Standing behind Marcus, Terrance's companions watched on in apprehensive silence, their delicate features barely containing their sorrow.
He felt for them, but a dim red quest notification in the corner of his System screen notified him of the fact that they were at the right place, at the right time.
They'd both been given the option to stay behind, so they could be spared the pain he knew the two would experience.
When Terrance had earned the final ability within his class's skill tree, he'd initially thought it a chance to get back all he'd lost, to save his friends and protect his loved ones.
Less than a week after returning 10 years before the Emerald Dawn, he'd figured out that things were…different.
In retrospect, he should have known that his Base Commander class wouldn't have anything like a regression skill, but after all he'd suffered and done, he was frantic to see a chance to fix what all had happened.
It took a full year of operations, but he'd managed to overturn a lifetime of misery, to pull himself out of the darkest hole he'd ever been in.
He killed his former commander, provided stable housing and lives for his previously killed comrades-in-arms, married the woman who'd been there by his side, and made a strong connection with the Bureau, and therein lay the biggest change.
The Bureau didn't exist in the time he'd escaped…well in the reality he'd escaped.
Upon that realization, a woman with shock white hair and glowing red eyes had stepped out from the air and acknowledged his efforts.
With work.
Turns out even shattering the walls between time and space didn't get you a reprieve from work, particularly when its work only you can do.
After several long conversations, the price of his return had been made clear to him. He had to follow the quest and simply be prepared for the things that would happen at each location, which included figuring out whatever the hell needed doing in the first place.
The two Constellations beside him had been brought as the final part of his reward and task, ripped from his time and reality to oversee and do their parts.
Terrance had accepted this with open arms, as they were Constellations he'd done grievous damage to, people he'd desperately wanted to make amends with, which he'd also done by now.
After that initial year, he'd spent the following five working with them to establish the Homeward Hearth guild and worked with the Bureau to provide safety and stability for its staff and research.
After decades of his class being maxed out, he discovered it had been set back to level one and evolved to the Celestial Conqueror class.
Since then, it had barely made any progress unless he spent time actively constructing and gathering resources for any group that functioned beneath his instruction. Marcus had seen fit to grant him a Director position with the intent of preparing an army and a world for the upcoming Dawn, something he wasn't thrilled about.
Anyone reluctant to be in the military would obviously be unhappy being conscripted once again, but desperate times called for measures, or whatever the saying was.
He'd spent nearly his entire pre-regression life in desperate times and was intent on making sure he never spent even a moment of his new life in pursuit of frantic survival.
Thus he planned, and planned, and then reassessed those plans as thoroughly as humanly possible, subsequently running those plans by the Constellations who tracked his every move. Fortunately he'd figured out that the plan for this situation simply involved witnessing whatever was about to happen in this ominous room filled with people afflicted with an illness he was intimately familiar with.
The woman who had sent him back bore it with pride; a mark of her father she called it, something that only a chosen few could withstand and benefit from. Terrance doubted anyone could be 'chosen' for something like that, but the results were hard to ignore, even with having seen entire countries obliterated by mages with glowing red eyes merely waving their hands.
His thoughts disrupted by a cataclysmic cracking sound, he found himself fixated on the seals as they rapidly dissipated, though he could see that they were forming a massive sphere within the room. Their power wasn't going anywhere, they were opening a space in the center that seemed to be simultaneously absorbing and radiating immense quantities of power.
Director Gala had mentioned her personal scale of power, yet Terrance knew that this was well beyond anyone's capability to measure.
"What could possibly create that much energy," he whispered aloud.
The Constellations flinched at that question as Marcus spoke, "That, my friend, is the power of the Founder. The real question is whether its him or not."
The normally stoic man's hands clenched and unclenched at his side, anxiety and worry practically dripping off of him.
A final pulse flickered outward from below and almost every single pair of red eyes flickered and went out as the researchers died almost instantly. The wave of energy passed through the alcove as though the glass and its extensive enchantments weren't even there, something that felt almost impossible to Terrance, given that he had personally built and enchanted it.
As the energy hit him, he yawned and gestured with his hand, letting it flow in and out of him without even batting an eye.
It was strong to be sure, but after witnessing the death of gods and the rupturing of his reality, what was madness in comparison? After all, if he hadn't broken from the nightmarish horror of witnessing the space between realities, what could break him?
His companions, aside from Marcus, didn't seem to fare as well.
Director Gala's breathing increased noticeably, a mix of excitement and apprehension crossing her features as she clutched her chest. Unless he knew better, he'd even considered that her normally purple hair, hopefully dyed, seemed to turn blonde down at the edges. A strange detail to note given the circumstances, but little details had kept him alive for decades, he wasn't about to stop paying attention now.
