Vampire: World of Blood
Chapter 193 193: Ace Grand Plan And Merciless Grand Plan For The Future

"I knew he was strong...

Merciless spoke in a calm yet cautious tone as he continued.

"But this feels like overkill. Damn... my eyes are telling me he's actively searching for me... ugh, and now Albedo and Alucard have joined the hunt too, huh?"

Merciless grinned to himself, a smile stretching across his face as the truth unfolded before him.

Even from high above, where he hovered, he could see everything clearly. At this point, his presence was essentially an extension of his senses, including his sight, it was almost like an extension of his own body, stretching outwards.

At this moment, his killing intent was so strong that it could easily wipe out multiple level 4 beings if he truly meant to kill. But right now, he was merely stretching his presence, using it to rapidly siphon information from the world around him.

With each passing second, his understanding grew exponentially, feeding off everything within his reach. His eyes, however, only functioned if things were in his direct line of sight.

With just a thought, his eyes sharpened everything into focus, uncovering what was hidden. He could see Jordan's intentions, though some parts were obscured as if something was shielding the key details. Still, his eyes had the power to decipher anything given enough time.

From his vantage point, he spotted Jordan and his group making their way in his direction, with Albedo leading the charge and tracking him down.

Merciless nodded to himself.

This was progress, his eyes were finally settling, and he was beginning to control the flow of information better.

He could now see everything his presence touched. It became obvious how Albedo was tracking him, even through the chaotic mix of auras. Albedo's ichor was incredibly versatile, giving him unmatched potential, possibly the greatest among all energy-type ichor users.

Merciless glanced at his hand, feeling the life memories of both Ace and Mildred coursing through him. He smirked, then turned his gaze toward the distant mountains.

Pointing straight ahead, he calmly said.

"Second Slash: First form: Vertical."

In that instant, the memories of Ace's powers surged through Merciless, using his own body as a conduit. An unstoppable vertical slash burst forth, swift and precise, slicing through the air and cleaving several mountains clean in half without meeting any resistance. Merciless glanced down at his hand, a hint of disappointment crossing his face, as he muttered to himself.

"So that's the limit egh?!...

Merciless muttered to himself as he channeled one of Ace's techniques, infusing the memory of it directly into his cells and unleashing it, giving it a physical form. That's how he managed to pull off the second slash.

But there was a problem.

The attack was supposed to be an endless vertical cut that could slice through anything as long as the fear of being cut was present. And once Ace locked onto a target, it was a guaranteed hit that took effect instantly.

The strike was brutal: any wound it inflicted couldn't be healed, not even with regeneration or healing abilities could fix it.

Worse yet, it left a passive bleeding effect that caused the victims to bleed endlessly until they died, provided they had blood to lose in the first place. Only a few things could bypass this, like Abadis' ichor, but generally, it ignored all forms of durability.

Despite the complexity, his atman wasn't all bad.

Through various dark rituals and genetic modifications, aided by a Jahad scientist, Solomon vampires, and demon practitioners he manages to recreate his ichor and enhance his ichor's quality and efficiency.

In the process, he transformed his heart into more than just a supernatural organ, it became a demonic artifact, a fusion of his atman and vampiric ichor. This combination merged their effects without diluting the powers on either side, meaning both powers abide by their systematic without affecting either side, meaning both ichor and atman still follow the same principle.

Originally, his ichor had an ability called Material Breakdown. With it, he could disassemble objects into their fundamental components.

At first, by simply touching something, he could break it down into the elements and materials that made it up. As his power evolved, it reached the atomic level, allowing him to separate elements and trigger chain reactions, even bending the laws of physics around him to some degree.

By the time he reached level 3, his abilities expanded further. He could alter memories, splitting them apart to change a person's very nature. He could remove their sanity, make them insane, or even restore their sanity.

But level 4 was when his ichor's true potential began to show.

At level 4, he could prevent someone from evolving by separating their potential or progress from them given he was stronger.

He could neutralize attacks by splitting apart their effects, provided he understood their composition and how they worked. It was at level 5, however, that his power took its greatest leap: he gained the ability to separate the dual aspects of things.

