Chapter 579 - Trapped In A Web Of Conflict

As Daniel stared at the middle-aged man with narrowed eyes, Equilibrium's attention was split between the two. On one hand, she couldn't understand how Daniel could have managed to erase the imbalance his existence had created, while on the other, she could not explain the reason for Conflict's presence.

Nevertheless, regardless of her surprise, Equilibrium did not lose her composure. She nodded faintly as she uttered, "It is always nice to see you, Brother." Hidden deep within her tone Daniel could feel a hint of fear, one that wasn't hidden beneath the skin, but deeply rooted in the deepest parts of Equilibrium's existence.

The short-haired woman, while clearly fearful of Conflict, did not dare show signs of submission, because while she was only the owner of a high domain, she was under the umbrella of Fate-A being that, within the pantheon of aspects of existence, was on par with the entity that stood casually in front of her.

While the aspect of Equilibrium was focused on him, however, Conflict's attention was focused on Daniel, whom he looked at with a faint grin. "Your kind always shows so much promise, yet they always failed me.." He said while sparing a glance at Elijah. As he looked back at Daniel, the grin on his face deepened into a satisfied smile, and he added, "But you did not.. You made it."

Every word Conflict spoke seemed to bring him an increasing sense of excitement, which he did not bother to hide. This excitement was accompanied by the unconscious release of layers after layers of a power, which was poured out his body like water, but that solidified the moment it encountered any form of foreign essence, which it immediately crashed against, and broke apart.

This was not the first time Daniel had met Conflict, yet it was the first time he had experienced his power. A terrifying and unstoppable wave capable of threatening someone's existence without even coming in contact with it.. The promise of an unavoidable conflict that close to no one in the multiverse had any hopes to survive.

Even the short-haired woman could not help but feel threatened as her power of equilibrium was shaken, and broken apart by the waves of destruction he unconsciously released. It was only after she focused on creating a power that could balance Conflict's, that she was able to stop its advancement, and regain her composure.

"Why did you help me?" Daniel asked in an oddly calm tone. One that did not reflect the same amount of struggle Equilibrium was facing.

When Daniel was stuck within the power of equilibrium, forced to bear the weight of the imbalance he had created, he had heard a familiar voice. One whose owner he couldn't remember right away, as this familiarity was but a remnant of a small and insignificant memory. Nonetheless, this voice had helped him, guiding him through the path that ultimately led Daniel to salvation. Once free, Daniel realized that this voice belonged to Conflict, whom he had met twice in the past, and with whom he shared no particularly deep relationship.

Conflict's help came as a surprise not only for Daniel, but for Equilibrium as well, as she knew the former as one of the most obvious aspects of existence, so much so, that it always his kin the impression that the flashiness of his actions was aimed at maintaining his true intentions in the dark.. And here he was, openly barging in into her business for reasons only he knew.

The middle-aged man did not appear interested in answering Daniel's question. Instead, he looked him up and down as if to evaluate the nature of his power, until a faint smile appeared on his face. "You see.. Mortal worries weigh you down.. They taint your existence. As long as you cherish a friend, you love a child, you embrace your woman.. Even if you possess a power of existence, you stay a human. A being with a power you are unable to even begin comprehending. To be Karma, you need to be that power."

"Karma is you, the way you think, the way you act, your purpose and future.." Conflict said as the smile on his face gradually disappeared. He then turned to look at Equilibrium, and added with a bitter tone, "Like my purpose is to create conflict."

As the last word came out of Conflict's mouth, the universe began shaking. On his still body a thin layer of power emerged, much slower than the ones he emitted unconsciously, yet much clearer, like a molt that was slowly shed off an insect's body. A simple look at this power reminded Daniel of a word. The one word that could explain the strength he felt from it.. 'Absolute.'

This slow layer of power advanced through space, grinding everything it clashed against to nothingness. Not even the essence of space, one that allowed other powers to drift through liberally, could bear this power, and instantly collapsed. "BROTHER!! What are you doing?!" Equilibrium shrieked in horror. Not because the space was collapsing, as that was not a threat for an aspect of existence, but because of the threat she felt within this layer of power.

The void that formed around Conflict's body grew exponentially, yet, not even its immense destructive power could bear the layer of conflict, as it stopped expanding further than the area between the layer, and its owner's body. The further this power moved from Conflict, the more it reshaped itself into a perfect sphere. A sphere of unstoppable power that separated a living universe from its complete and irreversible destruction, and that stopped growing as it reached a radius of a thousand feet.

"Do not resent me sister, I am just doing my part.." Conflict said while lowering his head. "It is now time for you to do yours." The sphere of conflict, which hovered in space like a star, suddenly began to morph. On its almost transparent surface emerged five spikes, which soon grew to the size of fully formed fingers, reshaping the sphere into an enormous hand.

While not the flashiest attack he had ever witnessed, the power behind this colossal hand was the most powerful force Daniel had ever seen in his life. A simple look at it was enough for him to realize that, had this power faced the pressure that had almost killed him a few seconds ago, it would have been able to overcome it, as well as destroy the negative universe he was trapped into with as little effort it would take for an adult man to bear an infant's weight.

What Daniel failed to feel from this attack, however, was the threat Equilibrium was experiencing. As the hand's palm turned in her direction, the short-haired woman did not have the strength to speak any longer. All she could do was summon all the power she could muster from the multiverse, and covered herself with it, forming a cocoon of pure white light.

