A Novel Concept - A death a day, MC will live anyway!

The countdown had begun. In just under fifteen minutes, the summoning ritual would pull a necro Tier 4 into Elysium to aid in the assault against the Fallen. Arnold remained by Seth's side, both to protect him and to keep a close eye on him. The necromancer hadn't been thrilled about it, but Priam had insisted, arguing that the chances of another assassination were slim. It was fairly certain that the Var Elegis knew where his priorities lay, and the rewards from the System for killing Sumstreh were far more valuable than finishing off his rival.

The Terminator was nothing if not pragmatic.

As for Seth, though he despised his killer, it was unlikely he would use the summoned Tier 4 to take him out. Behind the bitterness and hatred, there was fear. The Var Elegis had been raised to the status of a bogeyman.

Flying towards Oasis with Esmée, Priam hoped Seth would be able to control the corrupted summon. A bit of chaos obfuscating the playing field would be useful to save Sphinx, but he didn't want it to devolve into a free-for-all. At least, not until Sumstreh was dead. That was the key to being rewarded by the System.

New Quest: Fallen

Once a God, now a Fallen.
Will they who fell by arrogance repeat their mistake?

Kill Sumstreh, the Fragmented Rabbit.
This is a shared quest (8 participants).

Reward:
Bloodline Purification (+1%)
Talent Token - Seraph Rarity

Reward (for the executor):
Title - Seraph Rarity
Difficulty: Seraphic

Priam hoped to be the executor, but he knew his chances were slim. Besides his Breath, he didn't really have any ultimate move. With Sumstreh aware of this trump card, it was unlikely to be enough.

What else could he do? Dropping a nuke in Sumstreh's Domain would be counterproductive; the System didn't reward its users for that sort of thing—he had slaughtered over ten million corrupted with two nukes and hadn't earned a single Sun Point. I guess I should build the bomb from the ground up for it to count...

Even without the bonus reward, purifying his draconic bloodline and gaining a Seraphic Talent—two tiers above Mythic—was already incredible. Since all the Champions shared the same quest, Priam was confident they would work together until the Fallen was on death's door. Then... everyone would want to land the final blow.

Priam smirked, considering his rivals' machinations. No matter their secrets, his hand was stronger. Back in Time would not only reveal their true faces but also their trump cards. Of course, there was another consequence: after the rewind, he would be the sole beneficiary of the rewards. According to Esmée, this needed to stay under wraps.

"If you tell them you can rewind time, why would they help you?" she had asked when they reviewed his plan.

"For the same reason you're helping me: I'm willing to share intel about their Tribulations."

Esmée had arched a charming eyebrow. "Why would they trust you? Put yourself in their shoes for a second; you're asking them to risk their lives to help you take down a Fallen—knowing you'll be the only one rewarded—show you their weaknesses, and let you get close when they're at their most vulnerable. All that with zero guarantees."

Priam had grimaced. Presented like that, there was no need to be paranoid to refuse his offer.

"So you want me to keep it secret; to exploit them." The idea made Priam slightly uncomfortable. He didn't have much love for some of his rivals, but Dishnu and Arnold had helped him recently. Well, Arnold did kill me before, so I guess we're even.

"You really want to thank them? Learn from this timeline and optimize the real assault against Bastard. If they figure out you can rewind time... Seth will try to kill you, and he won't be the only one."

So, Priam decided to keep the secret. As the haunted forest whizzed by beneath him, he glanced at Esmée. Holding his right hand, the princess smiled like a child, clearly happy to be flying. Her hair was so long and lustrous that she looked like Rapunzel.

"Why are you helping me?" he asked bluntly.

"Hm?"

"Earlier, you said our rivals have no reason to trust me. Kazuki follows me because he's a friend, and Jasmine is my subordinate, but you... Why?"

"Because you are cute."

Surprised by the out-of-character response, Priam lost control of his skill. The couple dropped about ten meters before he stabilized them. Esmée shrieked before bursting into laughter, clinging to his hand.

"I admit that was a half-lie," she giggled. "The real reason is that it's statistically improbable you'll break your promise to me—at least, that's what my skills tell me."

"So you don't trust me, but your abilities," Priam summed up.

"Well... I'm learning to trust you," the young woman smiled.

Priam returned her smile. Claire had taught him not to trust too quickly, and it was perfectly understandable that Esmée needed to spend more time with him before she would be ready to entrust him with her life.

"So, I'm cute?"

Esmée blushed, avoiding his gaze. Now it was Priam's turn to laugh. For the first time, Esmée reacted like a young woman and not a princess.

