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Allen Family Manor
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Library
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The library occupied an entire wing of the manor, its soaring shelves and high ceilings creating an air of quiet grandeur. Sunlight streamed through tall, arched windows, lighting up rows of books that climbed from the polished wood floor to the carved beams above.
Soft rugs muffled footsteps, and deep armchairs were placed in cosy corners, each with a small table stacked with well-used volumes. The scent of old paper and varnished wood lingered in the air, blending with the faint breeze that drifted in through open windows.
At the centre, a massive dark oak table dominated the space; its surface marked the ears of study and conversation; above it hung an ornate brass chandelier, its warm glow bringing life to the vast room. This was more than a library—it was the soul of the manor, a space where time seemed to slow, letting stories and knowledge unfold at their own pace.
I was sitting in front of the table, reading a book while a bunch of books lay on top of one another by its side.
Attending the meeting of the leaders of the Allen family wasn't a part of my plan; I only wanted to copy my uncle's ability: Timeless. I don't know how a simple thing can lead to such a change, the timeline is indeed hard to manipulate.
But that aside, I was satisfied with the results as I made a friend while being there while also finishing the first requirement to copy an ability.
Since Copy was an overpowered ability that held even more potential than; Timeless and Void Walker, I had placed some restrictions on it.
The first restriction that I had unknowingly removed was the soul torture, while the second was the condition to make physical contact with the being that has the ability that the user needs to copy.
Lastly, a trial of acceptance from the said ability.
In this world, meta abilities have vast origins; some are gene mutations, while some can derive from beings beyond human imagination.
For the Allen family, it was both; the Concept of Time had created the Allen family by intervening with the timeline and creating a variable by adding a small part of its energy in their genes, thus creating timelessness.
This means that if I wanted to get Timeless, I had to go through its Trial.
A trial from Progenitors is usually a trial of words, it means that our souls will be transported to wherever the progenitor of the ability is to take the test.
Before attempting the trial, I took a quick look through the library in our mansion; the book I was searching for was The Tale of the First Timeless.
Although from the outside, others might confuse it for a children's storybook, it was a clue provider for the Trial. Since there weren't any scenes of the Trial in my original novel, I had to dig up all the information about it from this library. It took me a year and a half to get through the three thousand books related to Allen's family's history and the legends of the Concept of Time, but it was worth it.
I learnt that throughout history, the questions of the Concept of Time have remained the same, but why was it so? What was it trying to learn? Every one of its questions... Why were they related to humans only? Is it trying to understand something?
"Is it trying to learn about human minds?" I muttered, wondering about my question.
"Keep those questions for later, think about which one of us is going to take the Trial," Moriarty spoke, his current form looked like a ball of light as he had difficulties maintaining control over our mana, he was projecting his consciousness outside our vessel with the new form of wisdom he had discovered, well technically, he discovered the property, projection, that originated from spiritual wisdom.
This allowed him to create a projection of his consciousness in the outside world in any form he wanted to. It's just that it would drain the mana in our vessel to maintain that form but it is a fun way to communicate, rather than leaving the vessel in a defenceless state when we were inside the mental plane.
"How about we do it the old-fashioned way, rock, paper, scissors," Moriarty smiled slightly, putting forth his fist that was made of mana in front of me.
"That sounds childish; I would rather say that you should take the chance first then if you fail, I can get the answers. However, if you pass on the first try, you can keep the ability; it's not like it matters, does it? We share the same vessel, and we can switch at any moment as long as we practice a bit more," I retorted to his statement.
"That's just cheating in an exam without any consequences, but I like the idea," Moriarty replied, retracting his hand.
"The rules don't say that we can't cheat; if it wanted a fair test, then it shouldn't allow us from taking it in the first place; the rule maker is the ultimate cheater; we are just preparing countermeasures for it. This isn't exactly cheating," I explained, putting down the book on the table.
Status.
As I called out the word in my mind, a black screen appeared before my retina.
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[Status]
[Name: Ray Allen]
[Race: Metahuman] (Unawakened)
[Stats]
[Strength: G+]
[Agility: G+]
[Endurance: G+]
[Stamina: G+]
[Intelligence: SSR]
[Charm: A+]
[Mana: S]
[Energy: S+]
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[Ability: Copy]
[Slot 1:???]
[Slot 2:???]
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"As I thought, the slots don't change based on the number of souls," I muttered in a saddened tone; crossing my arms; I layed back in the armchair. "So, are you ready?"
