With the appearance of the Tail of the Dragon, Seeker knew he messed up.
The Dragon was too strong. Even though Richie had already reached the level where he could use Voice of Creation, Meng's last stand proved to be too deadly.
No matter how the battle would turn out, one of the two Overcomers would die.
Either Richie would succumb to Meng's powers, or Meng would die from the loss of blood and the wounds he received.
The last attack made by Meng had destroyed Richie and Seeker's suit. And even though the suits had traces of their DNA in it, it couldn't withstand the desolate force that Meng used in his last attack.
Meng's boosters were also damaged in the previous clash.
And so, Richie and Meng fought with nothing but their legs, fist, and their deadly Paths.
As it was, the battle was slower but at the same time far deadlier than before.
The lack of resistance allowed Richie to move faster than Meng and Richie started to zoom around him as the shield he generated moved around protecting him in being directly exposed to the desolate force.
Meng continued to attack. The tails whip and stings were blindingly fast, but Richie simply used his instincts to keep evading the attacks. His vibrations always allowed him to move to the right angle.
Yet the insights of his amazing instincts didn't make him immune to the danger of the fight. Meng had proven to be a martial genius who could attack Richie. And all that Meng needed was one hit to end this battle.
A stalemate began to emerge with Richie constantly evading and Meng attacking.
Even at that moment, the two warriors enjoyed the death battle. Perhaps they've never been as happy as this. Yet their joyous expressions and Richie's delirious laughs only added up to the growing anger of Seeker.
Seeker had done all he could. By Treading the Ancient's Path he managed to solidify his entire body and even managed to synch his cells with his weapons which was also made from his own cells.
This allowed his weapons and armor to withstand the full force of Meng's desolation. Yet despite that, the full force of his charge was insufficient to wound Meng's heart and defeat him. The attack fell short from victory. A single inch would have been enough to win the battle. But Seeker failed.
But there was no time for hesitation, regrets and even blaming.
Seeker turned around to avoid seeing Meng with his eyes and held his sword in front of him.
The end of the sword was charred black as if it was melted by some powerful acid.
Bits of Meng's blood continued to remain and was slowly eating through the metal.
Seeker knew the answer to his dilemma would be for him to give himself up in favor of saving the two Overcomers. If Seeker defeated Meng, then Richie could explain things to Meng.
"It's enough. My Path had awakened Meryl and Lynd's. They should be stronger now. Arthur, Cliff, Sebastian, Alean and even Harker… New Heroes might surface and possibly Champion's may rise. It's enough. All that's left is to let these Overcomer's live." Seeker consoled himself.
"Now what was Meng's body at that time?" Seeker then used his memories and his Unlocking to send him back in the past. The memory of his battle with Meng on the other timeline surfaced.
Seeker's true self was standing nearby. Upon reaching Inhuman, the concept of memory and recollection changes. The Unlocked could re-play the actual events in his head. However, with Seeker's added skills as a former Ranked Hero, Seeker managed to replay the events and view things outside of his perspective by relying on his Realm Somatotopy.
It was as if he was there as an invisible, intangible spirit that could view the battle from a third-person perspective.
The Seeker he looked at was employing attacks that would have cut a building in half, but these attacks weren't even avoided by Meng.
Meng's unarmored body met the strike and it wouldn't leave a small wound.
The Realm King's instructions were simple for this mock battle.
"Fight him until you cannot fight anymore."
Seeker's sword corroded from constantly slashing Meng's body. With no other means to attack, Seeker eventually turned to use his fist and employed all the strength he had to punch Meng.
His skin would burn every time he would punch Meng.
While the Inhuman's observing the battle observed it for thirty minutes, the battle in Seeker's perspective had already been two hours long.
General Lynd Indigo and Commander Meryl Mikado was there. The two silently observed the battle but a clear sense of hatred permeated from their looks. The way Meng was playing around with their friend made the two vow to hit the confident Meng right in the face when their turn came up.
