《The Terminal Cascades》 Chapter 1 - First Look I opened my eyes. I was standing in the center of a stone courtyard, with towering arches and battlements surrounding it. The noon light of the sun shone brightly, and I felt a wave of warmth beat down on my cold body, and I shivered momentarily. Just a second before I was standing in a freezing blizzard, waiting for my best friend Michael to answer the door that I had knocked on. I had been bored, so I decided on a whim to go and hang out with Michael. It was Christmas vacation anyway. No work for me. As I listened to Michael¡¯s muffled footsteps get louder as he neared the door, I felt a strange feeling wash over me, and I blinked, and then I was here. Suddenly, my three layers (a T-shirt, a sweater and a coat, along with gloves) seemed stifling in the grand heat, and I considered taking them off. I found it incredibly peculiar that I was not panicking in this situation. I had just suddenly appeared in a foreign place, a supernatural event equivalent to teleportation, and I was simply standing calmly without any nerves. I heard someone yell, and I looked towards the source just to see a projectile blur towards me and encompass my entire vision, then a sharp and sudden pang of pain, and the world went black. ______ I opened my eyes. I was standing in the same courtyard as before, the sun still blinding and hot. The same battlements stood upon towering stone walls that surrounded me in every direction. I felt¡­ confused. Then, as if struck by lightning, I suddenly remembered that something fast had stabbed into my skull a second before. I opened my mouth, and screamed at the top of my lungs. I crouched down and held my head with both of my hands, pushing my fingers into my skull. I felt a wave of terror roil through me, and I began to cry from the panic. Out of the corner of my eye, through the tears and snot, I spotted a bright shine, heard a twang, a thunk, felt a violent and sharp pain explode in my skull, and, once more, the world went black. _____ I opened my eyes. Once again, I stood in the stone courtyard surrounded by battlements and towering arches, and I realized that I stood in the equivalent of a medieval castle. I stood there silently, unmoving, my jaw slack and open, drool slipping out past my lips and slowly trailing down towards the floor. It felt like my skull was splitting in two, and my brain was shriveling in on itself. Nauseated, I vomited the contents of my stomach all over the floor, with some of it landing on my coat. I was no longer cold. In fact, I was burning hot, and the blood in my veins pumped faster and faster, and I felt like my heart was about to burst from how much it was pounding. I felt my eyes spin chaotically in their sockets as my head heated up into overdrive. ¡®I¡­ I had been shot in the head with an arrow, twice. I had died, twice! What the fuck! What''s going on!?¡¯ I thought, and I hastily spun around in place, nerves and adrenaline causing me to move in a panic. A sudden flash of light distracted me, and I turned towards its source, spotting a fully armored person, who looked like a knight, letting loose an arrow from a huge longbow held in his grip. I watched, as if in slow motion, as the arrow neared my head, and I screamed. With a loud thud it stabbed through my skull and imbedded itself into my brain. The world turned black. _____ I opened my eyes. ¡®How could that arrow kill me? It hit my head, and as far as I know, arrows can''t break past the skull.¡¯ I thought in confusion. For some reason, I was now eerily calm, as I had been before when I first opened my eyes. ¡®What is happening to me? Am I stuck in a closed timelike curve of some sort?¡¯ I turned slowly in place, observing the polished and slick looking walls that surrounded the courtyard I was in, and realized I had no way to escape. If I could not dodge the arrow that the knight would shoot at me, I had nearly no way that I could think of immediately surviving. ¡®Perhaps I could attempt to negotiate with him?¡¯ I thought. That could work. Maybe. I turned until I spotted his frame, and waved at him in a jolly and relaxed manner. He responded by letting loose the arrow that was lodged in his enormous bow, and standing still as it struck my head, and buried its way into my brain. The world turned black. _____Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. I opened my eyes. I felt a huge amount of emotions roil through me, and I took a deep breath to calm myself down. It seems as if I was stuck in a closed timelike curve, or in simpler terms, a time loop. In the former loop I had been in a state of eerie calm, and that made me rationalize the situation around me. It also made my earlier extreme panic disappear completely from my brain. It was as if I had eaten a pain killer, and it numbed down all of my pain and fears that had formerly controlled me. ¡®This situation is incredibly crazy, and crazily impossible. Or is it? Quantum teleportation is possible, albeit incredibly difficult to procure, especially on this scale. A closed timelike curve is also possible, though if it did happen, I shouldn''t be able to retain any memories of earlier loops at all. Though, if I do think about it more carefully, the closed timelike curve is still only a theory, and has not been proven possible yet, so they could work differently from how we believed them to. Emotion could be pretty easily suppressed using drugs, so that eerie calm is a little less of an impossibi-¡¯ My thought were suddenly cut off, and a sharp pain exploded in my head. The world turned black. _____ I opened my eyes. ¡®This is beginning to become a bit annoying.¡¯ I thought. I was back in the state of eerie calm that I had been in two loops before, and now that my train of thought had been cut off, I easily decided to stop trying to figure out the how and why, and focus on the what. ¡®What do I do now? How do I escape?¡¯ Looking around me, I was standing in the center of a courtyard, with smooth gray stones making up the floor. Surrounding the courtyard were high stone walls covered in arches and battlements, obviously showcasing the fact that I was in some sort of fortress or castle. ¡®Just not any castle on earth.¡¯ I thought glumly. The style of the arches and the fact that they were stacked on top of the walls and battlements proved that I was not on earth, as no castle on earth had architecture like this one. At least, as far as I knew. Though considering the fact that an arrow released from a longbow could break through the skull of a human from forty meters away with relative ease, I decisively decided that I was no longer on earth any longer. Somehow. I heard a clicking sound, and I looked up at the wall in front of me to see the knight with the longbow nock an arrow into the string, and raise the bow in my direction. Acting on instinct, I jumped to the side and rolled on the floor, barely managing to dodge the arrow as I heard it thunk beside me. I hastily stood up and looked at the arrow, noting the fact that it had stuck itself into the stone as if it were made of clay. ¡®Well no wonder it could break through my skull, it has the force of a bullet.