Chapter 02: ???, The Wandering Entity
Arianna looked away with difficulty. She was thoroughly convinced that she was surely going to explode. A mere eye contact was going to put an end to her soul.
Right when she thought her journey through time would end right there and then, she felt a comfortable cold settling inside her, slowly substling her painful anguish.
Like a thirsty traveler in a desert finally getting a drop of water, she was overjoyed for a moment.
—My apologies. I should've prepared myself more mindfully in advance— Said the entity.
Their voices were melodic and sorrowful, ringing all at once like an orchestra.
Ariana slowly got up from the dazzling marble floor, her mind turning sharp once more as she grasped their voices.
—But say, you survived. I perceive you have gathered half the worth of divine energy as mine. That is an excellent achievement. Not to mention you are on par with those gods who boast they are the strongest. Furthermore, judging by how you didn't explode from the energy, you wouldn't have gone out of existence from my mere gaze—
With that, Arianna managed to gather so much information.
For once, due to an unknown reason she had something called divine energy; also the main source of power of all gods.
For twice, although she was as strong as those gods, the entity before her was way stronger.
For trice, the entity could and would read her thoughts effortlessly.
It didn't even take a second for Arianna to finish all of those deductions and conclusions, perhaps the perks of mastering time finally paying off.
A massive finger, as black as the sky above them, and as massive as a pillar, caressed Arianna's cheek gently.
She involuntarily lifted her head, locking eyes with a still black pair of eyes. Just like before, there was no pupil; flawless pitch black hue with long eyelashes in the shade of golden-purple.
Their skin was cracked, exposing a second golden-purple skin underneath the purest form of black, giving an ancient aura. Their forehead was covered by soft and misty clouds in crimson, violet, golden and silver hue; with tiny stars, planets and dazzling galaxies here and there floating in harmony. It was covering their remaining pair of pitch black eyes as if guarding the most precious jewels in the universe.
An air of perfection permeated the area, displaying Arianna of how small and imperfect she was. Brilliant silky thread-like hair shone in an otherworldly glow in the shade of a beautiful tarantula nebula. It resembled the fine product of a master craftsman, woven with crushed diamonds and finest pearls of the most beautiful colors they could find throughout all dimensions to ever exist.
Four pillar-like hands, long pointy ears similar to those of an elf from fairytales, curves of a woman with all the elegance one could master; that was what Ariana saw.
And she thought absentmindedly that their beauty was so pure, so radiant; it would crush any who'd dare to be arrogant of their appearance.
She held her non-existing breath as their plain glittering black robe flowed down with eternal beauty, enjoying the freedom. It appeared as if they had plucked the stars and used them for decorations on the robe.
Arianna was genuinely mesmerized.
At that moment she knew, she had found something more valuable and more fearsome than time.
How she knew was instinctive, but one thing was certain. This mysterious entity, who was several meters tall like a primordial titan, held time as a mere toy in their possession.
The same time that instilled fear in her long ago.
The same time that had become her companion now.
The same time that governs everything, binds everything, affects everything.
Arianna was in awe.
She couldn't move, she couldn't speak, she couldn't think no better than how mesmerizing and terrifying the entity was.
Thus, ending up just plainly staring at them.
The entity giggled, snapping her from her strange trance.
—Welcome to The White Heaven, O' remarkable soul who had become a prisoner of time—
—Wh-who are you?— She asked, her voice barely audible.
—I am ???, a wandering entity— They giggled once again like an oddly rhythmic melody.
Arianna tilted her head, but said nothing. She couldn't hear their name.
「It can't be helped」
「You cannot hear their name」
「Nobody can」
「No, only I could. The only one in the omniverse」
「Give up, asking again won't grant you the ability to hear their name」
The whispers of time, solidified into a woman's elegant and dignified voice over time, told her that even if she asked again, she wouldn't be fortunate enough to hear it.
Thanks to time's whispers, edifying her when to act and when to back down, she accepted it easily.
Meanwhile the entity continued their story with a hint of amusement.
