Marcus...
Over the next several hours, he and Ruvick pondered and experimented with his new power.
For some reason, the energy that turned his lightning red and caused his blood to glow like plasma, seemed to have a regenerative factor that was very similar to Kayron's bloodletter.
Sharing a similarity with that man was not something he wanted to see more of.
Despite that, there were a few other abilities that had him scratching his head in confusion over. One of them was his ability to break through dimensional barriers. When his lightning turned red, it allowed him to not only sense those who were manipulating or stopping time, but it also gave him a more fine tuned level of control over the flow of time around his own body. According to Ruvick, his level of control over the flow of time around himself was on par with Malthael, or even greater.
Marcus wasn't all that impressed by that fact though. It didn't do anything to actually increase the force behind his strikes. All it did was make him appear faster to those who couldn't do the same. The thing that did surprise him about his ability to break through dimensional barriers was how he was able to pass through the separated universes that Ruvick constructed within the shadow realm to attack him in their earlier battle.
From the way he described it, he said that he had created two reflections of our universe in the shadow realm and stacked them on top of each other. Even though the spatial coordinates between Marcus in one of the reflected universes, and Ruvick in the other were exactly the same, for him to pass through, he would have to break through the fifth dimension.
"The fifth dimension...? I've heard plenty of theories on dimensionality but can you elaborate on what you mean?" Marcus asked and Ruvick nodded.
"Of course. Although, the way I intend to explain it to you will sound very different to how it is explained in most dimensional theories. I'll be explaining it in a way that helps you understand your spiritual and physical interactions with the existence of our multiverse. Now, there are a total of eleven dimensions in our multiverse. The first one is the zero dimension which can be interpreted as an imaginary point with a non-existent spatial coordinate. To get a clear understanding of that, our souls without a body would reside in the zero dimension. The first dimension is length, and you can visualize that dimension as our souls being connected to our three dimensional bodies, with energy passing through the point that is our souls, into our flesh. The second dimension is width, you can visualize that as the size of our souls. The third dimension is depth and this is where living things exist within, our fabric of space time is represented in the three dimensions of length, width, and depth. Now, here is an important thing to keep in mind. Putting all three dimensions together, our souls being the first which is length, the size of our souls being width, and it being connected to a three dimensional body, suddenly our souls become a three dimensional existence which can effect things outside of our own bodies. You can call that phenomena 'magic'. Now we explore the fourth dimension, which is time. If a three dimensional being were to look at a copy of themselves as a four dimensional being represented in three dimensional space, they would see that copy of themselves as an elongated body starting from a fetus to a corpse. Three dimensional beings cannot perceive the fourth dimension, only experience its effect on them throughout their lives. A fourth dimensional being would be able to control its own flow of time, whether that was forward into the future, into the past, or stopping it completely in the present...or at least, it should be possible but I haven't quite figured it out," he said with an annoyed expression on his face.
Confused, Marcus asked, "What do you mean? Are you saying that I should have the ability to travel back in time?"
"Theoretically, you should and I should as well, but I haven't been able to figure it out. I can manipulate the forth dimension in the present, stopping time, and I guess if I wanted to fast forward in time, I can do that as well. Going in reverse though is the problem. The Titan Kronos had the power to transfer his consciousness and the consciousness of others forward and backward in time, but not his physical body. I myself, have tried to do the same but I haven't been able to figure it out. As far as I'm concerned, the only manipulation of the fourth dimension that you and I are capable of is the present and the future. Now, as for the fifth dimension, it can be visualized as parallels timelines or universes, their existence being created under the influence of different choices being made. A fourth dimensional being can only travel back and forth through their own time. Under normal circumstances, they cannot visit, nor manipulate a different universe that an alternate version of themselves exists within. If they wanted to attempt to visit that alternate timeline as a fourth dimensional being, they would have to go back in time and change something about themselves to match that of the alternate timeline. However, that would be impossible as attempting to change their past to reach a different future would erase themselves from their previous timeline and this new timeline that they were planning to visit would become their new future, locking themselves in a new fourth dimensional existence within the fifth dimension. As a fifth dimensional being, you were able to jump between the two reflected universes, both with their own flows of time, although the act of doing so had no effect on the present or future, you still managed to pass from one reflected universe with its own separate timeline to another. One interesting thing to keep in mind is that all time, throughout the entire multiverse, is constant. The flow of time in Terra's universe, Erebus's, or any other universe is not slower or faster than the other. All of them are equal."