For example, if someone was inherently weak, he could strip away that weakness, allowing them to evolve into something stronger. He could even separate cause from effect, making it impossible for him to be harmed by something that had injured him in a previous timeline.

Essentially, this gave him near-perfect adaptability, but that only worked alongside the fifth slash, given level 5 was when his ichor and Atman started to fuse into their own thing.

Ace could boost his speed by separating the slowness from his movements.

He could manipulate time in a localized area of his ichor by splitting the flow of time from space. However, there were limitations: if his opponent or thing in question was stronger or as strong as him, the effects of these separations were temporary, lasting only about 15 seconds.

For the strongest enemies, even conceptual separations might only hold for a few minutes or maybe even seconds.

As a result of his fused atman and ichor, he wielded 10 immaterial swords, each symbolizing his unique power. These swords could cut through abstract concepts and dualities, acting as formidable weapons created from the blend of his two distinct abilities. The sharpness of each sword varied, depending on what it was designed to cut.

The limitation was clear: what he could cut depended on the sharpness of the swords. However, the stronger he grew, the sharper these swords became. Designed specifically to slice through dualities, they couldn't cut everything, just like a dull blade cannot cut through certain materials. In a twisted way, these dual-cutting swords perfectly represented his fused powers working as one along with the current progress of his power.

Merciless sifted through Ace's memories, piece by piece. Ace's abilities were impressive, but it was almost tragic, he was now a mere shadow of his former self. Back in the primordial era, he had been one of the most terrifying prime fears.

Ironically, it wasn't an enemy that brought about his fall, but the relentless passage of time. Like a once-great sword left to corrode, the years had dulled his edge.

According to the memories that now course through Merciless's mind, before becoming Ace, he was known as the Primordial Devil Amon, A wrath-type devil.

Amon embodied the collective fear of being cut, the primal terror that ran through humanity's veins. In a time when swords, knives, and spears were wielded with deadly regularity, the fear of being sliced apart was universal.

This made him a prime fear, an ancient devil tied to one of the oldest and most visceral terrors in existence. As one of these prime fears, Amon was once unrivaled, feeding on the dread that filled battlefields, butcheries, and every dark corner where a blade could strike.

In the grand scheme of things, there were two types of collective unconscious: the Lesser Consciousness and the Greater Consciousness.

The Lesser Consciousness was a swirling nexus of belief that existed in every universe, shaping its lore, myths, and cosmological design. Every universe had its own distinct swirl also known as fragments, driven by the beliefs of its inhabitants.

Because belief is influenced by the unique experiences and perspectives of a universe, no two realities were ever truly the same. Even when similarities appeared, variations would inevitably emerge, ensuring that each reality developed its own distinct flavor.

The Greater Consciousness, however, was on an entirely different level. From what Merciless had gleaned from the memories of the Queen, it was tied directly to the Info Mother; the Mother of Memories, the Mother of Mind, the First Belief, the Second Originator, known simply as The Alteration.

The Info-Mother was a being of pure abstraction, representing the totality of all information that exists or will ever exist.

If we imagine the soul as a fusion of different aspects of existence, given that is what they are, then the All-Mother embodies the aspect of Alteration. The line of alteration governs everything related to information: mind, memory, secrets, knowledge, and belief.

In the context of a soul, she acts as the force that binds all information together, projecting all aspects into existence manifesting their information at the forefront, such as emotions, individual traits, unique abilities, and genetic essence.

In simpler terms, the All-Mother is the glue that holds the fabric of individuality in place. She is the force of change, the archive of creation, and the keeper of the sea of ideology. Her influence extends over all other origins, making her the closest entity to the First Origin of Creation.

In the current universe Merciless inhabited, Ace held the title of the Prime Fear of being cut. However, his downfall wasn't due to another powerful entity, but because the collective fear of being cut had diminished over time.

With modern advancements and the decline in the use of blades and edged weapons, this primal fear lost its grip on people's minds. What used to be a universal terror was no longer as significant.

But there was a twist: because Ace had a lore, his existence was recorded in the Fragment System Archive, basically a system that works in tangent to the lesser collective unconscious, and each collective has one.