—Nevertheless, throughout the omniverse some call me the creator, the truth holder, the will of the universe, the first constellation and many more. In spite of that, I am merely a part of this endlessly growing tree called the omniverse. All I do is observe. I do no grand exertion as one might believe—
—Figured— Arianna said nonchalantly, successfully pushing all her strange thoughts away.
The entity laughed, increasing the amusing tone in their soothing hymns.
—Now that you're here, why don't you join me?—
—For what?—
—Hmmm…—
The entity lifted their head, Arianna followed her lead shortly thereafter.
With a single fluttering of their eye lids, the beautiful aurora made a path for a single star, twinkling with a beautiful sky-blue hue.
It was a world among countless worlds.
No more, no less.
—A beautiful world, isn't it?— They asked, waving one of their hands.
The star zoomed in. To Arianna, it felt as if she was traveling at the speed of light towards it.
At last, she saw a planet 12 times larger than her previous world. So many terrarians, races and events flashed before her eyes in mere seconds.
Arianna was genuinely astonished. She was feeling so many emotions at once in aeons due to the change of scenario that it felt as if someone opened a tap line of emotions forcefully.
Hence, in place of speaking, Arianna nodded to their earlier question.
The entity blinked slowly, reminding her of fluttering butterfly wings. Then out of nowhere, they released a bomb-like statement in that same melodic voice.
—I am going to reset it—
—Huh?—
—I, ???, am planning on giving them another chance—
—...I beg your pardon?—
As Arianna asked, confused to her very core, they smiled faintly.
—They call this planet "Mitherr-ge". I personally cleped the dimension as "Mitherr-ge-prime", since this is the primary planet of its parallels in the vast multiverse—
The entity gazed at Mitherr-ge with eyes full of admiration, however soon, it turned into a mixture of sorrow and disdain.
—I am prepping to reset the original timeline of this world back to exactly 1010 years, erasing all variant timelines and current flow of time. Not only this world, but also the parallel worlds connect to this one—
They said, their diamond-like voice making Arianna somewhat focus.
If they are going to reset not only this, but also all the Parallels, what would be the planet's new driving force for a brand new era?
Her sharp mind immediately seized the hidden meaning.
—Nonetheless, O' remarkable soul, would the world be any different after the rewind of time?— The entity turned to Arianna.
Glittering black eyes asking for a rejoinder which they already knew the answer to. Arianna fell silent for a few seconds, and slowly shook her head.
—No, if nobody directly intervenes, all the events will happen again. You need to plant a seed capable of twisting the flow of time. But it will also be hard because of inertia— She declared with a simple explanation.
Changing the flow of time will be challenging, because everything has happened once, those who were involved are set by the same rules even if it happens again.
That was how powerful time was.
And, that was what humans mistook for fate or destiny.
They will think alike, act alike. It doesn't matter if the entity reset time; everything will be the same once again.
And to change this grand flow?
To put it simply, it's beyond just hard.
Arianna sighed inwardly as she recognized Newton's first law of motion at work.
If an outside force capable of challenging that motion on an equal footing or with a greater force won't appear, the world is bound to doom.
—Indeed—The entity chuckled softly.
—I don't understand why you are telling me this—
Regardless, Ariana feigned ignorance.
— Why don't you become that said seed of mine?—
A straight forward request.
At the moment, Arianna was no longer surprised by anything.
With all her analysing and synthesis, she knew the entity would ask such a burdensome favour sooner or later.
The world was literally dying. Demons and angels are wreaking havoc on the planet without a hint of hesitation. Someone had to stop it all for the planet to survive.
Yet, what does it all have to do with Arianna?
—No— Hence the flat refusal.
—Oh? May I ask why?—
—Realistically speaking, I am not that powerful enough to help an entity more formidable before even gods. And saving a world? Like in those novels and movies back on earth? Haha….the world doesn't rotate around me. I'm not that delusional to think I'd succeed when I can clearly foresee countless failures and dissatisfying endings—
Those were her honest thoughts.
Although the desire for a second chance where she'd gain her senses along with flesh and blood momentarily clouded her judgement, in the end all her thoughts ended exactly the way she worded it.
The entity stared at her for a very long period of time, making her a bit uncomfortable.
However Arianna was no pushover anymore. She already knew if the entity wanted, she would've ceased to exist countless times.
