I Hate Systems

"Core Skill Manifestation!" The power exploding out of the Regression System was enough to shake the foundation of the Fantasy World's universe, for it was on a whole other level, rapidly bending the timeline of the universe.

But, the effect wasn't geared to this universe; it spread out and coursed through the universes where the Xianxia worlds were established.

And through that, they streamed into the Immortal Fragment within Stencil, moments before it was fully consumed by Dota.

"Wha…?" Hazen was alarmed when the collective consciousness streaming into Stencil's mind multiplied by tens of thousands of times, a limit beyond what he could handle as he was drowned by it.

All the projections exploded one after another; even Hazen barely endured for a second before being sent out of her mind, crashing into the glass of the truck before falling unconscious. It didn't seem possible for him to wake up anytime soon, especially since he had drunk a good chunk of the collective consciousness.

"Argh!" Gehera stared in aghast as the totem shattered into pieces before which a massive stream of the power of regression burrowed into Stencil's body and headed straight towards the core.

"I'm sorry, Compass." Dota's voice resounded as it vanished, "The process is completed, but there was a mishap. I'll leave the rest…to…you…"

"Dota!" Compass Carburettor shouted in alarm as all the defences he erected collapsed. Thankfully, he was barely able to last until the process was done, resulting in the various powers streaming into Stencil vanishing, no longer having the connection to channel in.

The tunnel collapsed and immediately before he could help his daughter, he was kicked out by a mysterious power.

"Gah!" Compass Carburettor grunted as his body slammed into another side of the truck, before which he fell on the floor, collapsing into a spherical pool of Mental Fragments, completely exhausted of all Mental Strength to even form a body.

Without being able to shape a vocal cord, he was unable to talk.

"What happened?" Truck-Kun asked in a fluster upon seeing both Hazen and Compass Carburettor being flung out of Stencil's body, "Did we succeed?"

There was no reply to him as Hazen was unconscious while Compass Carburettor didn't have the strength to even move his body, not to mention communicate. Even the simplest action of generating a Mental Energy stream seemed difficult for him now.

"Stencil!" Gehera shouted as she propped up Stencil's body, grabbing her hand to feel a strong pulse, sensing the various powers in her stabilise completely.

A couple of seconds later, followed by the fluttering of her eyelids, Stencil woke up and stared at the figure of Gehera, "What…happened?"

"Stencil? Are you alright?" Gehera asked in worry.

In response, Stencil closed her eyes before saying, her tone turning ice cold, "No."

She got up and stared at the states of Hazen and Compass Carburettor, inching her hand towards Hazen when suddenly, Truck-Kun grabbed her hand, asking in alarm, "What are you doing?"

"Do you care about this individual's life?" Her tone changed all of a sudden as a faint layer of frost began to form over Truck-Kun's hand.

Bang!

Truck-Kun swatted his hand, watching Stencil crash into the seat before staring at him with a strange, eerie expression.

'What went wrong?' Truck-Kun was alarmed, especially since he had to take care of matters both internally and externally now. He was already wounded and running low on energy from the powerful attacks he had launched earlier.

So, it was hard for him to handle Stencil.

Though, just when he prepared himself for more trouble, Stencil sighed and massaged her forehead before pointing her index finger at her father to send a stream of energy into him, replenishing his Mental Strength a little.

"Stencil!" Compass Carburettor shouted in alarm and reformed his body, hugging her to ask, "Are you alright? Are you feeling discomfort anywhere? Is everything…"

"Dad…listen." Stencil said with a sombre tone, "I'm not alright."

"L-Let me do something about it…" He said, about to transform into Mental Energy and solve whatever was troubling her.

Though, Stencil stopped him adamantly, "Don't rush to your death, dad."

She sighed, grunting in pain as her breathing grew haggard, speaking, "At the final moments, Regression's power and the collective consciousness pierced into my core and became an integral part of me."

She prevented her father from interjecting and continued weakly, "Currently, I'm engaged in a constant battle with the millions upon millions of consciousness every single moment. And, the one that reigns at the top controls my body at that moment. We're constantly changing every second."

Staring at tears streaming out of her father's eyes, she let out a wry smile, "And, Regression's power makes things worse."

She displayed her de-ageing hand, "I'll regress to the state I was when I was birthed. And then, I'll gradually grow older to the oldest I ever was, an hour before all this happened. After that, I'll begin to regress in age again. This process lasts 24 hours and would loop daily."

"As my body grows younger, my consciousness grows weaker too. So, I won't be able to win against the various collective consciousness. My chance is the highest around noon time, when I'm the oldest. That's when my consciousness is at its strongest." She wiped her father's tears, "So, I'll still be there, for a few seconds daily."

"Let me wake up Hazen. With him, we'll be able to eradicate all those collective consciousness…" Compass Carburettor said, feeling like his heart was crushed upon seeing Stencil shake her head helplessly.

"No, all those collective consciousness, and even being able to regress infinitely is now a part of me. They form the core of my power. Eradicating them would destroy my core. And this time, there's no room for changes." She sighed, "Dota did an excellent job. My current potential is almost comparable to Zaira's. But,"

She then shook her head and remained silent, her body covered with sweat as she tried her best to hold on as long as possible.

"Then, there should be some way to save you, right?" Compass Carburettor asked, gritting his teeth to the extent they shattered, "Tell me, anything you can think of. Dota must have given you some last-minute ideas, right? Tell me anything you can remember."

"Coordinates," Stencil said as her voice turned softer and softer, "Whenever I'm conscious, help me absorb as many Coordinates as possible. That'll help strengthen my consciousness and not be devoured by the collective consciousness. But, the battle seems like it would use up those Coordinates, so I would require a steady supply…"

With that, her consciousness waned as a collective consciousness took charge of her body, immediately attacking Compass Carburettor. But before her attack could harm him, Compass Carburettor created a Secret Society member who transformed into a cloth armour that covered her body, constricting her powers as an energy wave wafted into her, putting her to sleep.

Staring at her unconscious self, Compass Carburettor pulled her into a gentle embrace, shedding tears as he glared beyond the windows of the truck, "Coordinates, huh."

"I'll get you plenty."