Apocalypse
It was the eventual end that must come to every world.
The reason for the Apocalypse was a simple one. It was the concept upon which the multiverse was built…
'What can, will exist.
What is, will end.'
It dictated that everything imaginable must exist and all that exists will reach its end and thus cease to exist.
Apocalypse is the end that comes to a world at the end of its life cycle. It can be a virus, an alien civilization, a civil war, or natural calamities. They are, what you would call, the natural providence.
However, surprisingly, the worlds refused to accept their end. They defied the law that told them to die and fought against the Apocalypses!
By giving their blessings and support to one of their residents, the worlds created 'Blessed', or 'Protagonist', whose job was to defeat the 'Apocalypse', better known as the 'Villain'.
If the blessed won, they would be able to save their worlds after overcoming the villains. If they lost, their world would end.
Each world has their own protagonists that were given the job to triumph over villains. Coincidentally, all of them… lost.
The blessed couldn't overcome the hurdles on their path. Unlike the stories we read, the protagonist lost, no, 'every' protagonist lost. In reality, the villains always win.
The Apocalypses swiftly proceeded. The worlds were annihilated.
In the end, 'they' gambled. To save the multiverse from ending, every world was combined with the 7 surviving worlds as their foundation.
With the Apocalypses joining hands, the danger became greater than ever. However, the great merge 'Coalescence' was the only choice to salvage and protect what was left.
The one who shouldered the burden of saving the multiverse was the sole surviving blessed, Jae-sung.
Jae-sung was originally a resident of the World of Systems. In his world, every person had a unique system. Knight system, Harem system, Superstar System, Artist System, there was no end. And Jae-sung had the strongest system of all, the Gamer system.
His system allowed him to level up and increase his base stats. It gave him skills as rewards for completing quests. He could create legendary items from thin air and gain the unique abilities of others' systems.
But he couldn't save his world. The stronger the world, the more dangerous the Apocalypse. In the end, his world was also destroyed.
He didn't die however, and found himself in the World of Swords & Magic. He was missing his memories. All of his skills, items, and stats were lost and he had to start from the beginning.
Then Coalescence happened. He struggled, fought, despaired, triumphed and finally, he reached the end.
He won, or so he thought.
At his last step, Jae-sung was betrayed by Jared Lionel. Jae-sung never expected the one who was his master, his sworn friend, and his rival to backstab him.
And as they, the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment and regret that comes with failure. When Jae-sun regressed, his first thoughts weren't to save the multiverse or stop Apocalypses, but to kill Jared.
His goal was Jared initially, but my possessed family rubbed him the wrong way and since he already had a beef with Jared, he let edgy take control. One thing led to another, and he killed every Lionel.
Long story short, Jae-sung's hatred changed him from a kind and curious guy to goal-driven and strength obsessed person. He became edgy and emo. Well, not completely. He did care for his comrades, although he didn't show it anymore.
'And my goal is to use his camaraderie for myself.'
Once he regressed, chances were high that he would go for the nearest Lionel, me, and use force to make me talk. Moreover, as I was a new variable in this timeline, he wouldn't trust me easily.
If I couldn't have his trust, then I needed someone else's trust, Charlotte's, to act as my shield until I sorted matters with Jae-sung. Jae-sung and I had the same goals, the Daemons, and he was a powerful piece. Using him was the easiest and most effective way to save my family.
It was for this reason I was making myself seem like the lowest of low as an individual in Charlotte's eye. It was to make a strong impression on her after I guided her to realize that everything was a misunderstanding on her part and I always had good intentions at heart.
Sniff… I mean, it was correct, wasn't it? I'm a good person at heart. Right?
'Charlotte is a back-up plan in case I'm weaker than Jae-sung after he regresses in a week.'
Lifting my eyes, I stared at the chimpanzee who had interrupted my dinner with Lumine.
'Everything depends on if the Varnish acts as I predicted.'
It would be decided today if leaving Varnish unpunished previously was a good choice or not.
"Stop acting, you fiend! I know that you are not the young master, but an evil spirit who has possessed him!" He accused me vehemently. "The young master I know would never punish an honest knight like Matthew the way you did!"
Although no one showed it openly, everyone in the convoy felt more or less the same as the chimpanzee.
"Look! He even brought his evil subordinate! The evil elf! He thinks that all of us are foolish to believe the obvious lie that he told us by calling her a slave!"
Lumine sucked in a sharp breath at his accusation. She was surprised. Her charm should've deterred the chimpanzee from calling her evil directly in front of her. I had a hint as to why this was possible and it was not good news.
Schwing—!
He pulled his blade out and pointed at me. Veins wiggled on his neck and he angrily shouted.
"These two fiends are in cahoots! They plan to harm Lionel House!"
I looked at the members of the convoy and listened to their whispers.
'Good job, chimpanzee. You've done your part. Leave the next steps to me.'
————
Varnish pointed his sword at Sol. He could hear people around them whispering.
