Re: Timeless Apocalypse-Chapter 136: Darling

Uriel knew there was most likely a shady layer Godwyn was hiding from him about the whole situation, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.

The harsh truth was that he was trapped and powerless here, and though Godwyn was incredibly amiable, for some reason, Uriel didn’t doubt the man could become far more cruel if need be.

Regardless of what happened, he lost.

If he antagonised Godwyn too much, the man could outright kill him, or simply leave him to rot in this prison, or worse, deliver him to the horde of angry gods waiting out there.

The last point was also a subtle dagger Godwyn pressed against his neck. By becoming his disciple, Godwyn was very directly implying he’d protect him and help him grow stronger.

But it was also a way to tell Uriel that if not for him... who would defend him from those Gods?

He lost either way.

’So is the fate of the weak, to always be stripped of choice,’ Uriel thought, his expression neutral.

He wasn’t very angry or irritated, though.

"I’m glad we could come to an agreement, dear disciple!" Godwyn beamed with joy.

"..."

"..."

Silence rapidly returned, and the two stared at one another, one with a blank gaze, the other with eyes full of joy and relief.

Uriel’s blank gaze slowly shifted to confusion.

"A-are you not going to teach me anything?"

"What? No, of course not. Why would I do that? You’re too weak to be taught anything."

"Teacher-to-pupil initiation gifts?"

"The main reason I took you in as a disciple is because I lack resources, child. What gifts could I possibly bear for you? Your master is a young entrepreneur."

"These things take time."

It was Uriel’s turn to stare at the man in disbelief.

"But as a guide, I can give you a few things. Come, give me your hand."

Uriel did as told, still reeling in disbelief.

"No, the other one, the one with the Corynth Mark." Grabbing hold of the other hand, Godwyn gently traced the golden dot on Uriel’s backhand.

"See, the Corynth Mark has a simple function: legacies. I won’t spend too much time on this, but they essentially allow you to accept and learn legacies and inheritances."

"I’ll quickly explain what they are. Legacies are passed-down bundles of information, power, and resources created and handed down by the system itself, while Inheritances are the same thing, but created by anything that isn’t the system."

"In the future, be careful when dealing with inheritances. They’re usually very shady. The system’s legacies are very safe, though."

Uriel nodded. "That’s cool."

"It is. But I digress, my point is—"

Uriel’s gaze suddenly narrowed. Why was Godwyn suddenly in such a... rush?

A sense of foreboding overwhelmed him.

"—that I can cheat a bit. Because you didn’t defeat your king, your mark isn’t complete, and you shouldn’t be able to have any legacies or inheritances."

"And even if you had, you’d be limited to—"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Loud detonations echoed, and the cave began to shake.

Uriel suddenly felt spikes of aether so terrifying his heart skipped several beats, his eyes widening and his senses screaming, not of danger, but of death itself.

"—hey, focus!" Godwyn nervously laughed. "As I was saying, you’d be limited to a single Legacy or Inheritance."

BOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

"But I can bend that. I’ll give you a bunch of legacies. All you’ll have to do to unlock them is kill a King Beast, or kill the one you were supposed to defeat during the tide." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"I’ll tweak the Legacies a bit so their quality exceeds the norm slightly. Once you—"

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

It felt like the world was coming to an end.

"Once you master all your legacies and have your mark unlocked, we’ll see each other again, understood? I suggest you focus on your legacies once you reach C-Rank, but do what you want!"

Godwyn hurriedly rose to his feet, pulling Uriel along with him.

"I’ll be sending you to my assistant, your auntie-master, and she’ll explain the rest!"

He pulled Uriel forward, then waved a hand, forming a tear in reality before abruptly throwing Uriel into it, the latter utterly confused and shaken.

"It was a pleasure, dear disciple!"

BANG!

"See you soon!"

Uriel vanished into the spatial tear, hurled across the void, and reality mended in his wake.

Godwyn sighed in relief, then immediately smiled. "Uriel... what a fun little lad."

BOOM!

The entire cave collapsed. But rather than revealing an underground network of tunnels and rock, what lay behind it was an expansive cosmic sky of stars, stretching as far as the eye could see.

And amidst those stars, armies upon armies of warriors, each winged and adorned in golden armour, stood in formation.

Their legions were as numerous and murmurous as the stars flooding the cosmic sky around them.

Godwyn looked up, his smile stretching into a grin.

"GODWYN!"

WHOOOSH!

Radiant armour draped over Godwyn’s body, and a long silver glaive appeared in his grasp.

His aura, which he had been sealing in Uriel’s presence, unfurled in earnest. The laws of the world and the void alike lost meaning, reality fracturing beneath his will.

A tundra of force swept through the strange cosmic expanse they occupied, soon tainted silver by Godwyn’s radiant presence.

With his grin already stretched wide, his once calm blue eyes turned manic, mad by nature.

Dark feathered wings tore out from his back, and three horns emerged from his forehead, proudly challenging the heavens.

"Hello, darling."

...

SPLAT!

"Argh, damn it!"

Uriel was spat out of the spatial tear, landing hard against smooth metallic flooring.

Already in a panic, he immediately flipped onto his feet, eyes narrowed and mind in a state of absolute alertness.

’What the hell is going on?!’

He found himself in a vast, titanic hall of metal, floors and walls silver and gleaming.

All around him, embedded into the very walls, gigantic gates of onyx stood tall, covered in glowing white runes.

At the centre of the hall, near where he had landed, a floating tablet stood, made of grey stone and entirely unassuming.

The entire place was so strange it sent chills down Uriel’s back.

’Where the hell am I?!’