The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In A Time Loop - Chapter 54 - Campaign For The Cluster I

Four people and a book were sat around a table within a grand war tent.

“We’ve agreed to join hands with you, Prince Zhou Shan, yet your poorly concealed suspicion towards the Puppet Sovereign does not go unnoticed,” the Thousand Broom Sovereign said. “If there is any bad blood present, we should air it now.”

“That is…”

“Air it out, Zhou Shan,” Orodan said. “I find it best to just let your feelings out bluntly. And if that causes offense, then so be it!”

“I fear I’m not quite as bold as yourself, Orodan Wainwright,” the Prince said and then turned to the Puppet Sovereign. “Still, you’ve cornered me so I shall speak. I still bear some misgivings towards you for allying with a Devil King.”

“Would you have done any different if you’d fallen under the sway of your tyrant father’s Dao?” the Puppet Sovereign asked in turn. “My memories are in tatters and every waking moment is spent questioning who I really am. Are the memories from my past mere fabrications?”

“You could’ve-!” the Prince was about to exclaim, but then stopped himself. “What of your honor? Your Dao? Did becoming a puppet yourself not halt your advancements? In a similar situation, upon coming to my senses I would’ve sought death to redeem myself!”

“I am not you! My world still needed me, and many more were still under the yoke of your tyrant father!” the Puppet Sovereign barked back. “Or would you have preferred this rebellion never happen in the first place and all those worlds still remain under the thumb of the Celestial Court?”

“We’re all still part of the Celestial Court!” Prince Zhou Shan roared. “We merely seek to change its leadership! Or are you not a son of Xian?”

“Do you think the Court is merely rotten at the top? Jian Huangdi has appointed enough sycophants and flatterers to his court even without using his Dao,” the Puppet Sovereign replied. “The Court… must be reformed.”

The Prince looked as though he took some issue with that, and for a moment the two locked gazes, the tension palpable.

“Define reform,” the Prince said. “The Court is a founding piece of our heritage. You seek to upend tradition that we have held onto for millions of years.”

“Tradition must make way for innovation and progress,” the Puppet Sovereign said. “Our current woes are exactly because we have clung to the old ways for so long. The cores of our worlds face the slow trickle of the Eldritch corruption, and the common cultivator is left to suffer as the heavens war above them.”

“A bit ironic for you to be speaking of commoners when you were raised in the lap of luxury and had access to advantages which no commoner could dream of,” the Prince replied frostily.

“And your humble upbringing as the discarded son of a concubine has not prevented you from being a lackey for the very Court that causes strife,” the Puppet Sovereign spat. “The Celestial Court would not be in so dominant a position if not for your heroics and adventuring in your younger days, Prince.”

Orodan wasn’t a politician, nor did he care for the intrigues and rivalries between factions. This however, was only natural. Even though the two sides had nominally agreed to cooperate in dealing with the Celestial Emperor, one couldn’t just erase the bad blood between the two that had been festering since the beginning of the current war over the soul nexus.

After all, to Orodan, the victory over the Puppet Sovereign and Devil King Saathmaraz’s attempted explosion of the soul nexus was a rather short event which took under a hundred checkpoint loops. These two however, had been warring for who knew how many years?

From what Orodan had heard from the reading he’d been doing, decisive battles in such wars were rare. And one side often had a vested interest in stalling or forcing the enemy to bleed more casualties than the other. Prior to the battle of yesterday, most engagements took place at range, with constant harassment, handfuls of casualties which were quickly replenished through time and soul cultivators, and small strategic gains.

Yesterday’s battle had been a momentous event and the first time in decades that either force had committed to such decisive battle. And it had been due to the arrival of Orodan himself that the rebel forces had their hand forced.

Either die a slow death as Orodan whittled their forces down with the advantage his presence gave, or commit to a battle where there was a chance at permanently eliminating the time looper.

It hadn’t gone their way, though he could see why they made the choice to commit to battle.

Still, the current tension between the leader of the rebels and the Prince was palpable. The bad blood between the two couldn’t be so easily resolved.

The Thousand Broom Sovereign interrupted the stare down.

“We cannot afford infighting if we’re to prevail over the tyrant. Put your differences aside and focus on victory first. What comes after… peace or more war, we can handle then.”

“Fine… there is understandably some distrust between us,” Prince Zhou Shan said. “Needs dictate that we focus on the true threat however.”

“Then we’re in agreement. Jian Huangdi must step down, the Celestial Emperor must fall. Something we will ensure through force,” the Thousand Broom Sovereign said.

“The thought of testing my Dao against my father’s does not inspire confidence. Last we sparred a few thousand years ago, he held a noticeable advantage, although I did force him to get serious. That being said, we have the time looper, Orodan Wainwright on our side,” Prince Zhou Shan said. “Counting him and I, we have two Celestial skill bearers. My father is the only Celestial on the side of the Court. We have the advantage.”

“And yet, that Dao of his is unfathomably mighty. Rumors say he’s on the cusp of going beyond the Transcendent-level,” the Thousand Broom Sovereign said. “I need not say how bad it would be if this war led to him reaching the Embodiment-level.”

“A ridiculous thing to fear. Nobody in our galaxy has reached Embodiment yet,” Prince Zhou Shan said.

“Only because there is a tacit and unspoken agreement not to commit to a true war,” the Puppet Sovereign said. “The Conclave, the Hells, the Hegemony, the Unity and even us in the Court. We all fear war for it would provide the catalyst for those closest to Embodiment to reach it. If anything, once your nature becomes more widely known, you too will face some heavy scrutiny and attempts to put checks on your power, time looper.”

The last bit was said as the man looked at him.

“Perhaps Jian Huangdi reaches Embodiment, perhaps he does not. Either way, we need only survive until the Grand Tribulation of the System descends to swoop him away. Then, for at least a few years we will have time to flee,” the Thousand Broom Sovereign said.

