With the woman nowhere to be seen, and a battle of catastrophic proportions ready to ensue, Daniel did not panic. Instead, he let out an immense amount of his essence, taking control over the surroundings. With a simple thought he turned thousands of miles worth of spatial essence into the essence of time, and with another, stopped its motion.
Shocked by Daniel's understanding of such a rare type of essence, yet unable to move, the horde of cultivators lost their will to fight. Only Daniel's champions, crazed by the woman's powers, continued looking at their opponents with eyes filled with hatred.
Luckily, Daniel was there, as he was the only one who could stop whatever spell the woman had used to poison the minds of his still inexperienced champions. Had they been there without him, they would have been killed by this horde, whose higher average cultivation easily made up for their lower numbers.
Before any member of the horde of cultivators could begin wondering what was going on, a calming power penetrated their mental defences, and eased any of their worries. The anxiousness they had felt while chasing the woman with unknown powers, the fear of punishment in case they failed, or the alertness they felt towards Daniel and his group were all washed away cleanly, leaving their minds in a completely relaxed state.
Similarly, Daniel's mental power put his champions at rest, but while their will to fight had disappeared, their thoughts on the woman who had bewitched them had remained favorable, while they kept looking at the horde of cultivators as mortal enemies whom they had no will to fight.
"What is going on?" Asked the cultivator in blue robes who had spoken before while sheathing his sword. Regardless of how suspicious and ill-timed Daniel's appearance was, his ability to stop time and breach his mental defences were more than enough to tell him that he was not a threat. Not because he lacked power, but because he hadn't killed anyone yet despite being able to do so.
"You said the woman is a champion of Destiny.." Daniel muttered while looking in the distance. "Wicked powers they hold. This one can turn strangers into allies in a moment."
His words confused the cultivator, who observed him for a few moments before asking, "If you are not her ally, may I ask who you are?" Regardless of what his intentions were, the blue-robed man still couldn't tell for sure whether Daniel was the woman's ally or not. Refusing to attack him and his people, after all, was not the same as letting them free to continue their pursuit.
"It surprises me you still doubt that. Look at my companions, would their cultivation at the high immortality stage be a threat against your godhood stage? We are champions of Karma, and we have just come out from isolation." Daniel said with a matter-of-fact tone.
While this powerful cultivator could see which of the two armies was superior, he was also forced into a calm state of mind by Daniel's powers. Tensing his muscles was immensely more difficult, his power did not follow his desire to focus into a lethal attack, and his mind did not allow him to formulate any hateful or aggressive thoughts.
Some might have considered this an attack of sorts, but not the blue-robed cultivator, who had participated in the last Exalted Assembly alongside the other leading members of his domain, and had now finally recognized Daniel.
Regardless of how important the appearance of a new aspect of existence was for the balance of the multiverse, close to two thousand years had passed since Daniel had presented himself as the first champion of Karma. A time long enough to cause most people to forget about their existence. It was only after Daniel mentioned the domain of Karma, that the man recalled the newest addition to the multiverse.. A one-man domain led by a young and ruthless cultivator.
"The woman's powers are clearly of mental nature, too powerful to be defended against by my companions, but not powerful enough to breach your mental defences. Here, now you know who you are fighting against." Daniel said before releasing the surrounding space from his control, and freeing the horde of cultivators.
Now free from Daniel's oppressive power, the man looked at his companions, who were now once again able to control their body, power and emotions. "We appreciate the information." Said the man, aware that they had been fooled by the woman. He then added, "If you don't mind, we won't waste any more of your time, and take our leave."
"I do not mind.." Daniel said as the space surrounding the horde of cultivators solidified, locking them into an invisible cage. "But I have some questions I need you to answer, before you leave."
The man's face immediately turned pale. Stopping time and locking them in place was one thing, but enclosing them into space was different, as space, as opposed to time, was more commonly used as a weapon. Let alone the fact that such a large group had been made captive in such a short time, the man could tell that even if they joined forces, fighting back without suffering heavy losses, was unlikely.
Left with no choice, the man stopped his companions from attempting an escape, then asked, "What would you like to know?"
—–
After the end of the Exalted Assembly, Daniel had decided to hide into his newly acquired universe in an attempt to discover, and nurture his powers as the aspect of karma. This process had been extremely slow, to a point where civilizations had been born and died in front of his eyes.. And had only ended when, close to two thousands years later, he had succeeded.
While Daniel was focused on his powers, however, the multiverse was facing an epoch of change that had put all other moments in history to shame-All caused by one common enemy, the champions of Destiny.
Once freed from Daniel's universe of origin, Iewah's spawn had roamed the multiverse. With the use of their powers they destroyed, stole, recruited, and waged war on the domains that were so set on destroying them.. And while many of them ended up facing death, some were resilient enough to survive, and grow.
