Divine Path System

Sarah and Isadora locked themselves away in the obscure ancient texts since Aurora's fate had been ordained.

It was a futile attempt to save someone with a broken origin, even more futile than trying to calm down a forest fire with a glass of water.

Varian walked through the well maintained floating gardens, down the red stone road, toward the spire of white.

On the sides of the path, numerous Isadora came into sight, minds immersed as they scanned through an ancient book or an old research or older myths.

From time to time, there were also multiple Sarah who sat nearby, checking through the texts read by nearby Isadora and adding her own comments.

Even though the objects in their hands resembled books, these were far more advanced carriers of information. A single page might as well fill up a mortal library.

Varian held his breath as he reached the entrance. He looked composed and calm.

But his eyes darted around the island and then at the large blue stone door.

It seemed intimidating.

A funny notion to associate a door intimidating the man who retrieved broken galaxies and forged the most brilliant kingdom.

'It's a good news. Yes, it's a good news.' Varian told himself and stood up.

A big reason he worked so hard on building them a good kingdom was because he was failing badly to save Aurora.

For the brief period he spent with them, he thought that perhaps, this would also be easy enough.

When he returned, reality weighed down.

No matter how strong he grew, his challenges seemed to grow stronger with him, stronger than him.

(Cheer up, Varian! It's definitely a good news!) Samsara's voice was filled with concern.

Varian tried to smile.

(Smile bright! This place will have the answers. It got to have!)

This island in the sky stretched for miles and was shaped as a steep hill, resembling a mountain.

Other than the tower at the very peak, it's mostly covered in green due to the endless grass and stripes of all colors thanks to the seemingly unending rows of flowers.

Gathering the texts from the Ares tribe, the ruins of Paradise and other places that they visited, the inquisitive Sarah built this island of knowledge.

Thanks to the adventures of Boo and Oob, knowledge from across the empire was gathered here.

Perhaps they really found a solution…

Varian turned back to open the door and Logos' cold, emotionless voice rang.

[There is chaos going on in the Jai Empire. The abode of God Emperor is going to be breached. Spending so much time on this issue now is not wise, no matter how much you want to save her.]

(Hey, but she's dying! Poor Aurora!)

[If he keeps wasting his time, more will die.]

(A-A clone then? With my help, Var can make a clone close to 70% strength! Isn't that amazing?)

[Even at full strength, there is no certainty of him winning. Sending a clone is futile and will only make things worse.]

(I-I…) Samsara stuttered, unable to defend her argument any further.

[Varian, you should make a call. The time wasted is enough.]

Varian's hand grabbed the door handle and paused for a moment.

[Your fate is messed up! It used to be a fog I can peek into. Now, it's an abyss of darkness. I can't see a thing! But I can sense it. I can see it now. Something. Something is looming.]

Logos' composed voice suddenly grew panicked.

Varian's brows furrowed and before he could do anything else, Logos screamed, her voice broken and hysterical.

[H-He is coming! He is coming!]

And then, Logos fell silent.

'What happened? Logos? Logos, are you okay?'

There was no response.

'Samsara, ask her to continue. What the hell is she talking about fate?'

(Huh? When did she say fate?)

Varian nearly yelled. 'Didn't you just hear…?'

(Huh? Logos, did you open a secret communication channel? No, that's impossible.)

[Maybe he realized it even before I spoke. Varian, the Jai Empire's fall will create a big splash on his fate. You should g—]

'Wait.' Varian interrupted. 'Not that. Someone. He. He is coming.'

[Who? Who is coming?] Logos asked in confusion.

'But you…'

(Oops, Varian! I just checked! Your soul is under stress after trying to manage Origin. I should've healed you before hallucinations. Sorry, sorry. I'll do it right away.)

A soothing warmth enveloped Varian but all he felt was chilling coldness.

Was it all an illusion?

Varian slid down against the door and stared ahead with a blank gaze.

'Samsara, is there anything unusual in my soul?'

Varian saw the glowing pair of eyes and clenched his jaw.

(Huh? Well, just a little fatigued.)

'I see.' Varian tried to smile but he couldn't bring himself to do it. 'Are you sure you didn't speak about fate before?'

[Huh? Of course. Samsara, can't you even heal his soul properly? He's still not telling his hallucination apart from reality.]

(I-I'm just being delicate because his soul is very fatigued!) Samsara defended herself and began to pour out her powers to kickstart another round of healing.

[How is it?] Logos asked, the emotionless voice from before now filled with concern. [Are you okay?]

Varian paused for a moment and took a deep breath. Then, he nodded lightly with an embarassed expression.

'Sorry to get you worried. Mistaking that for reality was such a stupid mistake.'

[Don't stress yourself anymore. Stop those experiments and focus on growing strong. You don't have allies anymore, Varian. The old rulers are dead.]

Varian stood up, grabbed the door's handle. What happened just now was still swirling in his head.

He desperately wanted to grow stronger as soon as he could. Even though a voice deep inside him said it's all going to be futile anyway. No matter how much he advanced, he's still going to be an ant facing a world ending storm.

And yet, he wanted to find solace in taking cover under a fig leave called strength and hoped to be safe.

[You need strength, Varian. Aurora won't blame you. Just stop it.]

Logos was right. Aurora wouldn't blame him. And if she learned more about the situation, she might even kill herself so that he wouldn't spend time on her.

It made all the sense in the world to stop here, fight Hades, grab whatever valuable in the palace of God Emperor and grow.

Maybe being a peak rank 2 couldn't change anything. But rank 3?

That should do something! So, he should jus—

Crack!

The handle in his grip broke into pieces and Varian made his decision.

With a loud boom, the door to the tower of knowledge opened.