I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

It had all gone to hell, after [Alice] left and he started to dive really deep into the problem, he had found only more [Tampering] coming his way. From nudges in his thinking to look more into other worthless stuff...

 

To some more...Obvious, like that one time, he had been thinking about the importance of ripping the Mansion for the Shadow Dragons out of the [Soulscape].

 

It was meaningless and also would put a serious strain on Elizabeth's [Soulscape] but somehow, he had got in the mood that it was the right thing to do!

 

But even so, he got stuck into the idea of how to carve a part of the [Soulscape] and throw it into the void. If not for his [Skill] turning itself on at the predetermined time and cleaning him of influence...

 

Yeah, he was about to purge a part of the [Soulscape] and call it a day, it wouldn't influence his [System], not really, since that was kept up by the [Laboratory].

 

The [Magic]? That wouldn't be influenced either, since the [Library] was what fueled it with all the computational power he had shoved into that half, by all the looks of books and all, Elizabeth's Magic was fueled by hard science.

 

A middle finger to all the [Feelings] bullshit Catherine liked to prattle about, was her magic influenced by her [Feelings]? Probably, she was after all a [Fount of Power]. But that only applied to monsters like her and her husband.

 

The normal people without [Fate's Blessing] like him or Elizabeth needed hard facts and hard work...Or talent.

 

At least the girl had a talent in [Mana Manipulation], she couldn't flex it since [The System] did all the heavy lifting, but if not for that [Talent] in the background...Yeah, he would have needed to spend more of his own [Skill] and [Talent] to make everything work as smoothly as this.

He got zapped by his skill and his eyes narrowed once more, he had been distracted thinking about Elizabeth's parents, it hadn't been a deviation that big in his thoughts, but he couldn't nudge his skill at a lower setting. If he allowed his mind to be distracted whatever was affecting him would seize the advantage and work on it.

 

He had started the train of thought about cutting out the Shadow Mansion from something as simple as if a Shadow Scout would let him pet him or not after all.

 

No, he needed to focus, so for now he continued going about the logs.

 

"Hmph," even with all the distractions that came his way.

 

"I said Hmph!" Whatever they were...Nothing could distract him.

 

"I will complain with Mama next time I see her!" Alas, his little sister knew him the best and how to get his attention.

 

"We can't distract Eversoul for everything Alexa," He said with a sigh.

 

Not that she could actually tell it to that woman...She was...She wasn't around after all.

 

"Mama said that you wouldn't ignore me...You haven't come to the house after Eli-Eli came in that weird disguise." Alexa complained with a pout.

 

She was indeed one cute little girl as the advertising said, but he couldn't...He couldn't get distracted.

 

"This is important Alexa, someone has been messing around here." He said while pointing around, his Laboratory had seen better days, but nowadays...He hadn't let the robotic minions clean his disorder.

 

He needed the physical evidence of what he was doing, so he would be able to catch on if he was working on something that wasn't relevant to his current workings.

 

"It wasn't me!" Said Alexa quickly hiding behind a chair, as if she could...

...What?

 

His hair turned yellow and his eyes turned sharp, Alexa seemed to shudder behind her chair, and that made his anger somehow flare even harder...Only for him to breathe deep and squash it.

 

He couldn't let himself be toyed by his emotions, he hadn't risen to the top of a clan as ruthless as the Saintsworths by following his emotions, no. He needed to be calm, 'Chill Alexanders...[Chill]' Was his personal mantra.

 

He might have used some [Idea] in his personal mantra to help settle his emotions, "I know it wasn't you Alexa." He said in what he hoped was a soothing voice.

 

"But I need to finish this, someone very bad is messing around with Elizabeth and me. So I need to fix this first, then we can have mango cake..." He stopped his phrase and reformulated it.

 

He would probably loathe his past self..."...Actually we might as well go all the way and make a Mango Party." But the sight of his twin sister's eyes shining as a star was worth it.

 

"You promise?!?" Said the little girl running from behind the chair and giving him her patented [Super Cute Tackle Hug Attack ver 2.5].

 

He almost even was knocked down too, if not for his superhuman reflexes and mana-fueled muscles he might as well have been squashed into paste from that attack.

