Aether frowned deeply. “Why didn’t he receive the seduction mission?” he asked, his voice laced with frustration. This iteration, though determined to do whatever it took, didn’t receive the seduction mission. Instead, he was killed by Stella during their very first encounter.
!~Ding~!
[Because he didn’t meet the required conditions.]
Aether’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Conditions? Are you saying there are actual conditions to activate the seduction mission?”
[Affirmative! You’ll understand everything if you look at the rest of the details!]
Aether focused on Iteration No. 19. He noticed how oddly clingy this version was toward his mother. However… yup, there she was again—his bitchy mother returned as always. Yet, despite her hatred, No. 19 remained stubbornly clingy, as if trying to hold onto something fleeting.
“I suppose that’s got to be a one-in-a-million kind of scenario… right?” Aether muttered to himself, a faintly amused expression tugging at his lips. His gaze lingered on his mother for a moment—perhaps longer than he intended—before everything shifted back to normal. And once again, the boy died.
However, this iteration followed a different path… one that led him to kill Stella before she could kill him!
Aether’s eyebrows furrowed in astonishment. “Wait—how? Wasn’t she far more powerful than me at that point in time?” His tone carried a mix of disbelief and curiosity as he watched No. 19 standing over her lifeless body before fleeing the scene.
But then, his expression darkened, ‘Come to think of it… her powers… whenever she was Stella, she seemed weaker. What’s really going on with her?’ Aether’s thoughts swirled as he continued watching No. 19.
This version roamed the woods, acting like a rogue hero, eliminating anyone who dared to cross him. With his slave mark constantly blinking, he mostly lived in isolation, killing monsters to level up and grow stronger.
“Hmm…” Aether nodded thoughtfully, considering the possibility. No. 19 had become a rogue, desperate to escape the curse. His ultimate demise, however, came at the hands of… Helena and Finnian.
They had finally exacted their revenge!
Aether bit his lips in frustration. What was he even supposed to say at this point? A heavy sigh escaped him.
!~Ding~!
[Initiating Iteration No. 20…]
But this time, the iteration received the seduction mission… to seduce Stella!
Aether raised his eyebrows slightly, intrigued. “Wait… don’t tell me… are you using a trial-and-error method here?” His expression shifted to one of mild shock as if he had just stumbled upon a crucial revelation.
!~Ding~!
[Didn’t you know? The #### has been searching for perfection… and that includes me as well!]
Hearing this, Aether blinked, processing the information, “Come to think of it… yeah, now that I reflect on it… the actions of the previous iterations kept changing. And so did yours. So, you’ve been refining the possibilities of my life all along, haven’t you?”
[Affirmative! Like any other being, I too learn from previous mistakes and work to refine them!]
Aether let out a heavy sigh. That explained so much about Log’s cryptic behaviour… It was always withholding information, only revealing bits and pieces when necessary. However…
“Why hasn’t he ever gained Arcane’s interest?” Aether asked, his curiosity piqued. His previous iterations never seemed to attract Arcane’s attention, and he couldn’t figure out why.
As expected, Log remained silent.
‘Whatever…’ Aether shrugged, deciding to focus on the unfolding events.
In most cases, he either became a villain and was taken down by the chosen ones, or he was betrayed and killed by the very people he loved…. Just like Aether saw in The Twisted Heart Game.
There was nothing special about… But then…
!~Ding~!
[Initiating Iteration No. 23…]
For the first time, Aether noticed something different.
This iteration… it included someone new…. His ex-girlfriend—someone who had never appeared in any of the previous iterations. Aether realized how every iteration subtly altered reality. In this one, Iteration No. 23 got a girlfriend, just like Aether had in his past… and, just like him, ended up heartbroken.
However, unlike Aether, who had cried and walked away, Iteration No. 23 spiraled into something darker.
Once reincarnated, he spoke with a chilling emptiness. “You want me to seduce them, right?” he asked Log, his tone devoid of emotion. A wicked smile spread across his lips, one so twisted it sent a shiver down Aether’s spine.
