Reborn: Apocalypse

"Officer Cain. You betrayed the Family, your friends, and your allies. Do you have any last words?" Boss Shigun's voice was cold as he looked down at the kneeling figure of Cain.

They were currently on a rooftop, two skyscrapers over from where the battle had taken place.

After Micheal killed the two Pirate Lords, the battle reached its conclusion. Thankfully, the Gnomish Explosive Bombs that Pirate Lord Brandon had wielded didn't go off, inert due to his abrupt death.

It was an overwhelming victory with minimal losses. Only 3 of the Godfather Organization's elite guards died, though almost all of them were injured. Martin the Hammer had already returned to their HQ for treatment, ingesting a Mid-Tier Healing Pill at once as he was rushed back, his injuries the most severe.

Boss Shigun, somewhat surprisingly, fared the best. Despite the horrific injuries his Red Titan form took, when he transformed back to human, he was only marginally wounded and tired.

Cain had tried to make a break for it after the fight ended. Unfortunately for him, he waited far too long. He was intercepted and stopped by members of the Godfather Organization, slightly confused at first as to why their Defensive Team Leader was so badly injured and fleeing.

In all the chaos, Micheal had taken that time to search the Spatial Rings of the downed A and B Ranked warriors.

To Micheal's delight, he found a Mid-Tier Spatial Ring in Byron's grasp, something that cost 22,500 Points to purchase. It held 10 cubic meters of space, a large upgrade from the Low-Tier Spatial Ring.

He swapped rings, making off with practically everything that was stored in both Pirate Lord's, Silent Viper's, Fire Caster Abel's, Black Flamer Chelsea's, and the Winged Wrecker's Spatial Rings, finding a variety of treasure. From things like Magic Paint that could be used for infiltration to Healing Pills that could be used for recovery, a huge store of tools had entered his grasp.

Ravager Jason, for whatever reason, didn't have a Spatial Ring. At the very least, Micheal searched his dead bear body and didn't find it.

That didn't stop him from stealing the entire corpse too, however.

'The Necrozarks and Flesh Wizards would love a body like this.' His eyes had flashed at the thought, leaving nothing to waste. The rest of the corpses were mostly useless.

There were some highly advanced Necrozarks or similar Ability users that could make use of human corpses, even allowing them to use their old Abilities. However, Micheal had never heard of anyone at that stage existing in the First Layer, and certainly not in the Stardust Cluster.

He didn't manage to loot everything. Boss Shigun tolerated most of his actions due to Micheal's efforts, but in the end snagged the Gnomish Explosive Bombs that Pirate Lord Brandon had been wielding, taking them for the benefit of the Branch.


Micheal didn't fight him for it. Several of his men had died and without their help, Micheal wouldn't have been able to pull off such a huge upset. It was a fair tradeoff, in his opinion.

Micheal blinked as he focused on the present.

It was already approaching afternoon, time flashing by in what felt like an instant. The battle and the subsequent aftermath had taken quite a bit to settle.

As the sun beat down overhead, roughly two dozen fighters for the Godfather Organization shifted or stood steady, their eyes boring into the figure of Cain.

The man was covered in a variety of wounds, with dark bruises and long gashes coating his body. His metallic glow was nowhere to be found, unable to activate his Type Ability due to exhaustion.

His hands were tied behind his back with a set of metal bands. A Gnomish Explosive Bomb, one of the ones they'd recently acquired from Pirate Lord Brandon, was set up on a rope tied to the bands. Boss Shigun directly controlled it.

"You did not live a life with honor, but may choose to die with honor." Shigun began, his voice gaunt. He wore a new, sharp looking brown suit, chewing on an unlit cigar.

"Make your choice." Around him, all of the members of the Godfather Organization stomped down on the ground, a loud thud that echoed on the roof.

THUD

"Make your choice!"

This was the relatively well known Traitors Execution Ceremony of the Godfather Organization. When someone betrayed 'The Family' as they were known, that traitor was branded a target and a criminal for the rest of their life in the First Layer.

If they were ever caught, they went through this ceremony, something that acted as a deterrent.

Micheal took one last glance and then turned away, opting to not watch the rest of it. He motioned for Sophia to follow him as they walked away, leaving the ground behind. It wasn't their place to stay and watch.

They walked across the rooftop towards a bridge, their business here temporarily done.

After the battle finished, Micheal had checked in with Shigun, explaining a few things. He fully went over the method to hunt Golden Morenkai, and apologized for not warning Shigun ahead of time. The Boss had been understanding and even respectful, treating Micheal as an equal.

