Chapter 168

Arc 16 - The Fastest Man Alive - Part 5

“I do not need your help to lay waste to this universe, Sword,” a blur, moving faster than anything in creation, spoke to the glowing sword which was flying besides him.

The golden sword flashed.

“If I cannot die, I will bring salvation to them.”

The blur ran through the Outflow, shaking this abstract colourful place.

“This is my justice.”

The sword did not respond and kept quiet.

It just watched the blur closely.

“I might not be able to destroy Lucifer and this existence of ours without your help, but don’t pretend for a moment I am useless.”

The blur clenched its fist tightly.

He swung his fist forward in a random direction.

The fist flew through the air, breaking everything in its path.

The tip of his fist came into contact with a bubble so large, it could dwarf everything. Just a moment after contact was initiated, the bubble exploded into small pieces before ceasing to exist.

“See? This is nothing.”

The sword flashed brightly.

“...”

The sword flashed again, causing the blur to groan loudly.

”Yes, I heard you, but I don't care. I will lay waste to as many universes as I like.”

The sword told him something.

“Heh, you and your master should have realised that I have a death wish.”

The sword asked a question.

“Maybe I am hoping a greater entity will take notice and kill me, or maybe not.”

He spoke as if he were joking, but his voice carried great pain and sorrow in it.

The sword understood that, so it flashed again - albeit not very brightly.

"WHAT?!" the angry blur stopped moving with great anger. "Then all of this was for naught…"

His teeth clattered as he stared angrily at the sword.

"If he cannot sense or see me, then what is the POINT OF THIS?!"

He swung his fist, trying to eradicate the sword, but it moved away from the trajectory of his fist and flashed brightly.

"You… One day, I will destroy you for this."

The blur's voice gradually grew colder.

"You lied to me."

The eyes of the blur flared red as he increased his speed even more.

So fast, the sword could not react to it in time, so it lost control of itself and was at the mercy of this monster.

"You will help me kill him, but afterwards, I will destroy you."

He tightened his grip on the sword.

In return, the sword clattered between the weight of his palm.

The blur did not realise that he has caused small cracks to appear in this powerful sword.

"All of you will pay for this."

He threw away the sword and ran forward. He ran to destroy yet another universe.

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Tuesday, 13th of July, Croatia:

In front of a large white house with a light red ridge near a small forest of green trees, Emily walked through a portal as she stretched her slender arms, "Ngh!"

She walked towards the house slowly as she listened to the voices in the house.

From inside the house, she could hear sweet and high-pitched voice of a child, so she smiled softly.

Emily went closer to the door and opened it without knocking on the door.

Once inside the house, she was met with a large porch and a shoe case. She took off her shoes and put it in an empty place in the case.

She then let out a soft sigh as she looked forward.

There was a small door that led to the living room, and then from there, to the rest of the house.

As soon as she took a step forward to enter the living room, a child with dark blonde hair and green eyes rushed to the front door and hugged her legs.

"Aunt Emily is here," he shouted excitedly.

"Aww, finally someone is happy to see me," Emily leaned down and kissed the child on the cheek.

"That's not true," a tall and slim woman with beige skin, noticeably light blonde hair, and orange eyes, who stood at the door of the living room, smiled at Emily. "We are always happy to see you."

"Hi, Lena. How are you? Been a while."

Emily wrapped her arms around the child and picked him up.

She grunted softly before smiling happily.

"Oh wow, you have grown up into a handsome young man when I wasn't looking, huh?"

"Yes," the child giggled.

"Don't grow up so quickly."

Emily started to walk towards the living room.

Lena turned around and went inside too.

From the inside, she asked loudly, "Do you want me to make you anything? Food? Drink?"

"Oh no, thanks. I am full."

"That's surprising. You only ever come to eat," Lena spoke from inside the living room.

Although he was joking at the moment, her words carried a lot of truth to it.

"What can I say, your cooking is out of this world."

"Why, thank you."

Emily entered the living room and placed Alex - Marco's son - on a sofa.

