"I choose titles " Erebus said with a shade of confidence returning in his voice .
[Choice confirmed]
[Title aquired - Silent killer]
Description - a killer so silent that even fate was unable to detect when his target died . All sounds made by the user are nulled, when moved with an intent to kill , killing intent could be completely hidden as well.
[Title aquired - Silent saviour]
Description - a saviour who saved without knowing. User will get 1 attribute point in every aspect permanently, when saving someone without there knowledge.
[Title aquired - Bane of criminals]
Description - no criminal shall live under your watch. Anyone who had committed a crime previously will instinctively feel fear in the presence of the user.
[Title aquired - Crimson phantom]
Description - a phantom drenched in blood, user will get a temporary boost in agility after multiple kills.
[Title aquired - Executioner]
Description - permanent death , any damage inflicted by user on a criminal will not be healed by any means .
[Title aquired - Hunter]
Description - The one who hunts the prey .
[Title aquired - Silent marksman]
Description - The killer from afar. All the long range attacks are silent and lethal if shot by the user.
[******** Title aquired - $@&)$$&]
Description - ————————— .
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"Huh, whats that" , Erebus spoke out loud when he saw a title with gibberish.
" is that some kind of censorship" , he spoke rubbing his chin .
" well thats a lot of titles now that i see, did i really achieve all that"
" Hahaha" he laughed wryly with a hint of satisfaction .
Then suddenly, Erebus felt weightlessness , like a thread that was holding him snapped.
Golden light surrounded him and once it faded, he felt refreshed like he just took a bath for the first time in his entire life .
[ Titles integration completed ]
[ Establishing connection to domain of fate… connection established]
[ Initiating transfer]
Then once again he was surrounded by the golden light but this time it was different, light was not washing him but instead changing him into light itself .
A chill ran down his spine , but before he could do anything , his vision blurred and he vanished.
In the next moment , when he opened his eyes he was standing in front of a beautiful women sitting on a throne , her black hair floating endlessly behind her like this whole realm was made up of them, which in turn turned golden within her hands and dress and etched themselves in the very space of this place, and covered the whole sky , her deep black eyes were like miniature black whole that sucked the world , they were so enchanting that Erebus instinctively took a step forward, her presence, so majestic that one felt to kneel and pray to this god like being, like the world was made to protect this being.
"Welcome to the domain of fate, Erebus"
Her voice snapped Erebus out of his reverie , it was so peaceful and serene like a melody to the ears, that Erebus wanted to keep hearing it again and again .
But he bit his lips to reign himself and spoke .
"Are you the one who brought me here" his tone held a touch of submissiveness despite all his efforts.
"Hmm, interesting", goddesses said with amusement in her voice.
"He is resisting the effect of fate ", she thought.
"Yes, i, the one who governs the fate of all, brought you here" she said with an amused smile.
"Umm… , what do you need me for mam" Erebus spoke like a child afraid of his parents scolding.
"I don't need your help Erebus, but fate determined that its not yet time for you to die" she spoke with growing interest.
"Not completely though ", she reflected.
Erebus stayed silent but his frown deepened , he had already accepted that this wasn't a dream, or any effect of drugs because they already knew his identity which nobody knows except he himself, and moreover, there was nothing on earth that could induce such realistic hallucinations, this engamatic being in front of him was definitely not a human, and this place… , it feels as if this whole realm is alive and connected to that being on the throne, but what about the past that , the past that screen showed me, right before my death , there was no scene of my life as an agent there .
Sensing his hesitation , the goddess replied.
"Child, you are not on Earth right now, as you know, you already died there, i just pulled your soul, before it went to the cycle of rebirth."
She paused , her expression turned serious , as if debating whether to continue or….
But In the end, she spoke,
"Rest assured, you have already accomplished all your goals there….".
"You have already killed your parents killers" goddess added, with solemn expression and something,… something akin to pity.
"Wha…wh…what??"Erebus spoke, stuttering, not understanding what he just heard, his body started trembling, his heart thumping against his chest,
No, no , this isn't real , i was an orphan , i didn't have any family, what is this ?? Why is my body reacting like this ??
At that moment, Erebus was in a complete denial, and goddess watched all this unfold in complete silence, how a broken man mend himself together, and how he denied his own forgotten past .
"No , haa…. What is this ?" He asked the goddess with a mixture of dread and confusion creeping on his face .
"That is your past child, you vowed to avenge your parents, you just didn't remember ." Goddess replied with a look of sympathy and saddeness in her voice.
"No you are lying, you are not real" he denied.
"What abou" he tried to speak but goddess cut him off, and spoke "the screen you saw before, only showed things you wanted to remember, and the things you perceived to be true, but you never truly accepted your parents deaths,and in order cope with that stress your mind had instinctively blocked those memories to preserve your life."
Then suddenly Something stirred within him, like something finally clicked into place—
a memory buried deep beneath carefully layered walls.
For a moment… there was silence.
Then it erupted.