¡¯ I thought sarcastically. I looked back up at the knight, and was thoroughly surprised to see that he already had another arrow nocked and ready. ¡°Do not move, intruder!¡± he yelled down at me. I ignored him and dodged to the side once again, hearing the arrow wizz harmlessly above my left shoulder. ¡°You''re gonna have to try harder than that, motherfucker!¡± I yelled back. It seemed I had angered him, as he started to commit a rapid fire assault, leading me to sprint away from him as fast as I could. Suddenly, the world snapped, and twenty armored men appeared around me with gleaming longswords drawn pointed in my direction. Before I could react, the one in front of me stepped forward and slashed sideways, cleanly slicing my head straight off of my shoulders. I stared at my limply standing body as my head fell to the floor, and then the world turned black. _____ I opened my eyes. ¡®Now they can teleport!?¡¯ I thought angrily. This situation was beginning to feel a little hopeless. How could I escape from a courtyard that was enclosed in all directions by tall sleek stone walls, while teleporting psychopaths tried to kill me? Is it even possible? I let out a deep sigh of exasperation. ¡®Alright, think logically. If these guys could teleport, why didn¡¯t the archer guy on the wall do so? He could have simply teleported down to me and killed me in a second. Why shoot from a distance? I will assume that that means that he couldn¡¯t teleport. Considering that fact, why would they build a courtyard in the middle of a large establishment containing soldiers, when only the ones who could teleport would be able to enter it? Alright, let¡¯s just assume that this courtyard is used for training, to keep it simple. In that case, I could assume that it might only be reserved as a training facility for the ones who had the ability to teleport, or fly or whatever. But then, why would a normal soldier stand guard on the wall? Someone with average aim, shooting with a longbow, wouldn¡¯t be able to stop a superhuman teleporting warrior from invading the courtyard. That must mean that the super humans aren¡¯t the only ones who use the courtyard, and that normal soldiers use it for training too. If that is the case, then there has to be a normal entrance and exit in this place. I just have to find it.¡¯ Looking around, all of the walls looked the same. They were a deep gray, with a sleek, smooth looking surface that had hardly any large indentations apparent within them. The only ones that were easily visible were the crease lines between the stones, and even those were hardly noticeable. So a door would be a shining bright light in the dark, yet I still couldn¡¯t find one. ¡®What the hell? Is leaving this place some kind of test or something?¡¯ I thought, annoyed. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something. There was a bump on the wall, barely noticeable, that almost seemed to blend in with the rest of the wall, sorta like it was camouflaged. ¡®Is that¡­ a button?¡¯ My vision popped, and exploded. Then the world turned black. _____ I opened my eyes. ¡°Well, that was rude.¡± I muttered under my breath. I was back in the state of deep calm that I had been in two loops prior, and I was beginning to see a pattern. Every two loops or so, I seemed to attain this odd calm, and that meant that the loops were working based on a constant pattern of mathematical changes. That was good to know. Now, onto the current topic. ¡®Why do they have a nearly invisible button randomly placed in the middle of a wall?¡¯ I thought in confusion. Looking around, I managed to spot the button again; it was placed on the wall behind me, and was positioned at the height of the average person back on earth, being about five feet off of the ground. ¡®Why do I even know that? I must have searched it up at one point due to curiosity.¡¯ I slowly walked towards it, and as I neared, I noticed some odd details. The button was triangular in shape, and instead of protruding from the wall directly, it seemed to almost have been pushed through the wall, and was more akin to a bump. If not for the slight crease surrounding its circumference, I wouldn''t have thought of it as a button at all. How weird. ¡®This adds to the proof that I am no longer on planet Earth.¡¯ I thought glumly. I heard a soft click from behind, and knew that the archer had nocked the arrow into his bow. Quickly, I slapped my hand onto the button, feeling it slowly snap down under the force of my hand, and then I felt a sudden and weird vibration course through my body. Surprised, I stepped back from the wall, barely managing to dodge the arrow that flew in front of my face and landed on the floor beside me, and looked down at my hand. A bright blue liquid pulsed lightly from underneath my skin, directly where I had clicked the button. As I stared wide eyed at my hand, the world around me seemed to twist and twirl, flowing in wild shapes and pressing down on my brain. I felt my mouth open and my voice scream, yet I heard only silence. The world twisted and warped, and then collapsed in on itself, and with a snap, the world turned black. _____ Chapter 2 - Cell Groggily, I opened my eyes. A dark gray ceiling welcomed me. I was lying on my back, on a cold, hard floor, and as I slowly sat up I felt small pebbles shuffle uncomfortably from beneath me. ¡°Where am I?¡± I asked aloud. ¡°In a cell.¡± A deep voice responded from behind me. Hastily, I jumped up and spun around to face the owner of the voice, yet saw only darkness. ¡°Who just said that!¡± I yelled into the darkness. No reply. Taking a step back, I raised my arms in front of my head and balled my hands into fists, ready for a fight. In the darkness, I heard a low groan and creak, and the shuffling of feet moving around. ¡°Sorry, I forgot to light the candle.¡± The voice said. I tensed, and clenched my toes to the floor to keep myself steady. ¡®Come to think of it, why am I barefoot? Where did my shoes go?¡¯ I thought, a feeling of dread growing within me. ¡®If I died earlier, why am I not back in the courtyard?¡¯ The shuffling sounds in the darkness grew louder, and then stopped. Suddenly, a bright orange light bloomed in the darkness, and I could see the other side of the room clearly. In front of me were two large bunk beds standing parallel to each other on each end of the room, with foundations made of a polished dark wood, with tan coloured mattresses and tan coloured pillows filling them. A form, reminiscent of a man, lay prone on the top bed on the left, and in between the beds, a tall man stood holding a platter with a lit candle in his left hand and a match in his right. As I stared at him closer, I gasped lightly, and lowered my arms to my sides. His face was a mess of reddened and twisted flesh that folded in on itself, and his eyes were small black beads that stared at me from within deep swaths of rumpled skin. Where his lips were supposed to be, instead were two large pink swells of flesh, with teeth sticking out of them at different angles. His ears were flattened and stuck to the sides of his skull, and a slight amount of black hair lay slickly stamped to the top of his scalp. I stumbled backwards a few steps more, and felt my body bump against what felt like large metal bars held sideways behind me. ¡°W-what happened to you?