"...And in a world that's far from sane, where the unimaginable is now wielded and known by all, what do you expect when magic, 'an inexplicable beauty so profound it defies explanation,' encounters science, 'a man's quest for discovery that seeks answers to all and questions everything,' woven together by the hands of individuals driven by their urge for survival and, selflessly, for protection, as they stand at the edge of extinction, fueled by their selfish desire to dominate?"
By now, Orion could sense that the White Flame's attention had shifted away from him. It felt as if he was conversing with himself, recounting and reliving past events.
Despite this, Orion chose to remain attentive, his face reflecting bewilderment. He didn't want to reveal that he understood the White Flame's lesson, while still remaining vigilant, absorbing every word. The information was too significant to overlook, even for a moment.
If this had been recounted to him while he was in his physical body, he might have slumped to the ground, exhausted and with a pulsating headache, needing to sit and absorb the weight of White Flame's words.
Fortunately, the circumstances spared him that ordeal.
"While I had some knowledge of the event," White Flame admitted, "I hadn't been given the complete details..."
Nonetheless, Orion found himself transfixed as the scene shifted, revealing the man engaged in conversation with a group of individuals donning the same military attire as him.
Although his understanding of the military was limited, the stars on their shoulder pads hinted at varying ranks, some clearly superior to his own, while others were fellow comrades.
Soon, the scene shifted again, depicting the same man lying on a levitating table, with numerous wide tubes invading his mouth, ears, and even his eyes. It seemed to be some kind of experiment. From the cues Orion picked up, it certainly didn't appear to be good.
"So, just picture my ordeal when I found myself bound to that table, ensnared by tubes and wires that seemed to stretch my very consciousness. They injected unknown concoctions into me, driving me to wield my gift incessantly until I could flawlessly weave illusions into reality and connect these two boundaries seamlessly…" White Flame's voice temporarily wavered, as though his next words were being chosen with care.
Then, the echo of a deep sigh enveloped their surroundings before he continued, "I was engineered into a god of sorts. A manmade god... quite literally."
Shaking his head immediately, he said, "Regardless of whether I was created by man or not, I knew within myself that I had become a god, not because someone told me so, but because I could feel it."
In a quick shift of perspective, Orion found himself no longer observing from above, but immersed within the scene itself. His attention was drawn back to the levitating table as the tubes that had been connected to the man's eyes were lifted away as if guided by an unknown force.
The remaining tubes followed suit, suspended in mid-air before descending to the ground.
He continued to watch as the man's eyes began to take shape, shifting through various irises and pupils as if mending themselves and seeking a perfect match.
Suddenly, they paused, as if having made a decision.
He then parted his lips. "Let there be darkness…" Omnipotence declared. And in the blink of an eye, Orion witnessed the world around them being veiled and tainted with mind-numbing darkness. Then, as if light itself had been temporarily blinded, a ray of brilliance shone, enveloping everything and dispelling the darkness.
Orion's throat tightened in response to the astonishing display before him.
"After that," White Flame continued, "I decided to test the limits of what else I could do." Orion's eyebrows furrowed as he pondered what other feats this man could perform.
His question was quickly answered when he witnessed the figure rise from the examination table, still dressed in his hospital gown. In the blink of an eye, the man materialized before one of the gateways.
Orion's eyes widened in astonishment as he observed the chaotic battlefield freeze before him. The ongoing clash between the goblin-like invaders and the humans armed with an array of weapons and abilities abruptly halted, as though they they had all been caught in a trance.
Suddenly, the goblins turned on one another, their once coordinated attack devolving into a brutal internal struggle. Spears and arrows were turned against their own kind, tearing through flesh and severing alliances.
In the end, only a handful of goblins remained, weakly clutching their weapons, before they were quickly overwhelmed and eradicated by the humans on the opposing side.
"In order to control the new brand of chaos that had erupted, to quell the ceaseless tide of invaders pouring forth, to prevent the delicate balance that held our society together from spiralling into collapse, I stepped into the gateway…" White Flame's sighed once more for what seemed like the umpteenth time, and continued, "While some of my memories remain inaccessible, and the circumstances that trapped me here still puzzle me, one unforgettable memory remains."
"As I stepped through that portal, my ears were assailed by anguished screams that were far from human. And when I emerged, I carried Covenant in my hands, the gateway sealing shut behind me."
Orion's gaze remained absorbed as the scene before him shifted once again, revealing the man emerging from the gateway, now dressed in a ragged hospital gown, yet brandishing an enormous crimson-coloured greatsword that spanned four meters (13 feet). Its hilt was adorned with a polished bloodred jewel at its centre.
The imagery faded, leaving Orion once more enveloped in the obsidian void, only the gentle flicker of White Flame illuminating the space ahead.
"Having seen all of this," White Flame's voice resonated, "I hope you now understand why I'm driven to escape this confinement. I must find whoever imprisoned me here, and stole away my memories."
Orion nodded slowly. Despite the lingering possibility that he could question everything the White Flame had conveyed and revealed, given the chance that it might be lying or fabricating everything, as a transmigrator who had just received answers to some of his lingering questions, Orion found himself free from the need to doubt the White Flame's claims.
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