Chapter 1837

Number Four couldn’t believe how simple it had been to arrange this chance. He was positively giddy with how well things were developing. They had arrived at the Path of the Spirit and forced their way upward, while Number One grew increasingly desperate and paranoid. When they arrived, they found Number Two and the Master talking.

Needless to say, Number One blew his top.

“You DARE conspire against me?!?” Instantly the thick power of the Grand Pattern burst out of Number One’s body with enough force to crack the ground beneath him. His beard fluttered and he cast his cane to the side. His furious eyes were fixed on the somewhat surprised Number Two.

The Master shook his head, almost sorrowfully. His empathy for his students was manufactured and predictable. “Number One, if you refused to let go of your pride-”

Meanwhile, Number Two’s usually stoic expression twisted into something as hard as granite. He cared about only a few things, but this was one of them. Aside from Number One, he was the longest living Disciple. “I will not allow you to show such disrespect in front of the Master.”

What Number Four didn’t expect was for an equally thick and imposing blast of energy to come from Number Two. In terms of potency, neither lost out. Their patterns grappled with each other, spitting out unexpected bursts of force and ripping up stones from the ground. Number Four stumbled backward, balanced between fear and elation. Seeing their true power made Number Four sweat and retreat; he was nowhere near their match. But so long as they weakened each other sufficiently-

The Grand Pattern rumbled and grew unstable as both drew so heavily from its patterns. In the sky above the domicile, they fought for absolute dominance. The already damaged base of the Master shuddered and crumbled as the pressure intensified. The remnants of the buildings, that had somehow managed to weather the power of Elhume’s strike, were now ground down by the application of unadulterated force. One by one, the few remnant walls and pillars disintegrated.

Still, the pressure built between the two disciples. Number One created a series of a dozen small whirlwinds that bent the air with the speed of their rotation, while Number Two created a barrier of force around him that seemed to concentrate his entire power across its surface. Both refused to back down.

The Master sighed. “If you truly insist on this foolishness-”

“Die!” Number One roared, earning a lip twitch from the Master when he was interrupted. His whirlwinds shot forward like humming ballista bolts. Number Two clapped his hands and the barrier became a blade that cut sideways.

Number Four’s eyes glittered.

Heh, now that you’ve antagonized Master, it won’t even matter if you win easily, Number One. You might be strong, but you are still a hundred years too early to challenge- eh?

BOOOOM!

Number One’s whirlwinds accelerated faster than Number Four’s eyes could follow. Which meant that he couldn’t figure out what was going on for a few murky seconds. Because it seemed that the whirlwinds were slamming into the area not around Number Two, but against a hastily erected defensive barrier in front of the Master. And meanwhile-

“Eh?” Number Four blinked several times as his reactions caught up a second too late. His lower have was severed by Number Two’s powerful strike. Number Four was falling slowly backward through the air and the other two Disciples twisted to face the Master, now suddenly acting in concert.

To Number Four’s relief, the Master seemed just as shocked as he had been. His barrier began to crack beneath the continued bombardment of whirlwinds. “You- What? What?!?”

“I officially contest the Path of Spirit.” Number One announced. The Master’s face became cloudy with rage, but both of their bodies faded away. Soon they reappeared, about twenty meters above their original position. They floated within the depths of this portion of the Grand Pattern, now in an official duel for control of the Path.

“Heh. Hahahahaha!” The Master threw his head back and laughed. “Well, I didn’t see this coming. When did you and Number Two- well, no matter. Did you think this would be enough to dethrone me of control?

All of this is mine.

You’ve grown fat on my milk and now you think you know it better than I do? Insolence.”

“I can defeat you,” Number One responded confidently. Below, Number Four’s body finally hit the ground. The pain shocked him awake and injected desperation into his movements. He raised his right arm and realized his forearm had been cut off. Then he raised his left and grasped at the air. His own understanding trickled out of his gummy brain and into his hand. But just as soon as his own Grand Pattern began to manifest, Number Two unleashed another blast and destroyed his attempt.

While his struggles continued below, the face-off above rumbled forward.

“You fool.” The Master hissed. The Grand Pattern stirred around him and the whole mountain seemed to come alive. The air and stone shook with his rising emotions. “You control the Path of Bone, you contest the Path of Spirit, and I control the Path of Blood. You believe it will be an even confrontation, but there is one thing you didn’t know.”

The Master stretched out his hand. The air around him distorted until an obsidian chalice appeared above his palm. From the top, mist began leaking out and drifting down around his arm. Looking at the chalice, even from afar, made Number Four’s mouth go dry. “After so many years, I have finally made the Fourth Great Path I’ve been waiting for: The Path of Dreams. With it, I have two Paths and you only have one. But even if I didn’t, my mastery of the Grand Pattern-”

“I have it on good authority that you don’t dare return to the Path of Blood,” Number One interrupted again. “As such… even with this small development, we are still even. I will take everything you’ve built, Master. And I will leave this place with your power. No longer will the Grand Pattern be locked away by a cowardly old man.”

“You-!” The Master was so furious he spat.

Below, Number Four licked his lips. Number Two had stopped above him. “They… are so strong…”

RUMMBLLLEEEEEEE!

The Master’s face twisted as he regained a modicum of control over himself. “You don’t know

anything.

There was one small matter there, but it is long in the past.”

“Prove it.” Number One chuckled and gestured. “I activate my privilege to visit my invitee.”

Number One vanished. The Master howled out his fury, once more causing all of the environment to shudder. Then he too vanished.

“I don’t... understand.” Number Four said blankly to the sky. The reverberations in the surroundings gradually quieted. Without the noise masking it, his pain steadily rose to drown him.

