Going back to the night immediately after the Kraken was reportedly destroyed, the news reports were erupting as several terrorist attacks occurred around the nation.
Everyone focused on the powerful bomb that emitted an electromagnetic pulse. Although it was weaker than and more obsolete than the new EMP that Australia developed, most devices that the common folk had were affected. And since this attack was made at the heart of the Megapolis city, it created power outages that cut the internet connection and other wireless capabilities.
But this was all part of the plan by Harker created to hide a battle in the city. All the attacks were planned, and the losses that Pangea suffered was actually very minimal. As for the key battle that it was hiding, it was at the studio unit where the newly celebrated e-sports gamer was. No one noticed that the first place to be attacked was the condo unit, where Lynd Indigo resided.
Lynd's entire studio unit was a wreck. The windows were broken, and even the walls were cracking. It was as if several Pangean whiplash bomb was deployed inside.
Lynd had immediately retreated after erupting his powerful voice attack.
At the corner of the room, a man continued to stand at the far edges with a large tower shield held out. The powerful explosion caught him by surprise, but his reaction and the techs he had quickly caught up to shield himself from the attack.
But upon revealing his hateful curse, the rage that built up in Lynd's heart disappeared. What replaced it was fear. The enemy was able to anticipate this shockingly impossible attack.
When he released the powerful sound attack, the man was able to react on the last second. He raised his arm, and the liquid metal formed a large tower shield that protected him from the blow. He was slowly moving backward and was rapidly stomping with his feet that now had metal spikes on his heel. The movement of his retreat was also very peculiar. The man kept making small steps backward and would only take the step until the very last second before his body to be thrown away.
The control was so precise that if the force he applied were a little bit stronger or weaker, the rhythm of his entire retreat would have been wrong. As such, he was able to withstand the explosive attacks but remained as close as possible from Lynd's Dragon Born Roar.
Lynd's heart clenched as he recalled the discussions that Seeker and Meryl had. They had asked Seeker about the difference between an Inhuman and Hero. And Seeker explained what was needed, but then he clarified something.
"Honestly, Meryl. You already had that moment of being a Hero. All you need to do now is grasps that mindset and keep it constant. But since you've experienced it, I think you're already there."
"So, I'm a Hero?"
"It's obvious. On the battle against Typical, you developed the mindset to challenge and fight him. You never gave up on making the next steps. You kept on challenging it and had the heart and perception to do the next reasonable thing. Heroes do that. Even when it was impossible, you stepped forward." While Seeker was praising Meryl, Lynd felt a painful clenching in his heart.
He had thought that he was Seeker's secret and strongest weapon. Somewhere in his heart, he held that pride. But when he fought Typical, his heart wavered. He was considering having Meryl and Cliff retreat while he would remain. But even then, he never believed that he could win against Typical.
But Meryl did. Although her victory was attributed to a dangerous gamble, and would have lost if Typical aimed for the head, Meryl's courage and determination made Lynd feel a sense of inferiority.
Lynd kept quiet when Seeker offered his praises to Meryl.
Finally, Cliff couldn't help but ask. Perhaps it was simply Cliff's curiosity or the fact that he has accepted his place in life in being some generic minion that he had the guts to ask this question.
"What about Overcomers? What exactly makes them stronger? Is it the Path?"
Seeker was in deep thought.
"Well… Overcomers do have a strong Path, just as how Heroes generally have a strong Path. But here's the thing… The reason why Heroes and Overcomers have their Path in the first place is because of their will and fortitude. Lynd, in my future, had an amazing Path that could have easily made him an Overcomer. But there was a reason why he was called World Champion. That is because, even with his power, he wouldn't be able to defeat any Overcomers. Meryl, you changed your Path from simple bright lights to the burning sun because you were already becoming a Hero. That's why I arranged that battle to force you in fighting Typical."
"Then what's the difference then? Since I already am a hero, what's the next step?" Meryl was now curious.
"It's very easy and difficult to explain. You see, a Hero will always take the next step. No matter what. They will fight until they die. But Overcomers will always take the step that is not geared for survival or evade the current attack. They are far more calm and complex compared to a Hero."