It took him a minute to process this information but he was able to understand it for the most part. Though, it left him with a question.
"What about the sixth dimension? What happens with that one?" he asked and Ruvick frowned while groaning in annoyance.
"That one is a little more complicated...Alright, lets start by remembering the fifth dimension as a set of multiple choices in our lives that lead to different paths in the fourth dimension. A fifth dimensional being would have to make drastic changes in the fourth dimension to reach a different outcome while a sixth dimensional being can pass through alternate timelines without any restrictions. A sixth dimensional being would be able to see all the possible choices and alternate futures in front of them and manipulate them at will without any consequence to themselves. Lets take Artemis for example, she is a sixth dimensional being."
Marcus's breath caught in his throat when he heard that.
"WHAT?!" he shouted in panic and a chill ran down his spine.
Ruvick chuckled at that reaction but he couldn't process the level of power that Artemis had at her fingertips.
"You can't be serious. Artemis has the power to control the future?" he asked.
Ruvick shrugged.
"Eh, kind of. Its more accurate to say that, if she were fighting a particularly difficult opponent, and wanted to see the different choices he would make to try and fight against her, she could annihilate those possible timelines instantly, making it impossible for anyone to feasibly counter her. She herself, cannot create alternate timelines to exist within for some reason, but she can affect the future of others, keeping time completely constant. She does this by manipulating Hyperspace."
"And what exactly is 'Hyperspace'?" Marcus asked.
"Hyperspace, as it can be loosely defined, is a spatial membrane that encompasses our entire multiverse. We can look at Erebus's universe and all the infinite possible timelines within it as a point within the seventh dimension. Traversing from this universe to Terra's universe would be forming a line within the seventh dimension. I believe you have already experienced that when you went through the chaos gate in Terra's universe and ended up in this universe. If we were to branch off from that line, that being between Terra's universe and Erebus's universe, to attempt to reach a different universe, we would be entering the eighth dimension. Now, being able to freely jump from any universe that contains an infinite number of timelines would be folding the eighth dimension upon itself and entering the ninth dimension. The tenth dimension consists of every possible timeline in every possible universe in our entire multiverse and Hyperspace is what contains all of that, so we can visualize Hyperspace as a tenth dimensional flat plane. Artemis can manipulate Hyperspace to the extent of affecting time on a sixth dimensional level, but not beyond that. Do you understand?"
As mind numbing as that sounded, somehow Ruvick was able to explain it in a way that he could understand in a coherent manner.
Marcus nodded and then asked, "C-can you also do that? Manipulate the sixth dimension the way Artemis can?"
Ruvick gave him a kindly smile and said, "Of course I can. Although, its not like I'll actually need to. Now, what's interesting about your red lightning is that it can break the fifth dimensional barrier. I believe, that at some point in the future, when you have gained a deeper understanding of your own power, you too, will also be able to manipulate the sixth dimension to your will or even beyond that."
Marcus began to freak out at the implications of what that kind of power could mean.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! H-hold on, I don't think I could handle that level of power. T-that's insanity!" he stammered and Ruvick nodded.
"You're right. It is insanity. The way you are right now, if you were to attempt to perceive the sixth, or even the fifth dimension with the way your mind is now, I'm sure your psyche would fracture and leave you a slobbering mess. It would be for the best if we left that alone. Passing through the fifth dimension is one thing, but trying to perceive it and try to manipulate it is another thing entirely," he said and with that out of the way, Marcus felt relived that they could divert from the idea of attempting something so dangerous.
