Chapter 25

Phantoms of Time

As I continued my trek through the snowy wasteland with the Renas Alma in tow, I then experienced a piercing migraine. "Uh, not again!", I grumbled, clutching my head. The vision here was somewhat different- now I was witnessing a vision of Hakumen and 5 compatriots of his- one of them being the young Valkenhayn; one of them being Terumi; one of them being a woman with strawberry blonde hair and green eyes wearing a pair of circular glasses, a long yellow hooded cloak, a white blouse with a green bow, a black miniskirt, long black stockings and black shoes; a woman with long pink hair and yellow eyes wearing a purple witch hat, a long purple cloak, a white blouse with a purple bow and much like the woman with strawberry blonde hair, a pair of long black trousers and black shoes; and an honest to God cat with cream and black fur and amber eyes wearing an orange hoodie and a black eyepatch over his right eye. They were facing a giant black monstrosity which vaguely looked like the Yamata-no-Orochi, the latter of which felt very similar to me. Before I could put my finger on why the giant Yamata-no-Orochi seemed so familiar, the vision faded once again, leaving me facing a giant black tower like the one in the Mahag Saar region. The cold brushed against my face as I made way through the ice and snow; regardless, I had to press on.

Approaching the base of the tower, I noticed a dark red crystal at the very top, expelling very sinister electrical energy. Indeed, all of the Cyber Space towers were. At the base of the tower itself, I saw Rachel again. "Ah, Jack. There's something I forgot to tell you whilst we were back at my castle here in Cyslodia.", Rachel said. "Well, what is it?", I asked. "There's a second reason why you're having these strange visions without any context. You see, your body is not naturally part of Nintentopia's reality. In fact, you shouldn't even be in Nintentopia at all. Your friends and family maybe, but not you. You and me are very similar- we are Phantoms of Time. In my case, I am a Phantom of Time in the sense that there is no fate for me. In your case, you are a Phantom of Time in the sense that you should not be here. Both of us, however, are immune to Phenomenon Interventions, a power that certain Observers have that can cause a being to not exist and vice versa.", Rachel explained. "And I'm receiving these visions because it's Cyber Space's way of compensating for the fact that I'm not really part of Nintentopia, is that what you're saying?", I asked. "Something like that.", Rachel said. "Indeed,", Rachel continued, "when the Chosen, myself included, entered Cyber Space, you being a Phantom of Time switched the user of Cyber Space from yourself to the Chosen. Of course, the sheer amount of people logged in to Cyber Space at the same time caused it to overload, forcing the system to deregister you as the person Cyber Space was meant to protect in the process and trapping both you and the Chosen in the Nightmare Void, the name for the specific section of Cyber Space cordoned off for you specifically.". "And what you're getting at is that everyone aside from us two don't really realise that they're actually in Cyber Space, is that right?", I asked. "That's correct.", Rachel said.

After Rachel suddenly disappeared, I made my way to the top of the tower. As I climbed, I reflected on what the vampire told me, wondering if there was a way to forcibly eject the Chosen from Cyber Space and wake them up from the delusion they'd fallen into. Facing the dark red crystal at the top of the tower, I walked towards it and extended my hand, unleashing a stream of orange fire that cracked the crystal and caused its red cyber essence to flow into me. From this, I saw Valkenhayn, Terumi, Hakumen and their allies facing the black monstrous Yamata-no-Orochi again. "Seems this incarnation of the Black Beast is a bit too tough for us.", Terumi said. "Come now, we need to stop this thing to make sure the Ascension Project succeeds. We owe it to our lord YHVH.", the woman with strawberry blonde hair said. "I know that, Trinity, but I don't think we will be able to stop it purely on our own.", Terumi said to the strawberry blonde-haired woman. "Still, to think that he had this much power already. This is something very impressive, Jubei.", Hakumen said to the cat in the orange hoodie. "Indeed it is.", Jubei said. "Everyone, focus! We might not be able to defeat this beast on our own but we can certainly hold out until the Founders arrive.", the pink-haired woman in the witch hat said. "That certainly is true, Konoe.", Valkenhayn said to the pink-haired woman in the witch hat. The vision suddenly faded as I thought on why the Black Beast (as the 6 people in the vision called it) seemed so similar to me; as nothing came up, I decided to turn my attention to the tower in Mahag Saar.