The Constellations both fell to their knees, tears pouring from their eyes.
System Notice:
The Lady of the Hearth is sobbing in sadness.
She Who Wields Light is clutching her head to contain her memories.
He looked at them and put his hands on their shoulders in an attempt to offer them comfort, though considering what they were experiencing, it was doubtful they'd even noticed. Terrance had to be there after all, but they had chosen to confront their histories and the trauma within.
A presence joined the five people in the room, power so intense it seemed a black hole he could easily fall into. At that very moment, his timer flickered to zero and he got another quest update.
Quest Update:
In accordance with your vow to the Goddess of Time, the Founder has returned successfully. The cyclical nature of paradoxes has reached its final resting point, the end touches the beginning and the seals are released.
It now begins.
Quest Rewards:
Class Upgrade from Base Commander to Celestial Conqueror (Already Received)
Regression to safety (Already Received)
As the previous rewards granted by the Goddess of Time have already been received, it has been determined that you shall receive an additional reward.
Ten Levels in Celestial Conqueror class.
Fifty free Stat Points
The Soul of the God Slaughterer.
Thank you.
Terrance's eyes widened slightly at the additional rewards, the Soul of the God Slaughterer in particular, but decided not to mention anything to the women flanking him. They still seemed to be undergoing their own trial at the moment, and in any case likely wouldn't take kindly to the soul of their murderer being present.
Another prompt popped up that he flicked away as down below, among the corpses of the researchers, Jennifer had fallen to her knees, eyes glowing brighter than he'd seen thus far.
The poor girl had been the subject of tragic experiments and told that her fellow subjects had died. The truth was nowhere near as palatable as that, but he supposed Marcus knew that telling her that their bodies resided deep within Terrance's compound, reconfigured as a tracking mechanism for the very seal that had killed her friends might be too much for her.
She seemed to be looking at something floating above her, and upon closer inspection saw that there seemed to be a gap in space where she stared.
It was black, deeper than anything he'd ever seen, and was condensing into the form of a person at a terrifying speed.
The newly arrived presence whispered, "So that's how this works."
Marcus's head turned in its direction as he asked, "You didn't know?"
A deep and gentle chuckle rang out as it responded, "Not even I know everything brother."
Its head turned and Terrance caught a glimpse of the deepest most unnatural red eyes he'd seen thus far, eclipsing anything he'd experienced even in the worst wars. Fortunately it wasn't at him they stared, but rather at the Constellations beside him.
For a moment those eyes seemed to radiate guilt but quickly recovered as his voice rang out again, "You. Young man, I see you have brought my daughters to me…and their journey has not been kind."
Struggling to get the words out, Terrance nodded and said, "It hasn't. They have died, their souls scattered to the winds. It was only through the efforts of the Goddess of Time that they're here now."
The eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"I should have figured all of this would lead back to her. I see she never learned to stop meddling, though I did tell her to tend to her own duties."
Terrance shrugged and the figure, now coalescing to the general shape of a man, simply appeared in front of him, clearing the dozen or so feet in the blink of an eye.
"You don't seem afraid of me," he said, sounding surprised.
"I've seen Madness before, though not as deep as yours. More importantly, I've seen those eyes."
The eyes turned in the air as though the man was cocking his head, "Do tell."
"Before I regressed, I saw them every time I looked in the mirror. They're the eyes of someone who has done horrific things that can never be taken back. A story of nightmarish horror is told by their gaze; hands that have tasted such bloodshed that even the greater good they pursued seems pointless now."
Behind the nebulous man, Marcus's body shuddered in barely contained sobs.
"Whatever you've done, whatever you've experienced," Terrance started, "The task you set for yourself is complete. If you live in doubt of the work you've done, you'll find yourself overcorrecting and committing even worse atrocities…though I think you know that already, don't you."
The figure nodded and turned its head back to the room below.
"I agree. Regardless, I don't have enough time to start again, even if I thought it were for the best. I'll have to hope that the chance I've given him will be enough."
Looking again out at the room below, Terrance was able to see the energy and seals finish coalescing into the shape of a young man with pitch black skin and glowing white hair.
The changes continued, with his skin writhing as the black seals began shifting and converging around his left eye and the back half of his hair. His bangs remained the pure glowing white, contrasting his deep caramel skin and black irises.
As he formed, his body slowly floated upward as energy gathered around him, wrapping back into the black portions of his body, briefly so dark they seemed to be almost visually absent, absorbing all light.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Terrance knew he shouldn't be able to see this, that it was wrong and defied the very nature of his perception and yet knew that the fact he could see it was indicative of exactly how far he had come.
Without taking his eyes off the gently floating man, he asked, "What's his name?"