¡± I asked the man, careful not to speak too loudly. ¡°Burn.¡± He answered, his lips parting slowly and then closing as he spoke. It looked painful. ¡°Burn¡­ how?¡± I asked in response. ¡°Duke Craitor tortured me to find out my use for my master. He failed, and decided to lock me here to rot for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°Duke Craitor?¡± ¡°The lord of this castle. Do you not know? From what I heard, you teleported into the ascension courtyard and then immediately collapsed on the floor, spasming like an eel on land. Did you perhaps fail a spell and end up here by accident? How else would you appear here with no knowledge of who owned the place? Are you an idiot?¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I looked at the man as he finished talking, noticing his attire that consisted of ripped and dirty rags, and then looked up that the other man who laid motionless on the bed, and seemed to be wearing much grander clothes of many colours, made of cotton or silk, and adorned with golden lines at the edges that shined in the glow of the candlelight. ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± I asked, motioning with my hand towards the man on the bed. The man with the candle turned to look at where I was motioning, and then let out a deep sigh. ¡°Stoney¡¯s his name, or at least, is how he introduced himself. He¡¯s probably some lost noble or something. Anyways, what''s your deal? Why are you here?¡± He looked at me with his small beady eyes, and I saw a glimmer of something move in them. What the hell, does he have parasites in his eyes or something? ¡°Before I tell you anything, I will have to know your name, so that I will have a way of addressing you.¡± I responded absentmindedly, looking carefully for worms in his eyeballs. ¡°Ah, yes, I apologise for the delay, my name is Clarence.¡± ¡°Clarence?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Um, you''re really named Clarence?¡± ¡°Indeed, why would I not be?¡± ¡°It-its just, I didn¡¯t expect¡­¡± ¡°Expect?¡± ¡¯I didn¡¯t think that people in another world would have similar names to people on Earth, especially since the only other two people from here that I know are named Stoney and Craitor.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡°Whatever, doesn¡¯t matter, anyways- can you explain again how I got here?¡± I asked quickly. ¡°Did I not tell you before? You teleported into the fortress, ignoring the wards somehow, and then fell to the floor and started flapping around like a fish. The Cardinals then dragged you to the changing room, stripped you, found nothing of importance on you, then changed you into standard rags and brought you here.¡± I leaned backwards on the bars behind and began to think. ¡®So, for some reason, the second the loop began I started having a seizure or something on the floor, and that led them to- for some reason, not kill me, and instead bring me to a holding cell. They also stripped me of my belongings, which included all of my winter clothes and my phone, which- for some reason, they deemed useless. Also, in the last loop, I had clicked that weird button, and instead of opening a doorway out of there, I had gotten a light blue substance injected into me, which also managed to kill me, and then give me a seizure. This is becoming really confusing.¡¯ ¡°Uh, hello? Are you all good there?¡± Clarence asked, breaking me out of my reverie. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m all fine, I was just wondering¡­ what did you call that courtyard before? The ascension courtyard, or something? What¡¯s that?¡± Clarence stared at me with what looked like an amused expression. ¡°You do not know what an ascension courtyard is? Were you raised in the mountains?¡± He asked lightly. ¡°Just humour me.¡± I replied impatiently. ¡°It is where mortals are given the chance to ascend to power, and reach the rank of Cardinal. The blood of a Predom is injected into them and if their physical foundation is strong enough, they will ascend. If not, they die. Yet you should know that already, as you are obviously a Cardinal yourself- since you teleported into the castle in the first place, and even got past the wards. Even pure blooded Cardinals should know this stuff. Are you from a barbarian clan of the west?¡± ¡®Alright, so I guess I know what people with powers in this world are called. Cardinals. What a dumb name for a superhuman.¡¯ ¡°I am not a barbarian, I think I just somehow managed to lose my memory. The first thing I remember is waking up in this cell.¡± I answered, lying through my teeth. ¡°Ah, memory magic, twisted thing that is. In fact, Stoney here was shot up with that stuff too.¡± Clarence said, pointing towards Stoney with a shaky finger. I looked up at Stoney as he slept. Was that guy even alive? He wasn¡¯t moving at all. Turning to look back at Clarence, I spotted a shift under his eyeballs once more, and noticed for the first time that he had no pupils, only a sclera and iris. ¡°I am surprised. I expected you to be irked by my appearance and believe me wicked. Yet you showed no signs of disgust, only surprise and pity.¡± He said carefully, as if the words were difficult to share. ¡°Why would I be disgusted? I don¡¯t judge people based on their appearance.¡± I replied heatedly. He looked down at the candle he held in his hand. A moment of silence elapsed. ¡°You would be the first.¡± He muttered, just loud enough for me to hear. We stood there in silence for a few moments, before a movement in my peripheral vision caught my eye. Stoney had moved. Me and Clarence stared at him as Stoney sat up on his bed and stretched his arms up into the ceiling, pushing against it. ¡°Is it morning yet?¡± He asked with a yawn. Chapter 3 - Information ¡°Yes.¡± Clarence said to Stoney as he continued to stretch, eventually losing his balance and falling backwards on the bed. He slowly sat back up to a sitting position and then turned his head to look around the room. Spotting me, his face broke out in a huge smile. ¡°I see we have a guest! What¡¯s your name, friend, mine''s Stoney!¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, hello, my name is Jared Spurrier. I just got here.¡± ¡°I can see that! And spurrier? What a weird name! What¡¯s a spurrier anyway?¡± ¡°It is someone who makes spurs.¡± ¡°Spurs?¡± ¡°They are metal devices used on horses¡­¡± I paused. ¡®How do I know what a spurrier is? My parents never told me what the name meant and I never looked it up. I wasn¡¯t taught about it at school either. Also, how did I know that an arrow can¡¯t pierce a human skull? I never trained in archery. And the closed timelike curve¡­ How do I know these things? Is it part of my weird power?¡¯ ¡°Hey- Jared, you alright? You kinda spaced out there.¡± Stoney said to me in a loud voice, breaking me from my train of thought. ¡°Oh yeah, sorry, I just¡­ thought of something interesting, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Interesting? What was it, I wanna know!