Let It Out Z

Beep. Beep. Boop. Boop. The beautiful sound of road rage mixed with a chorus of car honking rung on the jam-packed street. Civilians walking on the street treat the noise as background music while some inwardly mocked the cars because they felt 'superior' for walking past them. Sitting in his van and being stuck in a traffic jam, Pro sighed with a bit of frustration.

"This is why I don't like going out. It seems that I will have to find a place to park and manually walk to the station. It would take a bit longer on foot, but it still won't take as long as driving in traffic."

Pro had barely driven into the populated section of the city before he was stuck in a traffic jam. Although he could have just used his fast speed to reach the city, that would draw too much attention if he was accidentally caught on camera.

In the modern age, surveillance is almost everywhere. Cellphones, security cameras, traffic cameras, and even satellite image. If you stand out from the crowd, your picture could easily get snapped by a random passerby and posted onto the internet.

Of course, it is dubious if normal cameras can capture the image of Pro. Not being seen by surveillance cameras is fine, but if the one behind the camera is a human, dubious posts may make the headlines. If that happens, Pro will have to spend most of his time hiding in his domain, and that was not what he wanted. So, Pro tried to be as normal as possible and chose to hide his body inside a vehicle for most of the way.

This traffic jam was already calculated into Pro's escape plan. After all, with all the recent chaos and frequent accidents, it would be abnormal if there wasn't traffic jams in a city. Of course, once the chaos is suppressed, the city will probably return to normal and traffic jams will occur less frequently unless at certain work hours.

The reason why he was stuck in this traffic jam and not driving out of the city with the car is because Pro had already planned to abandon this car. Bringing it along would only increase the risks of him being found. Surveillance cameras may not be able to capture a ghost on camera, but it can easily track a vehicle. Although the owners of this vehicle are dead, investigators that will track the missing owners in the future will eventually locate the car.

While he waited for his car to slowly squeeze towards the parking lot that he planned to deposit this 'borrowed' car in, Pro pulled up his system library to check on his upgraded abilities. Fair warning, no texting and driving unless you want to become a dead man like Pro.

[Bathroom Illusion] Anywhere can be a toilet, even air! Give the target the illusion that they have entered the bathroom. The target will be temporarily confused on successful illusion cast. The illusion is effective until the host dispels the illusion or the target leaves the illusive bathroom. If there is no suitable object to serve as a toilet, an invisible placeholder will be generated. The strength of toilet curses is doubled when used on targets affected by Bathroom Illusion, Cost: 50 to cast, 10 to dispel

[Constipation] Ignoring mild curse resistance, causes target to have constipation, Cost: 1 per second

[Domain Perception] Host can perceive any part of host's domain with a bird's eye view. Host can also perceive the 5 meter area around host's Realm Bridge anchor in the physical world.

[Domain Regeneration] Damage to the domain objects and barrier will now automatically repair over time. Host can consume 100 energy points to recovery 1 life point of damage. Recovery Rate: 1 life point of damage per minute

[Summon Cow Pie] Summon a cow pie at a location within host's perception. Cow pies obey the law of gravity and will not stick to walls. Enemies who step on the cow pies will have a high chance of slipping and a slim chance of falling face first into it. The sense of existence of the cow pies is reduced. Cow pies spawned by this ability can be absorbed by the host's domain in order to clean it. Cost: 10

[Talk no Jutsu] Others will have a higher chance of believing host's bullsh*t talk. Host's speech has a low chance of having a confusion effect on the listeners.

[Toilet Attraction] Ignoring mild curse resistance, mental attack to cause target to want to poo urgently, Cost: 10

[Toilet Paper Illusion] Mental attack to cause target to always see and feel toilet paper in host's domain before they poo, but will not see nor feel anything that they would regard as toilet paper after they poo, Cost: 10

Minor changes were made to a lot of his innate abilities, enhancing their strengths. Some of the abilities could even buff the other abilities when used together. The other abilities didn't change much. As for the natural ghost abilities, Pro will have to wait until he returns to his domain to test them.

