Healing System

Michael's neck began healing at a rapid pace as he could finally readjust it into its normal position.

And as he did so, he stared at the man in front of him, it was the golden-haired man from the arena, the person who he got his halo from.

"Why are you here?" Michael suddenly asked as he stood up, almost tumbling due to his previous state.

"Why do you think? You would have died if I had not come, the difficulty was certainly no joke" The golden-haired man said and shrugged while walking towards the destroyed gazebo.

Michael decided to silently follow after him, he could not disagree that without his help, he might have really died.

As the two of them finally arrived at the destroyed gazebo, the man bent down and picked up a tiny fragment off of the ground, it was a murky golden color, similar to the mana Adam had used.

The man looked it up and down before crushing it in his hands and sighing "Want to know something?" The man asked as he returned his gaze back to Michael.

"..Sure?"

"You see, I wanted you to tell the angels about Adam, I tried really hard to get that through to you, but it seems that you are just like me" The man said with a small smile.

However, Michael's eyes widened, the voices he heard, ones telling him to do the opposite of what he had done, looked like it was the doing of the man before him.

"Just who are you?" He could not help but ask, they met twice now... or more perhaps, it was hard to tell, maybe he was always there, influencing some of Michael's past actions.

The man chuckled and suddenly disappeared from Michael's vision, he could no longer feel his mana anymore.

However, a voice suddenly resounded inside his mind, one that he recognized all too well.

I wonder?

"You.." He was speechless, he had suspected it to a certain degree, but he could never confirm his suspicions.

Well, I didn't want to hold your hand all along the way, but yeah, I have been watching all along, that Seraphim noticed me previously, so I had to use the Halls of Reflection to turn back time a bit.

The system said and once again appeared right in front of him.

"But alas, the outcome was the same as before, a pity, I really wanted to see what would have happened if you told the angels about him."

Michael sighed and brought his hand up to his forehead "So.. what are you exactly? A system, or me from the past?"

There were still a few irregularities, such as the vision he had back in the fragmented memory from his first trial. Who was the person who implanted the so-called system into him?

"I am both you and the system. As for your other concern, it should be the other Archangels, I can assure you, they are on your side."

However, Michael raised his brow at the response "Why are you saying 'should'?"

"The first fragment was most likely Uriel, as for the second one, it was one of the newer Archangels, Raguel, who as you remember, had actually introduced himself."

The system paused for a moment and then continued.

"As for why I am saying should, that's because you are an anomaly, all of the previous Michaels were handpicked because they were related to the original in a way. You, however, are different; you were chosen by someone while I was hibernating."

"And you have no clue who that was?" Michael asked as he absorbed the knowledge regarding his selection, even if there was not a lot of information regarding it.

He still had many questions, but if the system was actually him and knew everything, he could always ask them later.

"The only clue I have is that whoever it was, was trying to corrupt both you and me, after all, just as the academy started, I was replaced until the little girl freed you from whatever that parasite was" The system chuckled while talking about Freya, it seemed like there were some prior connections between them.

Michael simply nodded, it did make sense, the Michael that Kevin had known was what the current him was supposed to be if things had gone as they should have.

But maybe because of Kevin's regression or some other factors entirely, his fate had been altered.

"Anyways, Michael, you can call me whatever you'd like, System, Michael, Mikhail, it does not matter, it is nice to formally meet you." With those words, the system comically bowed.

"Likewise... so could you tell me something while we are still in this Halls of Reflection thingy, what exactly am I here for and why have you never taken over the other Michaels? Don't you want to live?" He asked with a tinge of curiosity.

The system flashed a small smile that seemed a bit hollow and disappeared once again.

I have lived for thousands of eons, I have experienced everything there was to experience, even death. My only wish is for Heaven to have another competent ruler, if he could be similar to me, even better.

'Do you think I want to rule over Heaven?' He raised his brow at the system's explanation.

A ruler must be strong and.. well, obviously not stupid. You have the qualities to be the perfect ruler. Oh and before you say you don't want it, the benefits you get from being the ruler of Heaven are quite bountiful, after all, since God is dead and the Seraphim are scattered across the universe, you would be the most important person there.

'...' Michael was left speechless at the system's attempt to bribe him, however, another question suddenly arose.

'What was that feather?'

Hmm... it's Gabriel's from what I saw. You can harness the strength of the Seraphim if you cultivate your wings with the feathers of the Archangels. That does not mean you would become an actual Seraphim though, only a halfling, but nonetheless, it's a good boon you should accept.

'Fair enough' He shrugged and turned around, in front of him was a golden portal.

'Is this the end of the Halls of Reflection?' Michael asked the system for confirmation.

Yes, it is a place where I can directly show you important memories and past events that could prove helpful to you in the future, just take it as yet another boon you can indulge in once every couple of months.

'Why not sooner? Is there a cooldown like with the trials?'

No, I just can't break the laws of space and time that frequently, after all, I am currently powerless.

Michael rolled his eyes at the 'powerless' being who managed to turn back time and proceeded to walk through the portal.

[Halls of Reflection: Act 1 Complete]

He saw a golden message appear the moment he returned back to his room, it signaled the end of his little unexpected outing.

There were many questions remaining, like who was the Seraphim who did that and how did Adam and Eve play any significance in his future?

Michael immediately felt a lot weaker, it seemed like the power gain was only temporary and it was now back to what it was just before he entered.

He stared at the floating feather in front of him as the familiar voice once again resounded "Do you wish to go down this path?"

And without doubt, he accepted.

"Yes."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om