The system is a kind of cosmic database that stores the histories and stories of powerful beings. As such his status as a Prime Fear wasn't simply erased by the decline in his associated fear. Instead, his lore was preserved, and his Prime Fear status remained intact.

However, this lore could only be altered by Lady Aeon herself or by someone who had become an Outerdream.

In simpler terms, while the fear of being cut had weakened, Ace's established lore kept his status as a Prime Fear secure, regardless of the changing beliefs of the universe.

It's just that his power has declined greatly, and as a result in order to reach new heights, he formulated a plan.

To increase the power of his Atmnan which was dubbed Scabbard.

So in an attempt to reclaim his former power, he asked one of his old rivals, and basically his elder senior sister, the death devil, a pride-type devil to reincarnate him, and that was how he was reborn as Ace.

Ace's reincarnation happened just under 209 years ago, before he reincarnated he was still alive during the Great War, when Eos and the Primarchs clashed for control over their universal region.

Eos emerged victorious, forcing the six remaining Primarchs into hibernation, where they waited in the Great Gardens. Once they awaken, another universal war for dominance will erupt.

The victor of this conflict will claim the title of regional leader, a highly coveted position because this region in particular compared to others, holds the richest resources and energy sources in the entire universe.

These assets are not just valuable, they are essential for those seeking to ascend to higher planes of existence. This region's concentrated energy makes it a prime location for cultivation and the development of transcendent abilities.

Be it evolution, fortunate encounters, energy cultivation, enlightenment, or any other path to transcendence, this universal region in particular is the best place to start one's journey.

After all, for those aiming to ascend, it's not just about raw power; having a solid foundation in the lesser plane is extremely crucial.

Mastering one's chosen concepts and laws behind them, whether they pertain to time, space, elements, or more abstract things like fears and emotions; basically anything that is an idea, is the first step.

This mastery lays the groundwork for advancing through the conceptual hierarchy of each plane, where each level represents a deeper and more refined understanding of reality's underlying principles.

The stronger one's foothold in the lower plane, the better their initial advantage in the higher plane, where the competition becomes fiercer and more abstract than ever.

Transcendence isn't a process to rush.

Any expert in the craft of ascension knows the importance of maximizing one's potential in the lower realms before attempting to move higher.

By honing their abilities and deepening their understanding, an ascender gains the capacity to wield their concepts with precision and power in the higher planes; although there are others aiming to reach the prime state of their chosen concepts, henceforth cultivating those concepts in the higher realm is a competition to go up the ranks.

Although it can take eons to get a decent foundation before ascending, this slow and deliberate cultivation path ensures stability and strength, giving a lasting advantage when the time for ascension finally comes.

Those who prematurely ascend often find themselves outmatched by those who took the time to perfect their craft, making patience and preparation the wisest strategies for anyone aiming for true greatness.

Knowing that stakes Ace, and given his unfortunate situation, Ace formulated a plan even before his reincarnation.

He knew that Eos was nearing ascension; it was common knowledge at the time he had left an avatar in each age, and maximized their potential before leaving another, using different methods to acquire greater concepts he could use and cultivate when reaching the higher realm.

And once that happened, another Primarch would inevitably seize the throne.

Since the path Eos chose this time around, was to become a Primarch which gives you access to all of Mother Gaia's secrets.

Ace set his sights on this opportunity; after all, if he was the one who takes the throne, it would, and could help him pave his way to a higher realm of existence.

So to maximize his chances, of even becoming a primarch under Gaia, which is basically a being loved by Mother Gaia, he would first need to qualify for it, by reaching the peak of a certain race, and being the progenitor of said race to begin with which is the qualification needed to even be considered a primarch.

And to ensure his victory over the other primarchs, he himself needed power to even rival them to begin with.

So his method to achieve this goal was simple, he needed to be reborn as one of the most formidable beings in creation, via means of reincarnation his conceptual soul.

His choice? A vampire like Eos, given how overpowered they are, since vampires are a race known for their immense power in the supernatural world, and since vampires by nature do not possess souls, taking over one would be easy, if it was a baby.

His stronger existence would naturally overwrite the information of the child spectrum at birth, seamlessly absorbing its information and taking full control of the vampiric body, ensuring a successful reincarnation.

