Unable to reach the pinnacle of the mortal realm, Zack tried to use the flickering power to store the memories of immortality in his long-term memory. No fancy techniques, years of study, or mystical means were required for this power. One could simply brute-force their idea onto reality, and the rules of nature would bow to their will. It was like treating a laceration by shredding a human being into tiny fragments and then reforming them without the injury. There might be a million efficient ways to treat the minor problem, but with unimaginable, unlimited power, why waste brain cells on trivial procedures?
With a simple thought, the sensation of touching Infinity got stored. Zack could now access and, hopefully one day, master this power through these memories. Once he was sure he could access the memory on a whim, he dove deeper, unraveling every sensation.
He could sense each star and fragment of reality with a mere thought. The memory was as clear and accessible as a fantasy book cover, and with a single flip, he could escape the mortal realm.
One thing Zack didn't realize was that storing memories with this power would transport him into another dimension. Here, he could relive the moment without losing any sensation or drive; in comparison, longer-term memories were a joke.
Zack floated in the void, reliving the entire experience at his leisure, while time crawled to a halt in the real world. Neither the sensation waned nor the depth of details dulled the drive. It was as if he felt the same rush he had experienced when he lived through it the first time. He could stay in here forever, without losing the sense of nostalgia, yet... why didn't he destroy everything in sight when he had the power? His life story had all the arcs to become a supervillain. At the very least, he had enough cause to watch the universe that caused him so much pain evaporate, just once.
Perhaps deep down, he knew recreating the universe for a second annihilation was a bit beyond the control he wielded. He had, after all, only possessed said power for four seconds. And destruction is always simpler than creation.
Was that the reason he didn't unleash his wrath or throw a tantrum? Because of fear?
Fear!
Power, chance, situation, or a sense of wrongdoing, nothing held his ultimate self from unleashing his wrath, except for an innate, yet foreign feeling of 'consequences' after the fact that had held the 'god-him' within him back, to think twice and reconsider.
Zack broke out of the memory, and even as time crawled, hours had been lost in reality; he vaguely remembered the sun about to set, but now it hung high above.
The lingering fragments of energy were gone, leaving him drenched in sweat.
"Souls do sweat," Solgrave snickered, his grin turning into mad laughter. "At least the terrified ones do. This has been quite entertaining. Go back in—to whatever it is you did—and figure out what scared an ultimate being within you--." He pierced Zack's chest with a fingernail, drawing blood. "--shitless!"
Zack suspected Solgrave had tampered with his state of mind, but he soon dismissed the theory and Solgrave's absurd request by retreating. He ignored all the minute scrapes and lacerations caused by friction, focusing on getting away and hiding from the almighty entity who made Solgrave look like an insignificant speck of dust.
"Hold onto that fear, even if you decide not to join this cause, kid," Solgrave said. "That is what makes everyone like me... higher than me... and beyond, stay humble."
"What-- who-- how!?" Zack stammered, unable to choose one question over the other.
"Soul King," Solgrave snickered, the name sending shivers down the sisters' spines. "Your obvious doubt applies to him. Also, because of him, it doesn't apply to anyone else. That's the power he holds at the pinnacle."
Azrith's complexion faded, her throat drying up as she whispered with a raspy voice, "Power to make rules that become law."
"There are still imbeciles who think they can, for some stupid reason, reach greater control than our king," Pinky tried to lighten the mood.
"All of them human!" Virith added.
"Yeah..." Pinky agreed. "We do tend to overdo stuff."
"Without thinking the obvious, idiotic action through!"
Pinky slumped to the floor beside Zack, her bubbly nature dissolving into one of regret.
"Don't ever try to use overdrive. Ever!" Virith hissed at Zack while directing her ire at Pinky.
"Yes, ma'am," Pinky said, rolling onto Zack's lap. "The wet sensation isn't piss," she stated, making him chuckle and relax. "We might not have the power, but our sponsor does. If you so wish, he can lead you to a normal, mortal life."
"Nah!" Solgrave frowned. "You people think I didn't try? Of course, I heard and followed through on his stupid parents' request. If they didn't go behind my back and kept stalking their damned kid, he would've had a normal life."
"Not entirely the parents' fault," Azrith tried to take their side.
"Got some humanity left in you, I see..." Solgrave said with a frown. "Rip it out and feed it to the hell hounds when we get back. I can't lose real soul snatchers." He pointed at the rest with disgust. "These lot are replaceable junk. You both aren't."
Instead of arguing, the sisters bowed, accepting his wishes.
"How can a kid defy a concept placed in him by an entity such as you?" Pinky yelled, pointing back at Solgrave.
Lux stepped between Pinky and Solgrave, as Bazuka pulled on her pigtail, whispering some code which made no sense to Zack, but somehow made Pinky submissive.
"Care to repeat that!?" Solgrave cracked his knuckles menacingly.
The trio fell to the ground on all fours, bowing and asking for forgiveness.
"Wait! I don't get it," Zack interrupted.
"Once you decide to become a... what do mortals call it again?" Solgrave paused, searching for the right word.
"Soul Hunters, m'lord," Lux said, boosting Solgrave's ego.
Solgrave smirked, loosening his aura's pressure. "Yeah, that! Then you will have to memorize all the laws of the Soul King and the rules of our reality." He spread his hands wide, gesturing to himself and the sisters on either side. "Decide fast."
"Right now?"
Zack's question got him kicked into a temporal time chamber, where everyone except him and Solgrave was affected.
Time moved at a glacial pace, practically ceasing to exist. This gave Zack another fleeting, useless idea, which Solgrave instantly shut down. Solgrave, with an almost casual flick, plucked the nascent doubt directly from Zack's mind and tossed it into a dustbin, erasing it from Zack's mind.
"Humans have the wrong idea of time, and I don't have the time to explain simple concepts to you. Choose a path so we can join the flow of time. F.Y.I... your biological clock is ticking faster than the rest, so I suggest you pick fast."
"Do I have any other option than yes?" Zack asked skeptically.
"Free will is free, until you have the guts to make your own decisions," Solgrave said with a stern face, part of him wishing Zack to be unique.
Alas, he was proven wrong a million moments later!
———<>||<>——— End of Chapter Eleven. ———<>||<>———