Arriving in the desert, I saw the tower I climbed. As I approached it, I saw Yuito appear suddenly in front of me. "Uh, why are you here?", I asked. Grabbing his sword, Yuito said, "I cannot allow you to stop the Ascension Project.". "Now, now, let's not be hasty here. Why is it that you don't want me to stop the Ascension Project?", I asked. "That's for me to know and for you to not know.", Yuito said, the expression on his face turning angrier. "Uh, why are you looking at me like that?", I asked. "I have nothing to say to you.", Yuito said before rushing at me. I dodged his initial attack, only for Yuito to then unleash a psychic burst of sand, the grains glowing purple. I countered with a burst of wind, following up the attack with one of Wyvern's spectral missiles which Yuito then sent back at me. Unleashing a burst of gravity magic, I reredirected the missile, causing Yuito to dodge the missile like a baller before unleashing a wave of purple psychic energy at me that I burned away with a small fireball, forcing Yuito to flee in a burst of sinister crimson energy. Shrugging, I made my way to the tower.

Flying up to the top, I then prompted the dark red crystal at the top to break, with its red cyber essence flowing into me. This led to a vision of Velvet cradling a newborn child in her arms whilst Ragna watched. As Velvet happily rocked the baby in her arms, Jin came in, saying, "Brother, we need to talk about the Ascension Project.". "I know, Jin. Just let me spend more time with my wife and son first.", Ragna said. "You know that you won't be able to protect him forever. I doubt he'd agree to the Ascension Project but it's something we have to do.", Jin said. "How moral is turning the Multiverse into a living Hell in order to ascend as Gods? How moral is it really?", Ragna asked. The vision then transitioned to another- this time of Byleth talking to Seteth in Garreg Mach's throne room. "You understand, Seteth, that in order for the Ascension Project to succeed we will need Jack's full cooperation. If he resists, we will kill him.", Byleth said. "Still though, such a plan is cruel and inhumane! Jack deserves to be given a choice in the matter; if he doesn't want to destroy the Multiverse to ascend then we must allow him to choose it on his own. Not that he'd want to help us anyway given his high moral and ethical standards but still, forcing him to help us is wrong!", Seteth said. The vision then faded; worried about the true purpose of the Ascension Project, I decided to turn my attention to the other 3 Cyber Space towers in Elde Menancia, Ganath Haros and Orbus Calaglia.

Warping suddenly to Ganath Haros, I gazed upon the seaside coast before noticing the region's obsidian tower far in the distance. I walked in the direction of the tower, noticing how eerily empty the place was. Walking through the forest that led to Supreme, I then saw Hanabi in the distance wearing an eerie smile. As I approached her, she turned to look at me, her smile becoming warmer and friendlier. She rushed up to me, gently embracing me. "I knew you'd return to us eventually.", she said. "Hanabi, what is the Ascension Project? What is its purpose?", I asked. Her smile becoming sadder, Hanabi then said, "I guess it can't be helped. If you to know, I'll tell you.". "I do. Please, I do.", I said. Taking a moment to breathe, Hanabi then said, "Jack, the Ascension Project is a means to ensure that a Sovereign and a Maiden are the eternal rulers of the Multiverse. Originally, the plan was to use the project to identify a Sovereign and a potential Maiden to rule alongside him; the two would ascend and become as Gods whilst dooming the Multiverse to become a living Hell and an infernal wasteland. But when YHVH invaded our world, he changed it so that the Ascension Project would select a Sovereign to be subordinate to him as his host and vessel rather than selecting someone to oppose him and rule the Multiverse after killing him. Indeed, the Sovereign and Maiden selected to ascend will become Gods and thus be placed in the position to rule the Multiverse forever but only when YHVH is gone. That's why we need your help, Jack. Help us and a bright future as the Sovereign.". "I'm sorry, Hanabi, but I swore an oath to defend the Multiverse. Besides, from what you said, the Ascension Project seems to be reliant on the Multiverse's destruction and I can't break the promise I made to protect the Multiverse against all who would harm it.", I said. "Who's to say you can't protect the Multiverse as Sovereign?", Hanabi asked. "I-", I said before Hanabi said, "Well, I can't force you. Think it over for a bit.", before vanishing in a burst of crimson energy.