"What do you mean? Wasn't that the same I did in my fight with Typical?"
"Yes and No. You had a chance to fight back, and you took it because you had this fortitude to keep on fighting. But your victory was due to luck, right? You were giving it all and decided to use those last seconds as a means of finding the means to survive and win. Overcomers aren't like that. Each step, each movement, each attack they make, isn't to survive the next five or so seconds. It's to Overcome."
And now Lynd understood what Seeker meant.
The powerful compressed sounds would have killed a man, but to the Near-Overcomer in front of him, he managed to block it.
Seeing how the man casually blocked it, Lynd immediately released a powerful blinding light and escaped while creating several more sound attacks to cover his tracks.
The man was able to block the incoming attacks, but he could no longer sense Lynd the moment the attack ended.
For a split second after the attack, the man stood there in deep thought.
"He has abilities to create strong kinetic attacks using sound. This should be an application of the rumored abilities that noted Unbecoming Richie has. But with the various abilities that he presented, assume that their human modification has taken a few steps up. We continue chasing him with the assumption that he is an Inhuman. But let it be noted that his capabilities give him the potential to reach the higher stages of the Unlocking. Possibly, a World Champion candidate." The tall man gave his report and rushed off.
As for Lynd, he was already several buildings away. His expression was ashen.
"The terms he used are exactly the same terms we use! This person must be the same group who created the terms that were used in the future. In short, this man received from the Lost Primordial the seeds to create the theoretical forms of the Unlocked!" Lynd was emulating Arthur's thinking process and came up with this conclusion.
Lynd had used Meryl's light and canceled the sound around him by creating a sound-proof shield. He had jumped off his room through one of the opened windows and fell down the tall building.
Suddenly, Lynd kicked off the wall to propel him forward. The kick's impact was so strong that it shot Lynd directly towards the building that was across the street.
Lynd created a powerful reverse sound wave that caused his speed to drastically slow down as he was about to hit the other side of the building. But suddenly, he sensed an approaching attack and evaded the attack.
Lynd was started and released a powerful spinning sound attack to counter the approaching spear.
Lynd gritted his teeth and created with great difficulty, one of Typical's needles.
Is shot towards the center of the spinning sound and struck the spear.
BOOM!
The collision resulted in a powerful shockwave. The long and thick blades that Lynd created shattered, but it managed to deflect the powerful spear.
"Odd… He countered my attack because it would kill others." A very tall and dark man pondered as he was standing at the top of the skyscraper. He wore a thick white Exoskeleton. He was at least a foot taller than Lynd in that large Exoskeleton. The spear that he sent out returned to his hands.
Lynd stared at it and knew what it was. It was the metal that made Africa the strongest nation in Seeker's timeline. The Zulu Steel. It was so hard that it was a level lower than Almetal Hybrids. But unlike these metals, it was diverse. It could block high temperatures and could be altered to be able to conduct electricity or not.
Lynd's heart clenched. He was without any gear. If he had even a single Exoskeleton or any powerful weapons like the swords that they used in China, he would have at least a bit of confidence.
But he was bare and was without weapons.
Lynd immediately began to retreat and used his arms to create an explosive blast that would send him further away. Lynd flew away like a rocket and had immediately fled over a kilometer away.
The tall man raised his spear and pointed at Lynd.
"Curse!" The tall man shouted.
Lynd felt his entire vision spinning. His realm became distorted and started to change. Lynd panicked and immediately used expanded great energy and created several thought processes.
The three thought process, along with the first, began to analyze what was happening, but alas, it was still too strange as Lynd's body was struggling to remain balanced.
Lynd crashed on the ground but was protected by the sound shield he deployed.
Lynd's vision was still blurry, but he could see that his crash landing killed several civilians as he smashed through cars and flattened the panicking people fleeing from the explosions they heard.
His teeth gritted.
"Why, Seeker? Why? This is too much!" Lynd cursed as he looked at the deaths.
