Time Twister - 75 Rescue

When Xander checked the situation of the garden, he decided it was time to re-write some of the rules in place. Specifically, the evolution and mutation capability of sentient and non-sentient organisms inside the garden. He quickly modified it, allowing diverse evolution and growth among magic beasts, sentient, and non-sentient organisms to occur.

He ensured that anyone present in Eden and the following generations would be able to diversify. Every living, sentient being inside received his edict of evolution, causing confusion, curiosity, happiness amongst the beings. After all, they have read the books and saw the idea of species formation and diversification, yet it seemed not to happen in their world. Now, it was being implemented, allowing them to see what it really meant to diversify!

Xander, after repeating the announcement twice, headed to the Tree of life, where the fruits had completely bloomed. He then headed to the sentient plant beings where he harvested their produced fruits. He then went to one of the zones where any form of sentient life cannot develop and collect the fruits by other plants placed there. He also saw that the Garland Tree had already produced fruits as well, and harvested the tree as well. He was surprised, since most of his fruits are now considered Low Class 8 materials, and the parts he harvested from the plants such as flowers, and branches were also the same rank.

He also left the metal and crystal deposits for now. He exited Eden and began to plan what he should do to rescue James, who was probably being investigated or tortured, probably due to his sudden improvement in cultivation. He also used [Kairos’ Point] to himself, indicating the situation of rescuing James.

Truly, his words were on point; his friend, James, was experiencing the worst kind of torture.

______________________

Ohsaka, Zeta province. Somewhere inside the Corde Clan headquarters.

In a purely-white room, there were multiple capsules, most were open. There was a young boy, lying down inside a closed capsule, with multiple nodes attached all over his body, his face serene. If anyone from the class of Xander would see this, they would instantly recognize this boy was James, their classmate.

There was a man that was monitoring the situation inside the room, checking multiple screens near the closed capsule. He looked wizened, a bit tired, but there was a source of energy that seemed to push him to continue on.

“I hope he breaks down soon; after all, I still have to attend my grandson’s birthday party tomorrow morning. I don’t want to sleep too late.” The wizened man muttered as he continued to adjust the parameters based on the situation of James’ body.

_____________________

How long has it been?

…Damn, it’s been so long. Can I get this over with?

Once again, I saw darkness all around me, before suddenly, there was a bright light that rapidly expanded, covering the darkness, making me blind to my surroundings. I opened my eyes and saw my recurring nightmare once again.

I’m at my little body. A wee 5-year old kid. Over and over again, I see my parents being shot behind, their bodies exploding all over, blood splashing mine and my sister’s face, with their eyes carrying a last look of sadness, despair, and hopefulness that we would survive.

Once again, I see myself grow, and killed by my own sister, her eyes venomous and full of spite, telling me over and over again, “why haven’t you died? You should have died instead of mom and dad.”

Once again, darkness covers me, and the whole thing repeats over and over again, in a different scenario this time, allowing me to act, yet it would all end the same.

The only respite I have is knowing this is all virtual and fake. For some reason, the stabs done to me by my virtual sister isn’t that shocking that I would mentally break. But rather, I get relegated to the darkness once again, before repeating this again and again.

I think of possible reasons why this was happening. A problem in the VR? Unlikely, since it was using the Main Servers’ computing power to handle this private session. I just became too powerful? Highly unlikely, since I’m just an Elite-9. The only thing I can think of that could have a profound effect would be the contract that I signed. Maybe it had a way to stabilize my mind so it wouldn’t easily break under mental torture and spill the beans about that deal? This was highly plausible, so he just needed to continue delaying the interrogation. Maybe, Xander would be able to contact that person and request help? But I would have to pay universal currency, whatever that is.

I sighed and saw the place change, becoming a room, where an old man was sitting, looking at me quizzically, quite confused. I merely remained silent under his stare, not uttering or reacting at all.

“Why are you still able to act like you’re fine? You truly have a strong mind.”

Silence. The man sighed, and said once again,

“This could all end if you would tell us what happened exactly in the mansion.”

Silence again pervaded. The man shrugged, then continued to sip his tea.

“Oh well, You’ll undergo the torture until you spill the beans. Tomorrow, however, we’ll invite your sister to the headquarters for a friendly chat as well.”

Silence. I almost burst out in anger, but there was something that was calming and suppressing my anger and fear, allowing me to remain rational. I was shocked by how powerful this effect was. It could even control the fluctuation of “normal” emotion. Wait, emotion… could this be the effect of the Emotion element series? Damn, how strong is that mysterious figure? Seeing that he elicited no reaction, he waved his hand, and the world once again changed for me.

“You’ll stay here for now then.”

I rolled my eyes and began to observe the virtual reality world. I was wide awake and aware the entire time I was sent to the VR, so their technique of forcing me to confess under the duress of “stopping” the pain and hurt doesn’t really work. For me, I was just surprised to see my parents’ faces once again, very clear and defined in their last moments, but it didn’t elicit too much pain in my heart, but rather a hollow feeling from their disappearance. I had lost my childhood at an early age, forcing me to learn how to protect myself and my sister, even with the help of my uncle and grandfather.