Tearing through those fragile defenses like paper, it surged forth as pain—raw, overwhelming pain he had long since tried to forget.
He had forgotten about them… . No—No, more like buried that wretched memory so deep—that, he had erased them from his reality ,his existence and completely dissociate himself from them.
Now hearing about it made him remember everything, there burnt and unrecognizable bodies, the heart wrenching pain of loosing them, every memory related to them now resurfaced in his mind, all the sweet moments, his mothers caring voice, his father's stern scoldings and the overwhelming sense of loss, the dread of never seeing them again, never hearing there voices, Never… .
Erebus's vision turned blurry, without him noticing, he was clutching his heart, he felt like someone was holding his heart in there hand, pressing it, not enough to crush it, but enough to spread a wave a of fear in him, fear of his heart being crushed, Fear of death, fear to the point of loosing his sanity.
Seeing this, goddess spoke again , "mission-109 sclora base infiltration, that was the organization who organized the attack on the shopping mall where your parents died"
Huff , huff … hufff
Erebus's breath become ragged, his mind churned, the world started to tilt and he fell on his knees.
Huff … huff,
"Hold yourself together child you have a lot to accomplish" goddess spoke and waved her hand , instantly a wave of warmth spread through Erebus's body, like sunlight seeping into frozen bones. It was soft… soothing… like being held in an embrace by something vast and eternal, something Protective, he felt free…, free of all his worries…, responsibilities…, goals, life, like they never existed, No…., more like,… they doesn't matter anymore , it was a terrifying feeling, … feeling of detachment and freedom, but he also felt a lot calmer , and he knew that the being in front of him had just manipulated his emotions and if she can do that then,…. He felt scared just thinking about more possiblities.
" i-i.. am sorry, i just … i just …"he tried to speak but nothing came to his mind.
"Don't dwell on the past child , what happened will never return and what will happen will never be known, you just have to focus on what is happening right now, goddess spoke in a stern voice .
"I understood and… thank you " Erebus spoke in a low tone, all his calculations and strategies as a squad leader had crumbled in front of the this being, but underneath he also felt relieved, he has avenged his parents.
His emotions were a mess right now, the cold reminder of his parents death, loss of his love, his life and now powers of this strange being.
"Okay now, you don't have enough time to dwel in the past , i need to reincarnate you so quickly choose your affinities" she spoke and waved her hand.
White glowing orbs manifested in front of him which flickered in contrast to the nights sky above, there elements and names were visible right under them.
"Now, select what you want and choose wisely you can only have two of them" she spoke .
"Wait … wait , what even are they ??" Erebus spoke panicked with how fast everything was going .
" ohh…, yes, you don't know ,… well , affinities are your connection to a particular element, which you can use to manipulate the elements of your affinity, like if you have affinity with water you can manipulate water and create skills which will help you get stronger, now choose , you only have two options" she said .
Erebus composed himself and buried his bubling emotions, surprisingly it worked effortlessly and he could focus again, maybe due to that power…., he shivered and shook his head.
He looked around, countless white orbs floating in the air, defying gravity like nothing.
"So basically it will be the core of my strength" he thought while looking at the myriad of choices in front of him .
" fire,… water,… mirror,…glass,…illusion,… quantum,…. Mechanics,… shadow,…. There are so many and are they even,..elements??" He thought while pondering over what to choose.
"Yes they are all elements, everything have elements in them, even bodies of mortals are made of elements, they are the basic building blocks of life and matter" hearing his thoughts , goddess spoke .
Erebus didn't reply, he just nodded and engrossed himself in selecting his affinity. There was no point on reacting that this being, just read his mind, she manipulated his emotions so why can't she read his mind, dismissing his thoughts, he turned towards the orbs.
" hmm, i should choose something related to my previous job, something to change my appearance, something related to skin perhaps, hmm is that… 'shape' ", he thought.
"Umm… mam,… what does shape do" he asked the goddess with a tinge of fear in his eyes.
" with that you can manipulate the shape of anything, and that includes your face… so, yes, you can change your facial features with that" goddess concluded .
" Okay then one will be shape and as for the other one…", it should be something versatile , something that will let him move freely and use powerful attacks, just then his gaze fell on an orb, it felt empty and filled at the same time…, seeing its name, Erebus laughed sheepishly, and spoke , "its—space , yes , after all who doesn't want to teleport around" .
"Oh…, is that so" goddess interjecting smiling softly.
" so now that you have selected your affinity i will reincarnate you" , and before you go, she waved her hand and several complicated array of symbols appeared in front of Erebus, which then went straight into his chest.
Erebus stood there utterly unable to do anything, and before he could think anything he blurted out.
"What was that".
"Nothing , as i am the one responsible for reincarnating you , i blessed you so that the world where you are going doesn't reject you " , with that, she clapped her hands and light started gathering around Erebus .
"Child i will be watching over you"
Those were the last words Erebus heard, as just then he turned into a streak of light which shot straight into the sky, the goddess smiled looking at it, then went back to her weaving again.