Chapter 570 - The Oriole Behind (Part 1)
Among the first universes to become aware of what lay beyond its confines, as well as of the nature of existence, there was a particularly old one. A universe that was referred to as 'the Bastion.' This universe, one of its kind in many ways, was considered as one of the very few true seats of power within the multiverse, as in it, resided the domain of Fate, and all of its champions.
Since the beginning of time, this universe had remained sealed, with the number of entities allowed to travel in and out of it amounting to no more than a hundred people every thousand years. Within this universe, the champions of Fate, who referred to each other as 'seers,' cultivated in peace while enjoying the privilege of unlimited resources, which were brought to them by subject domains.
At the very core of this universe, deep into space, was a small island with an even smaller building built on its surface. Simple in its construction due to how ancient it was, the building only consisted of a single room, and in it, were a round table and twenty seats, all made of pure white stone.
Rarely used as a meeting point for the leaders of Fate's domain, this room was usually left unused for eons at a time, leaving the impression to whomever came upon it during their travels through space, that neither the small island nor the building had any purpose at all.
At the moment, however, things were different. Surrounding this island stood guard tens of thousands of white-robed cultivators, while inside the room, no seat was left empty.
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".. This is not a simple matter! We can't expect to find the needle while the haystack is on fire!"
"You are an old fool! That is our point! We need to stop the fire from spreading first!"
"What did you call me?! I dare you to repeat that!"
"Calm! Be calm!!"
Within the room that for the past hundred thousand years only had silence to offer, white-robed cultivators argued with one another. As their tone became increasingly more hostile and disrespectful, their actions began to carry threats of physical violence, which both sides appeared to be willing to indulge in. If any outsider had seen this spectacle, they would believe these ancient and powerful entities to be a bunch of drunkards, fighting over an unfairly split bill that nobody wanted to pay for.
Among them, however, were still some who had managed to maintain their calm. Two people who did not appear to have as much interest in the topic at hand, as their mind was otherwise preoccupied. Had Daniel seen these two individuals, he would have immediately recognized them as the parents of the two champions of Fate he had judged as the aspect of Karma.
"Lord Baal, I need your support on this, make these fools' words make sense!" Said a bald old man with a fluffy white beard which floated in the air to match the man's angered state of mind, to the husband.
Before the man could speak, however, a second individual with a similar figure, but with a clean shaved face and seemingly never ending white hair, retorted, "You wouldn't understand sense even if it smacked you in that bald head!" As he finished exchanging insults, the long-haired man turned towards the couple, and while looking at the wife, added, "Lady Rhea, have a go at it, as I feel I can't discuss any longer with this rabble of idiots."
Once the two cultivators brought the couple into the argument, the room became quiet, showing how much weight the opinion and words of these two people carried within the domain of Fate.
Forced to join in, the first one to speak was the old lady, who turned towards her husband, and said, "I agree with them. The chaos we are living in has been caused by the spawn of Destiny. We need to eradicate them as soon as possible.. Only then will the other domains fall back in line, and order will be restored."
The husband, aware that he wasn't part of 'them', responded with a calm tone, "I understand your point. However, I can't deny the reality. The champions of Destiny are elusive, and of how long it will take us to eradicate them all, there is no certainty. We cannot afford to let the unrest continue growing, we need to enforce order."
Clearly in disagreement, the woman shook her head. "We need not fear the other domains, for their growth is no threat to us. But we have to stop those monsters, before they grow too powerful.." Responded the woman with a matter-of-fact tone.
Seemingly unconvinced, the husband stroked his beard in silence for a few moments, then added, "I am afraid the past thousand years of failed attempts have chipped away at too much of my hopes. The efforts of the few domains that have stayed loyal to the hierarchy, have only allowed us to capture a handful of them. Things would be different if we united the entirety of the multiverse once again."
The discussion, albeit not as animatedly, continued from the mouths of one spouse to the other for what felt like months, with no stop in sight. What caused its sudden interruption was the figure of an additional champion of Fate, a young-looking red-haired woman who barged into the room, and after waiting for the couple to stop talking and for the attention of the champions present to be directed at her, said, "I have important news, high seers."
Appreciative of the much needed break, the husband, whose eyes met the young woman's, asked, "Speak then. What is the matter?"
Clearly terrified, the woman adjusted her posture, and with a trembling voice said, "It is about your son. His fate is.. Gone."
The cultivators present looked at one another with confusion. In their mind, the words she had just spoken made no sense. Not because she hadn't spoken properly, or because she had used terminology they were unfamiliar with, but because what she said was impossible. Fate was not something that could disappear.. Not even Destiny, who had been born in contrast to the concept of Fate, only argued about the possibility of fate being changed, not erased.
Just as confused, the couple closed their eyes, and completely separated themselves from their surroundings. The surrounding smells, view, voices and noises, nothing reached their bodies as their mind wandered into the depth of their bodies, where a pure white light resided. Once in contact with their own respective lights, the couple looked through the fabric of fate, where the past, present and future of each being or object was written.
