The world shifted again as Jake found himself transported out of the semi-void back to standing within a tower once more. However, despite the change in environment, he just kept staring into thin air as the “fight” he’d just seen replayed in his head.
Calling it a fight at all felt wrong.
It was more a display of absolute dominance. An effortless one, done simply as a chore as if the man had swatted a fly bothering him. What’s more... the concepts innate to his Path of the Heretic-Chosen remained in effect, which was why Jake assumed he understood so much of what had happened.
The First Sage had first slowed down time to give him enough leeway to react against a creature with god-tier powers. If not for this, he simply wouldn’t have been able to respond at all.
Secondly, he delayed his own death. Jake clearly saw that his body was destroyed; the entire soul of the First Sage shattered alongside it, entirely consumed and destroyed, yet his death was delayed.
He then paused the state of his destroyed body and soul for a brief moment before doing... something. He called it reversal, but to Jake, it looked more as if he swapped the state of being between himself and the Void Dweller. It changed so that the Void Dweller was the one who had its soul destroyed and the First Sage unharmed.
Then, all he had to do was return his body to a state before he delayed his death.
During it all, he had used no energy or power in the classical sense. Everything had been purely conceptual. It was magic dealing in the realm of absolutes. Questions of dead or alive, states of being, and relative perception of reality. It all seemed so... binary.
Every single action had to be perfect. The First Sage couldn’t miss any timings by even a fraction of a second, or he would have truly died – in fact, he did die before reversing that state of being.
All of it had been at such a high level Jake couldn’t help but question... could anyone survive that? Could the First Sage kill anyone using a move like that? Would even the Malefic Viper stand a chance?... would Jake, no matter how strong he ever became, be able to even resist? For the longest time, Jake had confidence in himself that even if he wasn’t the strongest right now, he had the potential to one day be. He wanted complete freedom through power... but could he ever attain such a thing if beings like the First Sage were even able to exist?
What the fuck could Jake’s so-called “overpowered” Bloodline do in front of a fucking delete-button?
Thump!
Jake felt a pulse echo through his body as the thought appeared. His heart was beating fast, as if his body was rejecting the very notion of powerlessness. Instead, a sense of determination flooded his mind.
There were no true absolutes in the system. If there was a Transcendence that allowed what the First Sage just did, there had to also be one that allowed someone to avoid or survive it. If not a Transcendence... then he felt it from his Bloodline. It didn’t only reject his sense of powerlessness, but from deep inside, a sense of certainty appeared.
That couldn’t have killed me.
Jake had no logical explanation for this certainty. He just had it. He just knew that the First Sage wouldn’t have been able to destroy his soul in the same way.
With determination, Jake took a deep breath as he looked up at the First Sage who had been standing there waiting. The old man made eye contact with Jake before smiling, giving him an approving nod.
“Let’s continue.”
There was no need to say anything more. They’d already agreed Jake wouldn’t ask any questions about what he’d seen, and Jake planned on sticking to that promise. The First Sage also looked like he wasn’t going to volunteer any information as the two of them began walking down a set of stairs.
“This tower was where I first met Vilas,” the First Sage said.
“But you’d observed him from afar before that,” Jake commented.
“True, a few times. I had to confirm some things,” the First Sage nodded, not even trying to deny it. “Have you heard about how we met?”
“Something about you catching him breaking into your tower?”
“Exactly. Of course, I knew Vilas would come, and one could even say I halfway baited him. I knew I had something he wanted, making it only a matter of time before he would try to infiltrate the tower,” the First Sage nodded with a proud look.
“His methods were truly unique. The talent he had for manipulating energy and even Records back then was already astonishing. He’d already learned how to change his status, and using that, he posed as a human. In the realm of fooling others and being covert, he was and still is truly only second to Eversmile.”
“Why did you take him as your disciple in the first place?” Jake asked a question he reckoned was rather important.
“He asked me,” the First Sage simply responded.
