Irregular.

Never have I ever thought I'd be deemed as such.

Even when I possess something as ridiculous as Infinite Regression.

I've been always, basic, simple.

Because I hadn't been able to take the road of accumulating, due to my nature.

Or That I'm a thief.

Scavenging the time someone else supposed to live.

Only bestowed the second chance because Regular one messed up.

That he had been slain by Baek-Soo-Yeun on the first day of the Apocalypse.

I…

Understand it.

All.

Haha…

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha…

Ah…

What have I gotten myself into?

If only I heeded Eighth's warnings…

I'd have been in a much better position to advance.


When I finally think that I've experienced all there is to this World, it manages to catch me by the neck in the most unexpected moment.

In my defense, even in my wildest dreams, I'd have not suspected that I was living off the time of my Original self. That I am merely a copy-cat in regards to the True Regressor, Hyoudou Issei.

It's funny, actually.

In the eyes of the World, I'm nothing but a glitch that's never supposed to happen.

At the very least, I can deduce it from Eighth's explanation.

About that bastard, I have a thing or two that I suspect.

Why he approached me, the Fake Regressor, instead of the True Regressor?

What would he gain by manipulating me?

The Fake Regressor that is doomed to repeat his mistakes and confined to being at the bottom of the food-chain.

The Irregular Hyoudou Issei that can't Accumulate?

Could it be that…

He pities me?

That no matter what I do, I'll always be inferior to True Regressor?

No…

Eighth is a cunning, powerful entity.

An entity that feels love, remarkably.

In any other circumstance, I'd be simply not worth his time to invest in.

Because whether I save the World or not, I'll always go back to my starting point.

Defined by the True Regressor, whom I steal the time away.

Eighth decided to help me, because he too, needed help once.

Help that came from someone that he believed he could trust, an image of himself he saw.

Just as I did.

Yet, the way he had been treated and the way I've been differ.

In the end, we are both Paradoxes.

Created by none other than ourselves.

That alone, is a fact that I can believe in, to entrust my future to him.

For now.


Saving the World?

Me?

I can't even help myself.

What does the world even expect from me?

What is my purpose in this unending despair?

What good can I do?

Knowing that everything I've done, or will ever do, is irrelevant.

In the end, I'm the other side of the coin.

Confined, helpless, unaware.

People I've trusted my life with.

People I came to love.

People that I loathe.

My connections.

All are the results of the Regular One.

I, am just the end product of his adventures.

Subjected to his experiments before I take control.

Haha…

It's a miracle I'm even standing at this point.

Or am I?

Am I standing still?

Did I fall?

I… don't know.

Am I conscious?

The chunk of soil beneath my feet, I can feel it's wet.

I can smell the petrichor in it clearly, filling me with sadness.

Even then…

I'm not certain, whether this is a dream, or not.

Everything feels, eerily surreal.

If only…

I had a way of knowing; I'd have relieved myself with the fact.

Unfortunately, I do not.

This, unfamiliar feeling, has totally taken control of my psyche.


Navigating throughout the rubble, I can only think about one thing.

Why?

Why did I have to be like this?

Why couldn't I have the life of Regular one himself?

What evil I've done to incur such fate?

I'm certain God himself is clueless, as I've came across his holiness' corpse on many occasions.

As the World ends, Heaven cries its last breath, and releases the truth.

Trihexa, had long slain the God.

I've always believed that I form my own ending, and my own beginnings.

That I've taken destiny under my control after so many trials.

As it turns out, I was just imitating God.

When I had no power over my fate, or my existence.

How foolish of me, truly.

Thank you, Eighth. For opening my eyes.

That I can never reach, the day after.

Even if I do, it will not count.

Because, I will still be confined to my Kalpa.

As long as Regular One can't fix the mistakes, our eternal damnation will carry on.

Cycle after cycle.

Death after death.

It's a shame, that we can't communicate.

If we could, I could warn him, about what to expect, how to handle certain people.

Yet, I can't do that, can I?

Due to our nature, him and I will always be two steps behind each other.

As I take the decision to save the world anew, he will still be sailing on the previous cycle.

And the next, too.

I'll admit, time is confusing.

Even with my infinite regression, I haven't been able to find a solution, to the great question.

How exactly does time behave?

Is it linear, like Humans suggest?

Or is it akin to a circle, always repeating itself?

How can I even access the cycles Regular One haven't even lived?

