Chapter 834: Ripples in his Wake

Chapter 834: Ripples in his Wake

The air rippled, finally exposing the two warriors who had been standing at the shores of the small lake, just as the young man entered the twisting sphere of Chaos.

“Amitabha, Amitabha. How marvelous,” Three Virtues smiled, though there was clearly a sense of helplessness on his face as he saw the anomaly drift toward his domain.

“That’s what you get for being too greedy. Virtue through indulgence – the hubris required to attempt something like that,” Kaldor laughed. “Couldn’t help yourself seeing all that fate accumulating, could you?”

“There is no limit to the number of paths Buddha’s boundless heart can contain,” the monk answered before turning to the sphere, putting his two hands together in prayer.

A thousand-meter-tall deva appeared behind his back as waves of unfettered divinity streamed toward the anomaly. Thousands of lotus flowers bloomed in an instant, yet they were ripped apart one by one by Chaos. However, the monk was undeterred, chanting one mantra after another until a golden vase formed around the anomaly.

The surroundings grew lush in an instant as dharmic prosperity radiated through the world. More importantly, the greyish sphere finally stopped in place, its momentum exhausted. Three Virtues nodded in satisfaction and dispelled his skill, but Kaldor could see how the flowers in the sky had waned, and the chants had lost some of their mystery.

Kaldor inwardly snorted, knowing that the monk had been forced to sacrifice quite a bit of his stockpiled merit to prevent chaos from ruining his plans. Ultimately, any bad news for the Buddhist Sangha was good news to them, even if the two had become allies by necessity inside the Orom World.

However, Kaldor was more satisfied with what the brat’s final act signified. He had taken a stance, and it was clearly in favor of the Undead Empire.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this thing,” Kaldor eventually muttered. “One moment it feels like I can see through it, the next it is utterly foreign. Do you know how it works?”

“All is connected,” the monk smiled. “A gate of Chaos is a doorway without limits. Alas, the details elude this poor monk as well.”

“Whatever, don’t tell me,” Kaldor snorted. “Doesn’t matter.”

“The window has not yet closed, old friend,” Three Virtues smiled as he looked over at the reaver. “One step for liberation. One thought for transformation.”

“Trying to tempt me?” Kaldor said with a raised brow. “I am not done with this place. What about you? You’ve been here a lot longer than me. Even someone cultivating the heart must grow weary of this place by now.”

“Amitabha, all is one. As long as my heart remains pure, my path is satisfied. Alas, the fate between this poor monk and Lord Orom is approaching its conclusion,” the monk said.

“So, will you tell me now why you were so adamant about altering events?” Kaldor asked, unable to contain his curiosity. “Those on the outside are definitely here for the kid, and fate would have reached a tipping point as long as the brat stayed trapped. You had me waste five million Purchase Points to hasten his escape by a few minutes?”

“The young Almsgiver having the remnants is important, though I cannot delve deeper when that place is involved,” Three Virtues explained.

Kaldor frowned thoughtfully. He had already guessed the mysterious Edgewalker had some connections to that place since this scheming monk approached him, but he still couldn’t figure out how. And why involve him and the Undead Empire? Was the Sangha that confident?

“Even if you wanted him to have the Remnants, you could have just bought them yourself and gifted them instead of arranging this scheme of yours. In the end, your plans only seemed to have driven a promising Edgewalker toward the Undead Empire while driving a wedge between him and the Buddhist Sangha,” Kaldor said with a shake of his head.

“Children will often not realize the purpose of the teachings of their elders. Yet one day, it will crystallize into something that will bear fruit and positive Karma,” the monk smiled.

“I guess we’ll see,” Kaldor said. “You’re playing a dangerous game involving the empire in your schemes. Grasp all, lose all.”

“Can it not be a parting gift from this poor monk?” the monk laughed as he looked up at the reaver’s expressionless face. “Lighting a lamp-“

“I know, I know,” Kaldor groaned. “No need for your diatribes. You wanted a karmic debt, right? Well, I guess I’ll take the gamble the brat’s that important.”

“His fate is beyond what I can estimate. It leaves ripples in his wake. One day, those ripples will turn into a storm. Some will drown while others will be raised to the Heavens,” Three Virtues smiled. “This is as far as I can go.”

“Well, he certainly smelled like trouble. This big bastard is already suffering from his appearance,” Kaldor laughed. “Well, that’s the Abyssal Shore’s problems now. He is destined to join the empire.”

“Destiny is a tricky thing,” the monk laughed before he turned away. “This is the second to last time we meet.”

The golem didn’t seem to have come to kill indiscriminately. Otherwise, he would already be dead, no matter if you considered the flames in the Orom World or the fires that surrounded the Orom without harming a hair on his body. So that small reminder might save those within, though that was as far as Zac could go.