 

"Yes, now be a good girl and go watch your Magmo on the TV, his stream is about to start." He said while using his skill to put the next chapter of that streamer on the main TV at her Tree House.

 

"You are right!" Said Alexa turning her attention to a watch that wasn't there before.

 

How curious...

 

"I need to hurry up!" Said the little girl running towards a metal door that had materialized in his laboratory, "Magmo Knows " and with those ominous words, she disappeared.

 

He didn't know what the girl saw in that flesh-colored puppet with purple colors, but kids are like that nowadays he guessed. How the times change...When he was a kid he spent most of his time training and trying to survive in a concentration camp from the Saintsworth's Main Branch...

 

And now here he was...In another dimension stuck in a [Soulscape] with someone tampering with his mind with only a [Skill] he got after everyone he cared about was long dead and his world ruined...

 

[With his lovely twin sister at his side.]

 

How the times change indeed. Now if he could get those annoying errors out of the way... He might even get something before Elizabeth returned home.

---

He didn't get anything.

 

The stupid [System] didn't give him anything he didn't already know, "Who even designed this crap!?!?" Screamed Alexanders while discharging electricity all around.

 

If those computers were real, they would have been fried, if the robots around him worked using electronics, they would have stopped working...

 

Alas... Everything was made of mana and a visual representation inside the [Soulscape]. What he found out was...That somehow, either the bad actor was trying to distract him by redirecting his thoughts about his twin sister...

 

Or someone else was also manipulating his thoughts when he thought about Alexa...But that was just silly, [who would even try to mess up with his perception of Alexa? She was perfect and the most beautiful little girl in all worlds possible ever!]

 

...Someone was messing with him, he was sure, no way in hell he thought that on his own!

 

[I mean, it was true...] But still!

 

"At least Elizabeth is about to do something interesting..." He mumbled trying to not think too much about his twin sister, he didn't like the idea of someone using [His family] to mess up with him.

 

He had promised Eversoul that he would look after her, [not that he needed to promise Mama that he would look after his twin sister! That was just silly!]

 

".........Okay someone is definitely messing with my head there, no way I referred to Miriam Eversoul as 'Mama' she is like...half my age? A third? No wait...But I'm 18...What?" A spark of lighting struck him just at that.

 

Reigniting his brain as it was about to shut out and he made a note to include a redirection of his own thoughts when the topic of Eversoul to ever come.

 

Something was indeed going on there.

 

Elizabeth had arrived at her room and was about to undo the [Shift] to return to her normal form, by what he could see in the logs in the system she seemed to be distressed, he only knew she was about to do so because the skill had pinged for access to the [Database] to save the current form and bring out her body out of the [Soulscape].

 

He didn't know where the skill saved it, since it was outside of his area of control, probably in the [Heart] of the [Soulscape] or something esoterical like that.

 

Either way, he dialed his skill to 100% allowing his brain to work as a sub-processor while the skill-focused all his thoughts, suddenly his world slowed almost to a crawl and he could see how the mana traveled all around him.

 

"[Betcha I could even find the heart of this place, the true one if I followed the mana...]" He mumbled to himself as he saw a flow of mana travel from one of the servers in his laboratory to the outside of it.

 

It traveled into the shadow dragon mansion and then disappeared into the void...

 

He of course didn't follow it, he instead focused on the changes Elizabeth was going by, her body started to reconfigure itself as her muscles and skeleton were altered by the mana once more to return to her previous form.

 

Her body grew, his organs turned from just below average to the perfect image of healthy, and her proportions turned from standard to global award model (He still could appreciate the figure Alice had though).

 

And soon enough her face turned from that of the perfect goth girlfriend (for him) to the blonde face that resembled so much Catherine that it made him want to either run away or pester her.

 

And...Nothing else changed.

 

At least till she opened her mouth. Then all hell broke loose.

She seemed to want to do something, he forced his access to allow him visual readings of what was going on, and what he saw through the eyes of Elizabeth...

 

He saw a red screen disguised itself as a note...With her own writing telling her to [Flush the mana in.]

 

And the bird brained dammed brat started doing that!

