Chapter Thirty Six, Hope of the World.

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  Tumbling.

  The air blasted past his face, his eyes wide in shock.

  Yara was beneath him.

  Not beneath his feet.

  But far below...

  He could see the entire continent of Tairn, the massive oceans that lie beyond. Masses of land in the far distance, riding the horizons.

  There were clouds everywhere. Most of them white, some of them black, covering eerie regions of the world. Storms raged over the seas.

  He could feel the grandiosity of the world..

  Jora fell, at high speeds, his arms swam, but he made no noise. He was more focused on processing things.

  And then he was joined in this flight.

  A man fell beside him. His back to the earth, his arms behind his head, his legs crossed.

  He smirked.

  They locked eyes.

  "Jora... Eldrid demon. Born from human blood. Murderer of the Great Fledgling..." This man.

  The one they called, Great Ancestor Kismet?

  "I dabble in... Things you cannot yet understand. No, I take that back. Maybe you could, of all weaklings, it would be you in fact." The man spoke, "I glimpsed your existence when you ate Zenor Freid. I hoped to see him reach SS-rank before I ascended... Obviously, that is no longer going to happen." He frowned.

  The two continued to fall, from insane heights.

  The elf freely spoke, and they freely plummeted, but they didn't get much closer to the ground.

  They were too high up.

  "He was one of the destined ones of this continent... Our hope to elevate ourselves a bit... Tairn is the weakest of Yara, of course that doesn't mean we're weak, but in comparison..." Kismet explained. "In fact, he was destined to carry Yara itself upwards!..." He laughed.

  "Of course, none of that matters anymore." His face fell flat. "My glimpse of your existence was accompanied by my insights, and even another entity reaching out to me." He flipped to his side, watching Jora as he fell uncontrolled.

  Eerily, he felt his body was unresponsive... Not his body, but his power, perhaps?

  "Yara has enlightened me. A demon falling into my territory. A pioneer of this age. She believes you to be the hope of the world. A weak evil creature. But I cannot defy the words of our almighty God..." Kismet eyed him intensively. "Frankly... I can see it as well though... Your power... I can see why she has put resources into your growth... The Dungeon Core. The slime tribe. The Great Fledgling... I can feel it." He commended, nodding his head.

  "A truly sentient, walking Core. With the ability to perfectly steal and replicate soul power. You function on the level of power beyond the soul, despite not being tapped into it in any facet... If I didn't know any better, I would think that your powers could affect even me. Of course, that's not possible." They tumbled through a cluster of clouds, but Kismet did not stop speaking.

  "You remind me of Senzu... Through Satan Apollyon's freakish manipulations, Senzu had been birthed with monstrous Talents... A World Talent from beyond Yara, one that let him tap into certain rules from the jump... But you... I can't find any trace of anything profound. Just pure, unadulterated, soul power." He chuckled.

  Jora silently absorbed all the information being spit at him.

  Who was Senzu? Apollyon? Just their names... They carried a strange weight.

  "But that's not the point of this little discussion. Yara is just as eager to speak with you, as you are with her. She wants you to reach the peak, and fast. We have a small battle ahead of us. Foreigners... Ones that you may be familiar with..." A small smirk appeared on Kismet's face. Jora's brows furrowed.

  He continued to tumble, uncontrolled, as if he was limp. He wasn't able to see the man at all times. His power was locked away. But he could still feel the smile in the man's tone.

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  He could feel Ana brewing within the back of his mind. He would tend to her later.

  "That's not of the most importance right now... Yara chose to give this task to me. I have been made aware of future of this world, ahead of time. Even the gods are unaware. She spoke of telling them once you have reached SSS... For now, you have been shielded. She only let me catch a glimpse of you, so that I could help you." His body spun in the air, and he caught sight of something shining within Kismet's hand.

  He spun once more, his eyes concentrating for a moment.

  A scale?

  His eyes shifted to the other small item balanced in-between two fingers.

  And an ear? An elf ear?

  "But, she does still want you to gain real experience... She wants to observe you for just a little longer... You have... A year?" Kismet took up the two items in his palm.

  "So, you will have some fun in my World Dungeon. The Labyrinth of Kismet... At the bottom, all the way in the Abyss, you should find our beloved Yara... You have a year to reach that point, but I'm sure you can do it in far less than that..." Kismet smiled, and Jora's tumbling came to a slow.

  He was pulled towards Kismet as they passed through even more clouds.

  They had to have been falling for minutes...

  "Do remember... You have to be strong to dip that deep... The Labyrinth is divided into three major layers... The Surface, the Deep Dark, and the Abyss... Each layer is a drastic boost in quality and perhaps even quantity of creatures... You'll know when you've stepped into it..." Jora neared Kismet, his eyes wide open. Kismet reached a hand out, aiming for his shoulder.

  That made Jora tense.

  His body screamed to eat this man, but his mind knew that he would get obliterated for trying.

  But then there was a hand on his shoulder.

  Kismet had just... Touched him. No sign of struggle. No nothing.

  Of course, if he could render him powerless, why would he not be able to disable the activation of Gluttony...

  But then?...

  Jora's brows furrowed.

  Gluttony was still active... He was just completely unaffected...

  "Have fun in my little Dungeon, Jora. Open your mouth." Kismet smiled, and without Jora even giving his body the command.

  His mouth opened.

  The two items that had been held in Kismet's hand were carefully placed atop Jora's tongue.

  Kismet shut his jaw manually.

  "You have one year to reach at least my level of power." Kismet raised a thumb up, his face falling into a calm, but warm gaze.

  And a panel appeared in Jora's vision.

  Jora's soul sunk to his stomach.

  But then a smile emerged on his face.

  "Haha, that is what I like to see." Kismet returned a smirk.

  "I hope to see your Inner World soon enough." The man spoke.

  And then he placed a finger on top of Jora's head and everything warped.

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  He blinked, rapidly. He could feel the cold stone beneath his palms. The rigid floor greeting him familiarly...

  He glanced around, seeing the torches lining the floor of the cave corridor.

  He was in a familiar space.

  A Dungeon...

  Jora smirked, rising to his feet. A voice sounded in his head.

  "[To meet a Keeper so soon... God, we've just had something intense sprung onto us. I'm surprised you weren't issued a Quest.]" Ana spoke.

  Jora wiped his hands, staring down the long hall.

  He breathed in.

  "Let's talk about it?" He questioned, raising an arm behind his head.

  He stretched, scratching the back of his brain.

  His red eyes stared forward. Not empty, but filled with something else.

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  A hunger.

  A tinge of anger.

  But a greater swell of pride.

  Yara had much confidence in him. Kismet had put him in the exact spot he needed to be.

  His tongue rolled around in his mouth, feeling for the two items that had slipped beneath it.

  Then he consumed then.

  Instant black.

  Then flashes.

  Visions...

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