The figure responded, his voice practically vibrating with pride, "I don't know. He is not what he could have been, and thus must be named anew. Perhaps you will be able to give him one?"
Abruptly a flashing prompt appeared in front of Terrance, one that was so bright and large he could barely see past it.
System Prompt
Quest: A New Name for Him
Clue: Leo'nein
"Leo'nein," Terrance read aloud, confusion evident in his voice.
Marcus mumbled past shaking breaths and tears, "It means friend."
The figure grunted an assent and said, "That it does. Perhaps a little on the nose if we wish for something better for him…but…"
It looked at Gala and whispered, "Little one?"
Her eyes flickered purple and, just for a moment, she seemed to fill the entire space as she whispered, "Don't you dare."
Pain filled the entity's space as it turned back to Terrance and said, "I think…Leon. A name mundane from such a meaningful word may yet be a kindness he might appreciate in the coming days."
Then the air seemed to shudder with energy as the last of the man below's form finished shaping and dropped unceremoniously to the ground with a thud, loud in the soundless room.
The entity turned away from Terrance and toward the Constellations behind him.
System Prompt:
The Aspect of the Void looks at you.
The women abruptly stopped dead in their tracks, their sadness shifting to fury.
Terrance stepped away from them so they had the space they needed to do whatever was about to happen.
System Prompt:
The Lady of the Hearth attempts to leave.
She Who Wields Light is attempting to attack The Aspect of the Void.
System Warning:
Attempting to attack or ignore a System Administrator will result in ejection from the system. Current destination for ejection: Home System of Origin.
The two Constellations stood in shock, their nearly translucent forms flickering with barely contained anger.
System Prompt:
The Aspect of the Void has requested a Private Space…
Checking for availability…
Current Constellation access slots…2,000,000,000
Current Constellation presence…20
Space Available - Moving Constellations to personal space of The Aspect of the Void.
Suspending Administrator Privileges within personal space.
Just before they were moved to the new space, Terrance noticed that his guests were surprised.
Though he wasn't surprised, he was impressed with the returned entity.
He had spoken with the two Constellations, or Hestia and Lorelai as he knew them, and was well aware of their relationship to the thing he'd been speaking to.
See, Constellations were a strange aspect of the System, and truth be told Terrance had always felt as though it hadn't been sure what to do with them.
They were omnipresent in the time he had escaped from, but it wasn't entirely clear where they had come from. They lorded their power over mortals and granted them knowledge and abilities well beyond level or skill, not to mention affinities for their concept or magics.
Some of them aggressively resisted the title of Constellation, having their followers and Paragons refer to them as gods, which the System staunchly refuted.
In his time, the System almost never displayed emotion or personality and the current changes were, quite frankly, a relief since the totally mechanical System he was used to caused far more problems than it solved.
Nothing came without a cost however, and as it turned out, the price of that power was often a person's sanity.
Among all those who lost themselves to the Constellations, the Paragons suffered the most, by far and almost all of them had devolved into slaughter. Slaughter based on belief and their personal rules, but slaughter nonetheless.
All of the chaos the Constellations caused, enabled by the System, had resulted in incomprehensible amounts of life lost, with Paragons as the leading cause.
One day, seemingly from nowhere, a man appeared.
Terrance winced at the mere memory of him, idly rubbing at a spot along his neck where his head had almost been severed.
The man had started out as nothing, no powers, no skills, he couldn't even level up…but then, according to Terrance's research, he had abruptly begun growing in power.
He grew stronger and stronger until one day, a report came in through one of the informers Terrance used in service of his commander.
A Constellation had been slain.
Then two.
Then ten.
Then a thousand.
Then a million.
Regardless of what they actually are, Constellations have a presence within reality; their power creates an imprint that can alter the very fabric of time and space.
The more of them that died, the more unstable everything became until eventually the man reached Hestia. By this point, Lorelai had been long dead, her body obliterated in the first wave as he fought her Paragon.
Hestia however, had no Paragon.
She had offered no power to anyone, simply wanting to be a source of support and rest to those in need.
Hestia lived up to what a Constellation should be and, more importantly, was impossible to find by those who didn't know where she was.
Terrance knew.
The creature now known as The Constellation Executioner found him and offered him an ultimatum.
His people or Hestia.
Hestia died within the hour and her blessing disappeared even faster as she realized she'd been betrayed.
The Executioner returned and killed Terrance's team afterward, saying, "Did you really think I would let betrayal go unpunished?"
Shaking the memories away, he looked at where his now closest friends had been and whispered, "Try to be understanding…nobody truly knows why their parents do the things they do."
Looking at the prompt he'd moved aside earlier, Terrance sat in one of the chairs that had gone unused thus far.
System Prompt:
A God has returned.
Terrance glanced over his class and said, "A god indeed."