Chapter 554 - Fateful Encounter
"The leader of the Domain of Lord Sacrifice, first of Lord Sacrifice's champions, has perished.." Said the Overlord right after licking his greasy and slightly shiny lips. His eyes, albeit still devoid of life, were now curved in a failed attempt to showcase grief.
A deafening silence, yet short-lived silence befell the pocket dimension.
Soon, noises which indicated a variety of emotive reactions resounded in the air. Gasps of surprise, elated laughs, angry roars, and much more.. To Daniel, who had met the Murderous God personally, it was not a surprise to see that nobody was shedding tears for him except for the Overlord, whom he knew for certain was only pretending.
The buzz of chatter kept going for around a minute, after which an oddly muscular old man dressed in a charred blacksmith attire stood up from his table, and with the hastiness of a man who had spent the last ten hours working, said, "You have reunited all of us here just to tell us this?!"
Next to this old man, sat a second man who appeared to be in his early forties, and that was casually resting his head onto his closed fist. With a contemptuous smile, this man twirled his mustache and said, "He must have felt that his domain is too big to manage.. Or maybe he is in a giving mood. Either way, the domain of Labor accepts your donation. We will put your universes to a better use."
Similar complaints came from many other tables, where their occupants let out their indignation, and demanded for Horror's domain to pay the thousands universes it had used as collateral to call an Exalted Assembly.
"An expected reaction.." Daniel thought.
While the death of the Murderous God was a disastrous event for the domain of Sacrifice, he was but a single champion of a specific aspect of Existence. Another Murderous God had existed before him, and many would fight nail and teeth to take his place afterwards. In the grand scheme of things, this news was definitely not something worth calling an Exalted Assembly for.
After a few more similar remarks were thrown at the Overlord, he casually raised his right hand and said, "I wasn't done talking." The pocket dimension went quiet once again. He then added, as the cultivators sat back down, "As I was saying, the Murderous God has perished.. Within a closed domain."
"What?.."
".. There is no way."
"That's impossible!.. Unless.."
Several shocked gasps and doubtful tones merged into a confusing hubbub that would sound incomprehensible to a normal human, but that to the cultivators present, was extremely clear. The content of these voices was all around the same.
Daniel had already imagined that the death of the Murderous God would be mentioned during this assembly. He could guess as much due to the odd absence of the domain of Sacrifice, which had refused to participate under the Overlord's orders. What he wasn't expecting, however, was what he heard next.
The Overlord ignored the questions of the shocked champions, and instead, he continued by saying, "Yes, you have guessed it right. Despite the limitations to his powers, the Murderous God should have had no problems dealing with any indigenous power within a closed universe.. Only one kind of being could have threatened his life" The atmosphere suddenly turned solemn. To Daniel's surprise, an even deeper degree of silence was reached than before. "A new spawning point for Destiny's children has appeared.."
Suddenly, a knot formed at the bottom of Daniel's throat. He looked at the champions reaction to the Overlord's la sentence, and immediately realized that the hostility the various domains felt towards one another had completely disappeared. A wall made of differently colored bricks had now formed a united front against a greater enemy.
"How long has he been dead?" Asked the old champion of Labor with a solemn attitude.
"We are not sure." The Overlord lied. The fact that the high champions of Sacrifice's domain could feel the legacy of the Murderous God was a highly well kept secret-to a point where only the upper echelon of Horror's domain and the Murderous God's own disciples were aware of it. If it was known that the domain of sacrifice, which was subjected to the domain of Horror, had been aware of a universe inhabited by Iewah's children for years, the rest of the multiverse would make them pay dearly.
The domain of Competition was in a similar situation. They had been aware of the presence of a champion of Destiny within one of their universes, but if they had made his existence known, their territory would have been invaded and searched by the other domains. Unfortunately, they had spent the last few months hoping that Daniel had died while trying to leave for the Trigate. It was only during the Exalted Assembly that the domain of Competition had learned that he hadn't died, but instead, had ended up in the universe where they believed the first champion of Karma resided.
