Limitless The Strongest Revenant

Regret. The feeling that consumes a person when they encounter a negative situation and have knowledge, they could have done something about it. Regret was a fundamental concept to humans. To our kind even more so. Our {Fates} were our regrets made flesh.

Ragnarok, the end of the world of Norse mythology was unique among all the many different mythologies. Norse and the Asgardian lore were built around Ragnarok. Valkyries and Einherjar were all were created and trained for that final battle.

Yet if what I had already learned was true. Every single mythology on Earth was once a civilization of Reapers that got wiped out. This meant that despite knowing of their coming demise, the Asgardians were unable to escape their fate.

Freyja, Liv's former life and Tyr, one of mine were Reapers from that mythology. I could only imagine what they would have felt when they watched as their once mighty civilization crumbled into dust. Their once proud culture and history faded into nothingness.

As I saw the sad and pitiful backs of my past lives, I found myself wondering. If they were able to start over and try again, what would they do differently? Could they honestly say that they were content with their original result? Was struggling and dying a glorious death in an unwinnable battle enough to satisfy?

Watching the sad men sit on mountains of bodies made sympathize with them. If nothing was done, the same result would repeat in my lifetime. Carlos' explanation about the nature of Astrals had a bitter truth hidden in them.

Astrals were Reapers who all fought their hardest, yet they all still failed. Their indomitable will however refused to surrender, which allowed them to transcend. Even after the fall of their worlds, to do battle once more, they came to the aid of Linkers.

Such a mindset was undoubtedly impressive. I could understand how they would be able to consider the harshest of decisions all for the sake of survival. Only those who saw extinction had the mettle to sacrifice millions to save billions.

But while I empathized and understood them. It ended there. No matter their reasons, the fact that these European fuckers subjected my women to such hardship would never be something I could accept.

Victory always came at a cost. And I was fine with sacrifice, so long as the ones doing the dying were not my own family. I was not a hypocrite nor a hero who could smile as my loved one died all to save millions I didn't even give a shit about.

Unaware of my thoughts, Carlos continued to share information about the Linkers.

"Astrals are Reapers who existed in bygone eras. Their reasons vary however, some fight to get revenge, others do so out of a sense of duty. There are both heroes and villains among them. Some of the Astrals even help with the intent of enslaving their Linkers.

"Because of such dangers, the Linkers much like all the other Classes have two schools of thought. Accept Linkers who coexist and support their Astrals and Command Linkers who dominate and enslave their Astrals. Naturally, there are good and bad cases for both types."

"What is Clive Zanardi. I remember reading that his Astral is King Arthur?"

"His Majesty the Virtuous is an Accept Linker. His Astral claims to be the legendary King Arthur Pendragon. The same one who had many legends and arguably the most famous Knight in history. But as his legend is all over the place, it's hard to verify."

"What kind of abilities do Astrals bring to the table?" I asked in curiosity. In Anime and Manga, these spirits used abilities related to their legends if Astrals were the same, a Linkers power depends entirely on the caliber of his or her Astral.

"I do not know what they are called, but there were eye count witnesses of the clashes of Revenants in the past. His majesty the Virtuous has once fended off his majesties, the Peerless, the Relentless and the Invincible on separate occasions.

"In those engagements, the skills exhibited were extremely varied. A sword that made the Invincible back off. A shield that stopped the attacks of the Peerless. And an army of Knights that fought the Champions of the Relentless to a standstill."

"So, he has a powerful sword, shield and even can stop Simon's undead monstrosities?"

Herman interjected with a somber tone, "Our intelligence divisions assigned names to his abilities. They were {Excalibur, sword of absolute victory}, {Avalon, the shield of Camelot} and {Rounds, the order of Pendragon}."

"Well fuck…"

It was different but extremely similar to Artoria from the Japanese Hentai game. Using that as a reference I asked the weakness exposed in that franchise's version for Astrals.

"Do the weaknesses of the Astrals also manifests in the Linkers? Like for example if the Astral was someone like Achilles would the Linkers heel also become a weakness that can be exploited."

"I am really starting to believe you either have no fear or are too foolish to recognize danger. The body would still remain that of the Linker. So, no. The weaknesses of the Astra's especially physical ones do not matter. Mental ones however still carry forward," the Conquistador babbled like a know it all.

"That is quite an interest thought, sadly that is not the case. The biggest weakness of Linkers is the Linkers rank. No matter if they connect to the most powerful Astral, if the Linker's abilities are insufficient, they cannot fully utilize the Astrals power."

"What do you mean?"

Carlos then placed his mug in front of me and took a brand new can of beer, he opened the can took a gulp then presented it to me.

"Think of it like this, my lord. This can is your Astral. And this cup is your Linker. Even though you have this entire can full of beer, if you pour it to a cup, you must stop once the cup is full. Pouring more is pointless as it will just spill over.

"The situation of Astrals is like that. Note, most if not all Astrals are confirmed to have powers of Revenants. In fact, a large proportion of them have names that appear as deities in various mythologies. Yet as their Linkers are not strong enough, they must patient wait for them to ripen like fruit."

"That means, they wait for the Linker or the cup to grow, right?" I guessed.

"Yes. A good analogy would be poison. You know how assassins in the ancient times drank poison bit by bit to increase their tolerance? The Astrals at full power are poisons enough to kill the Linker. Thus, they must slowly expose their Linkers to their power and pace their growth."

"I see. What happens if either the Astral forces it or the Linker becomes too rash and makes a mistake? Granted that both the Astrals and the Europeans have their own circumstances what if they either side becomes too impatient?"

Carlos said nothing and just stared at his mug. It was only during times like this that I saw a visage of how exhausted this man was. Given his strength he must have been around for a really long time.

And as he was in the intelligence industry, he must have seen and hear more than the average Specter. After waiting for a few seconds, the Inca Warrior made a bitter looking smile as he continued.

"One of three outcomes occur. The Linker turns to a vegetable, has his or her soul collapse, or dies to the Astral. Even aggressive Astrals, usually strengthen their hosts first become attempting to use their Linkers. Faust is a good example."

'Exa?'

[The legend of Faust is a German tale in which, the titular character a depressed scholar sells his soul to the representative of a demon named Mephistopheles. He gains success and love at the cost of his lover Gretchen who goes insane and is imprisoned.

[Faust regretful of his mistakes turns a new leaf and strives to redeem himself. His genuine pursuit of knowledge aligns himself with divine grace. When Mephisto comes for his soul, higher forces intervene and save him from eternal damnation.]

'From what mythology is this? Is Mephisto in the Ars Goentia?'

[No, My lord. Mephistopheles although a demon, does not appear in the Ars Goentia. This legend of Faust is not from mythology, but a literary work written by a German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that gained prominence in the 1800's.

[It was turned into many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical works that have reinterpreted it through the ages. Goethe's version was based on "Doctor Faustus," which was written by the English playwright Christopher Marlowe two centuries earlier.]