“Embodiment?” Orodan asked. “And what’s this Grand Tribulation?”

“Ah, that’s right, you come from a lower world and have yet to reach Transcendence yourself,” the Prince said. “Simply put, Transcendence itself has a peak, at level 150 of a skill. Even I, prodigious as I am, still struggle to push my Dao of the Axe beyond 147. My father, from the rumors at least, is sitting at 150 and poised to go past even that. A level known as Embodiment.”

“Surely, given how long the universe has been around for, there should be many people at this Embodiment level?” Orodan asked.

“To an extent. However, this is where the System’s Grand Tribulation comes in. Other factions call it the Grand Judgement, the Gaze of the Maker, and so on,” the Prince explained. “Regardless of what it’s called, we know that the System descends unto someone within an hour of their rise to the Embodiment level. And even though we know not what occurs, those who survive the trial return with power beyond any this galaxy has ever known, albeit, with string attached.”

“Strings?”

“The Administrators. Anyone who reaches the Embodiment level is under close scrutiny by them. That’s a part of why you don’t see Embodiers running around publicly,” the Prince said. “Having the overseers of the System itself breathing down your neck makes them cautious. Many of them simply aren’t seen dwelling within civilized spaces and instead prefer to seclude themselves. Of course, when one is corrupted by the Eldritch like my father is… there are stories of great devastation when an Embodier passes the Grand Tribulation and returns to exact vengeance. And he bears a Celestial skill, making him a grave threat even by their standards.”

“How strong can an Embodier be? I haven’t met one, but if they’re a step above even the Celestial Emperor, then I think I stand a chance,” Orodan said.

“No. You would not. To put it into perspective, you struggled against Devil King Saathmaraz, did you not?” the Prince asked and Orodan nodded. “That Devil King’s highest skill level is rumored to be in the mid 140s. Mine is 147, and I comfortably hold an advantage over it, even when it’s at peak power and inhabiting another Transcendent as is its specialty. And the Celestial Emperor has an advantage over even me. Given all this, know that even the weakest of Embodiers are on par with the Celestial Emperor, while the stronger ones… they’re walking calamities who can destroy star systems as an afterthought.”

Frightening, or so a reasonable person should’ve felt.

All he could feel however, was excitement.

“This is a moot discussion anyhow. There are no Embodiers in our galaxy, and the few that have been rumored to arise from ours have never returned for fear of the Administrators taking notice of their actions and deeming it interference,” the Puppet Sovereign said. “Let us speak of more immediate matters. Our worlds have mobilized, and we have multiple assault groups ready to move out in a few hours. The Celestial Court is not stupid, they can see what we’re doing and have promptly begun ramping up defensive efforts and sending token forces to border worlds.”

“Why token forces?” Orodan asked. “Should the defense of an entire world not be a priority? And if they intend on losing it, why send forces at all?”

“An effort to buy time until their main army is assembled,” the Prince explained. “The Third Army has been the fighting force of the Celestial Court for millions of years. The other armies simply do not compare,” the Prince said with no small amount of pride. “With us turning against the Emperor, the Court is scrambling to draw combat capable troops and experts from their worlds. We have the advantage in army quality.”

“And we have the soul nexus,” the Thousand Broom Sovereign said. “We can easily replenish casualties while they’ll be fighting for every resurrection.”

That was another thing. While his feat of resurrecting the fallen forces of the rebel army was quite impressive, it was only so for its speed and the sheer amount of power he’d used to do so. On his home world of Alastaia, chronomancers struggled to go back in time by more than a certain amount, it simply cost too much energy.

However, that was without the control of a soul nexus being factored into the equation.

A soul nexus was essentially the afterlife, the final destination. And when one had control of this final destination, then the costs for rewinding time and bringing souls back were dramatically reduced. In fact, oftentimes chronomancy or time cultivation simply wasn’t necessary as the soul could just be plucked directly from the nexus upon death and placed back into the body. A feat that required only expertise in the soul arts, far cheaper in terms of energy expenditure.

“Then, the enemy can be barred from resurrecting their fallen?” Orodan asked.

“Not completely, at least if they manage to reach the body or soul of the fallen before it reaches the soul nexus,” the Thousand Broom Sovereign explained. “Once a certain amount of time has passed however, their ability to bring back their casualties will be gone. After all, they have none on their side with your capacity to produce power.”

That sounded like quite the advantage. Combat resurrections weren’t something covered in basic training at the county militia. Mainly because the ability to bring back the dead through chronomancy or the soul arts was something relegated to the realm of Grandmasters, and officially, he’d never learned of the existence of those until the time loops began. And while he’d seen combat resurrections and the replenishment of casualties mid-battle while fighting against the Novarrian army, it was still a subject not well documented.

“That aside, the majority of our forces have fully mobilized and are ready to move out. We have two armies altogether, prepared to launch a three-pronged assault and converge upon Xian,” the Puppet Sovereign said.

“You wouldn’t have called this meeting just to tell me that,” Prince Zhou Shan said.

“Correct. What we actually mean to speak of… is utilizing the time looper to our advantage,” the Puppet Sovereign said. “Unless both of our truth-detecting skills have failed us, both the Thousand Broom Sovereign and I are confident that this is your first time having this meeting. Orodan Wainwright, we’d like for you to abuse your power to time loop and send us information from the future about how the upcoming campaign will go.”

Orodan nodded, and Zaessythra fluttered up from his shoulder.

“Since you plan to launch a three-pronged assault, I take it you intend for Orodan to try taking all three paths and relaying the information to you?” she asked, assuming the role of his tactical advisor.

The two rebel army leaders nodded.

