1000 years - Anger, Angst, Apathy

The Supreme General of the False Ones, Samurai Jack, had promoted Kai to the ranks of a Commander for killing General Suicune, the legendary Pokemon.

That, in itself, accomplished little, other than enlarging his HP, MP, and SP reserve, and his overall strength. The gap between the ranks of a Captain and a Commander was like an uncrossable gulf, true enough. Still, even crossing this gap would have not let him survive the fused abomination, named General Dracarys (General Daenerys and her son, Drogon, the Dragon).

So Kai did the most rational thing a man could do in the face of such odds.

He hid.

Ad Infinitum was nothing like Kai had ever attempted or thought of. It wasn't a problem he could solve with time and thinking over it again and again. No. It was harder; more complex.

Time he would need. He would need a lot, Kai knew.

With him killing even 100 soldiers in the future, the four armies were bound to know that he was still alive. Times had changed. The experiments had succeeded. Now, they did not need to probe around, testing Kai's strengths and weaknesses.

One abomination could already kill Kai. And more were bound to come into existence. Last time he had survived by timely leaving for the Samurai's Hut. What about next?

One thing was sure. He had no Luck for him to count on.

So, yes, hiding, and that too for a long time, was the best option.

The only problem was that Kai had thought he would get less time to hunt, barely reaching the count to go to the Samurai's Hut and buy the Life Half Capsule. He was prepared for that.

Things, however, turned out to be worse than his expectations.

They kept becoming worse with every sudden change of season, with the passing of years, and with the fall of decades.

A decade by the end of which he accumulated enough Points to teleport to the Samurai's Hut and buy Life Halt Capsule became scarcer. More often than not, Kai was forced to make last-ditch, desperate attempts at the decade's end, just to reach the number. That meant going out of hiding, getting chased by General Dracarys' level abominations and other Generals, and almost losing his life.

As time kept slipping by, this time of making last-ditch efforts also kept becoming longer. It wouldn't have mattered much in a few decades.

But, with centuries, some changes were bound to make themselves clearer.

However, some changes were far more crucial, and more intriguing, than others. Changes, not physical, but spiritual. Changes, not overt, but covert; hidden deep in hearts, emotions, and gazes.

When Kai had arrived on Island X ages ago, he had been like a sea of lava, ready to burn the entire world under his wrath. To kill had always looked like the best option. The only option, perhaps.

When Kai had spent 300 years on Island X, it was then he had gotten the Occlumency and Legilimency Mind Structure, Ad Infinitum, from Samurai Jack.

He had been just over 35, then.

In those years, he had already become a volcano containing, constraining the boiling lava inside him in its open mouth. This lava, though seemingly held back, had turned out to be more dangerous than the sea of lava. When this volcano exploded, it shook the entire earth, burned the skies and air, and killed all beings.

However, it burned him, too. It harmed him enough for Kai to know that being a volcano wasn't the end.

It was the beginning. The first step.

Training never stopped. With Ad Infinitum on his hands, all training and time felt elusive, making him latch onto the tiniest progress he could make. That progress became hope; something to look forward to.

The first emotion that left Kai was—Anger.

With time, this emotion became the most useless to him. Neither did it help him with training, nor did it help him comprehend Ad Infinitum. It didn't help him survive, either.

Moreover, aside from training, comprehending, and surviving, Kai had nothing else to do, to begin with.

The second emotion that left Kai was—Angst.

All feelings of fear, anxiety, and insecurities just failed to stir his heart. So what if he would age another year? So what if he would miss the time limit? And so what if he lost another White Serpent Empire?

Things didn't last. Time didn't last. Then, was there any reason for his anxieties to last, stirring the strings of his heart? No.

There was no reason.

Shockingly, the third emotion that left Kai was the one he had never expected would leave him. Ever. But it did.

This emotion was—Apathy.

Kai had given up on caring about anyone after the death of his mother under the hands of Brock Valeheart. That betrayal had scarred him for life. It had turned him into Blood Demon.

There was no running away from such an identity; such a fate.

Live for oneself. Kill for oneself. Die for oneself.

These had always remained Kai's principles; the directive on which his existence operated.

