Time…okay, we have done this before, the point is, Elizabeth was holding the embodiment of [Time] and the embodiment of [Envy].

She was reassured by Jenna that no, she wouldn't be punched hard enough to damage or cause mental issues. Honestly, Elizabeth wasn't that worried by the bodily harm, and more worried about the mental damage to her brain. She had lived fifteen years as a barely functional member of society, honestly. If she hadn't inherited her genius level intelligence from Alexanders…

She would have been a bumbling fool…or more of one.

"So?" Jenna asked when she noticed Elizabeth wasn't moving. "Are you going to pull out whatever you wanted from that thing? I will remind you that using it as is will be dangerous."

Right, Elizabeth had wanted to pull the spells from Michael, the things that he had probably stored within the Time Gem. Elizabeth knew from experience that one couldn't fully purge these things. She had found remnants from Akira when using his skill.

She had pulled Ethan out when using the ravenous shadows…Or Echidna had pulled him.

So it was a real possibility that something of Michael was still there.

"Yes, I am doing it." Elizabeth answered putting on the crown atop her head. It was weird having the [Crown of Sin] without anything on it, but this was more of a safeguard than anything. "Wish me luck."

And without further ado, Elizabeth sat down and closed her eyes, the [Gem of Time] atop her left hand, and [The Gem of Envy] on the right hand. She had both gems at the ready in case she needed to do an emergency fusing.

But for now, the first thing she did was summon the skill that Michael had, the eyes of the sage or however he called the thing. Elizabeth didn't open her eyes, she didn't need to do so. She was able to see and share her senses with the shadows since the beginning. So she was able to see herself sitting in the middle of the room.

She could see Jenna's stance slowly shift now that she wasn't looking with her normal eyes. She moved from a relaxed stance to one where she could move within a second's notice, the aura around her shifted from calm to one that seemed to be on edge.

Elizabeth then turned to herself again, to the gems atop her hands, and she could feel them. The heavy weight atop her hands was a reminder of what these gems symbolized. And before she could even think about it, she felt a pulse coming from one of the gems.

The [Time] gem had been perceived? Felt? Elizabeth wasn't sure how to explain it, but it had reacted when Elizabeth focused the weird mana pattern of Michael's skill into it and extended a strand of [Time Mana].

Before Elizabeth could react she found herself standing in the middle of a library, not the one she had as a Soulscape before, no. Unlike that one that was modern and had a sense of cathedral, this one was dark, damp. Filled with bookshelves that were brimming with books.

It was also less organized and looked more like what one would find in an attic.

"That is a rude way to describe it," Elizabeth turned to look into the direction of the one who spoke, only to find…

"What the hell are you even doing here Akira?" Elizabeth growled.

There he was, standing with his shoulder pressed against a bookshelf, resting carelessly. Elizabeth almost reflexively lashed out with her Shadows, but stopped herself short when she noticed that Akira was unarmed, and more importantly, something about him was…wrong.

"That is not the right question," Akira…Or whoever it was that pretended to be him said, "Oh don't get it wrong I am Suzuki Akira, that is not wrong."

"If you were, you wouldn't be like this." Elizabeth said looking around, expanding her senses to try and make sense of the situation and getting nothing back from there, as if something was blocking her senses.

That was dangerous, since she awoke her powers nothing had ever blocked her senses, some stuff rejected her approach, some people even could hide stuff from her, but blocking her? Outright block? No.

"I wouldn't be like this? How would I be?" Akira asked with a knowing smile on his face, as if they were old friends?

"Standing, you would be kneeling in front of me, begging me to not kill you. Again." Elizabeth answered focusing her Mana into her right hand, preparing to summon a spear, she hadn't gotten the chance to impale Akira before. It was a good time to fix that.

"Hmm…..So you killed me? Harsh." Akira said nodding, "I can see that happening, did I try to hit on you or something?"

That…that was outright wrong.

"...Who are you?" Elizabeth asked again, "No way you are Akira. You….don't feel slimy."

"I mean, I can get a part of me to go slimy…I knew you were into tentacles, but I can't get that slimy…Or can I? If I tweak…" Akira started mumbling after a few seconds.

"I am not into tentacles!" Elizabeth said raising her hand and summoning…Summoning…What? "Where are my Shadows?"

"It's behind you, this place is somewhat dark so you can't see it, but you do have a Shadow… Did you hit your head again?" Akira asked, worry obvious on his face…Was he worried about her?

"Okay stop," Elizabeth said raising her hand, "This is weird as it is, first…Who the hell are you, because you aren't Akira."

"But I am," Akira said shrugging, "Probably not the one you know, but I am indeed Suzuki Akira…Or a copy of the original Suzuki Akira who was fed a sample of the Fate of whatever this world is."