“There are three armies altogether. The first, is the army of Prince Zhou Shan, a force of ten-thousand veterans who are reliable and battle-tested. Led by him, a Celestial skill bearer, they’re sure to succeed in whatever assault they commit to,” the Puppet Sovereign said as he laid three sheafs of paper out on the table. “The second army is ours. With the bull demons gone, we have just over twenty-five thousand troops of excellent quality.”

“Excellent quality, but not veterans,” she remarked, and though hesitant, the rebel leaders nodded. “And without the bull demons to soak up the brunt of an enemy attack, less effective than you’d prefer.”

“Our cultivators and commanders are brave and zealous,” the Thousand Broom Sovereign said. “But they aren’t battle-tested to the same degree that the Third Army is. The troops have perhaps two campaigns under their belts prior to this. Of course… if you’d be amenable to using the bull dem-”

“No. They’re prisoners and shall be kept as such,” Orodan swiftly interjected. “Give them a weapon and offer them a fair fight to the death, or free them. Intimidating them into serving as meat shields is just uncivil.”

“Understood, we will not go against your wishes on the matter,” the man replied.

Concerns about troop quality, experience and morale were something Orodan understood well enough.

And if the second assault force was a bit concerning in terms of quality, then the third was a joke. Something Zaessythra made her thoughts clear about.

“These are conscripts and non-combatants…” she said in a low tone. “Is the situation that desperate that you need them fighting?”

“You mistake me, cursed scripture, these men and women willingly rose to the call for freedom,” the Puppet Sovereign replied.

“How much freedom do mere Masters and Grandmasters have when their Transcendent Sovereign gives them an order?” she asked sharply. “Most of these people will die in the first minute of battle against even a middling force. A waste of life.”

“You judge without being in our position, time looper, have your advisor watch her words please.”

“I’m inclined to agree with her,” Orodan said. “Why have them fight at all if they’ll do nothing but die? Admittedly, you can resurrect them easily with the soul nexus under your control, but if the enemy fields any troops capable of assaulting the mind or the soul a simple resurrection without chronomancy won’t be enough.”

“Then, what do you propose?” the Puppet Sovereign asked. And Orodan was at least pleased that the man hadn’t withdrawn or become obstinate on the topic.

“How about… I launch that assault myself?” Orodan asked.

“You can’t be-”

“Fine. I would normally call the very thought a flight of lunacy, yet you’ve shown just what you’re capable of against an enemy army even by your lonesome,” the Puppet Sovereign said. “And you’re the time looper too. Be aware however, that conquering a world involves more than just delving past the World Gates and dominating the core. A world that is aware of the invasion and one whose denizens are fully committed to resisting is a different matter than your own home world where you took over a wild core.”

“I’ll heed the warning,” Orodan said. “Besides, we can still use your third assault force for the sake of holding ground and maintaining control once we’ve prevailed in battle. A peacekeeping force of sorts.”

“Good. Now then, let us hash out the remaining details, in particular, if you could try and glean information on these key individuals and locations…”

The discussion went on for another hour-and-a-half. And Orodan was given a full briefing of the invasion plan.

For starters, it wasn’t a conquest with the intent to hold ground or subvert entire worlds and their populations. Both the rebels and Prince Zhou Shan and his Third Army were natives of the Ascendent Sword Cluster and wanted what was best for its people. Marching into a world to burn it to the ground was unacceptable and would only cement them as enemies to the populace.

Something quite undesirable when the Celestial Court and the people of the Ascendent Sword Cluster still had external enemies and rivals such as the hells and the Hegemony. Even if an unhappy populace couldn’t do much to physically threaten their Transcendent and Godly rulers, the lower productivity and constant need to quell uprisings would detract from the overall strength of the ruling government.

After all, if a foreign faction wanted to test their might, every bit of a populace’s loyalty counted.

Still, even if it wasn’t a campaign of conquest, it was one of liberation. And the invasion path had been selected for a reason.

“Can’t I just overpower the space-lock formation upon Xian and allow you to teleport your forces onto the planet?” Orodan asked, and it was Zaessythra who interjected.

“I’ve felt the power of the space-lock formation upon Xian. And while you certainly could manage the feat, I’m not sure if the tens of thousands of killed civilians would appreciate the collateral damage caused,” she explained.

“Your advisor is right. Not only would shattering the space-lock formation on an entire world cause some heavy casualties among the people, but it would also leave our army deep within the enemy’s base of power with little hope of support,” the Prince added. “Your future time looping self might find that it works, in which case we might attempt it then. But given that this is your first try, I ask that you respect the lives of our soldiers.”

Fair enough.

The assault route consisted of each force taking over the world cores of at least three planets before they would finally reconvene to launch an assault upon Xian itself. The route was necessitated by the fact that Xian’s space-lock formation was powered not just by the world core of Xian, but also through a small tribute of world energy from these nearby worlds.

These nearby worlds also had teleporter networks connecting to Xian, and securing the rear was important to prevent any rogue or harassing forces from assailing them from behind while the siege of Xian was underway.

Finally, the real reason they were taking this route… was because of the planetary leadership of these worlds adjacent to Xian.

The Thousand Broom Sovereign held up an intricate looking device.

“This heavenly treasure, created by some of our brightest minds working together, is capable of detecting the presence of Daos or magics which influence the mind,” the man said. “Every company of troops has been outfitted with one such treasure and we intend to scour the leadership of each world with them. At which point, they’ll be rounded up and held captive until you can get to them for cleansing.”

“Not you?” Orodan asked. “You cultivate the Dao of Cleaning, no?”

“My Dao is of Mythical-rarity, not Celestial like yours is,” the man explained. “Against the Celestial Emperor’s Dao of Domination and Supremacy, I fear I’m not a match. You, however, stand a good chance.”