He felt two more entities approaching and could even feel something moving underground. His instincts and the sound map he deployed detected all of it.
"Fine! If you want to cause deaths, I'll cause deaths!" Lynd resolved as the anger in his heart burned. The strange realm that was affecting him was being eaten up. The entire building seemed to be melting from a powerful desolation.
The civilians who have yet to run away suddenly felt a strange burning sensation and began to fall as they panicked.
Two figures appeared at the very end of this desolate zone.
One stood on top of the building. It was a strange exoskeleton. Several roses and leaves were emerging out of the various gaps of the Exoskeleton.
"Tsk. He destroyed all that pollen. This strange radiation looks scary. Why not you go first? Aren't your descendants brave and brutes?" The woman called a skinny man on the ground wearing a classy suit and who was holding a briefcase.
"After you, my lady!" A skinny gentleman with a very classy set of clothes bowed.
"Oh? It looks like you two are also here." The tall black man arrived on the skies above.
Lynd stood up. Seeker's betrayal overtook the fear and concern he had. He caused the death of many people. And Seeker gave him over to several men. It was an insidious push. If he failed, he would die. If he fought seriously, many innocents would die.
He knew what Seeker intended. The gentle giant was being forced to turn into an evil and heartless titan.
"Three Heroes and a Near Overcomer! Fine then! I'm a future Champion! If I die, I'll make sure to rip your limbs out!" Lynd cursed, and the energy that was stored within his cells were being awakened.
The three individuals noticed the anomaly.
"He's gone crazy…" The woman frowned.
"What exactly is he planning? He stopped my attack, but now, he's preparing an attack that would kill hundreds!" The African wondered.
The gentleman also had a peculiar look.
"What a dangerous death stance. He really wants me to suffer. What did I even do to you?" The gentlemen sighed.
"Oh? It looks like he's finally serious. And here I thought he was a coward." A voice echoed out. It had a strange ringing sensation as if it was the voice of several people talking at once.
A man was casually walking amidst the abandoned cars as the people escaped the potential battleground. He had a large shield and a long metal spear that was formed with some form of liquid.
When the three noticed him, they immediately retreated.
"So, it's you!" The gentleman's attitude changed.
"Octarion! He did it! He devoured his brothers! Only one Might remains!" Akash Zulu exclaimed.
The woman also retreated and immediately controlled the many beasts he set loose in the city.
Several large monstrous plants broke through the sewers and appeared on the roads tearing and pushing down the cars and positioned itself between her and the man who was casually walking towards Lynd.
"Eden, Kahn, Zulu. I would appreciate it if you left this man to me." The man ignored the large towering plant-like worm.
"I don't know what Seeker discovered. But going by what I did, you are all here because I said something about a Primordial and Seeds, right?!" Lynd shouted at the three.
"Strange powers. It looks like the Lost Primordial endowed you with several techs.." Octarion praised.
"Just shut up! I won't say anything to you! I'll only talk when one of you remains! I'll tell you everything! The aliens, the Aragarians, the Unlocking, Meng's secrets, Eagle, Lennox, and even the Tyrant Empress! So go ahead and kill each other!" Lynd roared.
"What an immature child." The woman gave a disgusted reply.
"Is he betraying his friends? Pathetic." Akash sneered.
"Looks like he didn't know about this. He holds so much potential and power, but I can't believe he's this spoiled." The gentlemen laughed.
"You three still think slowly. He is clearly who he claims to be. He holds the secret of the Lost Primordial. This is the Lost Primordials way of training him. That's why you three are also here, correct? You want to ascertain if he is a friend or foe?" The man continued to walk and even entered the desolation zone that Lynd released. But his body did not react against the desolation.
"We want to see the truth about the Seeds, but the Lost Primordial lured us here to whet this whelp." Octarion answered.
Lynd's expression changed.
"May the best among us win." The man saluted before the liquid metal transformed into a large spear and shield with a metal armor surrounding him.
"THEN DIE!" Lynd shouted as he rushed forward, and a bright flash emerged. It was so bright that it seemed that it looked as if a sun was being born in the middle of the city.