Through The Fractured Lens

Unknown Character POV

"Are all the preparations set?" A mysterious voice rings across the room.

"Yes," another shouts.

"Very well then," I send out, my voice still shrouded by my mask, hindering my true voice and facial appearance.

I notice the graphs plastered across the computing screens in front of me, practically blinding, as one of the cloaked figures is recklessly checking through different subsectors of the provided data, which would soon become outdated.

"Even if we gauge the potential, the current level is still way too low to commence. We will need to wait for further strides and growth," the man sitting down spoke aloud.

"Agreed," I added, nodding along the conversation.

"Very well, we shall keep the pause until further updates," another man finished.

Looking down, I pull out the crumbled piece of paper that I was storing away in my pocket to look upon later.

[ Report to the High Council immediately ]

'It seems the council called me,' I mentioned to myself. 'What could they want from me?'

Examining the room around me briefly, I began to leave the room and head out into the dark hallway, barely visible from a dim red light in the distance.

As I walked over to the council room, each step I took was induced with fear. 

***

Lucian

"What the hell happened?" I shouted, attempting to move my numb body to no avail.

Kurou's face was still littered with confusion and worry as he stood still before me. "Kid, I know you have your secrets, along with your reasons for such, but seriously... what's the deal with you?"

"I'm confused," I replied. "What happened to me?"

"Well..." the old man began. "You have a subtype, that's for sure."

"What is it?" I exclaimed, joy flushing over my body which quickly overtook any concern I had for my own current state.

Kurou sighed. "Blood manipulation."

"B-Blood? I didn't even—is that even a thing?" I asked, my eyes widening with shock.

"I thought it was nothing but a mere myth, however you continue to be full of surprises, kid," Kurou shouted, attempting to minimize the worry that he so clearly held with this situation.

Blood manipulation... I've never even heard of such a thing.

"How strong is it?"

"Really? Your entire body is basically numb from me simply checking your subtype, and you ask how strong it is?" Kurou retorted, slightly pissed off by my question, although I wasn't exactly sure how he took my question.

"It's strong. Very strong, quite possibly the strongest subtype if used right," Kurou began explaining. "I would say it is the strongest, but the lack of general knowledge makes it so hard to know anything about blood manipulation. It'll be learning experience for both of us, I suppose," he finished.

Instead of replying, I began thinking about just... everything. More specifically, blood manipulation. While I have never heard of it, I've read books about it from different fantasy series.

Blood manipulation varies quite a bit in terms of functionality and usage.

I was moreover curious on how it functions, but judging by what it is, it would clearly be a powerful offensive capability.

Despite my worries, I couldn't help but smile.

"Wipe that grin off your face, kid. Even though you have a subtype, it's useless if you can't even learn how to manipulate any of the basic four elements."

"Well, since my subtype is blood, which element would I start learning?" I asked.

"That... I'm not sure. If I had to guess, I'd assume water due to it's obvious liquid nature. Water is the hardest to learn, due to it's natural flowing tendency, but..."

"You don't really got a choice in the matter."

"Fair enough," I replied. I wasn't exactly concerned about difficulty, as time wasn't really much of something that scared me anymore. Whatever I can learn, no matter how long it takes, I'll do it. I need more to benefit off of, and maybe get a step closer to figuring out how the hell to get rid of this damned curse of mine.

It's been a while since I thought about it, the whole idea of constantly reincarnating becoming nothing but a simple, long awaited routine over and over again.

A 2nd life was a phenomenon of untold possibilities. Thousands of lives was far from coincidence. 

There was somebody, something or anything behind this, and if I have any hope of figuring this out, I need to get stronger.

Stronger. Through everything,

I need to get stronger no matter what.

Even if my power pales in comparison to a retired fighter, not even beginning to comprehend the power difference with a higher rank in the Serathis or Elyndor military.

Vorrakhan has never had an officially established military throughout it's history. It's tendency to stay far away from conflicts, and it's natural advantage of not being connected by land to any other continents had led to that factor.

Despite this, some of the most talented people I've met in any of my lifetimes have been here, on this continent.

Kurou was strong. While I've seen individuals who are definitely stronger, I've never specifically fought against one of his level of strength.

If I had to guess, he would have easily been a Dreadnought or a Titan on their respective continents during his prime.

[ Dreadnought is the 3rd rank in Serathis Military. ( Out of 5 ) ]

[ Likewise, Titan is the 3rd rank in the Elyndor Military. ( Out of 5 ) ]

The only thing I seemed to have going for me are my physical capabilities in battle, along with my reflexes and other natural factors that I've honed over the thousands of years I've spent jolting around time in this world.

To this day, however, I have yet to figure out what exact time I've dropped myself in during this life. There is no proper way to check on war updates, or to know if there even is a war actively happening.

Nobody here bats an eye to the other continents, almost like a social taboo in a sense.

People will think you're crazy for even mentioning any of them, especially Grimholt, which is notorious for nobody knowing anything about it.

"You okay there?" Kurou asked as he flicked my forehead.

"Ouch!"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine, I was just out of it for a second," I mentioned.

"For a second? Boy, you passed out. Snoozed for at least a few hours. Didn't want to wake you since you had seemed quite peaceful," he explained.

Few hours? How?

I hadn't even noticed I had fallen asleep in the first place.

Letting out a sigh, Kurou helped me stand up. While I was able to move around now, my body still retained a slight tingling sensation from earlier events, which forced a series of memories to spike in my head.

"Anyways, enough slacking around. Despite the... interesting setbacks, we can't be wasting time here. I think it's time you start learning how to manipulate these elements."

I looked back up at him, my gaze previously glued to the floor.

"When you say elements, do you really plan on having me learn to manipulate all four?"

"Yes. That shouldn't be a problem, should it?" the old man asked.

"Not at all, actually—that's quite favorable. I'll do anything I need to get stronger, I just hadn't expected your choice of words," I replied.

"Anyways," Kurou began speaking as he started walking away from me, attempting to push some distance between us.

"I think it's time we begin."

"Of course," I exclaimed with a slight grin.

Moments later, the old man vanished into thin air, the slight breeze throwing sand onto my clothes, causing me to be distracted.

He reappeared beside me instantly, reminding me of our first spar.

This time, I predicted the blow, leaving a sense of surprise painted over his face as I parried the strike, the force pushing him back.

"Well," Kurou chuckled. "This will be fun."