Chapter 574 - A Shared Destination

After what felt like hundreds of years of unbearable torture, Elijah was finally pulled out of his personal hell. As he regained his senses, he found himself kneeling in front of Daniel. "How long was I in there for?" He asked while using a small portion of his essence to rehydrate his wide-opened eyes, and mouth.

"Five minutes." Daniel responded with a casual tone.

His response had a clear effect on the champion of Destiny, who had been forced to experience unspeakable suffering at the expense of only five minutes of his time. As he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and began to sweat, he could only imagine what would have become of him had Daniel chosen to continue that torture for hours, or days.

"What do you want from me? Why am I not dead yet?.." Elijah muttered. The nature of the aspects of existence was not a mystery to him, nor was their dislike of his kind, hence why he couldn't understand why this young-looking man had decided to torture him, instead of outright erasing his existence.

Unwilling to beat around the bush, Daniel finally turned towards him, and said with an authoritative tone, "You will use your system to find someone for me."

Elijah was taken aback. While most champions knew about the mysterious powers of Iewah's spawn, the exact nature of a system was still unknown. For Daniel to know about the existence of his system, accurately guess its nature, and be aware of its most important feature, Elijah could tell that either the aspects of existence were more conscious about his kind that he realized, or that Daniel in particular was very well informed. However, that was not the moment to act surprised. "And if I were to help you.. You will let me go?"

It did not take long for Daniel to understand what Elijah meant. While submissive, a champion of Destiny was still a champion of Destiny. To get a favor from them with nothing in return was not unlike trying to squeeze blood from a stone. However, while this reaction was understandable, Daniel could not help but feel annoyed by the man's actions, as he did not want someone to strike a deal with, but someone who'd obey him for as long as he wanted, before killing them.

"How long, would you say, it would take you to reach the interdimensional portal from here?" Daniel asked as his eyes were pointed at a nearly invisible light in the distance.

A look of puzzlement crossed Elijah's face. He turned towards the direction Daniel had pointed out, then scratched his head and shrugged his shoulders. "At maximum speed, a week, perhaps?" He responded.

The moment the word 'week' came out of his mouth, the color on Elijah's face disappeared. His pale skin began to tremble, as his voice struggled to come out of his mouth, "NO!! WAIT!! I'll do it right now, just tell me who it is that you want me to find!" He pleaded to an unbothered Daniel, who looked back at him with a chilling gaze.

"A week it is, then." Daniel said as the karmic power around Elijah once again attached itself to his kneeling figure, sending him back into a trance. The painful experiences of his victims resumed, forcing him to experience all the pain he had caused, yet from the point of view of his victims.

As Elijah's torture resumed, Daniel grabbed him, and took off for the interdimensional portal, a voyage that, at his current speed, would take them exactly a week, not a minute longer, or less.

—--

Daniel's universe of origin.

Within the shattered universe that once housed Daniel and most of his friends and family, was now nothing but uncountable shards of solidified space, which grinded, ripped, and shredded every sort of matter within its confines, including each other.

A universe that had once been abandoned for who knows how many years, since shattering, it had only received two visits. One, from Daniel and the champions of Fate he had punished with the use of his abilities, and the second, from an old couple, which was currently standing within its inhospitable environment.

"I can't perceive any fate other than the universe's." Said Rhea, the old championess of Fate, to her focused companion.

With a nod that confirmed her conclusions, Baal closed his eyes, and expanded his nearly infinite essence throughout as much of the universe as he could reach. "The report was correct.. His spirit was not in the spiritual domain, and his consciousness was not resting in the underworld. This is the last place he visited, according to his fate.. Yet of his body there is not a single trace."

Her husband's confused tone added to the woman's restless state of mind. After millions of years spent in control of even the most insignificant of things, not being able to know whether her last living son was dead or alive, was the most exasperating feeling she could have possibly experienced.

As she struggled to control her emotions, her husband remained calm. He turned towards her and said, "We know he came here to kill that little pupil of Karma-but in here, he couldn't have had his Lord's support.. So how did he fail?"

"Support from the champions of another domain?" Rhea asked.

Baal shook his head, dismissing his wife's guess. "No.. I have already checked. No one's fate was to meet our son in this shattered universe. His opponent was alone." He said with a matter-of-fact tone. He then looked at his surroundings, as if trying to find the clue that was within his head, but that he was struggling to catch on."

As if on cue, a moment of realization struck the old lady. She immediately turned towards her companion, and asked, "Isn't this the universe where the last batch of  champions of Destiny came from?!"

