R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 36 (Patreon)

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 36 (in editing-v2)

The first action Micheal took, as he stood frozen in space face to face with a Recorded Clone of the Vile King, was to activate his Eyes of the Deep Ability.

‘Divine Scan!’

In the first timeline, no one ever successfully got a Divine Scan off on Constantine and lived to tell the tale. His Growth Talents, Stats, and Path Notes were something never known to the public, but one of the most sought after pieces of knowledge.

Micheal activated his Ability to scan Constantine purely on instinct, well before he got over his shock.

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— - Divine Scan— -

Race: Empyrean Human

Title: -

Traits: -

STR - 18 (D)

END - 15 (D-)

REG - 13 (F)

SOL - 51 (SSS)

Path Notes: An Empyrean Human that walks a cluttered Path. Traces of the Path of Providence, the Path of Absolute Annihilation, and the Path of Space are present.

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What he saw shocked him.

‘An Empyrean Human? An SSS Growth Rating in SOL?! A SOL stat of 51 on the Second Layer?! He walks the Path of Providence, Absolute Annihilation, and Space?’

Micheal recognized the Path of Space, but the Path of Providence and the Path of Absolute Annihilation were both Paths he had never seen before. He also had never heard of an ‘Empyrean Human.’

However, what stood out the most was the fact that Constantine had a SSS Growth Talent for his Soul stat.

It was a firmly established fact that the human race had pitifully low Growth Ratings. Humans lacked a Physique of any kind and, as a result, relied upon the Shop to upgrade their low Growth Ratings or to purchase Abilities that could help.

However… while physically, humans always had weak Growth Ratings, this wasn’t necessarily the case for a human’s SOL Growth Rating. It was extraordinarily rare, but there existed some humans with abnormally strong Souls.

Constantine Lancaster appeared to be one of those exceptions.

He possessed an SSS Growth Talent in his Soul stat.

Something that, to the best of Micheal’s knowledge, no other human throughout the entire Human Race possessed.

Space unfroze, and the Vile King immediately began to talk. 

“What did you just do? That felt… invasive.” Constantine’s eyes narrowed as his gaze intensified, watching Micheal in a studied manner.

Unlike any other being Micheal had interacted with so far, Constantine Lancaster had a unique Aura around him that was difficult to describe. Every word he said, every action he took, had a special kind of momentum behind it. In person, even as a Clone, it made him extremely difficult to ignore.

A series of rapid-fire thoughts raced through Micheal’s mind as he saw the results.

‘He has an SSS SOL Growth Rating… that makes sense.’ The Vile King was an abnormal existence to the extreme.

With an SSS Growth Rating, the limit to which Constantine could grow his Soul was practically non-existent. He possessed one of the highest talents throughout the entire universe, compared among all species and all races, when it came to sheer growth capacity, potential, and strength.

Micheal filed away the information to the corner of his thoughts as he tried to push past his shock and register the fact that Constantine Lancaster was right here in front of him.

‘History says Baron Fortuna was here first... but Fortuna died during the Great War. By the time I began researching history, there was no known record of him talking about the Gate of Trials.’ Micheal’s mind sorted through thoughts and memories with abandon, fitting the pieces of the puzzle together.

The Recorded Clones you could face in the Gate of Trials were chosen from a pool of random challengers. Once the Soul King’s Inheritance became public, that pool of challengers grew into the hundreds of thousands, and eventually, millions.

The Vile King’s physical appearance only became known on the 5th Layer. Nobody on the 2nd Layer had a chance of recognizing him, even if they met him here. Information flowed up in the 7 Layers, not down.

‘But… if he’s here now… why didn’t he take control of the Soul King’s Inheritance?’ Constantine’s influence, in the first timeline, had no impact on the Soul King’s Inheritance.

“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” While Micheal was thinking furiously, Constantine took a few steps forward, his gaze cautious but inquisitive.

“It’s quite odd… I don’t recognize you at all.” The Vile King titled his head to the side.

“There’s estimates that around a million humans got dragged into the First Layer. Very few of those humans have moved on to the Second Layer as of now. By my count, that number should be less than 10,000, and I’ve kept track of all of them.” A small frown appeared on Constantine’s face,

“Who are you?”

Constantine’s eyes flashed with dark light for a split second as he asked his question.

Micheal’s eyes narrowed in that same split second, inferring a great deal from Constantine’s words.

‘This Recorded Clone… is this of Constantine during the First Wave?’

During the First Wave, the humans that were dragged in first had no idea that other humans would be dragged in later on. Before the Second Wave took place, the First Wavers believed that they were the only ones that would be here.

There were many First Wavers that interpreted the message they were sent about how only one race could reach the end of the 7th Layer and survive as confirmation that the rest of humanity was being held hostage.

It was a common belief, at the time, that the entirety of humanity on Earth was relying on them for rescue. Thus, the strongest members of the First Wave rushed ahead to climb the 7 Layers, leaving everyone else behind.

‘What do I say?’ Micheal’s heart pounded as he looked at the Vile King, stumbling to come up with something to say.

Constantine was an incredible genius. No matter what he said, he would give away information that he didn’t intend to.

If this Recorded Clone was truly an accurate Clone of Constantine, then Micheal needed to be extremely careful with his word choice.

‘A chance like this will never come again.’ He might be able to learn things about the Vile King that no one else ever found out.