She breathed heavily for a moment - albeit sarcastically - and said, "You are so heavy now."

Emily sat down next to the child tiredly. Her body plumped on the sofa.

"Ahhh, I could sleep here," a blissful smile appeared on her face for a short moment.

She then turned her head to the right and looked at Alex.

"So, what are they feeding you? You are growing up much faster."

"Fish, pasta, rice, steak, and bil… bilf… um," Alex, who was counting with his fingers suddenly stopped counting and raised his index finger to his face. He tapped his lips as he thought.

Emily waited and waited for him to find the last answer.

She waited some more but there was no answer.

So, she looked to the left.

Her eyes fell on Lena who was sitting at the dining table and looking at a book.

"Want to help him?"

Lena leaned back in the chair and looked at Emily.

"Now that I think about it, I don't know it either. I have the recipe but not sure what it is called."

"It's called Bilfirmintedfrostgirgishuasfrine." near the dining table, there was a door that led to a small hallway. From that door, Marco entered and answered Emily's question.

"Bilfi--what now?"

"It's a dish I found in another dimension a while ago. Supposedly it helps with better growth of a child."

"Huh, I see…"

Emily spaced out for a moment to think about this dish and its origin, but no answer came to her.

Emily looked at Alex and asked, "Does it taste good?"

To which he nodded speedily.

"Nice."

Marco sat opposite Emily.

"Is it safe?"

"Of course. I have tested it various times before feeding it to him. Who do you think I am?"

"I have been spending some time with a certain someone so I can't be too sure."

Although she meant that as a joke, no one - including her - saw it as a joke. The atmosphere in the room turned bitter and gloomy.

Damn it, Emily clicked her tongue.

She sat up straight and narrowed her eyes.

"I didn't mean to turn it to this, but since it did… I need to tell you something. Something especially important."

Marco listened to Emily very carefully, who was looking around uncomfortably.

Her eyes darted towards Alex then towards Lena. She was not sure if she were to tell him this in front of everyone.

The short quiet was enough for Marco to reach a conclusion, so he said, "They know everything I know."

That's beside the point…

"I know," Emily sighed.

She took a deep breath and looked Marco in the eyes.

"He is dead."

"!!"

Marco's eyes widened in horror.

Emily did not say his name, but all of them understood who she was talking about.

They could not believe it.

"How?" Lena asked.

"He gave himself up to recreate time."

"That bastard…!" Marco ground his teeth in anger and sorrow.

That man took everything, but at the same time, he gave him everything.

He was the father he always wanted, but also the psychopath he wanted to stay away from.

He was the teacher he never had, but also the torturer he did not want.

He was the hero he never knew, but also the villain he did not want to know.

He was a blessing and a curse to Marco.

"Why?" Marco stood abruptly with an angry roar, causing Alex's shoulders to jerk in fear. "Why did it have to be him? Why did he have to run away from his responsibilities? Why did he run away from his crimes?!"

Marco breathed heavily as he took a short pause.

His head lowered as he squeezed his eyes shut.

In a slightly muffled voice, he asked, "Why couldn't it be that white haired monster?"

"..."

Emily did not say anything but just stared at him.

"He is a God who can do anything, then WHY IS HE NOT DOING ANYTHING?!" Marco opened his eyes and they flared brightly with bluish white energies. "Why doesn't he…"

At a loss for words, Marco just bit his lip.

"Why won't he do something for once?" he asked himself in a muffled voice.

Although the answer came to him immediately.

"That's just the way he is. He only cares about himself," Emily added.

"Does he know?"

"No," Emily shook her head. "If I tell him now, he will let this silly game continue for far too long."

"He is just the worst," in a cold tone that carried a lot of hatred and anger, Emily added.

"Damn him," Marco cursed him. "Damn them both."

Not knowing what to feel, whether anger or joy for the death of the Nameless One, Marco sat on the sofa and cracked his fingers.