________________________

The man on the outside sighed, as he repeated the process for another 300 times, showing different scenarios and situations.

The inquisitor of the clan had left the capsule he was in and gave instructions on how to deal with James.

After a few minutes on the job, he suddenly felt sleepy, yet happy at the same time. He yawned for a bit, stretching his arms. A few moments later, he was happily dozing off.

Similar phenomena occurred all over the headquarters, causing shouts of alarm to sound out all over the headquarters, followed by the sound of falling bodies into the chairs, tables, and the ground.

No one was spared, even the Demigod-9 magicians in charge of the headquarters. Before they could manage to alert one of the ancestors in seclusion, they all fell down, asleep. It was deathly quiet. No one in any of the surrounding places or buildings noticed an anomaly or suspicious magical fluctuation.

However, if anyone with a strong sensitivity to the magic energy, they would notice the appearance of an anomaly surrounding the area of the headquarters, making it quite separate to the houses and streets around it.

A figure of a man in his 20s was calmly walking along the sidewalk, heading towards the headquarters. He was humming a simple nursery rhyme, every step he took seemed to be in tandem with the breath of the world.

He reached the entrance of the headquarters and knocked on the door. After a few seconds of silence, he giggled, and merely moved forward, disregarding the existence of the door in front of him. He continued to pass by the sleeping bodies of people, heading to the special room where he could detect a familiar life signature.

Once he entered the chamber full of capsules, he headed for the only one that was still running. He saw an old man sleeping, and immediately Accelerated the time of the man, turning him into dust, and the dust turned into pure energy, returning to the universe.

He then saw the terminal and using his smartwatch, took control of the defense systems of the headquarters. He then stopped the VR torture simulation James was undergoing, naturally waking him up from his unconscious state. James was surprised to see the person in front of him.

“Homer! You’re here! I-” Before James could say anything, Xander signaled him to shut his mouth, putting his finger on his lips. He then snapped his other finger, causing James to suddenly be disoriented and see that he was on the top floor of the headquarters. Xander was right beside him, smiling serenely.

“You have to be a witness, for what is about to happen to the clan you came from. A lot will die, but not all. However, it is a small price to pay for offending me.”

When James heard what Xander had said, he remained silent, sighing.

It was a silent, windy night. Was it about time to paint the dark skies red?

_________________________

In a wide sparse grassland that was dotted with hills and separated by rivers and bodies of water, people began to appear one by one, confused about where they are currently and what had happened to them.

Those who were more experienced, such as the Demigods in the family, had a much more serious reaction. They recognized the aura this place contained, containing the elements in the physical dimension. However, it’s not pure; the traces they could not identify were the are traces of the dream dimension, making everything imaginary, yet everything is also real at the same time. It’s a contradiction.

They were more cautious and gathered their clansmen near them, to stay alert concerning any changes. Some of the demigods briefly explained the situation, causing some to panic, but was quickly quelled down.

Not long after they gathered, a voice began to resound throughout the whole place.

“Hello, mortals. You might be wondering why you are all here. Well, you see, you touched one of my properties, subjecting him into virtual torture. Really? Virtual torture, how could you even do that!”

Upon hearing those words, the majority of the people in the area were confused, and only a few demigods were privy about the situation. Their faces paled and looked at one of the demigods, who was visibly shivering.

“It seems only a few of your elders know the situation, tsk tsk. Well, long story short, a clansman of yours signed a non-binding disclosure contract with me in exchange for some spell models that this puny planet didn’t have. Annnnd, do you know what your elders did?”

The people were clueless. Some already had an inkling and was looking at their elders in disappointment and anger.

“That’s right, they overreacted, trying to harm your own clansman, causing the current situation you are in, and pissing me off from my supposed beauty sleep. Usually, I wouldn’t even bother, but I literally haven’t collected any payment from the dude.

Why am I telling you this? Well, because most of you won’t survive~”

Xander’s voice rang out in their minds, causing fear to build up in their hearts. Even the demigods felt a chill up their spines.

“This is a unique space that borders between reality and dreams, specially crafted to eradicate all your existences in every dimension possible. However, because of this unique space, well, you have more power within it. All your spells’ effects and power are boosted by 1 stage, allowing you to unleash your full potential.”

“So let’s make this situation a bit challenging than the usual royal rumble style. You would be making a fortress, and inside the fortress, there’s a giant stone. You need to ensure that the incoming beasts would not reach the heart in 108 rounds! Yes, I am requiring you to play a life or death tower defense game, for those who might be asking, hehe.”

Upon hearing this, most of the people wanted to curse out loud; if you want to kill us, kill us; why do you have to play and torture us around?

“So, here are the rules: You need to ensure the safety of the stone. Once all 108 rounds are over, the survivors awaken in their bodies. Those who died, well, better luck in the next life! The stone can’t be moved, and you have a set amount of magic energy at your disposal to create your fortress. If you want more magic energy, you have to use the magic stones and crystals that would drop from the attacking beasts. Lastly, the power of the beasts starts from Legendary class to Divine class level beasts, so good luck~”

Immediately, their surroundings darkened for a bit, and there was a stone that suddenly appeared behind the elders, surprising them for a moment. Up in the sky, a gigantic set of numbers appeared, slowly counting down. Upon seeing this, the demigod elders immediately acted and began to command the creation of the fortress.

