The Hunted Regressor: My Heretic Saint System-Chapter 25: FORGET THIS ALL

***

The scene shifted to Ignotus standing before a window, drinking the same liquor as Marcus.

He was staring at a scene far different from the one in the Third Stratum, because, well, he was on the second, where the Industrial Revolution took place, changing everything he had grown used to.

Ignotus had done a lot to reach this point, diving into Hell, fighting for Runes in the poor man’s Colosseum, obtaining land, hunting Demons, maneuvering Spirits, hiding away as an assassin amongst the masses, and forming a group of his own, a coalition of resistance. All to just try and make it through this madman’s sandbox by any means necessary.

But now, he’d hit a wall.

’You are Ignotus, yes?’

Or rather, the wall came and crashed into him, invading his mind.

"Yes, have you come to finish the job?"

Indeed, his words came true, and everyone...

All of his people had died once more.

Ignotus was alone now.

’Do you wish to die with the families of your people?’

He had to get away from here and Dive.

"Let them be, I’ll face you alone."

Return to the Third Stratum.

That would be his final battle...

It’d be his resting place.

"Haa..."

Flipping the glass, he let the liquor pour onto the ground.

"...let the next one be better."

***

’ylno fi.’

’...’

’...’

’...so this is death.’

Yes, it was.

And it wasn’t painful.

At least not as much as Ignotus expected it to be.

To him, it was just a... blink.

A blink where he saw the Truth.

Before him, time had bent the realm.

It tried to do the same to him, but all of a sudden...

’Fog’ was everywhere, thick, endless ’Fog’ that moved like it was alive, curling around his shoes, licking at his sleeves, and twisting up into the sky—if there even was a sky.

Through it all, there were eyes, eight pairs of them.

Each one glared at him through this ’Fog.’

One pair was black as a starless night.

One pair was a swirling galaxy of purple.

One pair glowed a beautiful emerald.

One pair shone a blinding gold.

One pair was of sharp silver.

One pair was a pink sky.

One pair was of fresh snow.

And lastly, one pair of icy blue.

Not one of them blinked, staring him down.

Ignotus, meanwhile... stared right back, sizing them up.

After a full minute of that, he finally spoke:

"Are you all Higher Gods?"

The ’Fog’ stirred, and seven pairs of eyes swiveled to look at the gold ones, like they were saying: "You handle this one."

Gold eyes gave a small chuckle.

"Higher Gods, huh? Many like to call us that, sure. We don’t really buy into it, though; it kind of kills the title if there’s more than one, y’know? We’re all competitive like that..."

’He’ spoke in quite a... modern way. ’His’ voice was casual and almost tired, like ’He’d’ given that same speech a thousand times already and didn’t care anymore.

"Anyways, you can call us whatever you want."

’He’ added.

"It makes no difference to us."

Ignotus gave a little nod, ticking off a box in his mind.

"I see. So why stand before me? Why protect me from Hora’s Time? What do you want from me? And, uh... heads-up—though I survived surprisingly long, I’m just a Class Five, a High Elder of many in Runethera; I’m pretty sure I can’t give you what you want."

Another laugh came from Gold, this one a little louder.

"You’re already proving why we picked you... especially considering you’re the one who manufactured this entire situation. Goading her to touch your Soul and giving those in the Gods’ domain, like us, the excuse to get involved. But I won’t talk about your forcing of a miracle. I know that it isn’t something you’re proud of... leaving things to such chance."

Ignotus said nothing and simply stared, leaving the gold-eyed Higher God to continue:

"Don’t worry, you’re not here to play politics. It’s your specialty we want, something only you could do... at least in this pocket."

Ignotus tilted his head slightly, curious now.

"Hm. Is this about my... condition?"

There was a tiny pause, as if even ’He’ wasn’t expecting him to guess that fast.

"...Yeah. Bingo."

Gold’s voice now sounded a little more interested as well.

"Since that angry lady of yours touched your Soul and consequently, many billions of others, trying to play with Fate, we can now change the amount of time you’d be sent back. You—"

"My bestowal day."

Not minding being cut off, Gold asked:

"Are you sure? You’ve all the time in the world to think about it... literally."

Ignotus nodded.

"I am. Now tell me, what’s the price?"

Gold eyes sighed a little.

"There’s no price, and you’ll see what I mean when you get back. Something we like to call a system will help you get started; there’s no need for a whole presentation right now."

Ignotus scratched the back of his head, glancing around the misty void.

"A... system? As in what? Some sort of network?"

’His’ gold eyes practically rolled.

"Pffft, no. Again, there’s no need for me to explain now. Once the Soul Glyph is bestowed upon you, you’ll understand, and no, it won’t be something too strong that’ll break the world; there are Laws, and even we follow them... to an extent."

Ignotus nodded slowly.

"Huh... alright, that sounds decent, and I’ll take all that I can get."

There was another beat of silence before the ’Fog’ shivered a little, almost like it was laughing.

"You are hopeless, mortal."

Gold was half amused and half exasperated.

"Seriously boring with absolutely zero dramatic flair."

"..."

Ignotus said nothing, and ’He’ continued:

"Nothing, really? Are you sure??"

"..."

Gold sighed, and the ’Fog’ thickened around Ignotus, wrapping tighter and tighter until he could barely see the eyes anymore, leaving him in a suffocating dark.

"Alright, be boring."

’His’ voice came one last time, almost fondly:

"Good luck down there. Break the world for us."

And then everything went pure black again.

Though not for a certain God.

She could still see ’Them.’

And ’They’ could see Her.

’They’ of back then could see the Her of now.

It was a gaze that made all manner of time collapses, singularities, dilemmas, and paradoxes. But none mattered before those who wrote the Law ’Themselves.’

Time was of no concept to Gods.

’They’ stood outside it.

To ’Them,’ the past, present, and future existed at the same time.

It was a static block where all three ’times’ coexisted simultaneously.

Such a distinction was nothing but an illusion for those of mortal minds.

Yet Achlys seemed to have forgotten that, only now remembering Ignotus’s warning.

She couldn’t regret this, not now when She finally witnessed ’Them.’

Beings that didn’t want to be witnessed.

"Who’s this?"

"Something of Mist and Death?"

"Yes, a little ant trying to get something on the kid."

"Hm, did he let Her in knowing this would happen?"

"Damn bastard used us."

"He’s good."

"We weren’t going to pick him if he wasn’t capable of that."

Golden eyes dug into Her.

"FORGET THIS ALL."

Achlys did.