In return, Shigun also agreed to keep their influence on this battle secret, as did Officer Martin. The regular guards didn't realize how significant an impact Micheal and Sophia had had, assuming their success was due to Martin and Shigun weakening their enemies, or being so caught up in the fight they weren't able to clearly tell.

They'd agreed to part ways, with Shigun settling his internal affairs and quashing inner turmoil, while also preparing to launch a full assault on the Black Flag Pirates and Mayoral Alliance, in revenge.

While the leaders of the two groups were dead, there were still a few B Rankers from the Black Flag Pirates that were still alive but didn't show up, as well as stragglers from the Mayoral Alliance. Their lives were about to become much more miserable.

"Let's get out of here, Sofa." Micheal nodded at Sophia quietly as they walked across a bridge, leaving the Godfather Organization behind to settle their affairs.

"Yeah…" Sophia replied, her face slightly pale. She gave him a slight glare as she caught the nickname, but followed him anyway.

As they left, Micheal felt multiple eyes on them. Their battle had drawn a huge amount of attention, especially the concentrated bombs he had set off in the stairways. Various figures could be seen peeking out windows or looking on from distant skyscrapers.

He had considered donning their Heron and Crane masks as the reinforcements swarmed in, but eventually decided against it.

Micheal and Sophia would be their public identities, they could work on building them up here. Heron and Crane, on the other hand, would be their alter egos, private identities for when they needed to do things a more circumspect route. When they left this Cluster, they would maintain their hidden identities, 'leaving' Micheal and Sophia behind here, unrelated to them.

'Hypocrites that preach goodness but commit horrid crimes are not a rare occurrence. Besides, these masks will make it easier to infiltrate the Angels Arcadia.' He nodded at the thought, one of his future goals. Some of the criminals he would take down would have done things that would be impossible to prove at first, crimes humanity only definitively learned about years later.

In those cases, they would likely be reviled for killing such 'good' men or women, something he would gladly shrug off onto their alter egos. By the time the truth about his identity came out, and eventually it would, likely from Abilities that scanned his identity or a leak from the Godfather Organization, he would be strong and influential enough that it wouldn't matter. The alter egos were a short term deal.

If he needed to do something that would look truly evil, he would just go in fully disguised, looking like no one.

The Vile King was a good example. Currently, he was known as a great hero of humanity. No one knew about his machinations yet. The Great Disaster of the Second Layer also shouldn't have started yet, so he hadn't actually committed any horrifying crimes yet, as far as Micheal knew.

As Sophia and Micheal jogged, they exchanged a few lines before falling silent. Sophia was mostly worried about her little sister and the shock of the brutal battle, while Micheal was brooding about the future.

'I'm a leader now, huh?' He glanced at Sophia as she followed him across one particular bridge. A few stray clouds drifted in the air, giving them a brief respite from the sunlight as they crossed the Cluster.

By now, they had made it back towards the central area of the Cluster, near their home base.

"We're almost home!" He gave Sophia a reassuring smile, nodding as he continued,

"We'll get some well-deserved rest." Both of them were exhausted despite it only being mid-day. The battle had been incredibly tiring, both mentally and physically.

His thoughts trailed back to the original timeline. In that timeline, the biggest force he had ever led consisted of Shin and himself. They were a team that fought together, both giving it their all. He had joined multiple organizations in his time, growing to a decently high level of strength…

But… he had never fancied himself a leader, instead putting all of his effort into training and his obsession with growing stronger.

He sighed, his eyes hardening. There was no use musing over it.

'It is what it is.' He would handle things one step at a time.

'I need to spread word to all of the Cluster about the Golden Morenkai hunting method as well as the Dragon Building Liquid. I've got a few solid contacts in the Saru Group and the Flesh Wizards Tower, as well as the Godfather Organization, though I might just wait and let Shigun explain it after I leave.' His mind raced ahead of him,

'There's only a few weeks left till the Great Bridge will open up and I can reach the Main Cluster.' He smiled,

'How are you doing out there, Shin?' He clenched his fists, determination filling him as he staved off exhaustion,

'We'll be meeting up with you soon.'

.. .. .. .. .. ..

"Wo-woah! That's incredible!" Shin's jaw dropped as he stared at what was happening before him.

He was currently standing atop one of the outer skyscrapers, on the very edge of his Cluster. It was late afternoon, a stiff breeze slowly caressing his spiky blonde hair. He was wearing a set of black pants and a black jacket, his green eyes gleaming.

Right in front of him, something incredible was happening.

Whenever Shin had looked out from the edge of any of the outer skyscrapers, he'd always seen a familiar, rather empty sight. Long, empty plains of grass, full of nothing. No trees, no animals, nothing of interest or note.

