Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 202: Bugs in the Code

"Your insight helped me a lot, and thanks to you, I’m now closer than ever to achieving my goal."

Angela smiled lightly as she spoke, however, that smile vanished in the next second as she turned her gaze from the window to the man opposite her and continued.

"But asking me to work for you? Do you beings of the Zanerth Universe not learn from the past?"

A hint of irritation seeped through her voice and hearing this, the man’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’This isn’t good...’

"The last time something tried to force me to work for it, the Mercury Galaxy died. That should be enough for you to know I’m not exactly the best at working for people."

"Hold on a second, Angela. I don’t want you to work for me."

"I’m pretty sure that’s what you said earlier...twice."

The man froze for a second, but he quickly recovered his wits and continued.

"Scratch that. What I’m proposing now is an alliance of forces. Right now, my Legion is still under the radar of the Race Emperors since I’m still gathering forces.

However, once I grow big, there’s a possibility they may take notice so I want you to p-!"

"Stop right there...I don’t want to hear anymore. My answer is still NO."

Angela cut him off, having zero desire to hear about his genocidal plans which she already had a few ideas about.

She also knew it wasn’t ’Race Emperors’ he wanted her help with, and that was even more of a reason for her not wanting to help him.

"I’ve told you before. Your plan would fail."

"It would succeed if you help."

"And why would I help you murder quintillions of beings? I’ve already done that and I’m tired of it."

The woman waved him off, before looking out the window once more. Just as the man was about to speak, his words caught in his throat as the expression on Angela’s face morphed into something indescribable.

’Shock? Fear? FEAR??!!’

He raised his mask and cleaned his eyes before looking again, as if trying to confirm if what he saw on Angela’s face was a trace of fear.

Then, he turned out the window and traced her gaze, landing on the figure of—

"—a child?"

Imaginary question marks floated above his head when he saw that she was looking at a young child. He didn’t look too old, maybe 9 or 10 years old, and besides his pretty boy appearance, the man didn’t detect anything noticeable from the boy.

’But she did...no, she saw.’

He had this thought as he moved his gaze to the half-framed glasses on Angela’s face.

Unsurprisingly, Angela did not have eye defects. Her glasses also weren’t a fashion article since she wasn’t one to care much about that. Even the outfit she wore on now was picked out by her daughter who barely stopped her from going out in a lab coat and joggers.

This brought the question of why she wore the glasses, and only a few people knew this.

This man, having worked with Angela on her Hybrid project for years, knew this.

Truth Sight.

Angela’s glasses were a cosmic artifact which granted her that ability; to see the ’True Nature’ of almost anything.

With these glasses, Angela could perceive hidden truths and realities beyond the comprehension of ordinary beings.

Truth Sight allowed Angela to peer into other dimensions, observing realms and entities that existed outside the normal perception of reality. She could see through illusions and disguises, revealing the true forms and intentions of those around her. Her glasses also gave her the ability to read the auras and energies of individuals, discerning their emotional states.

Beyond this, Truth Sight enabled Angela to understand the true nature of objects and places. She could identify the origins and histories of artifacts, decipher complex magical and cosmic structures, and perceive the underlying principles governing various forms of energy and matter.

So, if she looked at this seemingly random boy and was so shocked that her teaspoon fell out of her hand, then there must be something peculiar about him.

’Wait...that’s not a random boy. That’s Robert Westley’s Son...!’

"...What was he called again, James? Jameson? Ah, Jamie, that’s right."

It took the man a while to remember the name of the Wolf Emperor’s son, but he finally got it right. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers in front of Angela’s ear, using sound magic to amplify the sound, making it loud enough to pull the woman from her daze.

"...what was that for?"

"You looked lost, that’s what."

"...if you could see what I just saw, then you’d be lost as well."

Angela replied after a short pause while the man just shrugged and said he couldn’t do that so he couldn’t relate to her.

Another little fact to be added, was that if anyone who wasn’t ’Angela Cathedral’ put on the glasses she wore, then their eyes would burn. It was a little trick she added to make sure no one else could use them. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"So, what about the kid got you looking so lost?"

"...he’s a Singularity..."

"That’s nothing new."

The Universe, in its vast and intricate expanse, operated through a myriad of Universal Laws and Aspects, guiding the natural order of existence. However, even these cosmic processes were not without flaws.

Perfection was an illusion, after all.

Singularities were among these flaws, known alternatively as Irregulars or Anomalies. Each one represented an uncontrollable ’Bug’ in the ’Code’ of the Cosmos.

Though described as ’rare,’ Singularities were relatively common when considering the sheer scale of the explored Universe, which spanned over 100 billion lightyears in diameter.

Millions of singularities existed, varying in their nature and impact, categorized by ’Grades’.