Initially, the structure was formed by their Legendary magicians and then reinforced by their mythic magicians, giving the structure meat and increased stability. Just as they finished the initial reinforcement, the number above reached zero, and immediately they felt a large fluctuation of magic energy from the distance. Three of the 15 demigods were in the front line, while the rest were scattered to the other sides of the fortress, as they didn’t know how the attack would commence. They were tense, scanning the area for any hidden figures or enemies. Everyone was alert.

Little did they know the whole world was watching them.

__________________________

Late at night, every single person was awakened by a simple notification from their communicators, automatically playing a live video of what was happening to the Corde clan.

There was a snarky voice-over, greeting the viewers and explaining the program.

“Welcome viewers to the show, What Happens if you Mess with the Simpson! This is our first episode, and a live one at that!”

“Our first contestants are…people from the Corde clan! Tsk, tsk, they shouldn’t have ruined my beauty sleep.”

“Right now, their members and elders are making the foundation of a fortress, hoping to defend the giant stone from the invaders! My dear viewers, while they are preparing for the first wave of 108 waves, please vote for the magic beasts you want to see them face off! Don’t worry, every vote is anonymous, untraceable, and unhackable~” After the voice spoke, a series of magic beast species appeared, as well as their relative strengths and weaknesses. There was also a filter mode, allowing one to specifically search types of magic beasts.

Everyone was surprised, but they couldn’t help but vote, curious about the situation.

After 600 seconds, the votes were out. It was then that the snarky voice appeared again, explaining.

“Thank you, everyone, for casting your votes! The top 150 magic beasts will be the beasts that they will face off within 108 rounds! Just so you know, this program is not run in virtual reality, but in actual reality. They will die real deaths if they die here~ You can even say, each and every one of you signed their death contract, haha!”

When the viewers heard this, especially those who were below Master rank, they paled and became a bit worried. Some of the viewers also cried, saying they’re innocent because they didn’t know the situation. Some said it was fake, while some were actually happy with the situation, such as the competitors of the Corde clan.

The voice-over continued.

“Now, our first set of attacks: Let’s start easy, shall we? Dragonscale Bird, Hornet Poisonpowder Bee, and Rampaging Rhinodemon, all at the Legendary class. Since they’re around 250 people, let’s make the number of enemies to 1000! Let ‘er rip!”

Immediately, multitudes of beasts began to appear, moving towards the direction of the fortress. There were only 3 species, but they were numerous, and their movement was frenzied and random.

When the defenders saw the magic beasts, the three demigods acted first, casting a multi-leveled spell matrix, or a combination of 2 or more magic arrays. As they were casting 3 demigod magic arrays and superimposing it to one another, they had to channel not only the power of the universe but also their magic energy and elemental energy around them.

Those who were familiar with the Corde family or military spell tactics would recognize the spell they were going to launch: Ashen Change: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust. It was considered to be one of the volatile AoE spells, one whose effects last for roughly 12 hours in the area it was cast on.

Those who were watching that had a military or strategic background approved their choice because it was good to have a spell that continuously deals damage in a certain area, with the effects lingering.

The spell range was 3 kilometers’ radius of the fortress, surrounding it in an ashen gray landscape. Once the beasts took a step, they slowly disintegrated, turning to dust and leaving behind crystal-like stones on the ground.

Everyone inside the fortress was then focused by the camera, showing their relieved faces. Some even high-fived the others. However, the viewers had a different reaction, because they had selected some magic beasts with the element of Fire, Ash, and Entropy-Change. At the same time, when zooming out, the video was playing a piece of ominous music, indicating it wasn’t over yet.

This time, a robotic voice sounded in the dream realm, as well as to the viewers of the situation.

“The first wave is now complete. All unharvested magic crystals will disappear if they aren’t collected within 5 minutes. The second wave is now commencing…”

Immediately, another group of magical beasts, all legendary class, but were a bit stronger than the previous wave appeared. They were less disordered and frenzied, allowing some sort of order and command to be passed amongst the magic beasts.

Upon seeing their vanguards vanquishing, a few of the beasts behind stopped, looking around the spell area, but then proceeded to the range of the spell, dying as well.

The demigods who weren’t controlling the spell had to manually use their magic energy to manipulate the area around the stones, moving them towards the fortress. When they heard the alert of the second wave beginning, they weren’t prepared as they initially thought every wave would have a break. However, after roughly 2 minutes, most calmed down, and the demigod began to issue commands to the members of the clan to continue reinforcing the material used in the fortress, as well as making the walls thicker, more variable in terms of effects, as well as creating projectile weaponry with elements.

As they collected the last magic crystal from those that died, the robotic voice sounded once again.

“The second wave is now complete. Third and Fourth Wave will now commence. Random catastrophe is now in play. Chosen catastrophe: Plague.” When the people outside heard these words, they all paled. They had initially thought this was a simple game, but it doesn’t seem so. Even those in plains began to despair, despite the motivational words and actions of their elders, who caused the situation in the first place.