"Why… Why… Why…" he spoke in a low voice. "Why did he have to leave? There was so much he had to pay for and so much…"

He raised his eyes and looked at his son, who was confused, but also a little fearful.

"Tch, damn it."

Without the Nameless One, he would not have this life. All the bad he did to him led up to this moment. All the good things he has now are thanks to the Nameless One.

The last time they met one another, the Nameless One had no choice but to hurt him.

But even then…

"How could he leave me? Us?"

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New Orleans, USA:

In front of Eddie's house, Nazar appeared out of thin air.

On the doorstep, Violet - Eddie's sister was waiting for him.

"Sup grandpa~"

Nazar, however, ignored her joke, which annoyed her a little.

"Rude."

"Where is Eddie?"

"Space," Violet shrugged.

"Oh?"

"He said something about meeting an old friend."

"I see…"

Nazar was a little worried about him, but he didn't want to use his powers to spy on him.

"I guess he just needs a bit of space…"

His words derailed as he scoffed.

Violet groaned softly, "Ugh, WHY?!"

"I didn't mean to."

She rolled her eyes with a shake of her head.

"Anyway, why are you sitting out here?"

Nazar sat next to her and watched the cars pass by.

"Nothing, was just bored," she inhaled and then exhaled loudly, making a ripping sound.

“I see… So, how are your powers coming?”

“Same as it was the other day. I still don’t get it one hundred percent.”

“Make sense, some people find it hard to use it at first.”

“About that, those new super-dupers that appeared, how long have they had their powers for?”

“Super-dupers?” Nazar repeated this unknown word under his breath. But he ignored it and continued, “Since May.”

“I see, Eddie said they can use it so much better than me.”

“Well, their powers are quite basic. Plus, I had downloaded extensive instructions into the mind to make the process faster.”

She turned her head towards him and asked excitedly, “Do the same for me too, please?”

“Why? Is it not fun to slowly master your ability?”

“No,” she pursed her lips in a sulking manner. “It’s boring.”

“Trust me, this ability is even worse when mastered.”

“Oh? You have it too?”

“Of course,” Nazar nodded, “I do. It’s quite bad though.”

Violet placed her elbows on her knees and cupped her chin in the palm of her hands.

She let out a loud sigh again.

“Why couldn’t I get a better power?” she pouted her lips in annoyance.

“Like?”

“I don’t know, like the Jedi tricks?”

“So, psychic powers?”

“... Kinda?”

“Hm.”

“Maybe something with energies then? Or other dimensions? I don’t know, anything would be better I think.”

“I...” Nazar paused to think for a moment. He questioned, should he continue with the question? Or should he never bring it up?

She has powers because of him, so he is somewhat responsible for that. If she doesn't like it, she will regret it for a long time to come, but he can change that.

However, should he change that?

“What?”

Nazar gave up thinking.

I am going to regret it anyway.

“I can give you one power - just one, no more. So, what do you want?”

“...”

Her mouth opened wide in a state of surprise and excitement.

“ANYTHING?!”

“More or less, but yes.”

She sucked in a breath excitedly as she straightened her posture.

“Alright, alright, ALRIGHT!”

She rubbed her hands together as she giggled excitedly.

“Time… No, no. That’s kind of boring. Fligh-- too basic. Elements… Eh, Eddie already has that. Ooh!”

She looked at him with starry eyes.

“What are your main powers?”

“Absolute Wish.”

“Can I get it?”

“Unfortunately, not.”

“Hm?”

“It’s...” Nazar grunted softly. “It’s complicated.”

“I see.”

She looked away as she thought more about what she wanted.

While she was thinking, Nazar remembered something from a long time ago.

“Hey, when did you remember me?”

Without looking at him, she said, “I think May.”

“Oh, alright. I always wondered, though, if you did not exist in the original world, what did they make you remember?”

“Oh...” her gaze fell downward. Eddie had told her about the first world, but she still found it sad that she did not exist there.

“Sorry, forget I asked anything,” seeing the uncomfortable look on her face, Nazar wanted to move on from it as quickly as possible.

