock.


    ¡°No, but I had a¡­ a friend,¡± Felix said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if he exists in your world, but his name was Orpheus Caesar. With his help, we went to that accursed place and snatched your soul back from death.¡±


    ¡°No. No way.¡± Marcia shook her head violently. ¡°That didn¡¯t¡ª That won¡¯t work. You¡¯ll only make things much worse.¡±


    ¡°Well, I never did find out.¡± The man closed his eyes painfully. ¡°Because your soul never made it back. A horde of malicious spirits ambushed us, and they destroyed your soul forever. Orpheus, he¡­¡±


    Felix clenched his fists. ¡°He was dragged into the depths of hell by the spirits. I couldn¡¯t do a damn thing to save him; to save both of you. I only made things worse because of my stubbornness.¡±


    ¡°It feels like the gods just enjoy tormenting us, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Marcia laughed dryly. ¡°What I wouldn¡¯t give for us to have just one more day of happiness together¡ª¡±


    A sudden jerk interrupted her as the carriage engines cut themselves off abruptly. Marcia looked at the door wildly. There was a commotion outside their vehicle. Felix raised a finger to his lips as the pink glow returned to his eyes.


    ¡°Stay quiet, sis. Our carriage is being searched.¡±

 Chapter 7: Devil鈥檚 Gate

    Felix¡¯s few words apparently did not suffice to calm his sister down, so she dropped her voice to an urgent whisper.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Marcia inched closer to him. ¡°Isn¡¯t this carriage whitelisted?¡±


    The psychic¡¯s telepathy hopped around from one mind to another in rapid succession, gleaning the relevant information he required. He did not want to risk another unnecessary surprise after this one.


    ¡°Surprise baggage area check, even for whitelisted vehicles,¡± he stated. ¡°Newly implemented security protocol. No matter what happens, don¡¯t make a sound. I¡¯ll take care of this.¡±


    Felix focused his mind on the three security guards walking towards the backdoor of their carriage. There seemed to be a fourth object as well, although his mind could not make contact with it. Probably a drone of sorts. It didn¡¯t matter; the humans were all he needed to convince.


    The lock on the back doors twisted open.


    Sunlight burst into the dimly lit trunk of the carriage as three uniformed men flung the doors open. Felix steadied his breathing, telepathically blocking their minds from registering any presence before them.


    ¡°Is this even necessary? C¡¯mon, man. I¡¯m already running late.¡± The driver walked into view as well, gesturing impatiently. ¡°Of all the vehicles you guys inspect, it just had to be mine¡ª¡±


    A loud bark cut him off.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Felix muttered under his breath as a guard dog clambered into the back doors, barking at him. So it wasn¡¯t a drone¡­


    ¡°Oi, get that damn dog under control,¡± the driver complained. ¡°It almost knocked me over, for goodness sake!¡±


    ¡°Watch your tongue. Our dogs are trained to detect even those concealed by invisibility charms. Show some respect,¡± a security guard warned sharply, before pulling out some kind of goggles. ¡°If there¡¯s an Arcani presence, I¡¯ll see right through their spells¡ª¡±


    The dog swung around without warning, snatching the goggles away from him and running off into the distance. The other men gave chase immediately.


    ¡°See? It¡¯s still a beast.¡± The driver threw his hands up in exasperation. ¡°Can I go now?¡±


    Felix heaved a sigh of relief as the back doors closed again. The engines came to life again soon enough, purring contently as the carriage continued its way into Devil¡¯s Gate.


    ¡°Thanks, sis. That was close.¡± Felix closed his eyes, patting his sister gently to thank her. ¡°Didn¡¯t know your world used animals to help with security too.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, big bro. I got you.¡± Marcia smirked, tapping her head lightly. ¡°I never knew your telepathy doesn¡¯t extend to animals as well.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. They¡¯re too stupid for me to make any meaningful contact with their mind.¡±


    ¡°Ouch, I can talk to them. So what, are you calling me stupid too?¡±


    Felix shifted his eyes towards her before a cheeky grin spread on his face. ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. But if the shoe fits¡­¡±


    He flinched as a well-deserved smack hit him lightly on his arm, accompanied by a giggle. Felix laughed as well, releasing the tension in the air.


    The carriage entered the Devil¡¯s Gate without further mishap.


    ~ ~ ~


    The siblings practically sauntered into the main hall. After all, acting all nervous and inconspicuous would only draw more suspicion, considering they were supposedly the messengers of the ¡®would-be queen¡¯ of Devil¡¯s Gate Gaol. Felix even made it a point to show off the silver staff in his hand as much as he could.


    ¡°Sorry, come again?¡± the moustached warden asked, nervously flipping through the records. ¡°You want to speak with¡­¡±


    His voice trailed away as if saying the name would invoke the prisoner¡¯s presence right then and there.


    ¡°You heard me.¡± Felix folded his arms, exuding a badly exaggerated air of haughtiness. ¡°Are the wardens here all hard of hearing? Warlock Vulcan will be disappointed.¡±


    ¡°No, I mean¡ª¡± the warden dropped his voice. ¡°You really wish to speak with¡­ with the Mad Badger? You do know he¡¯s being held in solitary confinement for a very good reason, don¡¯t you? I wouldn¡¯t touch him with a ten-metre pole if I were you.¡±


    ¡°And that is why you are not us,¡± Marcia said with a much more solid sense of authority. ¡°We¡¯ve been tasked to do so. It would help us very much if you could give us as much information as you have on this prisoner.¡±


    ¡°If this is how Vulcan treats her messengers, I dread to think about how she¡¯s going to treat us when she takes over.¡± The man shuddered, before pulling out a differently coloured record. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s see¡­ First things first, the Mad Badger¡¯s identity. He was an unregistered Meta, so the government didn¡¯t have information about him to start with. But the constables did find out his birth name after some investigation: Gaius Matthiou.¡±


    It took Felix every fibre of his being not to flinch in recognition at the name. The ¡®Gaius¡¯ in his world had ¡®Deusdedit¡¯ as his last name, but only because a childhood accident had converted his race into the Magi race. This version of Gaius must have missed the accident somehow and thus retained his original surname.


    ¡°Abilities¡­ Massively enhanced reflexes as well as unbridled passive regeneration,¡± the warden continued reading from the record. ¡°He was rumoured to be in possession of a corrupted spellcraft which resulted in his psychotic breakdowns, although that tome was never found. Okay, here¡¯s the part you¡¯ll be interested in.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The siblings leaned in closer.


    ¡°Prisoner Gaius Matthiou is being held in an Arcani-nullifying cell. We only have one in here, since it takes up a lot of magic to maintain such a room and keep it sealed. Our other prisoners only have Arcani-dampening collars on their necks; the Mad Badger is the only one dangerous enough to be imprisoned in that cell. So, changed your minds yet?¡±


    They stared at the warden silently.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t think so¡­¡± he muttered, thinning his lips. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t regret this. If that monster gets loose, don¡¯t count on us to rescue you. This is just a job; we don¡¯t intend to lose our lives for it.¡±


    The warden picked up a wand and got out of his seat.


    ~ ~ ~


    The siblings found themselves in front of a cold, metallic door after making a hundred turns in the maze of a prison. Of course, the warden scurried off the moment he showed them the solitary confinement door, leaving the two of them alone in the rundown hallway. The silence that followed was remarkable.


    Felix stilled his body, ignoring the chill that ran through it. He would be lying if he said he assumed this place wasn¡¯t abandoned. It reminded him of an old children¡¯s book, ¡®The Count of Monte Cristo¡¯. In that story, Dantes was imprisoned for more than ten years. Would anyone even survive that? Would anyone even be sane after that? At least Dantes had the Mad Priest to keep him company in the latter years.


    But this place? There was nothing.


    His ears pricked at the strange scraping noise on the opposite end of the metal door. It was rhythmic, yet uneven. And another sound came along with the scraping. A voice.


    ¡°All you that in the hole do lie,¡± the voice sang. ¡°Prepare you for tomorrow you shall die.¡±


    The siblings backed away from the door, although they found their eyes strangely locked onto the cell. Felix barely registered his telekinetic senses warning him about the mass of flesh creeping up against the door.


    ¡°Examine all yourselves, in time repent¡ª¡±


    He had heard that nursery rhyme before, but never in such a malicious, off-key tune. The movement stopped.


    ¡°¡ª That you may not to eternal flames be sent.¡±


    A loud thud sent reverberations along the hallway as both Felix and Marcia jumped in shock. It took them a moment to register the yellowish teeth thrust against the small aperture in the door.


    ¡°Does it come to kill us?¡± a raspy, lilting voice spoke. ¡°Shall we kill it first?¡±


    Felix grabbed his chest as it throbbed again¡ª No. This wasn¡¯t mere physical discomfort. It was his soul that was now resonating harder than ever.


    One of The Solstices is just behind that door.


    ¡°Gaius,¡± Felix said. ¡°No, we have not come to kill you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it knows us! But¡­ it does not know us. It comes from elsewhere, somewhere tumultuous. Yes, yes¡­ its soul is so very different¡­ And so succulent.¡±


    Felix could practically hear the manic smile from his side of the door. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not important. Rumour has it that you¡¯re in possession of one of Janus¡¯ books, I take it?¡±


    ¡°The book, the book¡­ No one knew where to look!¡± Gaius giggled. ¡°They couldn¡¯t see what it made me to be.¡±


    ¡°Well, may I borrow it?¡± Felix asked, trying his best to ignore how creepy this deranged man sounded. ¡°Only for a bit, then you can have your precious tome back.¡±


    ¡°But it lies. Oh, how it always lies. No matter, we see right through your guise. Best say your goodbyes before someone else dies.¡±


    Marcia glanced at Felix nervously, shaking her head. Felix pursed his lips, finally listening to what his psychic senses had to tell him. There was a person behind the door, alright. A person whose mind was so turbulent, he couldn¡¯t even begin to read it. But that wasn¡¯t even the most disturbing thing about him.


    The worst part? He had more than one soul. Or rather, he had more than a thousand souls crammed into his body.


    ¡°Is there someone else here?¡± Gaius shouted excitedly without warning. ¡°Come here. Come closer. Be a dear!¡±


    Marcia took a few steps back as a black, scaly hand thrust itself through the door hole, swiping around blindly. The rust from the metallic door was scraping its skin off, but the arm was rapidly regenerating its flesh.


    Felix stared at the hand. It looked slightly familiar, although he could not recall where he had seen something like that before.


    ¡°Oh, fuck me. This guy is fucking insane.¡± Marcia kept a wide berth from the writhing limb, before leaning towards her brother. ¡°You said you can sense the two books. Well, does he have it?¡±


    Felix nodded with a sickened look on his face.


    ¡°He stitched one of them into his own body, where his heart is. Judging from the way the organ is wrapping around the book now, I think he ripped out his own heart and put the book in its place. His new heart regrew itself around the book.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± Marcia whispered. ¡°How do we get it out?¡±


    ¡°I can rip his heart out, but we still have to get these doors open somehow,¡± Felix said. ¡°You should probably get out of here when I break it. There¡¯s no telling what Gaius will be like once he¡¯s loose.¡±


    His sister huffed, putting her hands on her hips. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by her earpiece vibrating. Marcia pressed on her earpiece to answer the call.


    Felix looked at the cell again. Gaius had withdrawn his hand and was being eerily quiet now. Images flashed in his mind as he attempted to read his mind again. There were a multitude of conflicting memories, but he was sure of at least one thing now.


    The souls in his body came from different worlds. After viewing the different possibilities in the multiverse, Gaius became obsessed with activating the spellcraft. However, he had only managed to turn it into a one-way gate. Departed souls of the other worlds promptly came through and resided in his body, driving the final wedge into his madness.


    ¡°Felix?¡± Marcia¡¯s voice cut into the psychic¡¯s mind. ¡°I have bad news. Kleopatra beat up my men and managed to escape.¡±


    ¡°Oh gods, we don¡¯t have much time then.¡± Felix turned his attention to Gaius¡¯ body and focused his mind¡ª


    An alarm blared as a commotion erupted from outside the hallway. The siblings whipped their heads back in surprise, but a soft whoosh brought their attention back to the cell in front of them.


    ¡°Felix¡­?¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t me.¡± Felix stared in horror at the metal slowly swinging open.


    Spindly fingers gripped the edge of the door.

 Chapter 8: The Mad Badger

    The man¡ª No, creature¡ª took his time to come out from his cell as if he had merely woken up from his afternoon nap. He obviously wasn¡¯t going for a surprise attack, but Felix¡¯s breath caught anyway.


    A tall spindly figure with overly stretched limbs. Facial features that were barely recognisable with black scales covering them. Golden light poked out where the eyes were supposed to be. Every fibre of Felix¡¯s being screamed in horror and recognition.


    Gaius Matthiou was an Unending¡­ somehow.


    ¡°Oh, gods. Not again¡­¡± Marcia whimpered from Felix¡¯s side.


    The deranged man grinned at Felix like a rabid ape about to gouge its victim¡¯s eyes out. Felix motioned Marcia to get behind him.


    ¡°Well, at least we got him out,¡± he blurted stupidly. ¡°And he isn¡¯t angry.¡±


    ¡°Truly?¡± Marcia asked incredulously, physically stopping her body from trembling further.


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s just hungry. He wants to eat our souls.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not any better!¡±


    The siblings inched back slowly as though trying to calm down a wild tiger, but Gaius only continued prancing towards them like a predator intent on playing with its food. Felix¡¯s mouth went dry as he detected a hint of playfulness in Gaius¡¯ twisted mind. Oh gods, he¡¯s dragging this out on purpose.


    It took Felix a few moments more to realise that Kleopatra¡¯s staff was still glowing with magic. It took Marcia the next to figure out what just happened.


    ¡°Fuck, that damn witch must¡¯ve remotely deactivated the gaol security to get us killed,¡± she whispered from behind him. ¡°Should¡¯ve known the government had already transferred command to her staff when she came to us. We sprung her trap.¡±


    ¡°Figured. It¡¯ll be easier for her to manage the prison if there are hardly any inmates left too.¡± Felix tossed the staff onto the floor, and Gaius seemed to disappear in a flash.


    The psychic leaned back, barely dodging the man lunging towards him. He flung his hand to the side and sent Gaius crashing through the door out of the hallway instead.


    Commotion burst from outside. Felix and Marcia ran out, gawking at the chaos in front of them. Almost the entire prison was rioting; every prisoner was engaged in some sort of sick battle royale with their fists and makeshift weapons. The magic-nullifying collars on their necks were still active, but the guards had long fled from their posts.


    Felix''s eyes darted around. There was no time to hesitate; he still needed to get one of the Solstices embedded within Gaius¡¯ body. He closed his eyes, focusing his much finer psychic senses instead. It finally locked onto his quarry, who was already covered in blood.


    Gaius charged towards his next target with a flying kick, which was promptly caught with ease. A sickening crack filled the air as the inmate slammed his heel onto his thigh, snapping it by the hip joint. Normally, that would¡¯ve been enough to incapacitate a regular person.


    But Gaius was far from normal, and in the worst way possible.


    Gaius laughed hysterically as though the pain merely tickled him before a fist collided with his mouth. Muffled sounds of giggling mixed with the sounds of bone crunching as the particularly skilled prisoner rained down a flurry of blows on his face.


    The punching abruptly stopped as the prisoner was sent flying forward from a kick to his buttocks. He rolled to his feet quickly and leapt up, aiming a knee straight at The Mad Badger¡¯s chin. Gaius caught it with ease and pushed it back down, but the martial arts expert was not quite finished yet.


    He climbed on his opponent¡¯s body immediately, preparing to slam an elbow into his skull. He was flung to the side instead. His feet whipped towards his opponent¡¯s head less than a second later. His thigh was struck instead.


    Aggression possessed his gaze as he moved faster and began to unleash a full martial arts combo on the crazed man.


    Only to find his every move parried and dodged with ease now.


    Blood splattered from his throat as a sharpened edge found its way through the back of his neck. Gaius continued laughing and pulled his jagged fingers from the dying man. He lunged forward, snapping his victim¡¯s neck to finish it off.


    A golden beam of light pierced the corpse, pulling a humming ball of light from its torso.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Gaius turned around swiftly, running on all fours towards a group of people this time. The four men turned their attention to him and immediately swung their weapons. The laughing stopped abruptly as a particularly long blade sliced his face open. The other prisoner did not let up, plunging a stake into the back of Gaius¡¯ open mouth.


    The Mad Badger seized their wrists and wrung them with an absurd amount of force.


    The two men screamed in pain, their entire arms practically twisted in all the wrong directions. More blood sprayed as Gaius slit their throats with his sharpened toes. He turned his attention to the others, who weren¡¯t looking so tough anymore.


    Gaius ripped the stake from his throat and shoved it into one of their heads before any could react. He resumed his deranged giggling and dragged the stake out together with an eyeball. The man sank to his knees, wailing in horror and pain as he clutched at the empty eye socket still squirting blood.


    The Mad Badger chewed the eyeball like a gelatinous fish ball for a few seconds, before spitting it out again. He kicked the man to the floor and stomped hard on his head, mercifully ending his pain.


    Primal fear took over the last man and he dropped his weapon, running for his life. Gaius casually flicked the stake with incredible precision, burying it deep in the skull of the fleeing prisoner. His glowing eyes simmered as he took the moment of peace to consume the fruits of his labour again.


    And then his head jerked without warning towards the man silently observing him.


    Felix¡¯s mouth went dry instantly. He was leagues stronger than a simple regenerating Meta. Hell, he was even powerful enough to shatter the moon. There should be no one on Earth that he was afraid of.


    But that¡­ thing. It was scaring him.


    Gaius leapt up to the ceiling in a single leap, sinking his jagged appendages into the concrete and jerkily crawling towards the siblings like a demon-possessed spider. He reached Felix¡¯s position in a few seconds and lunged towards him before he could process what to do.


    So the psychic simply reacted.


    Felix thrust one hand forward and pulled the other back towards him without thinking. The pouncing man froze in the air for a second, before being tossed backwards with an absurd amount of force.


    The psychic¡¯s eyes flickered, stopping a mass of red before it touched him. His mouth turned down in disgust as the telekinetic force shredded away the deformed heart around an ancient-looking book. He plucked it from the air.


    ¡°Gross¡­¡± Marcia commented as Felix flipped the book open. It was entirely blank, but Felix could practically taste the magical energy wafting around The Summer Solstice. One down, one to go.


    ¡°About damn time,¡± his sister said. ¡°What about the other book?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t sense it anymore. Not even a lick of its presence,¡± Felix replied; the subtle pull in his soul was completely gone by now. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s in this universe.¡±


    ¡°Hey, pass me the book.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°If this is one of Janus¡¯ books, it only makes sense that it would be naturally drawn to the other, just like how your soul can sense it. I¡¯ll see if I can figure out a way to magically activate it.¡±


    Felix passed Marcia the book as he cast a grim look at the rioting prisoners. This world was already fucked, but it didn¡¯t have to stay that way. The weight of both worlds was now on him. He couldn¡¯t fail them.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get the hell out of here.¡± The psychic clawed the air, tearing open the reinforced steel walls as though it were a thin sheet of tin foil.


    They had barely taken more than two steps out of the place when Felix¡¯s psychic senses screamed in warning.


    He ducked, only to see the scaly mass of flesh kick off from a nearby tree and fling itself towards him again.


    Felix leaned back, but Marcia was not as quick. She yelped in pain as sharpened fingertips grazed her cheek, leaving behind two trails of red. Felix hissed; he hadn¡¯t expected Gaius to regenerate so quickly.


    ¡°Where¡¯re you going, you naughty thief?¡± The annoying rhyming voice was back. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, your pain will be brief!¡±


    ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± Felix yelled as psionic energy flooded his palm, preparing to push The Mad Badger away again¡ª


    Blood sprayed as Gaius¡¯ head was flung back. Blue plasma bolts rained into his body as he staggered backwards with each shot. Marcia walked into view with a pistol in each hand, murderous coldness possessing her gaze as she fired her weapons relentlessly.


    The man stumbled and collapsed to the ground as the last few shots disintegrated his legs.


    ¡°Felix, attune with the book. Hurry!¡± Marcia fished out The Summer Solstice, which was pulsating now.


    Pink light left his hand as Felix quickly touched the pages, linking his life force with the book. He tried his best to ignore the rabid groaning from behind. Black particles trailed behind Marcia¡¯s fingers as she weaved them through the air like an experienced music conductor.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see you handle this,¡± she growled before her voice blossomed into a roar. ¡°Purgatory swallow you!¡±


    Light charged towards the man, but something else seared from his head and reflected it instead.


    ¡°What the hell? This wasn¡¯t supposed to happen!¡± Marcia exclaimed as Felix pushed her aside, barely avoiding the beam.


    The light sloshed around in the air for a moment, before being forcibly morphed into a doorway by something. But this was no time to think.


    Felix jerked violently away from Gaius¡¯ gnashing teeth as he shoved Marcia into the doorway. He flailed his arms in a futile attempt to regain balance as his feet tripped over the other, causing him to fall into the doorway as well.


    And the endless void greeted him again.

 Chapter 9: Night City

    The void wasn¡¯t made of vacuum. Felix was sure of that now, because he could barely hear himself thinking over the tirade of swear words spewing from his sister¡¯s mouth. Unlike he, who was soaring headfirst to their next destination, Marcia was tumbling about and flailing her arms like a drowning bird.


    ¡°Felix?!¡± Her voice whizzed past his ears as she rolled above him. ¡°What¡­ the fuck¡­ is going on?!¡±


    ¡°Just hold on tight!¡± Felix grabbed the helm of her jacket and pulled her towards him. Her small hands gripped his shoulders tightly.


    He could already see the next glowing doorway hurtling towards them. Or rather, they were hurtling towards it. Either way, he wasn¡¯t sure if it was possible for someone to be stranded in this infinite void if they didn¡¯t make it through the door. He held his sister tightly. He sure as hell did not want to find out.


    Marcia¡¯s scream rattled his ears as the door loomed in their faces. Felix tried to ignore how her voice went impossibly high in pitch, as though it was being sped up through a voice processing device. Something nipped at his ankle as his vision spun with light and colour.


    And then soft grass slammed into his face.


    Felix was tumbling in every direction like a hyperactive breakdancer. Mercifully, he skidded to a stop before he could puke all over himself. He groaned, blinking his eyes a few times to orientate himself. This trip was certainly a lot more violent than the previous one.