There was nothing for her to lose.
The entity moved, their gaze focusing on the planet once again with noticeable grief. They pointed their elegant black finger towards the planet. Before Arianna's eyes, a mirror-like space manifested. What she saw in it made her choke her next words immediately.
There lay a man, the most beautiful one Arianna had ever seen, second only to the entity before her.
Silky long hair, in a color looking as if stolen from the sun, cascaded down, occupying the floor beneath his body. His eyes closed, a gentle smile tracing on his pale yet still alluring lips.
A huge magic circle, filled with beautiful and mysterious patterns emitted a glow in a hue that seemed to resemble not the gorgeous sun but the golden wheat under the midday sunlight in the harvest season.
It circled under his lifeless body to a certain sequence.
Arianna's gaze landed on his chest where a long sword pierced his heart right in the middle. Thick blood, resembling melted gold flowed out unstoppably.
For some reason Arianna felt familiar with him. As if they had known each other for a very long time. Her heart ached a little—well, if she had one, of course.
—It is an ancient ritual to access divinity. Unfortunately, he failed. He had less divine energy than required for the god-level accession. This is how his gamble paid off—
The entity whispered, like telling an ancient secret they could never reveal to anyone else.
—Then why would he do such a thing?— Arianna questioned, her gaze still lingering on the sword piercing the beautiful man's heart.
A jet-black sword with dark purple patterns, she saw an Eastern dragon clinging to the hilt. It had a dark beauty; the kind that would shine brightest when doing the cruelest things to its enemies.
—Mitherr-ge is godless. The former Gods got bored and left to find entertainment one million years ago, and the rest of the lower deities perished in history for their own greed—
—So this man thought the chaos would terminate if a God emerged?—
—Indeed. It could've worked if only he had enough divine energy—
—Sigh… was it necessary? To have a God, I mean. He could've kicked out angels and demons back to their original plains, sealed them up and rebuilt the destroyed planet. After all, even after dying a cold death, he still looks powerful and intelligent—
Frankly speaking, Arianna didn't have anything against gods. It was just that she grew up not relying on anything uncertain.
Even her job didn't allow her to rely on the unknown; Every step was calculated, every breath was within the computation, everything was according to a plan—although not her own.
Perhaps the whispers of time were also playing a big part in her current thought process, gambling on something uncertain—as the action that the beautiful man took—didn't sit right with her.
He definitely had a few hundred ways to counterattack and save the planet.
Yes, it might have resulted in much destruction and loss of so many lives. But rather than relying on uncertainty, fighting with what you've got would've been a better option.
His hasty judgment resulted in utter destruction of the entire planet. He lost because of his incompetent leadership, insecurities and perturbation.
Ariana could see it; they were somewhat alike.
Although both of them knew there were better options they both were too afraid of actually doing it. That resulted in their end.
Ariana could faintly see her previous life—the days before she broke her shackles—in his decision. It was truly pitiful how one single mistake led to so much chaos.
—Would you have done what you said if you were in his place?—
The entity slowly and deliberately tilted their head, their otherworldly eyes silently watching the corpse of that beautiful man.
It was Arianna's time to let out a soft chuckle. She knew, they were intentionally trying to arouse her hidden emotions. She decided to take the obvious bait acting blind.
—So, why are you telling me all of this?—
The entity paused, slowly turning their head towards Arianna.
—Become my seed and reshape the time. Help them to achieve their victory—
They sounded solemn, yet hopeful. It was very odd for someone so powerful to rely on anything at all. Arianna glanced at them, her mind working faster than her voice and movements.
In a nutshell, they are telling her to break laws and twist the original timeline.
—You said you are an observer. Then why are you poking your nose into other people's business?—
—Hmmm… let us settle on typical boredom, shall we?. However if I intervene too much personally, something much worse will happen to them in exchange. My presence and powers are too much for me to take actions—
There was a brief silence where Arianna ended all of her thoughts, finally coming to a conclusion.
The entity who let her do as she pleased, faintly smiled.
Arianna chose to ignore it, she wasn't offended by them reading her mind in the slightest. And the entity knew it all too well.
