[Congratulations dear candidate!
You successfully passed the interviewer's first 'Question'!
The corridor will collapse if you dare try to rest.]
"That's not going to work the second time,"
Due to his past knowledge, the attacker's ambush was countered. The moment he heard its blade grinding through the walls, he stepped back and hurled his left leg, sending the person flying to the corridor. Upon arriving at the next corridor, he heard the voice of the interviewer once again. His question was 'Apart from yourself, monsters, and the natural calamities, who is the next biggest threat?'. Zayn stared down at his attacker, and in that short amount of time, instead of repenting for his mistake,s, the man brandished a knife from his back pocket and threw it at the lad.
"You truly have no guilt, do you? I gave you the time, yet you threw it away. I have no use for anyone who dares point their blade at me. Farewell, you filthy scum, I'll take your cutlass as your means of redemption,"
At the speed the knife was going it would've marked his throat, but Zayn increased their gap till it no longer threatened his life. This only came to be possible the moment he recalls the transferred knowledge. One of the many blessings he gained was 'Rewind' allowing him to return to his last known spot free of any possible threats and there he caught the knife with its acceleration slow enough for him to safely take ahold of it. He returned the favor by utilizing the same power, yet the target changed from himself to the attacker, sending him back to his last known spot where he lay in the range of Zayn's knife.
[You've killed a candidate!
Alert! You've done something notably wrong. Killing a candidate during the interview is forbidden unless you've been granted permission.
After further analysis the person before you is found to be one of the rogues. Candidates who are marked as rogue refused to advance from the interview. Their seen as outcasts and became one of the obstacles of this chasm.
Killing the rogue grants you a portion of its soul...
Your body is strengthened by the collected soul!
Your speed and durability have increased.]
'So, this is the so-called soul extortion? It feels invigorating just as the interviewer mentioned. The candidates gain a portion of the defeated enemy's souls allowing us to raise our constitution?'
After a quick rest, he continued to pass the corridor with the help of the map he found in his attacker's pouch. This allowed him to venture to a singular path rather than searching everything, but even with this, confrontation was inevitable. The scheming rogues had set their base at the exit of this damned labyrinth so he waited for the opportune moment to strike
"Perfect they finally gathered at one spot-" He muttered to himself as he hid in the shadows he saw an enigmatic figure rush to the base once the final rogue entered
"Finally I can kill them all!"
Zayn was bewildered by this unusual feeling, urging him to chase the enigma that'll ensue massacre on the wicked rogues. His gaze suddenly shifts to the pocket watch as he tries to uncover the origins of this mysterious and sudden sensation. The clock hadn't answered yet the voice in his noggin confirmed one thing, that changed the outcome of his choice
"Arghh!!! It hurts... you'll pay for this," The shadow that mesmerized Zayn belonged to a young boy in his early teens battered and bruised upon his failed ambush
"Get him! This bastard dares to kill me? You brat, did you seriously think you could've killed us? You're nothing but a tiny little pri-"
The rogue fell silent the moment the cutlass in Zayn's possession ripped his neck anew and gave his hand to the young lad. "Hey there kid! You won't mind if I give you a helping hand, right? How bout we have a little chat once this is out and about,"
A flash of blue enclosed the entirety of the base as Zayn vaulted from one rogue to another, killing them in quick succession. His feat was only made possible with his blessing, and yet, in the eyes of the boy, he was an absolute monster. It immediately won over the lad, and even suspicions of his identity were tossed out of the window, if he yearned for his death then he shouldn't hesitate
[This figure before you is riddled with the fate of a savior.
One day he'll rise to be a powerful force.
But as of now, he's weak and fragile.
You must nurture this lad to reinforce the odds of succeeding in your task.
If he dies then the end of the world as we know it shall arrive at a much earlier date.
For he is the opposite of the bane of all existence, destined to end the world as we know it.]
'From what I understand, this kid right here is the destined savior or something, and I'm just a guide? Maybe not a guide seeing as I'm tasked with saving the world as well, but his story is completely tied to the world's end. I think it'll be best if I keep him around, seeing as I can get entangled by all the troubles he'll get along the way which will ultimately lead to the end,'
"That was incredible... brother, what's your name? You were amazing out there! Can I please follow you? I won't be a burden I swear,"
Zayn controlled the situation by simply playing along with the image he created, and the rest was history. "The name's Zayn Houren. You can call me Zayn for short. Care to introduce yourself, little boy?"
"My name's Wilford. It was a pleasure meeting you, boss man Zayn. I'll make sure to train hard so that I can be of use to you,"
Just like that, a bond was easily formed between the two, and their lifelong journey began, and for the first time, Zayn felt joyful. Then tragedy struck, and at the end of it all, they failed to foil the villain's plans, and the world as they knew it was dying. Wilford now in his early twenties lay in the arms of Zayn as the last of his warmth was slowly fading away from the cold winter
"Boss... man. It seems I failed. There's no fixing this now. Even if we kill the leader, what's done is done. No one can stop this winter,"
A forbidden magic of ancient ice devoured the world in its wake and the cause was none other than the bane of all existence. The promised villain, the destined evil, to one day rise and destroy the world and everything as we know it. Zayn couldn't keep his emotions in check, rage began to well deep inside, and he vowed to slaughter the villain in his next life
[The world has yet to end.
However, you have no means of continuing this cycle.
The villain had already made their exit, the hero fell, and the world met its end.
You've failed to accomplish your task.
The relic 'Faulty pocket watch' has awakened its blessing, 'Regression.'
The blessing of 'Regression' prevents you from dying, you will be returned from the start. May your next cycle be successful]
"This isn't goodbye kid. We'll be meeting once again. With this second chance of mine, I'll slaughter that villain,"
The pocket watch began to fiercely sway and everything from his view seeimingly unwinds itself. Wilford's body vanishes and just the sight alone, broke him, yet he remain ignorant and thought he was placed back at the beginning. At his third cycle, everything played like his second life but he felt the lack of presence near the center of the rogues base
'Why isnt he here? Wilford should've been here moments ago. Did something happen to him, or did he skip this place?'
Just when he was about to doubt Wilford's existence, the pocket watch rattled like it did on his past life and later he heard a wail. That similar sensation he felt before suddenly appears and he rushed to the scene where he found a group of rogues. Using his blessing he easily killed every last one of them and once he gazes at the victim, utter shock engulf his entirety
[Time is both relevant and irrelevant.
A linear period and a cyclic event.
Moving forward and affecting your life while the other remains encircled.
Yet, with each revolution comes a different speed, vibe, and feeling, making it more irrelevant as it persists.
No matter how much time comes to pass, you remain in the confines of a loop, and with each revolution, sparks anew.
Although you can never truly die, with each death brings you to a new outcome, time has no control over free will.
You'll regress to the past, but that past will be different, due to the alternate choices of the people of this timeline.]
Zayn's revenge, his goal, and even his knowledge, all of sunk at the bottomless void upon knowing he had nothing. Each death will return him to the past yet that timeline is a branch, a different continuity from his past experience. A nonstop loop, where past information are useless, every cycle feels new, making Zayn Houren's fate that of a Timeless Regression