Azik

Azik Eggers was the Death Pathway class mentor before version 5.0 of "Sequence Wars."

He was the son of the former Death God and the Death Consul of the Balam Empire in the Southern Continent. The "Pale Disaster" launched by the Death God in the Fourth Epoch had been personally carried out by him.

When the game updated to version 5.0, Azik finally tracked down his missing memories and spirit body. He merged with his other self and accommodated the Death Pathway Uniqueness. As a result, Azik went mad and became the "Counterfeit Death God."

That was a special boss with an unknown challenge rating. To players, whose maximum level at the time was only level 60, it was an utterly overwhelming blow.

Fortunately, the Evernight Goddess intervened in time. Using the power of concealment, she weakened Azik's connection to the Death Pathway Uniqueness, causing his strength to plummet for a short time. In the end, the players successfully killed him.

That was all the limited information Aster still remembered about Azik Eggers.

Subconsciously, Aster's body stiffened.

Because he knew full well that Azik was a high-ranking figure of the Death Pathway and possessed an extremely powerful suppressive effect on someone like him, who followed the same Pathway. If Azik wished it, he would not even possess the will to resist.

Why would he appear on a map from version 1.0? Ah, right. If I remembered correctly, Azik should be suffering from amnesia right now!

Only an amnesiac Azik could calmly teach players knowledge related to the Death Pathway. Hmm, I wonder how much of his strength he has recovered... He definitely hasn't recovered to level 80 yet, but even a level 60 Azik isn't someone I can resist...

Aster's first reaction upon seeing Azik was to turn around and run.

If Azik suddenly went crazy and told Aster to kill himself, or simply launched an attack, there was no way he would survive.

But as a high-ranking Beyonder, Azik's intuition was extremely sharp. The instant Aster recognized him, Azik turned his gaze toward him.

As Azik suddenly fell silent, Klein, who had been talking with him, curiously followed his line of sight. He then spotted the black-haired young man nearby.

Melvin... Why is he here? Does this count as some kind of coincidence?

Already somewhat traumatized by coincidences, Klein instinctively felt that something was wrong.

"Is he your friend?" Azik suddenly asked.

"Yes, Mr. Azik," Klein answered instinctively. "He is... a friend of mine, Melvin."

"He seems like a fine young man. Won't you introduce us?" Azik, his skin bronze-colored, smiled gently.

The instant Aster met Azik's gaze, an intense sense of danger swept through his entire body, forcing him to stop in his tracks.

I can't run. Otherwise, something bad will happen... Raising a hand as if to brush back his hair, Aster wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and walked over stiffly.

"Klein, long time no see." Pretending to speak with familiar ease, Aster shifted his gaze to Azik beside Klein. "And this is...?"

"This is Mr. Azik Eggers, a history instructor at my university." Klein turned slightly and raised a hand. "Mr. Azik, this is my friend, Melvin."

Aster did his best to make his movements appear composed. "Hello, Mr. Azik."

"Hello." Azik raised his cane slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm fortunate to meet such an outstanding historian." Aster looked directly into Azik's eyes without the slightest pressure, utterly unafraid that the other man might use an ability requiring eye contact to activate—if this big shot wanted to make a move against him, why would he need to go through so much trouble?

Moreover, Aster had calmed down considerably by then. Upon actually coming into contact with Azik, he felt no pressure whatsoever from the Beyonder Pathway—psychological pressure did not count.

No wonder. That was perfectly normal. The Death Pathway also possessed certain concealment-type abilities, which in the game had the effect of hiding one's level. That was why he had been able to hide in Tingen for so long after losing his memories without being discovered...

Seeing that Aster seemed to be pondering something, Azik took a step back and gave Klein and Aster room to talk.

Klein was considering whether to tell Melvin that Mr. Azik could tell whether someone was a Beyonder when he suddenly heard him ask, "Mr. Azik, you have amnesia, don't you?"

How does he know? Could Melvin also be investigating Mr. Azik?

Klein instinctively wanted to say something, but Azik's hand settled on his shoulder.

"Yes." Azik walked forward a few steps and said calmly, "I truly have no memories of a long period of my past."

"...Mr. Azik, I once saw a portrait of you." Aster spoke a partial truth. After a brief decision, he had already chosen to try changing Azik's fate.

