The dimension known as Hall of Legacies was limitless. There was neither a beginning nor an end. There was no ground either, or perhaps there was when one counts the neverending pool of crystalline liquid, sparkling seductively. If there was sky, it was impossible to see thanks to the countless glowing orbs floating above the pool, swirling with tempting stardust.
In the silent dimension, out of the blue, a thin line of darkness erupted. A dreadful aura swept out of it, tearing the fabric of space apart.
[[!]]
Enchantia was shocked. Her incorporeal face emerged from the crystalline pool and she stared into the cut that has appeared.
Cosmic Emperor stepped out of it.
Every step he took distorted space enough to make it collapse, and perhaps if it was not for the invulnerability of the dimension, the impact from his steps would destroy Hall of Legacies.
Enchantia began to bend. This terrified her out of the wits. She has no physical presence and even her face was just a materialization of the Will of the dimension.
Yet, the pressure emanating from him bent her. She began to submerge in the pool and the dimension started shaking violently.
"My bad," Cosmic Emperor said as he blocked the pressure leaking from him. "The excitement of coming to where everything started made me careless."
Enchantia was finally able to see him. His extremely refined facial features, his stunning, long dark hair, and finally the robe he was clad in.
[[Eternal Darkness!]]
Enchantia exclaimed in disbelief as she observed the robe made of twisting darkness.
[[How is this possible?! The last Cosmic Emperor sealed the darkness at the cost of being slaughtered! So how could you wield it!?]]
Cosmic Emperor ignored her questions. He arrived between the sea of orbs and gazed at the pool below.
"This is where it started, isn’t it?"
Cosmic Emperor asked no one but himself.
"A devastated teenager falling in the pool... a foreign existence trying to take advantage of his desperation, tempting him with the grandeur of power."
Cosmic Emperor observed the orbs for a long time before bringing his vision on Enchantia.
"Watching people do stupid things while they are lured by power and greed..."
Cosmic Emperor said with a smile that returned to his face after countless years.
"You always used to get jollies from that, right?"
Enchantia was bewildered. It was the first time she met him, and yet, he talked as if they had known each other for a long time.
While she couldn’t identify him, she felt his smile and tone strangely familiar, especially the innuendo about jollies.
Cosmic Emperor lifted his hand. A strange force erupted over his palm, something that originated from the power of this dimension.
A whirlwind of dark energy surged out of Cosmic Emperor and fused with the force. As they fused, the resulting mass swirled into a circular motion, glowing brightly.
Whoosh~!
It soon turned into the shape of an orb!
Legacy Orb!
Enchantia was dumbstruck.
[[How can you create a Legacy Orb without my will?!]]
Her face shook and she gazed into the orb to check the visuals inside:
✻✻✻✻✻
A young man watched his daughter die before his very eyes. Unable to handle the loss, he turned berserk and took revenge on her killer. After some time, a powerful figure helped him regain sanity, but he remained depressed.
Thankfully before the depression could ruin his life, his greatest strength kicked in - the power to move on! He moved forward in his life, fulfilled all his dreams, and yet despite everything, one regret remained.
He failed to keep his promise... the only promise that mattered. He has to change that!
And what has he to lose?
Everything!
The stakes were high for he has reached the pinnacle. A single mistake could ruin the universe!
But he didn’t care!
He was ready to pay any price!
✻✻✻✻✻
[[!!!!!]]
Enchantia was terrified. She knew the man in the visuals, even though she wasn’t aware of the events he underwent!
She jerked towards Cosmic Emperor for she also knew the visuals inside this new Legacy Orb were his memories!
This crashed her mind with boundless shock as the realization hit her.
[[That would mean you are... Dream Seeker!!]]
Cosmic Emperor didn’t reply as he continued to create the Legacy Orb.
Enchantia’s figure twisted in more shock as she further scanned the orb.
✻✻✻✻✻
Dream Seeker - the man the world referred to as Zed/ Kiba/ Extermination - did everything possible to revive his daughter. His powers were such that he was able to create a new body and even a soul... but in the end, the daughter he got was just a clone, a replica! This wasn’t what he wanted! He wanted his real flesh and blood! The one who made him feel she was a part of his! The one who loved to run her little hands on his face! The one he loved unconditionally!
And to bring her back, he did the impossible!
He played with reality!
✻✻✻✻✻
Enchantia was horrified by what she saw next.
✻✻✻✻✻
Since no one has ever achieved what he wanted, and he has no one to seek guidance from, he experimented!
In one reality, he killed the titan before he could awaken! In second, he saved his daughter from being killed. In third, he secretly gave his past self a boost in strength to rescue his daughter. In fourth, he manipulated events to make sure his daughter was far beyond the battle site.
He experimented thousands of times... creating thousands of alternate realities!
And yet, his daughter always died!
The Fate ensured that! And so did The Time!
No matter the sequence of events, his daughter died! Sometimes she would be killed by the titan, sometimes by a stray attack, sometimes by a random accident, and sometimes by an enemy when he was occupied.
That was the power of The Fate! The road can be changed, but the destination would remain the same!
This was also the power of The Time! No one can exist beyond their destined time!
And to overcome that... Cosmic Emperor fooled The Fate and made The Time his enemy!
✻✻✻✻✻
[[The reality I exist in... this is where you fooled The Fate and made The Time your enemy!!]]
Enchantia was distressed as she further checked what he did in this reality. Even though she has no materialistic existence, she started sweating.
She stared at Cosmic Emperor with both dread and anger.
[[Do you even realize what you have done?! You have created a paradox!!]]
Cosmic Emperor turned towards her and replied, "So? What about it?"
[[!!!!!]]