[…??!%!]
[Error! Error!]
In the shadow temple realm, the poor Infinite AI was having a breakdown as it gazed at the scene before it. 1 Brave + 1 Unknown Evil, both working to break the lock over this place.
After countless deaths, Jack had somehow managed to turn the creature into an ally. It seemed even a monster could feel loneliness, and he had convinced it to follow him.
[Converted An Evil Being?!]
[Acquired Title: Free Hugs For Days! +14% Hug Power!]
"Go on, keep striking at it. Behind lies freedom!" Jack urged the shadowy creature as it kept striking at the very fabric of the realm with its tentacles.
— Crackle! Crackle! —
[Warning! Dangerous Action Detected!]
[Account Corruption May Increase Further!]
"Keep going!" Jack's eyes were red with madness, yet his heart was at peace. So what if this was dangerous? There was a chance, and he'd seize it!
Then it finally happened.
With one last strike, the entire realm broke, an enormous dark fissure appearing in the air akin to a bleeding gash. Out of it came sharp dimensional winds that threatened their souls.
[Warning! Death Is Assured In There!]
That was to be expected. After all, they were trying to brute-force a path back to the mortal world. The System wasn't going to help either, still pushing for "Repair" instead. But so what?
"Get ready, just like we planned."
~ Hehe, of course! Time to leave this god-awful prison!
That's when the man opened his mouth…the shadow flying inside it?! A second later, his aura turned vile, and his eyes turned pitch black.
[Evil Spirit Possession?!]
[How Foolish…]
Foolish? Very, but they were only getting started! As the two jumped inside the deadly portal, the System got ready to delete 2 entries in its registry of existing entities…
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Even while possessed Jack felt it all.
The journey between worlds was akin to being thrown into a washing machine….but one full of sharp icy blades. Every second he had to forcefully disable the auto safety-logout.
But then they saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
Jack's bloodied body was flung out of the buzzing portal faster than a bolide, colliding with a wall and struggling to get up. What followed next was an even faster orange comet!
First came the "woo!", then the feeling of the fur as Moon Moon rubbed its face against him. The little wolf was brimming with bliss, but then it stilled. There was something wrong with its master!
His face was covered in scars, but it wasn't just his body that was broken, so was his soul. Without that "soul" to link himself to his avatar, his return would be pointless.
[As Expected…]
[Soul About To Rupture.]
[You Will Perish In 74…73…]
Jack's fate was already set. Even the Goddess of death wouldn't dare intervene at this point, not in this current version of the game; none could, for this was the age of mortals.
He could sense regret oozing from the nearest Eternal Galloping Father's statue, the bitterness of the Unknown Evil, but most importantly, the little wolf's despair.
Now was the time to say his last goodbyes and— What?! Jack wasn't doing any of that, instead gazing inside the portal's abyss while laughing madly. Had he turned crazy?!
"Quick, Moon Moon, give me some help over here!"
He was already going around trying to put together a magic circle. While doing so, he kept mumbling about this being an opportunity that couldn't be missed.
The little tidbit they managed to hear confirmed his madness. He wanted to use the opportunity of his soul being a mess to mend it and upgrade it at the same time?!
There was no way something like that was possible! Right?! At this moment, a few divinities were already observing his progress unbeknown to him. After all, it wasn't every day that the fabric of the world was forcefully broken.
"Put this right there!"
In the very center of the array, he installed the ever-frozen heart they had gotten from the Iceland Boss. This would absorb the cold energy from the dimensional wind.
"Tch— It won't be enough, far from enough in fact. Shadow, I'll need your help to deal with the space energy! Follow my instructions."
The creature obliged but couldn't help but feel extremely weird.
After invading this world with its real body, the plane's laws were quickly making most of its power evaporate, at least temporarily. Somehow Jack's instructions took that into account!
How did he know?!
[A Wind God Is Shaking!]
[A Wandering Deity Is Confused!]