Seeker saw himself not with an angry or desperate emotion but a face of excitement and glee. His past self didn't mind that the Dragon played with him. He used every single second to absorb everything he could get from Meng.
His techniques, his skills, the strange biology of his body.
A Ranked Hero's sight could telescopically zoom in and out at will. At Seeker's level, he could even observe the microscopic changes that Meng had.
Seeker refreshed himself as he scrutinized the details of the memory. The image of what he saw back then started to resurface as well.
Slowly, Seeker's cells started changing mid-battle as he noted the main differences.
Meng's cells were extremely complex. Vastly different from a normal human being's cells. It didn't have the biology of a human. It was as if Seeker was observing a strange lifeform.
Finally, after minutes of discreetly changing his cells, Seeker then began his all-or-nothing attack.
BOOM!
The mere shockwave of Seeker's dash sounded like a powerful explosion.
This was the birth of Seeker's Skill. The Surmounting Surge.
"Surmounting Strike!" Seeker yelled crazily as his body temporarily reached the theoretical standards of a Surmounting Ranked Hero's body.
BOOM!
A loud explosion erupted as Seeker managed to punch Meng straight in the face.
Blood dripped from Meng's face.
A powerful desolating force leaked in the room causing Seeker to face the wrath of desolation.
Meng immediately grabbed Seeker and employed his techniques to stop the desolation from affecting Seeker.
Lynd immediately utilized several Path's he could copy to create a powerful suppressing field to contain the leak of Desolation.
Seeker had already passed out and was in the hands of the Black Dragon.
"I'll face you two tomorrow," Meng spoke as he took the unconscious body of Seeker and zoomed away.
Seeker 'watched' his memories taking note of whatever details he missed out on.
With the Future Meng's molecular biology in mind, Seeker then sighed before he glanced at the blood. This was a gamble. Seeker would once again push his Unlocking further than he should and once more risk his own life. This would allow Seeker to zoom into the drop of blood and compare Meng's future biology with his present one.
Seeker needed to know everything he could learn about Meng's biology and cells.
"If nothing comes up, then I guess I'll settle with an all-out suicidal charge." Seeker chuckled.
"I've already died once. If I can give this timeline a better future, then I have no regrets." Seeker smiled as he observed the cells. It was all starting to get clearer. The anomalies of Meng's cells were stripped to its most basic form. Time slowed down as Seeker broke past Surmounting Inhuman.
Yet as all of these were taking place, an intense fiery sensation filled his head.
Seeker ignored it but a frown surfaced on his face.
The answer was certain. But the chances that Seeker could imitate the basic structure of Meng's cells were not only so low, but it could also kill him instantly if he failed in controlling.
"Should I just attack the way I am right now?" Seeker contemplated.
"No! Richie would save me like he did that time." Seeker gnashed his teeth as another troublesome memory unconsciously surfaced.
"I'm not a Believer. I can't make miracles." Seeker finally voiced out angrily.
"Yes, you can. Though it doesn't seem like it." A voice resounded from the void of Seeker's memories.
By saying that exact line, Seeker's temporary Ranked Hero state unconsciously recalled an event that Seeker has been trying so hard to forget.
Seeker held on to a long glass sword. It continued to pin the woman to the wall. The blood of the woman continued to drip.
The woman smiled at Seeker. An unusual look of calmness and affection that shouldn't be given to someone who wanted to kill you.
"Wasn't it a miracle that you fought through the soldiers that no Inhuman could kill? Wasn't it a miracle that you even reached their commander and killed her?" The woman smiled.
"Those weren't miracles. Those were probabilities." Seeker answered coldly.
"You're right. But think about it... How many probabilities that were originally believed by others to be miracles was defied by you? The First of the Unbecomings. The All-Inhuman Captain. The Youngest Reaper… and now… the first Pathless Hero." The woman smiled as she recounted Seeker's achievements.