Wary of how both Yuito and Hanabi had disappeared, I made my way to the Ganath Haros tower, climbing up to the top as usual. After absorbing the cyber essence from the dark red crystal at the top, I then saw a very different vision this time- this vision was of Noah, Mio, Eunie, Taion, Lanz and Sena fighting against…well, myself. "Why? Why don't you just give up?!", Lanz asked angrily. "I told you, I will protect the Multiverse against all who would harm it. If that means stopping you, then so be it.", the other me responded before the crest of the Sovereign from Tales of Arise appeared behind him. Below the "arena" where me and Ouroboros were fighting was a veritable ocean of Hellfire. The sky was also near completely lathered by the Flood of Light too. This vision led to another- one of myself standing in a fancy room with several people kneeling to me; Alphen was the only exception, also standing. "I name you Sovereign Jack Sebastian Imeris, first of his name.", Alphen said. "Long live the Sovereign.", everyone else said in perfect unison. As the vision faded, I then asked aloud, "Wait, was that second me a vision of the past?". "No, that was a vision of another universe.", Juniper said behind me. I turned around to face her, asking, "Wait, what do you mean by 'another universe'?". A sad look in her eyes, Juniper then said, "The universe where you came from is not the only one where you were born. In accordance to the infinite amount of potential worlds in the Multiverse, you are not the only one to be born as Jack Sebastian Arnold. Multiple other versions of you exist, Toby being one of them. The second vision that you saw is a universe where you were instead crowned as the Sovereign Supreme and where you were incidentally born to Alphen and Shionne rather than Duncan and Suzanne Arnold. But even then it seems that no matter who your parents are, you seem to always be delivered through c-section. Why this is even I don't know.". "But the first vision was that of a past event, right?", I asked. "Indeed it was.", Juniper said before vanishing in that same sinister crimson energy. Something was clearly happening but I had a strange feeling that it was something much more sinister than what I originally surmised.

Warping to Elde Menancia, I took a moment to survey the green grasses before going in the direction of the local Cyber Space tower. I had a notion in my mind that the heroes were suffering from a sort of corruption, but YHVH didn't seem to behind it. As I thought on this, I encountered a coterie of Sin Eaters of a similar type to the ones I saw in Kunad Highway; upon turning to notice me, they seemed to strangely back away as if in fear. A strange smile came over me as I charged up a giant dark fireball, hurling it at the angelic monstrosities and burning them away, leaving nothing but ashes. I smirked as they burned away, a glint of excitement in my eyes. Moving on to the tower, I felt a strange sensation come over me, as if the towers were guiding me somehow. Climbing up to the top, I absorbed the Cyber Space essence from the dark red crystal, now getting a vision of a strange yet familiar battle. I saw the other me there effortlessly cut down Sin Eaters, casting multiple spells to do so. These included razor sharp tornados, sharp rock lances, high pressure tidal waves and fireballs of varying sizes. "That'll do, pig. That'll do.", Daruk said. As the vision faded, I heard the unmistakable voice of Dr. Eggman behind me, the fat man saying, "Now, I hope you understand the context of that vision.". "Not exactly.", I said. "Typical. Absolutely typical.", Eggman said. "Why? What do you mean?", I asked, turning to face him. "Listen to me and listen well. You were a fighter during the War of the Worlds against the Sin Eaters- well, you fought in the war's last days anyway. Before you came to us, Nintentopia was absolutely struggling against the Sin Eaters; not only did we lack the weaponry to effectively fight against them but the little buggers also kept resurrecting them. That all changed when you came- not only did you help us mass produce and circulate anti-Sin Eater weaponry amongst Nintentopia's citizens but you also helped us to fight against the monsters too. You were essentially immune to their 'touch', preventing them from turning you into one of them. That vision was one of the battles where you fought against the Sin Eaters, even taking a leading role in the battle. But YHVH didn't see it that way- what he saw was you killing and terrorising many of his finest soldiers.", Eggman said. "But what does this have to do with the vision I saw?", I asked. "Glad you asked. You see, your actions during the War of the Worlds were very extensive- you ruthlessly suppressed the Sin Eaters like there was no tomorrow- in fact there wouldn't have been a tomorrow if YHVH had gotten his way as time would have collapsed. It was because of you that YHVH felt the need to spread the Flood of Light into Cyber Space- this allowed us to study it and formulate the necessary steps to stop it from consuming every world in the Multiverse; indeed, it hadn't even been affecting your world anyway but it would have. What this had to do with your vision was simple; we need you to help with the Ascension Project and allow us to create a world that the Sovereign Empire can rule forever.", Eggman said.

