...........
Chapter 203: Who Are You Again? III
...........
And what's even more interesting is that it wasn't Ian who was manipulating the strings behind the scene.
"Very odd..." Ian murmured with a frown. He was holding his head, feeling pain from the depths of his soul. It was coming from the very core of his soul, The Dark Mirror World.
That coincided with a surge of memories in his mind, and the formation of the seventh Rose Of Death.
Ian closed his eyes again, getting lost in the memories of a past he didn't know even existed.
He at least realized that the recovery of the mirror dimension is accelerating his memory recovery. No, the memory dimension is a collection of his memories, but it's broken.
That's why no one was able to read his mind, or even breach his soul. He somehow transformed his memories and emotions into a mirror world, unbreachable by all, bar none.
And Ian felt it now clearer than ever. His body is weird. It feels empty like his brain is useless. His thoughts seem to form in his soul while his brain functions more as a cosmetic.
The thing that troubled him the most was his newly emerging memories. In them, he saw the source of his fear, nothing.
He couldn't see him, but in those memories, he felt like he was talking to someone and that someone was talking to him, and it seemed like he was standing right before him, yet he can't remember his existence at all, or at least, he can't recall anything too deep.
Something he can deduce from their interaction was that they aren't enemies, yet he fears him... 'Is it... But why?'
Ian has a theory... The Unknown person killed him. That's why he found himself in his previous world, perhaps reincarnated. The Deathless isn't so deathless after all.
He ever felt like he chose the route of the Deathless because of that person, perhaps out of fear.
He clearly felt something traumatic happened in his early days that made drove him to become what he is today, and it all correlates to the Unknown person.
The resurge of his memories was telling him more and more about his past, and it was stressing him out. His only solace was his lovers. They never fail to illuminate his day.
On that note, Ian wondered why intimate moments with them empower him so much. Well, now he has the answer. For some reason, in those intimate moments, the Dark Mirror World becomes very active.
The symptoms of reflecting Death appear in the Dark Mirror dimension, meaning something was working harder on trying to kill him, 'Perhaps it hate it when I am happy? When I am having fun, but what have I done to make that thing so mad?'
Whatever it was, Ian was at least sure that the thing is either very emotional or a bit animalistic.
Ian opened his eyes, letting out a breath of fresh deadly Death force as he felt Selina hug him from behind, asking, "Are you alright? Do you want me to do anything? Is there anything I can do?"
Ian shook his head as he pulled her into his embrace, "I'll probably be okay. I mean, what's the worst that can happen? I die?"
Selina couldn't help but let out a giggle as she rested her head on his shoulders, "You said that before, didn't you? Long ago when we were still nobodies. It was your way of convincing me of doing the craziest of things..."
"And we're still alive and well, aren't we?" Ian smiled before waving his hand, "Let me show you a magic trick."
The staff of all things was finally perfected. Even the Tenth Vessel was no longer empty, and most importantly, the staff evolved.
The reason why Ian wanted to dearly take control of the Mother and Father boxes was exactly because of what they were made of, Element X.
It's also known as the Tenth Metal, the purest form of creation itself. It can be manipulated by thought alone to achieve nearly anything and is present in small quantities in every single thing, sentient being or otherwise, in the Multiverse.
He who dons this miracle substance has the power to rewrite the nature of reality on a totallic scale. He can create absolutely anything no matter how inconceivable.
Ian not only merged the Black Rose ring into his staff but also added the Tenth Metal on top of it, elevating the staff far beyond anything ever known to any being across this Multiverse.
It not only empowered his already broken Reality Altering powers, but it also gave birth to the Tenth energy in the Tenth Vessel, very fitting, the energy of Creation.
And thus, the staff of all things finally took its perfect shape.
[First Vessel: Kryptonian energies (Red, Green, gold, black, Platinium)]
[Second Vessel: Forever Force]
[Third Vessel: Holy Light and darkness]
[Fourth Vessel: Perfect Magic and Mystic energies]
[Fifth Vessel: Perfect Divinity (Redirection)]
[Sixth Vessel: Force Of Evolution]
[Seventh Vessel: Perfect Energy of all that is psychic mixed with the Anti-life equation]
[Eight Vessel: White Light Of Life & Black Light Of Death (All emotions)]
[Ninth Vessel: Reality and Illusion further supplemented by the forces of all that is imaginable, unimaginable, and the impossible.]
[Tenth Vessel: Energy of creation, and Nihilism]
The Staff of All Things was hovering before Ian like usual before it turned liquid, slowly forming into a small spherical construct.
What followed was a bit odd. Ian's chest opened up, literally. The Force of evolution was in the work, erasing his heart and instead, accepting the Construct Of All Things as his New Heart.
That wouldn't normally work, but this is where the Force of Evolution shines. It forced his body to evolve and functions with the Construct.
The only way that can work is if he can use the Rose of Evolution at all times, and now he can because the Rose of Death was on the verge of forming, meaning soon, he will be able to use all of the Vessels at the same time.
Ian felt the changes in his body and even his soul. His blood evaporate, and what took its place was some kind of blurry energy. It will hence be the blood that will keep his body functioning.
His eyes changed completely, turning blurry, almost like a broken mirror. He no longer had any Iris or pupils, just blurry eyes of which one can faintly see their reflection.
Even his skin felt odd. It looked too smooth, almost reflective, "Ahh, this feels nice."
Selina eyed Ian strangely, her mouth closing and opening, seeming speechless, "You look scary?"
"Hm? How?"Ian asked, confused.
"I don't know. You seem very foreign, out of the world." Selina mumbled in a daze.
"Well," Ian let out an amused smile as he held her chin with his right hand, and pulled her closer with his left hand. The end result was sealing her mouth in their most passionate kiss to date.
"I'm still me. I'm a bit insane, or at least, mind fucked... And well..." Ian trailed off as he started caressing her hair, seemingly waiting for her to continue in his stead.
"Out support helps settle your mind? Keeps you from losing it? By throwing your craziness at us..." Selina smiled as she relaxed in his arms. It was a bit too cozy, even attracting Harley to silently join them.
The Sixth dimension was very lovely, and Ian had plenty of fun traveling through it with his lovers while focusing on perfecting the Rose Of Death, but soon, he sensed something, "It's finally happening huh?"