Blood Assimilation

In the Grand Librarian's perception, just as Randy prepared to step through the portal, his surroundings turned grayscale, his motion seemingly halting in mid-air unnaturally. The phenomenon froze both Randy and his surrounding particles in its wake, creating a temporary suspended tableau that defied the concept of time.

Despite witnessing the formation of the frozen temporal zone, an area attempting to encapsulate everything into stasis, the Grand Librarian remained unaffected by the mysterious phenomenon. Moments after this strange occurrence, a mystical object, shaped like an ovoid, emerged from Randy's spiritual body.

This object emitted a kaleidoscopic light that illuminated the grayscale backdrop of the frozen temporal zone, casting vibrant hues onto the previously monochromatic scene.

Upon recognizing the multi-colored, crystalline ovoid emitting a mystical, kaleidoscopic radiance, the Grand Librarian found himself unfazed by its appearance, nor did he feel concerned about the unexpected turn of events. With a composed countenance, he nonchalantly observed the newcomer, his curiosity piqued but his demeanor unruffled.

Moments later, the mysterious ovoid ceased its motion, reining in its boundless power. It began to assume a humanoid form that closely resembled Randy's physical appearance. However, the being had shimmering, starry hair that emanated profound cosmic energy. The cosmic energy danced and flickered around their shimmering hair, making it appear as though each strand of hair was set ablaze.

As soon as the head was fully formed, one could see that the eyes were closed. Yet, sparks of boundless energy seemed to escape from the corners of the closed eyes, sending ripples throughout the frozen temporal space.

The Grand Librarian patiently observed the transformation of the being before him. Although the new entity had assumed Randy's physical form, there were subtle changes in their overall appearance. Mystical ancient runes, similar to the ones Randy had seen in the library's chamber, adorned the entity's body, giving them an otherworldly and mystifying appearance.

The kaleidoscopic, shoulder-length hair cascading down their shoulders made them appear divine. As they slowly opened their eyes, their multi-colored irises betrayed no emotion, as if they lacked a soul. Despite this, when they turned to face the Grand Librarian, a momentary emotion flashed through their eyes, momentarily breaking their calm facade.

The Grand Librarian smiled as he witnessed the complete transformation of the mystical ovoid into a humanoid incarnate. An ancient voice echoed from the ovoid incarnate a moment later.

"Hey, old man. You're still alive? I thought those invaders had erased you by now. Why haven't you created a descendant to take your place?" The ovoid incarnate stated impassively, approaching the Grand Librarian with steady steps that seemed slow but closed a vast distance with each stride.

The Grand Librarian was unperturbed. He did not take offense to the ovoid incarnate's crude and tactless remark.

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"I love my job, little one. None, under the suppression of the universal laws, can erase my existence without my permission." He stated confidently, his ancient voice filled with absolute certainty.

The ovoid incarnate shook their head, standing before the Grand Librarian.

"As always, you're too full of yourself. And don't call me 'little one.' Just because you have existed long before my conception doesn't mean I'm beneath you. I have lived and experienced countless iterations in this dying universe." The ovoid incarnate retorted, not appreciating the way the Grand Librarian addressed them.

"Is that so? But to me, you're still the same impertinent child that I raised." The Grand Librarian replied with a knowing smile, which irritated the ovoid incarnate.

The ovoid incarnate scowled at his words, but the Grand Librarian ignored their expression, broaching the topic at hand with a solemn demeanor.

"Anyway, what are you doing associating with him? Was this part of the arrangement with his parents?" The Grand Librarian inquired, intending to uncover the truth directly from the ovoid incarnate rather than employ his own authority. However, he was disappointed by the reply.

"No comment." The ovoid incarnate stated bluntly, not even taking a moment to ponder their response.

"Does acknowledging the truth bring about an irrevocable change?" The Grand Librarian pressed, unwilling to give up easily.

"No comment." The Ovoid Incarnate remained steadfast, refusing to provide an answer in any manner.

"Very well. I won't pry any further." The Grand Librarian conceded, but he decided to ask for something else.

"Since you're connected to the other simulated universes, have you glimpsed any favorable outcomes that could save this universe from total destruction?" He asked, but the same curt reply came from the ovoid incarnate, irritation evident in their voice.

