Eventually, it stopped—the screaming, the dying—blurring together into an incoherent soup of consciousness that bled into a whitish mindscape. I stood there in a body that wasn't quite mine.
It was taller, more muscular. Flecks of blonde, almost white hair hung in my eyes, and through the haze, I saw what I assumed was a version of myself in the distance. But he was different. Slightly taller, dressed in a kimono, his white hair gleaming like snow, and his cerulean eyes so unnaturally blue they were almost alien.
It wasn't his appearance that unsettled me most—it was his expression. The calm, knowing glint in his gaze. The familiar ease in his smile.
"Tyler?" I asked, my voice trembling.
His lips tugged wider. "That's 'Dad' to you."
"Y-you can't," I stammered. "You're dead."
"Am I?" he mused, and I froze. My hand went to my head—my thoughts were a fragmented jigsaw I was still trying to piece together. Meta-healing and RCT could only do so much.
"You are…" I insisted weakly. "Everybody says you are."
"Then it must be true," he said lightly. He stepped forward, each movement a seamless glide. When he reached me, he placed a hand on my shoulder, his touch featherlight. "But seriously, I am technically dead. What you're speaking to is the surviving slice of ego I grafted into the system when I tore most of myself soul and merged it with you. So far, it's been quite the ride."
The revelation jolted me out of my daze. Relief struck first—a sharp, disbelieving kind of joy. I stumbled forward and hugged him without thinking.
"I missed you too, son," Tyler murmured, patting my back.
Five whole seconds passed before relief curdled into anger. I pulled away, gripping his shoulder hard enough to crack bone—but his form didn't yield.
"Wait—you've been riding shotgun in my soul this entire time, and you wait this long to talk to me?"
He smiled sheepishly. "In my defense, my piece of soul isn't self-sustaining."
"I thought the System absorbed ambient negative energy."
"The System, yes. Me, no. I'm dying, Julius. I've been dying since you activated the system. Every time I've shown you a memory or helped you unlock a technique you'd never have figured out alone, I fade a little more."
I swallowed hard. "So this conversation…"
"Will likely be the first and last time we ever speak," he said quietly, sorrow slipping into his bright features.
I let go of him. "How long do we have?"
"A few minutes," he said. "Enough to tell you everything you need to know to take down Artisan."
My teeth clenched at the mention of her name. "Artisan this, Artisan that—every waking moment of my life has been consumed by that bitch. Why didn't you kill her when you had the chance? Why didn't you come looking for me?" My voice broke toward the end.
I'd done the math.
Artisan said she killed him nine years ago. I was six then. That was six full years he could've spent with me. Six years I could've spent outside the foster system.
Tyler's expression dimmed. "I…I couldn't. I didn't even know you existed until after the invasion."
"What?"
"Your birth mother, Claire, only mentioned you once—casually, over the phone."
His words spilled into a grim portrait that made me grateful Candice had raised me. Claire was a meta, like me, but her mutation made her effectively immortal—trapped at the prime of her life. She couldn't evolve like I could, but in exchange, she walked out of situations I could never dream of surviving since the 50s. Bullets, fire bombs, car crashes, countless other deaths in increasingly brutal ways.
Tyler was just another man she'd slept with. She kept me on a whim, thinking I was special, then abandoned me at a fire station a few months later when I didn't instantly share her gift.
I shook my head in disbelief.
"By the time I learned about you, it was too late," he continued. "Artisan and I were at war. She had spies everywhere. If she found out about you, she'd have used you against me. I couldn't risk that. I planned to come back once it was all over."
It made sense—but it didn't soothe the anger burning in my gut. He could've found a way to keep me if he really wanted to.
"But that didn't happen, did it?" I said, pacing. "Artisan told me your greatest weakness was your heart."
"Those weren't her exact words," Tyler admitted carefully, "but yes—you've got the gist of it."
"You don't get it, do you?" I jabbed a finger at him. "You chose her over me. You could've stopped her. You would've survived if you'd just—"
"Killed my daughter?" Tyler's voice snapped, sharp as a whip. I froze. "I could never harm Sakura. Just like I could never harm you."
Sakura. That was her name. Of course it was. No wonder she'd remade herself into 'Artisan.'
"You harmed me plenty," I hissed. "Sakura and her doomsday cult are on you. You brought Jujutsu Sorcery into this world. You showed her how to make more sorcerers like you. You're probably the reason she's obsessed with ending the world. I would've had a normal life if—"
"If you'd never tried to rob Black Mask?" Tyler interrupted softly. "Remember, Julius—I've been here the whole time. Every choice. Every kill. Every save. I know you. I'll admit I failed Sakura, if you'll admit you would've never been on her radar if you'd kept your head down."
"Don't even start with me!" I growled.
"In some ways, your collision was always inevitable," he said. "Given her reach, you were bound to cross paths. But you could've delayed it—until you were ready—if you'd made better choices."
I knew what he meant: the Rhelasian mission. That was when everything went to hell.
"So, what—you think I should've let Black Mask live? Turned Artemis down when she asked for help? Pretended Artisan wasn't looking for me? She had an army of sorcerers! I was never going to be ready!"
"The Justice League would've helped," he countered. "Sakura's dangerous, yes, but she's no Superman or Wonder Woman. They would've easily won, if they'd been forewarned."
