PROLOGUE: The Battle of Ent- II
Ching! Cling! Clang!
Metal plumes fanned out from behind Aegis with a wingspan of over ten feet. Griffin crouched, and debris around him stirred and shifted. Then he shot up into the sky like a cannon. The suit made him soar like an aircraft. But, faster.
[ Elevation 100ft ]
[ Elevation 500ft ]
As Aegis zoomed upwards, Griffin looked down and saw the figure of Dagon getting smaller and smaller until he was a speck.
[ Elevation 1000ft ]
[ Elevation 5000ft ]
The HUD indicated that he had achieved MACH speed.
His insides seemed to be on fire.
[ Optimizing Oxygen Levels ]
[ Optimizing Vital Organs ]
[ Elevation 11000ft ]
Griffin breached the surface of the clouds with a flub and came to a halt midair. The Aegis device hummed rhythmically. A sense of fulfillment came over her.
Man and machine had become one.
Griffin hovered in the air, taking a scan of the panorama.
The natural spectacle was enthralling. The sky above the clouds was a cerulean blue. With the two suns Rusus and Afel, setting on polar sides, red haze reflected from around Aegis' golden armor. Griffin looked like a mythical god born again.
It was a pity things had taken a dark turn. He sighed and longed for peace.
Griffin was the first human to fly, but the satisfaction did not last. His research could have universe-altering repercussions, and here he was enjoying natural scenery while being chased down by an immortal warrior.
For the time being, he had enough mana left to stay in the sky for hours. He wouldn't have to worry about Dagon. His equations would finish loading with ease.
[ Loading Equations: 3/3 ]
[ ||||||||||7% ]
It was only a matter of time.
'Why didn't I think of this before?'
[ Warning! ] [ Incoming Attack! ]
Griffin felt temperatures rise. He turned around and saw a searing ball of flame as it hit him square on the torso. He went into a tailspin, dipping below the clouds.
[ Recalibrating Flight… ]
[ Successful ]
Aegis recovered in a few seconds and brought him back up. The damage was marginal.
'Where did the attack come from?' Griffin looked around in panic. His HUD was picking up high-energy signatures.
The mattress of clouds parted ominously as a figure emerged from under it.
It was Dagon!
He levitated, and it looked effortless, as compared to Griffin's machine flight.
The Prince hovered midair with folded arms, his battle robes striking a rude staccato against the wind draft.
"It's amusing to see a human fly with the help of silly tricks, scholar!" he hollered. "But you must be delusional to think you can escape me!"
Griffin had read about elder black rakshasas remaining aloft a few feet from the ground, but seamless flight was legend and myth. Feats like levitation and midair maneuver were inconceivable even for advanced magic users.
Nevertheless, it was foolish of him to have underestimated his opponent. He had been out of touch with the recent advancements in magic and technology, cooped up in his research lab for decades.
"Don't you see how useless God Formula is in your hands?" Dagon asserted. "You are a mere human, while I am a god. Only I deserve to wield such power. Open your eyes and see that only I can unlock its full potential!"
Griffin considered his words for a moment.
"Then let me pose the same question to you, Prince. What do you wish to achieve from Aegis and God Formula?"
"It's a pointless query, scholar. I shall take my rightful place as ruler of the star system and then explore other solar systems to establish interstellar colonies."
"You will bring war and suffering to all the worlds and beyond, Dagon? THAT is your purpose?"
"Small sacrifices are necessary for the greater good. Your little mind won't comprehend such matters of galactic scale!"
"Now that I understand your intentions, I'd rather die than hand Aegis over to you!"
"I grow weary of your insolence, mortal!" Dagon announced. "I shall now fulfill your wish and execute you for your sins. Brace yourself!"
'Oh no, here it comes,' Griffin thought in dread.
Dagon drew his sword from its scabbard.
The Zweihander was a double-edged greatsword, six feet long and one foot wide. It had a fearsome moniker- the God killer. Spelled with dark magic, it was one of the seven trueforge swords whose origins were unknown.
