Chapter 52 – Floor 3 – God of Eternity

Trike gasped for breath as he awoke in the Illusionary Realm. This was the beginning. The beginning of eternity.

"Just where am I?" Trike looked around. No longer on the Third Floor but in its illusion, Trike wondered where Eros and 21 sent him. Laying on his back, Trike sat up to gather his bearings.

21 stood over Trike.

"Where am I?" Trike asked 21, who curiously watched Trike.

"You're on the First Floor. This must be your illusion. Hmm…" The imaginary 21 instantly understood Trike's predicament.

"As expected of you. If not for your knowledge, I may have convinced myself that I was actually dreaming or that this was another time period." Trike sighed.

"I do not envy you, trainee." 21 looked at Trike with pity.

"What is this trial specifically?" Trike was a little worried. The imaginary 21's eyes were full of sadness. According to what 21 had told him beforehand, the illusions of the past would always have accurate representations of the people in them. Although this 21 was fake, his knowledge and actions were still realistic.

"How long have you been in eternity?" 21 asked.

"Today is the first day."

"Lucky me. I get to be the 21 who sees the first one." 21 smiled but soon left the room.

Trike shrugged and started cultivating alone, away from the others.

***

Weeks of the same day passed. As per 21's tradition, when Trike awoke, 21 asked him about his state of wellbeing.

"How long have you been in eternity?"

"42 weeks, five days."

The same conversations, voice lines, and reactions came from the crew members no matter what Trike asked them. There was no danger, but Trike soon got bored. Even though he was reliving the same day over and over, his skills were still increasing in power, due to the unique skill, Illusionary Eternity. If this were the normal trial, perhaps the day would have ended, and he would have woken up as normal after conquering his fear of having to use his skill one day.

Trike was unsure of how much time had passed on the outside. According to 21 and his parameters for this Unique Authority Path Skill, one real day was equivalent to over a million days. Trike didn't know if this was an exaggeration or not, but he felt strong. Taking out the prophetic book, Trike's Ultimate Skill, another passage revealed itself.

"Month Three – Understanding the Nature of Eternity.

By this point, you should have finally understood the consequences of entering eternity. With a captive audience, I can now fully explain to you the inner workings of my grand plan for the party…"

As Trike read chapter after chapter, he was completely shocked. Reading and re-reading the prophetic book again and again, Trike grew more and more frantic.

"This can't be happening!" He yelled, causing the imaginary Clico to grow worried in the same way, every single day.

"What's wrong Trike?" Clico frowned.

"If this is true, this party must succeed, at all costs!" Trike finally understood the insanity behind 21. Before, Trike thought 21 was a crazy prophet, but after learning the truth, tears streamed down his face. If he didn't face eternity, the world would end.

***

Months turned into years as Trike's eternity continued.

"How long have you been in eternity?"

"Twenty Years, eleven months, five days."

Charging his ultimate skill for this long allowed a break through into the high Royalty Realm. His battery like skill was not meant to be used this long, and it was sheer time that upgraded it since the skill's accumulation gradually slowed to a halt.

"Skill Evolution: Eternal Pinnacle." Trike initiated the process to evolve his skill. From now on, he could no longer use any aura, unless he used this singular skill. Everything he was, was now tied into one ability, for all of eternity. He couldn't use basic skills nor power up his aura without using this one, simple skill. He was effectively Auraless.

Restricted to the utmost degree, unless he used all of his aura for all time, he could not use any aura at all.

The realization set in, and Trike threw up. The skill evolution significantly boosted the maximum threshold that his skill, soul, and body could store, at a cost so high, it would drive the average person insane.

At this moment, the final chapters of his prophetic book were unlocked.

"Year Twenty-One – The Ultimate Skill.

Now that your skill has evolved, you will be able to break through to the Deity Realm with little to no issues. Now that you've made it this far, I will tell you the full truth of the Authorities..."

The newly conjured up pages filled Trike with information virtually no one else in the world had. 21 saw into a plane of reality no other man could. Even though he was a man, his mind rivaled the strongest Deities in terms of information. Trike read the unlocked passages and through the book again and again as he cultivated his skill, for decades.

***

Decades turned into centuries as Trike lived his slow life on the Labyrinthian.

"How long have you been in eternity?"

"Fifteen Centuries, Eleven Years, one month, three days."

In his boredom, he befriended each and every one of the crew members, memorizing every detail. His routine grew more and more sophisticated over time to gather new and interesting information.

In the mornings, he would eat breakfast with the crew.

In the afternoons, he cultivated the Eternal Pinnacle.

In the evenings, Trike studied the prophetic book while sitting on the deck, overlooking the stars and thinking of the future.

Sometimes, Trike played with the butterfly effect. According to 21, even the smallest action could impact the future in ways that were unintended. Saying different words and different phrases to different people changed the outcome of who ultimately visited him on the deck at night. Through his experiments, he finally understood the complexities of 21's plan.

Every single word and action were new variables that could change the final outcome of the day. To fulfill the conditions necessary for specific crew members to meet him on the deck at sunset, he got quite creative. Some were easier to rope in than others.

All it took for over half the members was a simple ask, but for others, they refused to meet Trike, no matter what he said. For example, the only way to get Ecnelis to visit him was to teach him the skills needed to break through. Anaxmai was another tough cookie to crack. His strange condition was only fulfilled one day when Trike was in a bad mood and didn't want to talk to anyone.

Barking angrily at Anaxmai, Trike fulfilled the condition, "Listen here you jerk, meet me on the deck tonight. If you don't, I'll beat you up tomorrow."

Over the decades Trike spent in his experiments, there was one last person who would never come to the deck, no matter what he did or did not do.

That person was 21.