"Honestly, I also felt it was weird when the young master's behavior suddenly changed."
"True, when the young master punished Sir Matthew, I could barely breathe from suffocation. It was as if I was standing in front of the Duke himself! How can the young master Sol, who couldn't even punish his servants, do that!?"
"But wouldn't the Duke household know if the young master was possessed? Why would they leave it be?"
"Shhh, don't tell others, but I've heard that the fiend has dirt on Duke and is forcing them to stay quiet."
Jae-sung and Charlotte frowned. They had heard rumors about the trash third lion, but what they saw themselves was completely different. Oftentimes, they would doubt if the rumors about Sol being possessed were true.
Varnish inwardly grinned. 'It is going well! If I push more, I should be able to force him to go to the Lake of Purity inside the Forest of Silence! There is no way he'll come out of the forest alive!'
The water from the Lake of Purity was known to burn anyone with impure intentions. If Sol wanted to prove that he was not a fiend, he would have no choice but to go there.
'I can kill him inside the forest and no one would ever know!' Varnish's gaze carried a dangerous glint in them. 'I don't know if he is possessed or not, but he almost killed Matthew. There is no way he will leave me alone because I was the one who abused him the most! I need to kill him with this chance!'
The forest of Silence was a large area that was divided into three sections: The core section, the middle section and the outer section.
The outer section was inhabited by hundreds of mortal awakening monsters. The Imperial army and armies of various nobles regularly cleared this area. It was to make sure that the monsters lurking inside did not leave the forest. This area was relatively safe that could be traversed by civilians too.
The middle section was where the danger abruptly shot up. Hundreds of Ascended monsters and thousands of mortal awakening monsters lived here. In the past, the Imperial army and the Royal Knight brigade, along with countless soldiers from nobles from across the Empire were almost completely wiped out when they attempted to kill the monsters living there.
Lastly, the core section. Nobody had set foot there in the past 500 years of the recorded history. But legends had it that it was the territory of the mythical beast, Griffin.
Varnish smiled cruelly. 'The lake of purity lies in the middle of the outer section. Although that is a relatively safe area, he'll need to bring an ascender with him. Out of the three ascenders, I'm the only one he can bring! I'll use this chance to eliminate him!'
The lake of purity was nearest to their present location on the road. Varnish had calculated the distance before he made his move today. The only problem was bringing Sol out of the carriage. Sol never left the carriage. But maybe the stars were today in Varnish's favour, Sol left his carriage by himself.
Varnish was planning on declaring that Sol was burned by the Lake and had measures prepared to do that.
Sol scanned the crowd and looked back at Varnish. "What proof do you have? I believe you know that a baseless accusation wouldn't go unpunished."
His eyes and tone were monotonous as always. Almost as if he had predicted this to happen.
The bone chilling thought made Varnish lose his composure for a moment, but he regained it the next second. "Y-your hair! Why did the young master's hair change to black from white!? Because you, the fiend, is possessing him!"
'What was that? Why did I think he predicted it?' Varnish's instinct were telling him to stop what he was doing but for some reason his body wouldn't stop. "If we are talking about proof, what proof do you have! Can you prove that you are not a fiend!?"
It was done. Now he only needed to talk about the lake.
"You need a proof? I'll give you one."
Under the bewildered gazes of crowd and Varnish, Sol stood in front of Varnish. Sol's gaze stopped at the 2nd sword resting at Varnish's waist. A pitch black sword. He pulled the sword out of the scabbard before anyone could react.
"Gylothyn, the sword of beheading. A treasured sword of Lionel House that was given to Sir Varnish when he ascended."
The sword was forged from a dark metal radiated an aura of darkness. The blade was long and slender, with a razor-sharp edge that glimmered menacingly in the dim light. It had a striking and ominous appearance, evoking a sense of danger and power in those who see it.
"Ahh" Varnish unconsciously stepped back when he saw his neck being reflected on the blade of the sword.
Sol ignored him and looked at the crowd, specifically at the Jae-sung and Charlotte.
"I'll go into the Forest of Silence and bring the water from the lake of purity. The lake's water should be easy enough to recognize and I'll consume it in front of everyone. Until then, I'll take this sword." The last words were spoken to Varnish.
His meaning was clear: I'll prove that I'm correct but you'll pay with your life in exchange.
Gritting his teeth, Varnish stepped forward. This wasn't the time to be afraid and stop. "I'm in accordance. But we'll need to have a few soldiers and one of the ascenders accompany Sir Sol for secu—"
"I'll go alone." Sol swiftly cut him off.
Varnish frowned. Just when everything was proceeding as he wanted Sol put a unnecessary condition forward. 'I have prepared a contingency plan if this was to happen, but it's best if I go along with him. I can't leave any loose ends!'
"As the head security of the convoy I—"
"Silence." A chilly voice interrupted him. "That wasn't a request. It was an order."
With those words Sol entered the forest, alone.