What followed was horrifying. No. 23 manipulated the women, destroyed their loved ones, enslaved them, and… killed them!!
“Yeah… you only wanted me to seduce them, didn’t you?” Iteration No. 23 sneered, his voice dripping with malice. “All women are the same… they leave you when you’re worthless. So why bother working hard when you can just twist their emotions?~ And kill them after, easy-peasy killing pussies~hehe” he added with a sinister laugh.
Watching this, Aether felt his stomach churn, “T-That’s not me… N-No, I-I would never do something so… vile!!” he shouted, horrified by the scene playing out before him.
But the evidence was undeniable…. This version of himself treated women like disposable toys, killing them after using them.
Then came Marisandra. She stepped forward, her expression a mask of grief and rage. After discovering what had happened to her daughter, she confronted No. 23 directly.
“How did you kill my daughter… like this, right?” Marisandra said in a voice cold as ice. Slowly and deliberately, she slit Iteration No. 23’s throat, her movements filled with measured vengeance. Dora and several powerful entities watched in silence, offering no intervention.
“Hehehe… so now you all focus on me… a pathetic slave… hehehe… You lose, you fuckers… I killed all your precious hopes… Let’s see who’s going to fuck your empires now, heh—”
Snap!
He had become the greatest enemy the world had ever faced!
Not only had he killed every chosen one, disrupting the balance, but he also succeeded in destroying an entire empire.
The situation had spiralled so far out of control that no one could have imagined a mere slave being capable of such devastation.
Aether took a deep, shaky breath. ‘Fuck!’ he thought, his mind reeling as he processed the monstrous actions of one of his lives.
!~Ding~!
[Initiating Iteration No. 24…]
This iteration… was different. It seemed devoid of purpose, drained of hope. The version of him was too bored to even try doing anything. It didn’t matter—he would die here anyway. No amount of effort could help him escape this cursed, unending cycle.
For the first time, he considered ending it himself. And so, with a heavy heart and trembling resolve, he killed himself, thinking that perhaps this would be the way to finally end his torment and suffering.
Yet,
!~Ding~!
[Initiating Iteration No. 25..–Error!]
[Access Denied!]
!~Ding~!
[Request: A Strong Will to Live!]
[…]
!~Ding~!
Stay connected with My Virtual Library Empire
[Affirmative! But only 99%]
!~Ding~!
[Returning to the Previous Checkpoint!]
“Wait! Wait!! I need to see the remaining iterations! Especially No. 27!!” Aether shouted desperately.
Up until now, he had learned… nothing, except about his endlessly messed-up life. He needed answers. He wanted to know about the Ebon Stones and what had happened at the beginning that everyone kept talking about. Yet those events, those supposed origins, had never appeared in any of his iterations.
But just like before, the black hands seized him, pulling him back into the void.
“Come on, Log!! I need to know!! At least tell me about 27! You know how much I—” His words were abruptly cut short.
“Don’t bark like a dog when you’re supposed to be the master.”
Aether froze, flinching as the voice—a cold, emotionless tone—resonated around him. His surroundings shifted…. The void deepened, growing darker, and there, on a throne forged from gleaming metal, sat Iteration No. 27.
He leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his knuckles, his ice-blue eyes piercing through the shadowy helmet that obscured his face.
Aether clenched his teeth as he growled, “What’s the point of letting me see this if it doesn’t provide me with any useful information?”
“Hmm… What do you think?” No. 27 asked, his tone calm but laced with indifference.
“Just because we’re alike—”
“WE ARE NOTHING ALIKE!!!” No. 27 roared, his voice shaking the entire void with its intensity. The sheer force of his words sent shivers down Aether’s spine. “Even if we are one… we are not the same!”
