Reborn as the Genius Son of the Richest Family

Chapter 1068: Apocalypse or not?

Woah, right now?

[Yes. It is imperative for you to give me your choice. The heavenly signs above pose an incredibly fortuitous incident that will be incredibly helpful in your ascension to the Nascent Spirit realm. But it is fading. You have T-60 seconds to make a decision.]

Michael saw the explosion of colors, stars, and nebulous clouds in the skies start to darken, as if the veil that protected reality from its presence was slowly being reeled back.

If he waited a bit more, that window would close. Michael was now more sure than ever that the white sun he met back then was Gaia, the Iron Maiden.

Being so intertwined with the GodForge pieces, Gaia knew exactly what Michael needed in order to transcend to the Nascent Spirit realm.

And right now, she was telling him to take this chance she gave him.

But... should he?

According to ChatJK6, the technique that the Iron Maiden was showing him was inextricably linked to the apocalypse.

If he learned this technique, he could very well be responsible for the death of this world.

For the first time, Michael had no idea what to do.

This was probably the reason why Harbinger told him those words.

For him to transcend to the next realm, he had to accept his future.

Was his future the apocalypse? Would he be destined to be the one to destroy the world?

This would have been a very exaggerated thought... if he didn’t have a literal apocalyptic item stored in the Pocket Dimension of his drone.

Mariana’s Jewel still remained in a wooden box in that cabin, right next to the Internet Cube.

Perhaps, he really was destined for the apocalypse.

As the large omen in the skies faded, Michael was nearing the end of his decision.

Should he follow this path?

No.

He decided what he was going to be. His ultimate goal in life was to make everyone around him comfortable. That can’t happen if the world would just end in the future.

He was not the Harbinger of the Apocalypse. He was the Harbinger of the Future.

That was who he was.

[KUKUKUKUKU!]

Harbinger’s laugh echoed out of Michael’s mind, manifesting in reality as an echo that reverberated through the streets of the Nation of Reborn.

[That’s right, Michael! We do not bend to the rules of fate. We make it ourselves! That is how we usher everything into the future!]

Misty lights appeared above Michael’s head, slowly rotating to manifest the image of Harbinger’s body.

His legs, metallic, stalwart, dynamic. Its soles looked like a void, as if it held an infinitely deep propulsion system.

It connected to the knees with strong joints, made out of what looked to be steel, yet its flexibility and durability was far beyond that. Far beyond what was even possible.

Then, the arms. Strong and powerful. Its skin, made out of nanoparticles, moved and streamed alongside like veins, making everything incredibly versatile, like liquid armor.

Harbinger’s chest was glowing yellow, as if he held the sun in his heart. It made the silver, metallic sheen of the nanoparticles that made up the entirety of the armored mecha look like it was bathed with sunlight.

The only thing missing was his head.

And finally, misty lights began to form around the neck.

Michael’s eyes widened. Harbinger’s helmet was no helmet at all. It was a head. A human head. Not only that, but he recognized that face.

Black, curly hair. Sharp eyebrows. And a weathered look on his face.

He’d seen that visage far too many times back in his previous life, staring at the mirror with disappointment.

It was his face. His original body.

Harbinger had been him the entire time. He didn’t know why he hadn’t put the pieces of the puzzle together until now. Harbinger had been telling him about the truth from the very beginning.

He was Harbinger, and Harbinger was him. He just didn’t know how literal that was supposed to be.

[And this armor,] Harbinger said as he snapped his fingers, and the armor disappeared from his body, leaving him in a black body suit. [It’s just one of our powers. We’re not just a mecha. We are everything. We are the future. We are the pinnacle.]

Harbinger raised his hand. Nanoparticles began to swirl through his forearms and into his palms.

Then, a sword began to form in his grip. A few moments later, the sword melted, becoming a spear. Then a shield. And then, a gun.

Michael was dumbfounded as he finally saw his Diva’s true form. The mecha wasn’t his Diva. It was just a manifestation of his power.

What his Diva truly was, was himself. His previous life, all the knowledge, experience, and wisdom there.

Because of this, Michael felt a gate open in his mind. He felt a wave of possibility crash through his mind. He wasn’t just a man with incredible, mecha armor. He was a man who could have that. It was just one of his possibilities.

And he had a feeling that all of that would unlock once he transcended into the Nascent Spirit realm.

Unfortunately, it seemed that he would have to wait for a little bit more until he broke through to the next realm.

The phenomenon in the skies were slowly closing. Michael could feel the presence of the Iron Maiden start to weaken.

And since he rejected the technique she was offering him, he wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the immense heavenly power of a god to break through.

The eclipse was ending, with the moon beginning to slip away from the sun.

And as the light was about to shine upon the Parched Lands, Michael suddenly heard something from inside his head.

[Requesting permission.]

ChatJK6 spoke to him with urgency. And without even thinking about it, he nodded his head and agreed.

Even though he had no idea what she wanted to do, he trusted his personal AI assistant down to his core. He knew that she wouldn’t ever do something that would be detrimental to his health or progress.

And suddenly, Michael felt a set of instructions flow into his mind.

Knowing that their window was starting to close, Michael didn’t hesitate. He followed ChatJK6’s words.

He raised his hand, a [Switch] appearing clasped in his palms. With a click, his Unity Saber appeared.

Then, he pointed it straight at the phenomenon in the dark skies.

Michael felt the Aubility Power threads in his heart being influenced by that omen in the skies.

He unspooled the threads, directing it on his wrists.

Reality began to bend, flowing inward towards his wrist as if his hands were as dense and as gravitationally massive as a black hole.

This was one of his techniques. Quantum Step.

But he didn’t stop there. He commanded his Aubility Power to wrap around the Unity Saber.

The two destructive forces of nature met, but they didn’t display their usual volatility. Instead, they worked together. Reality began to bend around the edges of the Unity Saber, much like that in Michael’s wrist.

This was the Quantum Slash.

And now, he was combining both techniques to reach a threshold of power that he had never reached before.

The first time he combined these two techniques, it was incredibly inefficient. It was barely working.

But with ChatJK6’s new software, she was able to enhance the technique much further than what Michael could even think of.

Then, he looked up at the omen above the skies.

He only had one chance. One chance to reach the White Sun on the other side of the universe.

As the window closed, Michael took a deep breath.

Then, he jumped, thrusting the Unity Saber into the skies.

A pillar of incandescent force shot through the skies, right towards the phenomenon in the skies.

It was like a pillar of heavenly light, except it came from earth instead of up above.

The incandescent pillar hit an invisible barrier.

And despite Michael’s empowered efforts, the incandescent pillar did nothing to penetrate through otherworldly power in charge of the phenomenon.

But... destroying the phenomenon was never their original goal.

Michael and ChatJK6 just wanted to make contact with the White Sun!

As the white pillar clashed with the invisible heavenly barrier, ChatJK6 did her work.

Michael felt a flurry of information surge through his mind as ChatJK6 took in everything she could muster.

At first, it was just hot. Then, it began to feel scorching hot.

Michael felt his heart burning. ChatJK6 was siphoning some kind of energy from the heavens and into his body, making him feel as if he was being burned from the inside out.

”ARRGHGHHH!”

He shouted and shouted, until finally, the window to the phenomenon closed.

The sun returned to its usual brightness. The moon retreated back into his hiding place.

Everything was back to the way that it was.

Michael lurched forwards, unable to keep himself steady after that.

It was no longer painful, but he could still feel a different energy in his heart, like a malignant tumor.

Unable to take it any longer, he passed out, landing head first into the ground.