The Boy Raised Beyond Gods

Chapter 8 — The Other Jasper

The moment the figure inside the shattered pillar opened its eyes, the entire structure beneath Blackthorn began to come apart. Not physically.Conceptually.The floating platforms containing fragments of memory started breaking apart as if the foundation supporting them had suddenly become unstable, and thousands of suspended moments from Jasper's past flickered violently across the endless void. Training sessions.Battles.Conversations.Failures.Victories.

Every memory trembled. Every memory warped. And at the centre of the collapse stood two identical young men staring directly at each other. One had lived. One had remained sealed. Neither understood which one should exist.

The pressure throughout the chamber increased dramatically. The Black Sun Core responded to the encounter with violent pulses that sent fractures racing across the chains holding reality together. The reconstructed mentors remained motionless. For the first time, they even seemed uncertain. Jasper slowly tightened his fists. The other version of himself stepped forward.

His movements were calm.Precise.Controlled.Almost unnaturally so. Unlike Jasper, whose emotions still surfaced beneath the discipline he had learned, this version displayed none at all. No confusion. No anger. No curiosity.Only purpose."You are unstable," the other Jasper said.

His voice was identical. His tone was not. Jasper felt a chill travel through him. The words sounded less like an insult and more like a diagnosis. The alternate version continued studying him. His silver-grey eyes moved slowly across Jasper's face.

Then he spoke again."You developed independent thought patterns earlier than projected."Jasper's jaw tightened."Projected by who?"

The other Jasper tilted his head slightly."The same people who created us."Those words landed like a hammer. Around them, the suspended memories flickered violently. The Beast Monarch lowered his head. The Ashen Witch closed her eyes briefly. The Laughing Scholar looked away. Their reactions were subtle. But Jasper noticed them. Which meant one thing.

The statement was true. A dangerous silence settled over the collapsing memory construct. Jasper slowly shifted his attention toward the mentor projections."You knew."

No one answered immediately. The accusation lingered. The Nameless One finally stepped forward."You are asking the wrong question."Jasper's eyes narrowed."Then give me the right one."The Nameless One's gaze remained steady."The correct question is why."The void around them trembled again.

A distant sound echoed through the structure. Something massive was moving beneath the Black Sun Core. Something older than the system itself.Something that had remained dormant until now. But Jasper ignored it. His attention remained fixed on the people who had raised him. The people who had shaped every part of his life.The people who apparently knew far more than they had ever admitted."Why what?" Jasper asked.

The Nameless One answered immediately."Why would five individuals powerful enough to challenge nations spend thirteen years raising a single child?"

Jasper fell silent. Because he suddenly realised he had never asked himself that question.Not properly. When he was younger, survival consumed everything. Training consumed everything. Pain consumed everything. There had never been room to question motives. There had only been room to endure.

Now those missing questions were returning all at once. And none of the answers felt safe. The other Jasper began walking toward him. Each step caused surrounding memory fragments to stabilize. The system itself seemed more responsive to him. More comfortable. As if he belonged here in a way Jasper never had."You believe your childhood was stolen," the other Jasper said. A pause followed.

"It was not."Jasper's eyes hardened."My family was destroyed."Yes."I was taken from my home."Yes."I was raised through endless suffering."Yes."The other Jasper stopped.

Then he said something that made the entire chamber feel colder."And all of it was necessary."Jasper moved before he consciously decided to. His fist shot forward. The strike carried enough force to split stone mountains. The other Jasper raised one hand.

The attack stopped instantly. Not blocked.Stopped.As if motion itself had been denied permission to continue.The same technique.The same impossible interruption principle. But executed at a level Jasper had never witnessed. For the first time since returning to Blackthorn, genuine shock appeared in his eyes. The other Jasper released his wrist calmly."You are weaker than expected."

Jasper immediately retreated several steps. His mind raced. That technique belonged to the Silent Sword Saint's highest teachings. A technique Jasper himself had never mastered completely. Yet this version used it effortlessly. The implications were horrifying.