"I do have a bit of information I'd like to share with you that I think would interest you. See, you understand the fundamentals of how our multiverse is structured within Hyperspace but I also know what lies beyond that. If the Hyperspace that contains our multiverse is an infinite flat plane, then Hell and Chaos realm are two infinite planes that exist on either side of our multiverse, both of which are even larger in size. Despite our multiverse being infinite in size, Hell and Chaos are infinite planes of even larger magnitude, and if you wanted to view them represented on a dimensional level, you could say that both of them exist within an eleventh dimension making our multiverse, as well as Hell and Chaos respectively, a twelfth dimensional structure. Now, most people would believe that there couldn't possibly be anything greater than that but there is. The multidimensional barrier which contains Hell, Chaos, and our multiverse all in one, is The Empty. All of this combined would give us a thirteen dimensional structured multiverse."
"A-and at one point...y-you said that...it would be possible to destroy the empty right?" Marcus asked.
"I did. The possibility is there, but figuring it out is the hard part," he said and he had to stifle while watching Marcus's mind nearly short out and combust at trying to understand all of this.
"Alright, alright. Let's move on from this for a moment. The other thing that I noticed about your power is its ability to merge with other three dimensional objects and apply similar properties to them. When you were meditating earlier, your power leaked into the ground and into the roots of the trees around you, causing their growth to accelerate rapidly. I'm sure that if you wanted to, you could apply your red lightning to your revolver and shoot bullets across universes."
Hearing that, Marcus couldn't help but laugh like an excited child at the idea.
"That actually sounds really damn cool. Haha!"
Seeing him laugh, Ruvick seemed to smile as well.
"Lets get back on topic though, shall we? With the use of your red lightning, you transcend from a third dimensional being all the way to a fifth dimensional being. With that in mind, and combining the fact that you can apply your power to other third dimensional constructs around you, its a safe bet that with enough practice, you could manipulate matter and the very fabric of fourth dimensional space around you."
"W-what, really?" Marcus asked in disbelief and he nodded.
"Yes, but with your current level, you are a far cry from being able to manipulate matter on a molecular level, let alone an atomic level. It would appear to you more like telekinesis rather than complete reconstruction of an object. Also, if a person is strong enough, they could output enough energy to resist or just flat out ignore any attempt you would make to try and control their bodies. If you were to try it on someone like Selene, I figure that she wouldn't even notice it unless she were letting you control her," he said which fit in with Marcus's own expectations of himself.
"Well then, why don't we focus on training with that in mind?" he offered and Ruvick smirked.
"No, I think that's enough for today. Besides, you did ask me to introduce you to someone in Forrosa right? Luckily for you, I can give you a tour of the capital of North Forrosa, the city of Alken."
Soon after, Marcus and Ruvick appeared on a hill overlooking the capital city of Alken. Upon laying eyes on the city, his eyes widened in complete awe.
When he was first brought to Ruvick's home, he had only seen a small part of his neighborhood. In fact, from what he could sense of the area around them, Ruvick's home must have been located in a suburban-like because the large trees all around obscured the rest of the land around it. Ruvick's home did nothing to give him a sense of scope of what Alken was really like.
When living in Duranell, he didn't feel especially surprised or in awe at its medieval architecture. In fact, it felt familiar to him, almost like he was living in a mix of The Bronx, with its big city landscape, albeit without the skyscrapers, while also having large grassy plains in the distance that resembled his old home in Kearney.
Duranell served as both its own capital city and the main body of its entire kingdom's territory as it was comparable to Manhattan Island in size.
Even with all that in mind, nothing could have prepared him for what he saw when looking down upon the city of Alken.
It was even more massive than Duranell in terms of size, structured like a pyramid city as it was broken up into layers. The outermost layer was surrounded by thousands of farm homes and beyond that, a vast stretch of farm land that seemed to go on for dozens of miles in all four directions of the city.
A large and heavily fortified wall separated the farmers' homes from the city inside. It seemed to be made of white granite bricks, easily five times Marcus's own size. The outermost wall itself was fifty feet high shaped like a square with the outside part of the wall slanting downwards. The walls of the inner layers of the city only seemed to get higher, and the tops of the inner walls were slanted as well.
Compared to all the previous layers of the city, he innermost layer of Alken looked almost biblical. Rather than a pyramidion that served as the capstone of Egyptian pyramids, it was replaced by circular winding tower that stretched higher into the sky than any structure he had ever seen, in Terra or in Erebus thus far.
