R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 49 (Patreon)

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 49 (Next Chapter on or before Mar 25)

“Alright, we’ll go with this one.” Micheal looked at the Artifact resting upon the pedestal in front of him.

At the end of his gaze was a large, pitch-black scythe. The blade of the weapon had a few jutting edges shearing off its top side, while its bottom half was razor sharp. At the top of the scythe, where the blade connected to the black wooden handle, was a long metal chain tightly wrapped into the shape of a cylinder, about the size of Micheal’s fist, engraved with gray, almost invisible markings.

“It’s the best of the ones I recognize.”

Micheal reached forward and grabbed the Artifact, hefting it in his hand with a contemplative look.

Scythes, as a weapon for combat, were a rare sight anywhere in the 7 Layers. The shape and makeup of a scythe were inherently a poor fit for combat. A sword was better at slashing and a spear was better at stabbing. There were very few situations where wielding a scythe made sense.

Conversely, that also meant that people that used scythes stuck out like a sore thumb in Micheal’s memory, making it easy to recall this particular Artifact.

“The Scythe of Chains.” Micheal smiled grimly.

It was an ancient Artifact made by a Dark Wraith from more than fifteen hundred years ago. The creator of this Artifact, Oryx, was a madman who lauded himself as a God. He had created the Scythe of Chains with a singular purpose: to hunt down the Blue Drake that killed his daughter.

The legend had it that the Blue Drake Oryx had hunted was a wily beast, capable of flying at incredible speeds. The Blue Drake taunts drove Oryx mad, and so he crafted a weapon capable of stopping any being in its tracks.

‘Even if I wasn’t about to receive an Inheritance related to Space, this would have been my first choice.’ Micheal thought to himself.

The Scythe of Chains did exactly what Oryx intended: it stopped the Blue Drake, allowing the Dark Wraith to finally kill it and avenge his daughter.

‘An Artifact that can ‘chain’ any being in place for 0.5 seconds.’

It might sound like a minuscule amount of time, a mere blink of an eye… but on the 7 Layers, being frozen in one spot for half a second could have a devastating impact, depending on how it was used. The Scythe of Chains was an Artifact imbued with conceptual powers, meaning it was incredibly difficult to resist. Even Micheal would find himself helpless to counter it.

Abruptly, Micheal grinned.

“I’ll have to make it up to Vlad, now that he’s on our side.”

The reason Micheal recognized this Artifact was because the Scythe of Chains was originally obtained and used by none other than the Wonder King, Vladimir Ivanov, ruler of the Dragon Slayer Guild, and one of the Dawning Six that seized the First Layer by storm in the first timeline.

Thanks to Micheal’s influence, instead of throwing the First Layer into chaos, Vladimir had joined the Godfather Organization. Asim, the leader of the Arabian Knights and another member of the Dawning Six, had also joined, following in Vlad’s footsteps.

Micheal’s smile faded as he thought back to his last moments on the First Layer… back to when he was forced to kill the Godfather, Cameron, after he had been infected by the Vile King.

He sighed.

“I don’t look forward to when we are reunited.”

Constantine’s disinformation campaign had effectively labeled Micheal as the ‘Great Traitor’ to the Godfather organization, hampering his efforts.

‘They might already have arrived here on the Second Layer by now.’

Vladimir and Asim, as well as the other members of the Dawning Six, were true geniuses that grew to possess enormous power in the first timeline, at least until they were killed. Micheal had held every advantage against the duo when he fought them early on in the First Layer, but the more time they were given to grow, the stronger of opponents they would become.

‘How far did they make it up the Layers, again?’ Micheal searched his memories. The Dawning Six had remained in the First Layer for a couple of years before they moved up, each at their own pace. They participated in the Great War Between Races and other important events in humanity’s past, but Micheal wasn’t certain what happened to all of them.

‘I know the Wonder King reached the 6th Layer before dying. He had a famous duel with ‘The Invincible’ Kim Jiwoon. I’m not sure about the rest.’

In fact, it was because of Vladimir’s duel with Kim Jiwoon that Micheal first heard of the ‘Life Orb Mastery’ Limited Ability.

After a moment, he shook his head.

He didn’t plan on remaining in the Second Layer for much longer, but he would almost certainly be stuck on the Third Layer for at least a year.