"The League never liked me," I said bitterly.
"That's because you never gave them a reason to," he said. "You made up your mind about them the same way they did about you."
We argued for nearly a minute before the tension broke. The heat in our words gave way for sort of understanding. I got the sense he was getting a kick out of cutting through my bullshit.
Tyler sighed. "We could keep doing this, Julius—or I could tell you how to beat Sakura."
"You know I don't pull punches, old man." I folded my arms.
"I know," he said with a strained breath. "I might not have had the strength to deal with Sakura and her disciples, but you clearly do."
I frowned. "You're not asking me to spare them?"
"I would prefer you did," he said honestly, "but it might not be a real option for you—given your current location."
That made me pause. "Where exactly am I?"
"A LexCorp facility," he said. "Sakura moved you. You had an adverse reaction to the Blockbuster and Venom serums. You were teleported in to stabilize you. They only just managed it an hour ago. You've been in and out of consciousness for nearly two days."
My mind went blank at the revelation. "It felt longer…"
"Pain has that effect on the mind. In your case, it came with quite the benefit," he said. "You've transcended it."
Tyler waved his hand and produced my status screen.
Class: Sorcerer – Level 34 (1st Grade)
Titles: Touched by the Sparks of Black, Julius the Immortal II
Techniques: Inverse Lv 8, Curse Inventory Lv 8, Copy Lv 4 (Earth Manipulation Lv 1, Ratio Lv 2)
Health: 7800/7800
Cursed Energy: 10350/10350
Stamina: 6250/6250
Stats:
STR: 185 → 630 AGI: 240 → 780 PER: 175 → 475 VIT: 270 → 780
END: 220 → 620 CP: 450 → 1035
Skills:
Cursed Inventory Lv 8
Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv 8
Cursed Energy Manipulation Lv 8
Cursed Energy Reinforcement Lv 7
Stealth Lv 7
Curtain Lv 8
Barriers Lv 2
Knife Mastery Lv 5
Gun Mastery Lv 7
Acrobatics Lv 8
Swordsmanship Lv 9
Binding Vow Lv 6
Reversed Cursed Technique Lv 9
Mace Mastery Lv 6
Hammer Mastery Lv 5
Staff Mastery Lv 4
New Shadow Style Lv 7
Pain Resistance Lv 10:
Effect: You are completely immune to all forms of pain.
Subskill: Artificially amplify your enemy's pain sensitivity by a factor of three for one minute.
Free Points: 60
Meta-Ability:
Enhanced Regeneration → Controlled Adaptation:
Your body can now rapidly heal from wounds, injuries, and fatigue, and adapt to external harmful phenomena at an advanced rate. New cells are continuously generated to replace the dying, granting you functional immortality.
Injury Recovery Rate: Less than 24 hours.
Cursed Energy Recovery Rate: 70% per hour.
Stamina Recovery Rate: 70% every 15 minutes.
The potency of this meta-ability is heavily dependent on nutrition.
Completed Adaptations:
Improved Nutrient Absorption
Nutrient absorption has been enhanced by 600%. All waste is recycled and repurposed.
Cursed Body
Your body can now primarily run on Cursed Energy for a sustained period at the cost of reduced natural regeneration. All recovery pools fill one-third as fast.
+20% efficiency and efficacy to all Cursed Energy applications.
Blockbuster–Venom Body
Natural Weapons: You can eject and grow bone constructs from any area of your body at significant stamina cost.
Durable Skin: Skin density increased fivefold.
Dense Muscles: Muscular density increased tenfold.
Minor Shapeshifting: Manipulate bone structure, skin, and muscle at will.
Poison Immunity
Complete immunity to all known toxins.
My eyes bulged, and I sputtered. "This is…"
"Only the beginning," he said calmly. "Don't get distracted by the numbers. Focus on your skill list and meta-ability. That's how you get ahead." He smiled faintly. "Get enough adaptations and subskills, and you'll be as powerful as I was. My record was sixty-two—but that was only because I slowed down toward the end."
That knowing smirk of his only made the situation even more ridiculous. It was hit after hit with him. Yet, I couldn't help but focus on the newest addition to my skill list.
"I don't remember earning the Barrier skill," I said slowly.
"That's because you didn't," he replied. "I taught it to you during this conversation—along with two other New Shadow Style moves. Barriers are your only real defense against Domain Expansions. They're also the key to stopping Sakura's plan."
He stepped closer. "She'll start with a small city before attempting to convert the world. That'll be your only chance. You need to be strong enough to stop her before then."
"You say that like it's easy," I muttered, cracking my neck. "I'll have to get out of here first. Luthor and the sorcerers won't make that easy."
"You expected that much," Tyler said simply. "It shouldn't be an issue for you."
"Not if I'm facing the twins," I countered.
"I'm sure you'll manage somehow." His tone was gentle—too gentle.
I just stared at him for a long moment. "When I open my eyes, that'll be it, won't it?"
"Yes," he said with a soft smile. "I wish we had more time."
"So do I."
Suddenly, I remembered all the things I'd promised myself I'd say to him—the questions, the accusations, the apologies. None of them seemed to matter in the face of oblivion.
"You weren't a shit dad," I finally said. "Not a hundred percent, anyway."
He chuckled. "I love you too, son."
My eyes fluttered open.
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