However, Ace's ambition didn't stop there. He also aspired to become a true Spawn, a being created from the bloodlines of the 12 Originators, known for their unparalleled strength and unique abilities also called authorities.

Ace's senior sister, who had already transcended to a higher plane, suggested an unconventional yet brilliant strategy to do this of course.

Since Ace was a being of pure concept, he possessed what's known as a conceptual soul, a type of soul far superior to that of ordinary souls, normal beings have, basically souls that have no problem with endless reincarnation, as it was not under the laws of heaven also known as pantheons.

His sister and formal first rival proposed splitting his conceptual soul into two halves, allowing him to reincarnate into two separate bodies simultaneously.

The first half would inhabit the body of a vampire, provided by the 6th Progenitor given he and his sister both were close to Solomon, ensuring a formidable vessel that Solomon found suitable of course, since he was in on this plan as well, given Solomon owed the death devil a favor.

The second half would then be reborn into a superhuman body by his senior sister as well, this next body was naturally chosen for its unrivaled potential among all races.

This dual reincarnation served a strategic purpose. Both halves would undergo a process of rapid cultivation using advanced chi techniques, a method the Death Devil had taught Ace before his rebirth, to help her sworn brother ascend to greater power, it was the least she could do to help Amon.

Given that her rival Amon has helped her many times in the past, one such instance was blessing her scythe, Altos Metra, making it a blade that can cut anything deemed below her, and each cut also induces absolute death upon infliction of the target.

This advanced chi technique, essentially a form of dual cultivation that would aid in enhancing power through sexual energy exchange via this ancient and advanced technique, worked by simultaneously stimulating the female's yang chi and the male's yin chi, which can cause a chain reaction to speed up evolution.

Given Chi is the energy of life.

This process would harmonize the masculine and feminine aspects of Ace's split soul, stabilizing and strengthening both halves. By leveraging this method, the split souls could rapidly accelerate their growth, bypassing the traditional ichor ascension systems of both the vampire and superhuman races.

Instead of following conventional paths, they would reach the peak of their respective races, for the vampire race as far as Ace knew, the threshold was level 7, and for superhuman, it would be Ex+, these levels of power would be achieved at an unprecedented speed.

It functioned much like the bond between vampiric twins but involved a more sophisticated, and extremely intimate method that allowed for even faster evolution.

And once both bodies reached their full potential, they would have a child.

This offspring would be enhanced through intense genetic modifications, designed to push its limits even further.

Ace's plan was to merge his soul with that of the child, but to do that perfectly he would first need to become a spawn of the 12th lines to gain their unique natural abilities.

This process, although slow and requiring years of careful planning on Ace's part, was crucial for achieving his ultimate form, with the child born from both him and his female counterpart that being Mildred.

Henceforth becoming a Spawn was another essential piece of the puzzle.

The line of Unity is one of the most powerful among the 12, it was a line of Spawns that had the unique capability to merge with other beings, given those of Unity have ties with the concept of duality, which by default is one of the 12 universal aspects of creation.

By aligning himself with this bloodline, Ace would gain access to unparalleled abilities, allowing him to transcend his former prime self.

Or that is what his current goal was with this careful plan of his.

By the end of these steps, he would wield two vampiric laws, one originating from himself and the other from the enhanced child. Additionally, he would possess the peak capabilities of a superhuman and vampires as well, and his hybrid bloodline would grant him extraordinary powers that far surpassed ordinary devils.

Along with the authorities of the male, female, and child counterparts.

With this newfound power, Ace intended to claim the throne of this universal region and usher in a new era, one defined by endless conflict and the eradication of technological advancements.

His vision was to revert his universal region to a state similar to the Age of Darkness, where raw power and primal fear dominated once again.

Only by eliminating the current generation of Primarchs could Ace secure his position and ascend to a higher plane of existence. While there were other paths to transcendence, they were exceedingly rare and much harder to navigate in the current age. But this method was by the best given it provided an insane amount of rewards if done right.

And besides he really wants to become a higher being to meet his old rival.