‘If they catch up to me, I’ll deal with that when the time comes.’

Micheal rested his right hand on the Scythe of Chains, sending a strand of his Ki into it. As he did so, he felt a special, magical connection form with the magical Artifact. It was a sense of control and knowledge, flowing directly into his brain, confirming the scythe’s functions.

With a simple command, the Artifact transformed, turning into a long, 1-inch (2.54 cm) thick metal chain that wrapped around his right wrist.

In the same second that the Scythe of Chains transformed, the last glowing line on the back of his palm faded away, disappearing as if it had never been.

As soon as the glowing line vanished, the world around him began to spin. A bright flash of light obscured his vision as Micheal was teleported away…

And nigh-instantaneously found himself back in the main room of the Soul King’s Inheritance…

And… for the first time in what felt like an eternity…

Micheal heard a familiar voice.

“Micheal!” Before he could even clear his vision, he felt a pair of warm arms wrap tightly around him in a hug.

“Sophia?” Micheal blinked his eyes, a dumbfounded smile appearing on his face as he stared down at the petite, brown-haired girl.

Sophia looked almost exactly like Micheal remembered her. She had on a pair of short jean shorts, a white tank top, and a pair of sturdy black shoes. On either side of her hips were a pair of gray swords that Micheal instantly recognized, Dust Blades that could be purchased for 36,780 Points from the Shop.

She looked almost the same. As he stared back at her, in that split second as she hugged him, Micheal realized what was different.

‘She’s finished training in the First Gate.’ There was a certain atmosphere about her that could only be explained by extreme, intensive training over a long period of time. The way she carried herself, the stance of her hands and her steady movements even in her excitement.

It was a level of unconscious skill and grace that could not be explained away by mere genius, but rather, countless days of hard work and effort.

“It’s good to see you again, Micheal.” Sophia’s voice sounded small as she hunched forward, hugging him harder.

“Same back at you, Sophia.” Micheal grinned as he hugged her back with one arm.

“Micheal, you’re out!” Just as he finished hugging Sophia, a second female voice caught his attention.

“Serena? Oh, you didn’t go in yet?” Micheal jerked his head over towards the direction of the First Gate.

In the background, several soldiers from the Farian Shadow Guard that accompanied her milled about, forming a defensive perimeter inside the Soul King’s Inheritance. Micheal didn’t see Lieutenant Minesville among them, but assumed the 2nd-in-Command had gone outside the Inheritance.

“No, just before I was about to go in, your companions popped right out! I’ve been talking with them!” Serena said, motioning to the figure of a man right beside her.

Micheal turned his gaze to the side, finally staring back at his best friend.

“Yo, Micheal.” Shin’s voice sounded rough as he walked forward, a lazy grin on his face.

“Long time no see.”

Shin had changed significantly since Micheal last saw him.

Gone were the stylish, fashionable clothes his best friend had worn on Earth. Instead, he was now wearing a set of faded, brown pants and a brown shirt, the type of gear that would perfectly blend into the walls of the Dark Canyon. His blond hair was still as spiky as ever, but the way Shin carried himself was subtly different.

‘It’s his eyes.’

In those eyes was something Micheal hadn’t seen since he came back from the first timeline.

Steely determination mixed with calm, steady confidence.

As he looked at the changed Shin, he saw the shadows of a best friend that had climbed through Hell with him in the first timeline.

All the memories he had shared with Shin in those exhausting years might be gone now, but his friend was still here, the same as ever.

“Ya miss me?” Micheal said with a smirk, a weight seeming to slide off his shoulders as he nodded.

“Not really, I was just worried I’d have to write you out of my dream journal.” Shin returned, tit for tat.

Micheal snorted despite himself.

“How long it take you to come up with that one?”

Shin smirked back at his reply, and then did something Micheal never could have predicted.

He held out a lumpy pink cupcake.

“Heyo, I almost forgot! Happy Birthday Micheal!”

“It’s your Birthday?!” Serene bounded forward,

“Happy Birthday Micheal!”

“Wait what!? How come I didn’t know that?! Happy Birthday Micheal!” Sophia gave Micheal a second hug.

“Congratulations!!”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...it’s not my Birthday.”

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