    He pushed himself up again, shaking his head to get rid of the light in his vision. It was then he realised that his awareness had been temporarily knocked out of his body, and the lights weren¡¯t just in his vision.


    Purple dazzled before him as he tilted his head to the cityscape, finally taking in the sights of this strange world for the first time. Like his own world, purple seemed to be the main aesthetic of this place as well, except it was cranked to eleven this time.


    A cacophony of neon lights splashed carelessly over the horizon of infinite glowing metal stretching out below him. Streets weaved between the dense urban jungle, all of them connected by roads curved in all sorts of unconventional ways. Even further lay floating concrete buildings tethered to the ground by intangible magic columns, rudely occupying the airspace with their blocky, brutalist architectural design.


    Felix let his mouth hang open in awe as a few miniaturised airships flew just above him. They looked like airships, alright. Except they were shrunk down to the size of an average carriage. The man wasn¡¯t educated enough to even begin grasping the physical laws that allowed that to happen; he could only be sure that this place was a lot more technologically advanced than his own.


    A flash of movement rudely interrupted his marvelling.


    Felix flinched and jerked his leg away from the disembodied head snapping at his ankle. He furrowed his eyebrows in disgust. Apart from Marcia and himself, Gaius had somehow made it through the portal as well.


    Or rather, just his head.


    Marcia yelped and scrambled away from the head scuttling towards her. It was presumably cut off when the portal closed on Gaius¡¯ body, but there were already tiny appendages growing from the bloodied neck that looked suspiciously like toes.


    The woman charged towards the severed head without warning and kicked it like a football.


    Pink flared in Felix¡¯s eyes as he stopped the head dead in its trajectory. He didn¡¯t want to risk Gaius regrowing his entire body and terrorising this world as well. He squeezed his fist.


    ¡°Come back from this, psycho.¡±


    Pinkish blood sprayed onto the white-coloured grass as Gaius¡¯ brain burst out from his skull. The golden glow faded from the lifeless eyes just as grey matter plopped onto the ground. Marcia rushed forward and repeatedly stepped on it like it was a cockroach.


    Felix flicked his hand casually, tossing the empty, lifeless head into what he could only assume was a rubbish bin.


    ¡°You okay?¡± He gestured to the wound on Marcia¡¯s face, and the woman promptly pulled out a handkerchief to clean the blood away.


    Felix grinned. ¡°If that thing scars, you¡¯ll look like a proper mafia boss.¡±


    If his sister was about ten years younger, she would¡¯ve rolled her eyes¡ª And he could tell she was fighting the urge. But as it was, Marcia settled for a simple gangster scowl as she cast her gaze at the choking dazzle of neon lights before her.


    ¡°Where the hell are we?¡± Her voice had also dropped to a barely audible groan. ¡°Why didn¡¯t my portal spell work?¡±


    ¡°Why did you even try to open a portal to Purgatory in the first place? It seemed like Gaius turned his body into a portal as well.¡± Felix mused. ¡°That¡¯s probably why your spell didn¡¯t work.¡±


    He stared at the golden light coating the open skull. It wasn¡¯t psychic energy, but the magic before him felt remarkably similar to the gateway created by the Summer Solstice. Felix made a mental note in case he somehow needed knowledge of portal creation.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re in yet another alternate world,¡± the man commented, turning his attention back to his surroundings.


    ¡°How¡¯d you know that?¡± Marcia asked.


    ¡°For one, I travelled through that very same void to reach your world. So I¡¯ve done this before.¡± He beckoned her to follow him down a flight of steps. ¡°For another, this building looks nothing like Devil¡¯s Gate.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    He pointed at the huge signage painted onto the floor. The familiar name stared back at them.


    Guardian Council: Home of The Protectors.


    ~ ~ ~


    For better or for worse, the Guardian Council headquarters was deserted. It might have been nice to ask for directions, but Felix didn¡¯t exactly plan on getting tossed into a foreign world, so he was utterly lost as to what to do now.


    Unlike the previous world, his soul was not resonating with anything. There wasn¡¯t even the slightest indication that the other book was in this world. So why the hell did the Summer Solstice bring them here?


    After climbing down about five hundred steps or so, Felix gave up and resorted to simply flying down instead.


    The siblings found themselves smack in the middle of a neon city. Bits of the night sky poked through the cloud of lights, but most of it was obscured by the sheer colours decorating the celestial canvas.


    ¡°What time is it here?¡± Felix squinted, trying his best to avoid knocking into the crowd walking in his direction. The people here were walking at a strangely uniform pace¡ª Hell, even their sense of fashion was almost identical.


    Felix¡¯s mind raced to formulate a plan.


    There was no point searching for The Winter Solstice at the moment since it clearly wasn¡¯t in this universe. He could ask Marcia to open another portal with The Summer Solstice, but there was also no guarantee that they¡¯d travel to a world that contained the other book.


    The only viable plan was to search for someone who knew enough about inter-world travel to analyse The Summer Solstice¡¯s polarising energy and pinpoint the location of its twin. But where to begin searching¡ª


    ¡°Felix, watch out!¡±


    The man¡¯s body jerked backwards as someone yanked him away from a roaring carriage. He turned back to his sister who was staring at him wide-eyed, before turning his attention to the traffic intersection.


    ¡°What the hell are those?¡± He gestured at some sort of lamp posts with different coloured lights.


    ¡°Looks like some kind of signal for traffic,¡± Marcia mused out loud, also staring at them. ¡°These different colours seem to indicate when we can cross the road.¡±


    ¡°What? You mean the carriages don¡¯t stop on their own at intersections?¡± Felix cocked an eyebrow as people began to bustle around him. ¡°Don¡¯t these vehicles have life-detecting charms imbued in them?¡±


    ¡°How would I know? Move, move, move!¡± His sister pushed him lightly before the crowd trampled on them. ¡°Green means ¡®Go¡¯. Red means ¡®Stop¡¯. Gotta keep that in mind¡­¡±


    The other side of the street was no less bright than the rest of the city and looked surprisingly down to Earth. Not a single potion or spellcraft shop was in sight, and none of the residents were wielding their staves. If it wasn¡¯t for the recognisable technomagick aura choking the air, Felix could¡¯ve sworn he was in a world where magic somehow didn¡¯t exist.


    ¡°Hey, where exactly are we going?¡± Marcia pulled on his arm worriedly. ¡°The charms on the feeders in my room can only last so long. We need to find a way back before my animals starve.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think time is a factor here.¡± Felix shrugged. ¡°We can travel to any point in time in the multiverse anyway.¡±


    ¡°Okay fine, but what is the plan?¡± his sister insisted. ¡°Do you sense the other book?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°No?!¡± Marcia shouted, attracting the attention of a few pedestrians. ¡°What the fuck are we doing here, then?¡±


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the one who cast the portal.¡± Felix rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t pin that on me.¡±


    ¡°And you don¡¯t have a plan to get us where we need to go. What happened to ¡®I¡¯ve done this before¡¯, huh?¡± the woman huffed. ¡°Great. This is just great. Now we¡¯re stuck in this neon world with no way back¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey. Calm down, lady.¡± An overly honeyed voice cut in abruptly.


    Marcia swung around violently and promptly widened her eyes at the chocolate shoved in her face. She stared at the stranger, whose lips were contorted into an unnaturally wide smile.


    ¡°What the¡ª Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Life is good, my friend,¡± the stranger continued without regard to her question. ¡°There is no plausible reason to be upset. Let¡¯s all contribute to global happiness.¡±


    ¡°Hear, hear!¡±


    ¡°Praise the universe! Life is good!¡±


    Felix whipped his head around at the small crowd agreeing with the strange woman. Like her, every one of them harboured an intensely happy expression, as though their smiles were literally plastered onto their faces. He stole a peek into their memories.


    And almost reeled in shock.


    It had nothing to do with their memories. In fact, he couldn¡¯t even look into their memories. The intense joy at the forefront of their thoughts was practically blinding his telepathy. It was as though all of them were brainwashed to feel nothing but happiness.


    Felix flinched as another stranger offered him a honeyed apple. He backed away slowly until his back met his sister¡¯s. The crowd of people had formed a circle around them, chanting away happily.


    ¡°There is only love, peace, and happiness in this world. Everything else is an illusion!¡±


    ¡°It is our duty as citizens to propagate happiness!¡±


    ¡°Be considerate, have a chocolate!¡±


    The chanting grew louder as more and more people surrounded the siblings, oddly obsessed with driving away their ¡®spirit of unhappiness¡¯.


    ¡°Everyone, leave these two to me! Worry not, I¡¯ll make sure they understand how happy they can be in this world!¡±


    Like hell, you will.


    Felix swung around to the source of the voice, whose face was still covered by a shadow. It showed itself soon enough, his every footstep emphasised by the clanging of his staff against the gravel floor.


    A flush raced up his spine and settled into his cheeks as Felix stared at the familiar-looking man approaching him.


    ¡°Come with me,¡± the robed man said, offering his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll explain everything on the road.¡±


    Felix nodded awkwardly, following Orpheus Caesar¡¯s lead out of the crowd.

 Chapter 10: Technomagick-topia

    Orpheus¡¯ robes swept behind him as he walked swiftly along the streets. Felix and Marcia scurried close behind him, paying attention not to knock into anyone else. Unlike the residents of this world who were mostly dressed in simple coats, Orpheus was fully dressed in a long, navy blue cloak with an emerald staff on his back.


    ¡°Hey, Orpheus! Wait up!¡± Felix called out to the man, who thankfully stopped right in his tracks.


    ¡°That you know my name already confirms what I¡¯ve detected,¡± Orpheus said in a remarkably deep voice. ¡°Felix Apollo Pagonis. It¡¯s nice to see you again.¡±


    ¡°What exactly did you detect?¡± Marcia folded her arms.


    ¡°Two foreign souls in this city, resulting in a net excess of citizen population,¡± he replied nonchalantly. ¡°As Grand Necromancer of Surone, I am in charge of monitoring immigration by keeping track of all the souls in my country. You can¡¯t imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find yours, Felix.¡±


    A beeping noise piped, and Orpheus gestured to the siblings to cross the traffic intersection with him.


    ¡°I¡ª Uh¡­ Thank you.¡± Felix blushed. ¡°H¡ª How¡¯re you doing? D¡ª Do you have a child¡ª Are¡­ Are you married?¡±


    ¡°I hope this isn¡¯t how you usually proposition someone,¡± Orpheus chuckled. ¡°But no, I¡¯m not. The responsibilities of a Grand Magi keep one from finding love. And besides¡­¡±


    His smile dropped slightly. ¡°I have other priorities now.¡±


    Felix¡¯s face fell.


    ¡°What¡¯s with the people back there?¡± Marcia asked. ¡°Is that normal behaviour?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. They only behaved that way because you were making a nuisance.¡±


    ¡°Nuisance? I barely raised my voice!¡±


    ¡°But you were upset. This society doesn¡¯t allow that.¡± Orpheus swept a stray strand of wavy blue hair to the back. ¡°Every citizen has their role to play in this country, and it¡¯s designed to maximise our efficiency. That includes our mood. We must be joyful at all times in order to execute our tasks to the best of our abilities. Happiness also means less crime, since everyone has been brainwashed to be satisfied with their life.¡±


    Felix frowned. ¡°That¡¯s rather¡­ dystopian.¡±


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t complain. Literally.¡± Orpheus shrugged. ¡°And it¡¯s funny you, of all people, should say that. Because a dictator once ruled this place with an iron fist: The ¡®Felix Pagonis¡¯ of this world. He was the one who psychically brainwashed the entire country. He even erased the existence of Surone from the memories of everyone else in the world so that no one could interfere with his policies.¡±


    ¡°Me?! A dictator?¡± Felix exclaimed. ¡°And that doesn¡¯t make sense either; my telepathy isn¡¯t advanced enough to affect the world.¡±


    ¡°Unlike yours, his psychic powers developed more in favour of telepathy. So while you can move the Earth, he can brainwash everyone in it. But enough about him for now.¡± Orpheus flicked his head warily to the guard post ahead of them. ¡°I¡¯ll fill you in later; let¡¯s get through this checkpoint first.¡±


    Felix¡¯s attention shifted in its direction. Guards typically wore sober clothes, accompanied by a generous serving of flashy weaponry eager to show off their firepower. But these guards? They looked like they had just walked through a paint shower of every single colour before coming to their stations.


    The man covered his mouth to hide his giggle. There was no way he could take them seriously.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any contraband items on you, right?¡± Orpheus whispered.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so?¡± Felix blinked. ¡°What counts as contraband items?¡±


    ¡°Staves, spellcrafts, potions¡­ Anything magic.¡±


    Felix opened his mouth to ask why magic items were banned, but Orpheus stepped forward before he could say anything. The light on the guards¡¯ helmet turned from red to green upon scanning Orpheus¡¯ face.


    ¡°Welcome, Grand Necromancer Orpheus Caesar,¡± the guard announced without scanning the rest of his body.


    Felix raised his eyebrows in realisation, finally noticing that the guards were made entirely of metal. Despite how human they looked, these guards were nothing but mere simulacrums magically imbued with artificial intelligence.


    ¡°These two are with me.¡± The Necromancer pointed to Felix and Marcia.


    ¡°Command accepted. Please proceed to the final checkpoint and have a very happy day.¡±


    The siblings hurried through the checkpoint as though they were afraid the guards would change their minds at the last minute. Most of the other residents were diverted to other routes.


    ¡°Grand Magis have our privileges,¡± Orpheus resumed his exposition as they entered an empty tunnel. ¡°Arcane magic is banned in our society, you see. Only those who have attained the title of ¡®Grand Magi¡¯ are allowed to use magic, and for official reasons only. Everyone else is only allowed to interact with technomagick.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to change the topic, but where are you taking us?¡± Marcia asked, her eyes still fixated on the sleek, futuristic aesthetic around her.


    ¡°To the Building of Magick Archives: Council of the Grand Magis,¡± Orpheus replied simply. ¡°We have a device there that can attune with The Summer Solstice in your possession and pinpoint which universe its twin is in.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Felix stopped walking.


    ¡°Wait, how did you know we have that book with us?¡± He stared at Orpheus in shock. ¡°We never mentioned it.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t need to. Its foreign magic is so potent that it was the first thing our technology detected. Due to Dictator Pagonis¡¯ policies, he banned the use of magic. As a result, our technology grew at a breakneck pace to keep up with the demands of a magic society.¡± Orpheus narrowed his eyes. ¡°Yes, we know about other realms. We even have the technology to track their movements. We just don¡¯t have quite enough energy to open a portal without the help of an artefact. An artefact like The Summer Solstice.¡±


    It was Marcia¡¯s turn to be suspicious.


    ¡°What are your intentions, Caesar?¡± she hissed. ¡°I¡¯m not following you any longer until you¡¯re frank with us.¡±


    ¡°Not once have I lied to you thus far. Only a simpleton would fail to deduce that you¡¯ve only arrived here due to your limited understanding of inter-world magicks,¡± the Necromancer said calmly. ¡°But I¡¯ll be very honest with you. Your presence is a threat to our universe. The sooner I get you out of this world, the better. That is the only reason why I¡¯m helping you. You have The Summer Solstice with you, am I right? Do you want to get to The Winter Solstice or not?¡±


    Felix¡¯s heart throbbed with hurt, but he pushed the feeling down. He¡¯s not the same person, Felix. He¡¯s not your lover. Control yourself.


    ¡°Fine. Fair enough, I suppose. Let¡¯s go,¡± Marcia replied stoically. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay here for too long as well.¡±


    Felix trudged behind them, his emotions still a mess within him. Did he just seriously imagine having a normal life with Orpheus again? After everything that had happened, did he really think he deserved to get back everything he lost in his life?


    The Solstices. The Solstices can help me. I can get everyone I love back. Everything I lost¡­ I must get them back. I must correct the mistakes of our worlds¡ª Of all our worlds.


    ¡°I suppose we have to avoid Dictator me, given how barbaric you¡¯ve described him to be,¡± the psychic muttered to bring himself back to the present. I¡¯m not a bad guy¡­ I can¡¯t be the bad guy¡­


    ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Orpheus replied nonchalantly. ¡°He¡¯s dead¡­ Dead for three years.¡±


    The three of them stepped on a different coloured plate, and the magic current carried them up to the next floor. They landed in front of a much larger guard post this time, which was guarding a pyramidal building sparkling with technomagick.


    ¡°Welcome, Grand Necromancer Orpheus Caesar. Please step forward for our routine inspection,¡± the robot guard commanded, and Orpheus stepped in front of a small gate. ¡°Please be reminded that lethal weaponry and corrupted spellcrafts are prohibited in these premises. Do you have anything to declare?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Orpheus walked through the gate, which lit up a bright green. He beckoned the siblings to come forward. Felix walked through the gate next without mishap. Marcia followed closely behind.


    And then an alarm rang as the gate flashed red.


    ¡°Contraband items detected! Cease all movement immediately!¡± The surrounding guards stood at attention as their ¡®limbs¡¯ immediately transformed into pulsating technomagick rifles.


    Felix clenched his fists. The multi-coloured guards weren¡¯t looking so funny now.


    Marcia froze as one of the guards scanned her body again. It reached into her coat and pulled out The Summer Solstice.


    ¡°Oh crap, I didn¡¯t know that book counts as a corrupted spellcraft.¡± Orpheus took a step forward, but a guard jabbed him with its weapon.


    ¡°This is your first and final warning, sir! Do not move!¡± its automated voice barked at him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you live in this world?¡± Felix whispered from the side of his mouth. ¡°How do you not know our tome is prohibited?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª Uh¡­¡±


    A tray popped out from the guard¡¯s torso, and it plucked out a pair of arcane wrist cuffs. Alarm rang in Felix¡¯s mind. A flicker of pink began building in his eyes. Like hell he was going to let his sister get arrested in some foreign world like that.


    The guards froze for a brief moment, before turning their attention to the ceiling.


    Felix looked up as well and squinted his eyes. There was a shadow standing on top of the slightly translucent tunnel, although he couldn¡¯t tell if it was human. The shadowy figure abruptly disappeared in an instant, as though it had simply flown away like a bird.


    And then plastic rained all over them.


    The figure landed with a hard crash. It was fully masked and fitted with so many cybernetic parts that Felix couldn¡¯t even figure out if it was a living human or just another well-designed robot. But boy, it could fight.


    Lights filled the air as the guards immediately began firing. It was no use.


    The cyborg moved in a blur, kicking the nearest guard straight up. The guard crashed through the ceiling and disappeared into the clouds.


    Another guard fired a giant plasma beam at the cyborg. The surrounding walls exploded under the incredibly powerful shockwave, but it had only managed to stagger the intruder a few steps backwards.


    Green electricity crackled around the cyborg as it ripped the gates off the ground and hurled them in quick succession. The gates went clean through the guard¡¯s bodies, slicing all of them in half instantly.


    And then its hand shot up at a blistering speed, grabbing the last guard before it could plunge a colourful dagger into its neck. The cyborg lifted the entire metal body with its other hand and ripped the guard like a piece of scrap paper.


    It picked up The Summer Solstice from the floor, before turning its attention to Felix.


    Pink coated Felix¡¯s eyes as he stared at the cyborg warily. Although its face was covered, he could still see a faint green glow through its right eye hole. A pulse of technomagick energy rippled through its body, reforming the slightly dented metallic parts.


    ¡°W¡ª What¡¯re you looking at?¡± Felix said nervously, beckoning Marcia to stand behind him. ¡°You wanna go at it?¡±


    The cyborg slowly raised its finger at him.


    ¡°You. You are coming with me,¡± it said in a slightly distorted masculine voice.


    ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t a request.¡±


    Three small discs burst out from the cyborg¡¯s body without warning, attaching themselves to the trio.


    ¡°What the¡ª¡± Felix began, but a strange warping sensation spread to his whole body almost instantly.


    And then his whole being compressed itself into a small orb.

 Chapter 11: A Cautious Hero

    Felix spent the next few minutes as a marble bouncing around in some kind of container. Whatever carried him¡ª he was pretty sure it was the cyborg¡ª was moving at a very high speed, considering the amount of G-forces he was feeling. He would¡¯ve already thrown up if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he was an inanimate object.


    Fortunately, the crazy rollercoaster ride stopped soon enough, and he found himself tossed into the air.


    With a small puff of arcane smoke, the man regained his corporeal form as his feet touched the ground. Felix patted imaginary dust from his clothes while marvelling at his surroundings.


    The darkness was a pleasant contrast to the shimmering city earlier. Felix was never a fan of underground caves, but this one offered a well-needed respite from the choking neon lights on the land above.


    Specks of bluish-white crystals glittered on the rocky walls, casting a comfortable glow onto quaint, squarish houses lining up neatly on the naturally formed walkways. Even further down were small orange glows, which were presumably part of some bazaar.


    Felix tried to walk towards it but knocked into something invisible instead. He put his hand forward testily, feeling the slightly rumbling force field push back against it.


    ¡°Well, well. Looks like we¡¯ve caught the attention of the notorious Iron Angel.¡± Orpheus¡¯ voice drifted to Felix¡¯s ears. ¡°To what do we owe the pleasure?¡±


    Felix looked around. Orpheus and Marcia were both safe, thankfully, although they were also trapped in this invisible prison like him.


    The cyborg turned slowly. Felix¡¯s psychic senses sparked, but he ignored it. Something about this thing¡¯s demeanour seemed familiar. Iron Angel lifted a metallic hand to the side of his head and pressed a button. His helmet retracted from his face.


    Felix flinched visibly this time, taking a huge step backwards.


    ¡°Titus Angelo¡­¡± he breathed as the traumatic memories of his sister¡¯s kidnapper surged through his mind like water from a broken dam. He stole a glance at Marcia, who was also looking positively mortified with recognition.


    Titus Angelo looked like he was in his early forties, although his hair remained as green as ever. Half of his body was made of sleek metal, including his face, which featured a frankly cool-looking green glow in place of his right eye. The other half was hidden behind a thicker armour, but Felix could sense living flesh behind it.


    ¡°Not another word from you, Grand Necromancer.¡± Titus¡¯ narrow left eye shifted to Orpheus. ¡°I¡¯m only here for these two.¡±


    Orpheus stepped in front of Felix.


    ¡°Slow down there, Mister Vigilante.¡± The smile on his face faded. ¡°The law may not be able to do anything to you, but it doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t. These two are out of our jurisdiction, but technically, you just kidnapped a government official as well. Don¡¯t push your luck.¡±


    Felix could sense the magic in the air beginning to swirl around Orpheus¡¯ staff. Titus must have noticed it as well because the remaining armour on his left side also retracted away.


