***
Hearing the hollow roar of Strife's power as he shot out into the void in a pillar of amber-silver light. My hand stopped scribbling on the blackboard for me to look up at the observatory's glass ceiling seeing it still intact.
Right before I could continue calculating equations for the ritual however I received a call from across the
[seraphim: tyrant fenghuang, is contacting you]
Tutting my tongue the timing of this call seemed whimsical to me. Reaching out a hand i pressed the 'accept' hovering just below the notification before it expanded into a video call.
Beyond the screen a dimly lit room with barely any proper lighting and only the outline a bed and a woman rising from it were visible. "Good morning, Sathuna~." The caller sang in a sleepy but seductive tune.
"On my world its mid afternoon currently." I responded. Barely paying attention to the dark screen while returning to writing equations on the blackboard. "Its quite unfortunate though. If you had called just a minute earlier you would have caught your husband."
Stretching her body out with a cute moan the woman stretched her dragon tail and the angelic wings on her back before brushing her wheat-gold hair atop her horns and sharp ears. "Oh? My lover was with you? How envious i am of you, Sathuna. My heart is breaking at this sad news."
Chuckling at her words i shook my head. "Cease your games. You know Namless only has eyes for you. Though i wonder if you truly reciprocate that kindness?"
Stirring in the woman's bed three figures lay deep in sleep from exhaustion. All feminine in their outlines and all of different races but all beautiful even in the vague lighting of the room.
"Without my dear consort by my side i need some way to relieve my boredom. Especially when I'm bound by contract to almost never leave my kingdom." The woman with a mature tone said back as her shadow lifted from the bed taking the video call with her. "If only someone hadn't schemed to tear us apart. Maybe then he would be the one trying to sneak out of my bed instead of me kidnapping princess' to alleviate my needs."
Taking my eyes off the blackboard for a moment i glanced at the call right as the woman on the other side opened the terrace curtains letting light into her royal bedroom made of crystals. Shining light onto her bare body and through her golden hair as well as the white feathers on her wings, horns and tail.
Sighing i pleaded to her, "I've asked you time and again to not call me when you are naked."
"If you slept with me once more maybe you could fix that." The woman teased before sucking in a breath of the fresh morning air as she stepped out onto the terrace. Wrapping her wings around her chest like a shirt and coiling her feather tail around her waist as a skirt before leaning against the crystal railing. "Anywho~. Tell me what my husband has you helping him with this time? Something i couldn't fathom no doubt."
"He has asked me to ensure that he and Thorn met in hell now that the apparent future they comes from no longer exists. There is also a mortal man with an [aspect] capable of rewinding the entire universe. And currently i am writing up the foundation of an equation that will create a ritual so that i may retain my memory after each regression."
Silence radiated through the screen before a burst of laughter followed. "Hahaha! Ahaha! Ahh~ what an unexpected surprise! My love is from the future, but right now that future doesn't exist? What a succulent secret he's been keeping from you, Sathuna. If only i could of been there to see your face. There's no way even you could have remained composed hearing that."
Scoffing at the humour i asked her, "so i take it he already told you this then?"
"Only the first half, but of course. I'm his wife." The woman announced proudly like it was supposed to insult me. "Unlike you who he trusts to scheme and take advantage of him. He trusts me to simply adore him as i always will. I'm so obsessed about having his love all to myself that i doubt i could stand it if he kept secrets from me." She playfully said before trailing off into a serene but also manic sounding giggle.
"Crazy truly loves crazy to quote Thorn." I whispered to myself before realising the first blackboard had been completely filled with continuous equations before sliding it up to continue writing onto the blackboard beneath it with the chalk in my hand. "Now despite this wake-up call of yours do you have any real business with me? These equations I'm writing require a bit of focus I'm afraid."
"Isn't tormenting the sanity of the woman who stole my husband from me enough of a reason?" The regal beast on the other side of the call taunted.
"I'll hang up."
"H-hang on!" She panicked, grabbing the edges of the screen we spoke through. "Uhm... originally i was just messing with you but after hearing what you said. Is it possible for you to allow me to remember past the regressions as well? Or at least allow my husband the chance to see me again. Maybe he could even return to me now that the future barely matters, right?"
