Chapter 1401 - A Hateful Path

“What the fuck is Jake doing!?” Miranda questioned as she paced back and forth, looking at the newly updated Prima Credits balance available to her. “Is he killing half the Administrators in the event or what!?”

During Jake’s stay in the Central Domain, there were occasional bursts of Prima Credits from killing other Administrators as well as from gathering treasures and whatnot. The points had been decent so far, though it had slowed down recently. Perhaps the event had reached a stage where one didn’t earn many Credits but instead competed for greater rewards. Either way, it didn’t matter much, as Miranda was doing fine with the Credits available to her.

Holstred was still on an absolute tear, and recently they’d even made contact with another Territory belonging to the Pantheon of Life, establishing an alliance immediately and making it far easier to defend their existing area, as now at least one more border was covered by an ally.

The larger their Territory got, the more difficult it was to keep track of everything and ensure every border was monitored and defended, but again, Miranda believed she was doing a pretty good job with the assistance of Kindroth and Lillian.

“I would guess the system forced some kind of confrontation between Administrators,” Lillian voiced her thoughts. “Perhaps some kind of tournament?”

“If it is a tournament, it must be a free-for-all based on how many people he’s killed,” Miranda muttered, a bit annoyed there wasn’t more information on where Prima Credits came from. All she had was a log that mentioned the person who supplied the Credits, with no further information. Definitely not up to proper invoicing standards in her opinion.

“Tramon also provided some points,” Lillian added, also having the privilege to check the log. “Not as many, but some. It’s stopped, though.”

Miranda suddenly remembered a special object she’d avoided buying thus far and quickly checked for it.

Truesoul Scanner (Territory Administrators Only)

An item that informs the user whether an Administrator from the Territory is still alive in the World of the Exalted Prima. One-time use.

Cost: 25,000 PC

There were several variants of this item, with this one being the cheapest. One step more expensive was a scanner that also worked on allies and Vassals, and finally, the most expensive worked on any Administrator. However, there were requirements for enemies, such as them having to have entered the Territory or having fought an Administrator from the Territory.

The item was expensive, but Miranda believed it was worth checking whether someone had died. Their other option for doing so was to send out an Administrator to check, but that would result in them not being able to return for a month, which would be far too long. Thus, she bought one and quickly used it to check up on the True Dragon.

“Tramon was slain,” she said with a frown. Miranda knew just how powerful a True Dragon was, and that his death meant the situation in the Central Domain had to be dire. She quickly bought another variant, which was four times more expensive.

Truesoul Scanner (Territory/Ally/Vassal Administrators Only)

An item that informs the user whether an Administrator from the Territory, an allied Territory, or a Vassal is still alive in the World of the Exalted Prima. One-time use.

Cost: 100,000 PC

Using it, Miranda confirmed the Behemoth had also fallen, making both her and Lillian now really worried. The Behemoth had been powerful enough to fight Jake, at least for a time, and likely surpassed Tramon in strength. No, she definitely surpassed him, if not because of her variant race, then through sheer experience as a B-grade.

“How about Jake?” Lillian asked, making Miranda buy another one to check immediately, not even recalling whether she wouldn’t have automatically been informed if the Chief Administrator had died. In either case, she used it and breathed out a sigh of relief.

“He’s still alive,” she said, finally relaxing a little. It would be odd if he’d died just after getting a lot of Prima Credits, but who knows if it had been some last act before dying. Hopefully, he was doing well and could handle whatever situation had led to the death of both a Behemoth and a True Dragon.

“Is William also still in the Central Domain?” Lillian asked.

“He should be,” Miranda said, reminded of the metal and karma mage. “Let me just check if he-”

Miranda didn’t get any further when she realized using the Truesoul Scanner wouldn’t be necessary... because the mage had just earned a massive windfall of Prima Credits out of nowhere, nearly matching what Jake had gotten, much to her genuine surprise.

--

The elf stared down at the human in front of him, his eyes full of confusion as he muttered. “Why would... who are you?”

