He collapsed on the ground, appearing no different from a fallen statue. His body was as rigid as iron. A single tear trailed down his cheek. He was never…ever…doing this again.
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|DxD|- Chapter 27- Determination
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The Ariyan Time Chamber, a culmination of five centuries of ingenuity and millennia of innovation. To realise the concept into a perceivable construct was not easy by any means. Creating a realm was something the Ariyans already had experience in. It was applying a time dilation factor that required the most compromise.
Blood and soul—those were the two fundamental energies needed for the time dilation. The life and soul of a sentient existence were dense and powerful enough to fuel the inscriptions and mechanisms needed for the time chamber to detach itself from the world and flow in its own time stream.
It was already foreseen such a method of acquiring energy would lead to estrangement and possible annihilation by the rest of the world, especially given only strong existences were the only suitable fuel for the chamber.
"It was unfortunate. Before we could begin to hypothesise alternative energy sources, the existence of the artifact leaked to the world."
Igor was in bed reading the book regarding the time chamber. It'd been several hours since he took a herbal bath after he stupidly put his body out of commission.
A sudden moment of curiosity had prompted him to learn more about the time chamber. To say he learned much would be an under-statement.
"The artifact has been sealed into you whilst you were still in the womb—a state where concept and reality intertwine. Perhaps because of this, you might instinctively feel some of its functions. But it is still important you learn them thoroughly."
The time chamber could only accommodate one harvest at any given moment. If he took the life of another being, that person would become the new harvest. Perhaps the only exception were gods.
"Divinity is not something the time chamber was designed to accommodate. Ares was too big of a harvest for the time chamber to swallow in that given moment. This anomaly is what allowed Tallus and I to enter the time chamber. Once the artifact harvested Ares, it treated all three of us as one."
Igor read and listened thoroughly. He'd underestimated the importance of inscription magic. Tallus and Marcei were masters and were at the forefront of the time chamber's creation. Their knowledge was the key reason why they could still maintain conscious thought and relative freedom compared to the dead Ares.
"Another limiting factor is how the energy is harvested. This is one we unfortunately could not work around. Because the time chamber is sealed into you, you are responsible for taking the life of a foe."
When entities die, their souls and energy are taken either by their respective afterlives, enter the cycle of reincarnation, or are absorbed back into the planet. All these three are the main factive forces that pull on the soul.
"Beliefs and allegiances are strong emotions that decide where a soul goes. A human who believes in the Greek Gods shall go to Hades. A dragon with Taoist allegiances will enter the Taoist cycle of reincarnation and rebirth. For the time chamber to compete against these forces, the most reliable is for your foe to harbour killing intent against you. A battle is the most effective way to obtain the largest share of blood and soul."
To compete against all these forces waiting and willing to pull on the person's soul, the most reliable method was killing intent. Through killing intent, the time chamber could have a stronger grasp on his enemy's soul and life.
"…"
Igor quietly chuckled to himself. Reality seemed intent on testing his resolve. His eyes wandered around the bedroom in thought. The suitcase lay wide open next to his wardrobe. Old and new clothes mixed in one hazardous pile. The floorboards were tinted with grey footprints and chalklike rubble.
"You aren't going to intimidate me, teacher."
His voice was soft. His hold on the book tightened. Taking a life was something he had to do, whether he wanted to or not. The world was not nice and would never be nice, not to him, not to a him who was weak.
"I'll keep getting stronger…"
His voice almost shook—almost. Months did much to temper his resolve. The world wouldn't hesitate to take his life. It already showed him that. Growing stronger was not an option. Bad people killed. If being bad meant he'd live…
"...no matter what."
…then he'd be a bad person.
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|DxD|
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Five Months Later, Twelve Months Since Entry
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Inscription Magic…was a nightmare. The time chamber was a nightmare. Everything was a nightmare.
"Again?"
Igor sat by a desk in the library. Books and scraps of paper were littered around him. He ran his hands through his hair in mild frustration. His plan of action was proving to be more trouble than it was worth.
A month ago, he'd finally succeeded in gaining the most basic understanding of finesse movement. It took far longer than he'd liked, but he'd done it in the end.
To celebrate succeeding, he allowed himself some leisure to catch up on the journey of Goku. He'd gotten as far as the 23rd World Tournament where Goku fought against Tien. Seeing Goku take off his weighted clothing and achieve insane feats of power, set Igor off on a month-long impulsive decision he was beginning to regret.
Inscription Magic—he knew it was impossible for vital energy users to inscribe, but he spent a full month trying to figure out a way. He couldn't help it. He also wanted to do weighted training.
"Why didn't they put any weight seals in here?"
His head banged against the desk and stayed there. He almost wanted to cry. The answer was obvious. They had prepared for a mana-wielding Igor, not the strong, handsomer version of him who had vitality.
"This sucks. Why can't we also use inscriptions? It's not fair."
He mumbled his displeasure. This was blatant discrimination, racism, genderism, energyrism, and all other '-isms' he'd yet to learn.
He'd tried all sorts of methods. He wrote down the inscription and then channeled vitality through it. It didn't work. He used finger as a blowtorch of vitality to inscribe the seal on paper. It still didn't work. Could he use his blood?
"..."
Igor lifted his head like a meerkat out of its burrow. There was a budding eureka moment, but he swiftly squashed it.
"Won't work. Vitality comes from my blood. But in theory, it should…right?"
He sat a bit straighter, intently in thought. Inscriptions made of blood do exist, but those created like that usually sap away lifeforce because of the need for blood essence, not just the blood itself. To get that essence usually involved rituals.
"Too creepy. I'm not doing that."
The thought of dancing like a lunatic and praying to gods sent shivers through his spine. He wasn't that weird. And that brought him back to square one. Igor could hardly comfort himself. At least this month wasn't entirely useless. He understood a bit more about inscription magic and if he had mana, he could inscribe some simple inscriptions.
"Maybe I can find some weights outside instead."
His words were final. Spending any more time on this would be meaningless. He could feel he had roughly three months left before he could leave. The year did go by fast. Thinking of his new family, a small smile blossomed on his face.
"Alright. Let's make these last months count, Igor."
AN: Thanks for reading guys. I still appreciate the support I'm receiving. Hope you have a good day and until the next chapter.
And a shameless p@treon reminder here. There's a 7-Day Free Trial for those interested in reading 8 chapters ahead for just $1.49. I've seen coffee more expensive than that. Look for HolyGambler on that platform.
Chapter 27
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