Chapter 4: Chapter 3: The Institute
Ram could die.
Heck, he would die if he didn't master his abilities soon. After all, so many are out there wanting to kill him. But why?
He hadn't done anything to them.
"Why? Why would I be killed if I were discovered by them?" Ram asked Em.
Em looked grave. "They are not after you, but after your power. The reason why The Previous Elder of Time died was not because you had stabbed him. It was nothing compared to other wounds that he had received in the past.
"He had been in an intense battle with his nemesis, whose identity was unknown. They used to battle frequently. The battle would end every time it looked if one of them were on the danger of losing their life, usually The Previous Elder of Time. But…" Em trailed off, staring at nothing in particular, as if she were thinking about something else.
A powerful nemesis with whom the old man had battled many times? From the words of Em, The Elder of Time seemed powerful. But this nemesis was even more powerful than him.
Why were they fighting in the first place? Ram had so many questions, but he thought it would be better to wait for Em to reveal one by one. "But this time it was different?" he asked, hoping she would continue.
Em nodded. "They would usually warm up by trading normal blows, but right from the start, they started to use their powers.
"The battle was so intense that he had to shut me down. By the time I regained my consciousness, he was at his deathbed, saying that he had found his successor. It was my job to guide … you.
"At first, I didn't understood. Transfer of powers and memories would be done in such a way that you would feel as if you had been using them for a long time. But now I know the truth. You had chosen hard transfer mode," Em said.
Ram gulped. If only he had co-operated with the Old Man, all of this wouldn't have happened. He need time to learn his abilities as well as know more about The Institute. He asked her the same.
Em glared at him. "If only you had co-opera---"
"Stop. Right. There. I know my mistake now. Any sane man would react the same way I did. Can you let it go and explain it to me please?" Ram asked.
Em's gaze softened. "The Institute is the most powerful being in this world. Kind of like God that people believe in this world.
"He had seen and battled much in this world. For every evil being he had dealt with, more would emerge. It became so chaotic that he felt restless. He then decided to select 7 worthy individuals and gave them his power.
"They are called the Elders and we have Elders for Time, Water, Air, Fir, Earth, Sky and Space.
"At first, it had all been helpful. The Elders did their own thing, winning battles and cleansing the world of the evil. But somehow, the darkness had started to corrupt the Elders.
"To combat this, he had created The Institute, an organization with his own name and recruited many worthy individuals in it.
"Once they were trained enough, they would also granted a part of the powers. If they become powerful enough, they could challenge The Elders. If The Elder was defeated, he could choose to transfer his power and became mortal, or be killed and transfer his powers.
"The Institute did this so that he could defeat The Elders who were corrupted in this way. But as the way the organization grew, it became bigger and bigger and the whole of The Institute fell to its own trap, locked away.
"Now the Elders were the ones who were left. Some of the Elders were corrupt. We don't know who they were. But essentially, the Institute is divided into two factions. Those who are waiting for the release of The Institute and those who opposed against it. The former ones were called The Faction of Hope while the later took were called The Faction of Realists.
"The Faction of Hope were waiting for a worthy individual to come so that he could help release The Institute form its trap. But alas, we don't know when that happens.
"Elder of Time was the head of The Faction of Hope, and a powerful Elder at that. That's why he had been attacked so many times by The Faction of Realists. If others were to learn that you got the powers and don't know how to handle them, they could kill you and take the power for themselves," Em said.
The Institute, Elders and the Factions. All of this were too much for Ram. It was a very dangerous world indeed. The Old Man was the head of the Faction of Hope. It was good to know. But why had he chosen him? And the transfer of powers was also hard mode.
Damn it.
If he had any doubts before that all of this were either his dreams or his illusions that were laying a path for his insanity, all of them were washed away. At the same time, his head were filled with new doubts, which he was sure would take a long time to clear.
But he know one thing for sure.
He would definitely die. It's just a matter of time. But wait. There's something else.
He looked at Em. "Wait! There is a way for me to survive. All I have to do was give them the powers right. I could be mortal. I don't mind being one. After all, I could get to live my life the way it is," he said.
Em sighed. "There is no way that they are going to leave you alone. They will kill you if you were in their hands. And besides, the previous Elder of Time had chosen you for a reason. We have to trust him. The only way for you to overcome this was for you to learn your abilities sooner," she said.
"But we don't have much time," Ram said.
"We could borrow Time. But it's risky," she said.
Borrow time? Ram thought for a moment. Was it one of his powers? "How?" he asked.
"There is a device that helps us to get into a Pocket World of Time that consumes your power. It was not a place that belonged to earth, but from a place where the Power of Time comes from. It has many individual towers within it and one such tower is Tower of Time Flow, where according to your wishes, you could alter the flow of time in such a way that it could be either faster or slower.
"If we were to use it in such a way so that the time inside was much slower than outside, then you could learn all of your abilities and you could step out of it once you were as powerful as the Previous Elder of Time," Em said, her eyes glowing.
Ram was thrilled at first. That his life could be saved. But he felt something was amiss. "What was the cost?" he asked.
"You would age much faster than you would outside," she said.
"I would become an Old man?" Ram asked.
Em chuckled. "Yes, but it doesn't matter," she said.
"It does matter! I have so many dreams and one amongst them was getting the love of Sandhya. No, I can't chose it," Ram said.
"Then prepare yourself to die."
Weekly Power Status
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