He hung suspended in the air, countless metal threads binding his body, cutting into it. Moments earlier, he’d been fighting a Chosen from the Holy Church, his final opponent in the antechamber. As the Chosen of a Council Member of the Altmar Empire, and one of the greatest mages of his generation, the elf had dominated his foe, killing not just one Chosen but two. With his fellow elf from the Altmar Empire, they’d managed to get so far and overcome so many opponents.

Except there never was a second elf from the Altmar Empire. There also wasn’t a full party of fighters from the Holy Church, nor a certain beastkin part of the United Tribes, or a Dragonkin working with the Dragonflights. Had the human with the two warriors from Valhal even been real? Maybe... but not truly.

“Not someone worth remembering,” the human said.

The elf now only saw his true visage for the first time, and even then, the young man in front of him felt oddly familiar. Like an old friend he hadn’t met in a long time. The elf knew he was affected by powerful magic and that in his current state, he was in no condition to fight. He had realized what he was dealing with too late and was now paying the price. They’d all paid the price, unaware that the greatest threat had been among them all along, yet they never saw him as an enemy.

“You’re the new Chosen of Eversmile?” the elf asked, believing he had finally known who he was dealing with, and at least wanting his final moments to have some value. Confirming that Eversmile had a Chosen would be massive news, and truthfully, it felt like the only explanation... because otherwise, where the hell had a karma mage of this caliber appeared from? He wasn’t a member of the Dao Sect, which was the only other faction besides the rare followers of Eversmile, who had people specialized in karmic magic.

“Eversmile...” the human sighed before shaking his head. “Not a Chosen or a follower, no. Though I can’t deny some connection.”

The elf wanted to know more, but the mage didn’t give him time before the metal strings binding him tightened, and his exhausted body was unable to resist as the elf’s head was separated from his body, turning into blue wisps of energy moments later.

Standing alone in the room, William let out a sigh as he looked down at his hands and the ruined room around him. He hated it. He liked his metal manipulation; he practiced it diligently; however, he couldn’t deny that it was far from his strongest magic. Meeting Eversmile was one of the worst things that had ever happened to him, well, outside of the things he’d done to himself.

He had learned from Eversmile personally for a while, had his Legacy and methods inscribed into his soul, and as much as he hated to admit it, he remembered every bit. Remembered and understood. Comprehended. He was good at karmic magic. Really good. So good it annoyed him to no end. It was hateful that the Legacy of the person William despised and feared most in the multiverse was also a perfect fit for him.

At first, he’d continued making use of the karmic magic taught by Eversmile, actively worked against Ell’Hakan since he learned Eversmile and Yip of Yore had teamed up, and done everything out of spite. He was a heretic of Eversmile, through and through, with his Path reflecting it. He believed that using the teachings of the Primordial without even a shred of the benefits any blessed individuals would normally receive was a way to get revenge, but the further he went on his Path, the more he began to realize...

Wasn’t this what Eversmile had wanted all along? Wasn’t William still dancing in the palm of the ancient god?

In retrospect, it was foolish to think he could trick Eversmile. He was the Primordial of Karma. Yes, the Path of a Heretic did provide William with methods to hide his existence from the god, but it was moronic to think those would be nearly enough to prevent Eversmile from tracking every trace of his Records throughout the entire multiverse.

William knew he was only a Heretic because Eversmile didn’t actively step up to stop him from being one, which begged the question... why?

Why had Eversmile done any of what he’d done to William? He had genuinely hurt William’s Path and future. He’d convinced him to skip system events that awarded permanent titles, to not partake in Nevermore, and to fill his head with so many things that were just wrong or outright damaging to his future.

That indicated Eversmile wanted to cause William harm for some reason, or at least wanted to keep him in the dark longer, fearing William would realize the influence the Primordial had upon him if he partook in any system event. At least that’s what William believed for the longest time, and there was probably some truth to it.

The Treasure Hunt, Seat of the Exalted Prima, and Nevermore were all places where, when inside, even Eversmile would be temporarily cut off by the system. There was a good chance William would have realized something was very wrong had he taken part in any of those events, which would have made him want to break free of the Primordial’s control and manipulation earlier. Eversmile wanting solely to prevent this from happening was William’s main theory for the longest time, but now he questions if that was truly the full story.

