Chapter 79

The room suddenly fell deathly silent. And Cattleya, who was sitting in her chair, immediately stood up and widened her blue eyes.

"A-a quirk?"

Damien nodded slowly, his expression laced with puzzling on Cattleya's sudden burst of curiosity. The woman walked over to Damien and took hold of one of his wings, studying them carefully and precisely.

"The last mention of any form of quirk predates the last epoch. After the angel of destruction wiped out humanity all traces of knowledge regarding it were lost to history…except for a scroll I possess in my office."

She suddenly turned to look at me, and raised an eyebrow and approached me slowly. 

"You can translate it, right? I'm sure your knowledge of the Spanish language would be 

enough to translate these scrolls."

Cattleya took my arm and pulled me into her office, before pulling the scroll down from the shelf and unrolling it.

I looked at the scroll carefully and began to read its worn and damaged contents, Cattleya's expression remained collected yet shimmering with curiosity.

"My travels here have been ridden with peril and chaos, I hope to reach my pinnacle soon."

"His pinnacle?"

I muttered.

"What do you mean?"

Cattleya asked, folding her arms on the wooden desk and gazing at me with curiosity.

"I don't know, but I have an idea on how I could know."

I suddenly began to scan the pages for any source of publication, or any author that wrote these words. At the bottom of the Spanish text I saw a name written in ink; Kaden Zourist.

"Kaden Zourist?"

"That was the man I previously read about in Cattleya's history books, the one who met the woman. Perhaps if I divine him into my throne room I could get some information from him. But how would I explain it to Cattleya?"

I figured I had no choice but to bring Cattleya with me. She was already aware of my divine protection and the symbol on my forehead, so I figured she'd won't be that unsettled by my sudden act.

"I have an idea."

I took out the 4 armed statue from my pocket, showing it to Cattleya. 

"What's that?"

I said nothing as I tapped her on the forehead with it, suddenly everything was engulfed in an overwhelming bright light. When we both ended up in the spirit castle Cattleya's eyes widened and she looked around.

"This is your divine protection?"

She asked as she continued to look around. 

"Why bring us here?"

I didn't say anything as I knelt on the ground and closed my eyes, before reaching out and visualizing the pages of the books that I read, ones that were written by Kaden. I guessed that if I lace my actions and align them with my intention to a certain degree, I could actively summon him from history to a certain extent.

Suddenly a figure appeared in the throne room, and a deafening roar shook the air around us. I opened my eyes to look at whatever was there, but an instantaneous pain flooded my mind upon looking at the thing. 

I looked back towards Cattleya, but my eyes widened upon realizing she disappeared, probably fleeing to her own divine protection or back to the physical realm of reality. The thing in the throne room was almost indescribable. Around its body, tendrils, fangs, eyes, stars, claws, bodily fluids, blood, intestines, dagger like teeth all moved and combusted instantaneously around the thing. 

Suddenly the throne room was engulfed in an inscrutable darkness, and a pair of massive black arms shot out from the darkness and encircled the thing. I tried to look away, but the thing seemed to have an effect making me lock onto it. The more I stared into it, the more painful and uncomfortable my body felt.

The pair of arms held the thing tightly, and the crimson moon manifested and shone brightly overhead it. The arms started to dive into the creature, ripping and gouging out strange symbols and characteristics that made the thing have such a charred and demented appearance.

The thing let out shrill howls and moans of pain as the hands worked and moved within its body. Suddenly the entire thing began to change. Its multiple bodily fluids shot back into its body, its eyes and teeth shrank back, its legs and arms shrank back, its tendrils dissipated into the air, and it soon formed into a young man clad in casual clothing, with fiery red hair, and a stubble that was the same color.

The Umbridge manifested before my eyes and approached me, before speaking in a solemn and intimidating voice. 

"You looked at a thing that is indescribable, a Spiritual form. You're only an Order 8, Apocalypse. You're lucky I stepped in and ripped apart its characteristics before your spirit body was completely damaged."

