Chapter 103: RE:PANTHEONS

Liam slowly opened his eyes, his vision gradually becoming clear. Almost immediately, he noticed a familiar smell, one that reminded him of a burning candle, before the surroundings finally came into focus.

In front of him stood the familiar round table, its beautiful and intricate structure stretching across the darkness. Beneath his hands, he felt something solid and cold, and when he looked down, he realized that he was sitting upon his throne.

"This is the Council of Pantheons..."

It took several minutes of nothing but staring into the darkness before everything finally began to sink in. The memories of what had happened, the Fourth Evolution, the other Evolutions, and the destruction he had witnessed all returned to him.

"System." He said it almost out of habit.

A familiar window appeared before him, but instead of the usual system interface, a string of incomprehensible characters covered the screen.

[GINGAWKTWIAKFASFL:ERROR:AJGNGJNAA:UNSORTED]

There was no robotic voice explaining the error, only meaningless gibberish that Liam couldn’t understand.

"Unsorted?"

He raised his head slightly, staring at the strange window. "Does this mean... the system doesn’t recognize me?"

"The Fourth Evolution... he also mentioned multiple planetary selections. What truly is this system? He also talked about the gods..."

Liam began organizing his thoughts, trying to connect everything he had learned.

"Then... did I become an anomaly? One where the system doesn’t even recognize me?"

He stared at his hand before raising it. "Can I still use the skills given by the system?"

Liam attempted to activate Intangible Spectation, and his consciousness immediately separated from his physical form.

"It worked... So I can still use my skills."

He paused for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "But can I gain new skills? This is confusing."

"Still, this is better than..."

Liam suddenly stopped.

"Wait. The Pantheons... do they exist in this timeline?"

He immediately flew away from the Council of Pantheons and looked over the planet. After observing the civilizations below, he quickly recognized the era they were currently in.

"This is still the Bronze Age..."

"This is when Odir is born."

Liam deactivated his skill and returned to the Council of Pantheons. His eyes moved toward the empty chairs surrounding the table.

"How did I get Consciousness Space? Wasn’t I supposed to obtain this skill much later?"

He slowly clenched his fist.

"Right... I’m an anomaly now."

"Normal progression isn’t possible anymore."

Liam sat quietly for a moment, remembering everything that had happened during his previous evolution.

"I need to learn from my mistakes. Unorthodox Players are a real threat, and there are those so-called alliances out there. I need to become strong enough to overpower them."

"If I’m an anomaly now..."

His eyes narrowed. "I should be able to summon them."

Liam sat down upon his throne and closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts.

"I need to summon everyone. Those who can help protect and guard this planet."

"Summon Odir."

"Summon Olium."

"Summon Moleius."

"Summon Trias."

"Summon Calean."

"Summon Catalyst."

"Summon Wias."

"Summon Eazi."

He paused before continuing.

"Now, the additions."

"The Great Render, Le Von Dia."

"The Werewolf Elder, Sebastian Flyde, and his prodigy granddaughter, Pandi Flyde."

"The Five Prodigies must be added as well. They weren’t able to unleash their potential because of me."

"Akuma. Rize. Ragnir. Akira. Kida."

"King Valadin of the Beastmen."

"And the one who took refuge with the remaining survivors... the Fishmen Savior, Coasta."

Liam lowered his hand slowly, his fingers pointing toward the empty chairs surrounding the table. Seventeen of the chairs suddenly began glowing, while particles of light gathered within the darkness and slowly began taking shape.

One by one, figures began to form.

The Council of Pantheons was no longer empty.

The silent surroundings immediately erupted into noise as the summoned individuals began speaking over one another, their voices filled with confusion and disbelief. Some recognized the familiar council chamber, while others looked around cautiously, trying to understand why they had suddenly appeared in a place they had never seen before.

The original Pantheons looked toward the strange entity sitting upon the throne, their eyes narrowing with suspicion. Trias, however, seemed strangely calm as she held the Child of God, Eazi, gently in her arms.

"The Entity... You really have come," Trias said.

The others remained confused, their gazes shifting between Liam and the unfamiliar individuals surrounding them. Sebastian Flyde, with his sharp and cunning mind, immediately began analyzing the situation before finally turning his attention toward Liam.

"What happened... Where are my people?"

His eyes narrowed. "Are you the Entity? The one God? Did you revive us here?"

"Revive..." One of the Pantheons looked down at his own hands, seemingly remembering something.

"I remember dying as well."

"What happened to the world?"

Another voice followed.

"What happened to the enemy?"

The room gradually became quieter as everyone turned toward Liam, waiting for an explanation.

Liam looked at all of them from his throne before finally speaking.

"Greetings."

"I summoned all of you here because the world has descended into a chaos far more destructive than anything you have ever witnessed. The old world was destroyed, and it forced me to return to a time before any of it could happen."

He explained it calmly, his expression revealing nothing.

But Liam knew the truth. He had not traveled through time by himself. Another version of him had intervened, pushing him into this new beginning and giving him another chance to change everything.

"All of you gathered here are individuals I have chosen because of your potential. This time, we must do whatever it takes to prevent the same fate from happening again."

Liam slowly stood from his throne.

"I know what you have all accomplished," Liam said, his voice calm as he looked around the table. "The battles you fought, the civilizations you protected, the discoveries you made, and the sacrifices you gave were not meaningless. I remember every effort you made, even if this world has been given another beginning."

He paused, his eyes moving toward the original Pantheons. "You fought against enemies you barely understood and pushed this world forward with the limited knowledge and power you possessed. Your achievements became the foundation of this planet, and I have no intention of throwing them away."

"But the enemy has advanced as well," Liam continued. "The threat we faced before was beyond what we were prepared for, and I cannot allow us to repeat the same mistakes. This time, we need greater strength, better coordination, and people capable of filling the gaps that existed before."

"So, I will assign a role for everyone."

"What?! What kind of bullshit is this?!"

An angry man with strongly defined muscles suddenly stood from his chair, slamming his hand against the round table as he pointed furiously toward Liam. "You summoned us here, acting like everything that happened before was meaningless, so what, if the same fate happens again, do you just discard everything else and start over?"

The room immediately fell silent.

The man glared at Liam, his anger refusing to fade. "Do our struggles mean nothing just because you have another chance?"

Liam remained seated upon his throne, staring at him without anger.

"No."