Ace's desire to reunite with the Death Devil was strong, yet upon his reincarnation, he found no avatar left behind by her, in a sad way it was a stark reminder of how far he had fallen. Before his decline, Ace had been on the verge of ascension.

And he was pretty sure he was probably one of the rare prime fears that had yet to ascend.

And that was something he could and would not accept.

As such, he would stop at nothing to reclaim his status.

Merciless, on the other hand, looking at all this, opens his eyes, his attention to the blood crystal in his hands, as he comments.

"How intriguing...

Merciless said, clearly pleased with this information he had stolen from Ace's memories.

"So becoming a Primarch is one of many paths to ascend, huh... but this path of ascension is one that provides a lot of benefits compared to the other methods."

He announced as if contemplating something.

Merciless let out a deep, frustrated sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if trying to press away the weight of realization.

"So... the only way to kill the gods with my own hands is to become one of them."

He muttered, his voice tinged with a bitter edge.

"How infuriating... To destroy what I despise most, I have to turn into the very thing I loathe."

Regardless of race or status, ascending to the higher realm essentially turns you into a god. Each being that reaches this plane follows a unique conceptual path, cultivating it with the sole purpose of achieving 100% mastery.

He paused, the words hanging in the air like a heavy, unspoken burden.

His fists clenched at his sides, nails digging into his palms, blood dripping towards the ground as a result.

"I don't like it....

He said to himself.

And continued.

"Not one bit."

He admitted, his voice breaking slightly at the very thought.

"But I can't afford to be picky now, can I?...

"Sigh!! The things, I do in selfish pride... oh well, if becoming one of them is what it takes to tear them down... then so be it...

"That path is still a distant dream... but I will sure... I dedicate every moment of this immortal life, to becoming the strongest... if there is no one but me at the very top... then who can question even dream of questioning my selfishness, to begin with?"

Merciless said to himself, as he made up his mind.

"I've made up my mind, I'll become a Primarch before the next great war for the throne of the universe. But why stop there? This world is full of opportunities. As Ace's memories suggest, the stronger your foundation, the more formidable you become when you ascend to the higher plane. So, I just need to build a foundation so powerful that, even after I reach the higher realm, my very existence will threaten the order itself... then by the end of it, we will see who has the last laugh."

He said to himself, before relishing the silence, a wicked smile slowly emerging on his face.

"Ohhh Ace... to should I say, Amon, I gotta admit you've handed me a golden opportunity, haven't you? This is priceless. Game recognizes game, Mr. Cutting Devil hehehehehe...

His smile widened more, sharp and predatory.

"Your plan is good, Ace, so good, in fact, that I think I'll make it mine. But to do that, I'll need your body. Both halves of it, male and female. With my current power, it won't be easy to overwrite your memories and essence, but it's a challenge I'm more than willing to accept."

"Then and again a vampire has nothing but time on their side."

But as he spoke, a familiar voice echoed inside his mind, a voice smooth and cold, dripping with amusement.

'My partner in crime, why even bother, ten years, give or take, and I assure you, that goal of taking his body can be achieved... after all, under my tutelage overwriting a body like his should be child's play for you.'

At these words, Merciless attention shifted as he said.

"Hmmm... Silk!?"

'Who else but me partner?!'

Silk said, her tone almost teasing.

As she continued.

'In fact, I can teach you a technique that harnesses the power of Nothingness. With it, you can take other people's literal existence as your own; Down to the very concept of their being tricking the very world itself into thinking that you are them.'

Merciless's eyes widened slightly, surprised by her offer.

"Given how souls work in our universe a technique like that... it sounds almost impossible not going to lie."

But Silk just replied back.

'Not if you grasp my NEC technique.'

Said Silk as she continued.

'With it, domination of the soul through the application of placing your non-existence application over what already exists within the body you can easily take other people's existence as your own. If you master it, you won't just take his body; you'll become him in the eyes of reality itself.'

Naturally, Merciless responded with a smirk as he floated toward Lia, who stood in the sphere of reality made by Abadis memories given form and life.

"Oh? Is that so… How interesting."

He mused.

"But you know, you and I are going to be stuck with each other for a very long time, till death do us part, an eternity you can. So, I'll be looking forward to your lessons."

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