 

The girl seemed to be under the idea that she was flushing it out when she was actively funneling the [Taint] into the core of her body!

 

He tried to fight it, tried to make the mana go in the right direction, but just as he was about to start...

He felt it before he was able to read it, the chains of pure mana came from the floor, ceiling, and walls straight at him.

 

He tried to dodge them of course, for he had no time for this, but sadly..The [Asshole] who designed the system was too good for his own good.

 

And so he got stripped of his rights as [Administrator] leaving him only with the bare minimum rights to help patch the system, any updates or fixes would need to go to the [Primary Administrator]...

 

"BUT I'M THE PRIMARY ADMINISTRATOR YOU STUPID SYSTEM!" Screamed Alexanders, "I MADE YOU!"

 

Of course, the system didn't answer, so he only got to see how the corruption that Elizabeth had been deceived to accept spread...

 

And then, when she left it fester in the deeps of her soulscape... It was almost indistinguishable from the real thing, he understood now why the stupid System didn't flag it.

 

If he hadn't been searching for it...If he hadn't seen how it had started as a small little worm of darkness...He would have missed it, if someone didn't [Understand] human emotions like the stupid system...Then they wouldn't see it either.

 

So when the girl followed the same process she had allegedly done before (That was one interesting way to purge the taint if nothing else, flushing it out with mana.), it only made it easier to corrupt everything.

 

Only...Now the system didn't flag it as [Taint], her mana didn't behave as [tainted], and she would, under any examination, be flagged as [Normal]. And wasn't that a scary thing...

 

The worst part was that since he was stuck inside he would too be affected!

 

So he had to burn his mana, burn his mana as if his life depended on it, and fight to contain it with what little privileges he still had. So he fought.

 

While Elizabeth slept he fought for each part of his laboratory, to purge it from the influence of the corrupted mana, while Elizabeth took a shower?

 

He was busy sterilizing his laboratory.

 

While she ate?

 

She was busy fighting for his goddammed life!

 

And how did he know what Elizabeth was doing?

 

THE STUPID THING TURNED OFF THE VIDEO BUT LEFT THE AUDIO ON TO DISTRACT HIM!

 

And worse, since the mind of Elizabeth was shoved in a part of the system right now, the [Thoughts] of whatever was puppetering her body were parsed through [His System] before going to the outside world.

 

So he got first lane seat to see this puppet of Elizabeth and his...Quite worrying thoughts about that pink-haired friend of hers, he wouldn't judge...But if Elizabeth ever tried to blackmail him using Jack, he would use that material to fight back.

 

Either way, he somehow managed to get some semblance of normalcy in his laboratory, but when he tried to purge the [Library]...He found it as if nothing had happened.

 

"That's...Weird..." Said the blonde man while walking among the halls, wondering why the [Taint] hadn't spread this side.

 

Only to remember that while it looked as if Alexa was the administrator of this site, his laboratory was what ultimately fueled it, and besides...His sister wasn't even here, so maybe that was why?

 

He could see the door into her [Haven] closed, and trying to open it didn't work, so maybe she was sulking?

 

Either way, he needed to work about a fix, his twin sister could...

 

His twin sister?

 

Wait...How was Alexa his twin sister?

 

Wasn't she like four or five?

 

He was 18 years old...No wait...He had been alive during the Second World War...That was...Wasn't he like 200 years old right now?

 

But..."My body is that of an 18-year-old." He said to himself, stopping for a second and looking at the door into the [Haven].

 

"No time for this, it is probably some mild tampering anyway." Said to himself Alexanders.

 

He had work to do, so he ramped up his overused [Skill] while turning one of the bookshelves into mana and refueling his overused mana pool, the good thing about working in a place made out of your own Mana...You have the biggest battery you will ever need.

 

So he started working, he felt the proddings of the spells the pink-haired girl was using and didn't even bother to disguise the [soulscape] he didn't have the privileges to do so anymore after all.

 

He did get a ping from the [System] asking him to do it, but when it didn't give him back his [Privileges] he shrugged and didn't do anything, the system wasn't flexible enough to understand that he couldn't do anything without those, but didn't want to prod Elizabeth...Not that it would work since the current Elizabeth was a puppet of whatever had [Tainted] her mana.