"It is!" Baal blurted out while looking at his surroundings. The only powers present within the universe were the one that prevailed despite the shattering of space, and those were the aspects of Conclusion, nurtured by the universe's collapse, and the aspect of Conflict, to which this universe used to belong to. 

While it was not odd for the power of conclusion to be there, the presence of the power of Competition indicated that this universe once belonged to his domain, just like the domain from which the latest batch of champions of Destiny had come from.

"But why would that brat come here?"

The old lady, aware that they were on to something, added, "I thought there was something wrong with that kid. You don't think he could have been.."

Before she could finish speaking, her husband interrupted her. "No. We started the hunt in front of him. If he was a champion of Destiny, the Seeker would have noticed him. If he came here, it was to meet someone. Someone that might have escaped before the universe shattered."

As her calmer companion considered the possibility that Daniel could have friends and family he had come back to, Rhea's mind started running amok. The people her husband spoke of might not be tools she could use to find out what the fate of her son was, but at least, people she could take her revenge on. 

"When a universe collapses, its population is taken out in batches, and moved into other universes within the same domain." Baal said with a matter-of-fact tone. "One of those batches will have someone who shared with him a moment within the tapestry of Fate.. But getting to them will take time."

Almost too eager to check, Rhea nodded in agreement, and once again focused on the brilliant light within her body. Before she could start searching, however, she was stopped by her husband's words, which ringed in her ears clearer than ever. "Remember why we are doing this. It is only because there is a chance he may still be alive, that I am the calm one."

These few words seemed to have a calming effect on the old lady, who quickly set her priorities straight.

—--

One week later.

After seven long days of traveling through space, and past uncountable planets destroyed by war,  Daniel's journey had finally come to an end. He now stood in front of a massive water-like portal, waiting in line for his turn to go through. Next to him was the soulless figure of Elijah, who, only minutes ago had been taken out of what to him felt like tens of thousands of years of uninterrupted agony.

In his nearly broken mind, thoughts of escape or defiance could no longer be found. Only a numb submissiveness which he demonstrated by patiently waiting in line next to Daniel, without daring to utter a single word.

After a few hours spent witnessing millions of ships, massive tamed beasts, and floating continents dash into the portal, their turn to pass finally arrived. 'Which domain do you originally belong to?', 'What domain are you planning to visit?', 'What was the reason for your visit?' These were a few of the questions Daniel and Elijah were asked, but while the former answered them all patiently, the latter remained quiet, repeating Daniel's answers whenever he would be asked directly.

Soon, finding no problem with Daniel and his dull and dispirited companion, the champions of War allowed the two through.

Following a few instructions, the two finally managed to go through the interdimensional portal, and found themselves back within the Trigate, where uncountable cultivators could be seen going back and forth between universes.

"Make a path to the people I want to find." Daniel ordered, unwilling to specify whether his people were friends, family, or just acquaintances. He did not wish to give Elijah more information than he needed, as while he could send him back to his personal hell at any moment, he still needed him to be his guide. Who was to say during that time what information he would share with who?

Seeing his very specific request, Elijah was once again shocked. How could Daniel know that the systems formulate missions by using their wielder's intention, and not their words? While surprised, Elijah did not lag behind, and immediately followed Daniel's instructions. He formulated the mission the same way Daniel had asked him to, and in a moment, a window appeared within his mind.

____________________________

*Primary Quest started: A Mean to an End*

-Description: Locate the people of the aspect of Karma.

First objective set: Gain access to Conflict's domain.

Reward: Temporary Survival / Pleasure +??

Time limit: 12 years, 1 month, 4 days.

____________________________

As Elijah observed the mission window, Daniel quietly invaded his mind with his essence. His goal was to verify whether his mind power would allow him to see a mission formed within the mind of a champion of Destiny, but he was soon disappointed, as he found Elijah's mind to be completely blank.

"I am waiting." Daniel muttered after a few minutes.

Shaken awake, Elijah blinked several times, then refocused on the task at hand. "I have done as you've asked. Your.. group, is within the domain of Conflict. That is all that I know for now. I will know more the moment we enter one of their universes!" Elijah said in a single breath with a hurried tone. It was clear to Daniel that the wielder of the depraved system was unhappy with the mission's vagueness, hence why he tried desperately to justify himself.

Naturally, Daniel was more than aware of how vague the system's missions were, so he knew that killing Elijah was only something that he could do after finding his people. Yet, he had no reason to show himself satisfied. Instead, he let out an irritated scoff, and turned towards the universes that belonged to Conflict's domain.

"You will live for as long as you remain useful to me. Now move, just looking at you is irritating me.." Daniel growled before bolting in the direction of one of Conflict's universes.