Chapter 575 - The Right Path To One's Goal
Despite how simple it was for Daniel and Elijah to approach the universes that belonged to the domain of Conflict, gaining access to them was a whole different story. The two had spent the days that followed their departure from the domain of War trying to mix with the visitors of Conflict's domain, but entrance for them was always denied.. with no exception.
Unfortunately, this rejection was not caused by something they had done, or that they could avoid doing in the future, but by the domain itself, which had been sealed for anyone who did not possess the mark of Conflict. In each of these failed attempts Daniel and Elijah questioned why they were unable to gain access, and by piecing together a few of the vague answers they had received, they finally understood the reason.. And it all started with one event Daniel had been part of.
While his encounter with the leader of the Blood sect had been the very first time his universe of origin had experienced something that came from outside its boundaries, that was not the most meaningful moment in its history. Much more important than that, was the moment where various aspects of existence had perceived their individual powers prevail from the rest, and had begun a power struggle to gain the universe's control.
At that time, only four mid-low ranking universes had taken part in the competition, but right when their pettiness and stubbornness was about to cause the destruction of the universe, the aspect of Conflict, an entity with a power comparable to Fate itself, had taken over it, making Daniel's home a part of its domain.
This event seemingly had no effect in the lives that inhabited it, but that changed when Daniel's father-in-law, Edmund, had ascended to high immortality. This ascension had granted him a peculiar ability, one that allowed him to shift between universes at will, without needing to restrict his power, or go through the trigate.
His inexperience with this ability had caused his encounter with the leader of the Blood sect, who took an interest in this power, and decided to visit their universe in an attempt to acquire it. To protect Edmund, Daniel had fought and defeated the leader of the Blood Sect, opening his home universe to a much vaster reality.
After Daniel, branded with the legacy of the Blood Sect, left his universe, its inhabitants were left to adapt to the changes, and so did the champions of Destiny that still roamed it. These champions, now aware of a much bigger stage to compete on, decided to leave the universe they were born into, and explored, conquered, and killed throughout its boundless confines.
When years later the Exalted Assembly happened, the various domains had come to the conclusion that a new batch of the feared champions of Destiny had appeared, and agreed to eradicate them from the source. What they did not expect, however, was for the universe they came from to be part of the domain of Conflict. A domain that belonged to an entity that had made itself known for being impartial to the conflict between Fate and Destiny.. To a point where he would protect its domain from their dispute regardless of what the wishes of the multiverse, or its brothers and sisters were.
It did not take long for this decision to cause the entire multiverse to become an enemy of the domain of Conflict, and for the latter to seal its borders, denying entrance to anyone who did not belong to it.
—--
"This is infuriating!" Elijah said as the fifth domain they visited denied them entry. His fists tightened and his teeth gritted, but not for the anger he was feeling, but for the prospect of having to go back into the hell Daniel had put him through for what he felt were tens of thousands of years.
Forced to witness Elijah's umpteenth failure, Daniel gently shook his head. "I am starting to re-evaluate your worth.." He said with an indifferent tone which, in contrast with the faint black aura that emerged from Daniel's body to express his anger, felt more terrifying than ever.
"I-I-I w-will find a way.. If I was g-given a mission, there has to be a way! T-these things take time.." Elijah said in between stutters.
Suddenly Daniel's enraged aura dissipated, and his usual indifferent expression showed something beyond the aloofness Elijah was now used to seeing. It showed confusion. "Have you ever tried asking for options?" He inquired.
At first Elijah's expression matched Daniel, as he did not immediately understand his words.. but as he made sense of his question, and tried it, his face suddenly morphed.
His narrowed eyes opened wide, threatening to pop out of their sockets-much like those of a fish.. and his lips, once curved into a feigned smile, parted, creating an opening big enough for him to fit half of his fist in. In his mind several more windows had appeared, each proposing a different path to succeed in the mission, all with a different time limit, instructions, and additional rewards.
Seeing Elijah's face, Daniel immediately understood what had happened, and for a moment, he almost couldn't fight the urge to slap his own forehead. Elijah's expression spoke by itself, showing Daniel that the former was clearly unaware of this function. For Elijah to have survived this long without abusing this feature, Daniel could only explain it in two ways.. He either was extremely lucky, and that did not appear to be the case, or he had avoided the dangerous missions, and opted to increase his strength by fulfilling the requirements of his depraved system while in isolation.
"This is amazing!" Elijah shouted as his entire mind power focused on every word and punctuation written on the three windows. His excitement, Daniel found to be very similar to that of a dog after being given a new chew toy.
While Elijah would have loved to explore this ability further, his trance was interrupted by a sharp pain that came from his left cheek. A pain that dissipated his mental power, and forced his consciousness to merge back into his body. His eyes were aimed at Daniel, who did not appear to have moved, while his hand was holding his swollen cheek. "So?" Daniel asked, almost as if pretending not to have slapped him.