"Alway! I request to start the Trial of the Timeless," Moriarty asked; his voice sounded ever so sincere, and the light his form glimmered grew brighter before he gradually disappeared.
"... I guess he is gone-" As soon as I was about to finish my words, I felt as if I had lost something inside my vessel, the feeling of emptiness... There it was, once again.
I never thought I would feel it again in this life as well, was it connected to his disappearance?
I almost made a mistake yesterday by trying to let go of his soul, I can never understand emotions if I don't have any in the first place. I am still a fool... What was I thinking?
"Every one of us is a fool at some point in our lives, but it isn't our thoughts that decide who we are, it is our actions. What you did yesterday, was the right thing to do. You didn't let your emotions misguide your judgements. You could have been a monster that lacked any sort of emotions, but you chose to hide that; that was the essence of a human, and you grasped it on the first try. So why are you doubting your thoughts?" Ryuk asked in a comforting tone, looking down at me from the top of the books that I piled up.
Hearing his words, calmed me down a little as I tried to think of an answer to his question.
"Not now, be patient, don't try to answer quickly, this isn't a test, think of it as a riddle without a time limit. You have all the time in the world to answer my question, you even have an afterlife," Ryuk continued, stopping me from saying a word.
"... The afterlife, are you planning to-" I tried to put a word in but Ryuk stopped me again.
"You are focusing on the wrong part of the sentence... Why can't you just think straight? You really know how to act like a human at the wrong moments," Ryuk commented, heaving a sigh of frustration. "Think straight and be patient, focus on the process, not the answer; you could give me a wrong answer, but make sure that the process is right."
"Alright, I will think about it," I replied when all of a sudden, I felt that the emptiness in my vessel had washed off as I saw a white snake appear on the table on the book that I had just closed. "Moriarty?"
"Yes, I failed the last question, but although I failed the trial, she did teach me a bit about mana control and told me that I could ask her three questions any time I wanted to before sending me out of her realm. She didn't even tell me how to call her, it felt as if she was in a hurry," Moriarty replied, wagging his tail.
"What did she ask you?" I asked him, ignoring his clumsy-looking manifestation and the questions that I wanted to ask.
"I can't tell you that. I mean, I want to tell you, but she placed a restriction on my soul; time works differently in her realm while it seems that I was only gone for..." Moriarty took a quick look at my watch which indicated that it was 5:04 pm, before continuing. "Six minutes, I was there for three hours. So, she had a lot of time to put a restriction on my soul, but even if I don't tell you anything, you would easily pass through her test, since it's about something that you were once curious about."
Although the Concept of Time restricted his soul so that he couldn't give me a straight answer, she forgot to account that people like us don't need straight answers. We had a little something called code clues, and Moriarty had already given me that clue I needed.
"One," Ryuk whispered in my ear all of a sudden.
At first, I didn't realise what it meant but then I remembered what I told him... We were on the wrong track; the Concept of Time had seen it coming, either she erased his memories for false ones or... She had changed the Trial of the Timeless.
"What are you thinking so deeply about? Are you not going to take the Trial?" Moriarty asked, after seeing that I was a bit hesitant.
I couldn't tell him anything; the moment I did, she would catch on; I had to keep my thoughts contained. I can't defeat Time without any preparations. However, she will catch on even if I hesitate.
Numbers... Hehe, that's how I will win. I thought in my mind before requesting an audience with the Concept of Time in the, same way as Moriarty. "I request to start ,the Trial of the Timeless.",
As soon as I stated those words, I felt my soul disappear, from my original position as it reappeared in a place I was unfamiliar with.
The place where my soul was transported was a bit hard to describe; in simple words, it wasn't a place to begin with, it was nothing. I couldn't see anything around me; it was as if I was standing in the void that I had only read about in stories.
"Strange, isn't it?" A voice came from behind, as I turned around to see a giant white snake coiled up with its head being awfully close to me.
If what I knew about Concepts was right, then I was the one who thought of her as a giant snake. Maybe it's due to Moriarty's snake form being instilled in my mind, that I thought of his progenitor as a snake.
"It's almost as strange as you are. What should I call you? Apostle of Death? Would that be a fitting name?" The Concept of Time asked, looking at me with her gigantic snake-like eyes that seemed as if they could pierce through my soul with just a thought.
"I am just a friend. Don't you think I would have a Mark of Death imprinted on my soul if I was his apostle?" I asked back, unfazed by her stare.
