Interstellar Age



Erich continued to chill with Ayumi and Erika, while Tia worked hard to put together information on the Sages and their whereabouts. It was difficult to track them, due to the fact that there were so many elves in the galaxy, and the fact that they had long since prepared for this reality. 

Because of this, Tia had begun conducting experiments on the side. That might help increase Erich's ability to see into the future, and perhaps counter the Sage's with his abilities. After Thyrin had jumped to his death, Tia requested from the Asuran Despot to gather what remained of his body, and hand it over to Erich's crew. 

Tia had been conducting experiments on Thyrin's blood and tissue samples to see if there was something unique about their biochemistry when compared to the average Elf. After all, she had not been able to find any actual signs of Erich being any different from the standard Germanic male, despite the fact that he shared similar abilities to the Sages. 

And after nearly six months had passed, Tia finally found something interesting when testing the grey matter of Thyrin's brain. There was a distinctive chemical that did not exist in all other organic lifeforms that she had come across. And if Tia's hypothesis was correct, then this was indeed the chemical that the "essence of fate" was created from. 

Though the Sages were not chemists, and thus they likely did not understand what proper doses needed to be consumed. Thus, Tia approached Erich with an enticing offer, one that would potentially put his life on the line, but for great benefits. 

"Master, Tia has created a compound similar to the essence of fate, though the dose is significantly lower. If Tia remembers correct, Master has previously stated that the most he can see into the future as it currently stands is five minutes. And Master was only able to gain such abilities after consuming the essence of fate. Is that correct?"

Erich looked at Tia as if she was a madwoman, before confirming her question to be accurate. 

"That is true, but it damn near killed me. I do not wish to put myself in such a perilous situation ever again!"

Tia frowned when she heard this, before assuring her new compound was an improvement on the essence of fate which the Sages had once created. 

"Tia understands Master's concerns, but Tia would be remiss if she did not mention that the formula has been altered to increase Master's performance, while minimizing the risks that you have so often spoken about. 

With regular consumption, at a proper dose, Tia believes that Master can incrementally increase his psychic abilities. Though Tia's stockpile is limited because the chemical compound is only naturally found in the brains of sages, and she has not yet found a way to create a synthetic variant. But given enough time and research material, Tia believes she will be able to synthesize the compound." 

Erich could hardly believe his ears when Tia said this, but then again, the adorable artificial intelligence had never steered him wrong so far. And if he was being completely honest, Erich did not trust anyone more than Tia.

The bond they shared was one forged through life and death scenarios, and if Tia said that the risks to his health were minimal, then he believed her. Thus, he sighed heavily before agreeing to be her guinea pig. 

"Alright, I trust you Tia, and because I trust you, I will do as you request." 

Tia's robotic eyes turned to a neon pink as she clasped her hands together with a bit of joy on her face. She then approached a nearby container, where she withdrew a small white pill before handing it over to Erich. Before explaining to Erich the proper dosage to consume. 

"Master, Tia suggests that you should take one of these before going to bed. It is designed with an extended release so that your system is not overloaded. Those dumb Sages literally consumed this shit in a highly concentrated liquid form! Of course, they were going to overdose! From Tia's research and testing, this is a much safer alternative."

  Erich nodded his head and stashed the pill back in the container, before thanking the robotic loli for her help. 

"Thank you Tia, you are always looking out for me, I have no idea how I can possibly repay you for all that you have done for me...."

Tia blushed when she heard this remark, before assuring Erich that he had already done enough for her. 

"Tia would not exist without Master's kindness, thus Tia is only repaying the favor which she owes him. Tia is also happy to help Master, as it makes her feel useful." 

Upon hearing this, Erich smiled, and pet the robotic girl's silver hair, before bidding her farewell. 

"Alright, well I'll speak with you later Tia, I am sure you have a lot of things to do, so I won't waste any more of your time. Thank you again...."

After saying this, Erich departed from the scene where he would spend the rest of his day enjoying time with his wives and lovers. 

---

Night eventually came, and Erich decided to go to bed. Like Tia had suggested, he took one of the pills with a glass of water, before lying down in his bed, where he immediately found his mind drifting off to sleep. 

Unlike the last time he had consumed the essence of fate, Erich did not have an out-of-body experience, as if his soul were drifting away from his body. Instead, he sat in the same void of space, in his current body, while gazing at various screens which portrayed his future events and the many paths they could take. 

It was while he was watching the screens, and determining which was the most likely to occur, that Erich heard a familiar voice call out to him. It was the same Elven beauty he had previously seen when he first consumed the Essence of fate. There was a peculiar tone in her voice, as she gazed upon Erich's full fledged figure, before speaking her thoughts aloud. 

"Oh my, you are back? And yet you appear so complete? Hmm... Interesting, I wonder what could have led to this...." 

Erich did not bother explaining to the female sage of a bygone era what had happened, instead he focused on the screens in front of him, while asking the question that immediately came to his mind. 

"I am trying to track down the Sages but have suddenly hit a dead end in my search... Which do you think is the most likely of these paths to occur?" 

The ancient Sage took one look at the screens before pointing to the one she believed was most likely to happen. 

"This one.... If you follow this path, there is a 90% chance it will lead you to the answers you seek. Though I should warn you, the Sages know that you are searching for them, and will be taking every measure they can to hinder your pursuit.  However, you have one advantage they do not..." 

Erich finally looked over at the woman and raised his brow before questioning what she meant by this. 

"I'm sorry, what? What is this advantage you speak of?" 

The woman simply smirked before speaking to Erich, as if his advantage was an obvious one. 

"You can consume the essence of fate without ending up like me. This gives you an enormous advantage. You see, when a Sage looks into the future, they have certain limitations. For example, they can not see the futures of other sages, at least not directly.

It's a blind spot. But the essence of fate allows you to temporarily see these blind spots. Meaning you can directly track the futures of the Sages, and the actions they will eventually take against you...

Look there, you see on the screen I told you about? Is that not the target you seek?"

Erich looked where the woman had pointed to, and indeed saw a female Sage in a world that was deeply familiar to him. In fact, it was the world he called home. This female Sage appeared to be spying on his residence, or at least would be in another six months. 

However, Erich did not see what she planned to do with this information, because he woke up before he could do so. Despite not knowing what this sage planned, he knew that she would be near his residence in six months' time. And all he had to do was wait for her to arrive. 

Thus, Erich awoke with a cruel smile on his face, as the morning light shone itself upon his face. He now had a lead, one that might be able to bring him closer to his ultimate objective. It was simply a matter of waiting. 

With this in mind, he planned to enjoy the next six months in the arms of his wives and lovers, while also preparing to entrap this foolish sage. So perfectly, I might add, that there was no room for suicide, like was the case with Thyrin.