Anomaly
Ch 35: Anomaly
(I failed to make a short chapter again... Life's hard
Sorry for the delayed release, I had some shit to do.)
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Felix's POV
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"So, it really is you… This is the second time we are directly talking."
[You should already have a guess as to why We are giving you such treatment, right?]
"It is because of my Bloodline, right?"
[Yes, that is correct]
"But if that's the case, why didn't you come in contact with me in the first timeline?"
[Do not think that you were anything unique in the last timeline, Felix Hudson. You have read your Bloodline's description. Do you think that your ancestors would have left this Universe after just mating on your planet? Out of the sextillions of beings We have been overseeing for quintillions of years, there had already been 892 beings who had your Bloodline and had even awakened the talent 'Eternal Scribe' before you. There might still be some that exist even now. But your Bloodline is very illusive. We can't detect it before We awaken 'Eternal Scribe' in the Bloodline holders. Before you ask about them, let me answer you in advance. They are all dead now. None of them could transfer their memories back in time.]
I frowned and asked, "If that's the case then why didn't you help the ones before me? Couldn't you have gotten someone of my Bloodline sooner that way?"
[We were not allowed to. There had been 3 instances when Primeval Dragons had entered Our Universe. We couldn't detect them when they entered, but they did reveal themselves to Us after they were done with their mating rituals. They told Us to never interfere with their progeny until they had successfully regressed. And that the regression serves as a trial to eliminate all those who are unworthy.]
"What?! How is that even a trail?! The chances of regressing were close to nil!"
[Felix Hudson, the probability wasn't just close to nil but was nil. That was even for your case. Do you think luck would have let you fill up your shortcomings? You and every other before you had already partially activated your Bloodlines at your first awakenings. Your Bloodlines had already stored up a lot of Aether in them and used some to make you all regress. The only factor that you all had to worry about was your mental strength. The ones before you simply failed in that aspect.]
Even after Akashic Record's explanation, I felt deep apprehension. This was still too messed up.
"Was the trail set because of their pride?... Did they not want weaklings to be part of their Race?"
[Felix Hudson, prideful they are, but even they wouldn't want their progeny to die for nothing. Especially when their fertility is so abysmal. Your souls simply wouldn't have survived the awakening process if it was not powerful enough. Your soul had to be strong fundamentally, without any external interferences like the Law of Death. You have been through the process. Setting aside the body, the torment on your soul alone should have been enough to kill your brethren before you. In an excruciating way at that.]
*Sigh*
I didn't know what to say… But I did believe that Akashic Record was telling the truth.
The deep growl that I heard before I passed out had hints of affection in it. It didn't seem malevolent at all.
[Felix Hudson, let Us clarify a misunderstanding that you may have. We are not giving this treatment to you just because you have the Bloodline of one of the three 'Multiversal Anomalies'. It is precisely because you are a 'Primeval Dragon' that We are even conversing with you. Among the three 'Multiversal Anomalies', only 'Primeval Dragons' are trustworthy enough to make a deal with. Their Pride doesn't allow them to break their words. Universes rejoice in the coming of a Primeval Dragon, even if they are just there for mating purposes. Before leaving, they always bear gifts in the form of Aether for the safekeeping of their progeny. Their Pride doesn't allow them to be indebted. We greatly benefitted from them too.]
"What is this Aether anyway? This is the first time I've heard of it."
I could infer that it wanted to make a deal with me but I couldn't let this chance to get information fly away, so I changed the topic.
[You can call Aether a higher form of Mana. It can even bend the Causality and change reality on its whims. We convert the Primordial Chaos outside our borders into Aether to generate it, though we don't know what mechanism you have for generating Aether by yourself. The clouds and stars you see behind you are one of the most gentle and mild forms of Pure Aether that We can make.]
"Gentle you say…"
[That was not Our doing Felix Hudson. Your Bloodline took control of the whole process. From my observation, your Bloodline likely needed higher concentrations of Aether at the same time to awaken it completely. In doing so, it has already taken 14000 Enas of Aether from Us. Even an 'SSS' rank Bloodline only takes 500 to 700 Enas…]
I did know what Enas was but I didn't question it. It was subtle but I could feel a hint of pain in Akashic Record's usually emotionless voice when discussing the last part. This Aether must be quite precious.
[You should have more questions than this, right? You Earthlings never really had the time to research and study phenomenons after the Worlds converged.]
"Before anything, tell me how much time has passed since I entered this Awakening Chamber."
[19 days. Calm down Felix Hudson, the Time in this Chamber is dilated by 1000 times. Less than half an hour has passed from outside-World's perspective.]
*Sigh* I sighed in relief.
I was still a bit worried about Irene being alone for half an hour but I knew that she could manage herself. Even if the Bloodline she awakened was dogshit, I had trained her enough to stand on her own at these early levels.