It was like looking at a replica of the tower of Babel.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized the importance of building the city of Alken in the shape of a pyramid. There was no shape that was more structurally stable for something of this scale. All the walls were interconnected and served as the base of the tower. As he squinted, he realized the walls were built in a way the didn't restrict the movements of the citizens inside the city aside from the tower itself.
The tower itself must be where the royalty live.
As he looked towards sky, the tower reached so high up into the clouds that he couldn't see the top of it. Though, as he looked south, he could see a red beam of light shooting off into the distance.
"Alright, lets go," Ruvick said abruptly, breaking him out of the trance like state he had been in ever since he laid eyes on Alken.
"O-oh, okay. What part of the city are we heading to?"
"Isn't it obvious? We're going there," he said as he pointed towards the very top of the tower.
"But isn't that where the royalty would live?"
"Correct. I intend to introduce you directly to the king of Alken and his advisors. Any introduction of new technology is overseen by the king himself. In fact, he insists it because he's more fascinated in the development in mechanical technology and engineering than he is in the development of magic. He argues that we already have the Southern Union of Kingdoms for research into new forms of magic, and so Forrosa serves as the epicenter of technological development in this world. To be honest, his enthusiasm towards it borders on mania," he said and Marcus laughed.
"So he's nerd? Who cares, so am I."
Ruvick tilted his head as he thought about it and seemed to agree.
"Now come on. Lets go."
Rather than having them teleport into the tower directly, he asked Ruvick if they could walk the whole way to the tower's base instead. He agreed and as the two of them spent the next several hours approaching the city on foot.
Even with thought his feet started to ache after a while of walking, he wanted to make the entire trip on foot so that he could fully immerse himself with what he was seeing.
Alken was truly a marvelous sight to behold.
As they finally made it to the outermost wall of the city, Marcus looked up at its towering stature and was breathless.
"This city...its a work of art," he said.
"If you say so," Ruvick chuckled as they walked up to the entrance. Upon seeing Ruvick, they didn't so much as bother asking them to identify themselves and let them pass.
Once inside, he looked all around him and noticed that the streets were lined with slits in the ground. A moment passed and a large metal cart or trolley drove past them. He could sense energy emanating from the it and he felt a strange sensation as the trolley passed them by. Not only that, but he didn't hear any grinding or loud noise coming from the trolley. It was if it were...levitating off the ground magnetically. It reminded him of a maglev train that he once rode on in Japan a while back.
"Are there electromagnetic rails on the roads in Alken?" he asked and Ruvick nodded.
"There are. One of Forrosa's biggest technological breakthroughs was the discovery of electromagnetism and its effects in nature. It was a big revolutionary step towards transportation," he said with a bored tone of voice. While Marcus was ecstatic to see all of this, Ruvick was ready to keep moving along.
The message was clear to him, and so he decided to try to keep his focus on the tower itself and explore the rest of the city afterwards.
As walked deeper and deeper into the city, the inner walls soared higher and higher. Large flocks of birds flew underneath the arches made by these walls as they passed through Alken.
Once they reached the center of Alken, they were faced with the massive gaping entrance.
"That's the biggest doorway I've ever seen," he blurted out before he noticed something inscribed on the archway of the entrance.
Ruvick started to walk forwards but paused when he realized that Marcus wasn't moving.
"What's wrong?" he asked before following Marcus's eyes to the arch way.
"The letters carved into the entrance are ancient Greek letters, but I have a feeling that the people of this land can't actually read what it says, right? So why is this here?"
"Ahh...Well, you're right about the people not being able to read it, but it was an order from Forrosa's patron god that goes by the name Azazel. You see, the big difference between Forrosa and all the other kingdoms in this world is that this is the only one in the world that still worships a God," he stated with a curious tone which bothered Marcus. For someone who claimed to know everything, being curious about anything made him nervous.
"But it...makes no mention of Azazel at all," he said and Ruvick nodded.
"That's because Azazel isn't a god at all, he's a demon prince of Hell. He only serves the role of a patron god to this kingdom, but in reality both him and the people of Forrosa worship something even greater in the hopes of serving them as thanks for bringing strength, advancement, and prosperity to their land," he said as he looked back at Marcus and asked him, "read aloud to me what is inscribed on the arch of this tower Marcus."