Checking his status screen, Pro noticed a new grudge points system. After searching the system library, he discovered that the only way he could gain 1 grudge point by converting 1000 life points, but it can't be converted back. It also noted that there was other ways to earn grudge points, but not it was not specified in details so Pro will have to figure it out himself later.

The next thing Pro found was the new section of memories of obsession in the system library. Pro then discovered that it was just video recaps of the cut-scenes he saw when he absorbed the evil spirits. Recalling the notice that he won't be shown the cut-scenes anymore, Pro clapped his hands in excitement a couple of times, and he truly believed that this was the best upgrade he got.

"Finally, I was wondering when those annoying cut-scenes that were used to fill word count would disappear."

Of course, it didn't disappear and Pro could still go watch it later to gather information if he wants.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Pro was suddenly distracted by the chimes that echoed from the distance. Glancing through the window, Pro noticed a tall clock tower in the distance, standing proudly up high in contrast to the buildings of this city.

"That's the tallest structure in this city isn't it? If there was a skyscraper here, then it would be a different story, but this is one of those smaller cities with more land and low-height buildings. Still, it's weird that there's a tall clock tower in the middle of all this, but I guess it's a relic from the past so they didn't want to remove it?"

The chimes of the clock faded away and the bustling noise of the road returned. Pro glanced at the gloomy clouds that completely obscured the sun and knew he had no chance to test his 100% sunlight resistance. However, he knew he had plenty of time to test that in the future.

After a while, Pro finally scooted his car out of the traffic jam and into a parking lot near his destination. Grabbing a ticket for his car, Pro secretly grinned as he knew he won't be coming back to pay the fee. Even if they tried to track him for that, he had no worries because he will be long gone.

Finding a spot that avoided the sparse security cameras in the parking lot, Pro parked his car and calmly got ready for his escape. Pro wrapped himself tightly with his large coat and put on the cap that he retrieved from his domain.

Although he tossed most of the visitors' clothes with their body, he still kept some of the useful clothes that he didn't have in his domain, and the upgrade just so happened to assimilate them for free.

Making sure that there was no one looking, Pro finally got out of his car. Locking the car behind him, Pro tossed the keys into his domain with a thought. After a bit of testing, he knew that he could take out and store items assimilated by his domain with a small energy cost that depended on the item size.

Pro then silently strolled towards the nearby Pmtrak station, while mixing into the crowds on the sidewalk as naturally as possible. Nobody found him strange in the coat because a lot of people were also dressed for the cold weather. However, when someone walked near Pro, they would feel more cold than usual.

Unlike a certain parallel world timeline where people don't travel much due to a certain virus outbreak, there were still many travelers in the train station. Making his way into the fairly crowded Pmtrak station, Pro found a spot near the benches and waited for the train to come.

A man sitting on the bench nearby shivered as he suddenly felt the temperature drop nearby. He glanced around but couldn't find anything wrong besides the new guy standing nearby, but he didn't speak up as he knew it would sound like a joke to say that the temperature dropped just because someone came by.

Waiting for about half an hour, the delayed train finally arrived at the station, like usual. After the old passengers filed out of the train, the new passengers began to file in. Pro naturally joined the group and easily found himself a seat near a emergency window exit, just in case he needs to escape. As seats weren't assigned, it wasn't hard to find one.

The passenger seats were gradually filled up as the train prepared for departure. With the honk of the train, the scene of the station began to scroll across the windows. Recalling the route of escape he planned, Pro smiled as the first step was complete with no problem. After this, the multiple branching routes he planned would help to throw off anyone that wanted to track him. Plus, he planned to 'disappear' in the midst of his ride and go on foot for some parts of his plan.

