Chapter 454: 454: The Three Paths Ahead

Chapter 454: 454: The Three Paths Ahead

Chapter 454: The Three Paths Ahead

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The endless orange sky of the Himalayan mountains was peaceful, tranquil, like the calm before the storm.

Two abstract entities stood before Neji's as if to protect him while he stood beside his sister—Nejire seemed to have grown unbelievably. On his other side stood the Goddess Chaos, the amalgamation entity.

Despite all the support he had right now, Neji was unsure if this was enough to go against the Godmother of All Demons and her minion, the Sin of Pride. Although two high-class Abstract Entities had appeared, the Godmother looked merely annoyed.

"Haah..." Godmother sighed gently when she realized Neji wouldn't say anything against Lady Life's words. So, she looked at Life instead. "Why are you doing this, Life? You know I don't want to hurt you."

"You can't hurt me, you hag. And I am doing this for the sake of the Gamer—both the current one and mine. I was the only one other than that... 'Director' who was by his side in his last moments. He made a request, and I'm only following that. But that fanatic witch is doing her own thing to bring him back. She fails to admit that he doesn't want to return." Lady Life said.

Neji realized they were talking about the First Gamer. 'So she was with him till his last moments...'

That was surprising since Contessa Fate, the other Abstract Entity who loved Neji's predecessor, said that she didn't get to see him at his last moments...

Neji knew that Lady Life was imprisoned after that, so she got detained for helping the First Gamer in whatever he did before his last moments. Lady Life didn't think twice about antagonizing all the other Abstract Entities for her lone lover, while Contessa Fate wasn't brave enough.

'She loved him like crazy.' Neji looked at the back of the green-haired woman and concluded. '...But what is this about bringing him back?'

"You don't love him enough if you don't want him back just because he said he doesn't want to be back," Godmother said in a cold tone that made the air sharp and chilly, while Lady Life smiled instead.

Her brilliant smile made her song grow, and it reached a threshold. Pure willpower solidified into a hexagon symbol, with a flower engraved within it, floating in the sky above Lady Life's head.

Neji's Omniscience helped him [Observe] the strange power. What was that?

[The Joy Icon].

[The Joy Icon is one of the many Icons that exist in the Omniverse. The Icons are a branch of power that didn't exist in the Omniverse originally; the two beings who call themselves Beyond Omnipotence had brought this power to this realm.]

[The Joy Icon has dominion over life and, as the name suggests, happiness.]

Just as the last line said, the world seemed to be happy at this moment. Flowers danced in the distance, and the clouds moved with a rhythm. What an odd beauty.

"I don't love him enough? What a fool you are. You know, I am the only one he had a child with." Lady Life said with an intense glint in her eyes, even as she was smiling, letting her song completely erase Godmother's own.

"Haah..." Godmother sighed, "A son that doesn't even have a soul, you mean. How unsightly that you're bragging about it."

Lady Life's smile turned teasing. "Wow. Are you really cursing your own grandson right now, mother-in-law?"

"Do not call me that now. If you're willing not to bring him back, you don't have any connection with me." Godmother scowled.

"Fine. What did you do to my son?" Life didn't argue and asked. "I told him to stop the aliens from coming to this world."

"He's playing with the lizard," Godmother snapped a finger, and the sky split to show the Dimensional Gap.

The Great Red was fighting against the wooden Life Golem that had saved Neji last time. No, they weren't fighting; they were staring at one another without doing anything else.

"I just told him to go play with the lizard. He didn't listen, saying his mother told him to protect the place, but I said he could keep the place safe by sitting there. He is such a broken little thing, so he believed that."

"Because he trusted you," Lady Life shot her a glare.

"He did, and I lived by it. I obscured the world and brought the aliens so he didn't sense them coming. Otherwise, he would have rushed here and fought me. He was such a dumb little thing, only doing things that he was ordered to do. He doesn't even listen to me, whom he calls grandmother. Even a simple Artificial Intelligence is better than him. He can't be your son; he's just a toy. A broken one, at that."

Lady Life clenched her jaws but didn't say anything. "...At least you didn't harm him. Ra, come here."

The instant she said the name, the Life Golem blinked from beside Great Red and appeared beside Lady Life. He was a tall and ripped man who stood with no emotion in his face.

[Ra – Life Golem – Peak Class 6]

"The Ascension Trials" is a legendary quest offering three distinct paths to achieve Level 100. Each path represents a different approach to power, with its own challenges, rewards, and consequences.

Possible Routes:

Demonic Path: Embrace the dark arts and channel the power of the underworld; a mixture of Light and Darkness, leaning heavily on the latter, leading to an Evil God path.

Seek out the Northern Cosmos' Demon Lord's Citadel and prove your allegiance to the shadows and darkness. If successful, you shall gain demonic abilities, dark armor, and earn the title of "Azathoth, the God of Void."

Chaos Path: Embrace the chaotic forces that govern the universe. A chaotic mixture of Light and Darkness, leading to a Destruction path.

Navigate the Chaotic Realms, where reality itself is in flux, and prove your ability to harness chaos. If successful, you shall gain the ability to manipulate chaos, chaotic weaponry, and earn the title of "Shub-Niggurath, the Chaosweaver."

Balanced Path: Seek harmony between light and darkness, order and chaos. By far the hardest path to earn, as perfect balance is nigh-impossible, leads you toward an Infinite Creation path.

Uncover the ancient Temples of Equilibrium and prove your mastery over balance. If successful, you shall gain abilities of Light and Darkness, versatile equipment, and afterwards, you will earn the title of "Celestialsapien, the Cosmic Enigma."

*Note: More details about the Quest will be revealed once you choose a Path. You cannot revert your choice once you have selected it.

Timeframe: No Time Limit

===

Ah.

From the looks of this, this was a really important Quest. Perhaps it was the most important one to date.

Like Godmother had said, it seemed like it'd take a long time to complete. But she was offering a way to skip the time and advance on the Demonic Path right now.

However, Neji didn't feel the same level of temptation he was feeling earlier. He recalled information about the First Gamer with his enhanced and enlightened mind.

The First Gamer had the title—Demon King of Light and Darkness. Godmother wanted to tempt Neji into the same path so that whatever aspects needed to be met would be met. That was obviously a trap.

He would have fallen for it if Lady Life hadn't come here. Godmother didn't expect this so that he could use this for his benefit.

"I have the Quest, Godmother," before the battle could grow any more intense, Neji raised his arms before they started throwing hands instead of aura and destroying the universe.

"Ah,"

"Neji, you shouldn't have told her!"

Godmother smiled, and Lady Luck yelled at him. Lady Life sighed.

"So you have reached Level 10,000?"

"I have," he nodded, and mentally pressed an option. Anything that wasn't the Demon Path would do. "And just now, I chose the Balanced Path. And it cannot be reversed."

He chose the Balanced Path just in case, as Chaos too was close to being Demonic. He also liked the term "Celestialsapien".

Godmother's smile instantly dropped and Lady Life grinned. Neji held his hands up, looking at her as if he had surrendered. Even though he had just checkmated her.

"There is nothing you can do to reverse the choice; even I can't change it. So please get out of here."

"...."

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