Chapter 284: Red Pill Or Blue Pill?

Chapter 284: Red Pill Or Blue Pill?



The lights from above beamed shut...

And darkness spawned, beginning to surround them.

It was apparent that the entire dormitory complex experienced a blackout, rendering residents of both tails blind to their surroundings, including the guards.

It became an ideal habitat for a Shadow Binder but the duo didn't pause to experience that change.

Just as the world plunged into the night, the door before them opened with a click.

A moment later, they were in the room, smiles hung on their faces.

They refrained from celebrating just yet, knowing that they needed to retrieve the 'cheats' and escape before getting caught leaving Arthur's room.

Said room looked similar to that of Elijah's with the only exception being a difference in their luxurious aspects.

There was no training room, nor was there a kitchen or office space.

Just as Emir expected, it appeared like a dorm room that any normal old-world student would've been in.

But that wasn't his focus at the moment...

No, not at all.

His eyes, like a hawk's, scanned everything around them.

Lyra did the same.

Then as another moment passed, both their gazes congregated at one point.

It was the bed.

The 'cheats' were hidden under the pillow.

Emir rushed to the bed while Lyra headed for the window, opening it wide enough so that they could jump out.

Meanwhile, Emir lifted the pillow and grabbed an almost translucent, pulsating Aether core. Next, two pills found themselves in his pocket, one was colored blue while the other was red, and they were both the size of a thumb cut in half.

Lastly, he took an injection needle while placing the pillow back in its place, and just as the lights began to flicker back on...

Whoosh!

Emir had already materialized outside.

Such blinding speed was courtesy of Flash Step of course.

"Shadow Veil."

A now invisible Lyra closed the window right after, and she joined him as they both dropped to the ground.

They landed just four seconds later, two of which were spent in freefall. So describing their actions as fast would be a gross understatement.

[Good job, now let's go back.]

Lyra nodded as Emir took hold of her by the waist and jumped up.

When he reached his highest, he created a construct beneath his feat and landed atop it.

'Flash Step.'

Then as a moment passed...

"See you later."

They disappeared.

--

Their plan of escape had a flaw.

Cameras.

It would raise suspicion among them as Emir was last spotted entering Elijah's flat; his sudden disappearance would certainly seem peculiar.

In such a scenario, only two options remained to explain what occurred.

Option one was that Emir had a comfy sleepover with his little brother.

Option two was that Emir had jumped out of the balcony and flew out of the building, passing by the gate while the camera system was down.

Now option one was dismissed, not because it wouldn't work, but because Emir had no intention of returning and acting out that scenario.

For it, in fact, could remove suspicion from falling upon him entirely.

But, in the end, that wouldn't work on Amon.

That man somehow knew that Emir was up to something. So, only option two remained and said option sent a message that read:

"Fuck you, it doesn't matter if you know or not, and there's nothing that you can do about it." Like a rebellious child going through puberty, Emir taunted Amon with apparent mischief. After all, there truly was nothing that Amon could do to punish Emir. There was no paper trail to follow, no crumbs to pick up. They simply visited Elijah's flat, then a blackout happened due to an 'unknown' factor, and then...

They were gone.

It was extremely suspicious, but Amon and the Elite couldn't go after them with no evidence since the binding contract itself didn't detect anything.

This meant that he had either done nothing at all or at least had done nothing damming, But if neither of those were true, then the worst-case scenario for them remained.

The scenario where Emir had managed to find a loophole in the contract-something so impossible yet likely with him involved demonstrated just how tricky it was to deal with him.

"Heh..."

Emir smiled while thinking about what reply Amon would give.

He didn't know what to expect, but he knew one thing for sure:

The guards down there would end up in a lot of trouble.

"C'mon, focus!"

Lyra brought him back to reality as she leaned harder on his back.

"Okay, okay~."

Donning his serious face, which was a smile, he fished out the two pills, and a question was

brought forward.

Red or blue, which one should he swallow first?

Emir's answer to that question was a simple one.

'Why not both?'

Gulp!

And down the hatch they went.

It didn't take long for him to experience change.

His mind, the neural network, began to strengthen itself as the AI systems inside the pills

were absorbed into his own.

Then slowly, he started hearing an echo of static. Almost as if a change in frequency was

taking place.