For these reasons, all three of these domains were hiding the truth.
"He disappeared from the scarlet palace several years ago. One of his disciples found traces of his abilities by chance, but his essence had long dissipated." The Overlord added.
A woman in her late thirties raised her thin and pale hand in an attempt to catch the crowd's attention, then said, "Maybe we could search the universes that were op-"
She was soon interrupted by Daniel, who, according to the ranks as he had understood them, was several ranks above her, and had the right to speak before her. "I am new to this.. What are you talking about?" Daniel asked after clearing his throat.
Just now remembering that a new domain was present, the Overlord turned to look at Daniel. "Spawn of a fake aspect of existence.. Warmongering brutes and insufferable cockroaches with powers beyond rationale.. They need to be erased from existence as soon as they appear in order to avoid catastrophe. That is the first rule of Fate's domain." He said with sheer disgust and hatred.
As he spoke about the champions of Destiny, the Overlord reminisced of when the acts of his universe had given consciousness to their lord, the aspect of Horror. At that time, oddly powerful entities had started to appear in the dark corners of that very same universe, making what should have been the glorious beginning of a powerful empire, a time soaked in blood and desperation for his people-for their rivals were unmatched.
It was only thanks to the aid of the rest of the multiverse that the champions of Horror hadn't been wiped out of existence, and could come out of hiding.
Unfortunately for Daniel, the hatred towards what the Overlord disrespectfully referred to as the 'Spawn of Destiny' was a feeling shared throughout the entirety of the multiverse, and justified by the primary domain of Fate. Whenever a universe touched by Destiny was found, the champions that were born within were obliterated in order to ensure they would not grow beyond control.
Almost forcing himself to stop thinking about those times, the Overlord turned to look at the crowd, and said, "Without being certain when the Murderous God died, or which domain took control over that universe once it was opened, we are left with only one alternative." His tone was grim, and despite his already naturally dark facial features, Daniel could gather that even he disliked this "alternative".
As he finished speaking, one of the champions of Horror stood up and walked towards an empty spot right between his domain's table, and the podium. He then gently waved his hand to conjure a portal.
Compared to the murky portals created by the champions of Horror, this portal was completely different. Instead of appearing from a source of power and expanding to the right size, this portal was created from an horizontal rip in space, which formed through the separation of the upper and lower part. The borders of this portal were uneven, and once fully opened, it made the portal look like a city's skyline mirrored in the sky, or an opened mouth full of crooked teeth.
The power contained in this portal was even more odd. While immensely powerful, it was not threatening or overbearing. There was no hostility towards any of the other aspects of existence, almost as if a rightful, and beloved ruler had stepped down its throne, to stand in the middle of their subjects.
The only person who felt a hint of adversity towards this power was Daniel, who, contrary to every other observing champion, could feel both a familiarity and hostility within it.
Once fully opened, two people emerged from the portal.
The first of these two people was a strikingly attractive young man with long pitch black hair, porcelain skin, and delicate features. Dressed in a white taoist robe with a black dragon pattern sewn into it, he stood proudly in front of the crowd of champions.
From this young man's extremely wide sleeves, which hid his arms completely, came out a chain that reached out to his right, where the second person was standing.
The second person, chained by her hands and feet to what Daniel could gather was her jailor, was a young woman with dark green hair that reached all the way to her lower back, long and pointy ears, an extremely pale complexion, and more impressively, eyes that shone like a rainbow colored crystal. Her delicate facial features were still visible despite her saddened expression, which indicated that she was not happy to be there.
What these two people provoked in the observing champions was respect and disgust. Respect aimed at the young man, a proud and powerful champion of Fate, and disgust towards the young woman, whom Daniel had already recognized as a child of Iewah.