    ¡°I have already shown you respect by bringing you along with your quarry,¡± the cyborg replied coldly. ¡°Worry not, I have no intention of slaughtering them, if they cooperate.¡±


    ¡°What do you want, Angelo?¡± Felix snapped before he could stop himself.


    ¡°No. What do you want with our world?¡± Titus shot back. ¡°Why are you here? How are you here?¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯re you so nervous?¡± Marcia stepped forward. ¡°Did something wrong?¡±


    Armour burst around Titus as he stepped forward threateningly. Felix stared at him, silently daring him to make the first move.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done plenty, girl.¡± The cyborg¡¯s voice dropped to a raspy whisper. ¡°But him¡ª¡±


    He jabbed an aggressive finger at Felix without looking.


    ¡°¡ªHe¡¯s done a hundred times more than I ever will.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know me.¡± Felix folded his arms. ¡°So don¡¯t judge me. You¡¯re plenty bad yourself in my world. Kidnapping children, syphoning their Meta essence¡­ You have no idea. Don¡¯t act like you know what I¡¯m going to do.¡±


    ¡°So tell me, then.¡± Titus swivelled to him. ¡°We have suffered under the wrath of Felix fucking Pagonis for long enough. If there¡¯s even a one per cent chance you¡¯re going to threaten my people, I will take that as an absolute certainty.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Your¡ª¡± Felix scoffed. ¡°¡ªYour people? Wow, we have a model leader here. Don¡¯t kid yourself, Angelo. If you had pants, you¡¯d be shitting them senseless right now. We didn¡¯t choose to be here; it was an accident. An accident that we were trying to clean up until you decided to barge in.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck what you believe,¡± Felix snarled as the ground began trembling. ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, you kidnapped us. Again.¡±


    A faint pink flickered in his eyes as he projected his mind into Titus¡¯ head. He hated going anywhere near that bastard¡¯s mind, but if it meant shutting him down so they could leave this place, he¡¯d have to tolerate it just for a few seconds¡ª


    Titus¡¯ helmet reformed around his head instantly, and Felix almost recoiled from the sudden mental block out.


    ¡°Old trick, arsehole,¡± Titus hissed from behind the metal mask. ¡°I know all your tricks by heart, including this one.¡±


    The man plunged his hand into Felix¡¯s chest without warning and ripped his heart out.


    Orpheus¡¯ eyes went wide with shock. Marcia screamed. Felix staggered back as pain shot through his entire body. He calmed his mind, allowing his psychic energy to flow into the hole in his chest.


    And then the wound sealed itself up rapidly, leaving behind not even a single hint of the trauma wrought upon his flesh.


    ¡°You ruined a perfectly good shirt.¡± Felix took a deep breath as the pink faded from his eyes. The shock had silenced everyone by now, so Marcia broke it with a slight whimper.


    ¡°H¡ª How?¡± Her mouth hung open, her eyes still fixated on Felix¡¯s torso.


    ¡°Biokinetic regeneration,¡± Titus replied simply, dropping the now-decayed organ onto the floor. ¡°Pagonis picked up that psychic ability when he was twenty-one, and he mastered it by twenty-two. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    Felix kept his silence defiantly.


    ¡°That was my first mistake,¡± the cyborg muttered to himself. ¡°Thought I¡¯d won when I finally managed to crush your head like a watermelon until you grew it right the fuck back. Barely had time to realise your power isn¡¯t just vested in your brain before you proceeded on to disintegrate half my body with a single psionic blast.¡±


    He motioned to the cybernetic part of his body. ¡°I would¡¯ve died, if it weren¡¯t for my allies who sacrificed their lives to drag me out and patch me up with these.¡±


    Felix kept his head low.


    ¡°Even your powers have developed in the same manner as that monster who terrorised our world,¡± Titus said darkly. ¡°So tell me. How can I not be suspicious of you?¡±


    ¡°The¡­ me in this universe,¡± Felix mumbled. ¡°What did he do? How did he become like this?¡±


    ¡°Your sister died in a crossfire during a Meta riot. She was innocent. It was an accident. A tragedy, in every sense of the word,¡± Titus said. ¡°You arrived too late to save her, and she died in your arms. I wouldn¡¯t have blamed you for what you did next.¡±


    The psychic closed his eyes grimly.


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t stop, even after you flooded the streets with both Meta and Magi blood. You didn¡¯t stop, even after you slaughtered every single government official in one night. You didn¡¯t stop when you wiped out Surone¡¯s entire military arsenal and crippled its defences permanently. You didn¡¯t stop when you declared yourself the new dictator of the country and imposed your new rule.¡±


    Felix glanced at Orpheus, who avoided his gaze immediately.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t stop, because you thought only you could save everyone. By forcing your will on the world, you thought you could eradicate everything that was wrong with it. But you only made it worse,¡± Titus continued. ¡°And the worst part? Nobody could stop you. The Tier Five Metas banded together and went up against you in a head-on fight, but you still destroyed them all. I was the only one with any sense not to join them, and so I survived.¡±


    ¡°If Dictator Me really was as powerful as you described, how did you beat him?¡± Felix folded his arms, adamant not to lump himself with that megalomaniac.


    ¡°I joined a small resistance. People who wanted to keep their freedom and managed to avoid being brainwashed using the same metal used to forge my helmet. Like hell we were going to let ourselves be turned into those smiling idiots you see on the streets. We escaped the clutches of those technomagick guards¡ª which still retain their programming to carry out your executive orders, by the way. And we eventually found your weakness.¡±


    ¡°Felix has a weakness?¡± Marcia asked, wide-eyed. ¡°The only thing I ever recalled you being afraid of are insects.¡±


    Titus chuckled softly. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. He is afraid of insects, in a way. Bee poison, to be specific. Felix Pagonis was deathly allergic to them. And so we devised a poison that had the potency of a thousand bees. Took us more than fifty doses of that poison, but we finally managed to wear you down enough for me to finish you off. You took more than half of us with you, including my own sister.¡±


    ¡°If you truly claim to care about your allies, why don¡¯t you bring them up to the surface?¡± Felix insisted, still refusing to believe that his sister¡¯s kidnapper could be a hero in any universe.


    ¡°Like I just said, Pagonis¡¯ technomagick robots are still programmed to hunt us down. We have experts who are re-programming them cluster by cluster, but that takes time. Not to mention, the people up there have been mentally re-programmed to forget anything that makes them unhappy, and that includes your existence. We¡¯re still recruiting telepaths to break through Pagonis¡¯ brainwashing and restore their memories without making them go mad. It¡¯s not easy, so I have to make sure nothing goes wrong.¡±


    Titus walked out of the prison cell as though the forcefield was made of mere water. ¡°Even if you are different from the Pagonis I know, you¡¯re still too huge a threat to leave you roaming about. I¡¯ll have to keep you here until we solve our problems.¡±


    ¡°And how long will that take?¡± Marcia banged her fists on the forcefield. ¡°We just want to get home! We want to get out of this universe too!¡±


    Titus turned back as he stepped onto a floating platform. ¡°Sorry, girl. I won¡¯t take any risks. We have already lost much, and I have too much more to lose.¡±


    A translucent, purple forcefield surrounded the man, and the platform whizzed into the distance.

 Chapter 12: P.T.S.D.

    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    There was a loud thud followed by a few consecutive smaller ones. Felix glanced at his sister holding her feet in pain and hopping on one foot. The force field surrounding them stood unflinching despite Marcia¡¯s frustrated kick.


    ¡°Careful now, don¡¯t break your toes,¡± he reminded her absent-mindedly. Marcia plopped herself down in response.


    Felix looked outside the prison cell again. Was Titus right about him? Was his path to save all the worlds misguided all along?


    His hand moved towards the forcefield, touching it gingerly this time. It was sturdy, no doubt about that. But if he willed it so, he could easily break through the shield and leave whenever he wanted. There was a single human guard outside, but he doubted that man would be a match for him once he had broken out anyway.


    And then what?


    He glanced at Orpheus, who was staring into the distance with a distracted look in his eyes.


    ¡°Hey, Orpheus¡­¡± Felix began hesitantly. ¡°What Titus said about me¡­ Is it true?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Orpheus answered without hesitation. ¡°You¡¯re a murderous bastard who would¡¯ve been buried alive by your own sins if you hadn¡¯t already drowned in everyone else¡¯s blood first. You¡¯re a threat, and you always will be. Every world is better off without you.¡±


    Felix flinched slightly.


    ¡°And¡­ I loved you.¡±


    ¡°You do?¡± Felix¡¯s voice sounded more hopeful than he intended.


    ¡°I did,¡± Orpheus corrected him sharply. ¡°But some things¡­ Some things are just unforgivable.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s not me!¡± Felix protested. ¡°I¡¯m a different person!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not so different from this universe¡¯s version of yourself.¡± Orpheus¡¯ voice went cold immediately. ¡°Have you forgotten your trip to Purgatory? You¡¯re not sinless.¡±


    Felix clenched his jaw. ¡°I know I¡¯m not. That¡¯s why I¡¯m trying to correct my mistakes. I can save everyone. The right way. It won¡¯t be like Purgatory, I promise! I just¡­ I just want peace.¡±


    An unusual amount of anger flashed in Orpheus¡¯ eyes, but he calmed back down almost immediately.


    ¡°No, you seek what is already lost. You never knew when to let go. Is there no peace in knowing that, even though you have lost much, there are worlds where you haven¡¯t? Is that not enough for you? Will you throw lives away just to fail at fixing what¡¯s permanently broken?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Felix¡¯s eyes flared in anger before he closed them painfully. ¡°So you¡¯re not willing to help us?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even have looked for you if I wasn¡¯t,¡± Orpheus said. ¡°I¡¯m only guiding you to find The Winter Solstice. What you seek to do after that is none of my business.¡±


    Felix looked away, only to meet the eyes of the guard standing outside the prison. The guard turned his head quickly, as though it could hide the fact that he was listening in on them.


    But Felix had already recognised him.


    ¡°Hey, Caesar.¡± Marcia sat down beside her brother. ¡°Are there any¡­ bad consequences? Us being here, I mean.¡±


    Orpheus shook his head, chuckling slightly. ¡°That depends entirely on what you do in this world. But naturally, no. The multiverse doesn¡¯t care about its occupant¡¯s movements. Only its people do. And those who know what they are capable of.¡±


    Felix pursed his lips again. It was clear that his reputation in this world was widespread, and not in a good way. Titus was a lost cause, so Felix could forget about asking around about where he was keeping The Summer Solstice. What to do¡ª


    A muted explosion sent crushed gravel dripping onto their prison.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Marcia said, standing up immediately.


    Another explosion shook the ground this time, and Felix looked around him. The guard outside was speaking into his earpiece frantically.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s happening?¡± The psychic stood up and tapped the forcefield. The guard ignored him, but Felix wasn¡¯t giving up yet.


    ¡°Palladius Severan!¡± Felix yelled, finally catching the guard¡¯s attention.


    ¡°How do you know who I am?¡± Severan swung around, eyes wide with both confusion and panic.


    ¡°You were a soldier by my side in my world,¡± Felix answered hurriedly. ¡°But that¡¯s not important right now. What¡¯s going on? That tremor did not feel light!¡±


    ¡°W¡ª Why should I tell you that?¡± Severan stepped back from the forcefield nervously. ¡°Stay put!¡±


    His earpiece lit up again, and Felix took the chance to telepathically listen in.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°¡ªDon¡¯t know where these things come from! They just won¡¯t stay dead! Palladius, we need your help!¡±


    Won¡¯t stay dead? It couldn¡¯t be¡­


    ¡°Felix!¡±


    Felix turned to his sister, whose eyes were glowing pink as well.


    ¡°Just outside this cave¡­ There¡¯s a strange portal!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°Ugh¡­ those poor animals. Black creatures are coming out and¡­ they¡¯re killing a lot of people¡ª They¡¯re killing everything! They¡­ By the gods, they look like Gaius Matthiou! Oh no, not again¡­¡±


    Felix¡¯s head spun like a kaleidoscope, and the revelation was flashing through his mind like its epileptic patterns too. How the hell did the Unending find their way here too? Did they find a new world to devour? Or were they following him for some reason?


    ¡°Severan!¡± he yelled, throwing his fists against the forcefield this time. ¡°You have to let me help! These creatures are going to slaughter every single one of you!¡±


    The psychic roared in frustration before Severan could respond, slamming hard on the forcefield. The shockwave rippled his clothes as a large crack appeared on the magic shield.


    ¡°W¡ª What are you doing?!¡± Severan pulled out a pulsating rifle and pointed it at him. ¡°Stop, or I¡¯ll shoot!¡±


    Felix huffed in desperation, images of Severan¡¯s death flashing through his mind again. And then Gaius¡¯ death. And Vulcan¡¯s death. Kleopatra¡¯s death. Oh gods, so many people dead¡­ He couldn¡¯t save any of them¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ve faced these things before, Palladius!¡± he continued to yell. ¡°Let me help!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t! I don¡¯t have the authority to unlock the cell!¡± Severan¡¯s body was trembling, but he had already half-lowered his weapon.


    ¡°Then get out of the way.¡±


    Severan shifted slightly, and Felix took the cue. Psychic power lit up his eyes as he raised an open palm. He clenched it into a fist.


    The forcefield shattered like a piece of glass as the telekinetic force crushed it easily. Severan flailed his arms, falling over his feet as the remnant forces rippled outwards from the cell. Felix stepped out and helped the man to his feet.


    ¡°Tell your comrades to make sure they destroy every single atom of those monster¡¯s bodies to stop them from resurrecting,¡± he instructed. ¡°If possible, avoid the golden beams from their eyes. That¡¯s how they devour your souls.¡±


    Severan gulped at the last sentence.


    ¡°I looked up to you once, but you betrayed all of us.¡± His eyes were still wild with fear, but Felix could tell that he was already looking for a reason to trust him. ¡°How do I know I can trust you?¡±


    Felix waved a hand and materialised a psionic platform below Marcia and Orpheus¡¯ feet.


    ¡°Easy. We¡¯ve never met before.¡±


    The psychic burst off the ground, carrying his companions along with him.


    ~ ~ ~


    Technomagick blasts tore through the air, scarring the rocky walls that did little to keep out the enemy¡¯s intrusion. After all, these monsters had arrived on the battlefield via a portal spawned behind the cave¡¯s natural defences. Screams of pain followed swiftly like thunder after lightning as more mutilated bodies dropped beside the fallen comrades.


    ¡°Argh, no! Die, you monsters! Die!¡± A man released a war cry, unleashing a torrent of plasma bolts onto the black, scaly monsters before him. He stopped the onslaught temporarily, narrowly dodging a beam of golden light.


    ¡°Hah! Missed me, you ugly bastard!¡± he laughed gleefully and raised his rifle again. ¡°Palladius already warned us about this! You won¡¯t get me so easily¡ª¡±


    Blood sprayed on the floor.


    The man screamed in pain as he collapsed to the ground, clutching a stump where his leg used to be. He dropped his weapon, turning around to see another monster behind him retract its bloodstained arm.


    ¡°Oh gods¡­ Help¡­¡± he panted in fear, desperately trying to pull himself away from the incoming monsters closing in on him. ¡°Help me¡­ Someone help me!¡±


    But no one did.


    A long, excruciating scream burst from his mouth as multiple golden light beams pierced his body. It slowly turned into a gurgle as the man choked on blood leaking from his melting heart. And after the longest minute of his life, his lifeless hand finally plopped onto the floor.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Aah¡­ AAAH! NOOO! DON¡¯T KILL ME!¡±


    Another man howled in fear and threw down his weapon, running away blindly from the living nightmares. He did not make it far before he literally ran headfirst into another monster and fell to the ground. It drove a sharpened hand into his face immediately, not even granting him the mercy screaming in pain.


    The Unending opened up its face and began pulling a glowing orb from the bloodied body.


    Wood crashed from halfway into consuming the man¡¯s soul. It paused for a comically long moment, before turning around languidly. An old woman was standing behind its towering body, her face contorted into primal anger reserved only for the most wounded of animals.


    ¡°My boy! Give me back my boy!¡± Tears were streaming down her wrinkled cheeks as she continued to slam the broken chair feebly into its hardened scales. ¡°Monster! MONSTER! GO BACK TO HELL!¡±


    Her body slammed hard into a wall as the Unending slapped her away with a single backhand. But the old woman wasn¡¯t about to give up yet. She pushed herself painfully back to her feet, brandishing a small piece of splintered wood as though she was some sort of suicidal gladiator. The Unending stared at her coldly as its eyes began glowing golden again¡ª


    A trio of elephants slammed into it from the side, sending the monster flying back several metres. Another twenty bears and ten lions pounced on it without a pause, mauling and tearing its body apart savagely.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Marcia Pagonis rushed to the old woman¡¯s side, her eyes still flashing pink.


    ¡°Thank you so much, girl.¡± Tears brimmed over the woman¡¯s eyes as her body trembled uncontrollably. ¡°My boy¡­ They¡­ They killed my son¡­¡±


    ¡°Stay behind where it¡¯s safe,¡± Marcia said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll avenge him.¡±


    A pink blast sent another large group of Unending flying but clumped them together before they flew too far away. There was a low groaning as the pink force burned fiercely, vaporising the ball of black scales.


    Felix Pagonis landed shortly after, nodding at Marcia.

 Chapter 13: Soul Eaters (Part One)

    One thing was certain. He could not afford to hold anything back now.


    Felix Pagonis swung his hand as his psionic power formed a blade of pink, slicing off an incoming sharpened arm. Power flared in his eyes. The blade multiplied itself by the millions in an instant, shredding the monster like a piece of waste paper. More Unendings surrounded him.


    He raised his hand. Their black arms froze in their tracks.


    He clenched his fist. The arms snapped downwards at an awkward angle.


    He punched the ground. The monsters exploded into a million fragments, atomised by his psychokinetic blow.


    ¡°Help! Somebody, anybody!¡± A man was screaming somewhere near him. ¡°No, please! Oh gods, I don¡¯t want to die!¡±


    Felix turned his head to the source of the voice; another group of Unendings was slowly closing in on someone. His lips curved into a snarl. Fucking demons.


    The psychic rushed forward and swept a glowing hand at them. Chunks of Earth ripped themselves from the ground, gouged out by the sheer power of the telekinetic attack. The devastating force rippled through their bodies and disintegrated the monsters instantly.


    ¡°You¡¯re alright. You¡¯re alright now.¡± Felix knelt and supported the cowering man. ¡°Go back where it¡¯s safe.¡±


    ¡°L¡ª Lord¡­ Lord Pagonis?!¡± The man¡¯s eyes were wild with fear, but they squeezed shut immediately. ¡°Argh, I can¡¯t! My¡­ My leg¡­¡±


    Felix glanced at the man¡¯s bloodied leg. It was twisted at an odd angle, and he could sense the unnatural gap between the two broken parts of his bones.


    ¡°This might sting a little.¡± Felix focused his mind on the victim¡¯s fracture, bio-kinetically mending the bones. He could feel the heavy fists pounding on his force field, but he didn¡¯t care as long as the man did not notice the monsters as well. He could not afford the man to flinch and accidentally twist his leg out of place again before he was finished.


    Thankfully, Felix finished his psychokinetic surgery before the victim opened his eyes. Pink retreated from his irises as he supported the man up.


    ¡°How¡¯s your leg?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Better¡­ Much better. I can walk now.¡± The man broke into an incredulous, but relieved smile. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty. But why did you¡ª Uwah! There¡¯re so many of them!¡±


    Felix looked up at where he was pointing. The man was right. He had barely felt it due to the strength of his force field, but the writhing mass of black was now completely covering his psychic shield like an intrusion of squirming cockroaches.


    He focused power into the force field. If he simply put his shield down, the Unending would be on them before he could protect the man. But even if he blasted them away first, there¡¯s no telling whether they¡¯d get back up slowly enough for him to bring this man to safety.


    Felix¡¯s aura glowed fiercely. It was a huge risk, but it was better than cowering behind the force field forever.


    ¡°Get out of my house!¡±


    A literal ground-shattering force pounded on his force field from above before he could make a move. Felix winced as his shield shattered under the power of whatever hit it. He blinked a few times as light flooded back into his senses. The gang of monsters were gone, leaving behind pieces of blackened flesh littered all around the crater in the ground.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    The man left Felix¡¯s side, making a mad dash back to safety before more Unendings showed up.


    Another roar caught Felix¡¯s attention. He turned around just in time to see a green cyborg shatter three Unendings with a single punch.


    The remnant shockwave struck the monsters behind, and they exploded into huge black chunks. Felix raised a hand, shredding the remaining pieces into dust before they could resurrect themselves.


    ¡°You?!¡± Titus Angelo marched up towards the psychic, shaking a finger at him in disbelief. ¡°What¡¯re you doing here? How did you get out of the gaol?¡±


    Footsteps lumbered towards them.


    The two of them swung around before either could respond. More Unendings had shown up, although their numbers seemed to be diminishing. Felix¡¯s eyes flitted to the portal, which was slowly being closed by Orpheus. More monsters were still coming through, but most of them were too busy fighting Orpheus¡¯ cloak, which had transformed into an army of skeletal demons.


    Titus disappeared in a flash, running through a few of them.


    The Unendings exploded into pieces but put themselves back together before he could move on to the next. Iron Angel growled in annoyance as green lightning began to crackle around his body, not noticing the shadow looming from behind.


    Golden light glinted off the back of his armour¡ª


    ¡°Cheap shot, demon.¡±


    An Unending froze, its death beam mere millimetres away from Titus¡¯ back. The pink energy wrapped around its body glowed fiercely. Felix squeezed his fist, and the monster vaporised into a black drizzle.


    Titus stared at Felix for a brief moment, stunned.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. You have to destroy them completely or they¡¯ll come back to life,¡± Felix said, telekinetically deflecting a sharpened arm into the torso of another Unending.


    More weaponised appendages plunged in his direction, but the psychic dodged them expertly and deflected all of them into his foes instead. It did not take long before the monsters were clumped into a mass of black stuck in each other¡¯s bodies.


    Felix lifted them into the air, and Iron Angel took the opportunity to drive his fist into them. The blow connected with an explosive force as the ground trembled from the force. Felix¡¯s power flared further, creating platforms of pink in the air.


    Titus landed on one of them after a couple of impressive flips and immediately leapt off the platforms. His movements blended into a blur as he built more and more momentum in the air, before finally launching himself at several times the speed of sound.