“I’ve cleaned mind magics before, but I have yet to clean anyone’s mind of the effects of a Celestial skill,” Orodan warned.

“That’s fine. You have a time loop and plenty of test subjects to train against,” the Puppet Sovereign said, and the discussion resumed.

The three-pronged assault was expected to face little to no resistance on the initial set of worlds, however, after that, defense forces would begin mobilizing to meet them, with a near-guarantee that the enemy army would muster by that point.

They spoke some more on strategy, what Orodan should keep an eye out for to report when coming back in time, and the make-up of the troops in each assaulting army.

“Then, our meeting is concluded,” the Puppet Sovereign said.

“Yes. We move out in an hour,” the Prince declared, and the two leaders of the rebel army then left the war tent, leaving only Orodan, Zaessythra and Zhou Shan within.

“Your position seems like it would give me a headache,” Orodan admitted. “I much prefer to be out on the front lines swinging a sword or tackling an impossible problem through brute force.”

“And you’re probably better off for it too,” the Prince replied. “I sometimes ask myself if it was worth it, fighting so hard to rise above my station and claim my birthright, all to honor my mother.”

Orodan raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, forgive me, I don’t mean to ramble and throw my problems onto you.”

“No, not that,” Orodan clarified. “Your station, what do you mean? You’re the Prince, no?”

At that, Zhou Shan could only let out a weary chuckle.

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“I suppose I am now, but wasn’t always,” the man said.

“The Celestial Emperor isn’t your father?”

“He is. But unfortunately, I was an illegitimate bastard. My mother, one of Jian Huangdi’s many concubines,” Zhou Shan explained. “Unlike the Emperor’s legitimate children, sired of wives from noble families and good pedigree, my mother was a mere serving girl in the palace. A flight of fancy, or cruelty… I do not know for my mother never spoke of it.”

“You had a rough upbringing then… my condolences, but I suppose it’s made you stronger in a way,” Orodan said.

“Coming from anyone else, that might rankle me, but you’ve had a rough life too, haven’t you?” Zhou Shan asked.

“I can’t say I’ve known the pain of having to fight and kill my own siblings,” Orodan remarked. “Then again, I had no siblings that I know of, and never knew my mother and father, they died when I was but a babe. Life in Ogdenborough as a street rat was a fight; one which taught me a lot.”

“Hah… here I am spilling my woes when fate has treated you even more harshly,” the Prince said. “I grew up a farm boy, and then joined the imperial army, but at least we had food on our table growing up.”

Orodan nodded and decided not to mention the fact that he’d often had to rummage through discarded refuse for stale bread and jerky. In comparison, being a farm boy didn’t sound too bad.

“What happened to the Emperor’s other children? The legitimate ones?” Orodan asked.

“Dead. I slew them all in an event quite famously known as the War of the Heirs. I obtained my Celestial skill during the fighting and was declared Prince of the Celestial Court at the end of it all,” the Prince said. “My father is… a cruel man. When I was but ten-thousand years old and on the verge of achieving Transcendence he forced us all into battle.”

“Sickening…” Zaessythra muttered.

“Perhaps so, my lady, but in his eyes, he was merely resolving the dispute around succession. After all, at least two of my siblings were intent on having me assassinated otherwise,” the Prince said.

“For what? You were just a farm boy who joined the imperial army,” Orodan said. “What threat could you be to their rule?”

“Someone who was proving a little too competent at his military career. Soaring through the ranks, achieving Transcendence by the age of ten-thousand? And of course… becoming universally loved among the most decorated army of the Celestial Court,” Zhou Shan said.

“…the Third Army.”

“Indeed. The eldest of my former siblings was the chief minister of the Celestial Court, and he couldn’t stand the fact that he cajoled around politicking and playing a dance while I fought our enemies and basked in glory,” the Prince said. “He and the second-eldest conspired to have me killed multiple times. All unsuccessful thankfully.

“Yet, you’ve made it past all your challenges thus far,” Orodan said. “Your skills and determination proved more than equal to what life threw at you.”

“In some cases, yes. In others however, brave and trusted friends helped me,” Zhou Shan said while looking intently at Orodan. “I’ve been meaning to ask for a while, Orodan Wainwright… but I’ve heard rumors that a precious friend of mine came with you into Xian. He goes by the name of-”

“Qing Luo, yes. I’m told he ‘transmigrated’ to our world and was thrown out of the cycle of reincarnation upon death,” Orodan explained.

“…he lives! This is – this is excellent news!” the Prince exclaimed. “Of course… the Court has him in their clutches upon Xian.”

“He seemed healthy when I left,” Orodan explained. “Which isn’t saying much considering I was thrown through space upon departure.”

“At the very least, they haven’t harmed him yet… and if they do, with the soul nexus in our hands, we can bring him back,” Zhou Shan said. “I must seem pitiful for it, but Qing Luo was like a brother to me. Many times, he saved my life throughout our military careers, even as he died doing so a few years ago.”

“Worry not, I’ll pull him back from death or mind washing myself if needed,” Orodan replied. “Speaking of, the Jian family, are they all under the effects of the Emperor’s Dao?”

“They should be, but the Dao can have varying levels of control upon people, depending on the individual,” the Prince explained. “Why?”

“Jian Yixia, she seemed to retain enough free will to provide me important information. Surely not everyone in the Celestial Court is under your father’s sway?”

“It’s a possibility, but better we be safe than sorry by cleansing everyone affected,” the Prince said.

Orodan agreed, but the thought that individuals could possess differing levels of resistance to the Emperor’s Dao was an encouraging thought as it meant his job of cleaning their minds and souls would be far easier.

“I had a question though,” Orodan said. “Do you know the identities of any of these Administrators?”

“Their identities? I’m afraid not even the Celestial Emperor knows who they are.”

“Perhaps they have titles then?” Orodan asked.