“No, it’s fine,” she shook her head. “I will tell you.”

“...”

“From what I can see, I had a normal life. But then one day, you came down on our house and killed my family, leaving me behind - on the streets.”

“...”

Nazar looked down as he thought back to that world.

Maybe Violet’s story isn’t real, but it seems to have drawn inspiration from many who got hurt because of Nazar.

Was it wrong of him to punish those who had done him wrong?

“It was not my life, but it made me hate you for an abbreviated period of time. Then I saw you again and… I guess, I realised how wrong those memories of mine were.“

Nazar nodded with gratitude in his eyes.

“Now, then, I think I found my power.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Science!”

“...”

Nazar stared at her blankly.

“But you suck at science.”

She groaned loudly.

“Grr, I will learn it.”

“Yeah, right, good luck.”

“Wait, a minute, why don’t you teach me?”

“...”

Nazar stared at her blankly.

“No.”

“WHY?!”

“You suck at learning.”

“Debatable,” she said slowly.

“And I don’t have all the time in the world.”

“Oh, is that so?” she narrowed her eyes, not believing him.

“...” Nazar averted his gaze. “Yes.”

“Come now, don’t be so stingy with your time,” she pinched him on the arm. “Please?”

“...”

Nazar gave up with a soft grunt as she begged him with dewy eyes.

“Fine, I will help.”

“Yes--” before she could celebrate excitedly, Nazar raised his index finger, stopping her.

“Albeit not now. Maybe in a week or so.“

“Eh, that works for me, I thought it was gonna be much longer. Got me worried for nothing.”

“Oh… Alright, then.”

To him, time moves at a different pace. A second can last longer than a century, but to humans, a second is a second, something inconsequential.

“Mmmm YES!” she squealed excitedly. “I can’t wait to see what I will be able to do.”

Nazar couldn’t help but smile softly. However, his expression soon turned bitter.

The naivety of this child, unaware of the effects of powers, caused him to rethink.

Fate. An aspect of our creation that can overwrite the will of the people and make them more powerful, and then they suffer for it… To think Lucifer would know about this. And for so long too, that is… Interesting.

Nazar narrowed his eyes in a serious manner.

Though, I wonder… Does he know about the entity behind it? The one who controls it? Should I...

Nazar shook his head.

Oh well, Lucifer will learn of it one day.

Nazar wondered, was it right to lie to Lucifer? Was it right to deceive him about something this important?

But if he has found his sanctuary, should he be dragged into this problem once again?

“What are you thinking about so intensely?”

Nazar placed his palms on the ground behind him and leaned back. He looked up at the sky and breathed a soft sigh.

“Since the day I was born, I knew something. There was something dark and sinister ruling us from the shadows. And since that moment, I hated the agent of the culprit - power. I tried to fight against it, but ultimately, I was too weak. My power grew and my life worsened, but then one day, I reached a place so high, I was no longer affected by the enemy from the shadows but everyone else still is.”

Violet stared at him with a confused expression pasted on her face.

“What are you talking about?”

“Power is a curse. A pernicious aspect of our creation. This curse is viewed differently by others, but some of us see its true form. It's not hard for me to get rid of this curse, but the effects of it on the remaining creation… It’s not something one can take lightly.”

“Again.”

“Do you want more power?”

“I mean… Yes?”

“Is that what you truly want?”

She grew more and more confused.

“I guess?”

“I see… But if you ever come to feel something odd because of this power, let me know immediately,” he spoke in a stern tone as he glanced down at her.

“Odd… Like what?”

“You will know when the time comes but...”

Nazar straightened his posture.

“I won’t let it come to that. So!”

People look at fate as if it is something simple, but it is not. Eddie, so far, has been unaffected by fate because I gave him the power, and I did the same to Violet - albeit, indirectly. I do not know if that will be enough to protect the two of them, but...

Nazar faced the confused Violet and one corner of his lips curled up, forming a faint smile.