"Is that all you have to say before I kill you? Encouraging me is pointless. Don't think you can reawaken those feelings, Zera." Seeker spoke back in anger.
"I know I probably can't. But my goal isn't to reawaken those feelings but to help you realize something. You don't need to be a Believer to do Miracles, Zeek. Those you call Overcomer aren't anything like Believer's yet they have been doing greater miracles. And I believe you can too." The woman smiled.
A rumbling sound erupted from afar. The ship that Seeker was supposed to stop was now lifting off and Seeker was running out of time.
Seeker was surprised as he heard the sound and glared at the woman but before he could say anything the woman was already pointing somewhere.
"Arthur's Four Force Accelerator is hidden in that safe. Your fingerprints will unlock it. I've modified the boosters to fit your cells."
Seeker immediately rushed towards the safe. Although he was cautious, Seeker pushed his palm on the scanner which immediately unlocked the safe revealing Arthur's old FFA.
"Why?" Seeker asked the woman.
"I'm sorry that I betrayed you, Zeek. I'm one of them after all. But I couldn't let you die as well. I attacked this place knowing you'd be the one to defend it. I attacked you knowing that you'd be able to overcome me. Just like the long list of probabilities you've always overcome, I knew you'd do the same with me."
Seeker continued to glare suspiciously at the woman.
"You know you don't have time for this, Zeek." The woman simply chucked. However, tears started to fill her eyes.
"You know what your biggest miracle is?" The tears slowly fell off her beautiful cheek.
"How you've made me fall for you." The teary-eyed woman gave a warm smile.
Seeker could not help but tremble at her declaration. Yet Seeker forced himself to repress those emotions.
"From here on out, it's better if I'm not with you. So I hope you steal that girl from, Lynd. And I hope she can make you happy. Be well, Zeek. Survive this war for me please." The woman giggled.
"Zera… What are you saying?" Seeker's expression turned serious. The hateful glare disappeared and was immediately replaced with alarm.
The woman raised her head and gazed lovingly at Seeker.
"Thank you, Zeek. For everything. I've set the kill-code to activate once I say it. Because I'm scared... I'm scared that If you answered back, I would probably end up betraying them. So it's better if I don't hear it. I'm sorry." She smiled.
Seeker was about to move towards her, but the woman was also equipped with so many technologies that allowed her to match Seeker in speed and reaction.
"I love you, Seeker Carlean."
Her eyes turned blank as she breathed her last. Her own suit stabbed her and ruptured the heart.
Seeker stood silently. Although it was only a few seconds long, Seeker pushed the time, as he perceived it, to the maximum. Yet even with the time gained from prolonging the seconds, Seeker still couldn't think. He couldn't feel. He couldn't even absorb the reality in front of him.
Zeraphine of the Presiders had died.
Seeker wanted to say it. But he couldn't. Even the present Seeker didn't know what hindered him from saying what he wanted to say. Was it his deep anger towards the woman for what she's done? Or was it the fact that Seeker knew that the dead don't answer back.
Seeker immediately proceeded to wear the FFA and used it to leave the room unceremoniously.
It was at this battle, that the first Ranked Hero who had no Path was born. The massacre that Seeker made that day was so brutal and so numerous, that he became known as Death Tide Carlean.
"Zera..." Seeker couldn't help but mutter.
Seeker returned from his memories and continued to stand blankly. A loud crashing sound behind him awoke him from his deep thinking.
Richie and Meng's battle continued.
Almost immediately, Seeker held the sword in front of him. But a strange glint was now present in his eyes.
"Cancer? Is this really what made your body so resilient?" Seeker turned around and called out to Meng.
Seeker was sure. The strange body of Meng in the original timeline was extremely different from the others that even Lennox couldn't recognize or understand Meng's cells.
On this timeline, Seeker managed to take a clear glance at Meng's "human" cells.