Before he could tease her further, the forest beneath them began to change. Under the influence of Log-a-rhythm and the enhancements of Oasis, the trees lost their haunted appearance and regained their leaves. The protective dome of Oasis appeared, and Priam groaned when he saw Dishnu already inside. The drya wasn't alone.

"And here I thought the protective barrier was supposed to keep people out," he said as they landed.

"Your security doesn't account for plants," replied his rival.

Assistant, remind me to fix this critical flaw once we rewind time.

[Command saved.]

Priam turned to the seven Tier 4s waiting and watching Oasis. Most looked impatient, except for Ophis, who was massaging his chest thoughtfully.

"How did you get in?" Sometimes, a direct question was the best way to get an answer.

"I hacked your barrier in six minutes." Gryphe chuckled when Priam grimaced. "You're lucky; Braato gave me ten before forcing his way in."

"I don't like waiting," the Gaeserts' Chief admitted with a shrug.

"Neither do I," said a man in his thirties standing behind Gryphe. His eyes resembled those of a tiger, and Priam suppressed a shiver as their gazes met. The stranger's aura was a notch above the other Tier 4s.

"Leo, our Chief," Gryphe introduced. "And the old fart next to him is Felix."

"Pleasure," the old man smiled. He had fewer wrinkles than Louis, but Priam would bet he was much older.

"Welcome to Oasis," Priam declared. "About the fulcrum—"

"The shadow girl already gave it to me," Leo interrupted. "Where's the Fallen hiding, and when will you trigger the diversion?"

Priam concealed his irritation at the powerhouse's bluntness. It was understandable since every second here was a chance for the Necromoon forces to ravage his tribe, but he hated being cut off.

"Dishnu's going to trigger a quintuple Tribulation nearby."

All the mid Tiers turned to the drya, as if seeing him for the first time.

"... Fucking genius," Gryphe spat on the ground. "Not my business, but are you sure you want him triggering a quintuple Tribulation on your Land?"

"Good question." If his past Tribulations had taught him anything, it was that the System didn't care about collateral damage. Priam turned to Dishnu. "Why here?"

The drya pointed at Log-a-rhythm. "I want to temporarily resonate with the Tal Quercus."

Priam frowned. "Explain."

"Its wood resists Tribulations."

The stump Priam had found when he first arrived in Elysium had been struck by a Tribulation. Its death—or perhaps its resurrection—had given it an interesting feature, Tribulation Resistance II. It was the material used to build the Tribulation Chamber.

"I see." Priam took a moment to think. Refusing now would disrupt his plans, while accepting would give him a clearer picture of the drya's plans for Log-a-rhythm. "Alright, give me a moment to evacuate my people. I'll give you the signal to start."

Without another word, the Guardian of the Forest headed towards the massive tree. Using Log-a-rhythm's domain as a relay for their systems, Priam informed Jasmine of the change in plans.

"Dishnu's going to trigger his Tribulations in Oasis. How many crafters have completed theirs?"

"All of them. I'm gathering their notes now."

"Perfect. Get them to Valaryth, finish collecting everything, then come back. It's almost our turn to step into the fray."

Quickly checking Ève's clone's viewpoint, Priam nodded before turning to the Chiefs and shamans.

"Here's what's going to happen…"

A small, eight-sided glass die clutched in his hand, Priam waited alongside Esmée. The moment he crushed the object, the Tier 4s stationed a few kilometers from the Fallen's lair would launch their assault. The chaos from Dishnu's Tribulations and the summoning of the necro Tier 4 would obscure their advance, but the timing had to be flawless.

In the distance, a bolt of inverted lightning struck the clouds, and the light of the Necromoon flared. Seth had begun.

Priam nodded at Dishnu. A white beam shot toward the drya as he placed his hand on the trunk of Log-a-rhythm. With a thought, Priam halted it.

"Moonie, over here!"

The juvenile Moon Wyrm darted into his arms, baring its teeth at the intruder daring to interact with her tree. She could sense that as soon as he was done, the System's trials would threaten her lair.

"Everything's going to be fine," Priam reassured her. "This might even help Log-a-rhythm in the long run."

The words seemed to soothe the draconic creature, who curled up contentedly in his arms. Esmée stepped closer, and Priam noticed her hesitation. "You want to pet her?"

"I… I don't want to bother her."

"I think she likes the attention," Priam said with a wink.

"Oh." Gathering her courage, Esmée touched the wyrm's scales with her fingertips, her face lighting up. "She's warm!"