 

So he worked, he purged what he needed to work, and he made a straight line between the [Shift] spell and what he suspected was the area where Elizabeth's body usually resided.

 

And when he got a ping from the [Fake] about to use the skill..."[Slow Processing Power]" He struck.

 

First, he used his dominion over the skill that was one fundamental part of his [System] to slow the processing speed, then building the channel he chanted "[More silent than the darkness sleeping at the bottom of the sea.........that is the shadow burning deep within the melody of science!]" Because of course, it would require the extra Oomph to bridge the skill and hijack the process.

 

After managing to bring the [Correct] Elizabeth though, he had been drained dry from mana, since that had taken more than he expected, and while he liked to banter with the girl (really, if only she wasn't the daughter of Catherine...).

 

He almost forgot the situation he was in, he hadn't noticed how the fake girl replica had chained down the Shadow Dragon Mansion...Nor how the mansion wasn't anywhere in the [Soulscape]. So while bantering with the girl...Someone spoke behind him.

 

"So that's how you bridge a path straight to [The Core]." Said a mechanical voice from behind him.

 

He turned quickly using his enhanced reflexes to strike the voice with a high kick...

 

"Greeting [Invasor]." Only to be met with a man clad in shadows with a bone crown atop his head. "I go by the name of Ethan O'Connel..." Said the man.

 

Only for his figure to change into that of a grizzled man with an army uniform and a head full of gray hair "Nowadays they only known me as [The Stygian Bane], such a terrible name..." He said while Alexanders directed what little mana he had to send a message to Elizabeth.

 

His body lost the shining and the only remnant of his mana was the golden halo around his eyes, "Can't let you do that now, can I...Let's see...Elizabeth, call your father and tell him Ethan is up to...blablabla..." Said the man while plucking something from thin air and reading it.

 

It was...A blue screen...With what he had sent Elizabeth...

 

"Let's change that now...here...[Oh, sorry...Losing...Connection...Stupid...(System).], yeah, that sounds like something you would say. " Said the man who then showed him the blue screen.

 

His face lost almost all its color and he with a motion allowed the message to resume his travel, he tried to send something else while the man seemed to be distracted...But his connection got severed.

 

"Now...I would love to speak with you...But you aren't even here..." Said The Stygian Bane with...Pity?

 

"What are you talking about? Don't tell me you also believe that clone in the real world?" Asked Alexanders while trying to absorb some mana from anything near him.

 

Only to find shadow mana preventing his advances.

 

"Oh no, that man couldn't be further away from [Alexanders Saintsworths], he didn't even earn that name in this world anyway." Said with a smile Ethan.

 

What?

 

"Yeah, his registered name is [Mathew Smith]. Can you believe it?" He said while barking a laugh. "If not for Catherine bringing up your [Original] and making that deal to save her daughter...The Saintsworths wouldn't have built such presence in this world."

 

What?

 

"You...Aren't very bright either are you?" Said Ethan while grabbing him by the shoulder and pushing him forward, "Come I will show you."

 

He should have used that chance to discharge all his mana in one directed volt of thunder...

 

He liked to think that he didn't because he didn't have enough mana...He would like to say that he didn't because he was going near the [Heart] of the [Soulscape] where the most delicate parts of the construct that was this laboratory stood...So any discharge of mana could put Elizabeth at risk...

 

He...He Really liked to think those excuses...

 

"Here it is...the [original]...[Alexanders Saintsworths] the [Scion of the Saintsworths]." Said Ethan while he spat into a crystal tube that held the body of what could be a kid barely older than four or fiv.....

 

"The Twin brother of Alexa..." Was what Alexanders...No...What the [Simulacrum] of Alexanders said as he looked back at his hands.

 

"I...I...I..." He was being mind tampered by [Alexanders]...No...By what had been the security measures done by [Alexanders]. To make sure they stood loyal to their [Mission].

 

What?

 

"Why did you bring me here?" He asked the Stygian Bane. While looking at the figure of the kid floating in the crystal tube, he was dressed in a lab coat too big for his size...[His Labcoat] that he hadn't found and had been searching for.