With a big shot like this appearing in the newbie village, Aster truly had no way to deal with him. Worse, they followed the same Pathway, so Azik possessed an extremely powerful suppressive ability over him...

Therefore, he could only try to build a good relationship with Azik. Fortunately, the current Azik was relatively gentle and easygoing, completely unlike the brutal, insane [Counterfeit Death God] from later versions. Only then did Aster dare to communicate and interact with him.

I hope I can earn Azik Eggers's trust. At the very least, I shouldn't let him dislike me... Wait, this big shot seems to be the Feathered Serpent... Aster's body stiffened as he remembered the side effect of [Phoenix's Gaze] in his buff list.

There was a certain chance of being hated by the Feathered Serpent... Well, it's only a certain chance! It's not one hundred percent... I hope Azik doesn't dislike me... It shouldn't be too much of a problem. At least during the version 1.0 storyline, as long as I don't provoke him, even if Azik dislikes me, he won't directly attack me... Aster looked at Azik's eyes uneasily.

"I hope it wasn't in the faculty personnel files at Khoy University." Azik did not seem nearly as nervous. He even made a joke.

"Hmm..." Aster's words gradually became more fluent. Choosing his phrasing carefully, he said, "At a secret gathering in Backlund, I saw a wanted portrait related to you."

"Backlund...?" Azik appeared thoughtful, clearly trying to recall his past. "Thank you for the clue. I still maintain contact with several friends in Backlund. If they wanted to find me, they would not need to use a portrait to search for me."

In other words, Mr. Azik did not know the people looking for him... This was undoubtedly a clue!

Klein felt a surge of joy for Azik. He looked at Aster, then at Azik, thought for several seconds, and asked Aster bluntly, "Mr. Melvin, how did you know Mr. Azik has amnesia?"

"Sequence 4 of the Death Pathway, Undying, periodically forget their past memories." After thinking for a moment, Aster decided to reveal some information appropriately. "That was additional information provided by the person searching for Mr. Azik when they distributed his portrait."

That was also Aster's way of telling Klein: I know Azik is a Beyonder, and I also know he can tell that I am one.

Undying? Is that the name of a high-sequence potion?... Undying. That really is something to long for... Does that mean Mr. Azik is a high-sequence powerhouse? And he periodically loses his memories.

The information Aster revealed excited Klein, but soon made him worried as well.

"Undying..." Azik frowned slightly and pressed a hand to his forehead. "I seem to have heard that somewhere..."

As Azik Eggers fell silent, both Aster and Klein tacitly refrained from disturbing the demigod's recollections.

In less than half a minute, Azik returned to normal. He did not press Aster about which secret gathering he had obtained the information from. He merely removed his hat and bowed to him. "Mr. Melvin, thank you for providing me with this information. It will greatly help me recover my memories. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Looks like his favorability still isn't high enough. Azik doesn't want to owe me a favor... Makes sense. I handed over information so important to him the first time we met. No normal person would immediately trust me... Aster shook his head and made a rather clever request. "Mr. Azik, I believe you may be able to tell that I am a Beyonder of the Death Pathway. If you recover your memories in the future, I hope I can ask you for guidance regarding knowledge of the undead."

Azik gave Aster a slightly surprised look, then agreed without much thought. "That won't be a problem. Hmm... If you need me for anything during this time, you can find me at Khoy University. If I'm not there, pass the message through Klein."

Good! I've finally made contact with this powerful backer... Aster felt a burst of excitement.

This was an Angel... Even in his weakened state, the little things that slipped from Azik's grasp would be enough for Aster to benefit immensely.

For example, in version 2.0 of "Sequence Wars," there had been a similar achievement quest. Players of the Death Pathway helped Azik complete a chain of quests, and the final reward was a messenger with the status of a Sequence 6.

Not only did it possess the trait of "reviving in the Underworld after being killed," it could also summon an attack from Azik through self-sacrifice. It was extremely useful and became one of the tactical cores for many Death Pathway players at the time.

With that topic seemingly over, Aster was just about to leave when Klein called out to him.

"Mr. Melvin, have you noticed a lot of coincidences around you lately?" Klein asked, only to see Aster's expression turn somewhat ugly.

Of course Aster knew. It was precisely those damned coincidences that had led to his contamination by the True Creator and left him burdened with a task that was difficult to complete.