Approximately 90% of them were of lower grades, the higher grades constituted the next 9%, demonstrating more significant disruptions. The final 1% comprised the Top Grades...like Jamie who Angela had just seen.

These Singularities possessed a peculiar trait: they were points of uncontrollable growth.

Each one of their existences was so saturated with bugs that the laws of the Universe which were responsible for balancing things out and preventing bullshit from happening completely and catastrophically break down around them.

For instance, consider the Universal Law that dictates the maximum units of power any Legendary Realm existence could ever possibly wield is 150 units. This threshold is unbreakable without ascending to the Sovereign Realm.

Yet, a Singularity within the Legendary Realm might wake up one random morning and effortlessly decide to possess 400 units of power, all while remaining firmly within the Legendary Realm.

Take another Universal Law that stipulates stat values for beings at Levels 700-799 should be within the X1-, X1, and X1+ range. Along comes a Singularity at Level 750, flaunting X2+ or even X3- stat values as if it were the most ordinary thing in existence.

Another example was the case of Planetary Records—databases that recorded every activity that occurred on a given Planet.

Singularities, however, corrupt these records merely by existing. Attempting to examine these records would yield blanks wherever a Singularity had been, erasing all traces of their movements and actions on that planet.

Then there’s Causality, the autonomous Universal Law acting as the Universe’s Punisher and Bounty Hunter. Causality relentlessly pursues those who violate the cosmic rules or disrupt the balance of the Universe.

Yet, when it comes to Singularities, Causality’s retribution can be misdirected. It might strike down every individual in the vicinity except for the Singularity themselves, even if they are the primary offender.

They were ridiculous beings like that. They had ground-breaking abilities and skills, got stronger at speeds worthy of resentment and flouted level barriers as if they didn’t exist, achieving feats that defied logic and reason.

In the case of Top-Grade Singularities, their presence could lead to events and phenomena that bordered on the apocalyptic. Their potential for growth and disruption was virtually limitless, making them both incredibly powerful and exceedingly dangerous.

How did Angela see Singularities with her Truth Sight?

"Black Holes.

In the fabric of existence, Singularities, Irregulars, whatever fancy name you give them; they are like Black Holes that bend balancing laws around them."

Imagine the fabric of existence as a pristine white canvas, where energies and universal laws flow and intertwine to create the reality people live in. Singularities were like inky black spots on this canvas.

The otherwise smooth flow of laws bends around them, avoiding them as if they were a plague. Fate, Destiny, Causality, and Equilibrium were among those laws that steer clear.

However, the laws and attributes to which the Singularity was attuned were drawn to the centre of these Black Holes, sinking deeply into them before flowing out to re-join the interwoven laws that had bent around them.

When Angela looked at Jamie, she saw the law of space sinking in so deep that she momentarily feared Jamie was devouring the law of space itself. Fire, Lightning, Destruction, and several other laws also sank into him.

This phenomenon of laws ’sinking into’ Singularities explained why their affinities with those laws, already extraordinary by normal standards, become even more pronounced.

"That’s how all Singularities are, this Westley boy is no different. However, unlike others, he has...extra features."

Turning towards Jamie as she spoke, Angela observed the dark blue void expanding from his body, slowly encroaching on the fabric of existence around him.

It was as if he was a vortex, pulling in not just the laws he was attuned to but also creating a subtle disturbance in the reality itself.

’He doesn’t know. His other energies are perfectly controlled, but his void powers are not as controlled. He doesn’t know the full extent of his own power.’

"What does he look like to you?"

"A drop of ’nonexistence’ in the middle of ’existence’."

"...wut?"

The masked man let out a confused sound, clearly baffled by Angela’s analogy of Jamie and the woman chuckled at his reaction.

"His void powers defy the natural order of how even Void powers are supposed to work, creating a pocket of ’nonexistence’ within ’existence.’ It’s an anomaly, a paradox that he himself has yet to fully comprehend.

In simpler terms, he’s a wild card in the deck of the Universe. Unpredictable, powerful, and utterly unique."

Angela’s eyes gleamed behind her glasses as she leaned forward, a small smile curling on her lips.

"I’d like to make a Hybrid out of him...maybe he’d be a success."

The reason why Angela had said ’maybe’, was because, at this time, Jamie still hadn’t awakened to the trait which made her end up changing her decision in the future. Since he didn’t have that trait yet, she didn’t consider him to be a potential candidate.

"...Please don’t."

"Hahaha, I wouldn’t go after him. I don’t like trouble."

Angela laughed and leaned back in her seat, prompting the man who she was talking with to raise a brow behind his mask.

"Trouble? What Trouble can his father give you?"

"Hmm? Robert? He’s just a kid. He’s no trouble for me."

The masked man had assumed Angela was wary of Jamie’s father, but it turned out Robert wasn’t even on her radar. If not him, then what trouble could Jamie bring her, of all people?