I looked down at my body, and realized it was heavily wounded. The rib cage under my thick skin was showing, my bones were sticking out, I lost a dangerous amount of blood, and a portion of my body looked transparent and ebbing away gently. 

"Spiritual form?"

"Yes. High Order seekers have access to these forms, they remain undescribed by dimensionality, concepts or even laws. Looking at one would flood your mind with higher dimensional information, and render your body, soul and mind utterly useless. Don't do something so reckless next time without being strictly aware of the dangers it might cause you, Apocalypse."

Their physical form then disappeared, and I was left alone with Kaden. His sudden transformation seemed to have drained him, as I saw him coughing up blood and gagging violently.

"Where am I?"

He asked as he reopened his eyes and took in the new surroundings. I hesitantly took a few steps forward and spoke up.

"Are you Kaden Zourist?"

He paused for a moment, nervously running his fingers through his crimson locks.

"I-I am, now tell me where I am now."

"It's complicated, really. We're kinda inside my mind at the moment, and I summoned you here because I want some information from you."

"Valuable information? You better have a pretty penny if you want anything outta me."

He crossed his arms and opened his left hand, expecting me to hand him a few Lumin or any possible currency I had on myself.

"Here."

I took out 2 silver Lumin I had in my pocket. Kaden looked down at the currency and raised an eyebrow.

"What's this junk?"

"Are you not from Seraphis Kingdom, I think it's the primary currency we use here."

Kaden suddenly sighed and brushed off his casual clothing before tossing the coins aside. He then showed me an annoyed glance and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, brat. What do you wanna know from little old me?"

"What do you know about quirks?"

"Quirks?"

I nodded, looking at him expectantly. Kaden sighed heavily and began to ramble on.

"Well, quirks are something I'm really profound in. But the earliest traces of quirks date back god knows how many years from where I'm from. The first quirks were stated to have emerged when The Pathfinder and his angels descended onto earth millions of years ago."

"The pathfinder?"

He nodded.

"One of the most powerful deities to ever exist? Have you been sleeping in school or something?"

"Anyways, after the first Transcendence War the humans were able to drive back the angels and gods using certain artifacts and supernatural abilities. Quirks soon became irrelevant and faded from everyone's genes because no one grew accustomed to using them."

"When The Pathfinder created everything he embedded all of his characteristics within the universe, concepts and dimensions."

"His eyes became the burning bright sun and the pure white moon that hangs overhead us. His veins rushed overground and became the roots of the trees that sprout. His blood, urine and other bodily fluids became the water in the rivers and lakes."

"His bones became the rock and stone, his skin became dirt and sand, his hair became the foliage, his mouth became the valles, his soul and essence became the cosmos. That's how everything was created."

"Somewhere along the way there must have been a mistake. That's how quirks were created."

Upon saying that, he sighed softly and closed his eyes.

"I haven't known many people who still possessed anything similar to a quirk. Everyone in my time uses the Routeway system, and they all strive for the same mindless goal."

His voice gradually softened as he spoke, he looked back at me and smiled.

"One of the only goals a person should have is love. In my travels I met this absolutely wonderful young woman, and when I tell you the first time I saw her I couldn't think straight."

"What was her name?"

Kaden's smile grew a little, as if even thinking about her made him smile, and feel some inscrutable and wonderful emotion.

"Bella, she is one of the nobles of the Adligon clans, the best head to rule above them. So far I've had to keep my relationship with her a secret."

He suddenly blushed and looked away.

"Just promise me you won't tell anyone."

I smiled back at him and chuckled lightly.

"I promise I won't."

"What was the strange form you took upon me first bringing you here?"

"That was my Spiritual Form, kid. Once someone climbs high enough through the Orders, their spirituality begins to fluctuate and they become dominant over their own spirit body."

"The Spiritual Forms are different through different paths, but they all possess the same factors and attributes. One of the laws of any Route is that your characteristics can't be created or destroyed."

"They merely fluctuate and change due to forces and outside influences. A Spiritual Form that someone takes rips apart and makes those concepts anew. Although I am confused on why my authorities were suddenly taken from my body, and I'm even more surprised that I haven't gotten corrupted or even died yet."

