Chapter 654 New Enemies And Old Friends

-Year 359 of the 8th cycle

My knowledge of this abomination consists of what is already common knowledge. Once a champion of Destiny, now the aspect of the existential power of karma. Another power I feel a certain kinship to. I see it dirt the purity of the red of sacrifice with hues of gold, just like the dark motes of horror that appear whenever my champions spill blood in my honor. 

I hate one just like I hate the other. They stand on higher steps than me, profiting off of the hard labor of my domain and existence. And yet, while I have always taken comfort in Horror being a higher link of the same chain that binds me, Karma is different. He is not bound by his nature, and his power can reach further than mine ever will. 

He is a unique creature, a dangerous one, whom I will have to keep an eye on.

-----

"What did you find?" Der asked as the clank of metal announced his approach. He and Roley had noticed the gleam in Daniel's eyes. The spark that would appear whenever he would find something of interest. Something that he found important.

"My entries." Daniel answered, his eyes moving further down the first page.

-----

-Year 380 of the 8th cycle

Olanah's disposition towards me has improved. She used to avoid my gaze, and obey every one of my words, as I had expected her to. Yet, as I visited her last, she took the initiative of sharing a piece of information she had recently come in possession of. 

She claims that Karma is as odd to the pantheon of aspects of existence, as he was to wielders of Destiny's gifts. In fact, he was a mortal once. A human who had managed to avoid being devoured by the consciousness born from Destiny's power, and that despite doing so, he had succeeded in maintaining ownership over his system.

A bold claim.

I do not trust her kind, but her explanation matches the odd behavior recorded by the champions of my domain who have met him before, the Blood Sect. I am unsure of what Olanah can possibly gain from revealing this to me, but it is information worth confirming. If her words are true, there will be a new angle for me to explore.

-Year 381 of the 8th cycle

Multiple sources have confirmed Olanah's claims. The aspect of Karma was indeed a mortal human. A creature with friends and family, and cared for with feelings that match the way my kind feels about ourselves. We could never accept such weakness. A multitude of chinks in our armor ready for our enemies to take advantage of. What a fool.

I finally have my angle with him, and I know where to start. Olanah will find them for me.

-----

Daniel's lips curved into a complacent smile. Only he knew how wrong Sacrifice had been. How little the lives of the people he once considered his friends and family now meant to him. He could have watched them all die in front of him and never show a hint of regret, or sadness. He was an aspect of existence through and through. Cold, calculative and devoid of any mortal weaknesses. Or at least, he would be once his promise to his former self will be fulfilled.

He had a responsibility of preserving their lives once. A debt to the one who had allowed his birth to take place. To deny it, would be like denying the worth of his existence. He was worth that bit of effort.

Now, the ones he had to protect were being used against him, and he was up for the fight.

"He is talking about our friends.." Roley grimaced. "How did they fall in his hands?" He could not believe what he was reading. Most would have, but he couldn't. After all, Daniel had only appeared in the form of an aspect of existence a few decades ago, while Roley had spent centuries digging through the multiverse in search of his friends. With the aid of the Elementalist's system, he had possessed the same level of resources Sacrifice had at his disposal, and yet he had failed.

"Keep reading." Daniel said as his finger landed on another entry.

-----

-Year 381 of the 8th cycle

Olanah's gift failed to locate the mortals. In between her sobbing and excuses, she let out a detail she immediately regretted mentioning. One that made me furious. 

The failure of her 'system' was indicative of the involvement of another of Destiny's champions, or another aspect of existence, meaning that I have come too late.

What a fool I was. Of course I could not have been the first of my kind to learn about Karma's true nature and weaknesses. Of course I was not the only aspect of existence to employ the aid of one of Destiny's champions. My arrogance has led me to disappointment once again. It always does.

My research will be marked as a failure. A word that, after more than seven million years since my birth, I am finally starting to get accustomed to.

-----

-Year 383 of the 8th cycle

It came to visit me, and spoke to me with a chorus of voices. Its face was a blur, leaving me to wonder whether it had taken the form of a male or a female, and yet I did not care. Its eyes pierced my very existence. In a moment, the creature had learned everything about me. The following one, he had seen through the potential of my power. By the third moment, he assessed my existence as a whole. I could not stop it, nor did I want to, for I knew that resistance of any kind would lead to my annihilation. 

I have always hated meeting the primordial members of the pantheon. Peak aspects of existence like Fate, Matter and Chaos. 'Their appearance never bodes well for those they wish to visit', was what I had always thought, until one came bearing gifts.

