"Yes….yes I'm an Epoch Wanderer."
I nodded my head, lying through my teeth. Ranks and Path's…..these are things I needed to gain information on and learn the significance of. Though, im honestly surprised little Nico of the past knew about it. So much too…
'Epoch Wanderer…..from the time path? Hmm, could this be related to Zeke's blessing? His path? Then the Rank 8 of it is Epoch Wanderer, traveling into the past, wandering Epoch's….'
My curiosity keeps on growing, all the while, Nico kept staring at me in wonder. Then, the light dimmed in his eyes slightly, replaced by a much more complicated emotion in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and then opened it again.
"Uncle Epoch Wanderer…..what did you mean that we are rivals?"
I blinked, taken aback.
'Right, I did say something like that. Uhh….'
I tried thinking of a convincing lie, then smiled.
"Well, in the future, you win The Mulligan. Coincidently, I win it right after you do! And ever since, we have been rivals."
His eyes widened, as bright smile forming on his lips, overwhelmed by excitement.
"You mean that I win The Mulligan? Me?! In the future?!"
I didn't know what to make of little Nico's enthusiasm. I knew that it was just the future, calculating and murderous Nico trapped inside the body of his past self, memories of The Mulligan slipped away. Just like I had been before waking up. So, shouldn't I despise this little child?
Yet, i couldn't bring myself to.
A soft, genuine smile spread across my lips, a si nodded.
"Yes, you do. You always bragged about winning in style…."
Nico jumped up to his legs and took a step closer, even more interested.
"How did I win? Did I manage to pull the Sword of Miracles? Oh, wait, wait….what is my path?"
My eyes widened at what he said.
"Sword of Miracles?"
Nico tilted his head to the side, confused at my question.
"I thought you would know, Mr. Epoch Wanderer. It's the legendary sword at the top of the Peak of Dawn Moutain. Not a single player has managed to retrieve it and pull the sword from the rock it's been plunged into…."
Okay. This was getting interesting now. Still, I couldn't pretend to be completely ignorant of this. But it's not like I would be omniscient in the future, either. So…
"I never heard about that Sword during my run and even after my awakening. How do you know this?"
Nico seems doubtful, but nonetheless half convinced. Children were naive like that, no matter how calculating they grow up to be in the future.
"I know about it because my mother is from the Umbral Compact, the Eurasian Covenant. She gives me alot of books from the organization to read….especially about her own research into The Mulligan."
I nodded, pretending like I already knew of this.
"I see, I see. Makes sense…."
I rubbed my chin, scrutinizing Nico intently.
"So, what exactly is this Sword of Miracles?"
Nico brightened up at the chance to share his knowledge.
"It's a legendary sword that's said to grant a wish! Just a single wish can be granted to the one who pulls the sword, but there are rumors that it would be completely destroyed after said wish is granted…..hmm, nothing is comfirmed yet since nobody has pulled it."
I nodded my head, listening intently to each word being said. I remained quite composed on the outside, but on the inside, I was seething with curiosity. A sword that could grant a wish? What if….I managed to pull it and wish that I won The Mulligan by default? What if I wished that everyone, including me, Isabella and Zeke wins The Mulligan? Would I not have to fight any of them in the end, then?
No, it can't be that simple.
"Sounds amazing, but is it really that simple?" I said, after some thought.
Nico rolled his shoulders lazily, then furrowed his eyebrows, staring at me with a hint of displeasure.
"You still haven't told me what my path was!"
I chuckled lightly and nodded, before responding.
"I wasn't actually sure. You aren't really verbal about it. But it has something to do with bombs."
"Bombs?" Nico sounded surprised and a bit disappointed.
"Then it must be the Destruction Path…."
I tilted my head to the side, intrigued by his disappointment. The destruction path sounded powerful. I wasn't sure why he would sound so butt-hurt about learning that was the path he recieved.
"What's wrong with it?"
Nico sighed, looking glummy.
"I wanted the Time Path. Any of it's variation really. That's why I have been studying it so much. Everything about it so powerful and awesome…."
Then, he turned to look at me with a hint of envy, crossing his arms.
"Hmph. Bet you wouldn't know how lucky you are."
It was a bit amusing seeing Nico act all sad and envious. He looked absolutely adorable. If only the teenage version of this asshole was like this too. But then again, I wasn't aware of what Nico went through and what made him who he was today. What one does with what life throws at them is what defines who they become in the future.
"Well, enough about that," I clapped my hands together, letting out a long exhale. "There is something I need you to do for me, Nico."
I would of loved to stay here and gather more information, but something at the back of my mind was telling me that the longer i stay inside this memory illusion, the worst things will start getting. I can feel something inside me being sucked away, slowly and subtly, but the effects were now starting to show.
I was getting worried.
Nico raised an eyebrow in interest.
"Really? What is it, Uncle Epoch Wanderer?"
The corner of my mouth twitched at him still calling me that ridiculous nickname.
"Just call me Morgan."
Nico blinked in surprise, before he nodded his head seriously and repeated.
"What is it, Uncle Morgan?"
I decided to let this slide for now and simply went down to business, as I raised my hand and then slapped the child.