"I am now free. The people of this world, the black hand behind the scene, the government of this world ... it doesn't matter who you are. No one will get in my way to be stronger, and I will turn this world upside down if needed. The world can burn for all I care ..."

Putting on a smile that contrasted his dark thoughts, Pro relaxed and leaned back into his chair as he glanced out the window to observe the tall clock tower shrinking into the distance.

Inside the clock tower, a man dressed in a black robe solemnly climbed up the winding staircase. The darkness of the interiors did not seem to hinder his sight and it didn't take long for him to reach a room near the top of the clock tower.

After taking off his hood to reveal a well-chiseled, tanned middle-aged male face, the black robed man gently gave a couple knocks on the door, seeking permission to enter.

"Come in."

The door creaked open on its own as a fair lady's voice flowed into the man's ear. The man bowed his head and cautiously entered the room. Strolling forward, the man then respectfully knelt down behind a lady dressed in a Z*nya Twist Maxi black dress that revealed parts of her fair, white skin.

Although the lady was facing away from the man, the lady's slim, beautiful figure was revealed to the man with a glance, but the man does not dare to have any lustful thoughts. As the lady observed the city afar, her lustrous, silky black hair gently swayed when she turned her head from time to time.

After silently observing the city from the window of the room, the lady finally asked, "Did he leave?"

"Yes. He has left as planned. I have done as you ordered, Saintess," the man reported in a deep voice while bowing slightly in respect.

"Good. With this, the lord's decree has been completed. The prophecy will be fulfilled and the Hermit Order will not be able to stop us."

The man bowed as he silently prayed by tapping a his chest a couple of times. After struggling inwardly a bit, the man then slowly looked up at the back of the Saintess as he couldn't help but ask with a hint of anticipation, "Saintess, when can I return?"

The room descended into silence once more as the lady silently took a final glance of the city. She then turned around to reveal a chiseled chin hidden behind a black mask. Her plump, red lips opened as she gave her reply while walking towards the exit.

"Soon. Once the dawn of the gods arrive once more, the truth will be revealed to the ignorant beings of this world. At that time, you can discard the meaningless small society that you are a leader of and return to the embrace of the Twilight Order."

The man trembled in excitement as he bowed in respect, "Yes! As you command."

Clack. Clack. Clack. The high heels of the lady tapped on the ground as it mixed in harmony with the sound of gears turning in the clock tower. As the lady's back disappeared, the gears finally set into motion, allowing for the fateful clock's chime to resound once more.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

As the bell rung in the distance, students filed out of the university classrooms and began to head off to their next lecture. Two buff man in black suit followed a thin male while he walked through the university hallway. The crowd of students nearby parted ways while observing him from the side.

"Hey? Who's that? Why is everyone avoiding him?"

"Have you heard? That's the genius that was scouted by the government not long after he entered university. I heard he invented some beyond this era arc reactor along with some other black tech. It's being tested, but I heard it will be the cornerstone to the future science breakthrough."

"Is that real? How come I haven't seen anything in the news?"

"The news was suppressed by the government while they test the results, but I heard from a couple professors that it won't take long before they announce it to the world."

"Wow! That means he will be the father of science in the future? What is his name?"

"I heard it is Lu Ke."

Calmly strolling through the hallway and out into the courtyard, Lu Ke ignored the noisy bustle around him as his mind was preoccupied. Suddenly, Lu Ke felt a touch of cold on his face that brought him back to reality.

Blinking his eyes, Lu Ke reached out his lands and touched a damp spot on his face. Slowly raising his head, Lu Ke's dull eyes lit up a bit as he watched the snow gently flutter down from the sky.

Reaching out his hand and grabbing a snowflake, Lu Ke gently smiled as he whispered, "This snow is as pure and beautiful as you are ... I promise that I will make this world a better place, just for you. Wait for me."

Lu Ke let the melting snowflake flutter out of his hand as he walked away. The snow continued to gently fall from the sky as the city welcomed the arrival of winter.

