New Game+

Meryl, Lynd, and Charles were all silent at what Seeker had just revealed. 

Seeker was very detailed in his explanations. Even his emotions were being leaked, allowing the rest to sense everything he felt when he began telling them the tale.

"That day, we lost... several platoons. The Realm King's armies were practically halved that day. She timed the attack when Lynd and Meryl were out. And apparently, she thought I had already left. I was the idiot that day. And that idiot would have been acceptable had he had not fallen for a Presider. Fish, Lim, Suarez, Epic, Ivan, and Will were the only ones who survived her attack among all Inhumans in my squadron."

"That's why you placed them in a special place. You didn't meet with Ace, Alphie, Brenton, and the other Inhumans because you knew that the former group was stronger than the rest."

"Right. Originally, my team was led by Ace, Alphie, and Brenton. Those six later rose through the ranks. But it was only when they were left that I realized how much stronger they were than the rest. So I gave them special treatment to make them know how strong they were. That should encourage them and put a higher standard of excellence when they meet others I didn't appear to. Zeraphine's attacked should have killed all of them, but they survived. Of course, Zeraphine probably retreated when she realized that I was still there. Alphie must have shouted something at her before she got killed."

"Then what about Alphie? Didn't she die trying to get to you? Why did you separate her from the rest? I think she has the same potential but was driven by her... emotions." Meryl asked.

"Those with potential aren't those who give in to their emotions and make a reckless decision. You do well to remember that, Meryl. You died because of that." Seeker warned.

Meryl was silent, but she couldn't help but frown at Seeker's conclusion. This was a girl that loved Seeker, and Seeker merely brushed them off as distractions.

Lynd shook his head at the side and decided to tell Meryl the truth of Seeker's intentions after this talk.

"The fact was, Alphie should have been careful when facing Zeraphine. It would have been apparent at the first few seconds what she was. But apart from those three, the rest survived. They were Inhumans, and they managed to act to defend themselves immediately. Zeraphine wanted to kill them, but when she heard that I was around, she quickly began her retreat and ordered the army from the background."

"And then you chased her, right?"

"Yes. The Exoskeleton I wore is the very same Exoskeleton that I presented to the Overcomers months ago. This was the same Exoskeleton that was modeled after and used to create those special roles in the army such as Tanks, Snipers, etc. One reason for my survival was that I suddenly noticed the heart of those soldiers. I can only guess it now since Zeraphine has clearly taken over the body of Lara. They were just like Lara. I checked Lara Diamon's medical records. The data shows that the original or real Lara had her heart on the usual human's side... But now it moved to the other side of the chest."

"Then is it some form of parasite? Their techs in biology and human anatomy could easily create a parasite that eats away and reform someone. We've seen Lennox's Thought Transference technology. What if they have something like that? It was a parasite that actively replaced the bodies of these humans? Outwardly, they'd look the same." Charles guessed.

"A what that can what?!" Meryl was alarmed.

"Some sort of doppelganger... That is possible." Lynd guessed.

"That's one of the logical explanations." Seeker nodded. 

"They might have some form of parasitic means to infiltrate and take over another slowly. Those who betrayed us had backgrounds that made it look impossible for them to be Aragarians. And on the moments we were fighting together, I was sure they were Unlocked. And all of a sudden, they lost the same speed, perception, and power of the Unlocked and had to rely on drugs, technology to bridge the gap. Their hearts even shifted to another side."

"That's insane!" Meryl was disgusted.

"I think I can create a way to do that. But that will rely on altering the DNA code." Charles frowned.

"Only Overcomers have the chance to do that. Lennox is currently working on the way to do that. He can 'convert' himself, but his goal is to be pure lightning. That way, he would be similar to an immortal. Still, cultivators need to achieve that eventually. Right now, we have been pushing the limits of our cells to the limit. But just like those cultivators seeking transcendence, or that Glorified body that Eagle keeps talking about in his sermons, we need to find a way to achieve it. Since we don't have any known framework for that, the only option is to steal the ones that these Presiders have."

"And we are the main ways to achieve that..." Lynd realized what it could do.

"Right. Our Paths are the missing link to creating that. The Progenitor really thought well. The more we get to see and interact with what lies beyond the three dimensions, the more I begin to see that things like destiny, fate, and time itself are things that the Progenitor could alter. My revival in this time could be his work! We just don't know how, but what if he had the means to prepare my destiny in two timelines? He couldn't have left all the techs to us. That would be suspicious, and the enemy might easily discover it."

"You mean... To hide the Good Soil, the Seeds, and everything from the Aragarians, the Progenitor foresaw and prepared things that were spread across two timelines?!" Charles was amazed.

"Yes. The seeds alone had no hope in sprouting on their own. But my appearance that was the result of changing space-time itself brought the chance for us to be capable of killing Presiders."

"Then what exactly is the Unlocking? Could this be something far beyond our understanding?" Meryl asked.

"What if... the Unlocking is the highest form of technology that the Progenitor had. He was called the Lost Primordial, right? He was at the peak of the Aragarian society! What if he discovered the key to transcendence through the Unlocking? He gave it to us secretly. But such technology can't be handed down easily. So he had to make immense preparations to give it to Earth to make sure that the Aragarians can't find it!"

"And that preparation was me. Think about it. He is called the Lost Primordial. This means he must have done something to be an outcast. Since we haven't heard from him, he is dead or hiding, watching his seeds sprout. For all we know, we could be the very means for him to get his revenge." Seeker smiled.

"Nutterballs..."

"Yeah. Nutterballs."

"Uncle, what's a nutterball?"

"It's Lynd's expression. Don't mind it." Charles sighed.