“None that I know of. You must understand, the descent of an Administrator is a momentous thing. The last such visit to our galaxy was seventeen years ago, and this was after a five million year stretch where they never visited,” Zhou Shan said. “Is everything alright, my friend? You look deep in thought.”

Seventeen years ago… there was no way it was a coincidence. He’d told only Zaessythra of the totality of all he knew, and a look at her and the sudden quieting of her usual fluttering told him that she too had the same thoughts.

There was no way it was a coincidence.

Seventeen years ago, Orodan Wainwright was born. Seventeen years ago, the ‘Divine Tower’ of Alastaia pulsed, and now he’d just learned that an Administrator had descended upon their galaxy around that time as well.

“Nothing, it’s nothing,” Orodan said, keeping it to himself. “We should make way for the army, battle soon approaches.”

Some things he just didn’t want to throw onto others. Mainly because the knowledge that something very powerful in the System had chosen him might make people act unwise. At the very least, only Zaessythra had been told of it all.

“I concur, I shall see you at muster, Orodan Wainwright.”

After Zhou Shan left, it was only Orodan and Zaessythra’s fluttering form within the tent. Yet even she seemed rather subdued compared to normal.

“It’s no longer a mere coincidence,” she said, and he simply nodded, his eyes closed. “Something chose you for this time loop. But why?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it? If I had the answer, perhaps I’d know what to work toward,” Orodan said. “As it stands, all I’ve been doing so far is fighting and making progressively stronger enemies.”

“And learning, from excellent teachers might I add,” she said as she energetically fluttered about his head, causing him to smile. “Don’t tell me you’re now having an epiphany and no longer want to fight forever?”

“What? Hells no! I’ll fight for eternity, I love it too much to do anything else,” Orodan immediately replied. “That being said… what was I selected for? For now, all I can do is grow in power as I time loop, and maybe I’ll find out what eventually.”

“While hopefully avoiding your permanent death at the hands of that – that freak,” she said, however the shakiness in her tone didn’t escape Orodan.

“I don’t know what it is, but I’ve never seen or felt anything like it before,” Orodan said.

And privately, he wasn’t sure if he’d be its match by the time this loop ended either.

“It just felt… wrong. Wrong beyond anything I’ve ever sensed,” Zaessythra said. “I’ve never felt such instinctual terror before. Can’t we just… retire? Perhaps seek out some of those other Administrators that letter mentioned?”

“And hide forever?”

“Why not? We cannot all be like you, Orodan,” she said. “Do you think I want to feel that sort of dread terror?”

“No, and it would be unfair of me to expect it of you,” he said. “Before the month is up… I can drop you off somewhere if you’d prefer.”

“Or you come with me and we stop engaging in this stupid farce of yours,” she said, a rare sort of heat in her voice. “Why do you insist on this suicidal course of action? Do you have no regard for your own life?”

“You’ve known me for a bit now,” Orodan said. “Do you really think I’d be happy with running? I marched to my death on my first life.”

“And what of me? Am I meant to just flutter about, pages flipping in the wind as you go ahead and throw your life away?” she said. “I assume you still intend on getting me my body back, or have you forgotten your promises? Can’t keep those if you’re permanently dead.”

A little entitled, wasn’t she? Still, he’d accept it given how much she’d done for him.

“I’ll find a way, even if I die,” Orodan declared.

“No, you won’t you idiot. Because you’ll be dead – dead.”

“You seem a lot angrier than normal, is everything okay?” Orodan asked.

“I’m angry because I don’t want to die, like any reasonable being should,” she said. “Unfortunately, the one idiot I’m bound to seems to have a death wish that he’s going to drag me into.”

“You’re not bound to me Zaessythra,” Orodan said. “You can leave at any time if you want. I won’t keep you by force.”

“Foolish boy,” she spat. “Have you considered in that thick head of yours, that perhaps I might have a vested interest in the fate of the one who helped heal my soul and drag me along on an adventure spanning many worlds?”

At that, Orodan could say nothing.

It was no secret that he cared for Zaessythra. To know that she also cared for him despite her rough exterior… it should’ve made anyone else feel warm inside. Yet, all Orodan could feel was a sense of dread as he put the feeling of warmth together with the fact that an ancient, corrupted Administrator was coming for him.

He’d grown up a street rat, looking out for only himself. Each day was a fight to live, not for anyone else, but just for him.

To add someone else to that equation, it was messy, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

The part of him that craved battle protested this, he demanded a glorious death against impossible odds! He was made for war, for fighting. And the side of him that had come to care for this annoying book of his protested this.

“I’ll keep my promise to you. No matter how many loops it takes,” Orodan defended.

“And if you die?”

“I’ll wake up in Ogdenborough and do it over and over again.”

“And what if… that abomination succeeds? If it drags you outside of System-space? What happens when you die permanently?” she asked.

“Then… I’ll defy death itself. I refuse to die while I still have more work to do,” Orodan declared.

“You’re truly mad, Orodan,” she muttered. “Do as you will. I won’t think about this matter any longer.”

She simply fluttered away and left Orodan alone inside the grand war-tent.

At the end of the day, no matter who he grew to care for… was he not always alone in the end?

The letter from last night had promptly self-destructed after he’d read it, but Orodan wasn’t incompetent, and his memory was quite good.

Yes, there were a ridiculous number of spells upon the parchment, but Vision Of Purity had a knack for sifting through the unimportant details and seeing what he really needed to. And the two things which immediately stood out to him were that much of the letter was powered by world energy, which meant he was looking for a World-Ruler or someone connected to one. And most importantly, a kind of energy he’d never seen before.

He’d been up all-night reading with Zaessythra, and none of the records they’d perused or people they’d asked could identify it. The only inkling had been multiple texts which mentioned that other galaxies could have esoteric and different kinds of energy besides the typical ones in theirs.