He'd warped down once, to see if he could cross the grassy area. Micheal hadn't had time to tell him much about it, it might be possible he could warp over instead of having to wait for whatever the 'Great Bridge' was.

Almost immediately, he'd been forced to flee. The moment he stepped more than a few meters away from the edge of the skyscraper after warping down, some sort of quiet signal went off, something he heard at the very edge of his hearing.

Just a few seconds later, dozens of Morenkai flooded the area, all of them ravenously charging at him. He'd even spotted a few Abnormals in the group, one dangerous and looming while another held bolts of what looked like energy it was about to throw.

Shin teleported away in a heartbeat, adrenaline pumping as he beat a quick escape. He had permanently marked off trying to teleport across the grassy area from his list of things to do. As soon as… something… sensed he was out of range of the skyscrapers, he would likely be swarmed.

Now, as Shin looked out onto the grassy plain, he was seeing something fantastic.

WHOOOOSH

Dozens of stained and aged ships were rising from the grassy plain, forming an enormous line. Some of the boats were ancient wooden vessels while others were huge oil tankers, covered in rust. Still others were large scale cruise ships, cracked but still holding up. Still even others were military warships, broken down but still dangerous looking.

Hundreds of various ships, all lined up to form a large bridge. One large ship, a failed cruise liner, just barely made contact with the roof of the skyscraper that was right next to them, the starting point of the bridge of ships.

These ships pushed aside grass and dirt as they appeared, knocking great clumps of stuff out of the way. The grass and dirt, when it was uprooted, seemed to magically fade away, dissipating into nothingness. The strangeness of this world was something Shin felt he would never grow used to.

One of the 'Great Bridges' that led to the Main Cluster, one that was supposed to appear only in a few weeks, had appeared early. Its appearance was incredibly unusual, something Shin had never even considered.

"Success, Admiral! Amazing as always!" A young, feminine voice sounded off quietly in the air as a girl stepped up next to Shin, staring at the huge bridge made up of ships smashed together.

A pretty girl with long red hair, wearing a prim purple dress gave Shin a friendly smile.

Shin had met her, and a man known as Admiral Cardbell, a few days ago. The two were members of the Godfather Organization that, of all things, wanted to recruit him and take him with them to the Main Cluster.

'I need to get to the Main Cluster anyway, and Micheal did say the Godfather Organizations is one of the few good groups in the First Layer. I might be able to get information or gear that can help us out!' Shin hadn't thought too hard about it. If he ended up not liking the group, he could just teleport away.

He was also finding it difficult to interact with people in his Cluster. Since he wasn't in any teams, most people treated him like an enemy or a target. He was more than ready to leave.

"Of course it's amazing, Clarissa! Anything to do with the ocean is amazing! Hahaha!" A loud, boisterous voice shook the air as a middle-aged barrel-chested man stepped up to the edge, stroking his great bushy beard. A huge, massive anchor hung on the man's back, something that must've weighed more than 5 tons, that the Admiral carried with ease.

"What do you think, lad Shin?" Admiral Cardbell turned to look over at the teleporter, giving him a wide smile. He wore a set of white pants and an open white vest, looking like a sailor.

Shin glanced at the barrel-chested man and shrugged,

"Well, I've never really been a beachy-person, but I don't hate the ocea-"

"Wait- no, I meant about the bridge." Cardbell broke in, rubbing his beard as he continued to smile.

"Ah!" Shin smiled back,

"It's like someone played a game of Battleship but then lined all the ships up over and over and over!" He said excitedly, motioning.

"Super cool!" He gave the Admiral a thumbs up.

"Hahahaha, yes, it is super cool!" Cardbell was pleased with his response, energetically patting Shin on the back.

thud

"Whoops."

The Admiral accidentally knocked Shin off the skyscraper, unintentionally sending him hurtling towards the ground dozens of meters below.

"Oh no!" Cardbell's mouth fell open in shock as he realized what he'd done, watching the new recruit that they had worked so hard to gain start to fall to his death.

Clarissa reacted instantly, a long, black whip appearing in her hands. The air around her fluttered with purple light as she prepared to take action. Before she could do anything, however…

WHOOSH

Shin's body blurred and then vanished in mid-air, reappearing right where he'd been standing.

"Ah, right. Teleporting. Whew." The sailor heaved a sigh of relief, wiping his forehead. He then coughed.

"Ahem, you should watch your balance there, lad Shin. It seems like you tripped." Admiral Cardbell nodded at Shin sternly, completely shameless.

"…" Shin stared back, incredulous.

"I was standing still. How could I have tripped?!" Shin glared at the Admiral.

