Chapter 668 - 667: The Final Draw_1

Chapter 668: Chapter 667: The Final Draw_1

Aiden fell into thought.

The power of "substitution" required the replacement of an existence and, inevitably, the alteration of its outward appearance. In that case, every time destiny was transferred, Melissa’s appearance should have been altered to match that of the recipient of the transferred fate.

No, that wasn’t the issue...

After all, a fantasist had the ability to create an "existence" that looked exactly like Melissa. Of course, they could also construct merely a shell with Melissa’s appearance, whilst the spirit inside was filled by the souls that Melissa had collected and assimilated, or perhaps Melissa had prepared a double in advance, and then the fantasist completely replaced their external existence with Melissa’s through their power.

It was precisely because the substitute’s appearance was identical to Melissa herself that, from Aiden’s perspective, it seemed as though Melissa herself had the power to render all attacks ineffective. This phenomenon was what confused Aiden’s judgment.

No, in the end, given that the instincts of the goddess of vengeance could be confused by the substitution of a "presence" of dominator level, was the person who entered really Melissa herself? Perhaps she was actually another incarnation of the goddess of schemes, and Melissa was simply using the power of her authority from behind the scenes.

If one of Melissa’s doubles completed the ritual of the "desire" authority, then the situation would become even more complicated.

Melissa could also use the power of "sacrifice" to allow the spirit and authority to transfer between several bodies. Aiden’s "law" could prevent the transfer of the spirit, but it still wouldn’t impact the authority directly. Even if Melissa’s own spirit was locked, she could still transfer the "desire" authority to another entity and then allow her spirit to be destroyed.

And whichever double inherited the authority, as long as they met the conditions, would become the new "True Melissa".

In fact, for the "goddess of schemes", the destruction of a spirit wasn’t of much consequence, as long as the spirit inheriting the authority was one of the goddess’s aligned thinkers, that was sufficient. Melindale had done exactly that in her challenge against the god of death.

The creations of fantasists naturally last for an extended duration, but once they acquire divinity, they can exist indefinitely, and once they gain authority, they would possess power equal to that of the fantasist.

In other words, even a "false Melissa" created by a fantasist, if successful in gaining authority, would become the new goddess of schemes in possession of the "desire" authority.

...

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The sheer amount of possibilities had already left Aiden with a headache.

Through the fantasist’s power of "substitution" and some of Melissa’s own powers, Melissa could take on each other’s destinies with these incarnations. It could be said that each incarnation was an extra life; Melissa would not disappear from this world until all "existences" were eliminated.

This was an effect akin to cheating, only achievable through the collaboration between the fantasist and Melissa.

It was like pulling off a castling move just before the general’s arrival in a game of chess, escaping the predicament while also turning the tables.

The key was that this strategy could be utilized multiple times.

Both the fantasist and the goddess of schemes had been active in the world for hundreds of years; the scenarios they could set up and the feats they could perform were incomparable to those of Aiden, who had only recently ascended.

"Have you figured out what is going on?"

Aiden heard Melissa’s voice echoing in his mind; long-distance communication through consciousness was probably also a power of the "wisdom" authority.

"You know, this is entirely cheating, right?" Aiden chuckled bitterly to himself as he responded.

"Firstly, I merely did what I was capable of, which should be considered a skill, not cheating. Secondly, I made it very clear from the beginning, two dominators against two dominators is a fair condition," Melissa’s voice carried a hint of laughter, "I never said the other party on my side was that other half of me you’ve locked up."

"The Dreamweaver had told me that he would simply be an observer," Aiden said, "I thought he really wouldn’t interfere with the game, but he actually took matters into his own hands?"

"He’s only observing your story, not my affairs. He didn’t directly act against you; he just added a few safeguards for me. He just wanted to see a dramatic development, and in that respect, his goal has been reached, but he wouldn’t want to see me disappear along with it," Melissa explained, "He offered you clues without my consent, I merely demanded reasonable compensation."

"It seems I misspoke; I thought you underestimated me enough that I would have an opportunity," Aiden realized that the person who really underestimated their opponent was actually himself.

"I indeed did not take you very seriously, but after all, I am the Conspiracy Goddess who once nearly claimed the throne. Even after making so many concessions, how could I possibly be utterly defeated by you? Such a story wouldn’t make sense," Melissa laughed aloud, "Setting up conspiracies, you’re a good student, but surpassing the teacher is not so simple."

"I must admit, I have no more cards to play," Aiden said, "but preventing prisoners from escaping is my duty."

"Oh? Which means?"

"If necessary, I can only kill the prisoners attempting to escape," Aiden stated calmly.

The ambush specifically for Melissa had already been spent; should Melissa enter the prison again, Aiden wasn’t confident that he could ensure he wouldn’t be bewitched a second time.

A single oversight could indeed lead to the release of Melifilia, and then no one would be able to stop the Conspiracy Goddess.

Considering these grave consequences, his only option was to kill Melifilia and take away the power of "Wisdom."

Although it was unlikely he would have the chance to complete the ascension ritual of "Wisdom," at least he could ensure that Melissa couldn’t directly reclaim the authority of "Wisdom."

"I’m a bit curious, though, why didn’t you just do this from the beginning?" Melissa asked, clearly interested.

"Unless I can no longer control the prison break or mutiny, I wouldn’t kill a prisoner unnecessarily," Aiden replied calmly, "I am a guardian, not an executioner."

"Human principles, huh? That’s not something a dominator should do; as an avatar of the Conspiracy Goddess, you are truly ’stupid’ enough to be laughable," Melissa really did burst out laughing.

"Otherwise, why would I choose this identity to sit across the chessboard and play against you?" Aiden replied.

After a long silence, Melissa spoke, "Alright, I must admit, I’ve run out of cards too. Even as a dominator of ’Existence,’ I can’t use the power to transfer fate, which overdrafts authority, too many times. To continue struggling against you and that death-defying avenger, I, too, must take risks. Moreover, I’ve had my fun."

"What does that mean?" Aiden was confused.

"Stalemate," Melissa said with a smile, "Does that make sense to you?"