It hadn’t helped narrow anything down, but Orodan had a good memory, and he would remember the trace of it. Perhaps he might run into it in the future.

In the meanwhile, he could only focus on what was ahead of him in the present. He pulled up his Status to get a good look at the gains he’d made from the fighting upon the battlefield.

Name: Orodan Wainwright
Age: 17

Title 1: Perfect Cleaning Elite
Title 2: Celestial Elite
Title 3: Bearer Of A Celestial Skill
Title 4: Cleaning Elite

Available Titles:

Bearer Of A Celestial Skill
World Conqueror
World Gate Delver
Avatar Slayer
Wielder Of A Mythical Skill
One Who Has Experienced Death
Transcendent Slayer
Combat Elite
Sword Elite
Shield Elite
Physical Elite
Unarmed Combat Elite
Cleaning Elite
Wrestling Elite
Soul Elite
Perfect Cleaning Elite
Celestial Elite
Woodworking Adept
Alchemy Adept
Space Adept
Time Adept
Fire Magic Apprentice
Enchanting Apprentice
Teaching Apprentice
Laboring Apprentice
Blacksmithing Apprentice
Pathfinding Apprentice
Gathering Apprentice

Rewards:

Permanent +14 Action Increase
Permanent +0.1 Title Multiplier

Skills:

Domain Of Perfect Cleaning 89 (Elite – Celestial)

Eternal Soul Reactor 96 (Master – Mythical)
Warrior’s Reciprocity 85 (Elite – Mythical)
Eldritch Resistance 61 (Adept – Mythical)
Divine Resistance 52 (Adept – Mythical)
Absolute Body Composition 1 (Initiate – Mythical)
Reality Alteration 1 (Initiate – Mythical)

Harmony of Vitality 97 (Master – Legendary)
All-Strike 89 (Elite – Legendary)
Unassailable Fortress 87 (Elite – Legendary)
Bulwark Physical Resistance 85 (Elite – Legendary)
Endless Blitz 85 (Elite – Legendary)
Draconic Fireball 74 (Elite – Legendary)
Time Reversal 70 (Elite – Legendary)
Body Tempering 64 (Adept – Legendary)
Mana Resistance 63 (Adept – Legendary)
Vision of Purity 62 (Adept – Legendary)
Wood Communion 56 (Adept – Legendary)
Fate Disconnect 43 (Apprentice – Legendary)

Iron Body 87 (Elite – Exquisite)
Psionic Resistance 77 (Elite – Exquisite)
Flash Strike 74 (Elite – Exquisite)
Draconic Mana Channelling 68 (Adept – Exquisite)
Time Mastery 65 (Adept – Exquisite)
Vitality Destruction 59 (Adept – Exquisite)
Fire Resistance 51 (Adept – Exquisite)
Lightning Resistance 47 (Apprentice – Exquisite)
Wind Resistance 41 (Apprentice – Exquisite)
Water Resistance 39 (Apprentice – Exquisite)
Ice Resistance 38 (Apprentice – Exquisite)
Dimensionalism 18 (Initiate – Exquisite)
Curse Resistance 4 (Initiate – Exquisite)

Soul Mastery 78 (Elite – Rare)
Space Mastery 75 (Elite – Rare)
Teleportation 59 (Adept – Rare)
War Cry 39 (Apprentice – Rare)
Acid Resistance 34 (Apprentice – Rare)
Gourmand 13 (Initiate – Rare)

Spatial Fold 73 (Elite – Uncommon)
Shield Throw 69 (Adept – Uncommon)
Shield Intent 68 (Adept – Uncommon)
Power Strike 61 (Adept – Uncommon)
Mana Manipulation 58 (Adept – Uncommon)
Fate Reading 31 (Apprentice – Uncommon)

Pain Resistance 90 (Master)
Unarmed Combat Mastery 89 (Elite)
Physical Fitness 89 (Elite)
Combat Mastery 88 (Elite)
Shield Mastery 88 (Elite)
Sword Mastery 87 (Elite)
Wrestling 80 (Elite)
Woodworking 67 (Adept)
Tool Mastery 66 (Adept)
Alchemy 64 (Adept)
Flare 63 (Adept)
Enchanting 59 (Adept)
Surprise Attack 45 (Apprentice)
Blacksmithing 49 (Apprentice)
Fire Magic Mastery 48 (Apprentice)
Jewelcrafting 48 (Apprentice)
Pathfinding 43 (Apprentice)
Teaching 43 (Apprentice)
Sprinting 39 (Apprentice)
Laboring 34 (Apprentice)
Maintenance 34 (Apprentice)
Gathering 32 (Apprentice)
Construction 28 (Initiate)
Repair 22 (Initiate)
Cooking 22 (Initiate)
Magical Rituals 18 (Initiate)
Mining 17 (Initiate)
Intimidation 16 (Initiate)
Club Mastery 15 (Initiate)
Lumberjacking 11 (Initiate)
Parkour 11 (Initiate)
Observe 11 (Initiate)
Disguise 8 (Initiate)
Thievery 6 (Initiate)
Identify 5 (Initiate)
Deception 4 (Initiate)

He had grown.

Fighting the Eldritch Avatar in each loop would no longer be a problem, even without his cleaning abilities. And he felt that he could hold his own against the stronger Transcendents and even slay the middling ones.

Still, there were always stronger foes to fight. The Celestial Emperor was one of them, a man so powerful that his Dao had killed Orodan many times despite it not even being the intent. A man on the cusp of the level beyond Transcendence.

And beyond that… the Eldritch-corrupted Administrator coming for him. The Reject.

War awaited.

#

[C#he*ck&po%in$t S@et]

“Sons and daughters of the Ascendent Sword Cluster! We fight for freedom! We fight for our Daos! We fight, for Xian!”