¡± Stoney responded excitedly. ¡®This guy is way too excited for his own good. Can¡¯t he just calm down a little?¡¯ I thought in annoyance. Keeping my face neutral, I just shrugged my shoulders in response, causing him to pout. ¡®Seriously? Did he actually just pout?¡¯ ¡°Well¡­ Jared, I would still be interested in knowing how you managed to break past the wards.¡± Clarence said suddenly. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know if you remember, but I have amnesia, so I don¡¯t remember anything, including how I got here. And can you remind me again what wards are?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, hmm¡­ Apologies, I forgot. You must be quite confused yourself. Well, worry not, me and Stoney here will aid you in the recovery of your memory.¡± Clarence replied. ''Thanks, but I still don''t know what wards are.'' I thought with a bit of exasperation. ¡°Wait, you got memory stabbed too?! No way, I¡¯m exactly the same! That¡¯s crazy, three people in the same cell, and two of them don¡¯t even know themselves! What a coincidence!¡± Stoney yelled. ¡®This guy needs a volume button.¡¯ I thought, thoroughly annoyed. Ignoring Stoney, I turned back to Clarence and looked into his eyes again, searching for the worms that I had spotted before. ¡°Is there something on my face?¡± Clarence asked nervously. ¡°No no, it¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯ve been wondering, how did you know what happened to me outside of the cell? Weren¡¯t you in here the whole time?¡± I watched as his eyelids twitched slightly, and he gave me what seemed to be a smile, though I couldn¡¯t quite tell because of his warped flesh. ¡°The guard standing outside the bars told me.¡± I turned around and looked at the thick metal bars that stood between me and a long gray hallway covered in darkness. ¡°What guard?¡± ¡°He comes around every so often to check on us. Real big fella.¡± Stoney replied.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I turned back to face the two cellmates and studied each of them carefully. ¡®Clarence was likely lying about the guard telling him. He also stated that it was morning, even though we have no windows and there is no clock on the wall. Something else is going on here.¡¯ ¡°Why don¡¯t you go sit on your bed? We reserved the one on the right for any new cellmates that arrive. Get comfortable.¡± Clarence said. I nodded, and slowly walked towards the bottom bed on the right side of the room. I didn¡¯t look away from Clarence''s eyes as I walked. After sitting down, Clarence carefully set down the candle on the tray on the floor between us, and sat down on the bed below Stoney. ¡°Do you have any more questions?¡± Clarence asked. I pondered for a moment. ¡°Hmm¡­ yes. You said earlier that the ascension courtyard makes people ascend to the rank of Cardinal, and that to do so you have to be injected by someone named Predom so you can get their blood, right?¡± ¡°Not quite. The blood of someone at the rank of Predom is injected into you, not someone named ¡®Predom¡¯. That would be silly.¡± ¡®I see. So Predom is a rank above Cardinal.¡¯ I thought. ¡°Does the ascension process include clicking a weird looking button?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, you are injected the blood via a specialized button that transfers it directly into your bloodstream. I see you are remembering some things now, eh?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess so.¡± ¡®Even if some of this stuff is common knowledge in this world, I still feel that this guy knows a bit too much detail about things. I¡¯m guessing that he also went through an ascension thingie, or at least observed one.¡¯ ¡°Oh really? I never knew that. I always thought they just made you drink their blood or something. Though, I wouldn¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never been to one.¡± Stoney said. ¡®Spot on.¡¯ ¡°Ah, yes- well, I was lucky enough to see one as a young child, though I do not quite remember where or when.¡± Clarence said. A white line shimmied under his eyes for a second and then disappeared. ¡®That weird eye parasite of his is a tell. He probably just lied. Also, doesn¡¯t this mean that I also went through an ascension thingie? I clicked a weird button and a glowy blue liquid entered my body. Isn¡¯t that the same thing that he talked about? I don¡¯t particularly feel any different.¡¯ ¡°So, ascending basically makes you into a wizard? I mean, teleportation is possible, so doesn¡¯t that mean it gives people the ability to use magic?¡± ¡°Yes, though I am not quite sure what a wizard is.¡± ¡®Alright, so to summarize, I¡¯m in a fantasy world and I¡¯m stuck in a time loop. In some of the loops I feel a weird calm feeling and in others I¡¯m normal. I also somehow managed to get past some ward things when I entered, which made everyone want to kill me. Oh, and how could I forget that I got injected with somebody¡¯s blood and now I¡¯m a wizard. Just great.¡¯ I thought glumly. Suddenly, the world snapped, and a man clad in black armour from head to toe popped into reality in front of me. ¡°Your time is up, intruder, no more chit-chat.¡± The man said in a gravelly voice, before grabbing my arm. Before I could react, the world around me twisted, and I was standing in a gray stoned hallway in front of a large red door, the armored man still grabbing my arm. He let go of my arm and then pushed me into the door, and instead of feeling the pain of impact, I phased through the door as if it wasn''t there and fell down onto the floor beyond it. Luckily, I caught myself with my hands before my head could hit the floor. I felt a sudden light pain and knew that my hands were scraped. I quickly stumbled back to my feet and ran back to phase through the red door again, only to bump into it painfully. Rubbing my nose, I looked at the red door in confusion, not understanding what was going on. ¡®How did that door turn from non-solid to solid? That should be impossible.¡¯ I thought. ¡°Come here.¡± A smooth voice called out from behind me. Suddenly, I felt my center of mass shift, and I was yanked backwards through the air, flying across the room. I landed hard on my back and felt the air get knocked out of my lungs. For a moment, I saw stars. Then, as my vision cleared up, a face, immaculate in its features, slowly appeared in front of me. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Craitor, and I am the ruler of this small fortress.¡± Said Craitor. ¡°Uh, it¡¯s nice to meet you too? My name is-!¡± I was interrupted by my body being yanked into the air once more and righted vertically, facing Craitor. Now that I got a better look at him, he really did look handsome. His face was perfectly carved, and his shimmering blonde hair seemed to glow all on its own. His eyes, red in color, stared at me intently, and as I looked more carefully, I noticed a slight line of white move beneath them. ¡®What the hell?! How many people have worms in their eyes?!