It gave me a ring. A small trinket of mortal craftsmanship they call pocket dimension. Sealed in its inner space, Olanah found the ones I was looking for. Millions of mortals, beasts, elementals and cultivators. Her eyes immediately locked onto one of those cultivators. A man by the name of Sewah she later admitted to being the true spawn of Iewah and destined wielder of the karmic system, but was spared by its host after the latter had regained control over his body.

I kept them all.

I finally have my spear. My eyes see the weakness and my weapon is sharp, and yet, I once again am bound to powers beyond mine. The gift was not free. I am to gather allies, other aspects of existence that could feel threatened by the nature of Karma, and use the weapon I was given to fight him. Thus were the orders of the one whose identity I now know, but do not dare put into writing. I will obey him.

-----

As the trio finished reading the last entry, Daniel slammed the notebook shut. His eyes closed gently, covering the beads of gold that shone under his lids, while his lips maintained their previous curve. Something in his smile told his companions that he knew more about this matter than what was described in Sacrifice's diary.

"Where are they?!" Der growled in anger as his fingers tightly wrapped around the handle of his sword. "We know nothing more than we did before!"

Roley's head shook in disagreement. "They were handed over to him by another aspect of existence. A powerful one, with a grudge against him." He said as his white and black eyes landed onto Daniel's peaceful figure. "That was why I couldn't find them, nor could he. They had already been captured, far before you had ascended."

"Is what he is saying true?" Der asked.

Daniel nodded with eyes still closed. "It would appear so."

"Did you know anything about it?"

Daniel's eyes suddenly opened, cold and distant, while his smile had become shallow. "I came into this knowing less than you do. This is all a consequence of his mistakes.. of his naivety."

"His? Who are you talking about?" Roley asked.

Daniel turned towards him and said, "The former me." His smile had widened once again. The thought of being challenged by a group of aspects of existence was amusing to him. He felt no fear, nor did he despise his mortal self for putting him through this mess. After all, had his former self not chosen to leave his friends and family to push them away from danger, as well as to delve into the depths of the nature of karma, he would have never ascended.

No. He was grateful for the opportunity. For the opportunity to bring Karma to life in the multiverse, as well as the opportunity to prove that he was not like every other aspect of existence. He was an advanced kind. One that had known mortality and immortality, and that now possessed a potential that the other members of the pantheon could hardly ever understand.

Any challenge that came with his nature, he welcomed with open arms.

Back to reality, Daniel could see that his words had upset his companions. He knew that he had offended the person they once loved, pushing the blame of all their problems onto him as if he himself had nothing to do with it. And yet, he did not care. The unique facets of his ascension went beyond the minds of mortals, as they would never experience what he had. He remained stoic, unperturbed by their grim glances and opinions.

Seeing the lack of shame in Daniel's features, Der and Roley turned away. They had no intention of starting another pointless argument over morality with a creature who, of morality, knew nothing. Their worries lay elsewhere.

"Olanah could have known where our friends were." Der muttered to himself. On his wrist the feeble feeling of resistance of her flesh against his sword's edge was still fresh. A feeling that, once familiar and satisfying, now was weighed down by regret.

"I doubt she did." Roley retorted in a reassuring voice. "Sacrifice did not trust her enough to leave her alive with that information. She was probably left in the dark about the fate of our friends, as well as the content of his meeting with our mystery man. Another aspect of existence we have to worry about, I presume?"

"No, we do not. "Daniel said with a matter-of-fact tone. His smile had grown wider, while his eyes narrowed with fondness. "I know who Sacrifice met, and I know he won't take part in anything he has set in motion. He does that sort of thing. I know it all too well."

"You know him?" Roley asked.

In Daniel's mind, memories of his past encounters with this entity played out anew. 

In their first meeting, the entity had seen through the nature of his system with a single glance. In their second meeting, he had stopped a handful of aspects of existence from killing him and his friends as they fought over ownership of his universe of origin, and in their third meeting, the entity had eradicated the aspect of equilibrium when the latter was on her way to kill him, ending his development as a newly formed aspect of existence.

He had always been there. Eager to see Daniel grow, and bring the flames of war and chaos to the realm of aspects of existence.

"Oh, yes. We have met now and then. But it seems that I had never gotten to feel the true power of his nature." Daniel answered as his foot started moving, swinging in a semi-circular motion that led his body to turn a hundred and eighty degrees. "The only aspect of existence capable of digging the powers of others, for that allows him to see what sort of damage they can cause. Conflict."

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