586 Getting Up to Speed

Both existential essences thrashed towards one another while leaving rings of residual power in their wake, only taking a fraction of a moment before finally colliding. While most would have expected for the clash to cause a universe-shattering impact, however, that was not the case.

The spear of Karma, immensely purer than its opposition, pierced right through the blades of Corrosion without creating any shockwave or sound. It then continued forward.. For it to move past the six corrosive blades appeared as simple as piercing through normal air.

Corrosion, who had used all of the power he could muster from the universe he was in to face Daniel’s attack, was left defenseless, and unable to avoid the incoming attack. He could only look in horror as the karmic spear came in contact with the right side of his waist, going in and out of his body with as much ease as it had gone through his power.

Once through, the karmic spear continued to travel in the distance, and in a matter of seconds, merged into the dark expanse as a tiny dot of golden light, not dissimilar to any other star.

pᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴ0ᴠᴇʟ The aspect of Corrosion was horrified. Before the pain of his weak shell of a body could hit him, he looked down to assess the damage only to find that the entire area around the initial wound had disappeared, leaving a bleeding crater that extended up to his lungs, and down to his knee. What was left of his upper body was attached to his left leg by a small strip of flesh, while his right arm, right leg, and most of his abdomen were gone.

Purplish liquid started gushing out of the aspect’s mouth, nose and eyes, forming beads that gently floated away. His mind, now strangled by the immense pain, was focused on gathering the small bit of corrosive power he could from neighboring universes, hoping for them to reach him before his consciousness would vanish. What he saw next, however, was able to overtake both pain and survival instinct as the main focus of Corrosion’s mind.

In front of him, just a few dozen miles away, was an oddly shaped silhouette. One hidden behind the remnants left by both powers.. golden clouds with hints of purple that became more prominent the closer one got to the silhouette.

This silhouette was that of a human, yet, not a complete one. A human torso that was missing its left arm, and everything down to his right knee. More ominous, however, was the silhouette’s head, which was almost completely severed, and only attached to the rest of the body thanks to a few streams of blood that magically emerged from the base of the neck, to the bottom of the head. There was no need for Corrosion to guess to whom this silhouette belonged, for in it he felt the power of karma.pᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴ0ᴠᴇʟ.ᴄᴏᴍ

In his distressed state, Corrosion could not help but rejoice in the fact that Daniel was as Damaged, if not more damaged than he was. A few of his blades had managed to reach him.. However, this joy was short-lived. While both injuries were fatal, Corrosion had soon noticed that Daniel had begun to heal despite being, just like him, completely out of existential power.

That was the first time the aspect of Corrosion had witnessed the difference between a mortal, and a cultivator.

When becoming the aspect of Karma, Daniel had indeed been forced to give up what made his cultivation unique.. Yet, that did not mean he had lost his progress. His body, spirit and mind had split into three separated powers that formed the vestige which contained Daniel’s consciousness. One that was feeble in front of the power of an aspect of existence, but that when compared to their mortal bodies, was far superior.

This was why after the two had received such extensive damage, while deprived of their powers, Daniel was able to recover, and Corrosion couldn’t.

Many civilizations throughout the multiverse, despite being unaware of each other’s existence, had developed the same term to perfectly define the battle presence of an aspect of existence. That term was ‘glass cannon’.

As Corrosion noticed Daniel’s limbs regrow, and his head being pulled back in place not by the power of karma, but by simple healing essence, a thought made its way into the former’s mind. It split, and spread like venom, until no part of his mind was left untouched. A sudden awakening to the realm of mortality which he was forced to experience as a consequence to the one question he had asked himself.

“Am I dying?” He muttered right after a large mouthful of purplish blood sprayed out of his mouth. Unwillingness and fear accompanied the pain he felt into a nauseating waltz, leaving him to deal with the endless fall into despair that considering his demise had created. pᴀɴᴅᴀ ɴ0ᴠᴇʟ

Occasionally, small sparks of corrosive power would appear in the surrounding space before quickly diving into his dying man’s body in an attempt to hasten his healing process. But, alas, the effect was far from being a match to the speed of Daniel’s recovery.

The maimed figure slowly approached the dying aspect of Corrosion. His skeletal hands waved the residues of the two powers away, clearing a path for his golden eyes to peer through. His head slowly came back to its place. Muscles reattached, veins reconnected, and bones fused together once again. Following the growth of bones, golden hued skin developed, covering his newly formed bicep and femur, elbow and knee, hand and foot.

When Daniel emerged from the multicolored cloud, he appeared as healthy as he could be. His eyes, rings of flaming gold, were aimed at the aspect of Corrosion.

“S-s-stay.. Aaawayy.. stay away-y from m-me..” Corrosion yelped while waving his remaining arm and leg, as well as bloody stumps in the air, as if trying to swim away from Daniel. Unfortunately, the panic he felt had overtaken his understanding of space, and showing a sorrier state in front of his opponent was the only thing he was able to achieve.

Daniel decided not to bother with Corrosion’s words, and instead kept approaching him in silence. As he came to arms reach of his squirming body, he came to a stop. “What did you mean, he wouldn’t be able to help me? What changes?” He inquired.

Corrosion’s words had bothered him. As an aspect of existence Daniel had come to realize that the kind he had joined had more influence in the universe than he had thought.. And while a malfunction in one of the systems he was so familiar with was not impossible, for Corrosion to be aware of it, must have meant something.