Is everything predetermined?

Eighth did say that he is contacting me in the past.

My past, and his past.

However, I am in present.

Am I in present?

I have no idea…

Yet, I might know someone who does.


"So… You're the kid that initiated Code:406? You don't seem like a time-traveler to me, no offense."

He never changes that attitude, always staying off-limits. Does it matter? Yes, it does. For a man like the Great Governor himself, that is his precaution method. I might contain some futuristic disease. I don't blame him.

"It's always taken you time to digest it, Zaz. I don't blame you."

"Hah… It's not the first time we meet, then."

"No, and I doubt it'll be the last. Still got work to do."

"Why are you here, then? Shouldn't you be, fixing stuff in the timeline?"

"Let me backtrack a bit, I'm no time-traveler. Just a regressor traveling to a fixed point in time."

"Hmm… Like three days ago?"

"Yeah, I keep forgetting you're able to detect anomalies in timelines due to you being dead by the time Vali gets here."

"Huh… I die? That's surprising, but considering the Beast descended on us a few days ago, I take it you're not joking. By the way, who's this, Vali, you're speaking of, kid?"

Ah… I forgot.

Vali didn't make it, in this timeline.

"The unborn great-grandson of Lucifer, at least that's who he should be if he were alive in this timeline."

"Yeah, I heard about that kid. Still, I don't think I'd associate myself with the Lucifer, they're far too supremacist for my taste."

"Well… I'd say that you're kinda forced into it? I don't know, you Fallen are crazy over Sacred Gears and trying to look after the Children of God."

"Children of God? Lucifer? Now, that's a good joke."

"You're joking, right?"

It's only natural Azazel can't believe, Vali's entire existence is a miracle.

"Nah, I'm not. Vali Lucifer should've been the White Dragon Emperor. Unfortunately, his mother had a miscarriage."

"Oh… Descendant of Lucifer with a Longinus, huh… Can't say I'm far too displeased that fella's not around."

Azazel is a faction leader, it's only natural that he thinks that way. He doesn't know what Vali means to him, as he never met him.

"Yeah, he grows up to be one tough motherfucker. One of the last two people standing against the Beast type of toughness. He valued you, a lot, too."

"Pal, I ain't buying this. I don't know how the hell you found the code, but I'm pretty sure you're no regressor, or time-traveler."

"Got my methods to convince you, old man. Ask me anything and I'll answer."

"Alright, I'll give you the benefit of doubt, for now. Tell me, what would I have named my firstborn?"

"You can't reproduce, old man. Beelzebub took your left sack centuries ago, along with your healthy babies. If we're talking hypothetically, it should be Cail or Melaine. The latter due to you'd fallen from the Grace for a human named Melaine."

"My first invention after the Fall?"

"Let's see… You've informed everybody about your second invention, and presented it as the first, Blade of Darkness and Light. The actual first invention is, a simple device called LightFeathers."

"Heh… I still remember LightFeathers, what a disaster. Alright, what have I been tasked with after I became the Governor-General of Grigori?"

"To never pursue war, and do not let anyone pursue wars that would weaken the Fallen."

"Correct. What about my favorite beverage?"

"You tell everyone it's scotch, but your guilty pleasure is cheap, dull mead. That's due to the fact that your first drink was the mead produced by the Sumerians, you couldn't find it after they collapsed."

"Haha… I'd have given everything to taste that mead once more. I guess you really couldn't stop thinking about your first, huh?"

"You don't, Azazel. I don't either. The first time I'd died is still fresh in my mind."

"How many lives have you racked up?"

"119. About to be 120."

"About to be, as in?"

"I don't intend to stay in this timeline, it'll only hinder me. Even if the Beast is dead, and the Stars will never descend, I can't abandon my duty."

"Huh… I'm in no position to understand the psyche of a time-traveler, so I'll pretend that this exchange never happened."

"Haha… I don't, either. Believe me, I don't even know when will it end."

"You… don't regress on will?"

"I wish I did. That way, I'd have at least have a chance to correct my past."

"So… It's a fixed point, defined by a fixed event, turned back only in certain conditions?"

"Kind of… If you count dying as a certain condition, then it checks out."

"Regression by death, I see. That's gotta be the worst kind, at least you keep something, right? Knowledge or even, power?"

"Only knowledge, I'm afraid, sometimes even the events change, so I just sail blind. You might even call me a cheap knock-off."