With a hint of anxiousness they sought their child's state, but while they could still see the fate of their already deceased children, of the last living one, there was no trace. Their youngest, who had left the Bastion a few days back in order to get revenge for his late older brother, had no present or future. No mind to rest peacefully in the underworld, no spirit to wait for reincarnation in the spiritual plane, and no physical remains to find. Nothing was left of him but his past, and his last memories.. A golden silhouette, and suffering.
Almost as if shocked awake, the two cultivators sprung on their feet.
"I agree with your point. Do as you wish." The woman said with a voice that resounded throughout the room right after her body disappeared.. Leaving her husband, and the still undecided cultivators to deal with the domain's problems.
Her husband, not as quick to react, turned towards the other cultivators and said, "We will focus on restoring order, starting with our faction's hierarchy. Once finished, proceed with allied factions, and wait for us before acting against hostile domains. I want to see results in a year's time.. before that, you are not to seek the two of us. Understood?"
Shocked by how the couple reacted to what the young woman said, the remaining seers looked at one another with confusion. "What is going on, friend?" One of Baal's most trusted companions asked.. His words, however, were left to resound in a room with no listener, as by the time he finished speaking, Baal had already disappeared.
In the blink of an eye, the two ancient cultivators found themselves at the Bastion's interdimensional portal, where thousands of cultivators stood guard. Their backs bent to welcome their arrival. "Wait, Rhea! Calm down!" Said the husband right before his wife could barge through the portal blue surface. "I want to investigate this as much as you do, but we can't go at this haphazardly.. Not with the multiverse being in this state."
With her body oozing a dark red emotional aura, the woman turned around. Tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks welled in her eyes as she said, "Baal.. if our son died, that means we will have lost them all. He is the only one we have left.."
Usually the more aggressive of the two, Baal had managed to maintain his calm. He floated in front of his wife, and placed his hands on her shoulders, then pushed her body against his chest. As he felt his life-long companion tremble in anger and fear in his arms, the ancient cultivator looked into the blue portal. His face distorted into a threatening expression, as he muttered, "Whoever did this to us will suffer.. That I promise!"
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Back in the Trigate, just outside of the portal that led to Daniel's universe of origin, he stood in silence.
Ever since he had found out about the disappearance of the karmic system, Daniel had felt his safety net disappear from under his feet. While some of his abilities were still usable through the use of karmic power, he had no idea whether the boosts of power the members of his group received, or the changes in his luck, were still present.
What was worse, however, was losing the ability to create a path towards his goals.. A skill that he required not only to avoid danger, but also to find his family and friends, of whom he did not know either status or location. Luckily, there was still hope for him, as alongside the abilities he had retained after losing his system, Daniel was in possession of knowledge regarding both the champions of Destiny, and the workings of their systems.
With an idea in mind, Daniel had left his shattered universe of origin, and stopped within the Trigate. He then closed his eyes, and focused entirely on the presence of karmic power. What he was looking for was not a world with a vast amount of karma which could nurture his powers as an aspect of existence, but a source.
The power of Karma was created by conscious beings, and it lingered around their bodies awaiting for its wielder to use it.. No matter how long that may take. Who was to say that Daniel could not sense it?
Within Daniel's mind, uncountable sources appeared. Each belonged to a different person, and had a different size and nature, making them as unique as the people that had created them. Some as small as specks of dust, others as big as stars.. But far too many to count.
"This isn't working.." Daniel thought as his brows furrowed. With an even greater degree of focus he adjusted the scope of his search, until finally, these lights began to gradually disappear. In a few minutes' time, only the largest and most accumulations of negative karma were left, while the smaller ones, trillions in number, were nowhere to be seen.
Satisfied by the result, Daniel opened his eyes, and noticed that each of these accumulations of karma was marking a different portal, behind which was the universe that housed its source.
The ability that many in these troubled times would have deemed as crucial, was something that Daniel had created just now.. A feat not only possible thanks to his powers as an aspect of existence, but also thanks to his experiences with their kind, as he knew more about their character than most.
Sociopathic in nature, and thirsty for power, these entities roamed their universe while fighting, destroying, and killing. Of their actions, ever since their birth, hardly any would classificate as a good deed.
While this was known and useless information for most champions and cultivators, that was not the case for Daniel, as the longer the champions of Destiny existed, the more karma they would accumulate for him to see. An enormous advantage for Daniel, as finding them was what he intended to do.. To find them, and to force them to create a path to his friends and family.
To many this might have seemed like a long shot, yet, for Daniel this was his best chance, as his only other alternative was to barge into the domain of Fate, where he knew a champion of Destiny was held captive, and risk an encounter with the aspect of Fate itself.
Set on his objective, and without thinking too much about how long such a feat would require, Daniel turned towards the closest highlighted portal, and without making a sound, disappeared.