“I will give you something, something which you must always keep with you. No matter what. Oh, and if Eddie comes home today, give it to him too.”

“Hm?” she tilted her head to the side slightly.

Nazar arched his palm, facing forward.

His eyes lit up with white energies.

I don’t know how effective this will be, and I don’t know how effective the artefacts I gave Laura and Emma are when it comes to saving them from unprecedented attacks regarding their future or destiny or whatever, but… I must try before it gets worse.

In his palm, a bluish-white orb of energy appeared.

The only thing I can hope--

He shook his head.

No, I wish for them to be safe, unaffected by fate.

And so, the orb was given its purpose.

One orb flew into Violet’s chest and another floated in front of her face.

“I am not sure how effective this is or will be, but it should prevent you from falling into the trap of power.”

The feeling of uncertainty and inability to save them for sure caused Nazar’s ugly heart to flutter happily.

He wanted to hate that feeling, but he could not.

Just to be safe, I should make it so that I am notified immediately if something goes wrong. I don’t want to take chances when it comes to those I care about.

“And done.”

Violet, who did not understand anything, just gave up with a sigh.

“Thanks?”

“Mm. Anyway, give that one,” Nazar pointed to the floating orb in front of Violet, “to Eddie as soon as he comes home.”

“‘Kay.”

Nazar smiled in a relieved manner as he looked up to the sky once again.

“Great.”

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Outox Empire:

Weq was sitting at his study, looking at a dark fluid of concentrated energy inside a glass container as he thought.

“” Weq spoke slowly.

Earlier today, he dropped a speck of this energy on a table on a faraway empty planet and it went through it. It destroyed the molecular structure of the table and the speck of energy fell to the ground. The speck of energy continued to go deep towards the core of the planet, destroying its structure.

Before Weq could react, the planet blew up in his face.

So, he realised how dangerous this energy was.

“”

He opened the doorway to a dimension existing in a place he does not know and placed the glass container within it.

This is a dimension he shares with Nazar where they put their most prised artefacts and weapons.

As the portal to the dimension closed, his computer registered an incoming transmission.

Before answering the transmission, he sighed unpleasantly.

“” he forced a soft smile on his face.

“- -”

“”

“- -”

“”

“- -”

Although the words they uttered were meant for friends, their tones suggested otherwise.

Weq’s tone carried a faint sinister feel to it while Hial’s carried a hint of confusion.

""

"- -" Hial was quite for a while before he sighed. "- -"

""

Weq swallowed his words and narrowed his eyes.

He smiled disingenuously.

""

"- -"

""

"- -"

""

Those words piqued his curiosity. With great interest, he leaned forward and listened carefully.

Although, he was not ninety percent sure he knew what words Hial would blurt out of his mouth.

"- -"

He did not reply to the accusations of Hial and just kept quiet.

"- -"

"" Weq spoke in a muffled unpleasant voice.

"- -"

""

"- -" Hial replied angrily as he slammed the desk in front of him. "- -"

""

Before Hial could reply, Weq cut off the transmission.

Before his holographic image vanished, he could see a glimpse of happiness on his old "friend's" face.

So, he just clicked his tongue and leaned back in the chair.

"" And so, he began thinking about the proposal.

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In a dark place, far away from any light, a white haired and red eyed monster was floating lifelessly in the middle of nowhere.

The lifeless body's eyes were open and alive.

Blood was circulating through his veins and energy was coursing through his very being, but everything about him felt the opposite of alive.

This ultra-powerful being who stood at the top of the ladder in the Celestial hierarchy lost his battle for the first time in a long time.

Before, no matter what enemy he faced, he always saw light in the end. He always won.

But… he cannot see anything but darkness now.

That light has flared out of existence.

What was the point of life without any light in it?

"Ar~ro~sus~"

Above the lifeless body of this God, a beautiful woman with snow-like white skin and purple eyes stood.

She smiled thinly as she leaned her upper body forward and looked down at this God.

"At last, I have found you~ ♪"