Chapter 420: You are the one
Aiden was once again sitting alone on a mountain, looking at the system interface with a smile on his face. He seemed considerably weaker when compared to before. Even his character seemed to flicker in and out as if he were about to disappear at any second.
"I am surprised to see you smiling. Shouldn’t you be seething with rage right now?" A soft voice sounded near him. A ripple of light shimmered, and a figure stepped out of thin air, her presence delicate yet oppressive. Her eyes glowed faintly silver, unreadable, ancient.
Her face was not visible properly, but even from the faint outline, one could see the divine beauty radiating from her.
Aiden didn’t turn his head. "Rage is wasted on mortals. Do I look like one to you?" He tapped his finger against the translucent system panel floating before him. The notifications of Blood God’s achievement still flickered there, taunting in golden light.
The woman tilted her head, lips curving into a faint smile. "For mortals, huh... is that why you destroyed an entire universe the last time you were upset?"
Aiden did not respond to her. He silently looked into the horizon, not particularly paying attention to anything, but if one looked closer, golden symbols flickered in his eyes.
The woman’s silver eyes narrowed. "You are gambling again? Even after you failed?"
Once again, there was no response.
The woman sighed. She knew that when he became like this, he was not going to respond anymore, but she continued talking anyway.
"You are a madman, brother. Why are you delaying your ascension so much? You know you are falling out of father’s favor. The others have him convinced that your special path has finally come to a dead end."
Aiden finally chuckled. "Father’s favor?" His voice dripped with disdain. "Favor is nothing but a leash. Let the others squabble for scraps like obedient pets. I’ll carve my own path even if it means burning through every universe he’s ever sired."
The woman’s faint smile faded. "You speak boldly for someone whose vessel is breaking apart. Tell me, brother, how many gambles do you have left before even you are erased?"
Aiden’s flickering frame solidified for an instant, golden runes blazing across his skin like brands of defiance. His grin sharpened. "One is enough. Do you not see it? That mortal’s rise is no setback. It is the perfect key. He will either open the door for me... or become the final sacrifice to forge it myself."
The woman’s silver gaze hardened, but a note of unease rippled beneath her calm mask. "You’re dragging another pawn into your obsession. Again. Why do you put so much weight on a mere mortal? A mortal’s fate can’t compare to our fates. When are you going to get this? After a thousand failures?"
Aiden finally turned to face her fully. His form trembled, reality stuttering around him, but his eyes burned with conviction. "Let father watch. Let the others plan my demise. They all think I’ve failed." His lips curled into a cruel smile. "But my calculations will never betray me. When this mortal ascends, I’ll be waiting above everyone where even Father’s hand cannot reach."
The mountain beneath him cracked, golden light seeping into the earth as though the world itself shuddered at his words.
The woman’s silver aura flared. "You’re delusional. Mortals break, they fade. You’ve chained your fate to something that will crumble long before you reach your endgame."
Aiden’s laughter was low. "Mortals break, yes. But they burn brighter than any of us ever could. That is why they are dangerous. You are underestimating mortals way too much. Sometimes even ants and insects have the ability to change the fate of gods."
The woman shook her head helplessly. She opened her mouth to say something, but the next instant her image flickered and completely disappeared.
Aiden’s demeanour instantly changed. Even though the woman had spoken with so much concern in her words, his face remained indifferent and cold.
He looked into the distance once again as golden sigils flashed in his eyes. Numerous constellations and star patterns appeared around him, flickering in and out of existence as if the universe itself were being recalculated. His body remained faint, trembling on the verge of collapse, yet his eyes blazed with the certainty of a being who saw beyond collapse itself.
"This time I am not wrong. He is the one. He is undoubtedly the one. Among all the fate bearers, his fate is the one I am unable to comprehend again and again." Aiden knew there could be many reasons for something like this, but his gut feeling told him that he was right.
Even though he was a man of fate, predictions, a path that strictly followed stringent calculations based on rigid rules, and where there was no place for gut or intuition, this time, he simply could not look past this anomaly.
"Blood God. You are the one. I know it." He smiled.
It was true that he had suffered a major setback. To recover from this, he needed a lot more resources than what he had allocated for this little world to begin with, but he did not care about any of it.
He was on the cusp of something enormous here. He was sure of it. This time, his calculations would not lead him to another dead end. This time, he was going to ascend and stand above his father.
Aiden clenched his fists as golden symbols continued to flash in his eyes. However, his body had already started to disappear. Motes of light started leaking out of his body slowly and steadily. Within a few seconds, his entire body was almost gone.
Only a dull aura was left behind, and the next second, even that aura started fading. In the blink of an eye, the man himself was gone, all signs and traces of him.
Surprisingly, this time, no spawn point nearby flashed with the acknowledgement of his presence. It was almost as if he were completely gone from the entire game world.
***
Mass release sponsored by Syphatrol