Unable to retort, Elijah could only swallow his pride and show an appreciative smile. He then said with an enthusiastic tone, "Thank you for showing me this. The amount of mission I had to aba-" His words were stopped by a feeling identical to the one he felt in his left cheek, but that now came from the other side.
"Focus." Daniel said after slapping Elijah once again.
One thing worth pointing out to anyone who was willing to fight a champion of Destiny, was how thin their patience was. Used to fighting with one another, the purpose of their existence was to prove to each other who was the strongest, and to grow to the state of an aspect of existence.. To be slapped repeatedly was an insult none of them would have chosen to bear over death, and that was the case for Elijah as well. Nevertheless, he didn't, as he knew that the consequences of doing so with Daniel were not as simple as dying.
Forced to swallow his pride, Elijah once again focused on the option given, and calmly repeated them to Daniel.
"It says that we can force our way in, but we will have to wait three years for the strongest champions to leave, or we will be overwhelmed. Another option is to enter the universe from a connected shattered universe, but that will accelerate the collapse of the stable one.." Elijah explained diligently to an almost uninterested Daniel.
As he was about to take a moment to discuss his preference towards the second option, Elijah remembered Daniel's quick hands, so he decided to continue instead. "Our last option is to rescue a group of champions of Conflict who have been captured by the domain of Equilibrium." He said to a now pensive Daniel whose train of thoughts he did not dare to interrupt.
Unwilling to cause the fall of a universe just to gain access to the domain of Conflict, or risk having to face an army composed of the domain's strongest champions, if not Conflict itself, Daniel saw only one option. "Tell me more about the third one."
—--
Trigate, interdimensional portal to Conflict's domain.
While Daniel and Elijah struggled to gain access to Conflict's domain, that was not the case for the two old champions of Fate, Rhea and Baal.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Baal asked his companion. After tens of millions of years spent together, it was not strange for him to be able to read every one of Rhea's emotions, and at the moment, on her face, he could see that she was focused, fearless, and determined to a point where he doubted she understood the level of opposition they were bound to face.
What confirmed Baal's guess, was a lack of response from Rhea, as she was too focused thinking about finding what had happened to her child, rather than plan their next move.
With nothing more left to say, the two approached the interdimensional portal, and soon enough, they were stopped by a group of cultivators. In the bodies of these cultivators was hidden a chaotic and archaic power, one that was in constant motion even when left unused, as if unwilling to sit still, and eager to collide with the very atoms that surrounded it. This was the power of Conflict.
This group of cultivators immediately recognized the old couple from the very distinct power of Fate hidden within their bodies, but while the former's power was vastly inferior to the latter, the guardians did not show any sort of reverence towards them. "The portal is locked, you will have to go back." Said their leader, an immensely powerful old man with a voice that resounded through space like ripples on the water's surface.
For as angry he was about his son's disappearance, Baal had gotten used to the loss, and thanks to that, he had managed to maintain his composure throughout this hunt.. But, alas, that could not be said for his wife. Before he could attempt to reason with these champions of Conflict, and explore a more peaceful resolution, the old woman darted forward with a golden jian in her hand, swinging it in rapid succession.
Unprepared by this attack, the champions of Conflict let their power explode forward, hoping that the aggressive nature of the aspect they represented could protect them from the flurry of blows. But, while their hopes were accurate, their gift failed to meet the power of their enemy.
Almost as if guided by Fate itself, the slashes of the woman moved around the waves of the power of conflict, navigating through it like an expert seaman in a formation of protruding rocks. Soon after, these slashes found their targets, landing squarely on their bodies and viciously ripping them into pieces.
Once dead, without skipping a beat, the old woman marched towards the interdimensional portal alongside her companion. In a matter of seconds, the two found themselves within the domain of conflict, and in front of him, millions of champions, all as powerful as the few cultivators they had just killed.
"This is not going to be easy.." Said Baal as he reached for his stomach pit. With two fingers he pinched his skin, then pulled his hand outwards. What was pulled from his chest, however, was not his skin.. but a golden dao. Slightly longer and heavier than his wife's jian, but just as dangerous.
With their target ready to engage in battle, the army of champions of Conflict prepared to attack, but before the leaders of the army could start the charge, each champion of Conflict bent forward in a show of reverence. The target of their reverence was the middle-aged man that had quietly appeared in the space between them, and the old couple.
This man sent a shiver down the back of the two champions of fate, who struggled to keep their eyes open due to his presence. This was a feeling they were very familiar with, one they had experienced the very few times they had had the privilege of meeting their high lord Fate, one of the highest members of the pantheon of aspects of existence. Yet, the power emanated by this man lacked any of the familiarity Fate's power possessed.
"It is an honor to meet you, high lord Conflict.." The two said in unison.