"Yeah, he was standing still." Clarissa joined in and glared in solidarity as she stored her whip.

"Quick! Off to the Main Cluster, the Great Bridge won't last forever!" The Admiral opted to run away in lieu of a response, his body blurring as he leapt more than 30 meters high into the air, all while carrying the enormous metal anchor on his back as if it weighed nothing.

Shin and Clarrissa stared at his rapidly departing form as he landed atop the nearby cruise ship and began to jog down it.

Shin sighed,

"At least he's got style." He teleported after the man, ignoring Clarissa's look of sheer disbelief, his mind focused on the future.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

In a distant land far from the First Layer...

A slim, graceful wooden ship, coated in a glistening silver layer of paint, soared through the void of the Third Layer. This majestic looking ship passed by dozens of floating islands, shooting through the sky as it flew in one direction.

On board this ship, several armored or robed figures could be seen, their identities hidden by their robes or face guards. These figures milled about, tending to the flying ship as it flew through the air.

Within the bowels of this ship, a large Captain's Cabin existed. It was decorated luxuriously with various animal pelts and a large collection of books. Two glowing crystal torches lit the room up, spreading a warm white glow.

"The setup for the Reckoning is almost complete. The Second Layer is nearing full preparation. All 2,837 Seeds have reached a relatively stable point, entering a time for optimal growth." Constantine Lancaster smiled as he closed his eyes in meditation, the air around him shivering faintly. He was sitting at an ancient wooden desk, resting back on a comfortable looking armchair. The desk was cluttered with random odds and ends, stacks of paper, and a deck of cards.

"All I need to do is wait for the Sanctum to open. That may take a few weeks to even a few months, but I'm in no rush. It's impossible for even the White Mountain Sect or the Ground Demon Sect to interfere now. Even my Seeds are unaware of the whole plan. I'll be in the Fourth Layer before it even starts." The Vile King stretched his hands out in front of him with a satisfied sigh.

"Now that that's handled, what did I make note of? Ah, right, let's finish up with the First Layer… I only have 124 Seeds left in the First Layer. The rest are dead or moved on to the Second Layer." He frowned slightly,

"Hmm… Seed 571 is placed rather well in the Nightrunners. I can't believe I haven't managed to get any Seeds into the leadership of the Angels Arcadia, though I wasn't really trying hard." The Vile King muttered quietly to himself, light flashing beneath his closed eyelids.

"Oh? Seed 532 has found someone interesting, hmm? Someone with a teleporting Type Ability. Perhaps I should catalog all the Abilities in the Shop...." He shrugged. There were hundreds and hundreds of distinct, complex Abilities, with certain Abilities having sub-categories, bringing the total number of Abilities into the thousands. Even for him, it wasn't feasible to have read through and memorized every single one. Cataloging them by similarity would make it easier to track what Abilities someone might have.

Still, he let his Seeds find their own natural route to power, he was not there to babysit them. All he did was give them that extra push, enhance their potential and talent, boost their strength. The choices they made, Abilities they purchased, were their own.

"532, 532… you have great potential, especially now that Head Cameron is dying. Flourishing and becoming an S Ranker that takes over in his stead should be a cinch. I won't try to bring you up." He nodded,

"But now you've found me something interesting. That's the second interesting thing I've found on the First Layer in only a few days. How strange." He blinked for a moment, his eyes giving off light as he smiled,

"He's not at a level worthy of gaining a Seed yet. Maybe if he shows more potential in the future. As for the other one…" Constantine's voice trailed off as his mind flashed back, focusing in on a memory.

A memory of a cool, calm, and collected warrior that had somehow managed to murder one of his Seeds on the First Layer, a masked sword user that showed some incredible skill. From the memories he could sift through from his dead Seed, he couldn't miss the excruciatingly detailed movements and control the masked man wielded.

A memory Micheal wasn't aware the Vile King would have been able to see in such detail, his knowledge of the man's Ability rather limited.

"What did he call himself? I think I caught something after he killed Seed 1,879…"

"Ah, that's right."

"Heron."

.

.

.

.

Volume 1 Stats (corrected):

Word Count: ~127,000 Words

Chapters: 71

Chapter 1 released: 70 days ago

Cost: Free :)

This story will always remain free, to help those that live in nations where Premium is super expensive or those that can't afford Premium because of financial difficulties. I want everyone to be able to read my story :)

If you do wish to support the story and the author, and want to read ahead, though, check out my Patron at this link here! -> http://bit.ly/joinwiz

I'd like to thank all of my generous Patrons. You all are why this story has continued to exist with such consistent updates. I could not be writing it without you.

Thank you.

Alright, onto the next Volume!

.