Meng had an Unlocking that defied normal humans.
"So this is how your brain cells can naturally withstand the higher stages of the Unlocking!" Seeker applauded as he was impressed.
The more Seeker thought of it, the more he believed this to be true. Seeker's thoughts raced through all of history and all of his known knowledge of Science and even of the theologies that were instilled in him in the future.
If Meng had already had this body before he was Unlocked, then only one explanation would be acceptable.
Meng had the body of an evolved human.
Seeker's thoughts lingered in that idea.
What if humans had already begun to evolve but the mutations that were meant for their evolution had actually killed them?
Seeker traced back to the famous book that placed atheism on the map during the 19h Century. Charles Darwin's book, "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life."
Natural Selection had begun and the favored ones in this evolutionary chain would be preserved while the rest died out of the lack of adapting or in this case, the lack of syncing with their mutation. Meng was the favored one. A human who finally achieved perfect synthesis on all of his cells. If any of his body parts weren't made up of cancer cells, he would have died.
"Such a low probability. But she was right. I've never done the impossible but I've always succeeded when faced with the improbable. It's clear. I was never a Believer. I was something more." Seeker smiled as he finally realized why those who died in his past life continued to believe in Seeker and believed that Seeker could usher more miracles.
A great mystery started to occur. It is a mystery that could arguably be more important than the Unlocking itself.
Richie suddenly retreated out of the blue and positioned himself far away but kept his eyes on Seeker. He could feel it in his instincts.
Seeing the strange action, even Meng turned to observe what happened to Seeker.
Seeker didn't hesitate but allowed the changes in his mind to occur on his entire body.
"Ironic." Seeker thought.
"To think that despite the theologies indoctrinated in me, I'd have to use 'On the Origins of Species' as the grounds of my faith." Seeker laughed.
Seeker's body started to turn red.
"Greydon… Do you understand the importance of what we are seeing?" Richie smiled as he saw Seeker's state. His instincts told him what it was.
"Of course." Meng sighed in reluctance. He had accepted his defeat. He knew it not because he had Richie's same sense of instincts but because he has been through that same stage himself.
"What day was it for you? What was that defining moment that made you step over into this realm? Who knows if we would ever see it again? Appreciate this day, Greydon! We are witnessing the birth of another Overcomer!" Richie laughed.
Seeker started to slowly move. He began by observing every detail of his new body.
A strange sense of confidence empowered Seeker. He had witnessed this state and calmness from his master. He has fought alongside these monsters against terrible opponents, and he even faced some of them. But Seeker never really knew what it was that separated an Overcomer from everyone else.
But now he did.
He knew that whatever happened, he would survive and overcome.
The original set of Champions, which was later called the Overcomers, were categorized as people who could single-handedly eliminate a nation.
"And he who Overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— He shall rule them with a rod of iron. They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels." Seeker recounted the promise that Eagle spoke of in Seeker's other life.
And almost immediately, Seeker disappeared.
Richie naturally took action as well.
The blurring red-figure zoomed towards Meng. Using only brute strength, Seeker's powerful body allowed him to move incredibly fast. Even the steps he took left cracks on the floor.
The powerful shield appeared in front of Seeker. The shield and the tail finally struck each other.
BOOM!
Seeker's figure dove further and further as he was protected with Richie's shield. The shield finally disintegrated into nothingness. But Seeker's figure remained firm as his figure dove through the desolation unhindered. By forcing his cells to undergo the mutation that Meng had, it birthed to him a body that can survive the desolation of Meng by a few seconds.
And with the strength that was birthed from the miracle of Seeker's gamble, Seeker punched out.
BOOM!
A thunderous sound resounded as Seeker punched Meng in the chest and sent Meng flying backward. The powerful vibration that Richie stored in Seeker was transferred over and shook Meng's heart and gripped it.
Almost immediately, the desolate power disappeared.
A new Overcomer was born.
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