IdleYoungMaster
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Chapter 146: Trails
🕑 Added 2024-12-18 15:46:50 +0000 UTC‘Where am I?’
It was a hazy dream. Aleph’s body experienced a sensation akin to floating atop the ocean’s waves. The feeling of weightlessness felt extremely strange to him, too.
During all this time, he did not know what was happening. He could vaguely see blurry images appear on his sight.
Moments later, any ‘descriptions’ of these blurry images were wiped in an instant.
‘Why am I here?’
A cold feeling assaulted his entire body. A trace of clarity returned to his mind. The world cleared up in his eyes.
‘This is…’
A vast black curtain dotted with numerous stars. It was the sea of stars humanity had dreamt of cruising.
It did not take long before his sight was filled with colorful lights.
It was Aleph’s body.
Before he could further comprehend what was happening, his mind sank into darkness.
*****
‘Colorful soul… I thought it was a metaphor. Albion was pointing things as they were..!’
Cold beads of sweat crawled on Aleph’s forehead. It was his first time experiencing something that made him this uneasy.
‘If things weren’t simple… then there’s a deeper reason why I am here.’
Aleph experienced death one time. The hot temperature that burned his body to cinders was still stuck in his mind.
‘Am I afraid of death..?’
The answer was a resounding denial. Aleph long lost the fear of death. What he feared, even way back then, was to die without being able to do anything—just like his previous life.
It was enough to leave his name in the long traces of time.
However…
‘I can’t die… just like that.’
Aleph’s purpose was no longer the same. There are extra reasons why he wanted to change that dead end.
There were people;
People who fought alongside him;
People who loved him dearly.
‘I need to find the sixth Herrscher soon.’
*****
The Evolution Cube’s duration depended on the person using it. Aleph took five days due to how difficult it was to ‘optimize’ and ‘adapt’ semi-conceptual ICHOR into his body.
Sakura took a total of three days. Her strength, mainly her speed, increased to an exaggerated degree. There were also other unexplored abilities that are waiting to be uncovered.
Aleph left her and headed to the next place.
Swoosh-!
Sou-!
A black figure streaked through the clouds.
Aleph no longer needed his specialized suits. With the integration from Albion’s body, flying became an ‘instinct’. It was something that appeared to him out of nowhere.
‘It’s not electromagnetic control nor the likes.’
Great Sage finished analyzing this ability since it appeared.
Apparently, it was a standalone ‘rule’ on its own. Why it works remains unknown, though one could still learn how it affects the surroundings
Albion’s flying skill counteracted gravity, generating force out of nowhere to navigate throughout the entire flight. It was akin to an invisible engine attached to Aleph.
Zoom-!
His speed far surpassed his suit’s top speed. It went beyond Mach 20 and is still increasing now.
Aleph swiftly arrived at his destination.
“Still no traces…”
It was none other than the place where the sixth Herrscher escaped. The traces of the Sea of Quanta were no longer present.
“Hm..?”
Just then, Aleph discovered something.
It was a small detail. A small bit of white paint on a white canvas. He wasn’t able to discover it before, but with his higher standpoint, he was able to use his elemental sight better than before.
Aleph felt that even the sense of distance that he struggled on slowly disappeared. It was, in the truest sense, breaking away from the confines of humanity.
“That was…”
‘Honkai.’
The thought appeared in his mind before blood came out of his eyes. Black scales subconsciously came out of his arms. Aleph was pushed to the brink of his Meta-Morph state.
Flap-!
Rumble-!
Crack-!
The sheer pressure emitted by his body created long streaks of cracks on the ground.
‘The Honkai Will… or rather, the Cocoon of Finality. How..?’
Aleph was stunned by his discovery. The ‘white paint’ he saw belonged to the power of the Cocoon.
It was extremely strange. He immediately knew what it was with a look.
Worse…
‘It did something.’
Aleph wiped the tears of blood in his eyes. The bit of Finality’s power left him with a scar.
Pale white light crept up from his feet. His half-baked authority as a Semi-Spirit began working overtime.
Soon, his injuries recovered. The surroundings maintained their serenity.
Only the sound of Aleph’s black wings flapping remained.
“Why…”
A huge trail presented itself in his eyes. Questions arose in his mind, though many of them were also answered.
For once, the presence of Finality in this place confirmed that the world had completely derailed as to what Aleph previously knew.
Second, it was assisting the sixth Herrscher escape from his eyes.
Thus…
“Why did it turn out like that..?”
One huge question remained in Aleph’s mind.
*****
There was a saying of “Sometimes, the safest place is the most dangerous place.”
Ling proved this saying with her own actions.
“How was it?”
“I-I have gathered a quarter of the councilors on my side.”
Unlike before, the councilor who was chosen by her no longer had his previous composure. He acted like an honest servant, bowing to her the moment she arrived.
After all, such a reaction was to be expected when one sees several humans turned into dust in an instant.
“Doctor Aleph’s whereabouts are publicly disclosed to be in the fifth institute. He was staying there more often compared to the third institute. One of his colleagues, Doctor Mobius, must have hidden varying secrets.”
Without directly looking at her, the councilor let out a bit of speculation and facts.
‘It’s best if they fight each other.’ He thought secretly. ‘Herrschers capable of human thoughts are considered humans, aren't they?’
After a round of fooling himself, he went back to his ‘servant’ role.
“Halt your foolish thoughts at once. I would not stoop as low as you scums.”
A strong chill went through the councilor’s spine.
“A proper fight is what I seek. Let them be or else… it won’t matter if you die by my hands or the others.”
“Y-yes.”
Moments later, the sound of footsteps went farther and farther.