Pausing my writing on the blackboard i placed the chalk down. "I already offered the idea to him when he first told me about the universal regressions but the honest psychopath declined. My guess is he doesn't want to hurt you to satiate his own greed, and be hurt when you forget what he's said and done to you after a regression."
"That only matters if I'm unable to remember the futures after the regression." The woman said resolutely.
Tapping my nail on the wall i pondered for a minute before giving my answer. "Its unsure yet whether or not this ritual is even possible as its only just begun. Much less so is it clear how many minds it will be able to accommodate."
A saddened breath came from beyond the screen. Understanding that she would only have to wait and be patient a little longer.
"But i'll promise you this. Thanks to the regressions many of my plans can be sped up and implemented as soon as the ritual is complete and i become immune to the regressions similarly to Strife. That includes burning the agreement between the CGA and Anplagace that prevents you and Strife from reuniting. You have my wholehearted and honest assurance, Vita."
Smiling wistfully through the screen Vita brushed her wheat-gold hair aside out of her amethyst pink eyes as the wind blew onto the outdoor terrace she was on. "It'll be nice when i can see my danger noodles face up close again instead of through a picture. I have full faith in your promise to grant my dearest wish again."
***
Bursting out of the void through a crack in space i dropped out the sky before crashing through the roof of a building and falling through several floors before being caught by the floor at ground level.
"Ow." Exhaling the pain of the landing i lamented the rough arrival before forcing myself upright from the hole i was within.
"Nice landing. The stone got a good imprint of your ass falling on it." Thorn mocked as he fled my body perching on the crater's edge.
"Thanks." Reaching down my back i pulled out a brick that got under my shirt before tossing it aside. "Void storms are always such fun to deal with. Can't go around them and going through them requires me to go full strength just so i don't end up time traveling again to a random time." Getting out of the floor with a groan i asked, "anyway's you good?"
"Same as ever." Thorn grumbled. "Too perfect to be alive but too magnificent to stay dead."
"Yeah you're fine." Extending my arm Thorn flew onto it and climbed up my shoulder before i made my way outside the building i crashed through seeing the crowd of pseudo-humanoids and regular humans all watching me exit in shock.
There were mermen, harpies, various demon species and the rare nobly dressed werewolves. The vampires i could see were all homeless vagrants from what i saw. Humans were the minority amongst the onlookers but they all looked to be albino's.
"Is that guy human? He's nearly pale enough to be."
"How could he be human if he did that?"
"Are they an alien of some kind?"
[skill: hollow void - void step]
Not sticking around i took a step forward before vanishing in an arc of amber-hold currents teleporting into the distance. Leaving the crowd behind to panic by my sudden vanishing act.
Treading across a stone tile roof i looked around seeing the Victorian aesthetic of the city with Russian architecture at the heart of it with most dreary buildings having colourful circular roofs like the one i walked on.
The sky was constantly thick with clouds making it impossible for proper sunlight to shine through but just enough so that plants could grow. The city relied heavily on the night lamps spread across it for actual light. It was a city of darkness for monsters of the night.
"Oh where, oh where, would a werewolf earl be in this city?" Thorn sang. "Perhaps the noble's mansions? Or maybe even the brothels if he's a man of culture."
"We're not going to the brothels." I dismissed.
"You sir are no man of culture it would seem." The raven jeered with a flap of his wings before calming down. "In all seriousness though where the fuck is this guy at? It would take weeks to find him the conventional way."
[skill: astral third eye - observation]
"Thankfully we aren't very conventional." Spreading my aether out across the city i gave it a command. "Find the werewolf Jin Fift."
Stretching out across the gothic city like a wave of fog the invisible energy coiled around all beings and people differentiating them one by one as aether searched their minds for the target before promptly moving on. To the people of the city it was like a wave of momentary sickness was rushing over them as aether pushed through them before reporting back to me.
"Found him." I announced to Thorn. "He's in a museum along with one of the gods of this world."
"They notice you?"
