The view before him changed once again.
The battlefield was gone, only to be replaced by an enormous and dim hall. Rhode vaguely saw odd, complicated patterns on the floor that resembled magical rituals. Standing before him were six indistinct, pitch-black figures.
“It is beyond our expectations. The power of Chaos is getting stronger.”
This voice is…
Rhode turned to the voice and as though responding to his thoughts, a particular figure was lit up by a lamp above, instantly revealing her petite stature. He couldn’t be more familiar with her—the long, pitch-black hair, mesmerizing purple pupils, and almost identical face.
Christie.
But unlike the innocent little girl who always followed him around, this Christie seemed to possess the mighty presence of a high-ranking person. She narrowed her deep purple eyes, her face displaying a firm, unwavering determination that made him feel like she had everything under control. At this moment, the pressure on Christie’s shoulders was bigger than Lydia’s as though in her eyes, there was nothing except for this world.
“It’s okay, the more the plan fails, the more we have proven our success. The more detailed the plan is, the easier it is for mistakes to surface. It is within our calculations that this problem will occur when Chaos attacks.”
It was yet another voice he couldn’t be more familiar with. Shortly after, the bright light illuminated the other person. Her silver hair, wine-colored eyes, slender figure, and incomparably luxurious robe proved her identity.
Marlene…
This feels so strange.
Of course, Rhode knew that this wasn’t a coincidence. Christie called her other self as ‘my other self’, so it was to be expected that the other Christie would look exactly like Christie. On the other hand, Marlene was the incarnation of one of the six Deity Wardens, so it would be ridiculous if she didn’t look similar at all. But even though this Marlene looked like the same person, the qualities that she exuded were entirely different. This Marlene completely lacked the gentleness and steadiness of the usual Marlene. On the contrary, she was cold and rational as though everything was within her predictions—like a computer. It felt as though that even if her closest kin died in front of her, she would only respond with ‘everything is within predictions’.
Although this side of Marlene and Christie was refreshing, he still preferred their current selves…
“But this distortion isn’t enough. We should let it distort even farther. All that we’re doing now is carefully, yet recklessly messing the situation up.”
He was no stranger to this voice either. After all, he had just spoken to her a few moments ago.
The light shone.
The young lady clad in a plain, ancient-styled black dress and with silky, long black hair stood silently on the spot. She spread her arms apart and an ancient book hovered between them.
Alice.
“The constant, repeated, and accumulated distortion from the past isn’t enough. Such an extent of Chaos still isn’t able to disrupt the set destiny. We have to take more aggressive measures in order to form a singular point to distort the fate of this world. But now, what we’re doing isn’t enough to instigate the fulcrum of fate!”
“Perhaps we should kill off the Archangels?”
Shortly after, an unfamiliar and childish voice spoke. Compared to the three of them, she sounded much more energetic. For some unknown reasons, Rhode felt as though this person resembled Mini Bubble Gum, but he also knew that no one could compare to the insanity of that young lady. On the contrary, this voice sounded rational yet oddly excited. For instance, it was as though she was calmly planning a scheme to kill another person a hundred times and make that person go entirely bonkers—cold, dangerous, and incomparably odd.
“Maybe we should give up the defense of the seventh zone and allow Chaos to attack the undead creatures’ territory?”
“We can consider that as an alternate means.”
Marlene pondered for a while before responding.
“If it doesn’t work, we can slaughter the 3.5 million people in the fifth zone to eradicate the fate of them being killed by Chaos. This way, it will be enough to create a certain degree of distortion in the interval of fate and history.”
“Chaos is mysteriously powerful. We have no time to waste. Let’s make a decision.”
This time, an unfamiliar and stern, deep voice sounded. Christie nodded in agreement and looked around her.
“Who shall do it?”
They were clearly speaking about slaughtering people and yet Christie’s expression didn’t change at all. It seemed as though she was asking who was going to pour the tea. On the other hand, Marlene nodded.
“Leave it to me. My moving fortress can kill them in a split second and they won’t feel any pain.”
“Alright then. Inform the people that Chaos is approaching and ask them to evacuate. From now onward, gather the people as much as possible and we will make our move. We will kill them and not allow Chaos to gain strength through them as Chaos is already overwhelming enough now. If this continues, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
“Fate will not waver that easily. Just blood and death aren’t enough to change the foundation.”
Alice said and flipped the page.
“Just a few moments ago, the 3rd army that Shira led has perished. I suppose the alliance can’t hang on any longer too. We have to be prepared. Should we launch our attacks now or wait for a better time? His Majesty isn’t here, so we have to make the decision soon.”
“…”
Rhode suddenly felt the atmosphere in the entire hall turned solemn as though they were watching their companion walk to the edge of the cliff. Even though he wasn’t too sure what they were discussing, he felt that this was an important matter related to the entire world.
“Alright, how about this? If our deaths can change this spiraling trajectory, we shouldn’t mind sacrificing ourselves. This isn’t even worthy of a mention for the sake of our goal. My life is only this valuable and it seems like a great decision to use it for this purpose.”
Marlene spoke in an ice-cold tone while the others didn’t seem surprised.
As usual, Alice slowly flipped over another page and said, “Are you ready?”
“In theory, nothing will go wrong. As long as my predictions are right, my temporary death will not weaken my powers. But Alice and Christie, both of you have to take note that no matter what, our plan needs to have an insurance. Both of you are indispensable.”
“I will retreat to the Astral Temple and wait for the results of this experiment. I hope your sacrifices won’t be for nothing.”
Christie lifted her head and spoke. Even though she was the smallest in stature among them, at this moment, she was as though the one overlooking and directing the overall situation. She looked at Marlene with a praising gaze, nodded her head firmly, and turned to the other three mysterious Deity Wardens enveloped in the darkness, which for some unknown reasons, Rhode could only see their silhouettes.
“Alright, I will think of a way to preserve my body and wait for the day Chaos is defeated.”
“I’ll leave it to you, Alice. You’re the only one who can detect the spiraling trajectory of history. If anything were to happen to you, our years of hard work will all go to waste.”
“His Majesty isn’t around and the dragon soul heir’s power can’t resist Chaos anymore. This is our last chance to go into battle for them and if those foolish heirs can’t recognize their own fate and the enemies they will face in the future, they will only return to destruction.”
Christie raised her right hand.
“The Phenomenon Void will protect us until our final moments. Everyone, this will be our last battle.”
After the radiance dissipated, the scenery before his eyes turned into nothingness.
“What’s this?”
Rhode asked with knitted brows. He had to admit that even though the conversations from before had no cause and effect, he understood what they meant exactly. But it was due to this that he felt even more dubious of the situation as though…
“All of this was once destined,” Alice said.
“History is a spiral-shaped cycle. No matter how hard one tries to escape or change, history will still be strikingly similar. No matter the cause or past, and the result is always the same. The later generation may taunt the stupidity and shortsightedness of the former generation while looking through history, but they will still eventually follow the same path. All we need to do is to ensure that the results are different. That’s all.”
“What’s with the deal with the Void Dragon then? From what I saw just now, the Void Dragon is no longer in this world?”
“…”
This time, Alice didn’t answer. Instead, the pitch-black darkness around Rhode flickered and a gigantic maze appeared before him.
“We’re almost there, Your Majesty. Almost…”