The question reached Corrosion’s bleeding ears before bouncing off, repelled by the latter’s panicked mind. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ ꪶ

Daniel rolled his eyes, irritated by his once mighty opponent’s pathetic state. If there was information within Corrosion’s mind, he would not be sharing it while in this state of mind. In the blink of an eye his newly formed hands became a blur. When it came back to focus, it was wrapped around the dying aspect’s neck.

Corrosion thrashed and wiggled, grabbing his aggressor’s arm and kicking him in a pure state of panic. Of the once godly being now remained a dying gazelle lying on its side, kicking the air as a lion sunk its teeth into his neck, squeezing the life out of him.

The painful death Corrosion so much dreaded, however, never arrived. In its stead, a calming wave of warm power, which erased any feeling of pain and fear he was feeling and allowed him to regain his composure. “Answer my question, and you will die at peace.. And with no pain.” Daniel demanded with a threatening tone that rumbled in the deepest parts of Corrosion’s mind.

A soft click of the tongue exhibited the disappointment a now calmer Corrosion felt when witnessing how slowly his power was gathering from the other universes, as well as being at the mercy of an entity he considered beneath him. ‘Had Karma fought him in his domain, no amount of hidden power would have prevented the roles from being reversed’.. Was all he could think.

While no longer bothered by pain and fear, however, Corrosion’s weak survival instinct, only capable of considering aspects of higher rank than him as creatures to be feared, was still present.. And since he did not want to die, he could do nothing but answer.. At least to gain some time.

“You should have.. never existed. Your existence changed everything..” Corrosion muttered in between the occasional cough and spitting of a mouthful of blood. “Like a virus, you have damaged the nature of the multiverse.. Protected by an ancient agreement.. But not anymore.”

Daniel said nothing. By being unaware of the true nature of Iewah’s spawn, Corrosion’s words sounded like obscure babble to him. Despite standing defenseless in front of him, Corrosion still had thought of survival. He was buying time, and Daniel knew it.

These petty schemes were something he, as a former mortal, had seen uncountable times before.. So he did not bother to convince Corrosion to explain what he was talking about. Instead, he controlled the mind power he was using to suppress the man’s perception of pain and fear, and changed its purpose. In a moment, unbothered by the panicked screaming that suddenly resumed, Daniel’s mind power moved to a different part of Corrosion’s mind. One that stored the aspect’s memories.

Soon enough, a nearly infinite series of images appeared in front of Daniel, all depicting a different moment of Corrosion’s endless life.

Too vast to explore fully, Daniel narrowed his research to the memories related to Destiny, then again to thes one Corrosion attributed the most importance to.

What was left were a handful of memories. Destiny’s birth, the war his actions had caused, the moment the agreement between Fate and Destiny was signed, and finally, his most recent memory.. The day everything had changed.

In these memories Daniel learned about Destiny’s origin.. A vast part of history which allowed him to find an answer to the many questions that had haunted him for thousands of years. Why were those who he blessed so competitive? Why did their powers revolve almost entirely around survival.. And what was the purpose of their existence?

While shocked by the discovery, Daniel delved deeper.

In the few minutes that followed, Daniel learned about the wars that had brought countless universes to destruction.. As well as the agreement that put an end to it all. In these memories Daniel found out about Destiny’s motive. How he and Fate had observed countless champions fail to validate his existence.

Finally, in Corrosion’s most recent memories, Daniel finally understood what the former’s words meant.

The agreement between Destiny and Fate had come to a conclusion., and he was the cause of it all. His existence had validated Destiny’s nature, elevating him to the ranks of a true aspect of existence while at the same time damaging Fate’s existence. Fate’s response was one Daniel had imagined even before seeing it within Corrosion’s memories.. Would Fate’s nature still be questioned if he wasn’t alive?

“Finally, Fate’s protection is no more!” The aspect of War exclaimed to the nearby members of the chaotic faction.

Corrosion, as elated as his companion, muttered in response. “Now that Lord Fate is free to interfere, those maggots’ blessing won’t be able to peer into the fabric of fate.. No more hiding. We can finally eradicate them.”

As Daniel witnessed this exchange, he finally managed to obtain the last piece of the puzzle.

Why was Destiny’s blessing able to show them the future with such precision? In hindsight, Daniel felt stupid for not realizing that the path the systems created was not the best among many possible futures, but a way to direct fate into the direction they desired.. That difference was what had created Destiny.. A difference too small to create a true divide between the two concepts.

Fate had always known that Destiny’s champions were able to use their systems to affect the fabric of fate, yet his nature did not allow him to believe those changes were true changes. To him, if a change happened, then that change had already been written into the fabric of fate, and was bound to happen regardless.

It was only after being proven wrong, that Fate had realized that Destiny was not bound by the rules of his power, and that he could not tolerate. If the aspect of existence he represented was not as unchangeable as he had believed, he would make it so.

Daniel felt the magnitude of what he had witnessed as he slowly retracted his hand from Corrosion’s neck with a blank stare. He could have never imagined how dangerous his situation was, and how little were his chances of survival. It was at this moment that he was grateful for having cultivated his mind-for if he hadn’t, he would have probably lost himself in the same despair Corrosion was feeling.

Luckily, his mind power was quickly able to help him recover his composure. A life on the run was what was awaiting him, and he had lingered in this place for far too long.

Unwilling to keep what would be an additional threat in the future alive, Daniel raised his right arm, then brought it down with the might of a high level martial cultivator. Before the attack could land, however, Daniel’s pupils narrowed. His hand, knee, shoulder, groin and right suddenly exploded.. Releasing small clouds of blood which covered an existential essence of similar color.

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