He still strongly believed them to be the truest.

Just not at the expanse of suppressing his emotions. Not by becoming indifferent to all. Not by running away from feelings. It was then, after centuries, Kai learned that he wasn't as alone as he had thought himself to be.

The thing was, Kai wasn't the only one who had been changing in these years. There were others with him.

Selene was there, the most loyal friend any man could hope to find. The jokes she shared, the hunts she attempted, failed, and cursed at. Her sporadic eruptions of emotions and personalities. And her attachment to only one being in this entire world. The only being she had ever known.

Kai and Kai alone.

Then there were Cersei, Rintaro, and Petyr.

Time… This time was long enough to dilate the gaps between these 5, turning them from apathetic individuals to friends; and then just close enough to be called—family.

As mentioned, this was only the beginning; the first step.

Doubt and Depression. Grief and Guilt. Hatred, Resentment, Sorrow, and Suffering. One by one, all got hacked by the sword of time.

If there was anyone else in Kai's place, then he wouldn't have gone under these drastic changes.

But Kai was cursed with an ingenious mind, and his way of thinking was already vastly different and astounding than others. He was the same Kai Stormborn who had Comprehended the essence of his Reality Marble within 2 hours; an impossible feat, even for the greatest Contestants in the history of the Primordial Tower.

So, it didn't come as a surprise when Kai progressed not only with his training like a possessed beast, but spiritually as well.

When all the unnecessary emotions had left Kai, the first things to return were the teachings of his mother. Those words that he had discarded as futile and meaningless, finally began making incredible sense to him.

Acceptance came second, and Affection followed it. Curiosity had always been a part of Kai's life, but Empathy forced its way into his heart, though taking the longest time and after much struggle.

When Humiliation found him, it brought Joy along with it.

Kindness and Loneliness came hand in hand, kicking out the last traces of Sadness and Suspicions.

When things settled down; when the storms of emotions coming and leaving finally abated, what was left was—

Calm. Dead Calm.

A Calm, unlike anything. A Calm unlike any emotion or state of mind anyone, any sane person, could achieve in one lifetime.

A Calm, devoid of even the faintest sight of lava or heat, like a tranquil sea or noiseless breeze.

A Calm, profound, and grand enough to turn a volcano into a… Mountain. Eternal. Resolute. Impervious.

When it had been 1300 years since Kai's arrival on Island X, he had already become old enough to be called an Old Man. Older than the "wise" men found in the tales of children.

Older than any old man Kai had ever seen before coming to this Island.

In a place, which once had been occupied by a sea of yellow mist and a white room, now raged a maelstrom, ever spinning in the process of Gravitational Collapse. The "sky" over this Nursery was black. With another look, this black color seemed to be the effect of hundreds of millions of runes, fluttering in the sky like an endless flock of strange, but enchanting birds.

Suddenly, the size of the yellow maelstrom jerked down, and a rune from the sky fell like a comet, entering the middle of this maelstrom. It was like it had accepted its fate; the last jump of faith.

A blinding flash!

The maelstrom gradually expanded, regaining its previous size. But, in its middle, now hovered a giant crystal, glowing with yellow color, a rune wriggling inside it like a worm, sealing a memory.

With a blur, this crystal vanished.

The next time it appeared, it found itself in a vast cosmos, black, but littered with 99 yellow stars. No. Not stars.

99 Crystals, all multifaceted, and arranged in such a way that each Crystal perfectly reflected all the other 98 Crystals.

The newest arrival spun, feeling insignificant in this black, depthless dimension of the subconscious. Then, slowly, guided by a thread of isolated consciousness, it hovered to a specific coordinate.

The moment this 100th Crystal reflected the other 99 Crystals, all 100 Crystals did the same.

Boom! Rumbleeeeeee!!!

The entire blackness seemed to have exploded, giving out rhythmic, yellow pulses and rumblings. At this moment, something had changed. Something transcendental. Something momentous.

Fates had changed, better for some, and worse for others.

Lives had changed as well, relighting the candles of hope.

Outside, seated near a waterfall in the lingering morning fog, an Old Man smiled.

************

AN: Accept Kai. Accept him, as I had.