¡¯ I thought incredulously. His eyes narrowed. ¡°It seems you have noticed my Claerture, and Clarence¡¯s as well. How intriguing. Now, tell me, why did you invade my establishment? What is your purpose?¡± A bead of sweat fell off my chin. ¡®When did this room get so hot?¡¯ ¡°Answer me, now, or you will receive punishment for your actions.¡± ¡°I- I- I don¡¯t know! I just woke up here, I swear, I have no idea what¡¯s going on!¡± His eyes narrowed further, until they were just slits. ¡°Lack of honesty leads to punishment, boy, and punishment leads to death!¡± In front of my eyes, a ball of red flame suddenly popped into existence, and engulfed my face. Pain, beyond what I have ever felt before, bloomed throughout my brain, and I felt my vision sear white. I screamed, yet heard nothing, as my everything turned to pain. Bright red hot and scorching, my world was a roaring fire. I felt skin drip off of my face, and my bones met open air. The world warped, and turned black. Chapter 4 - Second ascension I opened my eyes. I was back in the courtyard of ascension, or ascension courtyard (whatever it was called), with both my life and face intact. I felt my body shiver slightly. Having my face melted off was not the most pleasant of experiences, to say the least. ¡®That guy was scary and scarily powerful. Is that the power of a Predom? I couldn¡¯t do anything against him.¡¯ I thought in fear and amazement. ¡¯I do not want to meet that guy ever again.¡¯ I looked around, spotting the soldier on the wall, his giant bow nocked and ready, pointed in my direction. ¡®I do not want to be impaled by that arrow again either.¡¯ Looking at his fingers, I saw them twitch ever so slightly, and on instinct, I jumped back. The arrow landed with a sharp thunk at my feet, impaling the stone floor and sending small bits of debris into my eyes. ¡°Do not move, intruder!¡± The soldier yelled down at me. Ignoring him, I rubbed my eyes and tried to calculate the best course of action. ¡®After a few more shots the Cardinals will arrive and surround me, killing me without a doubt. I need a way to survive, and to do that I have to make that situation not occur. Judging by the fact that they teleported directly in a way to surround me, I would wager a guess that they somehow know my direct location in space. If so, there is no possible way for me to escape their encirclement. The only way for me to survive is to either fight back and win, or do what happened last time and fall unconscious. I would rather not be stuck in a cell waiting to be slaughtered, so falling unconscious is not an option. So, the only option is to fight back against them. But how? They have numbers and proper gear, and superpowers to boot. I also supposedly have superpowers, but I don¡¯t know how to use them. Winning against them in a fight seems incredibly unlikely.¡¯ Jumping backwards to dodge another arrow shot at me from the soldier, I looked around the courtyard for more options. ¡®If I stand against a wall they wouldn¡¯t be able to surround me on all sides and I would have a slightly higher chance of winning. But I would still die. The only thing I can think of is somehow managing to figure out how to use magic before they arrive and teleporting myself out of here. Even though mastering teleportation in a few seconds feels impossible, I would never know unless I gave it a shot.¡¯ Deciding on a strategy, I ran towards the closest wall to me (the one on my left) and tried to get the magic within me to work. It wasn¡¯t working. ¡®Doing magic is harder than I expected.¡¯ I thought as I reached the wall. Suddenly, the world snapped, and twenty armored men appeared around me in a half-circle, each of them holding a longsword pointed in my direction. I closed my eyes as the closest one to me took a step forward. With a slick slice, I felt my head get cleanly severed from my body, and the world turned black. ____ I opened my eyes. I was, once more, standing alive and well in the center of the courtyard.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Well, that didn¡¯t work.¡± I said aloud. ¡®Attempting to beat them in battle seems to be an exercise in futility. I need another solution.¡¯ I thought to myself. I looked up at the wall where the soldier stood, raising his loaded bow in my direction. ¡®I just realized, this is the fourth loop that I am stuck in a weird state of calm. Why is that? Also, I was able to easily dodge that arrow in the last loop, while in all the others, doing so was a difficult task. Is that because of the magic blood stuff injected into me?¡¯ I dodged backwards as the soldier released the arrow, watching as it blurred through the air before thudding into the ground in front of my feet, causing small bits of debris to fly towards my face. This time, I held a hand in front of my face, protecting my eyes from being blinded. ¡°Do not move, intruder!¡± The soldier yelled down at me. I ignored him once more. ¡®The only way to win this fight is to fight fire with fire. I need to be able to use magic. But how? They are obviously more experienced than me, and also seem to have more magic power than me. Experience can be gained through trial and error, the only thing missing is magic power. How do I gain more magic?¡¯ I scoured the courtyard, before spotting the weirdly shaped button that had injected me with the blood of Duke Craitor. ¡®Aha, it¡¯s obvious. I just need to press the button again and gain more magic blood. Didn¡¯t Clarence talk about pure bloods? It¡¯s obvious that if all of your blood is the weird magic type, then you are able to use magic more easily. I¡¯m also guessing that only pure bloods are able to advance beyond Cardinal, since Clarence said that to become a Cardinal you need to be injected with the blood of a Predom, not Cardinal, and if so, it means that to properly become a Cardinal you can¡¯t just have random Cardinal blood injected within you, you need Predom blood, meaning you need it of a higher purity and quality. Being at the higher rank of Predom probably gives the higher quality, and being a pure blood gives the purity. Of course, I¡¯m just guessing, I can¡¯t know for sure without learning more about it. And what better way to learn than first hand experience?¡¯ I moved to the left, dodging another arrow from the soldier, and then ran towards the button on the wall. As I reached it, the world snapped, and the Cardinals appeared around me. Moving quickly, I slapped my right hand onto the button, just in time for the same Cardinal from before to swing his sword through my neck. I felt a sharp pain, and the world turned black. ____ I opened my eyes. I was standing in the center of the courtyard, my head back on my shoulders. I felt a tickling sensation and looked down at my right hand. In the center of my palm I saw a light blue liquid squirm beneath the skin. Suddenly, my brain felt like it was melting and curling in on itself, and my flesh felt as if it were being bitten up by millions of ants. I screamed and fell to the floor, rolling around to try to ease the pain. After a few seconds, the pain started to subside, and I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. Suddenly, my head was hit hard by a sharp impact, and the world turned black. ____ I opened my eyes. I was back in the courtyard, my head free of any injury. ¡®I don¡¯t get it. Why didn¡¯t I fall unconscious like last time I was injected? Is it because I already had some of the magic blood within me? Whatever the case, the pain I felt from that was nearly on par with the pain of the face melting death. Thus, I¡¯m not sure if I want to do that again, cause that was terrible. I just hope that it was worth it.