The access to the multiverse's resources did nothing but allow them to accumulate more and more power, to a point where the most powerful of them had the means to be considered a threat on the same level as some low-tier domains.
What had surprised Daniel the most, however, was not how some of them had managed to survive and gain power, as that was the same path he had taken before.. But the rumor that some of them had begun to change.. To exhibit powers that went beyond the common understanding of mana, and closer to the power of an aspect of existence.
This change had broken one of the oldest misconceptions within the universe.. that was that the aspects of existence would not meddle directly into mortal affairs, as to the blue-robed man's knowledge, instances of aspects of existence hunting down these evolved champions of Destiny directly, had truly happened.
With the use of their systems, which Daniel realized fit oddly well the purpose, the most clever champions of Destiny were able to avoid these nigh-omnipotent pursuers by hiding in their enemy's territory, and causing friction between the various factions that existed within the pantheon.
In time, these conflicts, fought on both sides, be it between aspects of existence or between their followers, had gradually destroyed the multiverse's fragile balance.
Arguments that would be put aside to be solved during an exalted assembly were now cause of war, and alliances made within factions were broken, only to be replaced by new ones made between like-minded domains which belonged to different factions. The lack of interference from the aspects of existence did nothing but reinforce these champions' convictions that the way they had done things until now was not necessarily right, and had held them back from truly expanding and gaining power.
While the lower part of the chain was in turmoil, not a sound came from the top. The higher domains, usually busy with the multiverse's administration, were now otherwise occupied.. Leaving the domains they had guided for millions of years free to make their own decisions, to wiggle by themselves like a lizard's tail, once separated from the rest of its body.
Amidst the chaos, few were the domains who had remained loyal to their factions, and to their goal to put an end to the real cause of this mayhem.. The champions of Destiny.
—–
After being caught up to speed with what was happening within the multiverse, Daniel let go of the horde of cultivators, who quietly retreated into one of the nearby portals, no longer willing to give chase to the woman. Too long had passed since the woman's disappearance, and Daniel reckoned, her pursuers would not be able to find her without the help of one of her peers.
While Daniel could have helped, he refused to do so, as only another champion of Destiny would have been able to pinpoint the general location of another one, and he did not wish to be considered one.
Now alone with his entranced people, Daniel extended his right arm, and with his index finger plucked a point in the air like an instrument's cord. This invisible cord, made of the power of karma and connected to each of his followers, empowered the gift of Karma hidden inside them, and awakened them from the woman's bewitchment.
Once done, Daniel looked at his surroundings.
In the distance, he could see millions of individual cultivators, armies and ships dash from one portal to the other, way more than there had been during his first few visits to the Trigate.. With a tense atmosphere and no regulations, Daniel thought that while moving around was now easier, causing a fight by accident would also not be too difficult.. But luckily, that did not work against his plans, as he had already planned for his champions to roam the multiverse.
"You may go." Daniel said to his already prepared champions, who responded by splitting into groups of equal sizes. Once divided, led by their strongest members, these groups left for other universes, with their only goal being to make the presence of the domain of Karma known throughout the multiverse.
As the millions of champions left, Daniel's attention was directed towards a specific portal, which he was looking at with a stern expression. This portal led to his universe of origin, inside which he had left his family, and his closest friends. While still set on reuniting with them, however, Daniel could not help but feel disturbed by the fact that this decision wasn't an emotional one, as much as it was something he thought he had to do.
Without thinking too much about it, Daniel pocketed the floating continent, and dashed through the immense white space until finally, he reached the right portal. It was right at that moment that Daniel felt that something was odd.
Contrary to the other portals, the one that led to Daniel's universe of origin had a complete lack of traffic. No ship could be seen passing through it, nor could cultivators be seen heading in its direction with the intention of entering.. Only Daniel.
With a puzzled look Daniel extended his arm forward, and touched the portal's water-like surface, hoping to verify whether the universe had been sealed the way he had his own universe for such a long time, but as his fingers were swallowed by the portal's surface, he confirmed that it hadn't been.
With only one option left, Daniel pushed his body forward, entering the portal whole. His surroundings shifted and warped for a few moments, but right when he was expecting to feel the familiar feeling of stable space, the grinding of broken glass pierced his ears.
The universe that appeared in front of him was not the one he had left. No longer a place with uncountable cultivators roaming its infinite space, factions at war, and worlds filled with mortals.. but a shattered universe, already broken beyond repair and constantly degrading towards the point of full collapse. Of life, there was no trace.. Or so Daniel thought.
As Daniel tried to remember whether he knew anything that could explain this outcome, he felt the appearance of several individuals behind him.. When he turned around, he saw them standing still, and stare at him with hostility.