"W-what, really? But can't you read it too?"
"I can, but that is not the point of me asking you to read it aloud. Now, if you would...?"
"Alright..., it says 'The birth of Dagon, The God King of Blood and Evolution, took place in an era of dull stillness. His appearance was foretold, that upon soaking the world in bloody conflict, a great fundamental change would manifest. As his power grew to new heights, stories were spread across the land of a man, made a god. With his rise to godhood, the elder gods of this world, Ordovis and Nøkkra, The God of Shattered Earth and The Goddess of Fated Starlight, reemerged to challenge him. However, they too were swiftly felled, and later assimilated into his service. Yet, with the absolute power of these three gods, Dagon had no true desire to rule, nor any desire to conquer. He continued to strive for change and advancement, and saw fit to challenge to world in a global war to nurture that change. What followed after this declaration was the appearance of The Dark Champion who would later go on to defeat The God King.' Wow this is a lengthy inscription," Marcus blurted out as he paused for a moment.
"Keep going," Ruvick ordered and he obeyed.
"Alright then. 'As the end of the Amaskian War was nearing, a new vision of the future was revealed. A vision that foretold the appearance of three unnamed gods who would converge at world's end, and bring about a new era. These three gods would be known amongst the people of the world as the successors of Dagon, Ordovis, and Nøkkra. The successor of Dagon would be found in The God of Wrath. The successor of Ordovis would be found in the God of Humanity. Finally, the successor of Nøkkra would be found in the Goddess of Rebirth. It was upon this land, that the god of wrath first descended upon our people, and granted us the power to fight, the strength to persevere, and the wisdom to evolve. The Forrosan people will wait ever patiently for our god to descend upon this world and pave the way forward.'"
As he finished reading the entire passage, his blood ran cold. For some reason, he felt the sensation of a blade's edge running across his throat. His hand reached up to rub it nervously but the feeling suddenly disappeared.
"What the hell was that?" he exclaimed.
"What was what?"
"That passage. It told of the appearance of three gods who would succeed the old ones," he said and Ruvick gave him a serious stare that seemed to last for well over a minute before it faded.
"If you're wondering about this passage referring to the god of wrath, then I swear upon the Styx, it has absolutely nothing to do with you. The appearance of these three gods might not happen for quite a while. In fact, I'm not even completely sure they exist yet."
Marcus felt yet another chill run down his spine and knew that by invoking Styx's name, what Ruvick said must have been the absolute truth. As chilling as it was to invoke that name, it gave him a strange sort of comfort.
"Okay then... Even with that matter out of the way, why did you ask me to read that passage?"
"To hopefully make it easier for you to understand this world and get a little insight into my motivations. I thought it might be somewhat cruel to make you fight in the contest for answers without some hints," he said and Marcus gave him a sarcastic sneer.
"Oh yeah, that's helpful," he scoffed and Ruvick laughed at his retort.
"Alright, we should make our way up to see King Aldia," he said and Marcus nodded.
With a snap of his fingers, Ruvick took the two of them all the way to the top of Alken's tower and into the throne room of King Aldia.
"Ugh...denied. This project has no innovative value whatsoever. Black powder will become obsolete before too long and yet you... Hmm, it seems we have some guests," King Aldia murmured as he shooed away his advisers and focused his attention on the two of them.
"Hello again King Aldia," Ruvick said as he greeted the king with a respectful bow.
The king nodded to him and the looked at Marcus as if expecting the same from him. However Marcus did not bow to him as he did not serve him, nor did he have any intention to do so.
The king raised his brows as if mildly surprised by this but not offended.
"Ruvick, what have you come here for?" the king asked.
"I've brought with me someone who wants to do business with the kingdom of Forrosa. This is Marcus Wright, a man from a world far more advanced than any society on Erebus."
A glint of curiosity shone in the king's eyes when he heard this.
"Oh...? A world more advanced than my own kingdom? This should be entertaining. Well boy, tell me what you have to offer," the king said, inviting Marcus to present to him with an idea that would entice the king into cooperating with him.