“Your pupils dilated when I asked that question. Your heart jumped to an abnormally fast rate and the muscles of your upper body tensed.” Constantine’s words broke through Micheal’s thoughts, drawing his attention.

“It’s almost as if… huh, is that it?” Constantine’s gaze drilled into Micheal.

“I don’t know you, but you know me? Yes, you recognize me. Strange.”

Micheal flinched despite himself, the unusual, irresistible Aura gathered around Constantine throwing off his concentration.

“I’m not a public figure by any means... yet, you know me… and not just that…” A small, grim smile appeared on Constantine’s lips.

“Your reaction spells it out. You know about me, don’t you? Far more than you should.” Constantine began to walk towards Micheal, his smile turning ominous.

“How interesting.”

‘What a monster.’ Micheal blinked as he took a deep breath, forcibly seizing control of his emotions as his training kicked in.

‘Focus. Calm down. Adapt.’ Micheal’s boiling emotions cooled as he accepted the impossible scenario before him as real. His years of experience kicked in, finally letting him get over his extreme shock.

“Your heart rate is returning to normal… you seem to be quite skilled. Were you a soldier on Earth? Special Forces? You react like a highly trained veteran.” The Vile King queried, his eyes never leaving Micheal.

“How did you get here?” Micheal finally spoke up, resting his right hand on the sheath of his blade.

“How did I get here?” Constantine came to a pause, rubbing his chin in thought.

“This is an Inheritance, is it not? A treasure ground for those who find it. I came here through its Fifth Gate.” The Vile King, to Micheal’s surprise, gave him a straight answer.

‘The Fifth Gate? The Gate of Death?’ Micheal forced himself to keep an impassive expression, resisting the urge to frown.

‘You could enter the Inheritance through that Gate?’

In the first timeline, every single person that entered the Fifth Gate was never seen again. Furthermore, Micheal had never heard of someone entering the Soul King’s Inheritance through it.

“You control yourself well, but microexpressive reactions aren’t something you can hide.” Constantine’s gaze had never wavered as he looked at Micheal, growing more and more interested in the man before him.

“I entered through a Portal in the Sanctum that led to the Fifth Gate… and that surprises you. I take it that’s not how you entered?”

Micheal didn’t react at all this time

Despite that, Constantine nodded to himself.

“I can sense every physical movement your body makes, friend. Your self control is meaningless. When I mentioned the Sanctum, your facial muscles twitched by around a tenth of a millimeter.” Constantine quirked an eyebrow.

“As far as I am aware, the only humans to have entered the Sanctum are myself and my companions. No one else should have any express knowledge about it… and yet you appear to.”

Constantine’s eyes lit up with a hint of delight as he stared at Micheal.

“This is all so very strange.” The Vile King appeared to be enjoying himself.

After seeing that Micheal wasn’t going to say anything, Constantine kept talking. He also continued to observe Micheal’s reactions as he spoke, watching Micheal’s every move like a hawk.

“After I entered the portal, my companions were unable to follow me. I can take the Fifth Gate back to the Sanctum, but I was under the impression that access the other way around was now sealed off...” Constantine spoke aloud, slowly tapping a finger on the deck of cards he was holding.

“So I take it there is another entrance I am unaware of.”

‘The Fifth Gate leads to the Sanctum!’ Micheal’s mind raced as he processed the information.

‘The Sanctum was destroyed in the first timeline. Is that why people that entered the Fifth Gate were never seen again?’

If the Fifth Gate was meant to serve as a teleportation device or escape route, it made sense that the route would become corrupted if the end target was destroyed. With the Sanctum being annihilated, there was no telling where, and in what state, the people entering the Fifth Gate would be left.

‘Don’t believe everything he says blindly, Micheal.’ Micheal forcibly reminded himself. Constantine didn’t appear to be lying, but Micheal wouldn’t be so foolish as to blindly trust everything the man said.

“What were you doing in the Sanctum?” Micheal finally spoke up, replying to Constantine.

“Hmm…” Constantine hummed to himself for a moment as he considered Micheal’s question.

“Investigating a potential threat to humanity, believe it or not.” He returned and then gave Micheal a rather piercing look.

“I take it you won’t believe me, given the unrelenting hostility towards me that you are trying to conceal.” Abruptly, before Micheal could reply, Constantine’s face twisted as he looked all around.

“Wait a moment… why do my connections feel so frayed and artificial... what is this sensation…” Constantine mumbled quietly to himself before his gaze lurched back towards Micheal.

After a second, he shook his head.

“No, you don’t have the ability to do this to me.” His gaze turned inward.

In that split second, Micheal was tempted to ambush Constantine, confident he could kill the Recorded Clone with ease in the moment. He opted to wait and observe, however, trying to gather every detail he could instead.

“Is it the one who created this Inheritance? But, even then, how could he overcome all of my failsafes… none of the previous Duels felt like this... hold on...” The Vile King’s gaze returned to focus back on Micheal.

“Too many impossible variables can make the extraordinary possible… Someone that knows me, knows about me, possesses knowledge that no human should have yet… this frayed, artificial connection… an Inheritance where you Duel against recreated targets...”

“Ah… I see.” Constantine looked down at his hands for a moment, giving the deck of cards he was holding one last tap before returning his gaze to Micheal.

“Am I a Clone?”

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