So he flew away as quickly as he could while maintaining control of the final wisp of chaos left behind. What he could use it for, Zac had no idea, but it was better than being unarmed. He would only be able to hold onto it for a minute or so, but that should be long enough for him to move quite some distance away.

Perhaps far enough to leave the golem’s fiery domain unless it extended its breadth.

“Mr. Bug, do you think it’s so easy to leave after I’ve come all this way?” a crystalline voice echoed through the void, dashing Zac’s hopes in an instant.

The massive burning mountain was a woman? No, there was no way the hulking golem was the source of the voice. More importantly, he recognized it, though he couldn’t quite remember from where. Then it came to him, and the hair on his body stood on end when he realized who had just spoken. It couldn’t be, right? What were the odds?

Then in a burst of flames, she was there – Iz Tayn.

Zac looked with horror at the incoming figure. Just like him, she was just a small speck in front of the apocalyptic golem. Yet he remembered that orange-golden hair that danced behind her as she approached, those sapphire eyes whose pupils were slightly vertical – full of indifference like she was a goddess looking down at the mortal realm.

Apart from the three odd lines drawing graceful arcs across her cheeks and down her forehead, she looked completely human – and was no doubt the most beautiful woman Zac had seen in his life. It was just not about pristine features, it was like her very being was in tune with the Dao itself, with every feature containing the truths of the Heavens.

However, her mesmerizing appearance wasn’t enough to calm the burgeoning panic over the situation. He remembered those terrifying flames of hers, of how he had been utterly humbled the last time they met. The worst thing was that he could feel that nothing had really changed, even after all he had been through.

His mind screamed of danger as she approached, and the aura she radiated made his hair stand on end. He couldn’t be certain, but judging by the regal Dao that exuded from her as she sailed through space, she most likely had multiple Middle Stage Dao Branches. Perhaps even Late Stage. Zac had no confidence at all dealing with this kind of peak genius, especially not in his wretched state.

And even if Zac did, dared he actually attack her? She was clearly connected with the monstrous golem, their Daos almost perfectly aligned. They shouldn’t be family, but perhaps they came from the same sect. Perhaps the golem was even her master. He had a strong suspicion he would be reduced to ash the moment he even thought of using his last wisp of chaos to deal with this girl.

Zac’s exhausted mind railed at the unfairness of the situation. He had planned for years and risked everything to escape through the Chaos Gate. So why the hell had this crazy woman appeared here?! Was it bad luck? Or worse, had she actually hunted him down? Had she instructed the golem to ruin his escape somehow?

He was too dog-tired already, and this wasn’t a variable he was prepared for. He was drawing a blank on what he should do.

“Crazy stalker,” Zac muttered as he tried to rouse himself for a fight, but he immediately regretted airing the subconscious sentiment.

“What was that?!” Iz exclaimed as three sets of wings burst out from behind her back.

They were nowhere near as grand as the ones the golem used to cover half the sky, and neither did they contain even a fraction of their concepts. Still, they contained some sort of purity that Zac could only remember seeing once before – the white light he had tried ingesting back in the Twilight Chasm.

Seeing the wings of untainted flames, and remembering her shocking display while still at F-grade, Zac wondered just what kind of heritage this woman had. Seeing how her master or Dao Guardian was such a terrifying being, Zac knew he shouldn’t be too surprised by anything she displayed.

His mother should be the equivalent of an Autarch, and she had thrown more wealth in his direction than Earth would be able to generate on its own in centuries. And that was just to sever karma with him.

What if a faction with actual Supremacies wholeheartedly wanted to nurture someone? Zac didn’t even dare imagine what kind of treasures this annoying woman had come in contact with. Yet one more reason he regretted blurting those words before, but his mind was simply too exhausted by the glimpse and overwhelmed by the situation to filter himself.

There was only one entity he could turn to for help right now.

“You better help me!” Zac roared at the sky, which prompted Iz Tayn to stop and look at him with confusion. “You left like a bandit, you bastard! What about your Law of Balance?! You got the glimpse, I got screwed over! Is that balance?!”

“What are you-“ Iz is exclaimed. “I’ve come here to show-“

Zac just waved at the girl to stay quiet, forgoing courtesy out of necessity. His soul was utterly drained, yet it was suddenly crammed full by a burst of information. It was the fifth Layer of the [Nine Reincarnations Manual], and that one tome contained as much information as the previous four combined.

That Wasn’t the only gift, as Zac felt his wrist heat up. His mind was in chaos, but he still spotted the golden runes dancing around his escape bangle, and he knew what he had to do. Zac was hesitant, but what choices did he have? He moved the final wisp of chaos and pushed it into his bracelet.

Space and Chaos converged in an instant, and the terrifying surroundings were replaced with darkness as he was whisked away by teleportation. A few minutes passed without change, and only then did Zac dare relax. By now he should have moved millions of miles already. The System’s idea had worked.

He was going home.