¡¯ I thought. I flexed my fingers. I sure didn¡¯t feel any different. I looked up at the soldier on the wall and saw him release the arrow from his giant bow. Surprisingly, I was able to track the arrow with my eyes as it moved through the air. It wasn¡¯t slow by any means, but it wasn¡¯t a blur anymore. I jumped backwards slightly and watched it as it landed with a thud in front of my feet, the impact causing small bits of debris to fly towards my face. I was able to see every small piece of rock flying towards me, and I jumped backwards again, dodging the debris completely. ¡®What the heck, my perception is insane now. I can also move at higher speeds. I guess the second injection really did work.¡¯ I looked back up at the soldier on the wall as he stared at me open mouthed, a tinge of fear flitting across his features. Suddenly, I felt a sort of heat begin to grow within me, waiting to be released. Deciding to see what would happen, I let it. Something blue and bright shot out of my hand at an incredibly high speed and hit the soldier on the wall right in the chest. He looked down at the hole in his stomach, his face crumpling into a cloddish frown. I watched as he fell forward off the wall, landing with a light thud on the ground a few meters in front of me. ¡®What the fuck! Did I just kill that guy!¡¯ I thought in alarm. Suddenly, the world snapped, and the twenty Cardinals appeared around me. ¡°What did you do?¡± The one closest to me asked in an aggressive tone, raising his sword and pointing it at my neck. Chapter 5 - Fighting Back ¡®What did I do?¡¯ I thought in astonishment. Somehow, I had killed the guard on the wall¡­ with magic. ¡®Magic!¡¯ ¡°You- you monster! You killed Jerard! I will rip you to shreds!¡± The Cardinal with his sword pointed at my neck yelled. With a look of pure unrefined fury on his face, the Cardinal leapt forward, stabbing his sword towards my Adam¡¯s apple. I looked at him as he did so, noting the fact that he moved almost comically slow, and I took a step back, dodging his attack completely. ¡®This guy is moving really slowly. Did getting injected a second time give me physical abilities beyond that of a Cardinal?¡¯ I thought in wonder. Suddenly, I felt a sharp burst of pain, and I looked down at my chest to see a blade covered in blood protruding out of it. ¡°Fool.¡± A sleek voice said from behind me. ¡°The man who killed my brother was a dullard.¡± The Cardinal in front of me said. ¡°How disappointing.¡± I closed my eyes as his blade sliced my neck cleanly in half. The world turned black. _____ I opened my eyes. I was standing in the middle of the courtyard, again. ¡®You have to be kidding me. I forgot that I was encircled. Even if I dodge one guy, there are three more behind me. How annoying.¡¯ I thought in irritation. I looked up at Jerard as he was getting ready to skewer me with an arrow. ¡®Now that I think about it, I didn¡¯t feel any guilt after killing that guy. Well, I guess it makes sense since he did kill me many times. But still, the fact that I killed another human being and didn¡¯t feel a thing, is odd. Is it because of this weird feeling of calm that I¡¯m stuck in? Well, regardless, I¡¯m still gonna kill Jerard again, cause he deserves it.¡¯ I watched as he let loose his arrow in my direction, and I spotted a hint of a grin shadowed on his features as he did so, something that I had never noticed before. ¡®Psychopath.¡¯ Tracking the arrow with my eyes, I raised my hand in front of my face and yanked it out of the air. ¡®How do you like that?¡¯ I thought smugly as I watched Jerard¡¯s jaw drop to the floor. ¡°A-a Predom!¡± He yelled, and then ducked down behind the battlements. I stood there in silence. It was almost eerie, how this courtyard that was always filled with action, was now still. It felt¡­ almost relieving.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Abruptly, the world snapped, and the twenty Cardinals appeared around me. Moving swiftly, I stabbed the arrow in my hand into the eye-slits of the helmet on the Cardinal in front of me, feeling it slide through his skull easily. Not waiting to see him fall, I turned around and released the heat that I had felt inside of me at the Cardinal who had stabbed me in the back in the last loop. A bright blue light shot out of my hand and barreled into the Cardinal, causing him to fly backwards through the air. The Cardinal to my right swung his sword towards my chest and I jumped to the side, dodging it by a hair. Another Cardinal stabbed his sword at my leg, lodging it deep in my calf. Wincing in pain I punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the floor from the impact and my hand to bleed from punching his metal helm. Two more Cardinals both sliced their swords into each of my arms, and I began to see spots of darkness in my vision. With a roar, I dislodged my leg from the sword caught in it and kicked the Cardinal standing directly behind me. I heard him stumble backwards and gasp, and I spun around to face him. All of the sudden I felt my vision wobble, and then tilt, and the world flew upwards around me. ¡°Never turn your back to your opponent.¡± a voice said from above me, and the world turned black. ____ I opened my eyes. Once again, I was standing in the center of the stone courtyard, my body very much alive. ¡°Damnit!¡± I yelled aloud. ¡®I can''t seem to beat them in a fight. They are better trained than me, and their ability lets them surround me from every angle every time. The only time it didn''t was when I was backed up against a wall. But that doesn''t change anything, since I would still die. I was more physically strong than them, and I could move far faster. Yet that made no difference when every direction was filled with a killing blade. Fighting them as I am right now is useless, I need even more power. I need to get an injection from that button again.¡¯ I thought. Scouring the walls for it, I found the button again and sprinted for it. Behind me, I heard an arrow whizzing through the air and then thudding into the ground. I reached the button a second later, and without a moment of hesitation I slammed my right hand onto it. I heard a snap, and I smiled in victory. I raised my hand to my face, expecting to see the weird blue blood swimming within it, and was surprised to see nothing there. ¡°What the heck?¡± I said in confusion. ¡®Did it not work?¡¯ Abruptly, the world snapped, and the Cardinals appeared around me in a half circle. I ignored them, and slammed my hand onto the button once more. Again, I heard a snap, and I looked at my palm to see it empty of any inconsistencies. ¡°Why is it not working?!¡± I yelled in annoyance. ¡°It does not work due to you being a fool.