"A what now?" Elizabeth asked as she…no wait, she couldn't manipulate her shadows right now, she didn't need to worry about her emotions at the moment, that was freeing, "What the hell? How the hell…what kind of cursed up setting is this? You…you got fed a sample of Fate? That is why you pretend to be my friend?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Think of it this way…If you met a transmigator who didn't have a mental disorder, who wasn't a twisted piece of shit. Who was a civil, well-behaved person…Wouldn't you become their friend?" Akira asked looking at Elizabeth with…longing? Friendship? Understanding? Elizabeth had a hard time seeing whatever this was as Akira at the moment. He looked…Human?

"...This is so fucked up…" Elizabeth said shaking her head, "Fine, we can pretend that you aren't a little piece of shit that should be purged from all realities for a second, so…How in the seven hells did someone get a copy of your original self?"

"That one is actually the easy part, Michael got it." Akira said with a shrug, "The version of me that was in Aetheria was paranoid, so they asked Michael to save a copy of his original self. Michael just tweeked it to remove the psychopatic tendencies and all that made him a shitstain as you said."

"...Michael did?" Elizabeth asked looking suspiciously at Akira, "Are you telling me that he found good in him?"

"Hah! Good one, no. He put good into the copy, his master plan was to obliterate the original and replace it with me. Somehow he thought that in this way he could get out of the loop. That never came to happen since it took Michael too long to remember the loop, recover his power, find the hidden mindscape and by then it was too late and Akira too powerful." Akira said shrugging, "So I became more of a caretaker of this place."

"This place being?" Elizabeth said looking around.

"The Tower of Knowledge." Akira said snapping his fingers, the lights turning on and showing that the room they were in was circular, no doors but only bookshelves that rose to the skies, "The knowledge reservoir of [The Sage of Time], and you…shouldnˋt be here."

"....You didn't get me here?" Elizabeth asked confused, "Then who did?"

"You did," Akira said sighing, "You are attempting to understand [Time], and this is quite literally a gem made out of that. And attempted to use Michael's magic to do so. Smart, but also incredibly stupid. You triggered the spell that summoned Michael into this place, problem is…"

"This place was designed for Michael, and only Michael…" Elizabeth said trying to summon her magic, to no avail. "That is why I can't use my magic or skills?"

"Correct, this was designed so, just in case someone else got in. Which they did a couple times, Rossaline got once and attempted to destroy the whole place, we ended up with a shorter loop because Akira got bored of a body that wasn't responding to his torture. Rena…never got in, and sadly. Akira also never got in." Akira said sighing in defeat? "That would have made my job so much more easier…"

"How does one get out?" Elizabeth asked, "I don't think we can have Michael get me out."

"There are two ways, one is to wait for the loop to end…" Akira said looking at Elizabeth with pity.

"There is no loop in Zaanam," Elizabeth pointed out.

"The other is to get Michael to get you out." Akira shrugged.

"Michael is dead, that is why I have his Gem." Elizabeth pointed out. "Can't I use an emergency exit?"

"Do you think he left me a way out? I may be the Original Akira without his psychopathic tendencies, but do you really think he would leave an out for me?" Akira deadpanned at Elizabeth.

"...Then why do you act so friendly to me? You know what I did in Zaanam right? What I did to your…other version…And even have some memory of an alternate world?" Elizabeth said confused.

"Yes, you killed and probably gave PTSD to my less gentlemanly version, as for the knowledge…Like I said, it was a fragment of Fate. This gem works by syncing with the world it is in, so when we arrived in Zaanam, it took a screenshot of the Fate and adjusted it so it could sync." Akira shrugged, "That was how I found out we weren't in Aetheria, and the fate that would have befallen me should I manage to replace Akira here."

….Elizabeth wasn't that sure about how she should feel, for one, this Akira was quite literally a skinwalker, just the same as Ethan. But on the other hand…he was planning to replace Akira, there was literally no way the new Akira would be worse than the previous one. Hell, if he had managed to do it when Akira was small…Perhaps Rena wouldn't have needed rescue?

"What is your opinion on Rena?" Elizabeth decided to ask.

"She is fine, not my type." Akira answered, that one was weird, wasn't…wasn't Rena Akira's type? "Don't worry, I don't plan to steal your girls."

"I don't think that could be possible, even if you managed to leave here." Elizabeth said shaking her head, "I doubt you could survive a single day out even if you managed to get out, Akira made plenty crimes that everyone is looking for him, not that they will find anything."

"Ah yes, what happened to him anyway? The last memory I have of him from the library is of him teleporting away. Michael didn't investigate it and spent the rest of his time coming here and leaving less and less human…" Akira said in a sad tone, "Did you double tap?"

"He died…His body was taken and used as material to try and summon some asshole, one of my doppelgangers took his body and used it a few weeks." Elizabeth said shaking her head, "As far as I could confirm, his soul was crushed and nothing remained. I found some vestiges made out from pure mana from Aetheria and what I suspect was the last fragment of that world, but I purged them."