And so I started my rapid-fire questioning.
"The day I regressed, I asked you a question that is still left unanswered. Why and how did 'Eternal Scribe' travel back with me in time. Why did I have mana in me when I regressed?"
[We don't know the inner workings of your Bloodline. And dare not to peer more than it lets Us to, lest We make your ancestor Our enemy too. We don't even know much about Primeval Dragons either, just what We could observe and what the Multiversal Travellers had told us. As for your mana pool, your Bloodline was the one who created it with the assistance of the 'Eternal Scribe' and Aether. But it was very frugal in its use of Aether, just the bare minimum.]
"I see... next question. Why doesn't at least one of the parents share the same Bloodline as their children and vice versa?"
[You are mistaken about one thing. Bloodlines are not simply just the DNA in your blood. It is a form of resonance in the soul. Bloodlines have some inherent instincts embedded in them. If a person does not Awaken their Bloodline and has no chance to do it, the Bloodline may leave that person and transfer to one of their progeny. But sometimes the transfer fails and the Bloodline remains with its host, dying with them. The only way to ensure that one doesn't lose their Bloodline while transferring it to their progeny is by Awakening their Bloodline first. Although, even if one loses their Bloodline, a weaker version of it is still present in them. ]
"Why are there so many Bloodlines on Earth in the first place? My case is quite crystal clear. That Ancestor Dragon of mine had a hot night with my ancestral grandmother. But that can't explain things about others."
[It is quite simple. After the war with 'Them' began, 4 billion years ago, We had been transferring species and some of their Bloodline holders to different places to extend the lifespan of their races. It was a decision made by Us and the Main Consciousness of this Universe. In the case of your Earth, We mainly sent over humans with Bloodlines of others thinly mixed in with them and assimilated them with the native humans on your planet.]
I had cold sweat dripping from my forehead. If my girlfriends and I really had sex and we somehow became parents, shit would have really hit the fan. Both for me and my girls…
I ignored the 'What ifs' and redirected my attention to something more interesting.
"Weren't you the Main Consciousness of this Universe?"
[No, I'm merely a small part of it that actively interacts with the living. The Main Consciousness mostly upholds the order of Our Universe and the rules it has set in place.]
"Let's get serious, shall we? Why did our worlds converge in the first place? Even if you wanted us to become your pawns, at the very least, you could have warned us about it. Maybe we would have had a better future."
[This matter touches on the Deal We wanted to propose, but We'll first answer your second query. You Earthlings are one of the most despicable types of humans in this whole Universe. We could not tell anyone about this matter, predicting that your governing bodies would try to exclude a very high amount of people to maintain their power over the general public. It was the same choice as you had made. You are overestimating Us too much. There is only a minimal amount of changes that We can make, We are mostly restricted by the rules the Main Consciousness has made. You Earthlings are actually one of the luckiest beings too. The other choices had such a low success rate that We could only introduce Etheria as a game, which had the highest success rate but also took a great amount of resources from Us. No other world has gotten the privilege of having avatars fight and train while their real bodies are safe. But even then, you Earthlings almost squandered it. If We distributed the capsules for free then your people would be skeptical and make conspiracies. If we made it too expensive then much less Earthlings would buy it.]
'Tsk, we really were set out to doom ourselves, weren't we?"
[It is time to answer your main question. It is quite ironic but there is actually no such thing as the world of Etheria. It is an artificial space as if it was really a game. Its inhabitants, Etherians, are those who had their worlds destroyed thousands of years ago. Those worlds' most powerful warriors had fought at the frontlines in the war with 'Them'. Earning their worlds the privilege of preserving the seeds of their worlds. The Etherians are exactly those seeds, but after such a long time, they think that Etheria was their original world. For these seeds to completely assimilate into a new world and have no Mana Dissonance with it, that world needed to be Manaless. We had made worlds like yours specifically devoid of mana to accommodate these seeds without any problems. But in exchange for robbing you all of mana and opportunities for billions of years, We had made it so that you all could grow at impossible speeds for these 7 years. The more land you Earthlings conquer in Etheria, the more land will converge into your Earth, increasing the 'Level' of your World.]
"Now what's a world level? And what do you mean by conquer?"
[By conquering, We meant, completely exploring the local land and being able to subjugate their local flora and fauna. The Main Consciousness divides the Worlds depending on their Levels. The Level of the World is dictated by a lot of factors but two are the main ones; the power of your World and the contributions of your World. The higher the World Level, the more protection and Aether it will receive from Us. The violet Aether you see in this Chamber is the Aether that is allocated to your World according to its Level, which is a 0 at this moment. It is not enough to even awaken the tenth of your Earth's population, especially after your Bloodline has taken a good chunk out of it for its own awakening.]