If I had hesitated to answer or got nervous, she would gain an edge over the conversation. I needed to hide it for now.
"That is true, then a friend of a Concept... That would be a great honour by human standards. However, why did you take over the body of an Allen?" she asked calmly, without showing any signs of anger.
Do Concepts not have emotions either? But Ryuk has them... Was it because of the lack of outside contact? That must be it, I could see why she is trying to understand human minds.
Unlike Ryuk who has to see over the souls of the dead, the Concept of Time only has outside contact during Trials like this.
"I had no power over that, Ryuk put me inside that body because he was meant to die in five years," I replied to her.
"Ryuk... A funny name, that would suit me more, but I thought friends were supposed to help each other and stay side by side at times of need; why would he put you in a body that was about to die?" The Concept of Time asked once again, looking at me curiously like a baby as if I was its new toy.
"That was his best choice since Ray was one of the most important characters whose death triggered the changes in the timeline, if I didn't prevent his death, I could never change the Timeline to the one I want," I answered her calmly, to which she showed a glint of surprise.
"So you were a ####### before you were reborn? That is surprising indeed, no wonder you saw the future of a different universe."
"Pardon? Can you repeat that again? I didn't hear that word."
"You can't, I made a mistake by saying it out loud. That aside, I think we should start the Trial of the Timeless," she said, ignoring my question. "Since you are not of the Allen family, I have prepared a different trial for you."
All of a sudden a small board of chess appeared between us as she moved away a little to create a gap. The chess board was made of wood, and so were the pieces; the white side was directed at me while the black side was directed at her.
I had expected her to change the trial but this was a bit off the rails; instead of questions and answers, she is proposing a game of chess, which is a bit odd.
"Chess was made by humans. You have the advantage, yet you hesitate to play it?"
"I was surprised; I never thought you would be so generous while handing out an ability like Timeless through a game of chess," I answered her, playing the first move since I was on the white side.
"I guess any sane entity would lose confidence in front of a Concept like me. However, are you certain that you could beat me at a game like this? Although humans invented chess, they aren't the masters of it while a being like me has the experience of what you call a veteran," The Concept of Time made her first move.
"But you do know that humans are also imperfect, their experiences can only get you so far," I replied, shaking off her confidence.
Imperfect? Me? The Concept of Time? Is experience not all there is to chess? The Concept of Time fell into doubt.
If chess was all about experiences then there wouldn't be any young grandmasters in my previous world or the current world. Chess was a game of calculations and manipulation. Its main winning factor was to drive your opponent in doubt and confusing them enough to make them nervous about their next moves.
This is why humans who play chess are usually quiet, as it prevents them from disturbing their opponents and the opponents from doing the same. It was an unwritten rule that every grandmaster followed.
However, when you are playing against something that isn't a human the rule is automatically broken.
"I can lead the match on for hours if you avoid my trap but if you don't, it gives me Mate in ten moves," I declared confidently, making my move.
How? From the futures that I have seen, none of them result in my defeat, is he bluffing? The Concept of Time thought, falling further in doubt; at this point, she didn't know if she was right or wrong.
"You will figure it out easily if you think straight. Oh, don't you know the future? Hm?" I smiled lightly as I gave my remarks.
Her eyes, which were once jade green, gradually started to glow as she stared at the chess pieces, trying to find every one of their moves and how she could avoid the trap that I never laid.
I could already tell that no one has dared to lie to her face like this; I don't blame them; she is a bit scary.
In her panic; she didn't realise the mistakes she made as I patiently executed her pieces one by one before driving her to a corner and capturing her king.
"I lost? How did this... No... But this is not what I saw..." she tried to understand what had happened to her plans.
During her panic, she failed to notice that Ryuk, who could also foresee the changes in the timeline, was using his energy that was in my body to transmit his words to me. Every time I was about to make a wrong move, he counted up and when I was about to make the right move, he kept silent.
"You... Cheated?" The Concept of Time asked, finally noticing the presence of a foreign energy in her domain.
"You see, we both cheated, I just did it better," I answered, looking at her eyes that were filled with confusion and doubt.
"Very well... You played well, human friend of Ryuk. It was my mistake to fall for your lies, I hope I will have the pleasure to play with you again," The Concept of Time heaved a sigh, just like Ryuk would when he got frustrated with me, before removing the chessboard and placing her tail on my head. "I grant you, Timeless."