"Even if you are, it doesn't change the fact that you're the first one to ever appear."

"That's something I struggle to understand, you know?"

"Why? Are there any other regressors? More travelers I haven't heard of?"

I understand Azazel.

I really do.

Because, if there were, Governor would have found them.

Or they'd come into contact with him, due to his expertise on certain fields.

In Apocalyptic Scenario, Vali's fuckup, Azazel is the only one that hadn't been contaminated, along with me.

How could he pull it off?

By understanding the Infection, and not bending to it.

Countless hours spent on research bore its fruit as he finally creates a cure for the contamination.

Along with Yasaka, of course.

Him being the resourceful man was the reason I turned into his help this cycle.

Because even if he doesn't know the answer, he'll help me understand it better and give me the reason to continue.

"That's… complicated. Would you believe me if I said there is, and there isn't at the same time?"

"Hmm… Kind of like Schrodinger's cat?"

"Yeah, kinda like that."

"You seem to know the answer, care to share?"

"I don't know how to say it… I need you to confirm something first."

"What is it?"

"You told me that I'm the first regressor that approached you, correct?"

"Yeah, I'd have known if I sensed another time-bender."

"How do you exactly determine that?"

"By matching the numbers, of course."

"What?"

"Every single being on our cosmos contain an interesting sequence of numbers, influenced by the flow of time as we move forward. Pantheons keep the data, especially those that have a God of Time in their pantheon. If there is a single, unusual change from the exact predictions, that means a time-bender manifests on the zero hour."

"And you have that data because?"

"I'm the only one that has the ability to match them."

"How?"

"I'm not crowned the Genius of the Millennia just because I invented a bunch of stuff, Kid. My mind is durable enough to resist against the aftermath and I am the one that makes those exact predictions."

That's not surprising, at all.

Azazel's twisted mind is one in trillions.

"I see… Do you happen to have my data?"

"Most certainly, I do. Why, though? You've already confirmed that you're a regressor. There ain't a single soul on this earth that knows that much about me, not anymore."

"To make sure that we both understand my circumstances."

"Aight, I have to check."


The look on Azazel's eyes.

I can understand him.

My conditions do not allow such occurrence to happen.

Mine don't, combined with the Regular One, does.

What does the data even show? I have no idea.

However, I'm sure it's out of the ordinary, because that's the most flabbergasted I've ever seen him.

"HOW?"

"How what?"

"HOW DID YOU REGRESS TWICE ON THE SAME DAY?"

"Same… day?"

What?

I…

What?

"Listen here, kiddo. I'm this close to carving you open and getting my answer."

I don't even know the cause of this.

Didn't Eighth say that I regress after him?

Did we finally…

Align?

"I… don't know, that's not supposed to happen. He said we regress after one another."

"Who did? Did you encounter another time-bender?"

Eighth's identity.

Is that a secret I must keep?

After I'm out of this cycle, Azazel won't even remember me.

He won't be able to.

Due to stream of time not moving forward in my absence.

"You've theorized the existence of timelines and other universes, right?"

"Duh, that's one of the most complete theories I've ever pondered upon. Of course I did. Why?"

"Because you're right, alternate worlds on larger scales do exist."

"I already confirmed that thanks to you, Regressor."

"No, you don't get it, Zaz. What I'm tryna say is they're on different scale, unaffected by my actions."

"Does that explain your irregular regression on the same day? I'm curious whether we had this conversation before."

"Nah, I'm just trying to make a statement with this. And we didn't, don't worry. This is my first time in your office."

"Alright, go on."

"So, I encountered someone from an Alternate Reality. Totally different from ours."

"Yeah, timelines are like that. Events that slightly or largely changed form a chain, deviating from the original timeline."

"No… Let's get this straight. There are Timelines and there are Alternate Worlds. They are not the same, believe me they are NOT."

"I think I understand the difference, but carry on."

"Well, he didn't say I couldn't say this, so I'll just drop the bomb real quick."

"Say what?"

"He's my variant, a Hyoudou Issei that had a totally different life than I did. Whereas I can regress, he's a Children of God. There isn't anything we have in common, I made sure to ask every question."

"Alternate Reality, huh. That makes sense."

"You're not surprised?"

"Why would I be? It's far too reasonable to think that our reality is the only one. Still, how are you sure that it isn't you from another timeline?"

"Because I saw the difference, Zaz. I can't lift a Spear if my life depended on it, let alone killing the Beast with it."