Soon, that static was snuffed out and was replaced by a girl who said:

[Welcome Arthur! This is the Fortune System!]

[From now on, no one will be able to match your ascent through the hierarchy!]

This meant that the only reason Silent grew interested in Emir was due to the ability he got

from 'Them.'

Was that by design?

Had 'They' foreseen this all?

Did Emir actually ask that question or was he made to ask that question?

Did it even matter?

'No, no... it doesn't matter.'

{Ability is not of the ten but is something ingrained into your being.}

His eyes flickered over the text below while his mind regained calm.

'Yeah, 'It'... or rather 'They' wouldn't act that out for me.'

'I'm insignificant, even beyond that, when compared to them.'

"Are you alright?"

Emir nodded at Lyra's question, softly pushing his back on hers while saying:

"It says ingrained into my being, that means what exactly?"

Lyra noticed his attempt at changing the subject from a mile away, yet she still answered,

never denying him of what he wanted:

"Your soul, maybe? Since it's a passive ability, it has to be intertwined with you to the point

where it's a part of you, and what is more 'you' than your soul?"

"Probably, but let's stop there, guessing is bad and all that... Also, I'm good... this only shows

'Their' power, something we need no reminder of."

She giggled and returned the gesture, pushing her back against his, setting the status quo as

before.

With that, he continued reading the holographic display.

{Special Achievement: Funeral Director. Kill count exceeded two hundred humans.}

'Hm, it counted my family's too.'

{Special Achievement: Dead Man Walking. Reached 'Death' Count of 441,000}

'Ah... Lyra's hard work right there, still beating me on pure skill.'

{Special Achievement: The Seven Hundred and Seventy-Seventh Youngest Celestial}

Emir chuckled at that one.

'Fate strikes once again.' {Special Achievement: Experience 'Life' and 'Death' Twice.}

'Don't get it...'

"Like Ragnar, even Arthur, you 'died' but were 'reborn.""

Lyra, who had only recently let go of all the guilt she felt for that night, answered Emir's

unspoken question:

"No, I get that part, but twice?"

"Oh, you forgot about your 'reincarnation?""

He snickered and continued reading, now understanding the parameters of the system. It

generated all that he knew, using his mind as a conduit for anything that would be considered an achievement.

[Special Achievement: Joined The Game. Unlock Rather Than Receive Unique Ability.]

'Joined the game?... It's referring to my creation ability... Gates of Eternity.'

"Hey, a unique ability is what exactly?" Lyra took some time to answer but eventually, she said:

"I combed through the database, not much there, the first time I heard of such a thing."

'Hm...'

"Well, judging by the name it's an ability only someone walking my path would unlock, can't

say much about the rest though."

"I can confirm it has three upgrades instead of the usual five, and it doesn't affect the ten

ability slots you have, so you're all good there. In fact, you even have an extra unique slot compared to the other paths."

'Interesting... So thankfully there's nothing to worry about.' Emir nodded, his eyes returning to the hologram once again. "Right, but having fewer upgrades means fuck all if they don't change much, my creation's

range is already short, only ten meters, what would an upgrade do? Extend it to twenty?"

"It might not work in the same principle as the ten, they're separated for a reason." "True, true... And I bet it'll relate to my rank in some way or another." {Special Achievement: Old Soul. Live a Truly Long Life. Current count 100,015 years.}

'Fair, fair.'

Then, in the next moment, his eyes widened as he saw what appeared to be the last achievement.

{Special Achievement: Received a Shield From System One...}

A name, a title, an epithet that brought his entire identity into a single living set of words.

One that had moved his very name under its veil, protecting those that dared utter it from

Aether's very slight consequence.

Emir...

His bloodline originated from the Apex that created the Eternal Star.

A destroyed clan that had once terrified humanity with its might.

A force that was remembered for its strength.

A people that towered over other clans.

Feared even through the eons of time. And he was their prince.

A man whose birth created change of unknown magnitude.

A man whose existence had fate react...

All to match the rest with him.

It was like when a seemingly impossible record gets beaten by a single man.

The others attempting that record would end up finding it to be not so impossible after all,

maybe even exceeding it by a decent margin.

He, Emir, was that man.

He was the one who paved the way for that change.

He was the origin.

And he was the only one worthy to be called by this Epithet.

{...Prince Of The Fallen.}