"T-Then…"
[In normal times, conquering more land in Etheria would be more than enough but you are an Aether-sucking Black Hole and will be that in the future as well. You will need a lot of Aether to unlock your subsequent Chain Talents. We can also feel that a lot of the functions you have and will have will need Aether to function properly. The Aether generation in your body is only in name for now. You cannot even make a single Enas in a month. You will need external sources.]
"Sources like you?"
[Yes. We have already discussed it with the Main Consciousness. We are willing to help if you are willing to help Us.]
"Do you want me to start fighting 'Them' for you?"
[No, We wouldn't dare to force you to the frontlines. Your ancestor might destroy Is before 'They' do. The deal we want to make is for you to assimilate as much of Etheria as possible into your world and to defend the Worlds from getting destroyed after the Convergence.]
"Just that should be doable…"
[Do not underestimate Etheria. The Main Consciousness is the one who made it. Etheria expands as you conquer the lands. And it will continue to expand until all the seeds of destroyed Worlds run out.]
"If that's the case then that's quite a tall order you are giving me, aren't you? There has to be more than just Aether that you can give me, right?"
[We are not opposed to giving out more, but you do not know what to ask for right now. What We can give to you should be immaterial, that's the rule of the Main Consciousness. The only exception to the rule is Aether, it can slip through Causality with ease. We are already discussing some things We can do with the Main Consciousness, but that would need some time. But for starters, ever since you have regressed, We have been giving your world a higher level of protection. The disturbance that your regression had created was quite obvious and even alerted 'Them'. Right now, We are essentially hiding your Earth from 'Their' eyes.]
"H-hey, we will get the whole 7 years in Etheria, right? You're not gonna pull out some shit and say that 'timeline was accelerated', right?"
[These seven years of development are an oath to Our children that we had deprived of mana. Do not worry, unless We really can't defend you and all the Earthlings, there will be no cuts in these 7 years. But the content in Etheria is a different matter altogether. It is controlled by the Main Consciousness and alters with the progress of the players. Some events may come forward early, diverging from your memories. But with the people you have and the spies you have unleashed, We think it is doable.]
"*Sigh* It's a deal then."
[We're glad that we came to an agreement. But making a deal with amniotic sludge covering your whole body isn't the most appropriate.]
I felt a force on my body and the goo finally came off of my body.
'What delicate control… I'm sure it only used the Law of force but I feel like even my pores are cleaned up now… wait, what the hell is that?!'
I saw something dangling between my legs… It didn't look normal at all. I was already quite well endowed originally but this was just over the top. Only powerful awakened women could take the full brunt of it… Its shape was quite inhuman too...
[If you are astonished at just that then you should really have a look at yourself.]
Akashic Record manipulated the Law of Light and made a pane in front of me that resembled a full-body mirror but had even more clarity to it.
'Oh…my…God…'
I was stunned… I was never a narcissist but even I wanted to admit that I was indeed fucking beautiful… a piece of art…
My face was the same but refined even further, with not a single blemish in sight. My hair were still black but had a metallic luster to them. My eyes had turned completely crimson, giving off an irresistibly seductive but dangerous vibe.
My body was sculpted to such perfection that even Greek Gods would shy away from me.
I felt a boner coming over to me just looking at myself…
…Wait, a boner!
"Hey! What the hell! Aren't we Earthlings supposed to not feel any lust or stimulation in Etheria?! Why the hell do I feel horny?!"
[It is your Bloodline's doing. It has broken through the restrictions We had applied to you. That's not the only thing it is doing right now though. Just like your 'Eternal Scribe' manifested on Earth before the Convergence happened, it is also trying to manifest itself in your real body as well. We have already made a localized time dilation zone in your capsule but it will still need about 10 hours to manifest fully. We do not recommend you logging out before that.]
"Hoo, it really is stubborn, isn't it? Shouldn't we get started with the standard procedure?"
[Sure, you will be heading to 'Cobble-Groove Village', right? That's where your partner is waiting for you.]
"Yeah."
Being able to contact Akashic Record was quite convenient…
Suddenly, a cream-white tunic and brown leather trousers manifested in my body.
"Um, can I get a mask too?"
[Only a cloth one.]
A black cloth mask manifested on my face.
'Tsk, what a miser.'
[What name tag do you want to give yourself?]
I smirked when I heard its question.
"What else can I be but an 'Anomaly'?"
(A/N: Some of you might be a bit pissed at making an information-dumping chapter at this junction but there really was no other way...
Akashic Record holds Felix in an equal position. I didn't make my MC an idiot who wouldn't utilize this chance to get as much information as possible.
The convo has also set the goal of having adventures, forcing the MC to not lay his ass on the Guild Leader couch and explore the world.
I hope you guys are into more adventures and interactions with Etherians (NPCs) than just bog-standard guilds biting off the MC's ass all the time.
Leave a power stone if you like my content…and…
Thank You all for reading this chapter!!!)