"...one of your doppelgangers?" This Akira asked, "You have male doppelgangers?"

"No? I am a woman, all my doppelgangers are female." Elizabeth said confused, "She was a girl too, she was using a male body as a vessel, but the looks were female."

Elizabeth summoned….nothing, since she couldn't use her magic at all, "I would show an example, but I have nothing." Elizabeth shrugged.

"How nice…" Akira said in a small voice, "But that isn't the issue, the problem is that you are here now. And we need to get you out…before something…bad happens."

"...I fricking knew you would be an issue, "Elizabeth said growling while pulling out…the closest chair she could get her hands on and prepare to use it as a weapon, "Why are these chairs so stupidly heavy?"

"....Girl, you are a blonde bimbo who barely knows how to wake up in the morning, why did you thought that you could raise a traditional wooden chair?" Akira said laughing, "You would have more luck trying to use one of the pens as a weapon."

"...I'll have you know that I have S-Tier Stats." Elizabeth said grumgling.

"Which are meaningless here since we are out of the system's purview, we are frozen in time. You are no longer within an area where that matters." Akira said pointing around them "Here, Time is all that matters, and you…are out of it."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked, she didn't feel bad…besides the issue of not having access to any of her skills that is, no wait…she didn't have access to any of her skills? "Identify, Status, Shadow Manipulation, Shift…."

Elizabeth went down the list one by one, attempting to call her multiple powers, skills and magic, to no avail.

"Told you, the issue is not the power, but the fact that you got here without understanding anything." Akira said shaking his head, "Now…There is a way for you to get out, you were lucky enough to get a key out…"

"How?" Elizabeth asked narrowing her eyes, she had a Key? "Crown of Sin"

….No effect.

"No the fancy tiara that you pretend is a crown," Akira said shaking his head, walking further into the tower, "Follow me, you will not like this."

Elizabeth did so, they went past books, journals, a couple paintings…

"Michael recorded everything, every single loop, every action he took, whenever he died, his Soul crumbled into itself and he ended up here, writing what he could before he was called back to Aetheria at the start of the cycle…" Akira said passing his hand atop some of the journals, a tear going down is face. "He tried his best you know? At the start he even wanted to save Rossaline and Rena…Hell, he was convinced that my other self was innocent too….at the start anyway…"

"So his soul degraded faster because he was spending that much time here?" Elizabeth asked as they arrived a the base of a stair that seemed to extend into the ceiling of this place, "That was why he looked like that by the end?"

"...You saw him at the end? By the end he didn't want to see me anymore…So I didn't came to welcome him, I don't think he even remembered me by that point…" Akira said as they walked atop the stairs, Elizabeth noticed the quality of the books and journals deteriorated the more they climbed, by the end of it, they were closer to garbles and weird drawings than anything.

"Yeah, he looked like an old man…A very old and crazy old man," Elizabeth said as Akira brought her to a room with two chairs and a table.

"Sit," Akira said pointing to Elizabeth, "We will need….external help, and this is the only place where you can ask for it."

"I thought you could only enter by using Michael's spell…actually how did Rossie get in here?" Elizabeth asked as she sat. Akira walked to the far end of the table and stood there, all the while Elizabeth was left sitting at the table looking at an empty chair.

"She used what she is best at, Soul Magic. She felt the resonance of me hidden within Michael, so she came to investigate, and in turn got stuck here till her mind crumbled." Akira said shrugging, "Like I said, short loop."

"I am not calling Rossie here then," Elizabeth said narrowing her eyes, "Nor Jenna…"

"It wouldn't work, your Soul is too sturdy and there is too much interference to detect me anyway." Akira said dismissing Elizabeth's ideas, "No, what you are going to call is…My Vestige."

….

"I am going to murder you," Elizabeth said standing up, "Really? All of this so you can revive yourself? You may not be the same Akira, but I am not resurrecting you. You….you don't deserve a second chance."

"Ouch," Akira said holding a hand to his heart, "If you were my type that would crush me, but no. I don't want to do anything with the version of me that you thought."

"Then why do you want to summon a Vestige of yourself?" Elizabeth asked sitting back, "What is the reason why you want to do such a thing?"

"Because that is the only thing we can do to get you out," Akira said sighing, "You got here before you were ready, so we need someone that can help you get out, I can't do it because I am stuck on this side. And here only [Time] matters… So the closest thing that can help you…"

"....A vestige….oh….oh…." Elizabeth said as she remembered what was the closest thing that could help her…"You want to pull a Vestige of Akira from the [Gem of Envy]."

"Yes, we are calling out whatever is left out of Aetheria's Akira. And then we are going to mug him." Akira said with a smile on his face.

Elizabeth….couldn't get used to this, no matter how much she tried. She was planning to mug Akira…using Akira as a backup?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.