Lost in the intricate tapestry of these memories—the agonizing prophecy, the desperate search for an end, the endless, perfectly balanced duel with Luke, and the bewildering, universe-altering intervention of the Continuum Keepers—James had been adrift in thought. His ancient mind, accustomed to the vastness of centuries, had easily slipped into this deep retrospective, a brief respite from the present.
But now, his senses snapped back to the present with a jarring jolt. His gaze refocused on the scene before him: Luke, ever pragmatic and composed, was reporting the successful completion of their latest mission to the Continuum Keeper agent.
As Luke concluded his report, the agent swiftly sent a telepathic confirmation to HQ. A tense moment passed, stretched thin by an unspoken expectation, then an immediate, sharp error prompt flashed back into the agent's mind. The agent's attention snapped to Luke, their gaze suddenly piercing, cold as deep space. "What went wrong?" they demanded, their voice edged with suppressed fury and growing frustration. Luke began to stammer an explanation, but the agent cut him off abruptly, their patience evaporated. With a flick of their wrist, a slender, worn book titled "To My New World" was sent flying towards James. "Read this," the agent commanded, their tone brooking no argument, vibrating with suppressed power. James caught the book, his eyes falling immediately to the first chapter:
Chapter One: The Gift of Despair
In the dead of night, the sleeping village of Sith erupted in blood and screams. Flames rose into the sky as two men dressed in black descended upon the unsuspecting villagers. Their blades glistened, soaked with the blood of over a hundred innocents. Not even newborns were spared. Not even the elders.
Far from the chaos, Mary—the village chief's wife—was taking a late-night walk through the woods with her newborn son and her attendant, Beth. When the first scream shattered the silence, Mary's battle-hardened instincts surged to life. Fire and smoke curled over the treetops, and her sharpened senses warned her: confronting the assailants meant certain death.
"Cross the river," Mary ordered Beth urgently. "Get my son to the other side of the forest. No matter what happens—run."
Beth hesitated only for a moment. She had served Mary since childhood, knew the weight of her command, and understood that only Mary stood a chance of stalling the threat. With a heavy heart, she turned and disappeared into the trees.
Then came the voice.
"Come out. I can smell you from a mile away."
He emerged from the shadows—a tall man, face obscured by a lazy smile and eyes that burned with twisted joy.
"Impressive, as always. But it is you, after all. Today must be my lucky day," he said, stepping into view. "Not only have I graced the land of warriors and tasted the blood of Heavenly Soldiers and Valkyries... but now, before me stands the Valkyrie Queen herself. Mariannette Roseblade, the Goddess of War."
Mary drew her dagger with practiced ease. "Who are you? Why did you attack Sith?"
"You'll find that out if you survive," he replied smoothly. "If you ever do."
Their blades clashed, tearing through the quiet night like thunder. The force shattered not only the silence but the very sound barrier. But in the next instance, Mary was already struck. Even through the agony, she refused to yield, gathering every last shred of her will to unleash the Fog of Deception—an absolute sensory block that baffled even the most powerful individuals.
With the invaluable time this bought, Beth stumbled onto the river bank. Yet, before her foot could touch the water, her assailant was there, a blurred shadow behind her. A single, brutal strike, and the infant, torn violently from her protective embrace, sailed into the air, splashing into the dark, swirling depths of the river and vanishing downstream.
James closed the book, the narrative of "The Gift of Despair" already resonating with a grim familiarity within him—a haunting reflection of the brutal acts he himself had committed in Sith village. He had long since grown accustomed to such bloodshed and felt no personal horror from the printed words. As he instinctively moved to turn the page, the agent's voice sliced through the air, sharp as a honed blade.
"Hold there, James," the agent interjected, their attention now entirely on Luke, their frustration a palpable force. "Is this what truly transpired, Luke, or do you have something else to tell us?"
Luke, ever composed, his poker face impeccable even under cosmic scrutiny, replied swiftly. "While there were some minor deviations from the prescribed sequence of events, the outcome remained precisely as intended. Everything went the same way."
A thoughtful "Hmm, I see," from the agent was followed by a chilling, sudden shift in their tone, a cold fury simmering beneath the surface, threatening to erupt. "Then perhaps you can explain this?"
With a gesture, the air before them shimmered, coalescing into a vivid, real-time holographic recording. It displayed Luke's actions from the previous night's mission: the harrowing, unscripted encounter with the young ward and his mother in the forest, the very deed that had triggered the error from HQ. James watched, a silent, stunned observer to Luke's distinct role in the mission's controversial conclusion.
The very moment the holographic image dissolved, James was already moving, launching himself in a furious attack right at Luke. In a split second, Luke drew his blade, instinctively raising it to defend against the sudden, righteous fury of the Immortal King. No words were exchanged; only the raw, crackling clashes of immense energies swelled around them, shaking the very air, tearing at the fabric of space. For thirty long minutes, they exchanged blow for brutal blow, a whirlwind of fists and power, each strike resonating with the force of collapsing stars. As the relentless exchange raged on, James, fueled by a mixture of shock and betrayal, began to gain the upper hand, his attacks pushing Luke further and further back, driving him to the defensive.
But then, a sharp, intense pain, foreign and agonizing, pierced James's abdomen. He instinctively turned to his side, his eyes widening in disbelief, then horror. Another Luke stood there, an unsettling, predatory smile plastered on his face. While everyone, including James and the Continuum Keeper agent, had been completely focused on the holographic playback, Timothy had subtly stepped out of their shared body, an unseen twin, a master of deception, and hidden himself, unnoticed by all. When the time was right, he had driven his blade straight into James's abdomen, releasing an unknown energy that pulsed with continuous, excruciating damage to whoever received it.
In that instant, James's body began to writhe and contort in agonizing pain, a silent scream trapped within his being. The unknown energy relentlessly tore at him, consuming him from within, while his immortality, a cruel blessing and an inescapable curse, continuously healed him, trapping him in a horrifying loop of perpetual torment. Luke, seeing his chance and his powerful opponent incapacitated, took advantage of the situation immediately, fading away and disappearing from sight, his escape as swift as his betrayal.
As all this happened, the agent watched, utterly helpless, their cosmic power meaningless against this unfolding chaos. They couldn't interfere, for in the entire Continuum Keepers organization, no one could stand against beings of James and Luke's caliber; their combined strength was enough to destroy the universe over and over again. The reason James had been gaining the upper hand on Luke was that Timothy had stepped out of their shared body, temporarily reducing their overall power and growth capacity, allowing James's raw, unbridled strength to overcome the individual Luke.
James writhed in agonizing pain for days. The unknown energy continued its relentless assault, tearing him apart only for his immortality to knit him back together, prolonging the torment into an unbearable eternity. But then, on the very verge of succumbing to endless agony, a new, utterly unknown energy surged into his body. It immediately devoured and neutralized the foreign energy, dissolving it completely, leaving no trace behind. As it did so, this mysterious new power surged through James, a tide of pure, unadulterated might, increasing his overall stats and capabilities to unimaginable, cosmos-shattering degrees.