CHAPTER 16: FATE

After being forced out of control, Ascore with his head hung low, his expression hidden, on his knees in the boundless white space.

"Why?..." Ascore questioned as memories flashed through his head. Memories of death, war and bloodshed. Everything he had gone through to attain that power. Terrible things. Unforgivable things. Then the image of Jim popped up. A visible vein bulged from his forehead. His eyes widened in rage and turned bloodshot his face contorted in agony.

"Why?... I was so close... So why?..." Ascore asked as he remembered something someone

"They cannot be defied. No matter what. And with this rampage you've started. You most definitely have gotten their attention. They are fate. They are the future. They... are the guardians."

"Those bastards! It's them. They planned this from the very beginning. Those runes on the walls, it was actually just one big spell. this planet, the academy, everything was planned. Is this... Fate?" Ascore's expression returned to normal as he stood to his feet.

"Fate huh? It's obvious it has good things in store for him. Let's see how he survives against me. The time will surely come. Luckily, I'm a patient man." His lips curved upwards to form a devilish smile he then stood to his feet.

'Hey Jim! Sorry I blacked out there for a second. What happened?'

__________

Jim was stunned by what he saw. He had no doubts in what he saw. But what confused him as he clenched his fist and released it. He didn't feel any changes whatsoever in his body. He had expected the energy to run rampant or something but there was nothing.

'Did the system absorb it? It's understandable since I'd have popped like a balloon if I took in all that energy.' He thought as he looked at the system before focusing on the next skill and the screen changed once again.

[ASCORE'S DOMAIN]

[SKILL DESCRIPTION: SPREADS OUT ENERGY IN ALL DIRECTIONS IN FORM OF A DOME.]

[WHILE IN THE DOME, ENEMIES WOULD HAVE A 5% DEBUFF AND YOU GET A 3% BUFF FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL PRESENT IN THE DOME.]

[ENERGY COST: 1 EP EVERY 2 SECONDS.]

[COOL DOWN: 1 HOUR.]

[ACHIEVER]

[SKILL DESCRIPTION: THERE IS A CHANCE OF OBTAINING THE ABILITY OF AN ENEMY YOU'VE DEFEATED]

[ENERGY COST: 0 EP]

"This... This... Is this even possible?! This means I can have more than one ability! This is way too overpowered!" Jim was dumbfounded as he fantasized and daydreamed of the possibilities of this ability.

'Hey Jim! Sorry I blacked out there for a second. What happened?' Ascore asked, his voice a bit groggy.

'Ascore! You won't believe this! There's a system in the orb!' Jim said enthusiastically before remembering something and his expression suddenly changed. He held onto the black swords.

'You can't come out can you?' Jim asked with a dark expression.

'Yeah, don't worry about it too much though. There's nothing I can do when those old bastards 're interfering.' Ascore replied.

'You don't feel the full power do you?' He asked.

'I don't even feel anything at all.' Jim replied.

' It's the system. It's acting as a limiter so you won't run wild with the power. To prevent history to repeat itself.' Ascore said while Jim stared at the screen inquisitively as it changed again.

[NAME: JIMMY OSCAR]

[AGE: 17]

[LEVEL 1]

[HP: 99/100]

[EP: 100/100]

[DISPLAYING STATS]

[STRENGTH: 7]

[SPEED: 5]

[STAMINA: 7]

[DEFENSE: 3]

[RESISTANCE: 2]

[PERCEPTION: 1]

[EXP: 0/50]

[SP: 2000]

[QUESTS] [STORE] [ABILITIES] [INVENTORY]

' It's just like a game... Hey Ascore, these guardians, do they have technology?' Jim asked.

'Technology? Heh! Those old punks don't have anything like technology. That automatically generates the question: how did they create this system?' Ascore said. Jim couldn't help but agree with Ascore's thinking.

'Let's head back before the others realized I'm not there.' Jim said as he turned around only to be greeted by darkness.

'Oh right, the power source is gone.' Jim said sheepishly before his eyes suddenly glimmered red and he could see everything in detail.

[NIGHT VISION ACTIVATED.]

"Whoa..." Jim couldn't help but be awed.

'Let's just hope they don't find out.' Jim thought before walking away.

__________

"You morons! How could you let this happen?! He was so young! He was..." Phil was seen with snot and tears all over his face.

"It should've been you who died instead!" He screamed as he pointed at Axel.

"Keep your mouth shut you fool! It's night! You wanna get us killed?!" Axel cautioned Phil but even he couldn't help but feel stupid.

'How could this have happened? We were so dumb to let him keep watch all alone, if w...'

"Hey shitheads, over here!" Denok called the duo interupting Axel's train of thoughts. Axel went why Phil just continued crying like a toddler.

"What's that?" Axel asked as he looked in the direction Denok was looking.

After Jim had left to "keep watch", Phil had said he wanted to go keep Jim company. But when he got there, he couldn't find Jim anywhere. He immediately raised an alarm that Jim had been eaten and his nightmare was coming to pass.

Denok pointed at a spot on the ground.

"Footprints." Axel mumbled while Denok nodded.

"There no sign of a beast though, and no sign of struggle either. He went up there out of his own free will. I found it weird at first why he would want to stay out but I didn't really think much about it, he may just want some space or something." Denok said before turning to look up the mountain.

"He's up to something." Just as he spoke. A vague figure of the silhouette of a boy appeared to be descending the mountain with a feint red glow in his eyes.

"Huh? Jim?" Phil was confused as he looked. And for some reason, he felt more inclined to think he was a ghost more than anything else but before he could speak.

"Hey guys." The boy spoke as his features became clear as the reflection of the pale moonlight reflected on his face. They were all taken aback as they looked at him in awe like they had seen a ghost. His face particularly.

"Uh... What's with the reaction? I was only gone a few..."

" Jim, what... Happened to you?" Axel asked while Jim just stared blankly at them while Denok shoved a mirror in front of Jim's face.

"What the fuck?!"