—I see. Then allow me to talk about business. What benefits will I gain if I agree to help…them?— Ariana finally broke the comfortable silence.
Well if boredom drove a mysterious entity to take interest in a world she never knew existed, it was worth exploring that world.
Although she had yet to feel boredom thanks to the whispers of time, she knew all too well that at one point in the future, she too would stumble upon that emotion.
The entity grinned, a glimpse of understanding flickered in their ever so golden eyes.
—Power. I'll bestow upon you enough power for what is to come in addition to an essential second chance at life. You cannot be reincarnated since you've wandered in time and space for aeons. Your soul was strayed from the river of reincarnation and now too strong for you to enter that place—
Arianna agreed. Thanks to the whispers of time, she knew it was too late to become a human again.
But she felt no sorrow. She no longer felt like she was a human anyway.
—You might become something farther than mere divinity if you stay here, something you might hate. And even if you leave here, You might eventually access divinity, becoming a god, the strongest at that. However as you had lived as a weak mortal for far too long, it'll take another dozen aeons to fully awaken on your own. To be reborn that way, you'll lose all of your emotions and memories by then. What is the joy of becoming the strongest if you can't even recall the knowledge you've gained in this white heaven?—
Her hand stroked her chin as she thoroughly listened. An excited aura quickly appeared before disappearing like a soft breeze.
A while after, Arianna spoke leisurely.
—Well, it's not like I have something else to do. And even if I fail and die out there, I can still continue to walk the path of divinity if I so desire. I'll take up on your offer, O' great being!—
—Good choice. Well done—
The entity nodded in satisfaction as they extended their hand towards Arianna.
Foreign memories flowed into her mind as if a warm hot spring was touching her body.
Memories worth of 1010 years, from not only one but three individual's point of view.
It was honestly refreshing and also very useful. Arianna was already planning her future actions with the help of those memories.
—I know. Now, tell me what else there is for me—
—Hmmm… let's see— The entity hummed, clearly in a good mood.
Arianna ignored their cheerful demeanor, which was at odds with their mysterious and unbelievably perfect aura.
Unbeknown to Arianna, the amused smile on their gorgeous lips was caused by her large-scale plans in a hundred different scenarios.
The entity also stroked their chin, looking thoughtful.
—Which type of vessel would suit you? A human? No, your soul is too powerful. A beastkin? Too boring. An elf? It might hinder your growth with the circumstances surrounding them—
—Anything except for an angel or a demon— Arianna suddenly added.
She didn't want to be in a scenario where she'd be the only one to oppose a million years old war.
If that happened, with her very limited information, ¾ of her plans would be useless. It was something she should avoid at all cost.
A beautiful laughter blessed her non-existenting ears. As she looked up at the laughing entity, their voices reached her like a melody.
—Aha! That's right! They would do—
Then the entity extended her all four arms and bent down, taking Arianna on to her palms carefully as if she was a glass doll that could break at any moment.
They caressed her head. Their hands were comfortable and gentle.
—I wish you a life without regrets—
The entity placed a soft kiss on Arianna's forehead.
The faith and warmth she felt was so overwhelming. Arianna could feel the sincerity through their touch. As their lips parted from her forehead, Arianna judged her consciousness was automatically being lifted.
A brilliant golden light engulfed her. It was so bright that it would have eliminated the darkness in the entire galaxy in one fall swing.
—Be on your merry way. My not-so-true seed, my temporary apostle and my most brilliant #@√¢£@ whom I waited endlessly for—
The urge to ask what they were talking about was swallowed by the scene unfolding before her eyes inside the mirror-like portal.
The beautiful man she now knew the name of was slowly turning into small golden sparkles, like pollen. Arianna unconsciously clenched her first.
It was too pitiful.
Enough to wake her lost emotions.
It gave her the feeling of finding her kin.
She, who died just as miserably as him, vowed out of pure pity;
—If by any chance we meet again, I'll make sure to save you, Kyrios Ermin Eleftherios—
Thus marked the last words of Arianna—A soul rich of divine energy—said inside the prison of time; White Heaven.
∆ ∆ ∆
"The omniverse is under no obligation to make sense to you."
—???,the wandering entity—