"A draconic heart generates a lot of energy," Priam explained while keeping an eye on the underground situation through Ève's clone. "Your turn."

A light as pure as it was vile cascaded over the summoning array. Even from outside the runic circle, Seth struggled to breathe. The corruption radiating from the Necromoon was so intense that it even silenced his second personality. For the first time in what felt like ages, his mind was his own—not that he could enjoy the moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Arnold stoically endure the waves of corruption. Fucking monster.

A tearing sound caught his attention. The dimensional fabric between Elysium and the Necro-verse was already paper-thin due to the alignment of the stars. When a spirit drill powered by a million souls tried to punch through, the veil didn't stand a chance.

Seth activated another segment of the ritual. The drill drove halfway into the rift before detonating, widening the breach. The operation lacked finesse, but the undead was a necromancer, not a spatial mage.

Through the rent in reality, Seth gazed upon an endless expanse of crimson sand, where a terrifying number of the dead wandered aimlessly. Many returned his gaze, but those were not the ones he sought. Wielding his authority as a Necro Envoy, he commanded the low Tiers to stay back.

A third part of the ritual triggered, revealing the illusion of a miniature Necromoon at the rift's exit. The construct emitted a specific frequency of aether, designed to lure mid Tiers. It was only a matter of minutes before one took the bait, and since the rift couldn't support a Tier 5, Seth knew his target would fit the bill.

Then would come the hard part. Binding a Tier 4 with nine million corrupted souls was impossible… for anyone who wasn't Seth Pharaoh, the ultimate necromancer of his people.

But why tryhard when I have fresh souls at my disposal?

Seth could feel Arnold's gaze intensify as he issued a command to the hordes amassed near the tribal camp.

"They won't attack until the Tier 4s are locked in combat with the Fallen."

The Var Elegis studied him for a few moments longer before looking away. The homunculus's pragmatism made him predictable.

The ground trembled as a colossal shadow blotted out the portal. Seeing his rival assume a combat stance, Seth couldn't help but smile.

"Your turn."

Upon receiving the First's signal, the clone pushed open the heavy double doors leading to Sumstreh's Domain and stepped into the lair. As the ancient god's attention snapped to her, she quickened her pace, deftly dodging the rabhorns frolicking in the surrounding woods. With [Art of Movement]—and the ideal upgrade the clone's soul had learned back when she was an Aelbe—this was child's play.

Less than a minute later, she found herself standing before a titanic set of bones, which served as the physical support for a looming specter.

"I wasn't expecting a report today," the Fallen growled. "Still refusing to open your mind to me?"

Every rival had their strengths, and Ève's was memory. While the clone wasn't nearly as skilled as the original, she had learned to hide her surface thoughts, preventing the god's divine mark from reading her mind.

She kneeled, hoping to placate her tormentor. "Master, I bring news that couldn't wait." The silence that followed was all the permission she needed to continue. "The new Necro Envoy is summoning a Tier 4."

"That explains the disturbance in the aether... Not that it matters. I doubt the Necromancer would dare summon something he can't control. I'll soon send you to lure it here; it'll earn me a few Sun Points."

The clone bowed, seizing the opportunity to glance down at the ground. To the right of the Fallen, a cage hovered in the air. Inside, a sphinx watched her with intense eyes. She had expected to see hatred in them, but was surprised to find something else. Anticipation?

Turning her gaze away from the First's friend, the clone stared intently at the rest of the cage. Empty? Could the original have already escaped without my help? If so, should I still follow the First's plan? A knot of hesitation tightened in her gut.

The sudden appearance of a fae dispelled her doubts. The original hadn't escaped; she was merely reluctant to reveal herself. [Scotomization], the legendary skill that made others forget their presence, was all the more effective because it made no exceptions. By revealing herself to her clone, Ève was risking Sumstreh remembering her existence and resuming the tortures.

"Here are my orders for Priam: if the drya seems to breeze through his Tribulations, he must die. Otherwise, I want him in front of me as soon as possible—unless, of course, he dies."

The air stilled, like the calm before a storm. The announcement of the Tribulations wiped the Fallen's smile from their face.

"It begins. We may be witnessing the birth of a myth…"

Ignoring the Fallen, the clone winked her left eye three times. She wanted to establish contact, but even without the Fallen's interference, her sphere of influence was too small to reach the original. Though they shared the same memory, one had trained for decades while the other had only had eight weeks to catch up.

The original frowned but did not hesitate to expand her Domain to envelop the clone. As Sumstreh's Domain was temporarily pushed back, the link between the original and the clone stabilized for a fraction of a second before it erupted. It was enough.