¡± the Cardinal behind me said. I turned around and punched at the same time, hoping to teach the hateful man a lesson. Instead, my fist was pushed into the tip of the man¡¯s blade, my arm sliced straight down the middle. ¡°Fools like you are always greedy for more power. Only the witted live long.¡± I felt something impact the side of my skull, and the world turned black. ____ I opened my eyes. Again, for the sixteenth time, I found myself standing in the center of the stone courtyard within Duke Craitor¡¯s fortress. ¡®When will this time loop end?¡¯ I thought. ¡®Will it end when I escape the fortress? Or will it end when I kill the Duke? I don''t know. All I know is that I don''t want to be here, stuck in a stone fortress of eternal death, where my end is constantly imminent. I just want to be at home, living my normal life, without repeatedly having to stand at death''s door in a foreign world. Is that too much to ask for? What did I do to deserve this? Again, I don''t know. What I do know is that the only way to find out how to escape this loop is to try something different. And the only loop that was majorly different was the one where I was stuck in the cell with Stoney and Clarence. I just need to get that to happen again.¡¯ I looked up at Jerard as he knocked the arrow into his bow. ¡®I just need to pretend to have a seizure, right?¡¯ I thought. I watched as his arrow flew towards me, and as slowly as I could, I positioned my body to stand slightly more to the right. The arrow clipped the side of my head and landed on the ground behind me. I felt warm blood trickle from the wound, and I began to scream, falling to the floor. I held my head in my hands and shook my body haphazardly. I heard another arrow thud beside me, and then I felt the world snap, and I knew that the Cardinals had arrived. I continued to make my body spasm uncontrollably, hoping that they would believe that I was having a seizure. ¡°Why are you pretending to be weak? Are you a fool?¡± a voice asked from above me. ¡®Damnit.¡¯ I felt a sharp pain blossom in my skull, and the world turned black. Chapter 6 - In The Cell Again I opened my eyes. I was standing in the center of the stone courtyard, again. ¡®So it turns out that my acting skills were not good enough to fool them. But still, that one guy is way too critical of me, every time! I mean, every single loop he has something rude to say, and everything I do seems to make him believe that I am a fool. I really want that guy dead. He¡¯s the first guy I¡¯m gonna kill when I get powerful enough to get out of here.¡¯ I thought heatedly. I looked up at Jerard as he prepared to have my skull split open, and I contemplated what to do next. ¡®I can try to pretend to have a seizure again, though with my acting skills, I doubt that would work. Fighting is a no-go either, since I am not strong enough to win against them. I¡¯ll have to figure out another way to get sent to the cell. Well, the reason that they brought me to the cell in the first place seems to be because they believed at the time that I was weak. If so, then I just need to figure out a way to make them believe that I am weak.¡¯ I looked at Jerard¡¯s face as he released the arrow from his bow, and once again I noticed a light grin forming on his lips. Just before the arrow reached me, I stumbled backwards, as if surprised, and the arrow landed harmlessly in front of my feet with a thunk. ¡°Do not move, intruder!¡± Jerard yelled down at me. I ignored him. After stumbling away from two more arrows, the world snapped, and the Cardinals finally arrived. The Cardinal that was in front of me, (who was Jerard¡¯s brother if I remembered correctly) took a step forward and swung his sword towards my head. Thinking quickly, I dropped down onto my knees, dodging the strike from Cardinal, and bowed my head towards him. ¡°I beg you, please, spare my life.¡± I said in the most whimpering tone I could muster. ¡°And why should I do that?¡± The man growled, pointing his sword at my head. ¡°I-I-I¡¯m innocent! I swear! I-I don¡¯t know how I got here! I-I was just testing m-my ability w-when-!¡± Suddenly, the Cardinal lightly stabbed the tip of his blade into my forehead, drawing blood. ¡°And why shall I believe you?¡± He asked, stabbing my forehead again. I winced. ¡°I-I, please- j-just spare me! I swear, I-I¡¯ll do anything!¡± ¡°Anything?¡± ¡°Y-yes! Anything!¡± The Cardinal crouched down and looked me straight in the eyes, studying my reaction. I trembled, and didn¡¯t return his gaze, letting my eyes wander. ¡°¡­So you say.¡± He muttered. The man stood back up and looked around at his comrades. Picking a particularly stout one, he called him over, and then pointed at me. ¡°Take that fool away to the dungeon. He will be set for direct interrogation later.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Melious!¡± The stout Cardinal then grabbed my arm with a tight grip. I looked upwards from my crouching position just in time for the world to twist, and then we were in the cell. ¡°No funny business. Do you understand, intruder?¡± He asked gruffly. ¡°Y-yes Sir!¡± ¡°Good.¡± The world snapped, and the Cardinal disappeared. ¡®Ha, looks like I fooled them. I knew my acting skills weren¡¯t that terrible.¡¯ I thought smugly. I looked around the room, noticing that within the darkness I couldn¡¯t see anything at all. ¡®No wonder I was so scared the first time I was here.¡¯ Abruptly, I heard a light groan and the sound of feet shuffling around from the dark side of the cell. ¡°Are you a new cell mate? I am sorry, I forgot to light the candle.¡± A deep voice said from the darkness. I waited patiently as Clarence lit the candle on the tray, and then raised it upwards, illuminating the room in a bright orange glow. ¡®Now that I think about it, he didn¡¯t use a match. How did he light the candle?¡¯ I thought curiously. ¡°Ah, now I can see you. Hello there young man, my name is Clarence. Might I inquire what yours may be?¡± ¡°Yes, hello, my name is Jared Spurrier.¡± I replied. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°I see. An odd name that is. Are you not from around these parts?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I lost my memory, and the only thing I remember is waking up in a courtyard before being escorted here. Where is this anyway?¡± ¡°You are in Duke Craitor¡¯s fortress, in the region of Phalia, near the border. Are you sure you have no recollection of anything before today?¡± ¡°Yes, I am sure.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see, well that is quite unfortunate. The man sleeping beside me on this cot- Stoney is his name- also lost the memories of his life before he got here. I wonder if perhaps you two are related in some way. After all, you both lost your memory at similar times, and ended up in the same cell. It could also be just a coincidence. What do you think?¡± ¡°Coincidence.¡± ¡°I see.¡± We stood there in an awkward silence for a few seconds. ¡°I¡­ have a question.¡± I said. ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± Well¡­ I was wondering¡­ maybe you could help jog my memory by telling me some basic things that I may have forgotten, no?