4 Chapter 3: "The Devourers"

"Aurken's POV"

I unsheathed my sword, ready to take on the monstrous kuishinbos that threatened our very existence. My heart raced as I watched my fellow hunters engage in a life-or-death battle. This was no ordinary hunt. It was an adventure, a perilous journey into the unknown.

As we fought, I could feel the sweat dripping down my face, and my muscles burning with the strain of battle. But I knew we couldn't give up. We were a team and had to work together if we wanted to survive.

The kuishinbos were relentless, driven by their hunger to attack us with all their might. But we were ready for them. We had trained for this moment and were determined to emerge victorious.

I barked out orders, my voice echoing across the battlefield. The tanks moved in, raising their shields to absorb the brunt of the attacks. The damage dealers launched their deadly strikes from behind, while the fighters engaged the kuishinbos head-on.

It was a chaotic, adrenaline-fueled dance of death, with each move calculated to maximize our chances of success. And when we finally took down the last of the kuishinbos, I felt a sense of triumph wash over me.

But there was no time to rest. We had to collect the ashes, the precious material vital to our survival. We worked quickly, gathering as much as we could before the next wave of kuishinbos descended upon us.

I knew then that our journey was far from over. There would be more battles to fight, more challenges to overcome. But I was ready for them. I am Aurken, the captain of this intrepid group of hunters. Together, we would face whatever dangers lay ahead."

*****

'Mission accomplished.'

"Casualties?" I looked around and smiled. "None,"

"Good job, Captain!" Shiro patted me.

"Never thought you'll come up with such a great plan? Great work!." Simon shook his head as he clapped.

"I thought we're about to die." Others said.

I just smiled at them, even though I was surprised by the outcome of my plan.

*****

I was about to leave when I looked up and saw someone in the abandoned building, not so far from me.

'A guy?'

It must be a reborn. I have to go there immediately. The guild now needs new recruits.

*****

"Damian's POV"

As I drifted through the darkness, I couldn't help but question whether it was reality or a mere dream. However, as the light drew closer, a mysterious feeling overcame me, and I couldn't ignore it.

I was surprised by my own thoughts. Was I dreaming within a dream? Why was I here? And was I truly alone, or was there something else lurking in the shadows?

I saw a light and felt the urge to approach it, but I didn't know how. As I moved towards it, my legs felt useless in the strange, ethereal space. Was it death or something else entirely? Suddenly, the light engulfed me, and I found myself facing a younger version of myself.

I had the sensation of moving forward, but I couldn't get close to the light. My legs grew tired, and I gave up trying, shouting to no avail. The only voice I could hear was the one inside my head. At that moment, the light started to absorb me, and I felt my body changing shape. It seemed to take forever, but in a blink of an eye, I was sitting on a throne in a white room facing my teenage reflection in a mirror.

I couldn't believe it. Was that really me? My body felt lighter and smaller, like that of a teenager. But as the mirror shifted, I found myself facing a middle-aged version of myself with an eerie smile. Who was this person, and how did they know so much about me?

Feeling shivers on my skin and my voice trembling, I asked, "Who are you?" Although in a state of shock, I forced myself to stay calm and maintain my composure as I faced this stranger. I couldn't afford to get nervous.

"I am you. Don't you remember?" He replied, smiling.

"I don't understand. How can you be me?" I asked, still confused.

"I am your desires, your wishes, your aspirations, and your inhibitions. I am you, Damian," he explained.

I was still uncertain. "But how did you come to exist? Is everyone like this?"

"No, even I don't know how I came to exist. Desires are thoughts, right? I am your thought-made flesh because I am you. I also own this body."

"I am slowly starting to get it, but how did you learn all of this?" I asked.

"It's because I have been awake while you were sleeping. We are both smart, so I tried to study the reason this happened by looking through the windows of souls. If I was not there when you were asleep, this body would have rotted already," he giggled.

"Wait, you were there when I was in my past?"

"Yes, I was."

"And what is the reason for this?" I inquired.