Aether shrugged nonchalantly, though internally he felt the weight of No. 27’s outburst. ‘That’s exactly what I was about to say anyway,’ he thought, but he held his tongue. He didn’t want to provoke this iteration’s overbearing attitude.
“Haha…” No. 27 laughed bitterly as if he had read Aether’s thoughts. His expression twisted into one of utter disdain. “You’re disgusting… filth!”
Aether’s lips twitched in irritation. “Fucker…” he muttered, his teeth grinding together.
“The point, you ask? The point is to make sure your shitty ass doesn’t repeat the same mistakes!” No. 27 spat venomously.
Aether frowned, “How so? I mean, what if I’ve already made those mistakes? Showing me things in the middle of all this chaos, bastard, isn’t exactly helpful!”
“Haha… as weak as you are, you sure know how to run your mouth,” No. 27 sneered, his disdain palpable.
“Listen carefully. I showed it to you so that they—those you lost—can at least live on in your memories, even if not in reality. At least as distant observers, you’ll carry their legacy and their stories.”
Aether fell silent. For the first time, he noticed a faint, almost imperceptible sadness in No. 27’s tone.
No. 27’s voice softened, but only slightly.
“The past is what shapes perfection in the future.
Even though we were one, we are not the same. We are individuals, each fighting to survive. And because of that… you at least have their deaths etched in your memory.
Because… We are Eternally Forsaken.” He paused, his gaze locking onto Aether’s.
“But you… You are Our HOPE.
The special part of ourselves that none of us could ever become. You have something no one else does. Me… the future me… I will protect you.”
With that, No. 27 removed his helmet.
Aether’s eyes widened in astonishment. Before him…. the most handsome man he had ever seen—long, flowing white hair reminiscent of a character from a Chinese epic, a face sculpted with elegance. Yet, his beauty was marred by the heavy sadness, pain, and seething anger etched into every line of his expression.
“Protect me? What are you even talking about?” Aether asked.
“Hah… what you’ve seen are merely the lives of our past mistakes…. What you haven’t seen are the futures of our….. Origin, Our Hope to end this maddening cycle!” No. 27 replied with measured calmness.
“You mean Iterations No. 25, 26… and you?” Aether pressed for clarity.
“Indeed,” No. 27 confirmed.
“When the time comes, we will meet again. By then, you will have found most of your answers with your own hands. Until that day, trust in nothing but yourself.
Future me… We are all waiting to see… The Happiness you will find for YOU. Until then… I will protect you.”
With a wave of his hand, black tendrils wrapped around Aether’s body, pulling him toward a dark portal.
“Wait!” Aether gritted his teeth, resisting the pull of the hands. No. 27 raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, a flicker of amusement crossing his face. ‘Indeed… he is special,’ he thought.
“I still don’t understand! Why do the other iterations die and fully reset, while I return to checkpoints? And what do you mean by protecting me? Are you trying to take over my body, fucker?” Aether demanded, his body trembling with the effort of resisting the hands…. His neck, previously cracked, finally healed completely as if his defiance itself restored him.
No. 27 sneered. “Are you truly one of us? Too much knowledge of the future would disrupt the balance, creating butterfly effects that could unravel reality itself. Can’t you even comprehend that?”
Aether’s lips twitched in reluctant agreement. “Well… you’re not wrong… still, tsk…” he admitted grudgingly. Then, as if on impulse, he asked, “Do you… hate our mother?”
No. 27 fell silent for a moment, his icy blue eyes narrowing as he processed the question, not his final question but rather the previous one,
“A death cannot claim a living essence… and a death… should always stay dead!”
There was a hint of sadness and longing in his tone…. He waved his hand, and with a swift motion, more tendrils surged from the void, wrapping around Aether’s body, completely encasing him in their grip. In an instant, the tendrils began dragging him toward the swirling portal, pulling him into the darkness once again.
As the portal swallowed Aether, No. 27 stared at the empty space where he had disappeared.
Slowly, a sly grin spread across his face.
“Hehe… my only hope~”