 

He was also covered in blood and his body had wounds all over, his bloodied body spoke of wounds that were missing, but those had probably been healed when Elizabeth crossed those thresholds.....

 

Oh...

 

"I took you here, because [He] is only a threshold away from [Acclimating] to this world, he will be able to leave the [Soulscape] and will take his place in [My World]. You on the other hand..." He made a motion to one side of the crystal tube.

 

There were four meters there, the first two were empty and the third was below 10%...Just...Just about how much life force he felt he had after having wasted so much mana trying to fix this place.

 

"You will not survive this...Neither he will by the way." Said Ethan pointing behind the crystal tube, a carbon copy of [Kid Alexanders] was there floating, but his body...He could feel it was made of mana...

 

The same Mana he had.

 

"So...I want to make a deal." Started saying Ethan while stretching his hand forward, only for it to be zapped by a current of electricity. "As you can see I can't deal with...Him...So you only need to siphon his life force to solidify your existence, keep living in the [Soulscape], heck. If I manage I wouldn't mind giving you a body at a later date...One [Shadow Aligned]...Just...[Deal with him]."

 

He gave a pair of tentative steps towards [Alexanders], he was there sleeping, his eyes closed...He remembered what was life was like when he was at that age...

 

Well, what he could remember that the [Original] had given him anyway...He remembered the days full of trials in the [Saintsworths Clan], the harsh training...The fight to get a [Name]...

 

Then he looked around, really around, they were at what could be called the [Core] of [The Laboratory]. Elizabeth wasn't around, nothing of her was, not really. This wasn't her [Soulscape] anymore and was more of [His].

 

"You need me to deal with him...Why?" Asked the Simulacrum while turning his back to the [Original] and standing near the Batteries that reflected how much [Life] he had left...Him and the next [Simulacrum].

 

"Because that will make my work easier, it isn't needed...I can just keep him chained in here after killing you...Then killing your next iteration when he wakes up upstairs would be more easy..." Answered The Stygian Bane, his eyes didn't betray the distaste he had for him and [Alexanders].

 

Wait...What about...?

 

"That [Thing] you call a [sister] isn't a problem, she will just make another you on a desertic planet or something when I finish dealing with [Elizabeth]." Answered back Ethan without missing a beat.

 

He was tempted...He was so tempted...But alas...He was an [Alexanders], "The thing an [Alexanders] loves more than anything is [Knowing] something and sharing that knowledge..." He started saying.

 

Ethan didn't seem to mind it, so he walked towards the battery that marked the fourth iteration of the body that was [Alexanders] "You see, and there is one thing we want more than anything...That is [To Live]." He said and in one motion he kicked the battery of the fourth iteration.

 

The life mana started to leak and he greedily absorbed it, his body regaining his color and his mana pool expanding almost as twice as what it was before, he felt the rush of power in his body almost instantly.

 

"Careful there, you don't want to explode." Said Ethan with a knowing smirk.

 

"And this [Wish] is what makes us strive forward...That was what made me able to take the name of the first founder of [The Saintsworths]...So to answer your question..." He said while condensing all the mana he had managed to acquire in his [Core]. "Yes...I wish to live...To live free...To learn, to sleep, to eat...To...To do whatever the hell [I wish]."

 

He funneled more and more mana "I don't think you need that much mana to kill a sleeping brat." Said with a frown Ethan, he could see the shadows around sharpening themselves and preparing to strike.

 

"I know." Answered Alexanders, "But I need at least this amount to [Sever]." And with a smile on his face, his whole being collapsed into a sharp yellow sword that flew downwards.

 

In one motion the [Soulscape] got cut in two, [His] laboratory no longer connected to [The Core] of [Elizabeth].

 

She would have a hard time using her own skills...

 

"NOOOOOO" But at least Ethan would have no access to the more important parts of Elizabeth.

 

With some luck, the [Original] would be able to deal with it...If not...

 

Well, it was no longer his problem, was it?

 

It....would...be....his....problem...god....so...sleepy...should...had....brought....my....pillow...