Just as simply as Daniel had imagined, the massive hand fell on the cowering aspect of existence, and covered it completely. "DON'T DO IT!!" Equilibrium screamed in sheer panic as her cocoon was grinded by sheer contact.. But it was already too late. In but a moment the cocoon was crushed, and along with it, the woman's body and consciousness.

In the span of just a few breaths, Equilibrium was no more.

The moment the woman's consciousness perished, Daniel felt a knot form in his throat, and his heart skipping a beat. Around him, the amalgam of powers of existence had changed, as if one of its components had been extracted and dissipated into nothingness. Even within her champions, who looked in horror at the death of the lord they followed, the power of equilibrium began dissipating, turning who had been proud champions for hundreds of thousands of years, back into common cultivators.

This reaction was shared by uncountable people who, across the multiverse, had felt the sudden disappearance of one of the oldest powers in existence.. Even the other aspects of existence, who lived as consciousnesses scattered through their immense territories, were not immune from these events, given that throughout their infinitely long lives they had never witnessed the death of one of their own.

While Daniel felt the multiverse change into one that did not possess the power of Equilibrium, Conflict reabsorbed his power, and stood casually in place, as if nothing had happened. On his face was a satisfied smirk, one that should have belonged to a simple artisan, proud of their newly finished work, instead of a deity who had just murdered his own kin.

Daniel's mind, on the other hand, was in turmoil.

Despite Equilibrium's attempt to kill him, Daniel knew that his existence, at least from her perspective, was indeed an unfair one. Her actions were justified by the nature of her existence, and he couldn't blame her for them, as much as others couldn't blame him for punishing people for the karma they had cultivated. For that reason, Daniel believed her to be an entity that was worth existing, as opposed to the likes of Horror, whose existence was born from avoidable pain and suffering.

Once free from her power, Daniel had noticed a lack of enmity in Equilibrium's eyes, one that proved her nature as a neutral being. Since he had eliminated the cause of the imbalance he had created within the multiverse, he was no longer her enemy.. So why had Conflict killed her? Why help him?

Before he could ask any of these questions, Conflict turned towards Elijah, who was staring back at him with wide opened eyes, too terrified to utter a word, or even think of what to say. In a moment, a speck of the power that was used to destroy Equilibrium emerged from Conflict's body, and was shot in Elijah's direction like a bullet.

This power was not particularly threatening, even for Daniel-Yet to Elijah there was no difference between that small speck of power, and the attack had killed Equilibrium. 

While not threatened by it, the moment Daniel saw this attack, he felt a sense of urgency. Immediately, he took over the power of karma that floated around Elijah's body, and used it to encase him before pulling him out of the bullet's way by sending him back into his personal hell.

As the attack brushed past the champion of Destiny, and the middle-aged man noticed Daniel's intentions to protect him, Conflict let out a quiet scoff. Had he cared that much about killing Elijah, even a thousand Daniels wouldn't have been able to stop him from doing so. Yet, as Daniel showed his intentions, Conflict gave up on the fleeting thought, and moved his hands behind his back, assuming the position of an old man on a stroll.

"Why did you kill her? If you wanted to help me, why couldn't you have just taken me away?" Daniel asked, confused.

The aspect of existence did not appear to be too engaged by Daniel's questions, as he turned to look at the now giftless champions of Equilibrium. "You keep asking me that. See, I don't wish to help you.." He said as the same bullets that had threatened Elijah's life were sent to each and every one of them, landing squarely on their chest, and crashing against the very atoms that formed their bodies.

The clash between these fragments of power and the cultivators bodies was lethal, as their immortal essence could do nothing to stop the former power from obliterating anything it came in contact with, before moving on to what was left to attack.

As the horrified cultivators fell apart bit by bit, and the surrounding space was filled with the sound of screaming, Conflict finally turned to look at Daniel. On his face, the same usual smirk reformed, as he added, "You are the one helping me.."

The moment Conflict finished speaking, Daniel suddenly realized something. A detail too terrifying for him to conceive, but true nonetheless. In the space where Equilibrium and Daniel had met, there was no trace of the power of Conflict. Only the power of Karma, and a void where once was the epicenter of Equilibrium's power remained.

By this point, even someone that lacked Daniel's intelligence would have been able to tell what Conflict's intentions were. "You want to frame me.." Daniel muttered in shock. "Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

Hearing Daniel's words, the usually calm aspect of Conflict burst out in laughter, "TO YOU!? Do you think I would murder my own kin for you?.. AHAHAH! No.." He said before disappearing, and reappearing right in front of Daniel. "Your existence was worth nothing the first time I saw you, and about the same the following one. You exist to prove a point."

"And what point is that?" Daniel asked through clenched teeth.

"THAT CONFLICT IS THE ULTIMATE POWER IN EXISTENCE!!" Conflict exclaimed with an uncharacteristic ardent tone. Following the outburst, the aspect of existence regained his calm, and placed his heavy hands on Daniel's shoulder. He then added with an almost caring tone, "You live to serve a purpose.. While my idiotic brothers waste their existence in arguing SEMANTICS!!.. You will create chaos."

Once again, the smile disappeared from Conflict's face, and he let go of Daniel's shoulders. As his arms fell by his hips, his body began to darken, turning his appearance from that of a middle-aged man, to a shadow that merged into the darkness of space. What he left before disappearing completely, were only a few words, "Go now... create unprecedented conflict for me."