Number Two shrugged. “Number One needed to make his final preparations to challenge Master. But a sudden shift in his activity would be noted. So he bided his time until he both had a distraction and an explanation for his sudden activity: a training camp and him being driven mad by his Invitee disappearing. An insult to his pride.

“Everyone knew that he sent the minor character to welcome his Invitee and test him with combat. After all, such a practice is common on this hellish Mountain. Yet no one suspected that he had already planted the Path of Blood. Knowing who he invited, he had confidence that the Path of Blood would be triggered and open.”

Number Four blinked several times. He heard the words, but they didn’t fit together quite right. His defensive patterns in his body succumbed, one after another, to Number Two’s attack. “Why would he waste a Path… like that? The Path of Blood. You only… have three.”

“One to ascend and control the Path of Bone. One to make this secret inroad to the Path of Blood. Finally, the one he used now to contest the Path of Spirit.” Number Two said. “He waited until he was completely sure of his success to move. Number One is a man with extremely firm conviction.”

“He had… no margin for error.” Number Four’s eyes narrowed. “How-”

“Heh, you are such a fool,” Number Two’s gaze was pitying. “Is this a world where any failure is tolerated? You’ve been away from the Nexus for far too long.

“Anyway, the Path of Blood is a remnant of an older time when pushing the physical body to the limits was common. That’s why it is a death sentence now,” Number Two shook his head. “Well, its fine if you don’t understand. That is your role. With the Grand Pattern, the greatest individuals are those that can see the farthest further. They influence it subtly, without you even knowing. And then you die, thinking it was just some fluke.”

“And you had to kill me because-” Number Four’s mind spun slowly. He was truly dying. But for a brief moment, he felt a spark of pride. “Because if you didn’t remove me, I would discover-”

“No,” Number Two shook his head. “You were killed… because Number One didn’t like you. Probably, if he hadn’t of run into you, this whole thing would have happened without you dying at all. Probably just… a fluke.”

Number Four vomited up a mouthful of blood.

*****

After Future Devick’s ominous words, the Present Devick seemed to wilt. All the details of her sharp eyes and determined mouth seeped from her face and her gaze lowered to the ground. She began to fade away and merge into the Mountain.

Meanwhile, Future Devick continued to inspect the twitching baby in her hands. Then she nodded in satisfaction. She truly seemed prepared to raise this strange self-made baby, although it was hard for Randidly to picture her having any sort of nurturing instinct in her after what she had witnessed.

Before she left, however, she turned and made several sharp gestured with her hand toward the two stone pillars. “Do not think you’ve escaped culpability. Especially now, as you refuse to speak to me. For dealing me such a grievous blow, hehe, I first will erect a barrier here that provides additional physical suppression. It will therefore be impossible for anyone to walk this Path to the summit. This Path of Blood will rot.”

The stone pillars glowed as some new restriction activated. Then she drew a complicated swirl in the air. “However… just in case, I will also leave a curse here. Any who dares walk through to the summit will bear a jinx left by me. It will consume them if they don’t kill you. Let that be the cost for fraternizing with this damned Master.”

Then that shade turned and left. The mist receded somewhat, leaving Randidly alone in the area with the shades that followed him to this point. Both the short and long-haired Devicks looked bitterly at the two stones releasing mist.

The short-haired one spoke first. “

Ignorance is truly bliss. A mandate to kill the Master or die… That old bastard won’t be easy to drag down. Is there really no other way to proceed through to the summit?”

The long-haired version spun and snarled at the other Devick. “

You truly wish to still go to that place? After how much we’ve lost?!?

”

“

I know that arriving there will earn me nothing. But there is always meaning in accomplishing your goals. If not for that curse-

”

Randidly felt a very foolish and particularly stubborn part of himself rising to the surface as he began to walk forward. He could already feel additional formations engaging around him, laying thick bands of force across his body. His unwillingness to meekly ascent burned emerald in his eyes. “There might be a jinx left by you, but we’ve already come all this way. It would be a shame to turn around now, so close to our goal. Let’s at least give it a try.”

“

You will die. Even slightly unhinged, do you think my displeasure is easy to bear?

” The long-haired Devick hissed. “

Once you are afflicted, there will be no escape.

”

Shrugging, Randidly didn’t bother with the shades any longer. Besides, as he stepped forward, he felt them all silent. A massive working of significance stirred to life behind him. At the same time, the physical restriction grew. Randidly couldn’t help but laugh; the restriction reached 99% of his physical prowess.

Influence +1,304!

Randidly walked right up to the two stones, observing the mist. It wasn’t the Grand Pattern here that restricted the way forward, but a simple increased weight formation. Randidly felt his arms begin to tremble. His weight was tripled and he was pressed down to 1% of his Stats. To most people, this was an impossible weight. But for him-

Primordial Nether Juju made it simplicity itself. Randidly stepped into the mist. A swirling pattern emerged on the two stone pillars. But the pillars weren’t the main source of its power. The horrible working drew most of its power from the hundred-odd mounds spread throughout the area.

As advertised, a jinx began to seep down into his body. But as Randidly felt it, he showed a vicious grin. His formidable annihilating force of Nether mobilized in his chest as he read the notification.

Congratulations! Error! Due to unusual circumstances, you have gained the Skill Cursed Fates of the Unborn (M) Lvl 1!

I can feel all the horrible karma contained in this Skill.

His Nether billowed out through his body and kept the madness-tinged emotions at bay.

But also…

Influence +76,109!

Randidly wanted to stand arms akimbo and laugh as the sea of significance pressing down on this place surged into his body. ...

The Future Devick finally paid back the Nether investment by letting me absorb the significance of all these unfortunate souls. And then some.

Influence +37,842!