A lump formed in Daniel's throat as his eyes were glued to the ethereal figure of the young woman. Mentally, he prepared himself to stop suppressing the power of Karma and use the commotion to make a break for it.. As if he could recognize a peer champion of Destiny with a sheer glance, she could have recognized one too.
"WE GREET THE CHAMPION OF FATE." Chanted the entire crowd in unison.
As cold as stone, the champion of Fate did not bother with the greeting. Instead, he turned to look at Daniel who, contrary to the others, had shown no respect towards him and was instead staring at his female companion. "Tch." Snorted the young man with irritation, causing Daniel to catch the young woman's attention.
Horrified by the disapproval of the champion of Fate, the Overlord bowed apologetically, then added, "This right here is the first champion of Karma, and he knows little of our hierarchy. I fault myself for failing to explain everything properly before your arrival." As he finished speaking, the Overlord turned towards Daniel and, while lacking the courtesy he had shown when speaking to him before, said, "His Eminence is a champion of Lord Fate, an omnipresent aspect of existence that is above all else. Being respectful to him is a given."
Daniel's eyes moved from the young woman to the Overlord, then onto the young man. Proper etiquette was the last thing on his mind at the moment, especially since he was in the presence of one of the few people who could call him out on his lies. However, he did not panic.. His lips slowly curved into a polite smile, and he said, "He came in late. Shouldn't he greet us before we greet him?"
For the second time, the hall fell into a silence unbroken by even the sound of breathing, as nobody dared to. However, this time, nervousness and fear could be felt being emanated by the surrounding cultivators. The most fearful of the observing cultivators was the Overlord himself, whose horrid face was distorted into an indescribable expression.
"YOU DARE MISBEHAVE DESPITE KNOWING WHO I AM?!" Barked the young man in pure anger while taking two steps towards Daniel. The chain he held tensed as he walked further from the young woman he was connected to.
Daniel tilted his head in feigned confusion, then rested it onto his closed fist. He then said, "Correct me if I am wrong but.. fate is an omnipotent yet passive concept of existence. Should you be using your Master's name to threaten people? And even if you do choose to do so, what will you do? Read my palm to death? Give me a tarot reading?"
As someone born within the domain of Fate, the young cultivator had lived the entirety of his extremely long life with people who worshipped the very air he breathed out. Disgust was the least negative feeling he was forced to endure when tasked with interacting with the other domains, and in those events, disagreement and hostility could not exist. In his mind, he was above everybody else, and as such, others needed to act accordingly.. Yet, this stranger had spit on the very honor that had symbolized the entirety of his existence.
Too shocked to even speak, the champions of Fate looked at Daniel with eyes full of hatred, and from which angry tears threatened to flow like rivers as he gave out his sanity to leap towards him.. But that never happened.
"Hmph.." A gentle yet short burst of laughter suddenly broke the silence. It came from the young woman, whose upper body was bent forward in an attempt to reach for her chained hands with her mouth to cover the most charming of smiles.
The young man turned to look at his companion with a dumbfounded expression. His hand tightened around the chain he was holding, but right before he could say anything, the young woman regained her composure, and moved back to a straight posture. "Young master, if you will lose your composure in front of all these people, who will respect you in the future?" She said with a silvery and modulated tone.
This single sentence seemed to strike the young man straight to the core.
While disrespect was shocking beyond belief to him, a truly superior entity would not be bothered by the thoughts or words of someone they considered to be of a lesser standing. To be enraged by Daniel's words was as much of a disgrace to him as the original insult was.
With a heavy sigh, the young man immediately regained his composure. "Since you are the first champion of your domain, I will let it go, this time. There won't be a next one." He said with indifference right after turning to look at Daniel. He then turned around, and walked back towards his original position, but not before tightening the grip around the chain he was holding and pulling it with enough strength for the chained young woman to fall heavily on the ground.
She did not react angrily towards this abuse. Instead, she quietly stood back and walked right behind her captor, leaving a few drops of blood on the hall's milky-white floor.