[A Death God Overflows With Pride!]
[A Farming God Worries For His Apostle!]
"Tch— No time for useless notifications." Jack brushed it all aside as he connected the deadly portal with his magic circle, using it as a battery.
But even then, it wasn't like pure energy could magically regenerate a soul. This was nothing but wishful thinking on his part. If anything, he was pretty much creating one huge magic bomb!
But just as there were only a few seconds left in his life, he finally revealed the last part of his plan. He grinned as he placed the final puzzle piece in the magical formation.
[Successfully Created… a Soul-Refining Furnace?!]
[Activate Using Commander's Great Soul? Y/N?]
[*PS: Please Don't!]
The poor System was already dreading all the damage that this would cause. Was this guy trying to overwork its AI self?! It sure looked like it!
"Yes!" Jack laughed manically, disregarding the System's protests.
That's when the whole thing lit up, turning the entire Temple into a light show. It was as beautiful as forebodingly ominous. The energy kept going up and up and up until….
— BOOM!!! —
The Temple exploded.
Jack felt the last wisps of his soul being ripped to shred as the energy engulfed him. He had to endure and had to make it his! He was aiming for a rebirth akin to a Phoenix!
How long did the process last? Even he didn't know. The world and everyone in it disappeared, only dark energy filling his vision.
He gave a self-derisive smile. All this not to lose his pet…he really was a fool, wasn't he? But if there was one thing this fool didn't lack, it was willpower.
He kept enduring until his vision was flooded with notifications.
[Successfully reforged your soul!]
[Your Soul Now Has A Demonic Property!]
[Gained Partial Immunity to Demonic Energy?!]
[Soul destruction has been adverted. Congratulations!]
The soul that usually served to enhance summons had instead been used to enhance a player. Wouldn't this make him half a monster? Then again, he didn't mind it either.
As he finally regained his sight, he couldn't help but gasp.
The Temple was gone, the earth was cracked open, and there were hundreds of baffled Centaurs staring straight at him, their bulging eyes bigger than full moons.
A raging storm overcame their hearts, countless questions wishing to escape their lips. Was it really Jack? What had happened to him? How had he come back?
But there was one thing they especially wondered:
"W-where's Tribe-Gather?!"
There was nothing here but rubble. It wasn't just the Temple that was gone. The city had been obliterated too! The Centaurs couldn't have been more distressed. This was their Holy City!
It only took instants for their distress to turn to sorrow and finally rage. As he glanced at the mighty Centaurs assembled, Jack couldn't help but gulp. He'd have to apologize and—
[You've Destroyed An Historical City!]
[The Eternal Galloping Father Wants You Dead!]
There was already a green light gathering around the rubble. Was the god trying to communicate with its followers?! He had to prevent this at all costs!
Jack hurriedly pointed to the distance.
"I saw Ephials running that way! I'm in no condition to chase, but you still can! Hurry!" He screamed.
They nodded, giving him respectful nods as they passed him. Jack's state was so pitiful: he had obviously fought the Ephials! It's only when they had angrily galloped away that he finally sighed in relief.
Time to Run!
[Trying to escape responsibility….]
"Tch— Stop judging and hand over the Quest rewards already!"
Rewards?! This goddamn Brave still wanted rewards for "saving" Tribe-Gather? He had just destroyed it! The System wanted to cry as it reluctantly sent a stream of notifications.
[Gained a Level!]
[G̶a̶i̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶A̶c̶c̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶T̶r̶i̶b̶e̶-̶G̶a̶t̶h̶e̶r̶!̶ ]
[Unlocked Centaur-Race Change Quests!]
[Reward for Saving the Centaurs: Select One!]
- Mythical Centaur Companionship Spear
- Rare Centaur lucky horseshoe
- Epic Leash of the Unbridled
- …
What was up with all those different rarities of equipment? There had to be an explanation, right? Sigh, decisions, decisions…
(Rare < Epic < Mythical)
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