"No comment. Old man, stop asking me these questions. I won't answer them. You know the rules better than anyone. Anything about the planes of existence is kept a secret from the main inhabitants. Even I only know what had been transferred over after a failure had occurred."

"So, why did you appear before me right now? Did you have something to inform me, or do you simply miss me?" The Grand Librarian joked at the end, annoying the ovoid incarnate.

"As if anyone would care about you. I only wanted to inform you that one of them had perished, and I have received their memories. Honestly, it was disappointing. They barely achieved enough to transfer over."

"Who perished? Your current host?"

"..."

The Ovoid Incarnate remained silent, not directly confirming anything. But, their silence spoke volumes. The Grand Librarian, with his boundless wisdom, immediately understood the implication.

"Right. The fact that you're informing me about this means that something significant had occurred on the other side to bring a possible change to this one." The Grand Librarian concluded, gazing at the ovoid incarnate with a deep frown.

"Since you've figured it out yourself, I need to leave now. My interference with the temporal flow here is weakening."

"Little one. Make sure to protect him when the time comes. Do you understand?"

"Why should I?"

"You... You don't plan on fulfilling your role?"

"...I don't feel like it."

After making such a defiant statement, the ovoid incarnate began to turn into particles of light before scattering and returning to the frozen Randy's spiritual body, melding into it. Their ancient voice echoed in the frozen space shortly after.

"The universe can end for all I care. When the time comes, I pray for your death as well, old man. Goodbye."

The Grand Librarian stood motionless, seemingly baffled by the ovoid incarnate's last statement. Cognizant of the latter's nature, he didn't take them seriously. Instead, he deeply pondered the message he received from them.

"This brat... It seems a great change is ahead of us. I hope the chosen champions will succeed in defending the cosmos." The Grand Librarian shook his head and muttered in a profound tone, his cosmic body shattering into countless twinkling stars before disappearing inside the depths of the Universal Library.

As he disappeared, every single manifestation, such as the Void Gate, the Golden Door, the Library's lobby, and the chambers, seemed to fold in on themselves, scattering into sprites of light before converging into a single vortex in space that mimicked a black hole.

…

In the boundless expanse of space...

Randy was oblivious to the exchange between the mysterious ovoid he had encountered once in his dream and the Grand Librarian. By his sense of awareness, he had simply passed through the return portal and found himself floating amidst the stars, surrounded by the vastness of space.

Upon passing through the portal, he had hoped to witness the same celestial bodies, planets, and galaxies he had seen before. However, he found himself in an empty, desolate expanse of space, devoid of any celestial bodies, with only cosmic rays streaming around him. Fortunately, he was still protected by the same membrane that had shielded him from the dangers of the cosmic radiations earlier.

Despite the comfort of being able to traverse space without any safety concerns, Randy couldn't help but feel frustrated by his slow pace. It was as if he were crawling through the cosmos at a turtle's speed, reminding him of his journey through the dimensional rift to enter the Acruxia World. Realizing this, he immediately attempted to contact his system.

"System, are you there?" Randy called out tentatively, hoping for a reply. However, recalling his earlier failure to contact the eccentric system, his anticipation waned almost immediately.

[[I'm here. What do you want?]] The voice resonated in Randy's head, causing him to feel both elated and irritated.

The system's tone sounded angry, prompting Randy to recall the peculiarity of his system's duality of function. The first form was the emotionless voice, while the second was the slightly emotional voice he had heard during the earlier stages of his awakening. Randy hadn't heard this voice for a while and had nearly forgotten about it.

Ignoring the system's antics, Randy quickly inquired: "Why is my movement so slow in this space?"

[[You're returning to a world that operates on a different time flow. Naturally, you'll experience a slight delay during navigation. Don't worry, you'll arrive in the next few moments.]] The system replied.

Sure enough, a few moments later, Randy felt his body suddenly accelerate, swiftly breaking through an invisible barrier. As he returned to the surface of the Acruxia World, he noticed his consciousness splitting into four parts, each looking like Randy's spiritual body, before disappearing.

Three of the spiritual bodies headed in different cardinal directions, toward the locations of his three incarnations. The last one, which seemed more powerful than the other three, disappeared from the world altogether. It breached space and headed to the Safe Room, which existed in a different dimensional space and time.