Time: present-day just after Aeon finished the story, Location: Time Palace
The gods returned to the heavens to recover their strength. Majins protected humanity from demons and natural calamities for years. They established business relations with the human society, which would help them in their missions.
''And the end.''
''So, how was the story? Did you like it?''
''Hmmm... it was a good story, I guess, but there is one thing I don't understand.''
''What is it?''
''In the last battle, how did gods reverse Valgror's last attack? It's supposed to be an attack that devoured time itself, so how did they even reverse it? The trinity did not act immediately after the skill got activated. There's supposed to be some repercussion of the skill, but the time is moving smoothly. ''
''Is it? Do you really think the original timeline is moving smoothly? Only the current time is moving as it should. The past is just a copy of the original that got devoured a long time ago.''
''If so, how is it possible that human history from the start of the time exists? Shouldn't it be devoured by the skill?''
''How good are you with calculus?''
''I was the topper of maths in my final year of high school."
''Then it would be easy to explain. Think of time as an expression whose limit is from zero to infinity. What would you do then? If you put the limits on the equation, you will get the desirable answer?''
''Changing the limits by changing the equation by methods like substitution would be possible.''
''Yes, that is what they did. The gods defined the limit of how much of the infinite time should be devoured and created a copy of it that would last until repairs itself.
''What do you mean by copy?''
''Think of it as a temporary replacement mechanism that would keep human history from collapsing.''
''Sounds complicated. I wonder how the gods created it.''
''God knows how they did it. It would be impossible even for me to do something like that.''
''Why? Do you lack soul energy to perform that, or is it the skill?''
''I guess the latter. I don't know how much soul energy would be required to perform that skill.''
''So that means if you master the skill, you might perform it?''
''I think I can, but I do not. Even if I master the skill, there is no guarantee that my body or mind can endure the stress of the skill. So no go for me.''
''Ah, I understood... Do you think I can use that skill after you have undone the seal? It sounds really badass and useful skill to have in the arsenal.''
''Hmmm... I wonder if someone who could not see soul energy and cannot manipulate it without special enhancements till now can use a skill that the gods used only once.''
''A very complicated question you have asked me, Ark. It would take me centuries to uncover its mystery. I wonder if you could wait for me till then. Ooh, sorry, I forgot; since you are a human, your average life expectancy is only 80 or 100 years at the best if we count the years you will spend on the life support system. Hah, how pitiful humans are.''
''Master'' Dawon, who had just finished his meal, interjected when he noticed Ark's face.
''What is it, Dawon? You want more food?''
''No, thank you for asking. But I ask you to please stop your old-fashioned jokes in front of Ark., Even though you were the center of the stage for entertainment back then. People in the current era would not understand your strange jokes, especially teenagers and young adults. Look at his face; you can clearly see a question mark on his face after hearing your so-called joke.''
''What seriously are my jokes that hard to understand?'' Aeon asked while glancing at Ark.
''Nod... yes, at first I didn't understand what you meant to say. My grandpa makes better jokes that are easy to get by normal people.''
''Wah... you mean I make jokes worse than 80-year-old geezers?''
''Disrectful, but that's the truth.''
''NOOOO, that can't be. Why God, why I have been forsaken?''
Sigh... Dwain sighed while examining his master's pitiful situation.
''Ark, please don't pay attention to the master right now and finish the meal. It would take him fifteen minutes to recover from his trauma.''
''Aaah, okay, but do you know why he said that last line? Is he still joking or making fun of me? Because I use those same lines in situations like these.''
''No, he is not joking. As for those lines, they are some kind of hereditary habit that is inherited by every male member of the clan. Though it really is a surprise that they passed it down to you. Since you are raised outside with no influence of the clan. ''
''Things like that exist, but it is a strange habit to inherit.''
''In it is.''
Fifteen minutes later, Aeon, who recovered from his trauma, was in a very cheery mode, as if nothing had happened. Dawon instructed me not to bring jokes before Aeon for a while.
''So Ark, do you want to go back home or stay here more? After hearing such interesting information, you want to stay here, don't you?''
''No, I really want to go home.''
''Seriously, I thought you would beg me to let you stay here and train you to master soul skills. Weren't you someone who dared to climb the mist mountain and could do anything he wanted for thrill and excitement?''
''First, I think you miss interpret something. I was forced to climb that mountain because there was no other way for me than to go forward. And I want to go home because if I stay then in the future, it will bring more problems for me in the future and that I don't want. I just want to enjoy my peaceful life.''
''So are you going to run from the problems and preserve yourself in your self-controlled delusional world filled with loneliness and darkness?''
''I don't care how you interpret it. All I want is silence. I am sick of dealing with people doing and saying what they want without considering others' feelings. I will go to college and get a normal job with a salary of six or seven-digit per annum and die after sixty. That is how I would live my life.''
''Do you really consider that life peaceful? It sounds like you have already lost faith in humanity and don't want to interact with them any longer. If so, why did you not commit suicide and kill yourself? It would be a lot easier for you?''
''Even among those humans, some care about me and would be sad if I died too early. That is why I won't commit suicide and at least live for some time for their sake.''
''You have a kind soul, Ark. But if you reject the offer today, you might suffer its consequences tomorrow. Since you do not have over two years to live.''
''What do you mean I do not have 2 years to live? Am I gonna die before I turn twenty-four? And if yes, then tell me how.''
''Rather than telling you, it's better for you to see for yourselves what happened to you next two years.''
Snap...,
My surroundings, a large dining room a second ago, turned into a scene straight out of an apocalyptic movie. Buildings were burning, and lifeless bodies of humans and animals lying on the blood-covered road.
''What... what is this nightmare?'' Looking at the scenery above gave me a stomachache.
''This is a pseudo-space I created. What you see now is your future. 2 years from now, an army of demons will Strom in this town with demon general Solgros as their leader. Before the majins or the gods could take any action, all living in the town were dead except one. Solgros intentionally left the last one to witness how powerful humans are as he and his army.''
''Can you guess the name of the town and who was that last survivor of the town?''
''The town's name is Wolfden, and the one alive because of that demon's whims is me.''
''Correct. He let you live because of his personality. He feels pleasure when he sees faces filled with despair. You in the future regretted that he didn't choose to stay, and because of his powerlessness, all this has happened.''
The scene disappeared, and the room went back to normal.
''Now tell me, Ark, do you want to stay or go home? But before you answer, let me tell you this. People will always protect the ones they care about the most. You do not have to endure the responsibility to protect the world on your own, protect the ones you care for the most, and everything else will go as planned.''
''I... I will stay. Make me the most powerful in the world so that no demon could lay a finger on the ones I care about,'' Ark said with eyes full of determination.
A smile appeared on Aeon's face but quickly dawned on a neutral face.
''Okay, we will remove the seal today at midnight. Don't sleep or I will send Dawon to wake you up.''
After completing what he wanted to say, he disappeared along with Dawon, leaving tiny light particles behind. I went to my room to rest and prepare mentally for the event at midnight.