Because if this truly was another version of him...Then it possessed knowledge he did not. Memories he did not.Experiences he did not. The Ashen Witch finally spoke."You are looking at what remained after every failure was removed."

Jasper slowly turned toward her."What does that mean?"The Laughing Scholar answered."It means you are not the first Jasper."The words shattered something inside him. The void became silent. Not the simple absence of sound.A deeper silence.The kind that follows truths too large to immediately process. Jasper stared at him."No."

The Scholar's expression darkened."You deserve honesty now."A memory fragment drifted forward. Unlike the others, it remained perfectly stable. The image expanded. Jasper saw a chamber. The same chamber from previous visions.Only this time he wasn't alone.

There were dozens of children. Each carried the Ravencrest bloodline. Each stood inside glowing circles. And each possessed his face. Jasper's breath caught. The image continued. One by one, the children disappeared. Some failed. Some collapsed. Some were removed. Years passed in moments.

The number continued shrinking.Twenty.Ten.Five.Three.Two.And finally, one. The surviving child looked up. And his face belonged to Jasper. The memory ended. Jasper couldn't speak. The revelation felt impossible. His entire understanding of himself had just fractured.

The Beast Monarch finally broke the silence."The world believes bloodlines are inherited."His massive voice echoed through the void."The Ravencrest bloodline was engineered."

Jasper slowly looked toward him.Engineered.Not inherited.Not born.Created.The Black Sun Core pulsed violently. Far below, something roared. The sound shook the entire construct. The mentors looked downward simultaneously. Concern appeared across their faces. Real concern. Whatever was waking beneath the system frightened even them.

The Nameless One's gaze sharpened."We are out of time."The other Jasper nodded immediately. As though he had expected those words. Jasper felt growing frustration."Out of time for what?"The Nameless One finally looked directly at him."For the final truth."The void cracked.

A massive fracture split the entire memory construct. Beyond it, darkness stretched endlessly. Within that darkness floated something enormous. A single eye opened. Not a monster's eye.Not an animal's eye.Something far worse.An eye that appeared ancient enough to predate civilisation itself.

The moment it opened, every memory in the construct froze. Even the Black Sun Core stopped pulsing. Everything became still. The eye looked directly at Jasper. Not at the other Jasper.Not at the mentors.At him.

A voice echoed through every layer of existence simultaneously."I have found you."The mentors immediately reacted. For the first time since Jasper had known them, fear appeared on their faces. The Ashen Witch staggered backwards. The Beast Monarch drew breath sharply. Even the Nameless One's composure cracked. Jasper's heart pounded."What is that?"

The other Jasper answered quietly."The reason we were created."The eye continued staring. Its gaze felt infinite.Patient.Ancient.Hungry.The Laughing Scholar spoke urgently."You need to leave now."

Jasper looked toward him."What is happening?"The Scholar's usual humour was completely gone."The thing beyond the system was never supposed to find you."Another fracture tore across the void. The eye grew larger.Closer.As though reality itself was no longer capable of keeping it away. The Nameless One stepped forward. His voice carried unprecedented urgency."Listen carefully, Jasper."

Jasper froze. This was the first time the man had ever sounded desperate."The Black Sun is not the enemy."Jasper's eyes widened."What?"The Silver Cloaks are not the enemy."The chamber trembled again. Another crack appeared. The eye moved closer. The Nameless One continued."The enemy is what exists beyond the system."Jasper's mind reeled.

Everything he believed was unravelling. The destruction of Blackthorn.The Black Sun.The Silver Cloaks.His mentors.The training.The bloodline. None of it had been the central conflict. It had all been preparation. Preparation for something else. Something coming. Something that had finally found him. The eye widened further.

A colossal presence pressed against reality. The void screamed. The Black Sun Core roared. And for the first time since this nightmare beganJasper realized he might not be the hunted one. He might be the lock. And whatever was staring through the fracture...was trying to get through the door.

Then the other Jasper turned toward him. For the first time, emotion appeared on his face.Fear.Genuine fear. And his next words sent a chill through Jasper's entire body."You need to run."The darkness behind the eye suddenly split open. And something began stepping through.