Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer
chapter-296

"...failure, huh?"

The old frame of the Celestial God stared at the skies with a stoic expression on his face.

He sighed and continued to relax on his rocking chair, still feeding the worm with an apple that doesn't seem to run out despite being constantly bitten.

This failure made him feel complicated. It wasn't the first that he had failed at something, but this specific failure might come back and bite him in the ass.

The Celestial God has been alive for eons. From the moment he was born, he was destined to become a ruler, a creator, and a God. One could say that it was his birthright.

If that was all, however, he wouldn't have to go to lengths, scouring universes for something. The reason why he did so was that he was informed of a certain prophecy that spelled his downfall.

It came from one of the Oracles he created. They predicted that someone will come and end the Celestial God's life and reign.

Normally, he would just ignore such nonsense, but he truly couldn't since the Oracle who predicted that has never been wrong before.

He never admitted this, but the Celestial God was consumed by his fears. He couldn't imagine himself dying but the sheer concept of it scares him. He didn't want to die. He wanted to live and rule forever.

That's why he created an army that would scour vast universes for him. He hid his intentions, saying that this was a Holy Mission to spread his gospel and bring other creatures to light. This way, his army wouldn't question anything.

He had also stolen the providence of the worlds that they conquered. He did so to increase his chances of survival. He basically used the power of luck to protect his life. And he had gotten way stronger than before.

But despite his personal growth, the Celestial God just can't shake the feeling away. The looming threat of death continued to hang over his head and he did not like it.

He searched across time and numerous universes, but the fated child of prophecy continued to elude him. He initially started thinking that the prophecy might not come true at all since he was not seeing signs. But his mind was already consumed by his fears, so he continued searching for it anyway.

Eventually, his minions came across that backward planet. And the moment they did so, the Celestial God felt a jolt in his chest. He initially ignored it, but as time passed, he noticed that that backward planet possesses some uniqueness to it that he couldn't explain.

Moreover, the locals of that planet were lasting longer than everybody expected them to.

Eventually, they started fighting back. And in that same moment that he discovered that his Son got placed under hypnosis, the Celestial God finally realized that he had found what he had been looking for all this time.

He was confident about it. No other race had put his minions under heavy assault unlike what Humans did. And through Karmic Reading, the Celestial God learned about the existence of the man who was responsible for the swift growth of Humanity.

The moment he saw Ashton's face, the Celestial God felt certain that he was the Child of Prophecy.

He could feel the sheer disgust and hatred in Ashton's heart. The child despises him more than anything else in this world, and he's using that to raise an army that would match them in hopes of eradicating them.

The fact that he nearly came close to doing so, frightened the Celestial God immensely. This is why, even though it goes against his honor and morals, he made a move to snuff out the threat before it was too late.

He pitied the child. If he was more careful, then he would've been able to put up a fight. Unfortunately, the Celestial God didn't like that idea either so he could only kill him.

What he wasn't expecting though, was for that child to possess a trump card that would save his life.

He escaped certain death and even manage to imprison the Celestial God in the Celestial Realm; his very own world.

The Celestial God tried to break the restriction but to his overwhelming surprise, he couldn't do so. It didn't matter how hard he tried nor how long he calculated. There was nothing he could do to break free from this imprisonment.

However, the Celestial God knows that this imprisonment wouldn't be permanent. He could tell that this was just made to buy time for the child. He couldn't break it, yes. But it wouldn't stay this way forever. Eventually, he will be freed.

But until that time comes, the Celestial God could only helplessly stay where he was.

He wouldn't stay idle though. Since the Child of Prophecy still lives, he will prepare for their eventual clash.

The Celestial God will amass strength. He will do anything and everything to prevent the prophecy from ever coming true.

"Do your worst, little hare. Next time, I will not hold back. I will kill you."

***

Time has lost its meaning for Ashton.

He felt as if he had been traveling for such a long time that his thoughts turned blurry. He doesn't know how long has passed since he began.

His emotions had settled down by now. He was still emotionally wounded because of what happened but it was something that he couldn't really prevent.

If he should blame someone, it could only be himself because it was he who didn't do enough. If he just made sufficient preparations, this wouldn't have happened at all.

But it's too late for regrets now. He still doesn't know where this would lead him but he could only do his best. He made a promise, and he intends to do whatever it takes to uphold them.

All of a sudden, he felt his entire world shaking.

He felt discombobulated for a bit, which was then followed by a sharp ringing in his head. His vision was spinning and he felt unbelievably weak.

Then, he opened his eyes...

A groan escaped from his lips as he got up. He took a couple of deep breaths to ease the pain he was feeling and he managed to feel better even just a little bit. His head was still throbbing but it was tolerable now. He just feels weak, that's all.

When he got his vision working properly, he began surveying his surroundings.

He was in the middle of a lush and vast forest. The sky was being covered by tall trees creating a comfortable shade. The air was crisp and cool. He could hear the sound of crickets and running water nearby.

Ashton was alone. There were some insects nearby but they don't count.

After surveying his surroundings, Ashton looked down at his body and discovered something unusual.

He was wearing a rather fancy robe made out of animal hide. His body was weak...and smaller as well as thinner than what it was supposed to be. His skin was also several shades paler than he could remember.

Ashton furrowed his brows and had a wild thought. Wanting to confirm it, he dragged himself towards the nearby source of water.

He still can't get over the feeling of weakness, but despite this, he managed to find the nearby water source. He went close to it, then he crouched down, looking at his reflection in the water.

"I fucking knew it..."

The image he saw was that of a teenager with pointed ears. He had waist-length faded silver hair with some sections in braids. Two doe-like eyes with obsidian pupils, a high-bridged nose, sunken cheeks, and a prominent jawline. The teenager was thin and sickly pale too.

He couldn't believe it, he was actually inhibiting another body.

Ashton never thought that this would happen again, and judging from his starting point, he had every right to start overthinking, especially on how he was supposed to uphold his promise to Aria.

That's when he heard a loud beep in his mind, reminding him of the System's existence.

[Mission: Karmic Repayment, initiated!]

[Mission Contents: Discover the truth of this world and your purpose here to complete the mission.]

[Note: Usage of the System's functions is extremely limited whilst this mission is still ongoing. Some of the functions are outright disabled. Please explore on your own, Host. Best of luck!]

"Wow...so helpful. Thanks a lot, I guess." Ashton sarcastically remarked as he closed the system prompts.

Really, he had the worst start here. He doesn't know where he was, doesn't know what his identity is, and can't even rely on the System to help him.

All he knows is that he's alive. And that should count for something...

"Whatever...let's just see what I'm working with."

Ashton scooped out some water to drink since he was parched. He also cleaned his face since he was dirty. After that, he found a smooth surface upon the stone formations near the river stream and sat down on it.

He then proceeded to dive deep into the recesses of this body's mind and memories. If the system can't help him, then he would just help himself instead.

After scouring the memories of this body's original owner, Ashton opened his eyes out of sheer surprise...