    ¡°Begone!¡±


    His body hurtled down onto another group of Unendings like an emerald meteor. Felix¡¯s eyes widened in shock as he realised his mistake of standing too close. He raised a force field immediately, but he still wasn¡¯t quick enough to resist the sheer power of the resulting shockwave.


    The psychic grunted as the concussive force threw him back several dozen metres back into the cave. He tumbled on the floor, feeling something collide with him.


    ¡°Brother¡­ help me¡­¡±


    Felix scrambled to his feet immediately, his eyes wild with panic.


    ¡°Marcia! Are you alright?¡± He scurried over to his sister, who was curled up on the floor and shivering uncontrollably. His power glinted around his body as he inspected her for any injuries. But there were none.


    The brother opened his mouth in realisation.


    He flipped her body around. Green symbols were clouding her eyes and she was foaming in her mouth. Crap, her addiction is acting up again.


    Marcia pointed shakily at a syringe lying in the corner. It was filled with green liquid with some glyphs swirling within. Felix wasted no time, stretching out his hand and pulling the needle towards him.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You¡¯re okay.¡± Felix inserted the needle into the shivering woman¡¯s veins.


    Pink filled Marcia¡¯s eyes as she gripped her brother¡¯s hand for comfort. They gasped at the same time as her telepathy went haywire without warning.


    And Felix¡¯s mind was dragged into the deep recesses of hers once more.

 Chapter 14: Soul Eaters (Part Two)

    The eighteen-year-old girl stormed out of the house, ignoring the voice calling out her name from behind. She could not waver¡ª She never did, anyway. And she sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to let some Magi distract her again.


    ¡°Marcia, stop!¡± Warlock Alcaeus Vulcan materialised in a circle of fire in front of her, thrusting his hand in front of her. ¡°I cannot let you continue this madness. This spell is forbidden by Necromancers for a reason. You¡¯re breaking all the laws of nature if you cast it!¡±


    ¡°Out. Of. My. Way.¡± Marcia stepped to the side, but Vulcan materialised his staff and pointed it at her. The girl narrowed her eyes in anger.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want this fight,¡± she hissed. ¡°One word from me, and the beasts of this forest will be upon you in an instant.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right; I don¡¯t. But you¡¯re giving me no choice.¡± Vulcan¡¯s eyes were glistening in the moonlight as he lowered his staff slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the world anymore; I care about you! If this spell goes wrong¡ª¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t. I¡¯ve taken the necessary precautions to get past the warnings.¡±


    ¡°Nobody knows that for sure, not even the Grand Necromancers who created the spell themselves! Please, my daughter. Please come to your senses. Just come home to your family¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not my real father!¡± Marcia spat. ¡°And I have no family left. They were killed by your kind! I just want them back, and you won¡¯t stop me!¡±


    ¡°Am I¡ª Are we not enough?¡± Vulcan¡¯s voice dropped to a sad whisper. ¡°Is this family not enough for you?¡±


    The girl faltered for a moment, but she steeled herself again. No one gets in her way.


    ¡°No,¡± she replied coldly. ¡°You¡¯re just a man who raised me. We¡¯re not family.¡±


    A wand slipped into her fingers, and she cast a teleportation portal. She stepped in quickly, closing it before her foster father could follow her.


    The dark, dilapidated house greeted her warmly. Whitacre Street slept snugly outside its dusty windows, soaking in the yellowish-white moonlight serenely. For better or for worse, the government had not bothered to collect her old house, which meant that she had the perfect dark setting to begin her magic ritual.


    Black particles swirled out from her fingers like tiny galaxies as she began humming the incantation. Dark magic flickered in her eyes and candles materialised around her in a complicated pattern.


    Marcia smiled. The gateway to Purgatory was now open.


    A spark of magic burst from her fingers as she snapped them. It settled on the floor and three corpses materialised in its place. Brownish bones were all that were left of them, but it didn¡¯t matter.


    She pulled out a tome from her coat and tossed it upwards. It froze in position the moment it left her fingers and began gyrating on the spot. Marcia crossed her hands, her fingers interlocking in all sorts of strange positions as her mind flitted into the afterlife. Her eyelids fluttered in concentration, eyes rolled back.


    So many souls in there¡­ Where are you¡ª There.


    The girl opened her eyes again, pink and black light still dancing twixt the realm of life and death. She had finally found the souls she needed. Now came the difficult part.


    Marcia took a breath to steady herself. She had risked life imprisonment stealing this forbidden spellcraft from the depths of the Grand Necromancer Archives. She had desecrated her family¡¯s graves digging up their corpses. And she had already broken several natural laws retrieving her parents¡¯ as well as Felix¡¯s souls from Purgatory.


    She could not afford a single slip now.


    Her hands trembled in anticipation as she carefully dragged the three glowing orbs of light into the corpses. The bodies glowed warmly as the souls returned to their respective hosts without further mishap. Marcia held her breath in anticipation, watching the glow engulf the bodies. The light dissipated with a small poof.


    And then her family were no longer mere cadavers.


    Marcia choked back a tearful squeal as the corpses¡ª now whole as though they had only died a few minutes ago¡ª began to stir slightly. She covered her mouth as she wiped away tears of joy. It actually worked. Her family had finally come back to life.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°What¡¯s¡­ happening?¡± Her mother was the first to wake up.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± Her father sat up next, looking around in bewilderment.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Her brother turned to her, confusion written all over his face.


    Marcia threw her body towards them, hugging them tightly as tears of joy burst from her eyes. Her dream had finally come true. She had finally gotten her family back. She wasn¡¯t alone in this world anymore.


    ¡°Argh¡­¡± Felix pulled away, clutching his head painfully. ¡°What¡¯s going on¡­? Everything hurts!¡±


    Marcia reached for him, but he recoiled his body in horror.


    ¡°Get away from me! Who are you?¡± Her parents scrambled to their feet this time, shrinking away from the girl as well. ¡°What is this place?¡±


    ¡°Dad, Mom, Brother!¡± She scrambled towards them. ¡°It¡¯s me, Marcia! Don¡¯t you remember me? We¡¯re family!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know you!¡± her father exclaimed. ¡°This¡­ This doesn¡¯t feel right¡ª Argh¡­ What have you done to me?¡±


    Marcia shook her head slightly in horror. This wasn¡¯t right at all. They were supposed to come back to her. They were supposed to love her! Why was this happening?


    ¡°No, no¡­ No! Please give me another chance!¡± She fell to her knees, flipping the spellcraft desperately. ¡°I¡¯ll fix this! I promise I can fix this!¡±


    They screamed without warning.


    The girl scrambled back, watching in horror as black scales began spreading all over her family¡¯s bodies. Bones cracked and tendons snapped as the three corpses contorted in agony, painfully transforming into something that would haunt her nightmares for years to come.


    Tall, spindly figures now stood in place of the three people she loved most in her life. Shiny black scales rippled through their bodies as their golden irises stared down at her without a shred of humanity in their eyes.


    ¡°I just wanted them back¡­ I just wanted them back¡­¡± Marcia trembled uncontrollably. This was all wrong. This wasn¡¯t supposed to happen¡­


    Golden light reflected in her helpless irises as she went limp, preparing to atone for her mistake with her death¡ª


    ¡°Eldritch Blast!¡±


    A powerful whirlwind blasted the Unendings into the walls as a flash of red darted forward and stood in front of her.


    ¡°Father?¡± Marcia blurted out, her head spinning with shock.


    ¡°Get to safety, Marcia!¡± Vulcan yelled, spinning his staff like a seasoned spearman. Tiny phoenixes burst out of his weapon and breathed white-hot fire onto the monsters.


    Marcia scrambled to her feet, her eyes flashing pink as she tried to connect with any animal in the vicinity.


    Dammit, none of these crows are going to stand a chance. I need something bigger. I need¡ª


    The girl skidded to a stop and stumbled backwards as a black sharpened hand pierced the wall right in front of her.


    She screamed. The monster plunged another hand towards her. She closed her eyes. It was all over.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Not¡­ my daughter, you demon¡­¡±


    Marcia opened her eyes again, her mouth hanging open in shock as a puddle of blood stained the floor before her. Vulcan gritted his bloodstained teeth as he gripped the stake lodged in his chest firmly.


    ¡°With the last breath of my life, Lord Vulcan¡­ Grant me strength.¡± Fiery determination glinted in the Warlock¡¯s eyes as the Unendings closed in on him. ¡°Crimson Tundra: Eldritch Blast!¡±


    A huge explosion burst from Vulcan¡¯s chest, turning the three monsters into ashes immediately. The roads sizzled as the searing fire cut out of the house, melting everything in its destructive path.


    And just like that, it was all over.


    Vulcan¡¯s body slumped into Marcia¡¯s arms after a few seconds. His weight pressed on her as he went limp, but Marcia still summoned all the strength she had left to lay him on the floor gently.


    No, no, no, no, no¡­


    Marcia fell to her knees, her tears washing away the blood on her foster father¡¯s hand as she gripped it tightly.


    No, please¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­


    The man breathed painfully, looking at his daughter for the last time.


    ¡°Oh thank the gods¡­¡± His lips curved into a weak smile. ¡°You¡¯re safe, my dear daughter¡­ You¡¯re¡­ safe¡­¡±


    I¡¯m so sorry¡­ I¡¯m so sorry¡­ I¡¯m so, so sorry¡­


    Vulcan¡¯s head dropped to the side as his chest stopped heaving.


    ¡°Father¡­ No¡­¡± Marcia whimpered. ¡°I¡¯ll be a good girl from now on¡­ I promise¡­ I¡¯ll never do this again. I¡¯ll never¡ª Please, no. I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡±


    But it was too late for regrets.

 Chapter 15: Innocent Suffering

    Felix panted heavily as the small hand let go of his wrist. He fell to the ground, sweat staining his brow as though he was the main character in that memory instead. Marcia looked at him as emotions flashed across her face like train carriages through a dark subway. Shock. Fear. Regret. Shame.


    ¡°You saw everything, didn¡¯t you?¡± Marcia whispered. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to put down the mind block like that. I¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Felix nodded wordlessly, letting the silence swallow them whole. It was then he realised that the commotion from outside the cave had also ceased, which hopefully meant that Titus had destroyed the remaining monsters.


    ¡°It should¡¯ve been me.¡±


    Felix moved closer, holding his sister¡¯s hand gently.


    ¡°I should¡¯ve died. Not my parents. Not my brother. Not father. They were all innocent. I deserved to die,¡± Marcia shook her head. ¡°But that¡¯s a mercy I was rightfully denied. Living with this¡­ guilt forever; that is my penance. I know how hard it is to wean off the addiction to these spellcrafts, but it numbs the pain. It¡¯s a small respite, but it¡¯s worth it.¡±


    ¡°We have to move on,¡± Felix muttered. ¡°You need an antidote, not an anaesthetic.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t deserve either.¡± His sister smiled wryly. ¡°My life is fucked, this I already know. But it comforts me to know that there are worlds where you are alive and well. Worlds where I never made those mistakes.¡±


    You don¡¯t believe that.


    Felix bowed his head slightly to hide the flickering pink in his eyes. But I can fix this¡­ I should fix¡­ I¡ª


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s where you went.¡±


    The siblings looked up at the same time. Titus was standing at the entrance of the hole Felix made when he crashed through the cave, partially blocking the sunlight from streaming in. There were a few dents and scratches on his armour, but the man himself looked largely unscathed.


    ¡°Thought you¡¯d wandered off and gotten yourself killed by one of those demons. Apparently not,¡± he said with mock disappointment in his voice. ¡°But that saves me the trouble of dealing with one more monster. So, not entirely bad news, I suppose.¡±


    Orpheus walked into the cave as well.


    ¡°You¡¯re safe, thank the gods,¡± he said. ¡°The portal is sealed and all the monsters have been dealt with as well. The people are safe for now.¡±


    ¡°Except for the fact that more than half of us have been slaughtered,¡± Titus said bitterly, before turning to Felix. ¡°But I suppose I have to thank you for helping out. You¡¯re an okay guy in my books.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯m not dangerous now?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll always be dangerous, Pagonis. But I could use a little danger on my side.¡± Titus smiled slightly. ¡°You¡¯re clearly different from our world¡¯s version of you. Perhaps it¡¯s because you never experienced the things he did.¡±


    Marcia groaned loudly. ¡°Oh come on, just admit that you can trust us now.¡±


    Titus prepared to walk back into his cave but turned his body back halfway after a few steps.


    ¡°We still have lots of wounded people. Our healers could use your help, Felix.¡±


    ~ ~ ~


    After a few hours of experiencing what it feels like to be a Cleric in a warzone, Felix finally lightened the healers¡¯ burden enough for them to take over completely. Fortunately, they had trusted him enough to let him help.


    The nervousness on their faces was still obvious, as though he would suddenly snap and slaughter everyone in the room. Felix did his best to ignore them. All that mattered was saving as many lives as he could. Their perception of him was not his responsibility.


    The inside of the cave was largely intact, save for a few destroyed staircases. The brave men and women of this underground colony had done a good job luring their invaders out into the open to minimise casualties, albeit at the cost of their own lives. Families quietly mourned the deaths of their loved ones while others avoided the emotional pain by throwing themselves into the reconstruction of damaged areas.


    Felix took a different path away from the people. It was all too familiar to him. And the worst part? This was how it all started in his world.


    ¡°Lord Pagonis?¡±


    The man looked around for a few seconds before realising that the voice had come from below him. He knelt to meet a little girl holding a blue glowing flower.


    ¡°I am not your lord, little one,¡± he said kindly. ¡°I¡¯m just a traveller who looks like him. May I help you?¡±


    ¡°My¡­ My brother asked me to give this to you.¡± She shyly thrust the flower to him. ¡°Thank you for healing his leg and saving him.¡±


    ¡°A flower?¡±


    ¡°Every new beginning comes from the end of another, and gratitude brings peace for the morrow,¡± the girl said. ¡°That¡¯s what the Euphrosyne Flower represents. We¡¯re eternally grateful to you for¡­¡±


    Her voice trailed away as she noticed Felix¡¯s dumbfounded expression.


    ¡°S¡ª Sorry, Your Majesty! I don¡¯t mean to overstep!¡± she squeaked, falling to her knees as if the man was about to execute her there and then. ¡°Please forgive me. It didn¡¯t cross my mind that you¡¯d already know about¡ª¡±


    ¡°Calm down, little one,¡± Felix chuckled warmly. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m not a lord. I¡¯m just a guy trying to do the right thing¡ª Hey¡­ What¡¯s this?¡±


    He stared curiously at the light blue glow emanating from the flower.


    ¡°This flower¡­ It has psychic properties?¡± Felix asked, feeling the flow of psychic energy hum silently between his fingers and the petals.


    ¡°Well¡­ Yes,¡± the girl replied with slight confusion. ¡°This species of flower tethers a person¡¯s soul to the present world. That¡¯s why it represents gratitude for the present.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ Interesting.¡± Felix kept the flower. ¡°Thank you, little one. I¡¯ll keep it safe.¡±


    He patted her head and sent her on her way.


    ¡°Hey, Felix.¡±


    His heart skipped a beat as he felt blood rush to his cheeks again. Felix swivelled on his feet to face the Grand Necromancer, who was smiling warmly for the first time since he stepped foot in this cave.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°The Guardian Council¡ª the company that built this city¡ª is having its anniversary celebration soon,¡± Orpheus said. ¡°Wanna come watch the fireworks?¡±


    A wide smile broke on Felix¡¯s face.


    ~ ~ ~


    The neon urban jungle greeted Felix once again as the cooling wind ruffled his hair like a gentle mother. He continued soaring up, heading for the tallest skyscraper he could spot for a better view. Colourful fireworks were already going off in the distance, so the psychic wasted no time finding a suitable spot to set his friend down.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Felix prodded Orpheus gently. There was an oddly disturbed expression on Orpheus¡¯ face, even though he was the one who invited Felix out.


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, sorry.¡± Orpheus looked up absent-mindedly, his legs dangling over the edge of the building.


    ¡°Are you afraid of heights?¡±


    ¡°What? No, no¡­ It¡¯s just¡ª¡±


    The man avoided his gaze.


    ¡°Back there, with the kid. You¡­¡± Orpheus said with a slight bitterness in his voice. ¡°You reminded me why I loved you.¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m good with kids?¡± Felix tilted his head in confusion.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re a good person. You always were,¡± Orpheus looked away. ¡°But I can¡¯t forgive you for what you did.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t forgive myself either. In my world, you died because of me. I¡¯ll have to live with that until the day I die.¡±


    Orpheus shifted uncomfortably, and Felix reached for his hand.


    ¡°But we can move on, can¡¯t we?¡± Felix continued. ¡°Must we let our past mistakes torment us?¡±


    ¡°You say that, but you accepted the offer to reset the universe. You don¡¯t believe that!¡± Orpheus shook his hand off. ¡°And what of those who you¡¯ve hurt? They suffered because of you. They suffered because you couldn¡¯t move on! So why should they move on?¡±


    ¡°I wish I could repay my lover for what I did to him, but it¡¯s too late,¡± Felix said. ¡°But he wouldn¡¯t have wanted to see me stuck in the past. He would¡¯ve wanted me to move on.¡±


    ¡°Says who?¡±


    Felix¡¯s eyes shot up to Orpheus, shocked at the amount of hatred in his voice. Orpheus cast his gaze to the fireworks in the distance again, swallowing hard.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re confused. I don¡¯t know what your version of me has done to you, but I¡¯m nothing like him.¡± Felix moved closer to Orpheus. ¡°Except for one thing.¡±


    Orpheus was breathing hard now, his face inches from Felix¡¯s lips. Felix could see confusion and sadness in his lover¡¯s eyes, but in their midst hid a small flicker of hope. The man took the chance to move closer.


    ¡°I love you in every world.¡±


    Electricity tingled through Felix¡¯s entire body as his lips met Orpheus¡¯ mouth gently. Their lips parted slightly for each other while their arms reached to close the gap between their bodies. Passion and love gushed out, increasing in confidence as the lovers let their repressed emotions pour into each other.


    Felix put his hand on Orpheus¡¯ face gently. They were slick with tears, so he wiped them away for him. Bliss flooded his mind and his heart felt like it could burst out of his chest any moment. Gods, how he had missed Orpheus so much¡ª


    His eyes shot open without warning, pink covering their irises.


    ~ ~ ~


    ¡°There!¡±


    The eighteen-year-old psychic threw his hand forward, blasting away the colony of floating rocks. His feet left the ground as he soared towards the bright blue orb hanging in the ¡®sky¡¯. A blue-haired Necromancer followed closely behind.


    A younger Orpheus Caesar flicked his cloak as millions of ice shards burst out from within, flying towards the army of writhing spirits hot on his trail. The spell collided with its targets, instantly immobilising the front line of spirits like a huge frozen wave.


    ¡°Did that get them?¡± Felix asked without looking back.


    ¡°Not for long!¡± Orpheus was beside him now. ¡°But don¡¯t worry! Just a bit more and we¡¯ll be out of Purgatory!¡±


    Felix twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the magma bursting out from the volcano below him. He didn¡¯t want to take the chance to find out whether it was real or not. Not when he was so close.


    He gripped the pink orb in his hand tightly. He¡¯s bringing his sister home soon¡­ He¡¯s bringing¡ª


    A pained gasp escaped his mouth as a powerful force slammed into his side, and he accidentally let go of Marcia¡¯s soul. Felix flailed his arms in an attempt to reach it, but a black appendage lashed out and shattered the pulsating globe of light.


    ¡°Marcia! NOO!¡± he roared in despair just as hundreds of hands grabbed his body, dragging him back down.


    His feet sank into the ground as though he was in quicksand. He looked around frantically; the spirits had caught up to Orpheus and were dragging him down as well. Panic and guilt gripped his heart. He had already lost his sister forever. He couldn¡¯t lose his lover as well.


    ¡°No, no, no¡­¡± The psychic¡¯s power crackled through his body.


    ¡°NO!¡± A desperate bellow escaped his throat as psionic energy exploded from his body, rippling through and disintegrating the spirits all around him. The grip on his legs loosened, and he seized the chance to dislodge them from the ground.


    ¡°Orpheus!¡± Felix pulled his lover to his feet as well. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go!¡±


    But Orpheus only stumbled backwards in despair.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Felix exclaimed. ¡°There¡¯s no time¡­¡±


    He looked at where Orpheus was pointing. His heart sank. The blue orb in the sky was completely covered by spirits by now¡ª No, their entire surroundings were covered in black writhing figures like a glitching-out monitor.


    Darkness swallowed them without warning.


    Felix struggled against the crushing presence like a drowning bird. It felt like he was suffocating in cold water, except this water was thicker than blood and made of squirming fingers.


    The last of his energy left him as his struggles turned into feeble flailing. His movements grew slower and slower. His body slumped. The fire on his skin and the desperation in his lungs faded. He was so tired of fighting.


    ¡°Infernal Crest: Harpe of Death!¡±


    Felix gasped for breath as the darkness left him abruptly. He looked around; Orpheus¡¯ body was glowing a fierce green. His magic had chased away most of the spirits, but there were still hundreds of hands grabbing onto his body.


    ¡°Guh!¡± The Necromancer wheezed in pain, and the spirits took the chance to drag him even further down.


    ¡°Orpheus!¡±


    Felix threw his body forward, grabbing onto Orpheus¡¯ hand tightly. The pull downwards was incredible, but he held on tight. He couldn¡¯t let them take away his sweetheart too.


    ¡°Felix¡­¡± Darkness clouded Orpheus¡¯ expression as he held on tightly. ¡°Don¡¯t let go of me, please¡­¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t, I won¡¯t¡­¡± Tears of desperation rolled down Felix¡¯s face as he pulled harder to no avail. ¡°No, no¡­ you¡¯re slipping¡­¡±


    More tendrils of black wedged themselves between their hands, forcing them apart.


    ¡°Felix?¡± Orpheus¡¯ eyes were wild with panic now. ¡°I¡¯m scared. Don¡¯t let them take me away.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t, I won¡¯t¡ª ORPHEUS!¡±


    ¡°FELIX!¡±


    The boy grasped the air in vain as his lover slipped from his grasp, falling into the eternal abyss below. He screamed and screamed, trying to fly downwards to reach him. But the ground was already sealed and the spirits had left, content with their captured prey.


    Felix staggered to his feet, dazed by the turn of events. His path back to the realm of the living was clear and the blue portal in the sky shone ever so brightly now.


    It never felt darker.

