Threads of Fate (Part-1)

Jay waited at the entrance of the enclosed training ground, watching as green lasers swept across his body, scanning for identity confirmation. With a soft beep, the towering doors—stretching as high and wide as an IMAX screen—slid open, emitting a low hum. Just as he was about to step forward, his gaze shifted, catching sight of Dante emerging from the neighboring training ground.

'Dante, why the long face? Stuck at a bottleneck?' Jay's voice echoed in Dante's mind, the words relayed telepathically.

Dante stiffened at the unexpected voice in his head, his senses instantly flaring with alertness. But the moment he recognized Jay's familiar voice, he relaxed, exhaling a quiet breath. Turning, he spotted Jay standing nearby with an easy smile, lifting a hand in a casual wave.

Dante walked over, releasing a weary sigh. "Yeah, I've been stuck at Level 30 Mastery for days now," he admitted, frustration edging his voice. "No matter what I try, I just can't seem to push past it."

Jay nodded in understanding. "Yeah, pushing from Minor to Major Mastery is a real hurdle, especially for those of us with Unique Talents," he replied. "But you're still ahead of me—I only managed to Stage-3 this morning."

Hearing that he wasn't falling behind gave Dante a flicker of relief. But as he glanced up at the glowing, four-layered Fate Halo above Jay's head, a glint of surprise crossed his face. "Wait... did you have a breakthrough recently?"

The four-stacked Halo symbolized that Jay now held the stats of a Tier-4 lifeform. Before, Jay's Halo only had three layers, and even when he'd boosted his abilities to rival stats of Tier-4, it remained unchanged.

Jay nodded and that subtle confirmation ignited Dante's curiosity, a question forming in his mind: 'Just how powerful had he become?'

Jay brushed aside Dante's musings, something else coming to mind as he spoke up. "Didn't you mention that, now at Stage-3 Mastery, you can see the threads of fate around others?"

Dante shook off the lingering thoughts and replied, "I haven't fully grasped it yet, but I can perceive them. I've been studying them to try and break through to Major Fate Mastery, but so far, no luck. Right now, the best I can do is see the threads from the past—nothing from the present or future yet."

He went on, explaining his newfound abilities and what he still needed to progress. "With what I currently understand, I can see the threads that shaped who someone is now. I get glimpses of what they've been through, but that's about it. I've been pushing myself, trying to study the threads on anyone I can find, hoping it'll help me comprehend them better."

Jay found the ability fascinating. While it didn't offer any direct combat advantage, its potential was undeniable. The power to perceive the subtle threads of fate, to witness fragments of someone's past that shaped them without their knowing, could grant insights far beyond raw strength. 

In a way, it allowed one to understand people at their very core, revealing hidden motives, vulnerabilities, and the traumas or triumphs that had molded them. This, he realized, could be just as powerful as any weapon—it was an ability that could turn understanding into influence.

With a thoughtful look, Jay asked, "So, what did you see when you tried it on me?"

Dante gave him an odd look. "Well, all of your fate threads have a silver tint now," he replied slowly. "To be honest, I don't dare look too closely—especially after what happened to Olivia."

At the mention of Olivia, Jay's expression shifted as he recalled the incident. 

She had mistaken Hobgoblin MJ for a typical monster and had tried to manipulate its soul. But MJ's soul was intertwined with Jay's own, tightly bound by his Innate Talent. The retaliation had been immediate and merciless—║LOOT║struck back with a wave of Origin Energy, leaving Olivia barely clinging to life as her own soul nearly shattered under the devastating backlash.

Jay responded with an awkward cough. The truth was, even he didn't have full control over║LOOT║; it acted on its own to shield him from threats tied to soul. The innate ability has a sentienceF of its own when it came to protection, often reacting more fiercely than he intended.

Just then, an idea sparked in Jay's mind. He turned to Dante with a grin. "How about joining me in the training ground?" he suggested. "I think I might know a way to help you push past that bottleneck."

Dante, though puzzled, agreed without hesitation. Together, they entered the largest enclosed training area within Earth's Foothold. Inside, the training ground was as vast as a stadium, with walls stretching fifty meters high to form a circular arena. 

In one corner of the training ground stood racks laden with an assortment of basic weapons—swords, axes, spears, and bows, each gleaming under the dim lights. Nearby, several dummy targets waited, crafted from resilient spirit-infused materials designed to endure even the powerful strikes of Tier-5 individuals.

As they reached the center of the training ground, Jay turned to Dante with an unexpectedly serious expression. "I want you to shoot an arrow at me," he said firmly.

Dante blinked, caught off guard, but Jay's unflinching insistence and quiet confidence eventually won him over. Though perplexed, Dante nocked an arrow and aimed at Jay's outstretched palm, intentionally holding back from using║Arrow Gigantification║or drawing from his║Deck of Fate║. 

Instead, he followed Jay's instructions and released an arrow with the strength of a High-Phase Tier-3 attack.

Jay stood perfectly still, making no move to defend or evade. When the arrow struck his open palm, the tip dented slightly on impact, but the projectile didn't penetrate deeply. It left only a faint bruise, a thin trickle of blood barely visible.

Dante's eyes widened in disbelief. Even though he hadn't used his full power, the shot still held enough force to injure an unguarded Tier-4 lifeform. Yet Jay had taken it head-on with his bare hand, suffering only a minor wound.

The arrow struck Jay's palm, but the wound closed as quickly as it had appeared. Dante watched Jay in silence, waiting for some kind of explanation. When none came, he finally asked, "What now?"

"Now we wait," Jay replied calmly.

A minute ticked by, and Dante's patience thinned. "Waiting for what, exactly?" he pressed.

Jay responded only with a cryptic smile and three words: "For the past."

The answer only puzzled Dante further. Although Yinad and his followers had seen Jay use║Temporal Relapse║before, none of them—except for Seath—understood that Jay was traveling into the past to kill monsters there. Dante had never witnessed the ability in action and was left wondering what Jay meant by waiting for the past.

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Author Note: 

Exclusive artwork for every free chapter is now available on my PATRE0N page! You can find the link in my Discord server.

I'm thrilled to share that I'm taking a big leap forward! Alongside Earth's Alpha Prime, I've launched the first sub-book for EAP.

ALTER REALITY: Online

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The first ten to comment for new chapter releases will get '1 ADVANCED CHAPTER' for free on Earth Alpha Prime's Discord server.

In the discord server, I opened a private channel for those Top 10 candidates, where I posted the respective Advanced Chapter.

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Discord Link for 'Earth's Alpha Prime' :

https://discord.gg/maQC7xDBYZ

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