Because hadn’t he caught up despite the god’s sabotage? No, hadn’t he done far more than merely caught up at this point?

Right after separating from Eversmile, William initially entered a period where he was far weaker. He’d lost his Path; his class and profession had both changed because he had renounced his blessing and become a Heretic, and, all in all, his future seemed broken. However, sheer hatred and a wish to discover exactly who he was, free from others’ manipulation, had pushed William onwards to realize his Path.

After a while, he realized that not only was he progressing as fast as he had while blessed by Eversmile, but soon he surpassed his old self. His comprehension of karmic magic progressed by leaps and bounds; he got more and more skilled, and now that he had reached B-grade and fully realized his Path, William was more sure than ever.

This had all been Eversmile’s plan from the start.

Or at least it had been one possible scenario the Primordial had predicted, and now he was curiously observing how his little Heretic would grow. This realization was part of why William hated using karmic magic so much, because whenever he did, he felt his connection to the Primordial of Karma. A connection he’d thought he was taking advantage of for revenge, only to realize now that the god was totally fine with it.

For a bit, he considered abandoning his Path entirely, cutting Eversmile off and not being a Heretic. Would it absolutely cripple him to only be a metal mage? Yes, but it was a genuine consideration... alas, William decided against it and continued to take advantage of his status as a Heretic.

A part of him couldn’t simply let go of such power, and another part of him wanted to believe that if he kept going like this, he would one day get a chance for revenge. He would ruin whatever Eversmile was planning. Such a thought seemed foolish until one factored in the surrounding people. Even if the Primordial could manipulate William and predict what he would do, what about Lord Thayne? The Chosen of the Malefic Viper.

With his Bloodline, manipulating and planning for what Lord Thayne would do seemed absolutely ludicrous, even for a Primordial, not to mention the Malefic Viper who would certainly not appreciate another god trying to manipulate and make plans involving his Chosen without permission.

Especially not seeing the odd relationship between Lord Thayne and his Patron, which even William couldn’t fully comprehend. He knew they were both Heretics in some form, which really didn’t make any sense given Lord Thayne was also definitely the Chosen of the Malefic Viper. Truthfully, William had stopped thinking about it too much, knowing it would do him no good to rack his brain trying to understand whatever was going on between two unfathomable existences.

Perhaps it was overly ambitious to the point of being ludicrous, but William was determined to get his revenge one way or another. His negative emotions toward Eversmile were driving him. The karmic connection between him and the Primordial only made William stronger, and while it was still a long way off, he would one day do something that genuinely hurt the god. If not through his own hands, then through someone else’s.

For now, William would have to accumulate power, though, even if he had to rely on the accursed karmic magic to do so. It was almost ironic that the more he seemed to hate his own karmic magic, the more powerful it became, and the faster he improved. He hated how fucking good he was at it, but the thought that one day he could wipe that eternal smile off the Primordial’s face kept him going.

Ideally, his smile would fade when William snuffed out the god’s existence, but maybe that was too ambitious. Even so, through observing Lord Thayne and the others around him, he’d learned that sometimes one should strive for the impossible, and maybe, just maybe, one would succeed. Shoot for the stars, aim for the moon, and all that.

As William was still deep in thought, movement in the air above caught his attention. Looking up, he saw the Cyclops Majordomo had returned, looking very unpleased for some reason.

“Finally done here? You really are trying to delay matters, being so much slower than every other antechamber,” the projection said in an annoyed tone. “Let’s tidy up and get you refreshed so we can move on.”

With a wave of his hand, the Cyclops Majordomo fully healed William before continuing, not giving the human any chance to respond or do anything.

“Usually, I would go over the need for proper etiquette and whatnot, but there are far more important people waiting for you already, so let’s not bother. Just don’t make a fool of yourself if you know how to do that. Now let’s go; the Abundant Emperor is awaiting us in the throne room.”

The massive door behind the projection let out a loud sound as it began to open, and the cyclops floated back towards it, giving William one last look. “Get moving already; people are waiting, and we don’t have all day.”