CHAPTER 248: GAZE

"This outcome... even I didn’t foresee it."

Adyr hovered silently beneath the clouds, his white wings outstretched as he gazed down at the plaza below. The entire crowd had dropped to their knees, a heavy silence blanketing the scene. A quiet chuckle slipped from his lips.

He hadn’t come here solely because his sister had asked. That was only a surface reason. In truth, this appearance was a calculated step—meant to project strength, shape perception, and prepare the people for a future system where he alone would define order. One built not through fear, but through alignment—where his image, presence, and ideals would quietly become law.

Even with all his precise planning, Adyr hadn’t anticipated the full scale of the impact. Grace’s sudden display of overwhelming power had driven the crowd into reverence. And when the City Manager—clearly aware of Adyr’s deeper intentions—chose to broadcast all the moments across the network, endorsing not just his words but his presence, it tipped the balance even further.

The result? Far beyond expectations.

And the benefits he reaped went far beyond the crowd’s reaction.

[Talent Recognition: "Tactician (Lv4)" confirmed.]

- Talent identified through consistent strategic foresight, adaptive planning, and successful manipulation of shifting variables in high-pressure environments.

- Proceed with registration to the Status Panel?

- Cost: 400 Energy

- Reward: 80 Free Stat Points

The system upgraded his Tactician talent to level 4 from level 3, but that wasn’t the biggest advantage he gained.

As he reviewed the system messages, his eyes lit up when he saw that his Observer talent had finally evolved into a Bloodline talent.

"So, this one has finally become a Bloodline talent," he murmured quietly, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

[Talent Recognition: "[Omnisight (Lv1)] (Genesis)" confirmed.]

- You see beyond the veil of time, where fate unfolds and secrets chime, wielding sight that bends the infinite line.

- Proceed with registration to the Status Panel?

- Cost: 100 Energy

- Rewards: 20 Free Stat Points, Gaze

"I have a feeling I know what this power grants." Adyr raised one eyebrow expectantly as he read the description.

Gaze:

An eternal vision that pierces the veil of time, revealing hidden strengths and fatal flaws alike—empowering the bearer to command destiny’s path before it even unfolds.

As he had suspected, the description closely matched what he was thinking. With a deliberate breath, he spent 100 energy points and registered the talent.

Suddenly, his eyes flared fiercely, a burning sensation spreading deep within—as if worms writhed behind his eyelids. A sharp, throbbing pain twisted through his vision, making the world before him distort and warp.

The discomfort was so intense that for a moment, he almost reached for the dagger at his waist, tempted to gouge out his own eyes just to end the torment. But he restrained himself, forcing patience as the unbearable feeling gradually subsided.

Minutes passed. Finally, the oppressive sensation ebbed away, and Adyr opened his eyes again. His pupils were as black and deep as ever, seemingly unchanged on the surface. Yet, inside them, a miniature cosmos of countless shimmering stars swirled, as if a tiny universe had settled within his gaze.

Adyr’s gaze swept carefully over the clouds above, then shifted down to the plaza below where the crowd knelt in silent reverence. His new power didn’t sharpen his vision or extend his sight—it revealed something far deeper.

Wherever he looked, it was as if two overlapping scenes played out simultaneously before his eyes.

One was tethered to the present, bound by time and space, showing reality as it was.

The other defied all natural laws, flowing independently, revealing the rapid unfolding of future events in the scene—a vivid preview beyond the constraints of this world.

This was the true essence of Gaze: not merely sight, but a glimpse into the threads of fate itself.

The clouds appeared in two simultaneous scenes—one drifting slowly, serene and unchanging; the other accelerated, revealing glimpses of the near future.

"I can see up to ten seconds ahead?" Adyr calculated quickly, comparing the two views.

This was no mere prediction like when he fought mutants, tracking muscle movements and trajectories to guess their next move.

This was reality—no guesswork needed. He saw the next ten seconds with absolute certainty.

But that wasn’t his only advantage.

Focusing on the moving clouds, Adyr drew one of the swords on his back, cloaked it in Malice, and prepared to strike.

Suddenly, multiple scenes unfolded before his eyes. One showed the clouds drifting undisturbed in real time. Another revealed the same clouds ten seconds ahead, still untouched by any disturbance. The third displayed the arc of Malice cutting through the clouds, scattering them.

This vision didn’t just show a possible future; it revealed how his actions within those ten seconds would branch reality into different variations—a parallel flow of timelines.

"It’ll take some time to get used to, but this is an incredible power." Adyr sheathed his sword again, noting how the three visions narrowed back down to two—the present timeline with the drifting clouds and the accelerated stream showing ten seconds into the future.

It wasn’t like looking at two separate screens with two eyes. Instead, it was a flood of data sent directly to his mind, constantly active. To control it, he had to keep his brain sharply focused to prevent overload—this was the hard part. But Adyr didn’t mind.

There was no way to switch it off—it functioned like a passive skill, constantly active. But he was already adapting. With some practice, he was confident this talent would soon become a seamless extension of himself.

"Okay, I feel a little dizzy," Adyr admitted he wasn’t adapting that quickly, beating his wings as he flew toward the nearby hoverjet still idling in place and slipped through its open hatch.

Despite his high stats, Gaze was taxing on his neural system. Until his brain fully synchronized with the new sensory input, it seemed the ability would continue to trigger mild disorientation signals—temporary vertigo, likely caused by the overlapping temporal streams.