"Snap out of it."
Nico, startled, placed a hand on his stinging cheek and looked up at me with a hint of panic and fear.
"W–what do you mean, Uncle Morgan?"
He didn't even question why I slapped him.
"This is a dream. None of this is real. If you don't wake up, Nico. Im gonna kill you right now."
I didn't wanna be this rude to a child, but there was no choice. I needed to wake up Nico somehow. For some reason, I couldn't summon any of my equipment. This included [Duskweave Mantle], even with it's supposed immunity to mind attacks, had been so severely damaged that I couldn't summon it. That made sense, since I was attacked by something and brought into this illusion….
But this also seemed to be in affect for [The Cleave] as well. And even the Mystery Orb. So, without a doubt, I have been pulled into this illusion without an actual physical body. Could this be just my subconscious? No, not just mine. But both mine and Nico's subconscious interconnected? If this is the case, then we are dreaming. Our real bodies were outside, vulnerable. So, no matter how hard I try to summon any equipment, it would just be summoned on the outside, where my real body lay.
So, I needed to wake up Nico. Only he could help me escape this situation.
Meanwhile, Nico seemed terrified at my sudden change of attitude. Compared to how energetic and enthusiastic he was before, he seemed more timid and nervous, clutching at the hem of his hooded robe.
"I…." He choked out. "I don't know what you're talking about, Uncle Morgan."
I sighed.
"Look, this may be hard to believe. But I lied. Im not from the future. Instead, we both are trapped in some illusion showing our past selves, trapped in their body. We are still in The Mulligan and this is the Key Rush."
Nico seemed to be listening intently. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to be shocked by my words whatsoever. So, I continued.
"And even if I wanna strangle you to death, im gonna need you're help if I want to get out of here. If we both are gonna survive this, we will have to rely on each other."
Nico continued staring at me in silence, before he finally spoke up.
"So that's it…." He seemed contemplative. "My mind did seem foggy and everywhere I went, I got a sense of having seen everything happening before me already."
Then, he looked up at me.
"But still, if this is true, how are you awake and I'm not?"
I was a bit surprised by the calmness of this child. It seemed even as a young boy, Nico still had his habits. Not to mention, he also seemed quite open-minded enough to accept even the most crazy ideas…
Taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I replied, keeping my tone level.
"It's because of a special equipment I have that grants me immunity to mind attacks. It was severely damaged and only partially activated, barely waking me from this dream."
Nico went silent, rubbing his chin.
"Okay….I'll help you. But can you tell me what our relationship is really like? And if….I managed to grow really strong. The adult me."
I smiled softly.
"Sure, but you'll have to an answer two questions for me as well."
Nico nodded in agreement.
"Okay, that's fair. You can go first."
I placed a hand on my chin, thinking for a moment, there was alot of questions on my mind that I wanted answers too, but i knew I couldn't ask them all at once here. I'll just have to stick with too…
"What exactly are Path's and Ranks?"
Nico seemed taken aback by my question.
"You….don't know what they are?"
I scoffed.
"Not everyone grew up with the privilege of being able to read books."
But I would of had the privilege if I had just not been a burden to my family.
Nico sighed.
"A blessing Path is basically just the path you walk. The symbol of the power you have recieved and the themes it would follow as you rise in rank, growing stronger. The ranks start from one and reach all the way to ten, five being universally recognized as the moment one transcends mortality."
I nodded my head thoughtfully. It was a pretty straightforward answer and I felt like that wasn't quite yet all there was to it. But Nico was being genuine, I can tell. He has no reason to lie about this, and was just sharing the amout of information the best way he could.
"Alright. The leads up to my second question; What is the Berserker Path?"
Nico seemed intrigued by my answer.
"Is that you're path? It must be since your so interesed."
I crossed my arms and looked away.
"So what if it is? Just answer the question."
Nico took a good look at me, as if trying to imagine me being an absolute madman on the battlefield, causing carnage. After all, that was what a Berserker meant. Stereotypically, atleast.
"Well, the Berserker Path's themes are pretty self-explanatory, I don't need to explain that much. But it's widely known as one of the four paths related to The Primordial End."
I raised an eyebrow.
"The Primordial….End?"
Nico nodded his head.
"The end of all things, even death itself. The four Path's related to The Primordial End is Berserker, Destruction, Chaos and Calamity. Though, there has been very few of these Path wielder's that appeared."
This was not the information I expected to be recieving, but it was intriguing. Berserker, Destruction, Chaos and Calamity…..all related to The Primordial End. This information could hold some significance in the future.
"What is The Primordial End?"
Nico gave me a cheeky grin.
"That's one too many more questions. Not answering!"
I huffed in frustration.
"Fine. I guess it's my turn now…." I sighed in exasperation. "Our relationship is far from good. You have got me and my companions almost killed several times. So, we are more than just 'rivals.' My goal is to kill you after this."
Nico didn't seem surprised. "And?"
"And yes, you have grown strong. Strong enough to challenge me, atleast."
Nico smiled, content.
"Good."
Then, he turned around and faced the road.
"Then, let's go ahead and break this illusion."