The clear and familiar voice reached the deepest part of Daniel's mind, and with enough punch to shake him awake from the panicked state he was in.
With a now clearer head, Daniel did not bother guessing to whom this voice belonged to, and focused instead on the words the voice carried, as he knew he only had the strength left to focus on either one of those tasks. "A balance.. Find a balance.. The balance within yourself.." he kept repeating over and over again in his mind, almost religiously.
As he focused the last bit of his consciousness into comprehending the meaning of these words, Daniel started engaging in introspection.. Seeking the imbalance that his very existence could have generated, and that was now killing him.
Thankfully, Daniel did not need to dig too deep to find an answer, as despite the immense amount of pain he was feeling, he was not stupid. He had lived his own life, and he was very conscious of the unfair advantages he had enjoyed during his brief, yet eventful journey. In less than a minute, he came to the conclusion that there were three major elements of his existence that could have been the cause for such an imbalance. His path of cultivation, his attachment to mortals, and finally, his karma.
Ever since Daniel had begun cultivating, his path had been innovative and unique.
Starting with a dual cultivation of powers that his primitive world had deemed impossible to be developed at the same time, following up with the adding of the third path of human cultivation, the mysterious path of mental cultivation, and finishing with merging the three parts elements of cultivation, his mind, body and spirit into one true power. This path had made him more powerful than any other known kind of cultivator, and was worthy of being considered as the true path of cultivation by anyone who was lucky enough to be instructed in it, or unlucky enough to face it in battle.
While his cultivation could have been considered as a cause of imbalance within the multiverse, however, many would have thought of it as the natural consequence of incredible luck, and uncountable exploited opportunities. What nobody would have denied, on the other hand, was how unfair the attachment to certain humans was for a deity such as himself.
Despite Daniel having lost a great amount of his ability to express his emotions when trying to ascend into the realm of an aspect of existence, his love for his friends and family was still rooted deep in his heart-a love that could not compare with the preference any other aspect of existence reserved for some of their most well deserving champions, and that was deep enough for him to break any rule his peers had placed on their kin.
In a multiverse where most deities treated their subjects like chess pieces, some of which were more useful than others, Daniel was a crazed player, willing to destroy the board and ruin the game to save any of his pieces from being taken..
Had Daniel had more time, he would have delved deeper into the magnitude each of these elements had affected the multiverse's balance the most, but, alas, time was running out. The white light produced by the negative universe around him was starting to get extinguished, overwhelmed by the dark spots of light that grew in size at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Sshz.. shh.." he hissed, angered by the feeling of powerlessness that had taken over his proud mind. The dejection he experienced was a feeling he had long since forgotten, one that reminded him that no matter how much more powerful he was compared to the beings he once feared, he was still far from being unmatched.. As becoming the strongest amongst mortals had come to the cost of becoming the weakest among deities.
The already unbearable pressure kept increasing, and weighing on his feeble mind the way a mountain would rest on top of a child's head. Shapeless cracks formed, rippling in his consciousness like electricity in the water.. "AAAARGH!!.. Screw this!" He yelled before gathering the very last thread of mind power he was able to control.
With little to no time left to hesitate, Daniel reached for his cultivation, a stable blend of spiritual essence, ki, and mental power that formed the most stable immortal essence known in the cultivation world. The thread of mental power reached for the core of this fusion, and wrapped itself around the three powers-then, without hesitation, began to pull on each side.
Immediately, these three powers began to separate. A fiery red power, strong and resistant, a white sand-like power, both light and heavy, and a green-colored wind, feeble yet undaunted-These powers were pulled apart, forming the shape of a triquetra, with each power separated, yet still trying to maintain their merged status at the core, where they struggled to resist the pulling force.
This struggle, unfortunately, went against the will of its owner, and soon yielded. *SPAH* With a loud snapping sound, one that only Daniel's ears could hear, the three powers split apart, and he knew, even without checking for himself, that they would be forever. As a feeling of sadness started to emerge within Daniel's spirit, however, the pressure produced by the imbalance he had caused in the multiverse, and that was now weighing on what was left of Daniel's body, a few shards of his bones, and an almost invisible spirit, had significantly decreased.
As the pressure on his body, spirit and mind eased, Daniel looked at the powers within his body- At his once whole and incomparable cultivation that now lay broken, split into the three essences it was once made of, which struggled to stabilize themselves under the pressure of Equilibrium's power.
Despite the pain Daniel felt for the loss of his unique cultivation, he knew that the time to weep was far away, for he was not safe yet. The pressure was still slowly, yet inevitably downing on him, pushing down in an attempt to erase his existence, and once again bring the world to a state of equilibrium.
With not much time left to spare, Daniel focused on the power of karma within him, and relaxed. Soon after, what was left of his body and spirit began glowing of a pure golden light.. On their surface, an uncountable number of small lights had formed a thin layer of karma, which quickly began to shed away like a reverse snowfall.
