Chapter 1172 No Different
1172 No Different
At the Center of the River of Fate was a lavish palace called the Fate Haven Palace, which embodied causality itself. A man sat comfortably on a hanging chair with a cup containing wine in his left hand while looking at a screen projection.
The Adjudicator of Fate calmly watched w.a.n.g Wei's confrontation with the mark of the Outer G.o.ds. "No wonder [Fate] loves him so much. Such a simple and obvious idea, but only he thought of it." The Chaos Universe was vast; maybe someone else had the same idea. However, none of that matters because that b.a.s.t.a.r.d was the only one who had the ability or skill to succeed while also having a deep connection with fate.
He looked at w.a.n.g Wei with gritted teeth. "The b.a.s.t.a.r.d doesn't even want the role. Meanwhile, I had to gravel for an eternity before I could compete for it, but you still chose him?" Fate stood up from his seat, and with a wave of his hand, he reached the lower end of the river of time - which is the past - and destroyed w.a.n.g Wei, the Eternal Ascension, and that entire timeline.
However, a few seconds afterward, that destroyed timeline returned to its previous state as if nothing had occurred. The Adjudicator exhaled deeply before pouring more of his drink, trying his best to relax.
"Hmm? Time? Why are you here?"
"I thought a new variable had appeared, but it was just you messing around," replied the Time Cardinal, his whiskers dancing with the wind while looking as elegant as always.
"I was just venting."
"Stop doing useless things."
"I know," replied the Fate Cardinal, who suddenly sensed someone else coming. "Heaven? Why are you here?"
"Imagine my surprise when a timeline, which I was heading to, was suddenly erased."
"Why were you heading there? Did something happen?" Fate and Time were immediately on guard. Any sudden change in the situation could mean bad news for any of them.
"Yes, but it's not what you think," Heaven rea.s.sured. "Grand Dao ordered me to teach the [Son]." The two were silent for a few seconds before the Fate Cardinal started laughing uncontrollably. "If there is one positive of this ordeal, it is seeing how disappointing that privileged b.a.s.t.a.r.d is."
"Watch your tongue," The Heaven Cardinal warned.
"Why should I? I will either die in that other b.a.s.t.a.r.d's hands or lose my position - I have nothing left to lose."
"You should still have some decorum," Heaven warned. "No matter what, the [Son] is destined to become the Council's Leader and our boss."
"If he survives," Fate sneered. From a linear understanding of time, the Son of Grand Dao is a recent chess move of Grand Dao to change the past and affect the upper branch of the River of Time, which is where the real battle is occurring. As such, his fate is still undetermined and full of endless possibilities. However, the fact that Grand Dao tasked Heaven to become the latter's teacher proves that things are not going well, and the son needs a little extra help.
"You're being unfair," the Time Cardinal added. "By all accounts, the [Son] is extremely talented, even better than the best of us when we were mortals. Sadly..."
"He's an embarra.s.sment compared to him," Fate finished, not taking his comrade's warning to heart. "In fact, we all know that Heavenly Book is the best candidate for that position. He's the only person capable of defeating that monster. Sadly, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d is too smart for his own good and too ambitious. He wants to skip many steps and swallow many players with one chess move." Fate shook his head.
"Heavenly Book is indeed playing a risky game, but him winning might be our only chance to reverse the situation," Heaven commented.
"On top of what happened with the Heavenly Dao Race, didn't you try to make your p.a.w.n and fail?"
"What's your point?"
"I thought you hated him with a pa.s.sion, but your tone..." Fate looked at him oddly, feeling his relations.h.i.+p with Heavenly Book Paragon suddenly became suspicious.
"You're overthinking things," Heaven said calmly. "I've figured some things out. Do you agree that if Heavenly Book wins, the only thing that will change is him being the enemy now instead of that b.a.s.t.a.r.d?"
"Indeed." Even Time agreed with this a.n.a.lysis. Recent events have led them to this sad conclusion.
"Well, I'm of the opinion that Heavenly Book is easier to deal with."