"So that's how Trihexa died...? Your variant, or counterpart, took care of it?"

"Yeah, it's even hard for me to comprehend it."

"I'm thankful for the insight, but I don't see the relevance of it."

"I'm getting there, Zaz. During my talk with him, I learned something that I don't understand, at all. That's why I came here."

"You sought my help because you couldn't understand and thought I would, alright. What is it?"

"There are only two Regressors, and I'm both of them. One version of me, Regular Hyoudou Issei, able to accumulate and keep his progress, and the other, me, Irregular Hyoudou Issei that can't. Whenever he regresses, he leaves the timeline. I, on the other hand, only and only regress to timelines he's left."

"Hmm…"

"There's a problem, though. I've regressed far too many times; I don't see the reason for my continuous regression if he's travelled as much as I did. I'd gain the strength to wipe out Trihexa in only thirty regressions. The question is, how? How do I access the timelines he's not even regressed to?"

He's intrigued.

The gears on his mind are working, I can see that.

For him, my existence is a problem to solve.

And I'm glad he's looking at me from that angle.

He's the only one that can, of course.

If there is something I know about Azazel, it's his unyielding appreciation to mysteries.

"Superposition."

"Hm?"

"Think about it. You told me that there are two versions of you, the same Hyoudou Issei separated by Space and Time. There's only one reasonable answer to that."

"How does one particle affecting the other regardless- oh…"

Oh…

I… get it.

Quantum Superposition.

I am both in the timeline, and out of it, until the date of my regression.

Which explains how I come to decide the timeline.

Because Regular One's decisions affect me.

Until I regress, the decision never happens.

Until he dies, I never regress.

Yet, because he's eventually going to die, I have the ability to regress into new cycles he hadn't.

The future he hasn't realized is set on stone, and I live on it accordingly.

Because our fates are predetermined.

"Hmm… If I were to take a guess, I'd say you're also entangled, with the other variant."

"E-Entangled, as in?"

"His actions, have they ever affected you? Have you ever encountered a particular set of events you normally don't in your regressions?"

"All the time, due to our differing regression dates."

"Then, you're the second particle. Until you find a way to cut the link, you're going to be the scapegoat of this experiment."

"But, that's due to time-travel. Doesn't it make more sense than Quantum Entanglement?"

"Normally, it would have. If you were two separate Regressors, that is. Even if you regress before your counterpart does, you'll still encounter these events, due to your link with him. Think of it like two magnets pulling each other no matter the polarization, unless you turn into something else than a magnet, you'll remain as the second particle."

Haha…

How can I even…

Give up being Hyoudou Issei?

Even If I find a way, then I forsake everything about my existence.

Do I even have it in me to actually do it?

I don't know.

I'll never know.

"I'm a Paradox, aren't I?"

"Yup, the worst kind, as well. An unsolvable one without great price. Shame, though. A regressor is hard to come by, especially those that are friendly like you."

"Infinite realities, and infinite time. Yet, still got finite time. Maybe I am, maybe I am not. One thing is certain, though. Whatever cycle I approach you, I learn new things about myself."

He doesn't know the bond I had with him.

Yet, Azazel of Cycle 119 understands.

His perception never changes.

"Is that so? Well, being respected by a Paradox surely might be the first thing I didn't anticipate, but appreciate nevertheless."

"Yeah… You were the first one to point out that I could send signals, to timelines. It didn't make anything easier, but definitely got my hopes high."

"Oh… How come?"

"With a device, which I solved the mechanisms thanks to you."

"I'm flattered."

"Rightfully, you're the Genius of this Millennia."

"Still, there's another issue."

"How did I regress twice on the same day, right?"

"Precisely."

That's something I don't know the answer to.

Did I take the place of Regular One before he died?

Because of my unorthodox way of regression.

If I did, wouldn't that erase him?

"Hmm… I believe this isn't the first time we are doing this conversation. Something must've happened during the first, prompting you to regress once more."

"That might have been the case, if I could pick the timelines I regress into. I can't. What about my counterpart being regressed out of the cycle before I did?"

"If that's what happened, he'd have made changes that I'd be able to observe over time. We're only speaking hypothetically; it'd be nice if we had any way of observing the first particle."

"Yeah, I don't understand it, either. Maybe it's because there had been someone else with my numbers, Hyoudou Issei of another Kalpa."

