CHAPTER 43: LIMIT

Limit?

Tatehan pondered the word immediately, his enhanced brain processing the implications. So somehow there was a limit to how far an ability could progress in level.

It made sense when he thought about it. Imagine upgrading an ability to over a hundred in level. It would make the user so powerful they would be cosmic-like in their capabilities. It was likely to make one untouchable, unstoppable and Unhuman.

He thought about the Obscuron.

It was likely his ability levels were astronomically high, far beyond anything Tatehan could currently imagine. The Obscuron controlled entire regions of Mars, commanded armies of awakened humans, and supposedly had never lost a fight. Who knows if if his presence alone could crush a man’s bones before his shadow reached them. If abilities could climb infinitely, what kind of monster would someone like that become?

Was there a ceiling to prevent that? A safeguard built into the system itself?

Or was the Obscuron proof that some people could break through those limits entirely?

Tatehan’s mind was filled with questions. Did Kael know about the Obscuron? Did he know how powerful beings on this planet could truly become?

"Limit?" Tatehan finally asked aloud, breaking the silence.

Kael looked up from the fire, his expression calm. "Yes," he said. "Seems like the system is preventing me from becoming too powerful. My Phantom Step is capped at level fifteen. I hit it months ago. No matter what I do, it won’t go higher."

Tatehan was surprised on hearing that.

’it won’t go higher ?

Why.

Even though the man’s ability was at level fifteen, it was really good in terms of efficiency. He had been able to stop the mauler from killing him and had somehow took him from the mauler’s domain.

He knew the mauler was fast. For the man to be able to get him out of there perhaps even when the mauler chased was just mind blowing.

Tatehan noticed something now. Kael’s tone was different. It was now lighter and less guarded. Like he was trying to be his real self and not the too serious person Tatehan had first met. Seems the man was gradually opening up, sharing more freely. Maybe the isolation had worn him down more than he wanted to admit. Tatehan studied the flicker of the flames against Kael’s face, it was subtle and flickered softly.

"Like the Obscuron," Tatehan said, watching Kael’s reaction carefully.

He half-expected shock, surprise, maybe even fear at the mention of that name. But Kael’s expression remained perfectly neutral. He didn’t even flinch.

"Oh, that menace," Kael muttered, shaking his head slightly. "He’s still ruling the northern zones, right? Figures."

Tatehan’s mind raced. Kael wasn’t surprised. That meant it was perfectly normal to know about the Obscuron. It wasn’t some secret or myth. Most Martian humans probably knew the name and didn’t think twice about it. But to Tatehan, the thought of someone like that walking around freely was nightmarish.

How powerful was the Obscuron, really? And if Kael spoke of him so casually, did that mean there were others like him? Other overlords seeking for power. The Spaceship’s AI had said back at spaceship that there was many threats to the vessel.

Kael poked at the fire with a stick, the flames crackling softly. "Being alone for so many months was one of the reasons I saved you, you know," he said after a pause. "I needed someone to talk to. Someone who wasn’t trying to kill me or eat me."

He glanced at Tatehan, a faint smirk on his lips. "It was really brave, what you did. Taking on the Mauler like that."

Tatehan smirked internally but kept his face neutral. Brave? He wouldn’t exactly call it that. He had been clueless. If he had truly known what he was facing, he never would have taken that risk. Bravery implied choice. He had just been ignorant.

Kael leaned back, his eyes distant. "I was watching, you know. The fight. I saw most of it."

A sense of dread crept into Tatehan’s chest. The man had been watching? From the beginning?

That meant he had seen Tatehan’s abilities. His gravity manipulation. His armor. Everything.

Kael continued, oblivious to Tatehan’s rising panic. "I saw that armor you had. Impressive. It vanished when the Mauler broke through it. What was that?"

"Oh, just the armor?" Tatehan forced himself to stay calm. "It’s a special armor I can summon and unsummon."

Kael nodded slowly, seemingly satisfied with that answer. He didn’t press further.

Instead, he said, "I awakened my ability from these." He tapped the chakrams on his back. "The weapon you awaken from is everything. It grants you your powers, defines your limits. If the weapon is destroyed..." He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "Then so are your abilities. Permanently."

Tatehan’s heart dropped. So if the spaceship was to somehow get destroyed, then all his abilities would be gone? Maybe he would have spent years accumulating many abilities and then take the spaceship into a space war and it got destroyed.

That would be the end of him literally.

But then, that wasn’t exactly what made his heart drop, what did was:

The sword!

He had wanted to say he got his abilities from the rock sword, but Kael had seen it shatter. The Mauler had broken it in half right in front of him.

What could he say now?

What could he tell Kael that would make him believe him? Of course, he wasn’t going to be exactly honest with this man. He still didn’t know his main aim for saving him or much about him.

He couldn’t mention the spaceship. That would raise too many questions. Questions he wasn’t ready to answer. The Red Dragon spaceship was an item that had ended Earth — something that very powerful dragons had killed themselves over, an entire planet lost to its power.

His mind scrambled for an excuse, but nothing came.

Kael was watching him now, waiting.