"We're... tools?"

"Would you rather roll over and die? I don't care what his intentions are, Meryl. But if it's a chance to fight and win against these Aragarians... I'll take it." Seeker smiled.

"And that's why you called us here, right? You plan to discuss the perspective we should be carrying when we go in that Underwater City?" Lynd guessed.

"Yes. If our conjecture regarding the Lost Primordial is true...Then capturing a Presider or allying with one can get us the techs we need to fight back because they will have something that helps us connect the dots of the Unlocking. I already have an idea what it could be."

"What do you mean, connect the dots?"

"Here's what I think... What we have, the Unlocking, is one part of the true tech he has. The other part is what the Presiders have. What is the main weakness of the Unlocking?" Seeker asked.

"The Unlocking has a weakness?" Meryl wondered.

"Let's look at it from the perspective of the future me. I was an Inhuman. What was missing that always kept short in making me strong?"

"Weren't you already strong?" Charles asked.

"No. Zeek is right. Now that you mentioned it. When you chased Zeraphine, you were just an Inhuman. How did you survive that? It's like an Inhuman challenging a Ranked Hero solo. How did you manage to fight Zeraphine's armies when very few Inhumans could? No Inhuman could defeat me! And I'm not being arrogant in saying this!"

"You're asking Seeker Carlean why he's strong?" Charles had a mocking expression.

"Charles, this Seeker Carlean is an Overcomer. The past-future or whatever wasn't. You haven't been training to fight like the rest of us, so you might not understand this. But the warfare in Seeker's original timeline is vastly different than the ones here. In his memories, an Inhuman was very valuable. But that's not enough to face an army led by a Presider. Even Seeker said that an Inhuman sacrificed herself to get Seeker an Inhuman Exoskeleton. But what made you special, Zeek? Talents and abilities can only go so much!" Meryl asked.

"I can answer that. The Inhuman Seeker Carlean did something impossible. He had a Pathless Path. Or you could say, he had a Skill-less Skill."

"What?" Meryl was confused at Lynd's explanation.

"The Passover. It was a Skill that allowed him to pass through whatever obstacles. But unlike other Paths or Skills, he didn't have anything but his wit and power. You could say that it was an ability like Alean's Zone. I mean, we have a few in this world. Seeker's future didn't have things like Zone, or Lies, or Prophets. These are all things that are Path's but doesn't have a physical nature. Eagle was the different one. He could convince people, but it was related to his Path that could defy gravity."

"Lynd's right. Our previous understanding of these Paths might have been incorrect. My arrival in this timeline became foundational for others to develop a Pathless Path like my own."

"Right. The future you's Pathless Path of the Passover was very limited in being able to pass through. It's very difficult to categorize, so I think no one in Zeek's original timeline recognized it. But going back to Zeek's question, that was Zeek's strength. But what was his weakness? With this, it's easy to guess." Lynd answered.

"Charles, could you check my brain. I think I developed a brain tumor from listening to this conversation."

Seeker laughed at Meryl's joke.

"Very good, Lynd! You finally found a way to replicate a portion of Arthur's thinking. If only you could do Lowengren's."

"Impossible. He is a liar. If I try to imitate or observe him, I'd be deceived. My Path can't work on him at my current level. But anyway, I am right! The weakness of the Unlocking, which is also plain fully obvious in this world, is that it does not give us a body that can cope with it!" Lynd revealed.

"You could have just went with that, you know? Every day we try to find ways to build the glorified body. Why did you have to go the roundabout trip to talk about Seeker's future Pathless Path?"

"Erm...Meryl... You were the one who asked about Seeker's strength and questioned future Zeek's ways of fighting and surviving a Presiders army." Charles reminded.

"Well-well... It's because you confused me!"

"Actually, Meryl. That was an important question. I had the Pathless Path of the Passover. But it never really manifested because I didn't have the body that could. In this life, with the various experiments and techs we acquired, I now have that body! I could even teleport, which not even Lynd can do because he does not have the Pathless Path of the Passover! I couldn't physically manifest this skill because my body was too weak! Just like how you managed to best Typical by changing your body, I didn't know how or what this body is to get it! To teleport, I needed to have a body that is resilient or capable of crossing the three dimensions. This is the weakness of the Unlocking. And our weakness is the strength of the Presider!"

"I get it now! They can create the body, but they do not have the Unlocking!" Charles finally caught up.

"Yes. And that's our mission! We have to acquire a body like theirs! They have so many techs, and from our investigation, we know that you are rewarded or purchase techs in their society. But where was it stored? When we found Presider Pridgeon, he had a strange suit, remember? One that we couldn't remove or study because of the various techs it had."

"That's it! Their body! Those techs were engraved in their body!" 

"That should also be how they can recode their DNA! We are forcibly changing it by imitating the other Unlocked... But Presiders can alter it easily! What an amazing body!"

"So our aim, is to one way or another, leave that Underwater City with a body of a Presider. What a daring mission. But I guess, it's fitting as our Paths are most necessary for it."

"Man! What a complicated mission. I'm starting to envy everyone else mission which is simply to fight and train each other by attempting to kill each other in an actual war." Meryl sighed.

"Oh, right. What about Lowengren and Arthur? Now that I think about it... Harker, Arthur, Lowengren, Vender... And if Gardo's real Path is being a clown... that makes five people with these so-called, Pathless Paths!" Meryl realized it.

"Alean will be here because Arthur said she'd grow here. To make the long story short, Lowengren and Arthur have the same aim. But their aim involves bringing havoc to Egypt. Honestly, it's sort of a contest between the two of us of who can get a Presider's body first.." Seeker smiled.