Earth's Alpha Prime

Just then, something unexpected happened. A barely visible, humanoid phantom appeared beside Jay. Around the War Lance—its spinning metal spikes still relentlessly drilling—a block of ethereal space manifested, slowing the Lance's movements and reducing its damage output slightly.

The phantom was none other than Zeix, who had activated his first Innate Exclusive Skill,║PHANTOM FORM║. This ability allowed him to immaterialize for a limited duration, traversing the Inventory Plane without being affected by reality. 

While in Phantom Form, Urzo's control over Zeix ceased to affect him, a loophole Zeix had long exploited to remain hidden and act independently under Urzo's nose.

Like the thousands of other Alpha Chosen, Zeix had been under Urzo's control, forced to attack Jay. But when he entered Phantom Form, his sanity returned, and he became fully aware of his actions. Using this ability, he had concealed himself within the Inventory Plane, watching the battle between Urzo and Jay unfold.

Initially, Zeix believed Jay would triumph over Urzo after defeating Possessed Wibbit. However, as the battle progressed and Jay sustained severe injuries, the situation took a dire turn. 

Zeix held back, waiting for Jay to reveal a trump card or a hidden move. Yet, strangely, Jay did nothing—not even attempting to kill Possessed Wibbit or anyone else, despite his predicament.

When Zeix saw Jay pushed to the brink of death, he decided to act. To him, if Jay were to fall, his fate would remain that of a puppet under Urzo's control, a life Zeix refused to accept.

Though his intervention managed to slightly slow the War Lance, it wasn't enough to turn the tide. 

Urzo, noticing the disruption, smirked and called out mockingly, "How long do you think you can last in Phantom Form, Zeix? You thought I didn't know you've been sneaking around, watching and snitching on me? If it weren't for your usefulness, I would've flayed you alive a long time ago. Now be obedient and don't intervene—or I won't hesitate to make an example out of you when this is over."

Zeix froze, taken aback by Urzo's words. The revelation that Urzo had known about his covert actions all along, yet willingly let them slide, sent chills down his spine. Why someone as ruthless as Urzo hadn't punished him earlier was a mystery, but the thinly veiled threat in Urzo's tone made it clear he wouldn't tolerate any further defiance.

Despite the fear creeping into him, Zeix held firm. He steadied himself, clinging to his resolve, unwilling to abandon his decision to aid Jay. His ethereal body trembled slightly, but his determination did not waver.

Seeing that Zeix had no intention of stepping aside, Urzo's lips curled into a cruel smile. He didn't say anything, but the silent malice in his expression was enough to promise a brutal end for Zeix once this was over. 

Without dwelling further, Urzo redirected his focus, pouring all his energy into grinding away at Jay's health. Soon, Jay's face turned pale from severe blood loss.

But something about Jay unsettled Urzo. Despite his deteriorating condition, Jay showed no fear. His expression remained calm, almost unnervingly so, as if he still held control over the situation.

Breaking the tense silence, Jay finally spoke. His voice was strained, his breathing labored, but his words were deliberate and calm. "I have to hand it to you... You've… outdone yourself. But how about we… redo it all?"

Urzo's brows furrowed in confusion. "Redo?" he muttered, unable to grasp what Jay meant. Yet the confident smirk that followed, coupled with the unwavering tone in Jay's voice, sent a chill down his spine. 

Something was wrong. The bad premonition creeping through Urzo's instincts intensified. Whatever Jay was planning, it was dangerous.

Meanwhile, Jay glanced at his health bar and noticed it had dropped to its lowest point ever—lower even than during his battle with the Plasma Predator. Despite this, he felt far from helpless, retaining complete control over the situation.

A few seconds earlier, when he exited the Spirit Space and was ambushed by Possessed Wibbit, Jay had activated║Temporal Relapse║. The ability allowed him to rewind time to a specific moment in the past that was anchored it to the instant right before Wibbit's sneak attack landed.