Unfortunately...after looking at the state of this kingdom, he realized that it was far more advanced than he had thought possible for a kingdom set in this era. Forrosa was easily hundreds of years ahead of its time and far more advanced than any other kingdom in this world and even more advanced than many countries on Terra as well.
This could turn out to be a big problem.
"King Aldia, before I make my offer to you, I would like to ask you something," he said and already he could tell the King wasn't too interested but decided to play along.
"Yes, what is it?"
"When I walked into this kingdom, I noticed that you have electromagnetic rails embedded into the roads to allow for vehicles to levitate off the ground. Can I also assume that you've discovered alternative methods of lighting aside from light crystals? For example...light bulbs?"
The king scoffed in annoyance as if the idea offended him, "Of course we have! Its a rudimentary implementation of our kingdom to have light bulbs. Did you come here to advertise something that our kingdom has already created?"
Well shit...there goes the lightbulb idea.
"Of course not. I was simply curious as to how far along your society has progressed compared to the rest of the world. By the way, when we arrived I couldn't help but overhear someone attempting to advertise a new combustion method involving black powder. Would that happen to involve the invention of fire arms?"
The king's eyes, which had become somewhat lazy and uninterested, were now somewhat focused and involved in the conversation.
"What do you know of handheld cannons boy?" he asked.
Marcus smiled and asked, "Would you mind if I present one of my own to you and demonstrated its capabilities?"
The king waved his hand and said, "by all means."
Marcus then reached into his holster and pulled out Seventh Sinner. The king's eyes widened in awe and Marcus knew he had the eyes of someone who could identify skillful craftsmanship.
"Where I come from, the term 'handheld cannon' has died out and fire arms have become the main weapon of modern warfare. What I have is a handheld revolving pistol that can hold seven individual shots and can fire them consecutively," he said and the king nodded appreciatively.
"I must say, that is quite the impressive weapon," he said.
"Of course, and as you can-," he tried to continue but the king cut him off.
"Unfortunately, my advisors have told me of the rapid development of our own 'fire arms' as you call them. Your weapon may be powerful and more advanced but I doubt that your contributions to the improvements on our fire arms will be relevant for very long. As enticing as your offer is, I fail to see any long term value in it. I believe that I must reject your offer," the king said and Ruvick was visibly surprised to hear that.
"Really? You didn't sound particularly interested at all in what he had to say. Even if his first offer might not be enticing to you, I do think that his insight would be beneficial to you," Ruvick said helpfully but the king shook his head.
"Insight alone is not enough to determine whether it merits cooperating with this man that you've brought me, and with no proper introduction as well. I will say again, I hereby reject your offer-" the king attempted to finish but his words were cut off as his eyes widened. He went pale as if he had been stabbed.
The king then turned his head to look at someone who had entered the throne room and Marcus did the same.
Standing on the far right side of Marcus stood a man wrapped in a red cloak, wearing a dark gold helmet in the shape of a snarling lion's head. A steel breastplate covering his chest was engraved with a shield phalanx of over a dozen soldiers fending off waves of enemies in every direction with nothing but spears. Hair so thick that it almost resembled animal hide covered the back of his arms and the front of his shins. His face however, was clean shaven and his eyes were focused and calm. On his back, was a broadsword with a lambda etched onto its guard. The man's eye sockets held nothing more than two black cavities with pale yellow orbs of light to serve as eyes, though clearly focused and piercing.
Upon seeing him, King Aldia stepped from his throne and knelt in front of this man.
"Lord Azazel! It has been fifteen years since you appeared before Forrosa. What could be the reason for your appearance after being absent for so long, my lord?"
"I have come to deliver a message to you, Aldia. A message that has been given to me by our lord," Azazel said, his voice sound deep like thunder. His voice seemed to reverberate in Marcus's mind, and his very presence was like a heavy rain weighing him down.
King Aldia's head rose to look at Azazel with astonishment in his eyes.
"L-lord Azazel? Did I hear you correctly? You said...you heard the voice of our lord? He has finally revealed himself to us?"
"Our lord has not yet fully revealed himself to me, but he has demanded that we hear the wishes of this man, Marcus Wright. He has demanded that we align ourselves with him and in doing so, The God of Wrath will be born into this world."