Sphinx's cage and Ève were hurled against a tree with brutal force. The tree shattered into splinters, one of which cut the clone's brow.

"Ah, Ève, I'd almost forgotten about you. Is this a mutiny?"

The fae struggled to her feet, shaking her tiny head.

"My clone was acting strangely. Fearing that her experiences might have altered her objectives, I resynchronized our memories. In my position, I can't afford to have my only weapon go rogue."

With a thought, the Fallen levitated the cage before them and scrutinized their prisoners. Though she was smaller than the god's eye, the fae didn't flinch.

"Who would've thought that erasing and replacing someone's memories wasn't the best way to create a trustworthy clone?" The monster's voice dripped with sarcasm. "People change, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I could permanently synchronize our memories by conferring a fragment of my soul to them."

"Fracturing your soul before reaching Tier 5 is a surefire way to die. Even then, all you have to do is look at me to see it's a terrible idea."

The Fallen was nothing more than a soul fragment of a dead Tier 5 known as Sumstreh.

"Yet Priam did it," Ève said, pointing to the clone. "He's watching us right now through a spiritual connection."

The monster's pupils widened as they turned to the clone. Her divine mark flared, summoning a titanic consciousness into her soul space.

The Fallen quickly identified the spy sub-system and devoured it in a fit of rage. The move backfired, as the broken shell released a surge of [There is no Heaven], a skill specifically designed to wound the soul. Sumstreh had just swallowed the spiritual equivalent of a pepper with more than seven zeros on the Scoville scale.

What would have killed the clone instead wounded the Fallen, who retreated from her soul with a howl. Their mouth and anus expelled some of the destructive energy, but watching them eat dirt made it clear the aftertaste was plunging them into deep agony.

Taking advantage of her opponent's distraction, Eve opened her hand to reveal a sphere etched with thousands of golden runes. A genuine Mythic Gift, bestowed by the System as a reward for a Mythic Achievement. Priam had entrusted it to the clone, who had used [Memory Slot - Epic] to transform it into a memory, hiding it from the scrutiny of Sumstreh's Domain. During the memory synchronization, the clone had transferred the memory to her original.

Crushing the sphere between her hands, Ève created a force field around herself and the Sphinx, nullifying the cage's effects and the Domain's influence.

"You know what to do."

"[Join your Pet]!" roared Sphinx.

"You—!" Sumstreh roared as a portal opened before the sphinx. The clone caught a glimpse of a smiling First, glass dust trickling from his hand. "—shall die!"

In a split second, the Fallen unleashed a combo of terrifying attacks on the Mythic protection. Cracks appeared as Sphinx and Ève dove into the portal. The clone's heart clenched as the shield shattered just before the passage closed. If Sumstreh managed to get a single claw through the portal, the original would die.

Right at that moment, the fragment of the world trembled as if hit by a magnitude nine earthquake, diverting the Fallen's attention. Called by Priam, the Tier 4s were attacking.

The rift sealed shut, sealing the First's victory.

"BETRAYAL!"

They couldn't have been more right. The clone smiled as she extracted one final object from [Memory Slot]. Her belly swelled as if she were pregnant, but the pain didn't stop her from winking at Sumstreh. The divine mark flared… and then flickered out, cleansed by the memory of [There is no Heaven]. Memory could be a terrifying Concept when wielded by Ève and her clones.

"Do you really think they can escape my wrath?" Sumstreh taunted, realizing they couldn't stop the bomb from exploding. The clone had taken precautions to ensure it would explode upon her death.

"Who said they're running?" the clone grinned with schadenfreude, activating the nuke. "The First is coming for you."

The next moment, both Sumstreh and the golden-eyed woman were engulfed by atomic wrath.

[3 hours 59 minutes before optimal activation of Back in Time.]

Status:

PHYSICAL:
Strength 782
Constitution 1 386
Agility 924
Vitality 1 336
Perception 817

MENTAL:
Vivacity (D) 599
Dexterity 680
Memory 896
Willpower 1 193
Charisma 754

META:
Meta-affinity 920
Meta-focus 438
Meta-endurance 777
Meta-perception (A) 441
Meta-chance 332
Meta-authority 252

Potential: 12 431
Tier 0

Sun point: 0

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED

[Tribulation]: Six Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Time: 152 days 9 hours 56 minutes 37 seconds.

Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 600 / 6 attribute > 900 / 3 attributes > 1 200 / 1 attribute > 1 500

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