This time, Jay didn't let the same scenario play out. Wasting no time, he evaded the attack immediately, slipping through the Volatile Aqua Shell he had laid earlier for defense. His movements were clean and swift, leaving no opening for the Lance to reach him.

Because Urzo was controlling the lance from over 100 meters away, he remained outside the range of║Temporal Relapse║and was not within Jay's temporal boundary. As a result, the lance, which relied on Urzo's control, lost its momentum and fell to the ground, rendered inert without its controller.

Within the temporal boundary, several Alpha Chosen were caught alongside Jay. Many of them, under the effects of║Terror Apparition║,were still relving their fears. As for those who had been outside the 60-meter range of his passive skill, Jay immobilized their minds into a trance, a suspended state where they remained unaware of their surroundings.

With time rewound but still ticking back toward the present, Jay took the opportunity to assess the situation, focusing first on uncovering the unknowns. His top priority was locating Possession Seeds within the Alpha Chosen who were trapped alongside him inside the temporal boundary.

Since everything happening within the temporal boundary was in the past, Urzo had no way of interfering. This meant he couldn't retract the Possession Seeds from those present within the temporal boundary. Exploiting this gap, Jay delved into the Possession Seeds, which were essentially fragments of Urzo's soul.

The process was time-consuming, requiring multiple uses of║Temporal Relapse║to gather all the information he needed. But Jay's persistence paid off. Piece by piece, he uncovered critical details: where and when Urzo's real body had escaped, the complete extent of his plans, and even the specifics of the Unique Talent║NEUTRALIZER║, which had piqued Jay's interest.

Although most of his active skills had been neutralized,║INVERSE║and his two other Innate Exclusive skills remained unaffected, ready to be used at his discretion. It was possible that Unique Talent user had excluded these skills from neutralization due to a lack of sufficient stats or that they were completely immune to the ability's effects.

Jay was more inclined to believe the latter. After all, as one of the 33 Origin Cruxes,║LOOT║was far too powerful to be suppressed by a Unique Talent.

Armed with Urzo's memories obtained through the Possession Seeds, everything became crystal clear to Jay. He couldn't help but admire the meticulous lengths Urzo had gone to in preparation. If Jay had faced him with the strength he had before Day-19, the battle would have been a life-or-death struggle.

But things were different now. Jay's current strength and capabilities were far beyond what they had been just a day ago.

Still, there was a reason Jay had allowed himself to sustain such severe injuries in the present. It wasn't recklessness or oversight—it was part of his strategy. 

The goal wasn't to die, but to activate the second ability of the Origin Glaive,║Temporal Lifeline║, an ability that only triggered when the user was on the brink of death.

Where║Temporal Relapse║only allowed Jay to return to the moment before he sustained damage,║Temporal Lifeline║would send him 100 seconds into the past from the moment of near-death.

This decision wasn't made lightly. By then, over 500 lives had already been lost—most of them innocent. Jay didn't know these people personally, nor were they under his direct protection, but in his state of Synchrony, he viewed it as an opportunity. 

Saving them wasn't just a moral choice; it was a calculated investment in the future of his faction. Deeds of salvation could inspire loyalty and gratitude, drawing more allies to his cause.

When Jay's Health dropped to a single point,║Temporal Lifeline║activated as anticipated, rewinding time and returning him to the beginning of the fight—the precise moment he stepped out of the Round-1 Challenge.

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Author Note: 

The revamped version of Volume 1 is now live on Kindle. You can find it on Amazon by simply searching the book title. Thank you for your support, and I hope you enjoy the new edition!

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Volume 2 Revamped Chapter Release Schedule

📅 Daily Releases – A revamped chapter will be released every day until Chapter 130.

These revamped chapters won't interfere with the usual chapter updates, ensuring consistent daily content for all readers.

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Exclusive artwork for every free chapter is now available on my PATRE0N page! You can find the link in my Discord server.

The first ten to comment for new chapter releases will get '1 ADVANCED CHAPTER' for free on Earth Alpha Prime's Discord server.

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Discord Link for 'Earth's Alpha Prime' :

https://discord.gg/maQC7xDBYZ

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