Re: Timeless Apocalypse-Chapter 77: A Path

Uriel returned to the streets once more, leaving Enoch’s Lie Eater bracelet behind.

It was still early morning, and the streets were relatively empty. Surprisingly, rain had already started to fall, which usually only began in the late morning.

Not only was it falling earlier than usual, it was also harsher than usual, gone was the light drizzle, replaced by a heavy outpouring of freezing cold droplets.

Uriel didn’t mind, but found it curious nonetheless.

"Huh, I wonder if something happened in the forest."

He stepped through the rain-soaked streets, his steps unhurried, yet each of them carried him dozens of meters forward, as if he were gliding across the earth.

Weirdly enough, none seemed to notice how strange this was.

"Was the Lagoon near the Emporium... or was it near the gate?" He clicked his teeth. "Why the hell don’t we have a map of the place... or a sort of assistant to talk to."

"Hm, maybe I should’ve asked them to buy me one."

He considered asking someone for directions, but decided otherwise. What if they recognized him?

The settlement couldn’t be that big anyway; a couple of hours of searching would do the job.

"I wanted to have a walk anyway; four birds, two stones, as they say."

He let himself wander around, a foolish smile hidden beneath his veiling robes.

His thoughts flowed for what felt like the first time in days, and his usual overwhelming curiosity and aloofness returned, each tiny oddity he noticed sparking a long and ridiculous train of thought.

His gaze darted from side to side, observing everything, giggles escaping him from time to time. At times, he stopped entirely, visiting shops he’d never seen before and talking with the Inhumans who held them.

They shared laughs and tales, most finding a liking to him and offering him various samples of their products and goods.

He’d completely forgotten his no-talk rule, it seemed.

...

Before he even realized it, he lost himself.

He felt it all, but at a much deeper level than before.

Though he himself didn’t realize it, his advancements regarding Heart Realms, Sparks, and his Resonant Dominance had unveiled floods of his spark’s potential.

And it had all happened while his spark was unknowingly suppressed by Enoch’s Lie Eater bracelet. Now, though, it was free.

And he, too, felt free.

Uriel resonated with every core of not just the settlement, but what felt like the dungeon itself, the canvas of every mind and body across it resonating with him.

He dove deeper, resonating with their Heart Realms, then forming harmonies with their sparks.

It all happened in a breath, and this time, no one was here to snap him out of it.

The world became a beautiful, kaleidoscopic painting of colors, wide and endless, through which he traversed with a smile.

Emotions tore against the fabric of his heart; wrath rooted in the deepest reaches of his soul, sorrow so potent it corroded his mind, and fear so deep he felt himself break.

He smiled, yet tears streamed down his face.

WHOOOSH!

From Uriel’s heart, Resonant Dominance bloomed and surged, blanketing not the aether around him, but himself, his own mind.

He snapped himself out of it.

And allowed himself to truly feel the storm of colorful emotions around him.

He closed his eyes, letting the tears flow and the emotions ravage his heart, and every time he felt himself begin to slip, he tightened the effect of his dominance.

He let himself feel.

Uriel opened his eyes.

They were bloodshot, trembling, and reflected a fragility he’d never displayed before, but they also burned with an intensity he’d only rarely shown.

Around him, the colors had faded, and he was left with nothing but a void of darkness.

His Heart Realm.

In front of him, he laid eyes on a small cloud of broken and shattered pieces of glass, each transparent, yet seemingly holding all infinite colors of creation.

He slowly walked toward it, and for the first time when approaching a spark, he felt no resistance. If anything, he felt the little shards call out to him.

Every step made him happier and lessened the load of foreign emotion weighing heavy on his heart. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

He looked at the broken shards with tender affection.

"My spark."

It was broken and incomplete.

He reached out, his hand brushing against the thick cloud of colors and sliding along the edges of the transparent shards.

He sighed, and a tear fell down his face, this time, truly his own.

A cry echoed in his mind, juvenile and strained, full of agony and sorrow, screaming for help, screaming for comfort and warmth, screaming for safety.

His spark was... crying.

He shook his head, not quite understanding the emotion he was feeling, or even how he was supposed to react to such a shocking truth.

To most, this would feel like the world collapsing. What did a broken spark mean, if not the fate of a cripple?

Nonetheless, he smiled. "It’ll be alright," he whispered gently. "I can see you now."

[You have ope-...?]

The system paused.

[You have created a Path!]

The loud cries slowly began to wane, and the cloud, colorless yet paradoxically holding all colors, began to change, turning into a dance of radiant ivory and somber onyx.

A dance of light and darkness, swirling around shards of reflecting glass.

The clouds surged, slithering around Uriel and tightly hugging him, the sorrow melting into pouring waves of love and gratitude.

He chuckled.

...

Uriel reopened his eyes, and he was walking across a packed crowd of humans. Morning had passed, giving way to the afternoon, where the falling rain had grown even harsher.

The pitter-patter was so loud it drowned out even the chatter of the settlement and its awakened humans.

He walked, the crowd unable to notice him, yet subconsciously parting and peeling around him.

"Seems I was in a daze for hours."

[You have forged a Class!]

All humans across the dungeons suddenly felt something stir within them, imperceptible, yet present, before they seemingly all forgot.

Their Heart Realms shone, then began to shrink, the storm of emotions each carried streaming out, flowing across the skies and rushing toward Uriel.

All suddenly felt lighter, freed from an unseen burden, and strangely feeling... new.

WHOOOOSH!

The stream of emotions flowed into Uriel.

[You have formed an Evolutionary Spark Frame!]

[You have formed an Origin Evolution Spark Frame!]

Shocking changes erupted across Uriel’s body.