God-level artifacts.
Dagon pivoted in midair and launched towards his target.
Griffin had to think quickly. An offensive would mean using up all his mana.
He reviewed his HUD.
[ MP: 3203/100000 ]
[ HP: 9501/200000 ]
[ Loading Equations: 3/3 ]
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||52% ]
Well, here goes nothing. Digital crosshairs appeared at the center of his HUD. It focused on Dagon and locked on. A large dial appeared around the crosshairs.
[ Select Mana Input ]
[ Confirm ]
Griffin tweaked the dial until it stopped at 3203 and hit confirm. The command took half a second to execute.
[ Evanescence ] [ 10% ]
[ Discharging! ]
Energy converged and shot out as a dazzling beam towards Dagon. The latter swerved out of the way and flew towards his target, staying just above the discharge. The tassels of his robe licked the beam and smoldered into ash.
Before Griffin could make another move, Dagon was upon him. He swung down the Zweihander with all his might.
Clap!
A shockwave radiated out as if a massive fuse had gone off. The tops of the low hills on the ground felt the tremor.
Griffin had closed his eyes. When he opened them, he found himself plummeting downwards.
[ Warning! ] [ 01:00 min left to Aegis Shutdown ]
[ MP: 0/100000 ]
[ HP: 23/200000 ]
'So, this is the end, huh?' Griffin asked himself bitterly. 'I ran out of time. Well, at least I could see two sunsets from the sky. That is as close to paradise as somebody like me could get.'
Above him, Dagon, after his first devastating attack, had dived headfirst, his greatsword pointed downward for the killing blow.
Below, the ocean awaited Griffin's corpse. Or what would remain of it once the rakshasa was done with it.
The old man closed his eyes again, awaiting death.
[ Loading Equations: 3/3 ]
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||100% ]
[ Successful! ]
[ Initiating Eternal Equations: 1/3 ]
[ Equation I ] [ TimeTailor ]
[ Confirm ] [ Y/N ]
'Just in time.'
"Thanks, Aegis, my old friend. You never disappoint. The plan has worked.' "Confirmed!"
[ Set Time Speed of TimeTailor ]
[ x01 ]
[ x0.5 ]
[ x0.25 ]
[ x0.1 ]
"One-fourth the speed of time should give me enough time to finish this. Let's go for x0.25."
[ Equation I ] [ TimeTailor ] [ Activated! ]
The progress of Dagon's plunge slowed down. In fact, the entire world seemed to have caught a breath except for Griffin's thoughts, which were synthetically accelerated by Aegis.
"Okay, now let's execute the rest."
[ Equation II ] [ FutureTell ]
[ Set to 1000 years ]
[ Confirm ] [ Y/N ]
"Confirm!"
Griffin's HUD suddenly faded into black. All sounds ceased.
A showcase of images appeared, arranged year-wise. The old man rooted through the gallery. Mere rifling through the years made information surge within him. When he was done, he smiled bitterly.
'So that's how everything is going to turn out. I don't know whether I should call it a blessing or a calamity. Well, so be it.'
After the last image appeared, the showcase would not scroll further.
[ Error! ]
[ Cataclysmic Event! ]
[ Prediction Failure ]
'Ah, so something so epic happens at this point that even Aegis cannot see through the uncertainty. In any event, I got what I was looking for. Everything is going according to plan.'
His HUD blinked to normal.
Griffin heard a crack above him. Dagon was suspended in slow motion above him. However, he seemed to be resisting the effects of TimeTailor. 'How is that possible?'
'It's that damned Zweihander!' the old man cursed. 'It is the bane of Aegis!'
Griffin realized he had to make haste.
Of course, what he was going to do next needed to be carried out meticulously.
Eternal Equations did not require mana to execute, but could be used only once by an advanced user. Griffin needed to make it count.
[ Equation III ] [ XReincarnate ]
[ Confirm ] [ Y/N ]
"Naturally. Yes!"
