Huh The Monarch of Karma leaned back and scratched his chin He felt quite sorry for his new friend after listening to his story So you dont even remember which was real Which life actually happened
No The man named Shal released the word in a giant exhalation
The two sat on what seemed to be the edge of an island drifting through space with huge clouds of crystal dust sparking and swirling above them Their feet hung off the edge of the stone above the abyss where different forces clashed and growled against each other The companions of Shal argued nearby as none of their options for escaping the current scenario seemed feasible Despite the rumbling environment they seemed to have found a small bubble of peace
Fate was content to allow the two to have a long talk about their lives
The Monarch of Karma fidgeted for a few seconds before he worked up the nerve to articulate his question Which do you want to be real
Is wanting such an easy thing Again each of Shals vocalizations came with a massive release of air from his lungs All the stress in his body seemed to seep into the circulating oxygen and he spared no bit of effort to try and squeeze the excess out of his body
For me The ease with which I want sometimes scares me The Monarch of Karma admitted Of the two of them he had spoken less over the last half hour But that didnt mean he didnt feel extremely vulnerable after the talk they had shared At the moment he very much tried not to let his mind linger on how nice it would be to have someone he could call friend
For a brief moment light flashed in Shals eyes I do not mean base covetousness that manifests whenever eyes land on the novel I speak of the want that will allow you to persevere across a lifetime A sustaining want that shapes your Path and allows you to seize your destiny However somewhere along the way I have lost mine I am light and hollow the slightest breeze will sweep me up now
At the risk of offending you is that not also a sort of blessing The Monarch of Karma spread out his hands The lightness is an advantage of a sort You have been given a clean state returned to the beginning From here you can discover yourself anew You can live without the weight of your previous want
You speak truth But I am torn by the source of my pain do I miss the guiding want or do I feel too old to discover another Shal shook his head
The Monarch of Karma watched the glittering waves of broken crystals cycling through the sky above them The drifting crystals had begun to be pulled into the rotation patterns he had brought with him Soon they would gather momentum and create some unpredictable effect So he stayed silent for now because he didnt have the heart to tell Shal that not moving was also a choice And currents were coming that would sweep them up whether they wanted it or not Re?Ad lateSt chapters Only
You do not need to want You could remain here The Monarch of Karma said unsure exactly who he spoke to
Shal again with the same ambiguous point of view shook his head The Monarch of Karma nodded in agreement Lost in the murky reality of existence both men turned their clumsy thoughts toward what they wanted
The Actus Suprem wanted to purr in satisfaction feeling the jagged emotional reverberations as Randidly Ghosthound walked through the abandoned ballroom and ascended to her balcony He possessed all her favorite emotions for inciting violence She kept her gaze forward savoring the feeling not wanting to spoil the moment by looking at his fate
His steps echoed He came closer He walked out onto the balcony He was only a few meters away Up close his emotions gurgled and seethed even more than she would have hoped His emotional prowess was nothing short of astonishing
Randidly Ghosthound looked at her her face troubled I dont want to kill you Devick
But I will if I need to
He hesitated So little of what happened in your life you chose Ive seen it
You can make a different choice now
Take a step back Release the Grand Fates At the very least I agree that we only have a little bit more time before the other players are going to make their moves in earnest The Nexus will change today If you are willing to compromise we can do this together
Abandon your power Collaborate with me
Devick felt small next to Randidly physically A little bit shorter and slighter probably a lot lighter She abruptly wished she hadnt changed out of her regalia into this dress just as a jest The flimsy fabric laid bare the differences in their physiques She felt her pupils begin to tremble as she looked at him His eyes were softened with sorrow but he was confident in his own power
In the end it came down to the same thing so many others had demanded of her over the year that she cede control
She would rather die than do so She would rather be a monster than do so
I might be in the wrong I might break it all by gripping too tightly but Randidly Ghosthound do you know the reason they call me the Actus Suprem Why I need these Grand Fates to be mine Devick let out a high pitched giggle Her arms shook Because I will never be the powerless one ever again What I want I will control
This time Randidly didnt open his mouth as sadness softened his eyes Im sorry I need to do this
Ill never be mad at you for trying to take power for yourself even from me Devicks heart released a low groan
She blinked rapidly both fluttering her eyelashes and trying to keep any tears from forming So what now Surely you wouldnt just strike a defenseless woman while she
Devicks image fled before a massive tide of Nether Her eyes widened in shock feeling the density of the significance that flowed through Randidlys body In just a second the chains in her hands vanished Even the reinforced Engraving arcs shuddered underneath the assault cracking and nearly collapsing
What had been hers now rested in his larger hands
While Devick watched Randidly opened his fingers and showed his palms to the sky All the Grand Fates she had not yet gathered whispered away happily retreating back to their original owners
His eyes were the impenetrable green of the first forest in which an ill prepared traveler died Your hands are now free Take a stance
Chapter 2388
Randidly leaned forward concentrating all his weight into the toes of his right foot Devicks face morphed its way through varying degrees of surprise
He gathered his images to himself His emotional sea surged between fury and anticipation His Nether grew into increasingly complex patterns breeding and reflecting itself in his Pangus Asymptote His whole body shifted more and more of his potency held upon his toes ready to explode forward
The note Randidly now understood as the stirrings of Truth become loud and clear through his Soulspace every second All his potential wound together as he prepared to face Devick
Finally her face reached the end of its transformation Of all the possible reactions to him so clearly manifesting his dominance with his First Authority what Randidly hadnt expected was a genuine smile She beamed with anticipation And as the first sparkles of rust colored energy gathered around Devicks body he suppressed a shiver Because in those first notes of power Randidly could feel an almost familiar discordant resonance to her energy
His eyes widened in recognition She has a Deviation Rarity of her own And fuck the power of her image
Against this strange deviation Randidly felt his own images rousing themselves to action once he had recognized the rival a nervous anticipation bred and exploded through his limbs The Accord of Three Moiraes and an Alchemist especially seethed with barely controlled indignation at this interloper An instinctual desire to rise and suppress this fellow Path surged through Randidlys body He restrained his wild impulse it but he didnt bother to stop all his focus narrowing to the foe in front of him
Randidly Ghosthound cracked the knuckles holding onto Acris shaft Devick offered a small bow Her body released a horrible sense of wrongness his instinctual offense spreading from his own Deviation Rarity images to that note of the Pinnacle humming in his heart