“You just admitted to baiting him to come... you wanted him as your disciple; don’t act as if you were just being kind because he asked,” Jake said sharply.
“Doesn’t change the fact I wouldn’t have taken him in if he hadn’t asked me,” the First Sage said, not a hint of regret of how he handled things. “But yes, I did want him as my disciple. He was the most talented individual from our homeworld, bar none. I wanted someone to carry on my Records and Legacy, and he truly was the only option.”
“Did you know he would become a god already back then?” Jake asked as they went through the tower floor by floor, Jake recognizing some things from prior visions there.
“To say I knew would be inaccurate, but I did expect him to,” the First Sage said, being the first person Jake had ever heard confidently say he believed someone else would become a god. “Perhaps saying expect is too much... becoming a god is no easy feat, but I believed he could do it.”
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The tour of the tower continued as the First Sage switched topics and began talking about his life in the empire and the time he had spent with Villy as they descended floor after floor. Jake learned a lot of interesting details and asked his fair share of questions, gathering plenty of potential ammunition to make fun of Villy with later.
When they reached the bottom floor, their location once more changed, but not to somewhere new. Instead, they returned to where they had first started, back in the library the First Sage had worked in for so many years before the integration. The library looked a lot older and worn down now, making it clear many years had passed since Jake was first there.
Also, this time, they weren’t alone... instead two other people were already there with Jake and the First Sage back in their ghostly forms. The two people already present in the library were naturally the First Sage, who sat in a chair while the familiar form of the C-grade Malefic Viper stood in front of him.
The First Sage on the chair looked a lot different than the one Jake had been walking with, though. His beard was a lot grayer now, wrinkles covered his face, and he looked thinner and sickly. Despite his sunken eyes, the old man still gave off a powerful aura... but it was clear to all that it was waning.
“This is the day I died,” the First Sage who stood beside Jake said with a light smile.
Jake turned back and saw the Malefic Viper standing in front of the First Sage. His mouth moved, but Jake didn’t hear any words come out, neither did he hear the First Sage’s answer, no sound present for this part.
The Malefic Viper spoke again, Jake seeing his frustration before he saw something Jake really hadn’t expected to see. VIlly started pleading, tears welling up in his eyes, but the old man sitting in front of him just shook his head and gave a comforting smile. It was clear that Jake and the other First Sage had entered this conversation toward its ending, and the Viper looked almost listless at this point.
Villy was unwilling... but eventually, he just nodded and sighed. The Viper stood up and went over to the First Sage who still sat in his chair. The old man looked up and gave a final comforting nod as the Viper embraced his head in a hug. As he did so, the hands of the Viper began to glow green as the remaining life force of the First Sage left his body.
The Viper hugged the dead man tighter as tears streamed down his face. The body of the First Sage turned into pure energy soon after, slipping out of his grasp as Villy fell to his knees. That’s where the image cut off, leaving only Jake himself as their bodies came corporeal.
“I never had a family... not besides the one I was born into,” the First Sage spoke. “Once, when I was a young man, I did have someone I loved. However, sickness took her. We humans were just so fragile before the system. I never dared get close to anyone after that, and I cannot even begin to imagine the pain if I had lost a child, which was why I never had any. However... I cannot deny that Vilas did become family, unintended or not...”
He turned to Jake. “I hadn’t seen the last part of that vision myself... I was gone, after all. I learned something new about myself... you have my thanks for that.”
Jake was silent for a moment as he stared at the empty chair the First Sage had died in.
“Why did you do it?”
“I told you, it had to be don-“
“Not that,” Jake said as he turned to the First Sage. “Why did you force him to kill you like that? You can have a million fucking excuses, but why couldn’t you have given him a proper explanation. Why the fuck didn’t you tell him some of all the shit you’re telling me now? You clearly knew he would one day get your Bloodline... so why force him into making this kind of memory?”
Jake couldn’t help but feel angry as he clenched his fists. He’d never seen his friend in that much pain, all of it caused by the First Sage, who still refused to give a proper reason.