¡± ¡°Alright, that sounds fine.¡± Yes, so you see¡­ let¡¯s sit down first yeah? Get comfortable.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I walked towards the bunk bed on the left, and sat down on the bottom mattress. Clarence sat down beside me. ¡°So¡­ I have little bits and pieces floating around here, and I remember small facts and tidbits of basic knowledge, but maybe a booster can help me. Can you perhaps tell me about all of the ranks there are in the ranking system? I know about Cardinal and Predom, but that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ well I only know about one more rank above those ones, that being the rank of Supreme. I have heard rumors of there being a rank above even that, but rumors are baseless anyways. As far as the general populace knows, the highest rank attainable is Supreme, with the only person in our country of Accismus holding that rank being the King.¡± ¡®Accismus? Weird name for a country.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡°And can you tell me more about how the ranks work? How do they portray the fact that someone is more powerful?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, as far as I know, there are two things that you gain upon ascending a rank. Every rank gives you a new ability, with every ability generally being stronger in power the higher the rank you attained it at. You also become physically more powerful every rank, and at the rank of Supreme, I heard that your skin even becomes as tough as steel. Though, once again, that is just a baseless rumor.¡± ¡°And how do you ascend to higher ranks exactly?¡± ¡°Well, the first two ranks are relatively complicated in how they work. To become a Cardinal you have to have some magic blood within you. To become a Predom you have to only have magic blood within you. That is also why some people are born as Predoms, and these people are known as pure bloods. In this day and age, only the nobles are pure bloods, and the lower class have to work hard to become Cardinals. A lower class citizen becoming a Predom is quite difficult, and requires strengthening their bodies to the extreme, which is why most commoners who tried are dead now. I am not quite sure how one would become a Supreme, though I think you would need to increase the quality of your blood to do so.¡± ¡°Thanks, that helped a lot. I still don¡¯t remember anything about my life from before, but at least now I remember the basic information.¡± ¡°I am glad to help.¡± I watched as the weird worm thing in Clarence¡¯s eyes squirmed and then disappeared. ¡®What did the Duke call that thing again? A Craerture? Weird.¡¯ I thought bemusedly. ¡°I think I need a moment to calm down and collect my thoughts. Could I perhaps lay here on this bed and think for a bit?¡± I asked Clarence. ¡°Of course, no need to be humble. Go ahead.¡± He replied with a smile (or at least I think it was a smile). I looked at him as he stood up and set the tray with the candle on the floor, before walking up to the bed below Stoney and carefully lying down on it. ¡®He seems overly kindly and forthcoming for someone that I just met. Also, he is very obviously related to the Duke in some way, since they both have that weird eye parasite. Stoney, on the other hand, seems to be your run of the mill amnesiac optimist, who flows through life as though it were a river. Though, it¡¯s far more likely for him to be lying about the whole amnesia thing and he¡¯s actually here for a purpose. What that purpose could be, I don¡¯t know. What I do know is that Clarence is far more suspicious than Stoney is, and that he¡¯s likely working in tandem with the Duke. After all, it was only after I had started acting suspiciously towards him that the Cardinal brought me to the Duke to be interrogated. I have a feeling that the weird eye parasite is some sort of spy camera that the Duke can see through, and that Clarence is actually observing my every move so that the Duke can glean information about me. In this loop, I didn¡¯t act very suspicious towards Clarence at all, and so I have a feeling that I¡¯ll be staying in this cell for much longer than last time.¡¯ I thought. I looked up at Stoney as he stirred in his sleep, and then looked down at Clarence as he lay still as a statue, eyes open, staring upwards unblinkingly. ¡®Yeah, he¡¯s definitely more suspicious.¡¯ I looked away from Clarence and lay down on the bed, shifting a little as I tried to find a comfortable position. ¡®Man, this thing is rock hard. How does Stoney sleep so well on this bed shaped stone?¡¯ I thought in annoyance. After a few more moments of shuffling around to find a comfortable position, I eased my body onto the bed, and took a few deep breaths as I let my muscles relax. This was probably the first time I actually had a second to breathe and just rest since I got to this foreign world, and it was much appreciated. I closed my eyes and relaxed my mind, sorting through the possibilities of what I should do next. ¡®I should probably try to find a way to break out of this cell. If I manage that, I may be able to escape this fortress without having to fight anybody. The question is, how? I don¡¯t know how to pick locks, and I don¡¯t even think there is a lock to this cell. I can¡¯t dig my way out of here, since I don¡¯t have access to any tools that will give me the ability to do that. Wait, ability? Now that I think about it, can¡¯t I just use my magic ability to break out of this cell? I know that using magic in here is possible, since the Cardinal from earlier teleported while in here. Did they just think I was too weak to be able to? I guess I¡¯ll have to prove them wrong.¡¯ I raised my arm, and felt around for the heat inside of me. I felt it thrumming deep in the center of my chest, and I willed it to release, to escape the bonds of my body. Nothing happened. ¡®What? Why didn¡¯t it work? Let me try again.¡¯ Once more, nothing. ¡®Why isn¡¯t it working? That Cardinal used magic while in here, so why can¡¯t I? Did I just do it wrong? No that can¡¯t be, I know exactly how to use my ability, all I have to do is release the heat in my chest, right? So then, why isn¡¯t it working?¡¯ Once more, I tried to let loose the heat in my chest, but it didn¡¯t budge. It was as if it were stuck within me, not able to escape. ¡®This is really annoying. Is there some sort of stopper in this room that disallows certain people from using magic? I will assume that that is what¡¯s going on. Man, they really thought of everything, didn¡¯t they.¡¯ I thought unhappily. ¡®Well, for now I guess I¡¯ll just go to sleep for a bit. I am really tired, and since I can¡¯t seem to do anything today, I¡¯ll just try again tomorrow morning. Well, that is only if the Duke doesn¡¯t decide he wants to melt my face off again. Let¡¯s just hope he doesn¡¯t find a reason to do that.¡¯ I shuffled around a bit, finding a more comfortable position to lay in, and then closed my eyes and let my consciousness flow down into the deep depths of my mind. After a few minutes, I fell asleep, and the world turned black.