Before I could reply, Eggman disappeared in that same crimson energy, confirming my suspicions that something was up. However, I had no time to waste- I needed to find the final tower in Orbus Calaglia. Finding myself in the arid desert yet again, I saw a giant black tower near the volcano where I fought Knight. I made my way to the tower, noticing that the pyroclastic flows had since cooled and dried up; oddly, the region still felt so unbearably hot. Climbing up the tower, I absorbed the cyber essence from the final dark red crystal at the top; this led to a much more disturbing vision. The vision in question showed Shulk, Fiora, Reyn, Sharla, Dunban, Melia, Rex, Nia, Zeke, Morag, Noah, Mio, Eunie, Taion, Lanz, Sena, Matthew, Na'el, Linka, Panacea, Glimmer, Nikol and A being covered by a sinister black and dark red substance; their eyes opened in unison after they had been completely submerged in the dark substance and glowed red. They were followed in turn by several others, including the likes of Lloyd, Luke, Yuri, Alphen, Shionne, Rinwell, Law, Kisara, Dohalim, Haseo, Atoli, Kuhn, Yata, Sakubo, Endrance, Pi, Ovan, Lindow, Sakuya, Soma, Yuito, Hanabi, Luka, Gemma, Tsugumi, Kasane, Shiden, Kyoka, Kagero, Chai, Mario, Luigi, Fox, Marth, Celica, Sigurd, Leif, Roy, Lyn, Eirika, Ike, Micaiah, Lucina, Corrin, Byleth, Alfred, Diamant, Ivy, Timerra, Neptune, Noire, Blanc, Vert, Daruk, Mipha, Revali, Urbosa, Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude. This was followed up by them being bound by dark magic as they looked upon a white dragon with a split nose in a purple orb. The vision faded, leaving me hyperventilating uncontrollably. "What was that?", I asked. "I'll tell you what it was.", Rinwell said behind me. Turning to face her, I asked, "What do you mean?". She smiled before chuckling, then saying, "What you witnessed was a vision of our grand rebirth within the holy power of Gloom, a ceremony where we no longer had to hide our true selves from the world- the Ceremony of Grand Rebirth.". "Wait, by Gloom, do you mean the unholy energy formed from Ganondorf's hatred? Is that what you mean?", I asked. "That's correct.", Rinwell said, still smiling. She then extended her hand, saying, "Please, Jack, come back to us. Do so and you will receive a bright and happy future, one in which you will no longer have to pretend that you're really a hero. Do so and we will universally recognise you as our Sovereign.".

Before I could respond, I then found myself at the entrance of a large Japanese-style castle. The entrance itself was strangely unlocked, as if it was beckoning me to enter. As I entered, I caught the sight of a girl with short brown hair and green eyes wearing a white and green kimono and a choker with a blue crystal as well as long black stockings and white boots. I approached her, only for her to suddenly look at me and smile. "Hi, my name's Jack. Who are you?", I asked. "Hello there, Jack Sebastian Arnold, my name is Miyabi of the Kingdom of Agnus.", she said. "Wait, you know my full name?", I asked. "That is correct. Though I truly wonder if it is your name or if it is a name you chose when you left us.", Miyabi replied. "Wait, what do you mean by that?", I asked. "Never you mind. Incidentally, have you seen my friend Mio?", Miyabi said. "Yeah, I first met her at the Leicester Space Centre.", I said. "Do you know where she is now?", Miyabi asked. "I don't know exactly where she is now but I think she may be at Garreg Mach Monastery.", I said. Suddenly, I saw a young girl with pink hair tied up in a bun and brown eyes wearing a white and teal sailor uniform and a single blue earring piercing her left ear and a significantly older-looking man with grey hair tied into a ponytail and red eyes wearing red armour come and flank Miyabi. Wary of the older man, I asked, "So who are you two then?". "Ah, he doesn't remember us. That's OK, but it's something we'll have to rectify. Incidentally, my name is Triton, formerly Consul T before Taion.", the older man said. "And my name is Fiona.", the purple-haired girl in the sailor uniform said. Suddenly, the three of them disappeared. Unfazed by that at this point, I walked on, eventually finding myself in a ridiculously opulent and lavish throne room.