“The reason he told me you wanted to die was because the memories of loss were too much for you to handle... but that’s clearly bullshit,” Jake said, not seeing any reason to hold back.
“It wasn’t the entire truth, no,” the First Sage sighed. “To be clear, I was overwhelmed by my memories, and the burden of life was wearing on me, but you are right. I didn’t die simply due to that. I understand what I did wasn’t fair, but believe me when I say that if I had lived, there wouldn’t be a Malefic Viper today. I had to die for your future to exist.”
“That’s the best explanation I’m gonna get, huh...” Jake muttered, far from satisfied. “You know the Viper knew there was a chance I could communicate with you like this, and I asked him if there was anything he wanted to know... do you know what he wanted me to ask?”
The First Sage was quiet as Jake was still angry.
“He asked how come someone as brilliant as you never found a solution to the emotions of loss that caused your death. How someone who would clearly have become the first god could just give up like that. Or, you know, if you just had some higher goal in mind,” Jake said. “He asked the last part with a lot of hope... and the first as if he was also looking for a good answer to the question of how to deal with the sadness himself.”
The First Sage stared at where he had died and sighed. “I would answer that there is no solution... at least not a good one. The closest thing I found was to always live with a goal. To always have something to strive toward. A reason to live. Also, to find comfort by knowing that through you, the memories of those you cared for will live on eternally... and should you die, their memory will die with you.”
Jake was silent as he memorized the words to share with Villy later. However, he wasn’t satisfied. “Do you have anything else you want to say to him?”
It took a few moments as the man was thinking before he smiled. “Just tell him to remember that as long as my memory lives on, my Records and thus proof of my existence will always remain. Also, not to stroke his ego too much, but he became far more brilliant than I ever imagined. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Once more they were silent for a little before Jake sighed. “That’s why you wanted me to know your life story, right? You wanted a second person to know about you, thus ensuring the survival of your Records.”
“In part, yes. However, it isn’t truly necessary for you to remember or know about me,” the First Sage shook his head. “However, I do believe it best you do. I also believe it best you get a greater understanding of your Patron and friend. Vilas is powerful, and he rarely shows his true emotions. However, when they do show, the result can be drastic if not catastrophic.”
Jake just nodded, not having to be told that twice. The entire reason the Malefic Viper had gone into isolation in the first place was because of a powerful emotional response leading to what was still considered the biggest disaster in the history of the multiverse, even so many eras later.
“After I died, Vilas was hurting, and he took out the hurt on the world around him. At this point, he had no match anymore, having long proven himself the most powerful creature on the planet. With me gone, there was simply no reason to keep the world around as he went on a rampage, resulting in all life being destroyed, the world turned desolate.”
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“Sometimes what you remember seems very inconsistent,” Jake muttered, wondering aloud how the First Sage knew of events happening shortly following his death when he claimed he didn’t know what happened only a few seconds after.
“Perhaps it can appear so, but I have not lied to you once,” the First Sage smiled, the two of them standing a while in the library. Jake wasn’t really sure what more to say at this point, and the vision was bound to be coming to an end sooner rather than later now that they were done going through their walk down memory lane.
Jake wasn’t even sure what he’d wanted out of this meeting with the First Sage in the first place. Not outside of sating his own curiosity anyway. True, he hadn’t gotten any tangible benefits from the encounter, but that didn’t mean he regretted it. He knew that the Records from this had to hold some value, and he’d learned a lot about Villy and, in part, even himself.
“Once more, thank you for this encounter,” the First Sage said after what had to be nearly half a minute of silence. “I feel like I’m the only one who’s truly benefitted from this encounter, but allow me to benefit some more by having you carry more of my Records into your time.”
The man turned to Jake. “Not to say this won't benefit you. See it as my way of paying you back for being a good friend of my disciple. Besides, It also only seems proper not to have you leave entirely empty-handed.”