 Chapter 16: Moving On

    Felix broke the kiss slowly, reluctantly even. His lips parted from Orpheus¡¯ mouth and they each took a silent breath. The faint pink twinkled away from Orpheus¡¯ eyes, giving way to his sparkling blue eyes again. There once was a time when Felix would love to stare into those beautiful irises for hours on end, but he could not bring himself to look him in the eyes now.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I subjected you to that memory,¡± Felix sputtered. ¡°My telepathy is at its strongest during physical contact, and¡ª¡±


    Orpheus gasped as he twitched without warning. Felix reached for him in alarm, but the Necromancer turned away immediately, as though trying to hide something in his hand. Orpheus wheezed for a few seconds before standing up abruptly, still facing away from him.


    ¡°It was nice watching the fireworks with you, Felix.¡± He materialised his staff and conjured a dark cloud beneath his feet. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ Uhm¡ª I¡¯ll get going now.¡±


    The Necromancer left without another word as his cloud carried him back to the ground.


    ~ ~ ~


    All was quiet on the home front when Felix descended back into the cave. Most, if not all, the residents were already asleep, which left the crystals in the huge caverns free to shed their natural lighting onto the rocky floors. A familiar shadow approached Felix.


    ¡°Pagonis, you¡¯ve got a moment?¡± Titus exited the shadows without a single sound. ¡°It¡¯s about time we settled your problem.¡±


    Felix followed Titus through a complicated series of airlifts. Of course, he could¡¯ve just flown up himself, but he thought it¡¯d be courteous of him to follow Titus in case he had something to say on the way. Unfortunately, the cyborg remained as mute as a mobster in a silent film.


    After a couple more twists in the path, Felix found himself walking towards an inconspicuous-looking room tucked comfortably in the far corner of the cave.


    A futuristic-looking door slid open to a surprisingly down-to-earth-looking room, and Felix followed Titus in. Marcia and Orpheus were already lounging around the sleek metallic chairs that adjusted ever so slightly to accommodate their occasional shifts in a sitting position.


    ¡°Alright, Pagonis. I¡¯ll give you what you want,¡± Titus began. ¡°You¡¯re free to leave this place.¡±


    Felix raised an eyebrow. It wasn¡¯t what Titus said that surprised him, but how he said it. It might have been just his imagination, but there was a hint of reluctance in his voice.


    ¡°What, without an apology for kidnapping us?¡± Marcia asked brashly.


    Titus scowled in response, before clearing his throat.


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean to say you¡¯re free to do whatever you want in my world,¡± he continued. ¡°The arrival of these¡­ ¡®Unendings¡¯, as you call it, are a grave cause of concern. Our scans and analysis have already confirmed that these beings do not come from our world. We still cannot confirm how they come about, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Soul magic,¡± Felix interrupted.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They are created when a soul forcibly enters a body it isn¡¯t attuned to.¡± The psychic folded his arms.


    ¡°What proof do you have?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any, but it¡¯s the only explanation that makes sense,¡± Felix said. ¡°Marcia, remember Gaius Matthiou? He had thousands of souls in his body and he turned into an Unending. Even your family turned into these monsters when you forced their souls back into their bodies. What other explanation could there be?¡±


    ¡°That theory isn¡¯t without merit,¡± Orpheus spoke up quietly. ¡°Bodies are no longer attuned to their souls when they expire. Forcing them back together will result in a warped physical form. The only way a soul can pilot a dead body without consequences is if it¡¯s naturally powerful enough to bypass natural law. If not, invoking the power of a higher god would work just as well too.¡±


    There was a pause in the room.


    ¡°Janus!¡± Felix and Marcia piped in unison.


    ¡°In other words, the Solstices.¡± Titus took out the Summer Solstice from a compartment in his armour and handed it back to Felix. ¡°Whatever the case, I suppose this lines up with what I¡¯m about to propose.¡±


    ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re still letting us go,¡± Felix groaned.


    ¡°Yes, I am. But under one condition,¡± Titus replied. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you.¡±


    ¡°What the hell for?¡±


    ¡°As far as I know, the Solstices can open portals between worlds. If the Unendings arrived via portals, these portals must have been opened via a Solstice as well. Our goals align.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ you wish to eradicate the source of the Unendings by following us into the next world?¡± Marcia asked.


    ¡°Someone must be using the Winter Solstice to open portals and send the Unending through for some reason.¡± Titus nodded. ¡°I¡¯m going to find that bastard and kill him.¡±


    Felix rested his chin between his thumb and index finger, deep in thought. Theoretically, everything made sense. The origins of the Unending, the location of the Winter Solstice, how the portals are activated¡­ But why did these monsters attack his world too? What drew them there?


    ¡°Caesar.¡± Titus¡¯ voice cut through his thoughts. ¡°The machine in the Grand Archive¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yes, we can use it to hop universes.¡± Orpheus nodded. ¡°Provided we use the Summer Solstice to power it, of course. Without an artefact, all it can do is pinpoint the locations of other worlds.¡±


    Titus clapped his hands resoundingly, and Felix squinted his eyes against the mini shockwave that exploded from it.


    ¡°Perfect,¡± he said. ¡°Pagonis, I believe it in our best interests to leave as soon as possible, lest we get distracted by another attack.¡±


    ~ ~ ~


    Felix took his time to enjoy the scenery one last time as the flying carriage soared over the city. After all, if everything goes well, this might be the only time he gets to appreciate this view. It was still nighttime, although that was only evident if one bothered to look at the sky. With the shimmering lights all around, it was as good as daytime to the folks below.Stolen story; please report.


    Titus¡¯ generously sized carriage wasted no unnecessary time touching down. Felix walked out first and promptly stopped before he could take a second step.


    ¡°Halt! Entry by the helipad without authorisation is forbidden!¡± There were a couple of robots standing around the top of the Building of Magick Archives, guarding what was essentially just a glorified museum.


    ¡°Hang on, I got this.¡± Orpheus walked towards them and thrust his staff in their face scanners. ¡°Grand Necromancer Orpheus Caesar and guests.¡±


    The robots buffered for a moment. ¡°Invalid user. User data expired.¡±


    ¡°Uh, what?¡± Orpheus took a step back in surprise.


    ¡°Have you even entered this building before?¡± Felix rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Not¡­ Not in a while, I suppose?¡±


    Titus sighed loudly in exasperation.


    ¡°These damn robots must not have their data synced with the ones outside,¡± he said as his armour spiked around him threateningly. ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more time.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait!¡± Felix thrust his hand out frantically before Titus could crush the guards. ¡°I have the highest authority in this place, right?¡±


    He stepped in front of them.


    ¡°Felix Pagonis. Supreme ruler of Surone,¡± Felix smirked arrogantly. ¡°These people are my guests. I command you to let us in now.¡±


    The guards remained motionless for a suspiciously long time. Felix looked at his group nervously.


    ¡°Negative. Soul not recognised.¡± The guards¡¯ faces lit up an angry red immediately. ¡°Imposter detected. Terminating intruders.¡±


    Felix flinched as technomagick rifles replaced the robots¡¯ limbs.


    ¡°Yikes, worth a shot!¡± he yelped, making way for Titus.


    A few flashes of green later, the group pushed the doors open and entered the building. Felix was the last to enter, taking care not to step over the crushed metal now littering the helipad.


    Fortunately, neither guards nor humans were lurking around in the Building of Magick Archives. In fact, it looked like the building itself had been abandoned a long time ago. The lights were in disrepair, machinery inactive, magic glyphs desaturated¡­ This place wasn¡¯t even fit to be called a museum; at least museums were still well-maintained.


    ¡°Does anyone even come here anymore?¡± Marcia echoed Felix¡¯s thoughts out loud.


    ¡°Not me.¡± Orpheus shrugged, pacing around the room languidly. ¡°Ever since the death of the dictator, the Grand Magis dispersed themselves to pursue their own endeavours. We merely hold the title and enjoy its privileges, but nobody does their job anymore.¡±


    ¡°Anarchy rules our world if you haven¡¯t yet realised,¡± Titus chimed in. ¡°The only reason why our society is even functioning is because of how deep our dictator had ingrained his rule into us, barbaric as they are. The systems, the ¡®happiness¡¯ culture, the robots¡­ They were all designed to keep society functioning even after his death.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a swell guy,¡± Felix said sarcastically, walking over to a thick brown casket. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s this?¡±


    Orpheus rushed forward and ushered him away from it.


    ¡°I¡­ wouldn¡¯t touch that if I were you,¡± he warned. ¡°Unless you wanna look at your own rotting corpse.¡±


    ¡°The dictator is in this thing?¡± Felix asked, eyes wide with surprise. ¡°I thought you guys would¡¯ve destroyed the body by now.¡±


    Lights flickered from above before a dull humming surged through the whole building. The machines came to life one by one as magic churned into the glyphs decorating the walls.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve just restored the power.¡± Titus walked towards Felix, his hand morphed into some sort of screwdriver. ¡°The robots were programmed to lay Felix here as his final resting place. I didn¡¯t see the need to interfere after I killed him, so I simply let them take his corpse away.¡±


    Felix paid his respects silently, before taking out the psychic flower from his coat and placing it on the casket. This dictator might have been a world-class arsehole in this world, but he was still another version of himself.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get to activating the Multiverse Positioning System,¡± Orpheus announced. ¡°The book¡ª Felix¡ª if you would be so kind.¡±


    The Necromancer received the Summer Solstice and immediately began typing furiously into a huge machine. There were two intersecting rings in front of it, presumably for generating a portal. Felix took the time to explore the other machines.


    A particularly sleek one caught his eye, and he began pressing the buttons randomly. Apparently, it was a name list of the entire country, which also conveniently recorded everyone¡¯s power levels. And so Felix did what anyone would do.


    He searched for his own name.


    FELIX PAGONIS (SUPREME LEADER)


    STATUS: DECEASED


    RACE: META


    POWER LEVEL: TIER 5++


    ¡°Of course¡­¡± Felix muttered to himself. He searched for his sister¡¯s name next.


    MARCIA PAGONIS


    STATUS: DECEASED


    RACE: META


    POWER LEVEL: UNKNOWN


    A sombre look fell over his face as he searched Titus¡¯ name.


    STATUS: UNKNOWN


    POWER LEVEL: TIER 5


    Felix sucked in a deep breath and glanced at Orpheus. How powerful is this guy, actually?


    He typed in his name.


    ORPHEUS CAESAR (GRAND MAGI)


    CLASS: NECROMANCER


    STATUS: DECEASED


    ¡°Huh?¡± Felix backed away from the machine, his mind struggling to comprehend what the machine had just shown him.


    No, it couldn¡¯t be. Not when the man himself was literally standing right there.


    Felix threw up his hands in exasperation. The machines here weren¡¯t as reliable as he¡¯d assumed after all. He only hoped that the Multiverse Positioning System wouldn¡¯t fail him as well.


    Felix walked back to Orpheus, who was now standing in front of a glowing door that looked all too familiar.


    ¡°Look here.¡± The Necromancer pointed at three circles on the machine monitor. ¡°These are the universes you and Marcia came from. This one is our universe. And this¡ª¡±


    He pointed at the smallest triangle on the far right of the screen. ¡°¡ªThis is where we¡¯re headed.¡±


    ¡°Why is it so small?¡± Marcia mused.


    ¡°I¡­ have no idea.¡± Orpheus shrugged, keeping the Summer Solstice in his coat. ¡°The smaller the shape, the smaller the universe. Such a tiny triangle usually means we¡¯d be going to a pocket dimension. But that doesn¡¯t make sense either; how can a pocket dimension store so many monsters?¡±


    ¡°I guess there¡¯s only one way to find out.¡± Felix stepped in front of the portal and felt Orpheus¡¯ hand tap his shoulder.


    ¡°Ready for an adventure?¡± Orpheus smiled at him.


    Felix nodded and smirked slightly. ¡°With you? Always.¡±


    He stepped into the door.

 Chapter 17: At Heaven鈥檚 Gate

    If one were to depict the residing place of demons, a peaceful paradise would be the last thing on their minds. And yet before them stood a vibrant, golden world, where children played and adults reeled in their days of long-lost serenity.


    How they laughed and smiled in the resplendent wonders of their world, as though they knew nought of the horrors they have wrought on the others. Conscious in all perceivable ways yet harbouring not even a single thought in their immortal brains, the residents of this man-made Heaven received the four mortals emerging from the portal with loving arms.


    ¡°Unbelievable. How is this place so¡­ beautiful?¡± Marcia breathed, turning in a slow circle to admire her surroundings.


    ¡°It¡¯s like we stepped into a children¡¯s bedtime story.¡± Titus walked forward slowly, his head craned up at the golden sky peppered with light purple clouds.


    ¡°It feels so nostalgic, even though it¡¯s our first time here,¡± Orpheus commented. ¡°It¡¯s almost as if every treasured memory of the past has been frozen in time in this world.¡±


    ¡°That may not be too far from the truth, actually.¡± Felix looked around.


    The obsidian buildings around them were not as technologically advanced as those of Titus¡¯ world, but their cobbled stone architecture gave them a quaint and cosy feel.


    ¡°Our surroundings may look beautiful, but they¡¯re hollow on the inside,¡± he continued to muse out loud. ¡°If I¡¯m guessing this right, what we¡¯re seeing are just projections of reality.¡±


    Felix gestured at a group of children playing in an amusement park nearby.


    ¡°So are these people. There¡¯s literally nothing going on in their minds, if they even have minds in the first place,¡± the psychic said grimly. ¡°It might be very possible that they¡¯re actually just mere thoughts given physical form.¡±


    Marcia pointed at a man approaching them before Felix could continue postulating.


    ¡°Is that guy an Unending?¡± she whispered. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have black scales, but I¡¯d recognise those golden eyes anywhere.¡±


    The neatly dressed man came within earshot before Felix could reply, so the group turned their attention to him instead. His striking red hair was slicked back neatly and he looked no older than thirty. Felix tilted his head slightly; this young man looked oddly familiar.


    ¡°Welcome, friends!¡± The man broke into a wide smile, his gestures bold and confident. ¡°Visitors from another world! What an honour to receive such esteemed guests!¡±


    Marcia folded her arms, her gangster scowl returning to her face promptly. ¡°How¡¯d you know where we came from? Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Why, all of you only have one soul, of course! So you must hail from somewhere else.¡± The man¡¯s golden eyes flickered. ¡°As for who I am¡­¡±


    He stepped back and broke into a deep bow.


    ¡°My name is Alcaeus Vulcan, and you may address me as so. It is my pleasure to guide our world¡¯s first tourists.¡±


    It took all of Felix¡¯s effort not to flinch visibly, but Marcia was not as composed. Her mouth hung open as she staggered back like she had been shot multiple times in the torso.


    ¡°Fath¡ª Alcaeus Vulcan?!¡± she blurted out.


    Vulcan tilted his head slightly in confusion. ¡°Yes? Is there something amiss, my good lady?¡±


    Marcia shook her head frantically after a brief moment.


    ¡°N¡ª No¡­ Nothing wrong at all,¡± she stuttered. ¡°P¡ª Pray forgive me for my outburst. I was just¡­ I¡ª I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Apologies, but we¡¯re not here for a tour,¡± Orpheus cut in. ¡°We¡¯re seeking a celestial artefact called ¡®The Winter Solstice¡¯. It¡¯s a tome of sorts.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see! So you don¡¯t require a full tour of our beloved world,¡± Vulcan said without a hint of disappointment in his voice. ¡°No matter, I can still guide you to someone who knows all about spellcrafts. Do pardon me for my lack of expertise; I was just a humble tour guide back in my living days.¡±


    ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± Felix asked, wide-eyed. ¡°What do you mean ¡®back in your living days¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Of course! This must all seem very foreign to you.¡± Vulcan smacked his forehead lightly. ¡°The residents of our world have long since transcended life. We now enjoy the rest of our eternal days doing what we love.¡±


    ¡°How does that work?¡±


    ¡°All in due time, friends.¡± Vulcan walked onto a long rectangular platform. ¡°Climb on. This teleporter will take you to our next destination.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The group followed him hesitantly.


    ¡°Once again, welcome to our world! Your tour has already begun.¡±


    ~ ~ ~


    Felix materialised in the middle of an open street. The teleportation platform retracted the moment he stepped off, fitting neatly into a discreet hole in the ground. He took some time to admire his surroundings. Like the rest of the world, the entire street was bathed in a warm golden glow. People were strolling casually without a care in the world, talking animatedly among each other. It was as though they had never known a moment of worry in their lives.


    Felix brought himself back to the present and hurried forward to Vulcan, who was already waiting patiently with the rest of his group.


    ¡°No need to rush. Take your time,¡± the guide chuckled at Felix¡¯s apologetic scurrying. ¡°Our destination is not far from here, anyway. Our teleportation system is very efficient.¡±


    ¡°What is this place, D¡ª I mean, Alcaeus Vulcan?¡± Marcia asked.


    ¡°Excellent question!¡± Vulcan piped. ¡°To answer it, we have to start from the beginning.¡±


    The group turned their attention to him, listening intently.


    ¡°Once upon a time, we were all just everyday people going about our daily lives. We lived peacefully like this for a long time, even after I had died of old age. But some hundred years after my passing, a plague struck the world. And it was no ordinary plague either; it was a plague wrought on the fabric of reality itself.¡±


    Felix creased his eyebrows. Could he be referring to the environmental warping phenomenon that occurs whenever the Unendings appear?


    ¡°At first, it started as mere cracks in the air around us,¡± Vulcan continued nonchalantly. ¡°And then the seas boiled. The heavens burned. Our magic stagnated and rotted. Until one day, the world shrank.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®shrank¡¯?¡± Orpheus asked curiously.


    ¡°Our universe collapsed on itself beyond the point of no return.¡± The guide¡¯s gestures were animated, as though he was simply describing a children¡¯s story. ¡°We never found out its cause. Galaxies were left in the wake of the sudden crunch. Stars extinguished as darkness swept past them. We all thought that surely this was the end of all existence. But miraculously, everything stopped before we knew it.¡±


    ¡°Just like that?¡± Titus raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s remarkably convenient.¡±


    ¡°Indeed it was! And we were so very blessed. For with the death of everything came our eternal life, and the arrival of the cloud that sustains our immortality by replenishing our souls.¡±


    Vulcan pointed to the sky. Amongst the wispy purple clouds lay a skull-shaped cloud that looked a lot more solid than it should have been. Unlike its neighbours, this ¡®cloud¡¯ was a light pink, and remained stationary despite the light breeze blowing the other clouds along.


    The guide stopped walking.


    ¡°And thus, after so many years, I find myself walking the streets again as a young man,¡± Vulcan said. ¡°I know not the specifics of how every dead person has been resurrected, nor do I know from where the cloud gets its collection of souls to sustain us. But this I can say for sure. The miracle of our renewed lives is thanks to this sacred cloud, and everyone is grateful for its existence.¡±


    Felix pursed his lips. He didn¡¯t want to argue with Vulcan pointlessly, but he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that there was something wrong with this cloud. Although it granted the residents of this world eternal life, it clearly had some sort of psychic ability to bestow the illusion of happiness on them.


    Besides, peaceful as this place appeared to be, it was still the source of the Unendings that massacred worlds. And the creepiest part? He still had yet to see one of them in the flesh. Could they all be residing in this cloud, waiting for the right moment to strike?


    ¡°Well, had your fill of history then? I know I have!¡± Vulcan pointed to a house in front of the group. ¡°This is where I part ways with you. The couple in this house has been informed of your arrival and will be answering any questions about your¡­ ¡®Winter Solstice¡¯, whatever that is. They are the world¡¯s leading experts on tomes and spellcrafts, so they¡¯ll definitely be able to help. You have my word.¡±


    ¡°Wait! Will we see you again?¡± Marcia stepped forward, her eyes glistening slightly. ¡°We barely got to talk!¡±


    Alcaeus Vulcan gave her a small smile.


    ¡°Anything is possible in this place, lass!¡± he said. ¡°One just needs but have faith.¡±


    Marcia rushed forward and hugged the man tightly. He froze in shock for a moment, before embracing her awkwardly as well. Felix¡¯s expression softened, knowing how conflicted his sister must be feeling.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Marcia choked back a sob. ¡°For everything you¡¯ve done for me.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Uh,¡± Vulcan sputtered in confusion. ¡°You¡¯re very welcome. I¡¯m deeply heartened by your words.¡±


    Felix reached out and shook his hand as well. ¡°Thank you for all you¡¯ve done for this world, sir.¡±


    ¡°Wow, I really wasn¡¯t expecting so much gratitude for giving such a short tour.¡± Vulcan put a hand behind his head in slight embarrassment. ¡°You¡¯re very kind, all of you. I wish you all the best in your endeavours.¡±


    The man walked off. It may have been just Felix¡¯s imagination, but Vulcan¡¯s footsteps seemed to be lighter now. Felix gave a bittersweet smile to his retreating back. Take care, leader.


    A soft creak brought his attention back to the house. The door swung open, and a young couple greeted the group with a wide smile. Titus and Orpheus returned their welcome with a short bow, but Felix and Marcia only had the strength to stay rooted to the ground.


    ¡°Welcome to our humble abode!¡± The brown-haired woman gestured for everyone to enter the house. ¡°Our house is a little messy, but do make yourselves at home. I heard you lot are interested in finding the Winter Solstice, am I right? I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find lots to talk about!¡±


    ¡°Do pardon my wife. We get rather over-excited when it comes to talking about tomes.¡± Her husband¡¯s voice was a little more soft-spoken. ¡°Allow me to introduce ourselves first.¡±


    Felix¡¯s mind spun, barely registering the words that came out of the man¡¯s mouth next. After all, he already knew their names.


    ¡°My name is Apollo Pagonis, and this is my wife, Diana Pagonis. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±

 Chapter 18: Mister and Missus Pagonis

    The siblings were the last to step inside the house. Marcia looked like she had just seen a new colour, while Felix looked like he had just tasted it. His head was spinning so quickly, it was a miracle he hadn¡¯t tripped over his feet yet.


    Titus and Orpheus, on the other hand, found their seats and patiently waited for their companions to enter. They did not give the siblings any looks of confusion, of course. The family¡¯s surname already sufficed to explain their reaction.


    After a few seconds of groping around awkwardly, Felix finally sat himself down on a metallic chair. He did not take his eyes off his ¡®parents¡¯. They looked younger than he remembered, although not as young as Vulcan. He¡¯d put them in their late thirties, give or take five years. In other words, the same age as him now.