"Definitely. Its not exactly a subtle method pushing aether through a person. Plus he's an eighth-ring-sequencer. Let's go greet them."
"You gonna do something about your ugly mug first like Sathuna said you should?" Thorn reminded.
Pausing before taking any action I contemplated it before deciding to follow her and Thorn's advice with a roll of my head.
[skill: winter inverse - helmet]
Growing out of my skin my knight's helmet morphed around my skull before shutting over my face while my hair turned into a grey flame flowing out the back of it. "There. They can mistake me for a dullahan now."
"Its an improvement over your regular looks if you ask me." Thorn commented wryly.
"Like you're one to talk when you have the face of a grave robber." I shot back.
"Unlike you I'm handsome though." Thorn argued back while he rode my shoulder, his grin across his beak growing wider. "Even if i were a grave robber there's nothing that would stop me from being the pillar of style all envy, and desire of all beautiful ladies. You know it, don't deny it."
Sighing i regretted how I'd given Thorn the chance to inflate his own ego. Moving with a step we teleported across the city in multiple jumps before arriving at the start of a staircase leading into a museum and beginning to walk up the path.
Hung out front of the museum was a banner that read: 'Alredo Rockich Art Show' in the dialect of this planet that was similar to Russian.
Filling the air instrumental music from the event emanated out the museum giving the people i passed something to listen to in the background as they talked and laughed with one another and it only got louder as i reached the top of the stairs to the front door of the museum.
Before being able to walk into the museum however i was stopped. "I'm sorry sir but this event is a strict invite only."
Standing in my way a ghostly entity wearing a pure blue security uniform along with one other stopped me from walking straight in. Though it looked like they were talking to Thorn more than me.
[skill: horizon chain - mental rewrite]
Chains wrapped around the security ghosts thin white heads of energy. Completely forgetting about my existence as i walked past them before being released from the chains without being any the wiser.
"Those must of been Chindi." Thorn supposed. "Spirit's have always been good at noticing your hollow presence regardless of their species anyhow."
"Lets just find this werewolf and get back to Felcrii, Thorn." Looking around my eyes carried through the multitude of those present that ranged from noble werewolves to servant vampires being used as slaves. "Too many dogs that look the same. You think you could sniff him out?"
Jumping off my shoulder the raven warped his body into a black furred dire wolf. Surprising the few that observed us enter before taking a sniff at the air. "I smell dried ichor somewhere. Someone's brought god blood in with them. If this genius is like Sathuna said he is then that should be him." Taking another whiff of the air Thorn's nose pointed to a nearby woman. "Lot of girls on their period here. She's in heat."
"Ah!" Offended the werewolf female Thorn was looking at tossed her drink at the large wolf with a ghostly body but he devoured it glass and all before crunching the glass between his silver canines.
"Follow up princess otherwise I'll leave ya behind!" Prancing onwards on all fours Thorn led the way as i went with him.
Whisking through the art museum Thorn and i got various curious looks from the aristocratic werewolves wondering how a dullahan i disguised myself to be and the wraith Thorn was had entered the event.
The art was boring to look at but soon enough Thorn found our target and his protector.
"Earl Fift, it appears your hunter has shown himself."
The werewolf wearing a monocle adjusted his bow tie before looking at me alongside the werewolf deity that stood next to him. Disguised as a regular werewolf.
Tilting my helmeted head i stared back at them calmly. Noticing the devilish energy that oozed out of the monocle wearing werewolf but figuring out whose energy it was. "No wonder the CGA failed to find you like [witch queen] said. You've been disguising yourself as a regular werewolf during your hunts, Marchosias."
The two werewolves wore shocked expressions, but while the unknown one became worried. Earl Jin Fift, who was actually the hell-king Marchosias and progenitor of all werewolves, wore an impressed smile of how easily i deciphered his identity.
"How incredible of you, Traveler, to uncover my true identity as soon as you see me. It appears I'm still lacking in many ways to be unable to hide from the gaze of a kralscell. Allow me to formally greet you."
Removing his top hat and pressing it against his chest the werewolf devil bowed respectfully.
"My true sobriquet of the