Bit by bit, one by one, Daniel rejected his karmic balance, erasing it from existence as if the actions that had caused its birth had never happened. If still in possession of his system, had Daniel checked his personal window, he would have noticed the amount of karma in his possession being lowered at an incredible speed.
The reason for burning his own karma was simple. Daniel was not someone who had to be judged by karma, for he was karma itself. Having his life judged by Karmic power did nothing but place him at the same level as everyone else, turning him from an impartial judge, to a biased one. As a paragon of positive karma, Daniel was both the aspect of Karma, as well as a good-natured being that was in charge of punishing those who opposed his ways.. And that was a source of imbalance within the multiverse.
What Daniel got rid of when burning his own karma, was not the consequences of his good actions, but his liberty to take part in the fight between good and evil in the future, for he was not a participant, but the arbitrator.
As the last bit of karma was expelled by his body, and burned to nothingness, the pressure that was weighing on him was once again reduced by a great degree. Nevertheless, while not even a thousandth of its original might was left, the pressure still existed, showing Daniel that despite his drastic measures he had taken to restore the equilibrium that his existence had distrubed, he was still a step away from succeeding.
While most would have rejoiced in knowing that they were moving in the right direction, that was not the case for Daniel. He had accepted the loss of his karma and cultivation, two parts of him he was still willing to part from.. However, the fact that he was still in danger meant that the problem was more deeply rooted than he had hoped, and that the imbalance that was killing him, was likely to be tied to the very least part of him he was willing to separate from.. His relationship to mortals.
To which degree Daniel's relationships were a damage to the multiverse's equilibrium, he did not know. Was his survival only possible at the cost of his memories? Was he bound to let go of his humanity? These questions filled his mind, prolonging the pain he had been forced to endure to the maximum extent he was allowed to, before drawing his last breath.
Time slowly passed as Daniel considered whether a life without the connections he had built, was worth keeping.. A question to which he could not find an answer to.
It was only several minutes later, when the moment of his death approached him, leaving him no choice, that Daniel once again focused his mental power, and began digging into his memories.
The first connections to be torn away were those he shared with the civilization he had built, and the world he had come from.. To the millions of people his cluster of planets had housed, people who had embraced his way of life, and had decided to submit to a life more benevolent than most others within the universe.
What followed was the removal of his connection to the members of his group. People who, for the years that had followed the start of his path of cultivation, had started to follow him, and enforce his way of life under the guidance of Daniel's friends and family. Thousands in number, people whom Daniel had not had the chance to build a personal connection with, but people he felt proud about nonetheless.
As his connection to these people was erased, Daniel's spirit began to shake. Around its feeble shape, and what was left of his physical body, a bluish aura began to emerge, one that conveyed the extreme sadness he was feeling. A sadness not only caused by what he had just done, but was he had yet to do.. For the pressure of equilibrium was at its weakest, yet still there.
In spirit Daniel felt sick.
As an illusion of nausea and migraine took over his mind, and his spirit wept the loss, Daniel's mind power reached for the core of his spirit, where his deepest feelings of belonging and love resided. Then, without bearing to look, he ripped them away, erasing forever the last connections he had to mortality.. And to his teachers, his companions, his sister, his wife, and his children. Of them, only the memories of a past life remained, memories he felt did not belong to him anymore.
Once the last of these connections was severed, Daniel, who had awakened from a sense of extreme sadness that had been suddenly cut short, felt the plate under his feet rise. Bit by bit his body was elevated, stopping only once the two plates were once again at a level of perfect balance. Of the pressure that had threatened his life, was nothing left.
Immediately, Daniel's body began recovering. His spirit, body and mind regenerated separately, and were united as three different paths of cultivation that were forced into an harmonious state, yet not whole anymore. As his body finished reforming, Daniel closed his eyes, and felt the changes within him.
These changes, for him, were as clear as day.
While his immortal power was but a fraction of what it was before, Daniel felt that his identity as an aspect of existence had been purified. The power of karma, which he had believed to be limited by the restrictions placed by the other aspects of existence in separate universes was now flowing into him in higher amounts and purity, increasing his powers of karma by a thousand fold, and pushing him closer to the power of a regular aspect of existence.
This increase in power came as a pleasant surprise to Daniel, as opposed to the losses he had incurred, for which he felt nothing.
When Daniel opened his eyes, he wasn't standing in the negative world any longer, but in the domain of Trade, where he and Equilibrium had met what, to him, had felt like an eternity ago.
With relaxed eyes, Daniel looked around, and soon realized that close to no time had passed since his entrapment. Next to him was the figure of Elijah, who witnessed his awakening with horrified eyes, while in front of him were the aspect of Equilibrium, and her champions. While both Elijah and the champions were focused on him, however, Equilibrium was looking elsewhere. Specifically, at a middle-aged man who had appeared in the battlefield without anyone else noticing.
Both Daniel and Equilibrium instantly recognized this man, as they both had met him before. Living as a deity among deities, venerated as one of the few high lords in the pantheon, peer of Fate and personification of one of the primordial aspects of existence… The aspect of Conflict.