    ¡°You alright there, lad?¡± Apollo stared at Felix. ¡°Something spooked ya? There isn¡¯t anything out of place in our house, is there?¡±


    ¡°N¡ª No¡­¡± Felix blinked a few times, before shaking his head frantically. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ Uhm¡ª Tired.¡±


    ¡°Well, I can hardly blame ya,¡± Diana said cheerily. ¡°Visitors from another world! You lot must have come a long way to get here. Do you need any healing salves, perhaps?¡±


    Felix flinched slightly as the woman put the back of her hand against his forehead.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he stuttered, moving away from her. ¡°Let¡¯s just get on with what we came here to do, Mo¡ª I mean, Missus Pagonis.¡±


    ¡°Diana will do, dearie!¡± The woman snapped her fingers and the table shifted, producing another row of spellcrafts. ¡°Now, back to business. Pardon me, this might be a little tricky.¡±


    ¡°Alcaeus mentioned you were looking for The Winter Solstice, am I right?¡± Apollo asked. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest. We only have a very faint idea of what that is, but we know enough to create a chain of information to find out.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that mean?¡± Orpheus asked curiously.


    ¡°My wife here has an exceedingly useful ability: Psychometry,¡± Apollo explained. ¡°Her power allows her to acquire any knowledge and skill by touching objects in the right order. She¡¯ll be able to explain everything you need to know at a master¡¯s level in no time at all.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s see¡­¡± Diana pored over the long row of spellcrafts. ¡°Where to begin¡­? Ah, perhaps I¡¯ll start with you.¡±


    The woman reached for a thick book¡ª


    ¡°Wait,¡± Marcia spoke for the first time since she entered the house. ¡°We have the Summer Solstice with us.¡±


    Red flickered in Apollo¡¯s eyes as Marcia let go of the tome, allowing it to get pulled into the man¡¯s hand. Felix almost smiled with nostalgia. It had been so long since he last saw his parents wield their Meta abilities.


    ¡°You¡¯re a sharp one, lass.¡± Apollo gave Marcia a small smile. ¡°Not many people know when to let go. You must have experience dealing with psychokinetics. Speaking of which, we forgot to ask you to introduce yourselves!¡±


    Felix shifted uncomfortably, so his sister spoke first.


    ¡°I¡¯m Marcia. I can telepathically communicate with animals,¡± she said simply, obviously not willing to give away her surname. Felix decided to follow suit.


    ¡°I¡¯m Felix, and I¡¯m a¡­ telekinetic.¡±


    ¡°Orpheus, Necromancer.¡±


    ¡°Titus, Physical enhancement. Charmed to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Well met, well met.¡± Apollo shook their hands. ¡°Two psychic-based Metas! What are the odds? Like my wife, I¡¯m psychic-based as well. I can control gravity.¡±


    The man tossed The Summer Solstice lightly, allowing it to drop in an unnatural parabolic curve onto the table.


    ¡°Well, well. This certainly makes things a lot easier.¡± Diana smiled warmly and placed her hands on the tome, closing her eyes.


    A gentle white glow emanated from behind the woman¡¯s eyelids. Felix could already sense the psychic field around her beginning to churn. Residual psionic energy floated out of the book, as though pulled by something. It swirled in the air and mixed with the latent psychic field surrounding the woman, before being sucked into her body.


    The others remained silent, even though they were simply watching Diana¡¯s eyelids flicker once every now and then. Felix and Marcia watched on in awe.


    ¡°Oh my¡­¡± Diana let go of the book and inhaled sharply. ¡°That¡¯s a lot to take in. How curious¡­ How very curious, indeed¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it, my dear?¡± Apollo supported his wife before she accidentally toppled from her chair.


    ¡°I wonder if your arrival to our world is fate.¡± Diana was staring straight at Felix before she turned to her husband. ¡°Everything we¡¯ve studied in our lives¡­ All our theories have just been proven right with this artefact. Our life¡¯s work is completed.¡±


    Felix tilted his head in confusion. He would¡¯ve read her mind already, if not for the fact that there was no mind to read in the first place.


    ¡°It is as we had conjectured, Apollo.¡± The woman nodded. ¡°The cloud not only stores the key to our longevity but also possesses the ability to conjure portals.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°By the gods, my love.¡± Apollo gripped her hand tightly. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that insinuate that we are not corporeal beings to begin with?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. By virtue of the entanglement theory, these twin artefacts reveal each other¡¯s state at all times. The Winter Solstice not only has been used but also is still in use as we speak.¡±


    Titus waved his hand at them impatiently. ¡°Hey. In English, please?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just¡­ It¡¯s a lot to take in,¡± Diana said. ¡°But I suppose I¡¯ll have to start from the beginning.¡±


    ¡°In our lifetimes, we were magic specialists studying the principles behind spellcrafts and tomes. Being Metas ourselves, we were free to investigate them as we wished without being affected by spellcrafts. We loved what we did, so we carried on our work even after our passing in a tragic traffic accident. But we could never forget our two children, who had not been revived along with everyone else for some reason. So we focused our efforts on spellcrafts that dealt with the dead to seek out that reason.¡±


    Diana hung her head.


    ¡°We never found it. But in our research, we came across records about two Solstices wielded by the god, Janus. Or rather, we discovered that the tomes are Janus himself,¡± Apollo continued in his wife¡¯s stead. ¡°Being in complete control of all gateways, Janus has the power to resurrect any corpse safely by creating a small door between the living and non-living realms. Any soul that passes through would be cleansed of any nascent corruption and safely reinstated in their bodies.¡±


    Felix and Marcia shifted at the same time.


    ¡°No matter how hard we tried, we couldn¡¯t find any more information about this topic. That was until you came to us.¡± Diana handed the book back to them. ¡°After making contact with this artefact, we have just confirmed that The Winter Solstice is housed in the cloud. Not only has it been used to reinstate our existence, it is currently opening portals to other worlds to do so.¡±


    ¡°You lost me,¡± Felix said frankly. ¡°How does that work?¡±


    ¡°There is a simple rule in nature. Nothing in the mortal realm naturally lasts forever,¡± Apollo said. ¡°We conjectured that if our lives were unending, something else must have been giving up their lives for that to happen. The problem is, we can¡¯t find out what that is. Try as we may, no one in this realm has ever come close to entering the cloud. We mused over many reasons, and only one made sense.¡±


    The man leaned closer. ¡°The cloud must exist on a different plane of existence.¡±


    ¡°The Winter Solstice has been opening portals for something to go through, and whatever comes back is carrying souls,¡± Diana explained. ¡°If I¡¯m deducing this correctly, the residents of this place are merely our sundered selves that do not truly exist. Our better, or worse halves are all in that cloud, slaving away to collect souls and sustain our existence.¡±


    ¡°Hold on. If any soul that passes through the portals can already be safely reinstated in their bodies, why is there still a need to do this?¡± Felix asked.


    ¡°Just because something can happen doesn¡¯t mean that it did happen,¡± Apollo replied grimly. ¡°There are many ways things can go wrong. Since Janus deals with all doorways, even the slightest margin of error would result in disastrous results, including the destruction of reality when the doors are opened wrongly.¡±


    ¡°Vulcan mentioned cataclysms and the shrinking of this universe¡­¡± Marcia breathed in realisation. ¡°So that¡¯s what happened to this world.¡±


    ¡°Marcia, you opened a portal in your world too, didn¡¯t you?¡± Orpheus asked. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this just mean that the same is going to happen to it?¡±


    Felix and Marcia snapped to the Necromancer in shock.


    ¡°All the more you need to take the Winter Solstice,¡± Orpheus said grimly. ¡°Only with the power of both books can you reverse the damage done.¡±


    ¡°Does it work like that?¡± Apollo mused.


    ¡°Whatever the case is, I fear whatever we had just discussed is true,¡± Diana said. ¡°There must have been an attempt to rejoin soul to body, which resulted in the death of our world. We were somehow saved by whoever did this, albeit preserved in a lesser form.¡±


    There was a moment of silence.


    ¡°What happens if we take the Winter Solstice from this universe?¡± Marcia spoke up.


    ¡°Odds are, we cease to exist,¡± Apollo replied. ¡°We are mere thoughts given form. Without the soul magic to sustain our being, we have nothing else to keep us this way.¡±


    Felix shot his sister a glance as he felt her grip on his hand tightly. He tried his best to keep his emotions in check as well.


    ¡°But don¡¯t let that stop you,¡± Diana said in a caring, motherly voice this time. ¡°We are but mere shades of our former selves. Our lives are already over. Every day we exist is a blessing.¡±


    ¡°There must be another way¡­¡± Marcia shook her head, letting the facade fall as tears broke out of her eyes. ¡°Mom, Dad! Don¡¯t leave me again!¡±


    Felix¡¯s eyes widened in shock, but the couple weren¡¯t looking so surprised themselves. Instead, they stood up and walked over to Marcia, giving her a tight hug.


    ¡°Silly girl. That we are spending this moment together is already a gift,¡± Diana whispered gently in her ear.


    Marcia gasped. ¡°You knew¡­?¡±


    ¡°We had our suspicions the moment you walked through our door. Our only memories of our daughter were when she was still a child, but we¡¯d still recognise her, no matter her age.¡±


    Apollo turned to Felix. ¡°And you too. Am I right, young man?¡±


    ¡°Father, Mother¡­¡± Was all Felix could mutter.


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s where the difference in our worlds begins.¡± Diana brought him into a hug as well. ¡°We had two daughters. But you are so much like her. Oh, you poor boy¡­¡±


    Felix could feel her psychic power tingling around his skin, but he didn¡¯t resist. He didn¡¯t want to let go.


    ¡°You have come so far, and you have been so strong to endure all that hardship.¡± The white glow in Diana¡¯s eyes glistened slightly. ¡°Be strong just this once more, will you? Be strong for your world. Be strong for your sister.¡±


    A teardrop splashed onto the floor.


    ¡°Yes, mother. I¡­ I will,¡± Felix whispered. ¡°I missed you. I really missed you both so much¡­¡±


    The couple let go of them slowly, reluctantly even. Felix did not protest. They were right; every part of his journey had been a gift. He was never meant to use this second chance to fix his own world. It had been his purpose to help all the others all along.


    ¡°Where you must go, we cannot follow.¡± Apollo smiled. ¡°Painful as it is, the living cannot cling onto the deceased forever, and neither can the dead hold onto life endlessly. We cannot change fate. Our journey has already ended decades ago. It is time you move on with yours.¡±


    Felix closed his eyes in acceptance.

 Chapter 19: Winter Solstice

    The trek up to the highest point in the city was silent. Felix barely noticed the landscape as he climbed up the small hill overlooking the horizon. Not like there was a horizon to begin with, anyway. The entire city was all that was left of the planet. Or rather, the entire universe.


    Darkness stretched beyond the clouds, leaving nary a hint of light in its infinite void. The only source of light was from the city itself, which had somehow maintained the pink glow of a setting sun, as though frozen in time. Like a minimalist painting, this city was the only thing splashed on existence¡¯s uncaring canvas.


    ¡°There.¡± Felix pointed at the light pink cloud in front of him.


    Now that he was closer to it, this ¡®cloud¡¯ did not look so wispy anymore. The skull shape appeared to be a lot more solid, almost as though it was carved out of marble instead. A wide gap stood between the cloud and the cliff¡¯s edge.


    ¡°Mind giving me a lift?¡± Titus said. ¡°I can¡¯t fly.¡±


    Felix¡¯s psychic senses flashed. If he was sensing it correctly, the air in front of him was solid.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessary.¡±


    He took a step out hesitantly, preparing to telekinetically catch himself in case his senses had somehow been fooled. He let himself fall forward.


    And his foot hit solid ground.


    The man strolled towards the cloud, casually walking over a two-kilometre drop to the oblivious city below. His companions followed suit and crossed the invisible pathway as well. Felix took one last glance at the beautiful city as he felt the familiar throbbing in his soul again.


    This is it.


    ¡°Whoever, or whatever lies beyond this cloud is bound to be powerful, so let¡¯s stick together, alright?¡± he said, glancing at his comrades nervously. They responded with a silent nod, except for Marcia who was still staring blankly into space.


    Poor girl, she still hasn¡¯t gotten over it, huh?


    Cooling magic washed over him as he stepped into the cloud.


    ~ ~ ~


    So much for sticking together¡­


    The moment he stepped into the cloud, Felix found himself in the middle of a haunted house all alone. He didn¡¯t even get a chance to remind his companions to stay close. Felix sighed internally, before composing himself. At least whoever snatched him here wasn¡¯t some melodramatic villain who enjoyed wasting his time.


    Floorboards creaked beneath his feet as Felix took a step forward. A faint light flickered from the side of his eye, making shadows flash around him. He ignored them. If anything tried a sneak attack, his telekinetic senses would have warned him anyway.


    It took Felix a while to realise he was standing in his own house, although everything seemed to have aged for hundreds of years. Wood rotted, metal stained, and walls peeled off everywhere he walked. Everywhere¡ª Except for the front door which remained unblemished.


    The man reached for the doorknob hesitantly. Surely, leaving this place couldn¡¯t be so easy, could it?


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t, if I were you.¡±


    Felix froze, his hand millimetres away from the door handle. A corporeal figure had literally materialised out of thin air and was walking down the stairs. He turned around slowly. The psychic signature was uncannily familiar.


    ¡°Not unless you want to be trapped in another domain, boy.¡± Pale yellow light illuminated the figure¡¯s face as she reached the bottom of the stairs.


    ¡°Well¡­ met,¡± Felix started. ¡°Do I know you?¡±


    ¡°What a curious question.¡± The hooded woman moved towards him without a sound. Felix shot a glance to her feet, confirming that she was indeed hovering slightly above the floor.


    ¡°I am you.¡±


    She removed her hood, revealing the face of a woman who looked no older than fifty. Curly brown hair draped her shoulder without a hint of grey amongst them. Felix pursed his lips, watching her carefully.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± The woman chuckled lightly, before prancing away to pick up a spoon. ¡°I¡¯m just as confused as you, can¡¯t you tell?¡±


    Felix kept his eyes from glowing. The lady before him had a mind, that was for sure. But her mental defences were so impossibly thick that he wouldn¡¯t be able to touch her brain even if he made physical contact. Just who¡ª No¡ª What was she?


    ¡°You put up a mind block.¡± The woman let go of the spoon, letting it hang in the air in front of his face. ¡°How curious. I¡¯ve never been unable to read someone¡¯s mind before. Interesting, my telepathy wasn¡¯t this advanced at your age.¡±


    Felix hid his confusion. I didn¡¯t put up any mind block¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ve been observing you ever since you entered my world. I hope you found my parents as lovely as your own,¡± she continued. ¡°Felix Pagonis¡­ Such a pretty name. How ironic to find that your parents named you ¡®lucky¡¯ as well.¡±


    ¡°What did you do with my friends?¡± Felix asked hostilely.


    ¡°Nothing. I only brought you here because I wanted to speak with you alone.¡±


    He released a small breath of relief.


    ¡°But they had better get out of that place quickly if they want to keep their sanity,¡± the woman continued. ¡°After all, the remnant psychic energy there has already taken a form of its own.¡±


    Felix flinched but shook his head slightly. Focus, Felix. They can take care of themselves. I need to get what I came here for.


    ¡°I need your help¡ª¡± he began.


    ¡°I know what you want.¡± The woman stared at him intensely. ¡°But this is my house, so you¡¯ll follow my rules. Go on, show me the first trick we¡¯ve learnt.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Felix¡¯s gaze shifted to the stationary spoon in the air as the memories of when his powers first manifested came flooding back to him. He gave her a small smile.


    The head of the spoon twisted and bent on itself, hanging limply from its handle.


    ¡°Fausta Pagonis, you will be a god among mortals. Don¡¯t let life tell you any different,¡± the woman mumbled, almost to herself only. ¡°That¡¯s what Father told me when my power manifested.¡±


    She laughed softly, shaking her head as she turned away.


    ¡°A god¡­ I don¡¯t think he truly understood the meaning of that word,¡± Fausta lamented. ¡°Do gods weep? Do they feel pain? Do they feel¡­ loss?¡±


    Felix looked around again, realisation dawning on him.


    ¡°You did this, didn¡¯t you?¡± he asked. ¡°The cataclysms, this golden world, the collapse of everything¡­ It was you?¡±


    ¡°I never wanted this to happen¡­ I just wanted my family back. Was that too much for a woman to ask for?¡±


    ¡°I know how you feel¡ª¡±


    ¡°Of course you do. So tell me something, my twin from another world.¡± Fausta turned back to Felix. ¡°Do you regret it?¡±


    ¡°Never.¡± Felix¡¯s mouth spat out the word as if it were mere muscle memory.


    His soul throbbed again. This woman before him was in possession of The Winter Solstice, no doubt about that. But unlike with most people, he couldn¡¯t simply take it by force. The psychic energy emanating from her entire body was nearly immeasurable. Even if he held nothing back, her power would still eclipse his own easily.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to yourself,¡± Fausta smirked. ¡°You came all this way, hopping through three worlds in search of the Solstices just to fix your world. You¡¯re here for The Winter Solstice, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You have it,¡± Felix stated plainly; it didn¡¯t take any telepathy to figure that out. ¡°I need it. Not for myself, but for my sister¡¯s world.¡±


    ¡°Do you, now?¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m guessing correctly, you used The Winter Solstice to open a portal for whatever reason and resulted in the collapse of your own universe. Opening an unstable portal causes reality to crack, and my sister accidentally opened one in her universe. Her world is destabilising as we speak. Look, I¡¯m sorry you made a mistake. But perhaps you can help us fix ours.¡±


    Fausta stared at him, almost with a morbid curiosity. The smile on her face grew wider and wider until it twisted into some kind of haunted Chesire cat grin. Felix blinked, and she vanished before his eyes.


    ¡°A mistake?¡± the psychic woman purred from behind him. ¡°I made all the mistakes, my dear multiverse traveller. But you¡¯re correct, on most accounts. Clever boy, I was never that bright myself when I was your age. I only wished I was. Would you like to know how all this happened?¡±


    ¡°I think I have an inkling.¡±


    ¡°So did I, when I found that relic. A god¡¯s artefact, lost through shattered worlds, in the palm of my hand,¡± Fausta said. ¡°I had more than an inkling, in fact. I knew what to do.¡±


    ¡°You tried to bring everyone back.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you too? It¡¯s funny, really. So many universes, yet our stories always turn out more or less the same. We become orphans, and then we lose our family. We try to get them back, and we lose someone else we love. But here¡¯s where things deviate.¡±


    Fausta summoned a worn book from the air. Felix¡¯s soul resonated in recognition.


    ¡°You gave up. All of you gave up. But I didn¡¯t.¡± The woman¡¯s voice was rising quickly. ¡°I tried again. I studied more. I travelled in search of a solution. I visited countless worlds in my astral form. Ten years, twenty years, a hundred years¡­ Five hundred years.¡±


    By the gods¡­


    ¡°None of you found a solution. Some of you simply went on with your lives. Most of you died in some war of sorts. One of you found a telepathic prot¨¦g¨¦, only to lose her as well. Another even got banished to another world and died there. But the gods finally deigned to grant me respite after five hundred fucking years of my wretched existence. I came across the Winter Solstice. Janus¡¯ artefact. My salvation.¡±


    ¡°Not much of a salvation, is it?¡± Felix gestured at the worn-down house. ¡°It¡¯s not worth it. And neither is your obsession.¡±


    ¡°Shut up. You know nothing of my struggle,¡± Fausta hissed. ¡°Turns out the gods weren¡¯t finished toying with my life. Instead of making a portal to the afterlife, I shattered the pillars holding my world together instead. Reality began collapsing after my failed attempt to reverse everything that was wrong with my world.¡±


    Felix flinched as she lunged forward without warning.


    ¡°But I am in control!¡± she shouted. ¡°As the world broke down around me, I finally saw the light. Why seek help when you can shape the world to your will?¡±


    ¡°You have Omnikinesis?¡± Felix asked. ¡°You¡¯re a reality warper?¡±


    ¡°Make no mistake, young man. This is the height of your powers. To bring everything to your heel with a mere thought; to speak light into existence with a single word,¡± Fausta replied smugly. ¡°I have become a god, and I used my power to halt the collapse of my universe; to halt the flow of life itself. As long as I still live, so will everyone else. Again and again, they may fall. But they will always rise, never to experience physical death ever again.¡±


    Felix pursed his lips, recalling the Unendings¡¯ self-resurrection.


    ¡°No one will know death or suffering any longer,¡± the woman continued. ¡°I sustained the living with my will and resurrected the dead with my power. All of existence bows to my will.¡±


    ¡°Impossible. The dead cannot be resurrected without the corruption of its flesh.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right, which is why I sundered them. I separated memories from their corrupted bodies and constructed a golden world for beloved memories to take form. As for their bodies, I eventually figured out how to use the Winter Solstice to put everyone¡¯s souls back into them. They immediately turned into those monstrosities, of course. But there¡¯s nothing I cannot control, so I gouged out a part of my power to regulate them.¡±


    Felix stepped forward aggressively. ¡°Where are the Unendings?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s such a cute name,¡± Fausta chuckled after a short pause. ¡°I sent these¡­ ¡®Unendings¡¯ through portals created by The Winter Solstice to collect souls and sustain their own life force. My power is finally waning after so many years. I cannot do this forever, after all. This is the only way they¡¯ll live on, even after my death.¡±


    ¡°You killed my world just to keep your dead alive?¡± Felix yelled. ¡°You selfish murderer!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill all the worlds if I have to,¡± Fausta growled. ¡°You lack the will to stop me, and you¡¯re undeserving of Janus¡¯ artefact. But in my hands, these books will create a never-ending stream of gates through which souls can be taken from the multiverse.¡±


    ¡°No. You have to stop letting the past chain you.¡±


    ¡°You are unworthy, Felix Pagonis.¡± The woman began to hover in the air. ¡°Who are you to lecture me? Who are you to move on?!¡±


    An overwhelming force ripped through Felix¡¯s bones without warning as he felt his body crash through the house door. He halted himself quickly and looked around. A barren, red landscape had replaced the decaying house surrounding him.


    Fausta was covered completely in a pink glow now, and was floating a few metres in the air like some kind of angel.


    ¡°Welcome to my domain.¡± Fausta¡¯s voice boomed through the empty fabric of space. ¡°I found this husk of a world in my travels and claimed it as my own.¡±


    ¡°The house door was a waypoint?¡± Felix mused out loud.