***

Centuries turned into millennium, but 21 still wouldn't come to the deck to meet him.

"How long have you been in eternity?"

"Nine Millennium, Seventy-Three Centuries, Six Years, two months, three days."

The only time Trike saw 21 on the day of his eternity was right when he woke up. Every day, 21 would be the one to greet him, but after that, he disappeared from the Labyrinthian.

"What am I missing?" Trike slammed his head against the wall. As he grew stronger, he also grew obsessed with why 21 wouldn't visit him. In fact, he couldn't even find him. After 21 initially rejected his offer in the morning, he was gone.

Reading the prophetic book to nauseum, Trike felt as if his humanity was slowly disappearing, like a smoke he couldn't grab. All he had to keep him from losing his mind was his experiments. At this point, he knew just about everything he could realistically get from anyone through rough trial and error. All of their thoughts, feelings, backstories, he knew them all.

Just then, it hit Trike! This was how 21 was able to know everything! Yes, 21 must have a physique or skill that allowed him to repeat eternity, just like him.

The next morning, Trike confronted 21.

"I know your secret. I know the truth. I've read your book. You've lived eternity too. That's why you can predict what others do."

21 laughed for the first time in the imaginary world.

"Good guess, but you should reread the prophetic book a few more times. You're stuck in your own head to see the truth. I won't tell you my true nature. No one can know.

It's plain to see with the information you have, yet you desperately want a companion who understands you in this nightmare." 21's smile disappeared, and his eyes were sad. They pitied Trike. Walking away, 21 disappeared for the day.

"Impossible, there is no other explanation! What kind of insane Skills are you using?" Trike cursed in anger. Now that he understood how complex setting up his narrative was, there was no way he was just a man with knowledge. Even an Authority shouldn't know as much as 21.

Trike brainstormed.

If 21 wasn't a time traveler, nor an Authority in disguise, he had to be relying on an Artifact, physique, or he was a regressor or even a reincarnated Authority or powerful Deity. Racking his brain, Clico looked over at Trike.

"What are you thinking about?" He could tell Trike wasn't acting himself.

"How does 21 know the future?" He pulled his hair out in frustration.

"Who knows, but I haven't seen him all day. Where could he have gone?" Clico wondered out loud.

"I know, you've said that every day for months now. Wait a second, what did you just say?" Trike asked.

"I haven't seen him all day?" Clico asked.

"No, no. Where could he be? There's nowhere for him to be. That's it. He isn't here!" Trike stood up in an epiphany.

"I have to go!" Trike burst onto the deck. It was obvious all this time. 21 wasn't on board the ship; on this day in time, 21 was training in the Ocean of Souls with the Spirit Cultivation technique! Jumping into the water, Trike tried to swim but foolishly forgot he couldn't use aura, with the ship leaving quickly, he was stuck.

"Need some help… Trainee?" Grand Councilman Ziphe flew over and fished Trike out of the water.

"Thank… you." Trike said, embarrassed. Even after all this time, he was still able to get flustered like this. At times, Trike lost his mind, but new moments like this were the only things that could keep him sane and human. Any form of stimulation was good. Since it was all an illusion, Trike attempted everything he could think of and ignored 21.

Sometimes, he would lust after the woman on board and would attempt to seduce them using various templates and conversations. In the end, he grew bored after figuring out who was in love with who. There were simply some people who would never be interested.

Other times, Trike tried to assassinate the members of the party without his aura. At a certain point, Trike had to stop as he targeted the stronger members. 21 had told him that if he died here, he would truly die in real life. After the low-Sage realm, he found it to be impossible to kill others without Artifacts.

Because he was basically crippled now, he could only use Artifacts or runes in combat. Skills were useless because his vessel was sealed into his ultimate skill, and all that was left were Artifacts of the Scientific Path, since they were exterior sources of aura. The Runic Path was impractical since runes sometimes took days to create.

Even when he stole or borrowed Artifacts, there was a limit to whom he could safely assassinate or defeat. Once he started dueling with the stronger members, he forced them into structured one-on-one duels to mitigate his risk. Trike knew his humanity was vanishing, but his last obstacle still lay before him.

He had to find 21!

***

"How long have you been in eternity?"

"One hundred thousand Millennium, Five Centuries, Seven Years, eight months, four days."

"Incredible." 21 started remarking a few hundred millennium ago. Today was the big day. Preparing relentlessly, Trike found the correct paths to steal and borrow the Artifacts necessary to follow 21 within the first hour of the day.

Jumping into the water, Trike swam to the Ocean Floor into a corral forest. This was the last area he hadn't searched in a nearly one-thousand-mile radius, and his search paid off.

There he was. 21 sat cultivating.

"You found me." 21 said, somewhat surprised.

Trike had never seen 21 surprised before.

"Did it take you this long?"

"Yes."

"What did you want to ask me then?" 21 asked, bewildered. Trike went through all this trouble to find him, but Trike looked at 21 and laughed.

"Do you want to watch the stars with me tonight on the deck?" Now that he said it out loud, it sounded silly.

"That's it? I thought you would have wanted to know my true origins instead, no?" 21 asked, completely shocked at the unhinged question. Despite knowing what Trike would say beforehand, hearing was different from knowing.

"That doesn't matter to me anymore. Even if you haven't lived eternity, like me, your ability has a similar burden, if not a hundred times worse. Maybe I will ask you then if you're offering. Despite living this long, my prediction skills are confined to the Labyrinthian, yet yours appears infinite. Are you the Authority of Infinity?" Trike asked, bowing, and getting on one knee.

"Woah, woah, woah, stop that!" 21 smacked Trike on the back of the head.

"Look into my eyes." 21 said touching Trike's face and moving it so their eyes met.

"I am just a man who knows too much."