Walking out of a large warehouse, an Asian male with curly black hair paused in place and looked up to observe the falling snow. Two ladies followed behind him, one carrying a back and holding trinkets in her hands while the other held a runic pistol in each hand.

"Waaa~ it's snowing! It's beautiful isn't it Gu Hao?" the lady carrying the bag exclaimed as she stared at the snow with bright eyes.

"Ya! It seems winter is here. Maybe I can practice shooting snowflakes ..." the other girl chimed in.

"Hey Beatrice! Don't go wasting bullets! They are expensive you know! Do you know how much effort I put in to earn the money for those bullets?" the lady carrying the bag reprimanded as she glared at the other lady.

"Yea, yea, I gotcha~ Lena, you told me so many times already," Beatrice said with a laid back attitude as she twirled her guns around.

Gu Hao chuckled as he glanced at the ladies that bickered non-stop behind him. After listening to their endless bickering for a while, he could only helplessly intervene, "Alright, alright. You can chat with each other more later. You can chat with me as well if you aren't tired. Let's go back and turn in the mission first."

"Mmm," the two ladies agreed as a faint blush appeared on their faces as they recalled certain events.

Examining the two blushing ladies and recalling the sweet time they spent together, Gu Hao's heart couldn't help but be filled with warmth. He swore that he would protect them no matter what. He doesn't want to lose people he cared about anymore.

Gu Hao then strolled away from the warehouse with his two lovers following behind him. When they were far enough from the warehouse, Gu Hao raised one of his hand into the air. The descending snowflakes were disturbed as a current of magic gathered above him. Three big fireballs appeared in the air above Gu Hao.

"Father ... I will find you and I will destroy anyone who harmed you or tries to harm those I care about. With my magic, I will make this world a better place."

Slamming his hand down, the three fireballs flew towards the warehouse and left a scorching trail of smoke in the air. When the fireballs made contact with the warehouse, they exploded into a sea of fire.

Boom!

Rubble from an explosion bounced off a black cloak that shone with a metallic glint. As the cloak was lowered, it revealed teenage man with brown, curly hair and wearing a medieval knight armor on his upper body.

Glancing at the panting cultists in black robes along with their puppets and the raging flames coming from the building behind them, the young man had a cold face. He gave his sword a swish before he confidently dashed forward, leaving a trail of afterimages.

Swish! Swish! Puff! Swish! Dancing in between the group of cultists who tried to fight back, the young man gave them the death sentence.

Scree! Evil spirits tried to escape from some of the dead bodies, but the young man calmly stated, "Holy Light."

With the arrival of blinding light, the evil spirits were wiped out, leaving the young man in black windbreaker along with another middle-aged man in priest robes. The priest slowly strolled up to the young man as the priest flattered, "As expected of Knight John. With your power and potential, it won't be long before you will be named the Saint of our church! The rise of the church will be in your hands!"

"Ahh ... so troublesome ..." the young man muttered as he scratched his head in frustration.

"Eh? What's that?" the priest asked as if he heard wrong.

"Nothing ..." John replied in a sad tone as he took a glance at the corpses of innocent civilians that were being cremated in the raging fire of the cultist's hideout.

"Don't worry Knight John. With the rise of the church's power, you will have the power to clean up these unruly, evil beings and protect the innocent people from harm," the priest comforted before persuading, "Knight John, as long as you agree, our group of old men will support you in becoming the Saint of the church."

Watching the raging flames that reflected his inward emotions, John sighed as he finally made a vow, "I swear I will eliminate all the evils of this world and make this world a better place."

With a twirl, John turned away from the scene and walked away as his cloak fluttered behind him. His sword dripping with blood foretold of the bloody times of chaos that will come.

The final chess piece was in place as the world prepared to welcome the turmoil that has yet to come. What will the future of this world hold? No one knows, but even if they did, they can't stop the gears of fate that had already begun to turn.

End of Arc 1: Gears of Fate