    ¡°That much is obvious enough, foolish boy. You disgust me. You¡¯re nothing but a lesser version of me.¡± The woman raised her hands and burst into the sky. ¡°You want my book? Prove to me that you deserve it.¡±


    Felix¡¯s eyes flared with power.

 Chapter 20: Fate

    And so it was that the mortals crossed the bounds of reality and arrived at the land of dreams. A place where peace and tranquillity unite to embrace eternity. A dimension where the bringers of death relish in their motionless repose. And yet, all was silent as the living trespassers stood before this lifeless army.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Titus breathed, resisting the urge to touch the monstrous mannequins. He wanted nothing more than to release his fury on these demons for attacking his people.


    But if they came to life at the same time, there was no way anyone would be getting out of this unscathed.


    ¡°We are in grave danger, that¡¯s what. This ¡®cloud¡¯ exists on a different plane of reality; the magic here is different,¡± Orpheus muttered. ¡°Felix disappeared the moment we entered this place too. Someone or something else must be pulling the strings.¡±


    Titus turned his attention to the girl staring blankly into space.


    ¡°Hey, your brother just went missing.¡± He prodded her. ¡°Aren¡¯t you even the least bit concerned?¡±


    Marcia ignored him and shuffled off into the darkness.


    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t run off on your own, girl!¡± Titus chased after her, only to find her about a hundred metres ahead of him in less than five seconds.


    What the hell? She wasn¡¯t running; how¡¯d she get there so fast?


    Energy surged through his body as he broke into a sprint, catching up with Marcia in a millisecond. Orpheus¡¯ footsteps were no longer audible, but he didn¡¯t have time to bother about that for now. Something had been wrong with Marcia ever since they left her parents¡¯ house.


    ¡°Everything I lost¡­ Everything I lost¡­¡±


    Titus pulled her shoulder to turn her around. His body tensed up as he unconsciously took a step back. The woman¡¯s eyes were glowing pink as though she had activated her power, but her body was rocking back and forth like she was in some sort of trance.


    ¡°Everything I lost¡­¡± she continued muttering, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings.


    ¡°Hey¡­ Wake up, girl!¡± The man shook her roughly to no avail. ¡°What the fuck is happening?¡±


    Brother¡­


    ¡°Lucia?¡± Titus swung around with his fists clenched, but the frozen Unendings around him remained still. ¡°Argh, it can¡¯t be real¡­ Get out of my head!¡±


    He fell to his knees, smashing his head against the ground repeatedly to get rid of his deceased sister¡¯s voice.


    ¡°This place is fucked up! We gotta get out of here, girl!¡± Titus turned back to reach for Marcia, but his fingers only closed on thin air. He breathed heavily, staring at the empty space where she was. Something breathed down his neck. He spun around¡ª


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Titus yelled, jerking his body from the sharpened fingers millimetres away from his head.


    The Unendings had somehow gotten out of their place without a sound and were frozen mid-attack. Titus threw a powerful punch, blasting the lunging crowd of monsters away. They clattered on the floor, still frozen in their horrifying poses.


    ¡°Caesar! Orpheus Caesar!¡± Green electricity crackled around him as he began to sprint around the rows of Unendings at nearly the speed of sound. ¡°Where are you?¡±


    Brother, why didn¡¯t you help me?


    Titus crashed into a wall, leaving a human-shaped dent on the blackened metallic surface. He got back up and shook his head groggily.


    ¡°Get out of my head, you coward!¡± he yelled at nothing in particular. ¡°Stop your mind tricks and fight me like a man!¡±


    Metal extended from his helmet to protect his mind, but an invisible force shattered it. Titus staggered in shock.


    Something grabbed his ankle.


    He yelped in shock. A bloodied man was holding onto his feet while dragging his body forward. Long slashes ravaged his face, and his body was missing from the waist down.


    ¡°You¡­ could¡¯ve saved us¡­¡± the man groaned, blood gurgling in his voice. ¡°Why¡­? Why didn¡¯t you save us?!¡±


    Pink light flashed around Titus as a familiar excruciating pain hit his body.


    ~ ~ ~


    ¡°Guh!¡±


    The world spun into a blur as concrete smashed into his lower back. His body froze midair before the invisible force flung it downwards. Iron filled his mouth as he pushed his body from the cracked ground. It was hopeless. It was all too difficult.


    He craned his head, only to see his comrade struggling helplessly against the pink bindings around his waist.


    ¡°No¡ª¡±


    Blood coated the floor as the man¡¯s body was torn in half with ease.


    Titus screamed in agony, pushing himself back to his feet immediately. ¡°YOU MOTHERFUCKER!¡±


    A small shockwave cracked the ground further as he leapt towards the hovering psychic, raw hate possessing his gaze. Power pooled in his fist as he swung it forward.


    The psychic¡¯s eyes glinted, and he was sent crashing back down with a single slap.


    Titus groaned as his armour frantically reinforced the deep cracks around it. There was no way he could win this. Felix Pagonis¡¯ power had grown exponentially since they last fought, far beyond the boundaries of measurement.


    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk¡­ How many times must I teach you the same lesson?¡± Felix descended gently, walking towards him. ¡°If you can¡¯t kill me, don¡¯t WASTE MY TIME!¡±


    Metal screeched as the telekinetic force crushed Titus¡¯ armour. He screamed in pain, his entire body trembling as the pressure twisted his limbs to their limit. Felix wrung his hands, and Titus¡¯ right arm was torn from his body.


    ¡°Ah¡­ so it¡¯s just empty armour, huh? And here I thought you somehow managed to regenerate your body.¡± Felix dropped the man nonchalantly. ¡°How very pathetic. Boring, boring, BORING! Is there nobody here who can challenge me? How many more people must I kill?!¡±


    ¡°You are a sick man¡­¡± Titus coughed, looking away from the huge shadow who was finally in position. ¡°And we¡¯re going to put you out of your misery.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°We?¡±


    The hidden figure showed itself, leaping down from a parapet. Felix flinched as the human-shaped amethyst landed on his back, raising a thick syringe over its head before plunging it into the back of his neck.


    ¡°What the¡ª Get off me!¡±


    Felix growled in irritation, flinging the obsidian stone away. Titus caught his sister and set her on the ground gently.


    ¡°You alright, Lucia?¡±


    ¡°Never better, brother.¡± The humanoid amethyst cracked a grin, looking on as Felix writhed in agony. ¡°Let¡¯s kill this son of a bitch properly this time.¡±


    No sooner had she finished her sentence than another powerful psionic blast knocked them off their feet. Titus staggered back, struggling to regain his balance. He gasped in surprise.


    That wasn¡¯t enough to take him down?


    ¡°What the fuck¡­ did you do to me?!¡± Felix stumbled around as though he was drunk. ¡°I can¡¯t see straight¡­¡±


    ¡°Bee poison,¡± Lucia announced confidently. ¡°To be exact, the poison of a thousand bees is surging through your veins now. How anticlimactic¡­ The world¡¯s most powerful Esper, brought down by mere bugs.¡±


    Flashes of yellow whizzed through the air, and a few more syringes plugged themselves into Felix¡¯s body. The man roared in indignation, falling to his knees.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got plenty more where this comes from.¡± Titus kept his gun aimed at Felix. ¡°The rebellion came prepared, Felix Pagonis. Your reign of terror is over.¡±


    ¡°Could it be¡­?¡± Felix muttered to himself. ¡°Hahaha¡­ Hahahaha¡­ AHAHAHAHA! FINALLY!¡±


    A huge column of pink left his fingers as the Esper swept his hand. Titus leapt out of the way as the psionic beam tore straight through the wall.


    ¡°Kill me! KILL ME!¡± The look in Felix¡¯s eyes was wild. Whether or not it was because of the poison or it was because he had just plain lost his mind, Titus did not bother to contemplate.


    With a primal roar, Titus plunged his hand straight through Felix¡¯s chest. He was blasted away almost immediately.


    The man rolled to his feet, casting a grim gaze at his foe. The hole in Felix¡¯s chest was already rapidly sealing up. Not that he didn¡¯t already expect that to happen, but it was still disappointing that the poison was yet enough to slow down the psychic¡¯s regeneration.


    Titus aimed carefully and fired more shots. Thankfully, Felix didn¡¯t dodge them. The cyborg did not let up, punching the air repeatedly as mini tornados began to emerge from the shockwaves created.


    A hailstorm of rubble flew in his direction without warning, and Iron Angel burst off the ground. Concrete crashed against walls as Titus darted around, using the surrounding walls as leverage to leap from. The psychic might have been fighting off the poison at the same time, but his accuracy was certainly not waning as quickly as Titus was hoping.


    Iron Angel landed just as a flash of pink flew in his direction. Titus¡¯ eyes widened in shock. It was too late to dodge this attack. It was all over¡ª


    ¡°Not my brother, arsehole¡­¡±


    ¡°Lucia!¡± Titus screamed as his sister¡¯s crystal form slowly transformed back into a blood-stained woman. Lucia gasped as Felix yanked his hand back, retracting the psionic spear still plunged in her torso.


    ¡°No, stop!¡± the man yelled desperately as his sister hovered in the air, blood spilling from her mouth. ¡°Please!¡±


    Felix looked over to him languidly as a sadistic smile crept along his face.


    ¡°Ah¡­ you care about her,¡± the dictator commented. ¡°There it is¡­ There¡¯s that fear. You¡¯d do anything to save her, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    Titus fell to his knees as Felix visibly tightened his grip around Lucia¡¯s neck.


    ¡°NO! Please, please, please. Oh gods, no¡­ Please stop!¡± he begged. ¡°I¡¯ll call off the attack! I¡¯ll surrender! Don¡¯t! Please, I¡¯m begging you! Let her go, let her go!¡±


    Felix¡¯s grin grew wider¡ª


    And then he dropped dead, foam gurgling at his mouth.


    ¡°Lucia!¡± Titus rushed to his sister, cradling her in his arms.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been stabbed before.¡± Lucia heaved as a small smile began to form on her face. ¡°I¡¯ll be just fine. Rejoice, brother. Our suffering is over¡­ Our suffering is¡ª¡±


    ~ ~ ~


    No. That¡¯s not what happened.


    ¡°Get¡­ out of my head¡­¡± Titus clutched his head, his surroundings flitting back and forth between his memory and his present. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ lie to me.¡±


    That can be your fate. You just need to give in.


    The man roared, slamming his fists on the ground.


    Eternal bliss will be yours. You just need to let go of your past.


    ¡°No! I will not¡­¡±


    Don¡¯t you want to be with your sister again? Don¡¯t you want your people to experience happiness again?


    ¡°I do¡­¡± Titus faltered as his body relaxed slightly. ¡°I want that¡­ more than anything. The world shouldn¡¯t have to suffer because of one man¡­¡±


    We can give it to you. Heaven awaits you. Your sister awaits you on the other side. All you have to do is give up your flesh. Just let it go¡­


    Golden light flashed before the man¡¯s eyes as he sank to his knees, feeling the powerful sense of bliss overwhelm him.


    We can change your fate, Titus Angelo.


    Visions flooded his brain as time seemed to reverse in his memories. His comrades, all alive and well again. His family, enjoying a hearty meal together. His country, prospering and peaceful under the leadership of a benevolent government.


    ¡°No¡­ we can¡¯t change fate, no matter how much we want to.¡± Power energised him as the fog in his mind seemed to recoil in pain. ¡°This is my world. This is my life. She died so that I could win. They died so I could live. Nothing can change that!¡±


    The man gasped as a pink wisp expelled itself from his mouth. It drifted in the air as though it was some kind of sentient smoke, before infusing into the motionless Unendings. The monsters twitched as they slowly came to life.


    Titus lunged towards them.


    ~ ~ ~


    Lucia¡¯s neck snapped with a sickening crunch.


    ¡°Sister¡­¡± Titus trembled, watching helplessly as her body dropped to the ground with an undignified plop. Time seemed to stand still. The world seemed to stand still.


    He was standing, still.


    ¡°Pity, but this is the only way.¡± Felix¡¯s voice barely registered through the blood rushing in Titus¡¯ ears. There seemed to be a hint of sadness and regret in his voice, but Titus had to be mistaken.


    There was no way this psychopath felt remorse for all that he had destroyed. There was no way this monster knew pain and loss.


    Titus slowly lifted his head, only to see Felix suddenly on his knees, writhing in pain. Confusion struck him until he noticed the yellow liquid leaking from the hole in Lucia¡¯s chest. Realisation dawned on the man.


    His sister had baited Felix. Lucia had injected her own bloodstream with bee poison, which was absorbed into Felix¡¯s body when his psionic spear pierced through her chest.


    That silly girl bet her life on this gamble, and he would be damned if he didn¡¯t make it count.


    Titus raised his pistol again, determination focusing his gaze. He squeezed the trigger hard, emptying the rest of the poison reserves into the twitching psychic. Felix¡¯s body spasmed with every shot as Titus walked cautiously towards him.


    Iron Angel stepped to the side and avoided the blackened blood sprayed in his direction. Felix Pagonis collapsed again, haemorrhaging from every orifice now. The psychic was crawling painfully on the ground, so Titus put a foot on his body to stop him from moving.


    ¡°Finally. Thank you¡­¡± Felix sputtered, choking on his own blood. ¡°What are you¡­ waiting for? Finish it.¡±


    ¡°With pleasure.¡±


    Brain matter exploded as Titus brought his fist down on Felix¡¯s head.

 Chapter 21: World Breaker

    Titus Angelo landed on the ground after punching the last Unending into smithereens. He wasn¡¯t even close to being exhausted yet, but he was still thankful that at least there was an end to the onslaught. Strangely enough, only a small percentage of Unendings were activated to attack him, the others watched on in their lifeless silence.


    Pink smoke evaporated from their bodies, before fleeing into the shadows.


    ¡°Oi!¡± he yelled in frustration, taking a few steps forward as the smoke vanished from his sight. ¡°What the fuck do you want from me?!¡±


    Darkness and silence greeted him once more after he calmed himself down. Orpheus and Marcia were still nowhere to be found, presumably occupied by whatever illusion this place was showing them as well. As much as he wanted to help them out of their situation, he could not do it by himself.


    Both of them had more history with Felix Pagonis. He never relished asking Felix for help, but this version of him seemed to be a decent enough guy. And if there was anyone who could help them, it would be him.


    The entire area shook without warning, as though a huge bomb had just gone off.


    ¡°What the¡ª¡±


    A second explosion knocked Titus off his feet this time, accompanied by a cracking sound. The man scrambled back up, following the sound of commotion in the distance.


    The voice in his head rang out again, except it wasn¡¯t in his head this time.


    Titus approached the crack in the air hesitantly. There was no mistaking it this time. Sounds of fighting were spewing out from the rift in reality, and that woman¡¯s voice could be heard clearly now.


    ¡°This is the man who crippled his world? Pathetic!¡±


    ¡°Just give me the damn book!¡±


    Pagonis!


    Power charged in his fists as Titus began punching the crack relentlessly.


    ~ ~ ~


    ¡°Have you the will to see the end?!¡±


    Felix¡¯s eyes widened in shock as yet another planet covered the obsidian sky. He hissed, G-forces threatening to crush his body as he burst off the devastated red planet at a few thousand times the speed of sound.


    Light blinded him as the two planets collided in a terrifying explosion.


    The man continued to dart around, avoiding the city-sized meteors flung outwards from the collision. Psychic power covered his body in blinding light as he threw a punch at a particularly large one, shattering it into a million fragments.


    Bloody hell, you¡¯re really not making this easy, huh?


    ¡°There is no room for restraint! All of existence bows to my will!¡±


    Pink bindings locked his limbs firmly in place as the woman materialised in front of him again. Felix struggled helplessly, his breaths getting more and more desperate as Fausta Pagonis charged a giant ball of energy in front of him. His heart raced in fear and recognition.


    A powerful force field burst from his body instead; there was no escaping this.


    ¡°Let there be light!¡±


    The energy ball expanded into an impossibly huge sphere of searing yellow light. Felix gritted his teeth, desperately pushing his shield against the literal sun thrown in his face.


    Exhaustion surged through his entire body as he forced his psychic channels open despite the incredible heat. Closing them was death. He had never faced such a powerful opponent before.


    The sun disappeared abruptly as Felix found himself on a beautiful open field. The tranquillity of it all almost made him stagger in shock. That was until the first shadow came into view over the grass.


    ¡°And now, this!¡±


    Felix¡¯s mouth hung open in horror as countless meteors rained from the sky like some sort of crimson hail storm. He stretched out a hand, locking his mind onto each and every single one of them. Psychic energy surged through his veins.


    The meteors froze in place.


    ¡°Take your stones back, bitch.¡± The psychic threw his hand forward as the rocky fireballs flew back into the sky. A hint of Fausta¡¯s figure caught his eye and he burst off the grass again, soaring straight for her.


    Darkness greeted him once more as he re-entered the cosmic void. Light burned in his eyes as he threw a huge psionic blast at Fausta. The woman retaliated with the same attack.


    The two beams of pink clashed for a brief moment before Fausta overpowered him easily. Felix grunted, allowing himself to fly back a few metres from the knock-back. Fausta smirked slightly as pink energy pooled in her palm again.


    ¡°You throw another sun at me, and I¡¯m going to lose it,¡± Felix huffed defiantly, swinging a planet-sized psionic hammer at the woman. Fausta stopped it with ease and shattered it with a single squeeze of her hand.


    ¡°Such pitiful resistance. Yet, you still hold back.¡± Fausta¡¯s eyes glinted, and two moons snapped into existence. The lunar twins fell into each other¡¯s embrace immediately with the man still between them.


    Strain screamed in Felix¡¯s body as he pushed back against the two celestial satellites intent on crushing him.


    ¡°For aeons¡ª In billions of worlds¡ª have I measured your worth and found all of you wanting.¡± Fausta clenched her fists, telekinetically closing the moons on Felix. ¡°You cannot be entrusted with the fate of your worlds. None of you can! Where is the god you are meant to be?!¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Rage shot up Felix¡¯s spine as unbridled power erupted from his soul. He screamed, in both desperation and primal fury, releasing his pent-up energy.


    Magenta light cut through the moons and split them into pieces. Felix roared, slamming Fausta into what looked like Venus. He did not let up. Raw psychic power burst from his body, blowing away a quarter of the planet as it struck the woman cleanly.


    But she simply teleported back into the fight.


    A clammy hand seized his neck, and Felix stopped the blast in shock. The fabric of eternal night swept over him once more as Fausta stared him down, murder possessing her gaze.


    ¡°Your existence insults me, but I see who you are now,¡± Fausta spat behind gritted teeth. ¡°You¡¯re a destroyer. We are destroyers of our world. Saving is not what we do. Your sister is already dead, and it will be all your fault.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± The man trembled, his body trembling as rancour continued to goad the anarchy surging through his psychic channels. ¡°More¡­¡±


    ¡°Games!¡±


    Felix flung the woman away with a crazed roar and threw the biggest psionic beam he had ever thrown in his life. There was a distant scream of pain as the attack struck Fausta directly, slicing another planet in half as well.


    His psychic senses screamed in warning as he swung around, facing the woman who had simply teleported behind him again. He closed his fists, telekinetically locking her in place just as he felt the same force tie him down as well.


    ¡°There he is¡­¡± Fausta was still grinning despite the psychic struggle. ¡°There¡¯s the destroyer of worlds¡ª¡±


    A strange cracking sound caught their attention. Felix stared at a distant star as realisation crept into his awareness.


    That was no star. That was a crack in this dimension, and something was breaking through.


    Fausta¡¯s grip loosened a little as a figure crashed through the hole in reality, hurtling straight for her. The woman raised a force field, but the figure smashed through it anyway and kicked her out of sight.


    Felix stretched a hand, catching the green cyborg before the momentum carried him away as well.


    ¡°Angelo? What are you¡ª How did you get in here?¡± he asked incredulously, setting the man down on a random floating rock.


    ¡°Long story. I¡¯m here; deal with it.¡± Titus brushed his clothes casually. ¡°Lady trouble?¡±


    ¡°Sorta. She¡¯s me in this universe,¡± Felix replied, keeping his psychic senses on alert. ¡°And she¡¯s a real bitch.¡±


    Although Titus had probably struck the woman with enough force to decimate a small planet, it probably only felt like a mild itch to the immensely powerful psychic¡ª No. Not just a psychic. Having more than five hundred years to grow her power, Fausta Pagonis was more akin to some sort of Eldritch God than a mere Esper.


    And that meant she would be back in the fight at any moment.


    ¡°Sounds about right,¡± Titus chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s the squabble?¡±


    ¡°Her name¡¯s Fausta Pagonis and she has the Winter Solstice,¡± Felix replied. ¡°She was the reason for this universe¡¯s collapse as well as the creator of the Unendings.¡±


    ¡°So she¡¯s the one I have to beat the shit out of?¡± Titus punched his palm. ¡°Good to know I don¡¯t have to hold back anything. Need help taking the Winter Solstice from her?¡±


    ¡°Gods, I totally forgot about that,¡± Felix admitted grudgingly. ¡°I¡¯ve been too busy fending off her attacks to even strategize.¡±


    ¡°Then allow me to help. Be on your guard.¡± Iron Angel pointed at the small point of pink soaring towards them while dragging along another planet. ¡°She really likes throwing planets around, does she?¡±


    Light blue loomed over Felix as the planet soared towards him at an incredible speed.


    Felix flicked his hand, pushing Titus away as he felt the planet¡¯s gravity pull him towards it. Titus flew in a curve out of sight, while Felix threw himself towards his female counterpart.


    ¡°Dumbass!¡± Fausta shoved the man away from her body. She spun around at breakneck speed, flinging him at a nearby mountain with incredible force.


    Felix¡¯s body burst out of the other end of a mountain, before crashing unceremoniously into the blue soil.


    He got up gingerly. His head was still spinning from the attack, but a small smile crept along his face as he silently slid the worn book into his jacket. His mission was complete. Now all he had to do was leave this place and rendezvous with Orpheus for the Summer Solstice.


    ¡°All that power and you choose to punch me¡ª My book!¡± Fausta clutched at her empty pocket frantically. ¡°You stole my Winter Solstice? You snivelling thief!¡±


    Uh oh.


    Felix took to the air immediately.


    A psychic beam hit the ground where he was just standing, leaving behind a huge gash on the land.


    The psychic willed himself forward at three thousand times the speed of sound again. The planet smeared into a blur as he exited its stratosphere in less than a second. He kept his psychic senses on alert, keeping a lookout for Titus.