It was at the tail end of Prince Zhou Shan’s rousing speech before the assembled armies that Orodan decided to set his new checkpoint.

As promised, there were three assault forces ready to assault the worlds loyal to the Celestial Court. The army led by Zhou Shan, veterans and of excellent quality. The army led by the rebels who were of greater number and professional, but not as battle-tested. And the third, consisting of thirty-thousand…

“Well, calling them rabble isn’t right, but they aren’t soldiers either,” Orodan said.

“Then it’s a good thing you’re doing the fighting for them,” Prince Zhou Shan replied.

True enough.

To the cadence of horns and drums, each army stepped through gigantic portals maintained by multiple teams of space cultivators and formation experts. Zaessythra was inside of Orodan’s spatial ring, content to remain silent since their conversation earlier.

They stepped through the portals to arrive onto an allied world. Sprawling temple-cities which extended as far as the eye could see. Teleporting directly into a city was a high-casualty maneuver, and no way would this be done if the target was an enemy world. But this wasn’t the enemy world, not yet. From here, a few more volunteers would arrive, the army would perform some last-minute resupply and from there, a team of space cultivators were peering through a specialized device to try and survey the surface of the target enemy world.

“My lord, we’ve found a suitable location,” the space cultivator captain said. “No civilians nearby for almost a thousand miles.”

“Good, open a small crack outside the world, ten miles away from the borders of their space-lock formation,” Orodan ordered, and the cultivators did as asked. A tiny crack opening up which led into the void of space above their target.

He focused, eyes blazing with white soul energy as he poured as much power as possible into the most overpowered Spatial Fold he could cast. The space cultivators yelled and gasped as their opening in space rapidly became unstable, however their fear was unnecessary as Orodan simply took over the rift they’d created through naught but raw Space Mastery.

[Space Mastery 75 → Space Mastery 76]

The unstable crack in space that led to just outside of the enemy world was now stabilized by Orodan’s own soul energy. Unlike the space cultivators, Orodan didn’t have to worry about his power running out. With it in hand, he cast a Spatial Fold through this small crack.

[Spatial Fold 73 → Spatial Fold 74]

His Spatial Fold, trained relentlessly against the space-lock formation of the rebel army, had grown very strong. What would’ve once been a bit of a power struggle as his spell smashed into and wrestled against the space-lock formation of an entire world, was now but a modest exertion.

Space screamed and warped brutally as Orodan’s raw power and improved skill levels were brought to bear against it. It folded, met some resistance at the borders of the world’s space-lock formation, and then promptly rammed right through, causing a massive explosion of Qi and world energy along the path.

Part of what made breaching an entire world’s space-lock formation so difficult was that it was powered by the world core. No regular being could hope to match the energy capacity of an entire world. Even a smaller world with less power could still have enough output to match the mightiest of Gods and Transcendents.

The booming sound of an alarm rang through the void between stars, the tell-tale cue that the formation had been broken, and on the surface of the world, Orodan’s enhanced eyes could make out a furious amount of activity near the cities and population centers. The defenders were undoubtedly scrambling to respond. Orodan’s Spatial Fold had just overpowered the space-lock formation over an entire world; it was an awe-inspiring feat.

The troops around him simply looked on as though he were some freakish anomaly. The space cultivators in particular were gazing upon him as though he were a divine being.

“Stare too much and you’ll go blind,” Zaessythra spoke up as she came out of his spatial ring. “Well? Let’s go Orodan, that world won’t conquer itself.”

“Awfully eager to lay conquest, aren’t you?” Orodan asked.

In response, she only vibrated with what he assumed was manic glee. He’d forgotten for a bit, but she was a World-Conqueror and had successfully laid conquest to a planet.

He stepped through the threshold of the Spatial Fold, and it was time to get to work.

#

The conquest of the planet was surprisingly easy.

As he’d been told, there was little to no resistance on the very first world he invaded. The local cultivators within the cities and sects put up no resistance whatsoever, and nobody stronger than the Grandmaster-level had shown themselves. And those that did, immediately surrendered. A tacit understanding that this was a war between cultivators to facilitate a change of government, and thus the ordinary civilian need not be drawn into the fighting.

The core guardians – robed cultivators with System glyphs upon them like the kind Jian Song wore – had been instructed to surrender, and he quickly dominated the world core and reached within to withdraw a sword with a crown-hilt which he pawned off to Zaessythra.

“You don’t want it?” she’d asked. “It’s a sword, you like swords!”

“Should I throw you in a dark and musty vault because I found you in one?” Orodan asked.

A smack upon his head was what he got for that one.

“It was a perfectly reasonable question,” she grumbled.

“So was mine. Your violent tendencies aside, I love my basic sword given to me by the county militia in Ogdenborough,” Orodan said. “I don’t want a fancy sword. I’m quite happy with my own. Besides, maybe you can learn to use it and channel world energy.”

“Learn? Boy, I’ve been using world energy far before you were ever born or selected for a time loop,” she haughtily said. Orodan had begun understanding her subtle expressions by now, and it was apparent that the world-sword greatly interested her.

The Sovereign of the newly conquered world was nowhere to be seen however, and Orodan suspected whoever it was, they were likely marshalling alongside the main military forces of the Celestial Court.

The planet’s populace fell into line soon after the arrival of his assault group, and violence genuinely hadn’t been needed as the word cultivators among his assault group’s ranks had convinced the natives that no harm would befall them.

Hells, Orodan had even cleansed their world core of the slight bits of Eldritch corruption it had begun building up.

It was the next planet after that though, where problems began to show themselves.

There was no space-lock formation upon the world, and through the spatial rift Orodan could see a great number of military bases and troop activity upon the surface. This was a world that was actively prepared to defend itself, and even the civilians down in the towns were armed and prepared to resist the invaders.