He suddenly raised his head and looked at the authorities and symbols that were now scattered across the throne room, coming in the form of intangible, illusory brands. 

He then took a few steps towards me and caught sight of the symbol on my forehead.

"It appears I wasn't mistaken when I thought that symbol meant something, I just didn't say anything to prevent more complications."

I parted my bangs and showed him the symbol, and his eyes widened upon seeing the full thing.

"It appears you've accommodated a differential property of the Apocalypse Routeway, something I've heard only legends about."

His voice rang with astonishment as he continued to gaze at the symbol with intrigue and excitement. 

"I thought the symbol was branded because I received divine protection via this throne room, not because I accommodated a property of the path. I don't remember doing anything that would make me able to do such a thing."

Kaden nodded slowly, taking in my sudden puzzlement. His eyes suddenly turned an illusory red color as a few black tendrils began to seep from his fingers like snakes. They circled around both of his palms slowly before fully changing and morphing within his being.

He then approached me and placed his newly transformed hand on top of the symbol on my forehead while murmuring something in an intelligible language I didn't know of.

"What are you doing?"

I asked. Kaden didn't respond and continued this strange process. Suddenly the symbol on my forehead began to glow, and I felt a strange rush of energy seep through my body.

"I'm helping you accommodate a characteristic in your physical body."

"Why would you do such a thing when I've only met you a few minutes ago? How do I know if you're to really be trusted?"

Kaden's red eyes softened slightly as he spoke in a solemn tone.

"To be frank, I'm helping you become what you've been forced to become; The Apocalypse, the one that tears the world."

"What do you know about The Apocalypse?

Suddenly all the authorities floating in the air began to shake and tremble, before entering Kaden's body one after another under the influence of the void state. Kaden's body once again began to morph and change as if he was transforming back into his Spiritual form, but his face contorted with pain whilst trying to hold it back.

"A lot, to say the least."

I watched as the last authority entered his body, the authority came in the appearance of the symbol engraved on my forehead, the sigil of The Apocalypse. His eyes suddenly transformed back to normal and he took a few steps back, smiling softly.

"I donated to you a characteristic in your physical body."

He said with a warm expression. I looked down and noticed my spiritual form was slowly merging back to normal, and all the illusory and damaged gaps on my body were healing instantaneously. 

"What characteristic?"

Suddenly Kaden's body began to slowly turn blurry and transparent. Upon noticing this he smiled softly and waved me goodbye.

"We'll meet again, Apocalypse."

Before I could say anything else, Kaden's body slowly disappeared into nothingness, and I was left alone in the throne room. I took a deep breath and attempted to contemplate all the information I just learned. 

"So quirks were manifested by accident, a mistake by The Pathfinder a long time ago. Then how could Damien possess one if they faded into irrelevance and no one has one? Perhaps he's a lot older than I suspected?"

I envisioned the 4 armed statue, but for some reason I didn't enter the physical plane. When I frantically opened my eyes I saw the statue sitting on the ground in front of me. I slowly and carefully leaned down and picked it up, studying it carefully.

The statue started to glow a dim red, and began to shake in my palm. Suddenly it melted into a red liquid that slipped inside my body, condensing into a thin form. The sigil on my forehead began to slow brightly, and I was immediately taken back to the physical plane of existence.

I suddenly realized something upon returning there; I didn't need to envision the statue to go to my divine protection. Perhaps it dwelled within my exact intention rather than an action? Whenever I wanted to go there I had the intention of envisioning the statue, but why would it change like this? Was this due to the new characteristics Kaden implanted into my body using his residual authorities?

I didn't put too much thought into it, as I had a bigger question to answer regarding Damien's age and the exact reason he still had a quirk which seemed to be almost impossible in this day and age.

I turned to leave Cattleya's office, but something in the mirror caught my eye. I turned to look at my reflection, and my eyes widened in fear and astonishment upon seeing 2 small, black horns on my head, hiding in my mop of hair.