"You will be reborn, Damian. The world you know is not the world you're about to face. Souls are important to contain powers. They call them quarks. These quarks are strange quarks that are combined with your normal quarks. They are called necros. The more necros you have, the stronger you will be. I want you to be strong when you're reborn, so I consumed a large piece of your original soul for me to exist and help you remember who you are and assist you. Of course, this is with the consideration that you are a third-class reborn, a powerful one, to be specific. Naturally, people will have expectations from you," he explained.

As he spoke of quarks and necros, of rising to the top and fulfilling expectations, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to his words than what meets the eye. Who was this person really, and what is he truly after? As I stared into his eyes, I couldn't help but wonder if I was in the presence of a god, or something far more sinister.

"I have five questions for you," I asked to get his attention. He immediately redirected his attention to me. "Who originally owns this body? Where was my soul during my teenage days?"

"Oh! I forgot to mention, souls like me and you are only formed when a desire is unaccomplished. The reason why you don't have a soul during your teenage days is that you accomplished your desires during that time." He started to walk around while speaking, just like I do whenever I explain something profound to someone. "The original owner of this body is your soul in your teenage days, but since it is gone, by default, you are the owner."

'I see.'

But I don't get it. This is so fuckin complicated. How can I understand something that is beyond a human's intellect?

'Wait! Human's intellect? '

"Second, where'd this body came from? Is everyone like this? I mean, are they like this too?

"Those are two questions already, but since it is for our own good, I will answer them." He even slightly bit his lips. "Apparently, we are all in an alternate universe, everyone, when humans woke up from the original world to this alternate universe, they were reborn either as an infant, as their former selves or half of their original selves, but that, of course, may vary depending on the person. I don't know what certain conditions must be met, but obviously, you are reborn with half of your age, but that is only manifested in your body. Your mind, and soul is your former self, and that is what I meant with the third type reborn that I mentioned earlier. Which is quite rare to be honest. And then, of course, you have two souls that inhabit your body. Which totally makes you different." He smiled a bit. "We're different, Damian. Don't you think we're lucky? I mean, come on, two souls in a body? That's just insane!"

Isn't that worse than being possessed? Pfft, well anyway, "Third, why me? And who? Who gave me this, well... 'ability? If I should call it that way."

"Well, we both believe in god, right? But the god we know on earth is the god of our universe. It was clearly stated in various holy books, right? So how about the god in another universe? And the god who created the gods of these universes? "He smiled suspiciously as if he's arousing my interest. "There is a God who created the god we know, and he gave it to us. I don't know the reason why, but I'm sure we can benefit from it."

"How can you be sure about that?" I am quite inquisitive about the gods he was mentioning.

"Is that your fourth question? But okay, well, that god appeared of me in a form of silhouette and told me everything. He also gave me something like a shining sphere, I don't know what is that for and why he gave me such a 'precious' thing; just my inquisition, but I know there's a good reason behind it. " He even grabbed his chin as he remembered the incident. "Actually, I'm not sure if he really is the god of everything, but since I also do not know what he is and what he should be called, I suppose we should call it a god."

It's really hard to grasp all this information in my mind at once, but at least I have an idea. And although I have more questions to ask, any more of this loaded information will definitely drive me nuts.

"Since I said that I will only have five questions for you, this will be my last question." I stood up from the chair and faced myself heads on. "Am I really you?" I know this is a stupid question, but it doesn't feel right.

"Of course I am you, we are just the same, everything I have is also yours. You'll definitely have all of it soon, but just not yet. We share the same thoughts and all, so you have nothing to doubt. Well, if I may say, you should at least learn how to use me. That'll be your greatest power..." His voice slowly disappears like a cloud of smoke from a candle. "The moment you return to reality, you will understand." He said as his reflection from the mirror vanished like a bubble. He's gone, but I know he's here within me because, after all, he's me.

I was just about to shout so loud because I really don't know what to do now in this darkness.

When suddenly...

'This again?'

Here we go again into another feeling of being dissolved into pieces. This isn't surprising, by the way. I think I'm getting used to it? But...

'What now?'