This time, his HUD disappeared completely. A 360° view came up.
......…
[ Welcome to Aegis XReincarnate ]
[ Warning! ]
[ Reincarnate shall experience amnesia! ]
[ Reincarnate's karma shall be lost ]
[ Confirm ] [ Y/N ]
......…
'Accept!'
......…
[ Warning! ]
[ Reincarnate may not possess boosted stats ]
[ Soul Rupture Imminent ]
[ Confirm ] [ Y/N ]
......…
'Well, yeah. That much was expected. Accept!'
......…
[ Choose Incubation Time ]
[ 10 years ]
[ 100 years ]
[ 200 years ]
[ 500 years ]
......…
'Which option is recommended, Aegis?'
[ Recommended: 500 years ]
......…
"500 years it is!"
[ Loading… ]
[ Allocate Stat Boosts for Reincarnate ]
[ General Characteristics ]
[ Strength: 0 ]
[ Agility: 0 ]
[ Intelligence: 0 ]
......…
[ Special Characteristics ]
[ Magic Affinity: 0 ]
[ Cyborg Affinity: 0 ]
[ God Affinity: 0 ]
......…
[ Boost Stat Points Available: 120 ]
......…
Most of the parameters were self-explanatory for Griffin, except for one.
"Aegis, explain God Affinity again." While the scientist had designed most of Aegis' infrastructure, this particular field eluded his understanding. However, now that Aegis' AI had reached its peak, perhaps the mystery will be finally solved.
......…
[ GOD AFFINITY ]
[ Compatibility of Reincarnated User with God Formula Devices ]
[ Ability to Create and Execute God Equations ]
[ Chances of Transcendence to God ]
'Transcendence to God? What does that mean?'
[ Total Integration of God Formula with User ]
Griffin sighed. 'I had not factored this into my calculations. It's not a risk I am willing to take. Let's see. It would be wise to allocate 20 points to each parameter so that the reincarnated body is well-rounded.'
'Aegis, any advice on the allocation?'
[ Recommended: 20 points to each Parameter ]
......…
'Perfect! I am glad we agree on most things, pal. Now let's lock it in.'
Griffin was about to enter the stats distribution when something unexpected happened.
Dagon had sped up enough to come within proximity of Griffin. TimeTailor still bogged him down, but the tip of his sword was around six feet away from Griffin.
A spark of dark energy from the greatsword connected with Aegis, causing a malfunction.
[ Stats for Reincarnate Allocated Successfully! ]
[ Loading… ]
[ Allocate Stat Boosts for Reincarnate ]
[ General Characteristics ]
[ Strength: 0 ]
[ Agility: 0 ]
[ Intelligence: 0 ]
......…
[ Special Characteristics ]
[ Magic Affinity: 0 ]
[ Cyborg Affinity: 0 ]
[[[ God Affinity: 120 ]]]
......…
[ Boost Stat Points Available: 120 ]
......…
[ Confirmed ]
[ Loading Reincarnation Values ]
"What the hell?" Griffin called out. "No, no, no, this is all wrong. Aegis, reset the stat boost distribution! Reset!"
[ TimeTailor ] [ Deactivated! ]
[ Equation III ] [ XReincarnate ] [ Activated! ]
The old man sighed as his life flashed before his eyes. He had led a lonely life with a few friends, all of whom he used to further his research. In the end, his most outstanding achievement had somehow malfunctioned.
Was it worth it?
Yes, perhaps it was. 'The plan will definitely work,' he determined.
Dagon was freed from TimeTailor, and his greatsword plunged into Griffin. The adamantine armor cracked like an eggshell as the blade impaled Aegis.
"Die mortal! Die!" Dagon howled.
"Aaarghh!"
The two titans splashed into the ocean.
The impact of Zweihander dented the water surface and sent miles-tall pillars of steam into the sky. A hovering satellite caught the astronomical event from space.
A sleeping dark entity stirred in its repose.
Millions of miles away, prophets and seers of different worlds had terrible visions of the oncoming future.