    C¡¯mon¡­ Where did I fling him to¡ª There!


    A small explosion caught his attention. Or rather, whatever was bursting out of a moon did. Felix stared in awe as the green speck flew towards him at a hair short of the speed of light from more than two hundred million kilometres away, propelled by nothing more than a single jump.


    Felix flipped his body, avoiding Titus at the last minute just in time for him to crash into the woman behind. His power flared as trampolines of pink materialised again. Titus took the chance to leap off them, while Felix approached their opponent from the other end.


    ¡°Die!¡± The two men yelled simultaneously, striking Fausta from both sides. She screamed in pain.


    ¡°Insolence! I can create galaxies with a single thought!¡± Fausta released a burst of psychic energy to push them away. ¡°Your power is insignificant. This is my domain!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll need to expand it.¡± Felix waved his hands, praying that his plan would work. Meta essence flowed into the Winter Solstice as his body resonated with it.


    ¡°Behold, an endless void! Rift swallow you!¡±


    ¡°No, no!¡± Fausta¡¯s voice was barely audible as an all too familiar darkness engulfed the universe, choking out even the sparse stars in the distance. ¡°What have you done?¡±


    ¡°What the fuck is going on?¡± Titus asked, wide-eyed.


    ¡°I merged her domain with the infinite space between realms,¡± Felix explained hurriedly. ¡°We must away before the void swallows us as well!¡±


    The psychic hurtled towards the crack in reality, pulling Titus through right before the obsidian darkness swept past them.

 Chapter 22: Bygone Sins

    ¡°Guh!¡±


    The two men tumbled along the cold, metallic floor as a huge bang came from behind them. Felix skidded to a halt, his bruises screaming with agony. Titus, on the other hand, somehow managed to use the momentum from the fall to land elegantly like a gymnast gunning for a perfect score.


    Panting like an obese dog, Felix pushed himself off the ground gingerly, careful not to hurt himself further. Pink flickered in his eyes as he bio-kinetically removed any internal bleeding going on in his body.


    ¡°Oof, I think I bit my lip.¡± The man wiped away a small trail of blood from his mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯m not kissing it better,¡± Titus replied without a pause, still staring at the yawning darkness behind the surreal-looking hole in the air. Thankfully, the void seemed content to consume Fausta¡¯s domain and wasn¡¯t inclined to enter this universe.


    Felix walked up beside the man, gazing at the ethereal shade as well.


    ¡°Can you close it?¡± Titus asked absentmindedly.


    ¡°You break it, you bought it.¡± Felix shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not quite a reality warper yet.¡±


    ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°Now we find Orpheus and go home. Where is he, by the way?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. Orpheus left on his own and Marcia disappeared into thin air.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Felix swung around violently. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®don¡¯t know¡¯? How did you lose them? Didn¡¯t I tell you guys to stick together?¡±


    ¡°Give me a break, Pagonis.¡± Titus rolled his eyes. ¡°That lady¡¯s psychic gas thing fiddled with my brain too. None of us got off the hook.¡±


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s trapped in her domain now, so Orpheus and Marcia should reappear.¡± Felix folded his arms. ¡°Why haven¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°About that¡­ I¡¯ve been meaning to tell you something.¡±


    Felix raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Grand Necromancer Orpheus Caesar¡­ there¡¯s something odd about him.¡±


    His heart skipped a beat. He¡¯d thought he was the only one who noticed, but Orpheus had been saying some strange things ever since they met. It was almost as though he was hiding something big.


    ¡°When Lord Felix Pagonis seized power in my world, Caesar had always been his right-hand man. Their romantic relationship was pretty much an open secret, so nobody questioned their deeds,¡± Titus said. ¡°But one day, Caesar left his position. And a few days later, he was seen walking into the Grand Archives. Nobody ever saw him again.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he just had a falling out with Dictator Pagonis,¡± Felix suggested.


    ¡°That¡¯s what we all thought. And we assumed he died since he never did show his face again in public,¡± Titus continued. ¡°It made things easier because he had the power to bring back an incomplete version of the dead. Without him around, we could break into Pagonis¡¯ palace easily.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®bring back an incomplete version of the dead¡¯?¡±


    ¡°He was powerful enough to halt a soul¡¯s progression into the afterlife and restore a shade of their existence, but at their full power. We¡¯ve seen him open those golden doors to bring back the souls of soldiers.¡±


    Felix clenched his jaw. It couldn¡¯t be¡­


    ¡°But I digress,¡± Titus interrupted his silent musings. ¡°Point is, Caesar was long presumed dead. It wasn¡¯t only until you appeared that he showed his face once more. The question is, why now? And where has he been all this while?¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to say we should keep our guard up,¡± Titus said grimly. ¡°It may not be a simple coincidence that he reappeared when you did. There may be a causality, and we don¡¯t know what his true intentions are.¡±


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    The two men swung around. Orpheus stepped out of the shadows, wearing a stray smile on his face. His staff hit the ground firmly with every step he took. He kept his hand out, allowing the Summer Solstice to gyrate slowly above his open palm.


    ¡°Orpheus! Thank the gods you¡¯re alright.¡± Felix flashed a wide smile. ¡°Oh, I was so afraid you got hurt.¡±


    ¡°Far from it,¡± Orpheus replied, gesturing to the book in Felix¡¯s hand. ¡°I see you¡¯ve managed to retrieve the Winter Solstice.¡±


    Felix faltered and unconsciously gripped his tome.


    ¡°Give it to me.¡±


    ¡°Slow down there, Orpheus,¡± the man said suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯m the one who needed the books. Why do you want them?¡±


    ¡°No? Didn¡¯t think so.¡±


    Yellow flashed before his eyes as Felix stumbled back, clutching the five syringes embedded in his chest. The world began to spin around him as he fell to his knees. He craned his neck up as blood began to drip from his nose. The man pointing his gun at him didn¡¯t look so much like his friend anymore.


    ¡°You stole our bee poison?¡± Titus got into a combat stance. ¡°Thieving rascal!¡±


    ¡°She brainwashed you¡­ Orpheus,¡± Felix panted. ¡°You gotta fight her illusions¡­¡±


    ¡°Nope, only an Unending can make telepathic contact with another Unending. So my brain¡¯s all fine, Felix Apollo Pagonis.¡± Orpheus¡¯ voice was an echoey smear now. ¡°But there must¡¯ve been something wrong with yours. I¡¯m surprised you never picked up on any of the signs.¡±


    A blue chain wrapped around the Winter Solstice and yanked it out of Felix¡¯s grip.


    ¡°No¡­¡± He stretched out his hand vainly, but only earned another three more shots into his body. Felix wheezed as the paralysing pain began attacking his psychic channels.


    ¡°You snake!¡± Titus lunged at the Necromancer, but Orpheus only smirked in response.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Go home, vigilante.¡±


    A glowing door burst out of the two Solstices in front of Titus, swallowing the man as he charged straight into it.


    Felix¡¯s head spun with both the poison and confusion. It didn¡¯t make sense. Nothing made sense at all. Orpheus wasn¡¯t the type to betray anyone. Why did he do all that? What was he planning to do?


    ¡°That look on your face¡­ You can¡¯t even begin to imagine how satisfying it is.¡± Orpheus leaned in closer with a sadistic grin on his face. ¡°Oh, you poor, gullible man.¡±


    ¡°Why¡­?¡± The only word in Felix¡¯s mind croaked out of his throat.


    ¡°Why? Really? You¡¯re not even going to ask how?¡± Orpheus flicked his hands, and the two books combined into an impossibly shiny golden book. ¡°It was me, Felix Apollo Pagonis. It was me all along.¡±


    Felix wheezed as he tried to draw another burning breath.


    ¡°Janus doesn¡¯t possess the Solstices. He is the Solstices. You never spoke to Janus, foolish man.¡± The Necromancer¡¯s eyelids flickered as the book entered his body as though it was sinking into quicksand. ¡°It was I who plucked you from the jaws of death.¡±


    Orpheus placed his hands on Felix¡¯s head, almost as if he was caressing it. And it might have been just the golden light obscuring his vision, but his body seemed to be disintegrating into golden specks of dust as well.


    ¡°And after all these years of torment¡­¡± The light intensified sharply. ¡°I shall finally have my revenge.¡±


    Felix screamed as his body shattered into a million pieces.


    ~ ~ ~


    His eyes flew open, but there was nothing to see. All was dark. All was still. All was empty. And yet it surrounded him all the same.


    Greater than God, more evil than the devil. Needed by the rich, owned by the poor. Death comes to all who consume it.


    Nothing.


    Felix struggled against the chains of his non-existence vainly. Confusion and betrayal filled his paradoxical form. What the hell did Orpheus do to him?


    ¡°How does it feel to be abandoned? To dangle over the precipice of life and death?¡± A wispy outline of a man materialised in front of him. ¡°To live as I have for eighteen years?¡±


    Felix strained against his restraints once more, trying to reach for his lover. Or ex-lover. Or whatever Orpheus had become. He had to know why. He had to know how. But it was futile. He was spread thinner than the lightest fabric, his form more sparse than the meanest spirit.


    He was one with nothingness, trapped in eternal oblivion.


    ¡°Welcome, my love. To what you gave me all those years ago. Endless suffering.¡±


    A small spark of realisation lit in Felix¡¯s mind. This wasn¡¯t Grand Necromancer Orpheus Caesar. This was the Orpheus he failed. It was the love of his life, snatched away by those spirits eighteen years ago.


    But how did he come back in a different body?


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t save you¡­¡± he whispered. ¡°You fell¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, you let go!¡± Orpheus¡¯ voice thundered around him. ¡°You left me to the mercy of the spirits! Do you know how it feels to have your soul eaten alive? To feel their jaws tear away at you piece by piece? Every moment was unfathomable anguish. They ate away at me for five years!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Orpheus. I should¡¯ve tried harder¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to be sorry! Gods, how I wish I could make you feel even a fraction of my agony, but my grave is all I can offer,¡± Orpheus bellowed. ¡°The spirits tossed me away into this abyss after having their fill. Most would¡¯ve died there, but I held on to life. I only had one reason to live on, and it was enough to sustain me. I swore to make you pay.¡±


    ¡°How did you return to the mortal world?¡±


    ¡°Ten years. I spent ten years rotting in this place until the gods saw fit to release me from this ill-deserved prison,¡± Orpheus said. ¡°The Solstices. As fate would have it, Fausta Pagonis¡¯ overuse of their portals disrupted Purgatory to such a large extent that it created a tiny crack in this place. It wasn¡¯t wide enough for any wandering soul to enter, but I was thin enough to go through and escape.¡±


    ¡°I found myself back in the land of the dead, my form so sparse I was practically invisible to everything else. Can you believe the first thing I wanted to do was return to my body? Guess ten years of silence does some crazy things to you.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t? Why not?¡±


    Orpheus¡¯ faint laughter reverberated in the void. It was clear now that he wasn¡¯t actually present, and was simply projecting his voice into this place.


    ¡°How else could I exact my revenge? To make you suffer, I still needed years of training. Years that you made me waste, rotting away here. Fortunately, I found one version of me powerful enough to practically be a master of the dead. A Necromancer¡¯s most powerful ability is portal magic. But that fool used it to escape his tyrannical lover and wander around Purgatory instead. Well, waste not, want not. So I merged my soul with his and re-entered his body with his portals. He didn¡¯t even get a chance to comprehend what happened.¡±


    ¡°You could¡¯ve had a brand new life. You could¡¯ve started over¡­ You chose to throw that all away?¡±


    ¡°What, and let you go unpunished?¡± Orpheus hissed. ¡°Oh no, no. The past never dies, my love. You¡¯re not getting a clean slate so easily. Not after all the trouble I went through to return to this world. Thankfully, my new world had a machine that allowed me to pinpoint the location of the Solstices scattered across the multiverse. Unfortunately, none of them were in my world, and regular portal magic didn¡¯t allow me to create portals between two different living realms. So I hatched a plan.¡±


    Felix surreptitiously pulled against the fabric of oblivion. He hid his surprise as he came into contact with a tiny hole. The crack is still here¡­


    ¡°I spied on your world, looking for my chance to strike. But even the gods were on my side. Your world was already dying, so I took the chance to halt your ascension into the afterlife and reformed you. And like the gullible man you are, you jumped at the opportunity to redeem your world. It didn¡¯t even take much convincing for you to fall into my trap.¡±


    Realisation dawned on Felix as he recalled the golden light he saw at the brink of his death. His body was never brought back to life. It was his soul that was simply sundered and reformed, much like the Unendings of Fausta¡¯s world. He was an Unending himself as well.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been watching your soul ever since. When Marcia tried to open a portal to Purgatory, I took the chance to redirect it to my world. There were a few hiccups, but I eventually managed to send you to the Winter Solstice. And with the books you¡¯ve collected for me, you gave me the power to access any realm I wish, including this accursed void. My revenge is thus complete.¡±


    ¡°What happens now?¡± Felix asked quietly. ¡°Marcia is still missing. Her world is crumbling. I know I¡¯ve hurt you, and I won¡¯t deny my punishment. But she¡¯s innocent. Her world shouldn¡¯t have to pay for my mistakes. Please, Orpheus. I know you still have a heart, even if I¡¯ve broken it. Please, I¡¯m begging you. Please let me save them.¡±


    Orpheus laughed dryly. ¡°Still so gullible. Didn¡¯t it occur to you that I simply lied about her world getting destroyed just to give you more reason to take the Winter Solstice? And as for Marcia¡­¡±


    ¡°What happened to her?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s happy now.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?!¡±


    ¡°We all have to die someday. And I still have much to do.¡± Orpheus ignored his question, his voice filled with bitterness. ¡°I stand by what I said. Every world is better off without you. It¡¯ll be the last thing I do for the rest of my life, but I am going to rid every world of you.¡±


    Felix gasped silently.


    ¡°Farewell, Felix. My first love. My last enemy. Atone for what you¡¯ve done, and may the gods have no mercy on your soul.¡±


    The faint glowing figure dissipated, leaving Felix to simmer in eternal darkness.

 Chapter 23: Restitution

    It was hopeless.


    He had fucked up. He had utterly, irrevocably fucked everything up. Orpheus had won. His world was going to remain dead. Marcia¡¯s fate was still unknown. And he had made this whole bloody trip all for nothing.


    If he still had hands, he would¡¯ve broken them punching something hard over and over again. He wanted to hurt someone, and he knew who. But he was a pointless target for his frustration. He didn¡¯t fight back, he couldn¡¯t scream.


    He didn¡¯t exist. Not anymore.


    But another part of him wept for him to stay still, to repent for all his mistakes in silence. As much as he didn¡¯t mean to, it was still his fault that Orpheus was tortured in hell for eighteen years. These were the consequences of his actions, no matter how much he regretted them.


    Felix¡¯s anger at himself fizzled out like a firecracker in the rain. This was no time to whine and wail about his circumstances. Marcia still needed him to stand up and pull her out of the quagmire he put her in. He still needed to save himself. He still needed to save him.


    Screw it all.


    He¡¯d have his penance after saving those he could. He¡¯d come back to this place if he had to, after he¡¯d smoothened his footprints on the multiverse. Then he¡¯d settle his debt with his ex and end the pain once and for all.


    Felix churned his body uncomfortably, feeling the nothingness stick to him like a wet shirt. Orpheus¡¯ revenge plan was executed almost to perfection, but it was exceedingly simple. And because of that, he had failed to consider several things.


    The man focused his attention on the tiny crack in this liminal space. It was too small for him to squeeze through, since his soul was not as thin as Orpheus¡¯ back then. But he didn¡¯t need to push himself in.


    Not when there was something on the other end that he could use to pull himself out.


    Exhaustion flooded Felix as he focused harder, grasping for the tiny aspect of his existence imprinted on the glowing flower. He concentrated even harder, feeling his psychic connection to the Euphrosyne Flower strengthening with every passing moment. He was so close¡­


    I have you.


    A pink point of light flashed in the nothingness as Felix pulled hard on the only tether connecting himself to the living world. It blinked a few more times, before soaring through the crack like water being sucked up through a straw.


    Light spun around the man as impossibly complicated patterns danced around him. Mutters buzzed all around; they were practically blaring in his ears, although he somehow still wasn¡¯t able to make out a single word. Felix would¡¯ve screamed if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he still had no mouth.


    The buzzing in his soul intensified as he felt himself lock onto a certain target. It was impossible to see where he was headed, considering he was probably travelling through some kind of celestial dimensional tunnel back to the living world. The colourful choreography of lights quickly meshed themselves into a single bright tunnel of white light as Felix felt the pull on his soul intensify sharply.


    And then there was darkness.


    ~ ~ ~


    Felix couldn¡¯t open his eyes this time, nor could he even move his head. Everything felt cramped for some reason. There was a soft, scraping noise as he willed his body to move, only to realise that he could not feel his muscles at all. He felt extremely weak, although his power was clearly still intact. And so the man focused his mind again, using his telekinesis to move his body instead.


    Wood crashed around him as he made his arms punched upwards. Or at least, that¡¯s what his telekinetic senses had to tell him. He had somehow lost his sight, hearing, and smell at the same time. A small sense of understanding sparked into his mind as he recalled where he had placed the Euphrosyne Flower. Could it be¡­?


    Felix¡¯s hands grasped the air where his head should be, but there was nothing. Bones scraped against each other as his fingers met each other.


    By the gods¡­


    He was possessing the body of Dictator Felix Pagonis.


    Felix focused his power on his body, letting it take the form of biokinesis. His strength gradually returned to him as waves of psionic energy washed over his rotting remains. A tingly feeling pricked against his bones, flesh sprouting over them.


    He felt a lot stronger this time as if his power had doubled. His own power must have been piled on top of Dictator Pagonis¡¯ own power. The familiar surroundings of the Building of Magick Archives greeted him as his sense of sight finally returned to him.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°And thus, I am returned¡­¡± Felix muttered to himself, examining his new body. Not like there was much of a physical difference, though. Apart from the fact that he was three years younger, everything else about his body was identical to his usual self.


    Footsteps echoed, and the man swung around immediately.


    ¡°F¡ª Felix Pagonis?¡±


    He broke into a wide smile. He never thought he¡¯d be glad to see this man, but the relief he felt was undeniable.


    ¡°Titus, thank the gods you¡¯re unharmed¡ª¡±


    ¡°Zombie!¡± Titus jabbed a finger at him in horror, his eyes darting furiously between Felix and the broken casket behind. ¡°Have you come back from the dead to seek revenge? I won¡¯t let you!¡±


    Metal whirred as Titus got into a combat stance.


    ¡°I have lost enough friends today!¡± he yelled. ¡°You want to hurt my people? You have to go through me!¡±


    ¡°Woah, woah! I¡¯m not who you think I am!¡± Felix sputtered. ¡°I¡¯m Felix Pagonis!¡±


    Titus stared at him blankly, keeping his fists raised.


    ¡°B¡ª But I¡¯m not your Felix Pagonis,¡± Felix blurted, only then realising how ridiculous he had just sounded. ¡°I¡¯m just borrowing his body!¡±


    ¡°The fuck does that mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Felix¡¯s mind worked furiously, before settling for a very stretched reference. ¡°You ruined a perfectly good shirt.¡±


    Metal retracted from the cyborg¡¯s head, revealing a very shocked-looking face behind. Titus walked forward hesitantly, his eyes scanning Felix¡¯s body up and down.


    ¡°What happened to you¡ª What happened?¡± he asked.


    Felix cast his eyes downward and recounted everything that took place after Orpheus had forcibly sent Titus back to his own world. Thankfully, Titus remained quiet throughout the trip down his memory lane, which gave Felix some space to sort out his thoughts as well.


    ¡°So what now?¡± Titus asked. ¡°Are you going to confront Orpheus? Because that didn¡¯t exactly work out the last time.¡±


    Felix shook his head. ¡°If there¡¯s something I learnt through this journey, it¡¯s that some things are best left as they are. All I want to do is fix my own mistakes. My grievances with Orpheus. Marcia¡¯s world. Your world.¡±


    ¡°My world?¡±


    Felix closed his eyes, feeling his telepathy spread across the entire country. Unlike himself, Dictator Pagonis¡¯ power developed more in favour towards telepathy instead of telekinesis, which probably explained why he was able to brainwash his country.


    And he already knew what he wanted to do.


    The psychic grunted as he simultaneously lifted the mind programming from the billions of minds he had just touched. He staggered slightly, supporting himself against a nearby wall.


    ¡°Tis¡¯ done¡­¡± he panted slightly.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± Titus stared at him, wide-eyed. Felix ignored him for the moment, projecting his mind into the psychically attuned central guard system.


    ¡°Heed my order, all guards of the region,¡± Felix announced to the technomagick robots. ¡°Persecution of rebels is no longer necessary. All citizens of Surone are to be treated with utmost care and respect from now on.¡±


    The man closed his eyes with a small smile on his lips. ¡°Just¡­ fixed everything¡­ ¡®Other Me¡¯ has done wrong in this world.¡±


    Titus froze for a moment before rushing out to look over the helipad. Felix didn¡¯t follow him out; his telepathy was strong enough to tell him what happened. People looking at each other in slight confusion as their repressed memories returned to them, the technomagick guards starting to tear down their checkpoints which no longer served any purpose¡­


    The era of Dictator Felix Pagonis was finally over.


    ¡°W¡ª Why did you¡­¡± Titus still had a thorough look of disbelief on his face. ¡°This isn¡¯t your world. You could¡¯ve just left us to our fate¡­ Why?¡±


    ¡°For those I can yet save, I will do this much.¡± Felix smiled wryly. ¡°It isn¡¯t a lot, but I hope I have sowed the seeds of rebirth for your world.¡±


    He glanced at the Multiverse Positioning System sitting conspicuously in the centre of the room. Thankfully, the portal they opened was still open, which saved Felix the headache of figuring out how to look for his sister.


    He began to walk towards it¡ª


    ¡°Felix, wait up.¡±


    Felix turned back and shook his head. ¡°Where I must go, you need not follow. Your people need Iron Angel more than ever now. Protect them. Thank you for all you¡¯ve done, Titus Angelo. I¡¯m glad to have met you in this world.¡±


    The two men paused for a brief moment, before clasping their hands together in a firm handshake.


    ¡°And thank you, Felix Pagonis,¡± Titus said firmly. ¡°For showing me hope in this desolate world. You are a good man and a true hero. Take care¡­ friend.¡±


    ¡°Likewise.¡± Felix gave the man one last smile.


    And he stepped into the portal.