Looking around the room, I then approached the golden throne in the centre, this time receiving a strange vision of Clive and me fighting in a fiery ruin; Clive was surrounded by the aura of a fiery demon with two horns that seemed to be protruding backwards whilst I was covered in the aura of a mighty phoenix. The vision faded like all my other visions beforehand; before I could make sense of what I saw, I then heard a voice behind me saying, "The visions don't get any easier to understand, do they?". I turned around to see a youngish looking knight with short and spiky blonde hair and blue eyes wearing white and blue knight armour. "Hi, my name's Jack. Who are you?", I asked. "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Flynn Scifo, Dominant of Bahamut, the Eikon of Light.", the knight said. "Wait, 'Dominant'?", I asked. "That's correct. You are the Dominant of Phoenix, the Eikon of Fire.", Flynn said. "You like those people with those summon like things from Final Fantasy XVI, right?", I asked. "I don't know what a Final Fantasy XVI is, but I believe so.", Flynn replied. Thinking for a bit, I then said, "Wait, so you're like Tager, then?". "Tager?", Flynn asked. "You know, the Dominant of Titan, the Eikon of Earth.", I said. Looking at me blankly, Flynn said, "Nope, doesn't ring a bell.". "But I saw a vision of you in council with Clive, Yumi, Eunie, Tager, Shiden and Byleth when I was in one of the cities on the Mechonis.", I said. "Oh, that council.", Flynn said. After a brief bit of thought, Flynn then suddenly disappeared. Thinking nothing of it, I walked towards the throne, briefly touching it. I then saw another vision, this time of Velvet talking to a woman with long blue hair and blue eyes wearing a white dress. The woman with blue hair said, "You know as well as I do, Velvet, your son is truly the Dominant of Ifrit. Of course, the Celestials may have staved this off by sealing Phoenix within his Aura, but not even he can run from the truth forever. Clive may be acting as the Dominant of Ifrit now, but eventually his and your son's Eikons must be returned to their rightful Dominants- Phoenix to Clive and Ifrit to your son.". "I know that, Lumera, but that doesn't mean that he can't use Ifrit's powers in the meantime. On a more serious note, if Ragna and I die against YHVH, will you look after our son?", Velvet said to the blue-haired woman.

As the vision faded, a strange sense of fear crept over me. I wondered what Velvet was referring to in the context of her son being the true Dominant of Ifrit and Clive being the true Dominant of Phoenix; suffice to say, I also thought back to what Triton said in regard to triggering my memories. What memories did I have to remember? As I thought on that, I found myself in a strange foggy wood. I walked forward, only to then instinctively dodge a kunai thrown by what appeared to be an honest to God ninja. I caught a look at my attacker, noticing that he was wearing a leather hood and a dark green face mask alongside a general dark green leather getup. Chasing after him through the fog, I dodged a shuriken this time followed by another kunai which was followed in turn by a senbon. Dodging the rest of his tools, I then caught up to the ninja only for him to throw down a smoke bomb. Firing up a gust of wind to protect me from the smoke, I then continued my pursuit, following him up through the trees. "Get back here!", I shouted, jumping and running though the greenery. Catching up to the ninja a second time, I then noticed that he was holding a pair of kodachis; unafraid to use them, he furiously attacked me, raining down a fast and furious assault that I blocked by firing up my Tao mandalas and using them as makeshift shields.

Attacking the ninja with a fireball, I then watched as the environment shifted to an empty castle town where I was suddenly attacked by a hooded wizard wearing robes with prominent blue designs. The wizard unleashed a giant fireball that I dodged. Hiding behind a house to collect my bearings, I then fired up my Tao mandalas and stepped into the town again, only to be met by a giant tidal wave. Thinking quickly, I raised up pillars to part the water only for the wizard to teleport behind me; I countered this by shooting a gust of pressurised wind to counter a lightning spell that the wizard was about to unleash; this was followed by me creating a large sphere of water to counter an onslaught of fireballs. I then found myself in a volcanic wasteland facing a burly barbarian clad in red armour and holding a giant axe with a sinister red blade; steeling myself, I took a stance and prepared to fight.

Rushing at the barbarian, I covered my hands in orange energy that I then extended into makeshift boxing gloves. Unfazed at this, the barbarian let out a mighty roar before bringing his axe down; I dodged this and unleashed a flurry of powerful fisticuffs in response, my punches getting faster with each successive blow. The barbarian in response brought his axe down again only for me to counter with a burst from my Aura, vaporising him. The landscape before me changed yet again, only for me to find myself facing an ancient temple. Sensing a very sinister presence coming from inside, I steeled myself before entering, ready for what might happen next.

The story continues in the next chapter.