Furthermore, there were numerous powerful artillery pieces and formations which had been set up across every square mile of the surface that he could see.

This was looking to be a difficult fight.

Which was when he saw the floating world-sword near Zaessythra charge up with large amounts of power…

…and begin siphoning the world energy from the enemy world.

“What the… you can do that?” Orodan asked.

“You have yet to understand what that crown of yours can do,” Zaessythra said. “With enough finesse, many things are possible. Ah… World-Queen yet again, how wonderful!”

Orodan wondered just what manner of monster he’d unleashed. Of course, he didn’t have time to dwell on it given that a horde of cultivators was approaching in a mad rush for their position. A counter-charge towards the planet they’d just conquered.

“Zaessythra, would I be presuming too much if I ask whether you’re capable of defending yourself while you do that?”

“You would. This work of siphoning their world energy is quite tiring, and the inner core of my soul trembles painfully if I push too hard.”

Orodan simply rolled his eyes and got to work.

Ranks of cultivators charged his position, only to fall as he gave them a beating. Units of enemy Grandmasters on flying dragons rushed the rift in space, and he sent them and their dragons back, bruised, battered and bloody. He didn’t need to draw his sword for such weak foes.

The enemy hadn’t bothered to send true warriors, so neither would he bother to treat them like it.

“Monster! Daring to assail one of the ancestral planets!”

“Stronger than a thousand body cultivators!”

“That shield is unbreakable!”

Orodan fought, and he defended Zaessythra’s position as she continued siphoning world energy. Projectiles were rendered ineffective through Shield Intent, and the enemy was dissuaded from hitting too hard as Warrior’s Reciprocity was an ever-present threat.

Enemy artillery and war machines pounded away, but they destroyed themselves by daring strike his shield light.

It was an ingenious strategy he had to admit. Why bother with a direct assault of the surface when they could force the enemy to come to them? It was a plan that avoided civilian casualties and forced the enemy to march to their tune.

Things were going well.

Within an hour, enemy artillery and defensive formations began to lose power as Zaessythra used her world-sword to siphon from them.

“No way are you outright draining the power of an entire world core,” Orodan said.

“Correct. I’m not,” Zaessythra replied.

“Then how?”

“It’s simple, I’m re-directing the flow of world energy from their world core towards our own planet,” she said. “The only reason this is possible is because we’re still on a planet we control. The crack in space you’re maintaining is allowing me to do this. Without it, this gets far more complicated. As it stands, this is akin to rearranging the flow of a river to our advantage.”

“Fascinating… do they have no counter to this?” Orodan asked.

“They would if the enemy Sovereign bothered to show up and take to the field,” she replied. “We’ve been going for an hour, and I have yet to feel any resistance. I doubt they want to risk the Sovereign in a losing battle. This world was meant to make us bleed for very little cost on their end, and they’re failing in that task.”

Zaessythra was right.

Four hours later the enemy realized the futility of their actions and simply elected to launch an all-out charge. They suffered nearly total casualties against Orodan, but it was a valiant effort even if nearly four-thousand Masters and Grandmasters were beaten into submission. They weren’t professional soldiers, but non-combatants who’d been conscripted and pressed into service.

Orodan was assured by his own assault force that had been hanging back thus far that they could handle the matter of prisoners. With control of the soul nexus, even if Orodan had killed them, bringing casualties back wasn’t difficult. The only real strain was managing the logistics of multiple prisoners of Master and Grandmaster-level. But they had an army of thirty-thousand for a reason and it was no issue.

Four more hours later, they descended upon the planet’s surface and made way for the world core.

Which was obviously quite heavily trapped, warded and guarded by some rather suicidal core guardians.

Orodan and his fists pummeled the way through and took custody over the core, electing to throw the regal tiara to Zaessythra yet again.

It wasn’t really his style, and he already had a world-crown which allowed him to access the unique functions of a World-Ruler. Furthermore, his world crown was connected to the ‘Divine Tower’, a structure related to his time loop. This allowed him to purchase talents related to his time looping.

Two days of fighting later, the planet had finally been pacified, and Orodan had to re-evaluate how ruthless Zaessythra could be. Pockets of the populace that surrendered were given bountiful amounts of world energy. Their lands thrived, the flora and fauna boomed, and life was incredibly good for these people.

Those that didn’t however, had the world energy flows to their lands cut off entirely. Crops, trees and wildlife withered and became diseased overnight. It was brutal and ruthless… but it worked. Alongside the assistance of the thirty-thousand strong force at his command, their word cultivators had managed to persuade the remaining pockets of civilian resistance to surrender. They hadn’t needed to kill any non-combatants whatsoever.

Both conquered worlds were also closely examined with the specialist devices and scanned for any traces of mind magics or Daos which subverted the will. However, no searches turned anything up. The enemy had seemingly pulled all their important assets back.

They were poised to strike against the final world in the path of their assault force, and from there, Xian and the Celestial Court itself.

Things really were going well.

Which was why when a messenger burst into camp, Orodan wasn’t the least bit surprised. If anything, he’d been waiting for the hammer to drop since this invasion started.

“My lord! The Third Army led by Prince Zhou Shan is under severe attack! The main force of the Celestial Court has concentrated to meet them in battle!”

Of course…

“Efficient, but predictable,” Zaessythra said. “Concentrating force to take out the elite segment of our forces is a standard tactic, but one that works.”

The Celestial Emperor was superior to Zhou Shan in a one-on-one, and the numbers arrayed against them were heavy. A losing battle, from where the Emperor could strike out and re-capture the soul nexus as well.

Orodan got to his feet.

It was time to reverse the course of this campaign.

It was time to face down the Celestial Emperor once more.