Chapter 4 : Present

There was more to Cresent's mysterious ability.

As he pushed himself to the brink of his capabilities, beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Shadow tentacles, measuring about five centimetres in width and with deadly sharp edges, whipped through the air at lightning speed as he attempted to capture his opponent before they could activate their ability to slow time. Despite Cresent's efforts, however, Edgar was able to expertly evade each strike.

But Cresent had a secret weapon hidden up his sleeve.

His shadows possessed the ability to transcend different states of reality, rendering concepts such as space and time meaningless. He had the ability to consciously manipulate the shadows within his own reality, but the manipulation of shadows in other realities was a subconscious process. Nevertheless, he had discovered ways to take advantage of this subconscious inter-reality shadow manipulation by pushing certain boundaries.

Unlike Edgar, Cresent had a deep understanding of all known abilities. This gave him a significant advantage in battle, as he was better prepared for the fight than his opponent was.

Before engaging in battle with Edgar, Cresent had issued a command to his subconscious to paralyze the shadow of any object that entered his perimeter. He had prepared for this contingency as he couldn't take any risks. If Edgar possessed the ability to manipulate time, then slowing it down may not be the only thing he was capable of. He might also have the power to stop time entirely, and if that were the case, Edgar could easily defeat him. However, as his shadows could operate across realities, he hoped that they would be able to counteract the reality of stopped time.

Cresent's final tentacle shot towards Edgar's ankle and made contact, scraping it before all of the tentacles retreated to Cresent. Edgar stumbled and fell to the ground, but before he could regain his footing, Cresent instantly sent another wave of tentacles towards Edgar.

In the blink of an eye, Cresent found himself facing Edgar again. The time manipulator was suspended in mid-air, his wrist guard's energy blade aimed at Cresent's neck. But to his surprise, Edgar was also frozen in place, unable to move.

Without delay, Cresent's shadow sliced through the shadow of Edgar's head.

The moment his head touched the ground, the forest simulation vanished, and Cresent found himself back in the training compound. He saw his opponent staring down at his arms in confusion.

"Is that what death feels like..." Edgar shuddered, visibly shaken by the experience. Cresent laughed and clapped him on the back. "We've all been there. Just think of it as a simulation," Cresent reassured him. "But it felt so real..." Edgar murmured as he slowly walked away, still fixated on his arms. Lincoln watched him take a seat on one of the benches in the compound with a sigh.

That's when Lincoln noticed Aytrex, who he thought was out on a mission, standing nearby.

"How long have you been here?" Lincoln asked the Alvan messenger. "Not long," Aytrex replied. Lincoln raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. He had many questions but decided to keep them for later.

He then turned his attention to Turnio, the teenager who appeared to be around the same age as Aytrex. He was the one who created the simulation that Cresent and Edgar fought in. "It's a pretty impressive ability you have," Lincoln said, making eye contact with Turnio.

"He has a unique spiritual ability to vault realities, but only the ones he creates. These alternate realities are almost irrelevant to the one we are in, so if anyone dies there, it doesn't affect our reality. He's the first person with such abilities, at least among the ones that the Guardians have discovered and recorded. It makes for very convenient sparring as there's no need to hold back," Aytrex explained.

Lincoln considered what Aytrex said. It can indeed be used for intensive sparrings, like what Edgar and Cresent just did. But Lincoln wondered if the boy had more potential. "Can the ability be activated right away?" Lincoln asked Turnio. "Not even close," Turnio replied. "I need to stay still for a good five minutes to create another reality. Then, after doing that, I still can't move until I've jumped or guided people into that reality. The door to that reality closes when I move. Realities can only be opened when they're created and closed when destroyed," the boy explained.

"Interesting," Lincoln said thoughtfully. He couldn't help but think that Turnio's unique ability had the potential to be a valuable asset to their team in the future, but for now, they needed to focus on training and becoming stronger.

"I want to see Lin fight Orange now," Edgar said, interrupting Lincoln's train of thought, as he returned to their group. Cresent concurred with a noise of agreement, and Aytrex turned to face him. Lincoln exhaled and shrugged, "Tomorrow," he replied. He kept eye contact with Aytrex as he spoke.

"I understand," he said, nodding. "Then let's call it a night. I'll let everyone know about the upcoming fight. I have a feeling many people will want to see it-" Aytrex began to say but was cut off by Crescent's reprimand. "Are you saying that my fight with Edgar here wasn't worth watching?"

"He's joking, you naive fool," Edgar interjected with a laugh. Aytrex chuckled along, "No one knows Lincoln is here, and that's how it'll stay. I'm still not sure why I was asked to broadcast the fight between you and him," he explained.

Lincoln sighed and looked around. It was true that Tyrants were searching for him everywhere on Earth since the fight, and they may have even allied with the Organization. "It was still quite a fight," Crescent said, still visibly bothered by it.

One by one they stepped onto a compartment that was shaped like a wide traditional elevator which was embedded into the wall, next to many other similarly shaped compartments lined up on the wall. This was called a Porter and was the main way to navigate around buildings Lincoln had been to so far.

It had been less than a week since they had left Earth. Lincoln was able to leave because he had convinced Dexter to take his place as commander.

Once they arrived in Alvanian, Lincoln knew that the current Earth, which was said to be in the "Golden Future" age, was just a fraction of the futuristic Alvanian. The cities were the perfect illustration of the fusion of magic and technology, particularly the country of Loda Guardio. It consisted of nine floating islands, and the Guardian Headquarters was located on the seventh island, Guardio Seno, where he had been brought to.

Lincoln wondered what kind of ability or power source made it possible for the islands to float.

Suddenly, the compartment they were standing on lit up from its sides, followed by the dimming of the lights in the training compound. After that, the scene in front of them changed in an instant. "Well then, let's get you guys back to the hotel," Aytrex said, stepping out of the box into a completely different room. "This is just too smooth..." Edgar commented, amazed, even though he had experienced it many times before.

The room they were in now was a contrast to the training compound they had just left. It was shorter and brighter, with floating lamps along the walls. Water flowed along the sides of the room, leading to an elevated, large white and gold frame which was connected to the ground by a set of floating glass stairs.

"Porters are like elevators except better in every way you could imagine," Edgar added, his tone getting louder. The lights on the porter then went dim as they walked towards the large frame. "You step into this box, think of what room you want to be on and then bam! You're transported to the room!"

They were in the Bridge Room, and almost every prestigious building in Loda Guardio had similar ones. They were not all as fancy, however, and though there were public bridges all over the country, they were all restricted to certain locations to prevent unauthorized citizens from entering the cities. This was mainly established as an anti-tyrant measure and had been proven to be fairly successful.

As Aytrex approached the control hub that stood next to the elevated portal frame, he turned to face the group. "Well then, I'll see you all at first light tomorrow," he announced. The portal, now lit up with golden rays, seemed to radiate with otherworldly energy. The light reflected onto Aytrex's orange hair, adding to the already mystical atmosphere. Lincoln couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the technology and magic that made this kind of transportation possible.

"Goodnight, see you tomorrow," Edgar said as he stepped into the portal, trying to hide his exhaustion. Lincoln followed suit, silently acknowledging the fatigue they all felt as he entered the portal.