"Kalpa? Is it how you differentiate amongst yourselves?"

"Kinda, I only heard it from Eighth, as he calls himself."

"Eighth, huh. What about you?"

"Seventh, I'm afraid. He did say he contacted me in the past, which I don't understand."

"Your future, his past. There are more than one angles to this question, kid. Time's tough to understand."

"Yeah, it is."

"Like… What would happen if I were to kill you right now?"

"I really don't know, but I guess I'd regress?"

"Yup, this event would become a part of your future, but also your past, as you experienced it."

"Are you suggesting that time is not relative, but subjective?"

"That's something I've been already theorizing; Time can't be linear no matter where you look at it. You're the prime example of it, as you're experiencing non-linear time."

"Because I always return to the exact date and branch out from there. Sometimes, I am not even alive, sometimes my conditions change. There had been one time that Beast didn't awaken, and I awakened it forcefully."

"Why?"

"Contributing to science, don't ask."

"You were experimenting, huh. You've got something from me, at the very least."

"You could say that, I was trying to prove causality across different timelines."

"Haha… It'd have been a disaster if that were the case, right?"

"I'd hate to break it to you, Zaz."

"It does?"

"Yup, flawlessly, even."

"Even the thought of it is enough to vaporize a Victorian Child."

"Haha… It is."

I could stay in this cycle for a while.


"Hey, isn't it about time you open that drawer, Azazel?"

"What?"

"Wait what?"

The reason for our confusion is simple.

We just heard Azazel's voice, broadcasted by Lost Legacy.

I've been playing one of my signals to Azazel, as it would allow him to understand the circumstances I've been in, and who is responsible for unleashing the beast.

"Yeah, pass the note to me when you're done."

This time, my voice rang out from the device.

"What note?"

"This."

Interesting.

It contained valuable information, something that's already been passed down to me by Eighth.

Instruction of how to broadcast signals to my past versions.

Which is what we are currently experiencing.

Along with a memo.

To open the closed cabinet.

"Shall we?"

"Yeah, I mean what could we possibly lose?"

Our sanities, is what I'd say.

"That is, ugly."

"We just experienced a loop, and all you can say is ugly?"

"What can I say, regressing twice on the same day couldn't be explained in any other way."

The sight we are currently looking at, is simply gross.

I can say it's gross because I'm looking at my own Body, stuffed in Azazel's Cabinet. Pierced from the heart, possibly with a Light Spear.

"Yeah, we know. It's a loop, but not an endless one, created by you and I. It's rather funny seeing your own body like that, amirite, Irregular One?"

"But don't worry, it should disappear aaany moment now."

Just as my future self said, it disappeared right before our eyes.

"How does that happen? I literally have no idea. If I were you, mind you I am, I'd not invest my time to it."

Azazel's voice echoed, saving his past self from unnecessary research.

"Just create the loop once more, to stabilize it. It'll make everything easier, trust me."

I'd have loved to spend more time here.

Yet, I'll heed my future self's warning for it.

"It's been a pleasure, Zaz."

"Likewise, Kiddo. Next time, I'll make sure to host you better."

"I know you would, Zaz."

There goes my vacation.

Back to saving the World, I guess.

Still, I have more hope, because I am not alone.

"It'll hurt like a bitch, brace yourself, kid."

"This ain't the first time I'm being impaled, Zaz. Thanks for your concern, though."

"Killing a regressor myself, hah. I'd have never imagined it would be this easy, and hard, at the same time."

"Don't burden yourself, it is inevitable. I'd have regressed out of this cycle nevertheless."

"Take care, Hyoudou Issei."

"You too, Zaz."

Ah…

It's been a while since I had such a painful sensation.

Whether it's because of Azazel's Light Spear lodging itself to my chest.

Or due to the fact that I'm forced to leave him under these circumstances, I don't know.

He's in pain, too, I can see that.

That's natural, he didn't have anyone that he could call a kid in this lifetime.

Forced to kill the one he's more or less bonded, would leave a mark.

Understanding the mad scientist was one thing.

Being understood by him was another.

Only two people could fit the criteria.

Val and I.

This cycle, he had none.

During our short time, I'm glad he's taken a liking to me.

It makes me.

Happy.


A short chapter of sorts, let's call this as such.

There's an event that happened in this chapter which I didn't write down, but it'll be explained in another fic of mine.

Until then, take care ladies and bois.

Shiwftie, out.