"Bold words," Fate said. "In terms of intelligence, foundation, and strength, they are pretty on par. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d has the advantage of knowledge from the Prehistoric World, but if he loses, that information will become Heavenly Book's resources."
"Heavenly Book has two disadvantages that will make it easier to deal with," Heaven boldly proclaimed. "Firstly, Book has servants and subordinates, while he has allies, family, and like-minded individuals."
"The man is indeed charismatic," Time commented, and Fate shot him a glare, which he ignored.
"Secondly, it's their flaws."
"Flaw?"
"Yes. His greatest flaw is his greed while Heavenly Book's greatest flaw is bold and reckless-like moves." Fate squinted his eyes. As long as these people have emotions, they cannot be perfect, meaning they have flaws, including personality. However, the flaws of these two Dao Overlords are not simple things that anyone can take advantage of. In fact, it's more of a guideline on how they operate regarding certain things or events.
"You have a point, but there is no meaning in discussing this until Heavenly Book is the winner," Fate calmly said. He squinted his eyes, thinking whether there was still hope for him. He had no problem dealing with the Heavenly Book since the latter would not be interested in his job due to different Dao.
'However, it's odd how Heaven is advocating for Heavenly Book when he's the one that would be in trouble if the latter became the new player.' Fate truly wanted to know what that s.h.i.+ning b.a.s.t.a.r.d was scheming.
"By the way, Heaven, are you going to be alright?" Time asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Can you promise the [Son] to perform better after your teaching? And if not, are you prepared to be punished by Grand Dao?"
Heaven was immediately silent. This problem was the current dilemma he was facing. Normally speaking, someone of his level, training anyone, should be guaranteed to be amongst the best in the entire Chaos Universe. However, he was uncertain about this a.s.signment.
"How about we all come up with a training plan?" he suggested.
"No, thanks," Fate immediately replied. "I'm already in trouble as it is. I don't need Grand Dao to remember and risk him accelerating the time of my punishment."
"But you could also benefit if we succeed."
"The benefits are not worth the risks." Fate was adamant about his decision, so Heaven shook his head. "What about you?"
"I have no interest in any kind of training plan, but if you need something from me, feel free to ask, and I will do my best."
"I guess that's better than nothing," Heaven sighed. "Well, I'm leaving. Huh? Chaos is coming."
The Judge of Chaos manifested her presence, with her beautiful purple skin glistening without any sun or light.
"Did you find the Fatestealer's new hideout?"
"No."
"I thought you said you knew for certain where they were?" Fate asked.
"I said I had a great idea where they might be, but I was wrong," she corrected.
"So, what place was such a great idea?"
"The [Sea of End]."
"That was indeed a good guess," Time nodded before sighing deeply.
"Are you lamenting how useless we are?" Fate asked before laughing out loud. "If you look at his life, we are no different than the seven parasites: good enough challengers but not enough to be truly worthy or memorable adversaries. Hahaha."
"Shut up," said Chaos in a raised voice.
"Feeling humiliated because it's true?" Fate sneered. "And don't tell me what to do in my own home."
"Any news from the others?" Time asked, trying to redirect the conversation and preventing these two from getting into a direct confrontation.
"Last time I checked, Source checked every corner of her domain but found nothing. Meanwhile, Samsara doesn't look like she's too focused on the search."
"Did she find a new p.a.w.n?"
"I don't know. She's always been hard to read," Chaos shrugged. Samsara is the one who takes her job the most seriously, which has allowed her to remain a little more elusive. So far, they don't know whether she's truly pa.s.sionate about her position or if it was just another ploy.
"Heaven, have you calculated anything?" Time asked.
"If I had, don't you think I would have said something?"
"Unless you want to take all the credits," Fate sneered.
"And face him and the Fatestealers alone? Do you think I'm as stupid and arrogant as you?"
"b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"
"I don't have time for this," Chaos declared before disappearing. Now that she had notified the majority of her results, there was no need to remain here. Time shook his cat's head before also leaving.
"Chaos, wait." Heaven wanted to know whether she was interested in the training plan. Although he knew the chances were slim, he still wanted to try. As for that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Fate? He can be dealt with later.