Re: Timeless Apocalypse-Chapter 182: Primordial Seeds

In a breath, Uriel returned to his body, the flood of energy having followed him and sinking deep into him, granting him a sort of baptism.

He began to feel a maddening proximity to his elements, not just in relation to his core but also to the world itself.

’Survive... Thrive... and Live.’ He blinked a couple of times as he remembered the words the trees had uttered to him.

In his mind, he immediately placed these existences in the same tier as the Gate of Truth and Sacred Eye of Lies; things he was still too weak to comprehend.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.

’So my past self was buddies with these primordial forces, huh?’ He sighed and stood to his feet. ’It’s good to know I keep my charm across loops.’

He caressed his runic scar.

’It’s nice to know a couple of people are rooting for me out there.’ He lingered for a moment. ’It’s also a bit scary.’

Originally, Uriel had assumed the bulk of his biggest enemies would be the regressors—nay, the Spirals—as they’d be the only ones with a vendetta against him, for whatever reason.

Then, he learned of the so-called Loom, whom his grandmother had put him on guard against. Then, he learned of the sentinels, the royal ones, who possibly sought to enslave humanity.

Then, there were the aberrant horrors that had once consumed their universe—the horrors the sentinels were hunting for sport.

He’d assumed that had been it.

But if these ancient primordial forces could remember and know, even with the ebbs of time and the loops, many others most likely did as well.

And... he remembered the words he had uttered to the Sacred Eye of Lies.

The memory was as clear as day.

...

[[You have seen the Sacred Eye of Lies.]]

[’He looked deeply into the eye, and something from deep within him seemed to harmonise with his mind. He remembered something, but he couldn’t name it, nor could he see it.’]

[’He began laughing.’]

["I’ve killed you before."]

[’A pillar of lightning fell from the eye, crimson and thin, like a falling cylinder of blood. It crashed into Uriel.’]

...

Uriel groaned and massaged his forehead.

’What in the world could I have even done to fight with that damned eye... oh my god...’

He threw his arms in the air, resigned. He simply added the cosmic entity—divinity, construct, whatever it was—to the long list of dangers to watch out for.

His attention quickly returned to his elements.

’It said I gained primordial seeds of variant unique origins...’

He summoned a tendril of natal aether, but immediately he froze and stopped.

When he had summoned the natal light aether in his core, he had felt a tide of disgust surge from deep within him, roaring in his mind that he was doing it wrong.

His eyes lit up. ’Wait, is this...’

He focused and tried to resonate deeply with the source of the disgust within him. Then, he tried again.

SHAH!

Rather than being energy, what surged from his fingertip was a slithering tendril of golden light—fluid and weightless, of stark radiance.

"There’s no way."

The feeling of disgust within him faded, replaced with beaming joy.

"The seeds they gave me act like the Divine Root of Chaos, it guides me."

He was sure it did much more than that, but for now, this ability was all that mattered to him.

He had lost the opportunity to directly master a branch, but had gained something much more valuable.

"Hey, Emrys."

The little fox had been fast asleep since Uriel had granted him a name, undergoing strange changes.

But the moment his name was uttered, he jumped to his feet, his tails unfurling and stretching. With a couple of hops, he reached Uriel.

"Kih?"

Uriel ruffled his fur. "Had a good sleep, hm?"

"How about a spar? I want to see how strong we both are now and test a couple of things."

Emrys jumped in place as soon as he heard his words, his tails waving through the air in pure excitement.

"But there’s one rule." Uriel raised a finger. "We can both only use our elemental abilities and base strength."

The little fox shook his head, his discontent clear.

He wanted a bloody fight.

"No serious injuries." Uriel flicked the little guy’s head. "We don’t all have an immortal body, sir."

"And my body, in particular, cannot heal a damn thing." He then pointed at the gate. "When we go through it, I’m sure you’ll have an endless amount of opponents to tear apart."

"No!"

Uriel groaned. ’This brat only speaks properly to deny my requests.’

"It’ll be a good opportunity to master your elements, trust me, it will," he insisted. "You didn’t even know you had any before you fought me, right?"

"Aren’t you curious to see how strong they’ll make you?!"

...

After long moments spent convincing the little fox to restrain itself, Uriel finally succeeded.

Not too far away from the gate and their small camp, the two stood facing one another.

Uriel donned a simple grey tunic set, jumping in place to loosen his body and flailing his limbs to get his blood flowing.

"Remember, only use your elements, and don’t go for anything that could injure either of us."

"Grah." Emrys let out a frustrated growl of reluctant agreement.

His little body shook, and suddenly, he began to grow in real time; from a small ball of fur to a looming beast three and a half meters tall and nearly eight meters long.

Emrys’ aether presence bloomed, the air growing impossibly heavy. But no aether rose; instead, his elemental mantle formed, underlined by his Simple domain.

Seeing the brat so openly display the techniques he had stolen from him made Uriel’s lip twitch.

His own duo of elemental mantle and Simple domain erupted just as his aether presence bloomed.

Uriel squinted as he used one of his talents to read into the fox’s mantle.

"Wind, lightning, and... is that space? Wow, that’s new."

He nodded to himself. "Shall we begin?"

"Kih?" Emrys seemed unsure.

"My glaive?" Uriel laughed. "No, I don’t need it."

"I’m a mage."