Primordial Secrets

After the hand of fate vanished, the world returned to normal. Everyone aside from Defiance immediately forgot about that terrifying palm, which had demanded their full attention just moments ago.

Even so, Yaan could vaguely feel that something was amiss. He was uncertain about how he knew it, but he felt certain that the God of Chaos had somehow died, and that he would not be returning in this 2nd Origin Era.

It was a strange premonition. Yaan felt as if the God of Chaos had well and truly died, and yet, he knew in his heart that they would meet again.

As his dao of fate grew, his instinctive premonitions pertaining to fate grew more frequent and more accurate.

No matter how he investigated though, there were no signs of the prophet, nor anything that might have led to his destruction.

Defiance stared at Yaan with a plain expression, but internally, his mind was abuzz with thoughts.

Nobody else remembered the hand of fate, only he, with his heart of defiance, was able to overcome the law which dictated that the hand of fate must be forgotten as soon as it disappeared.

Defiance also knew that the prophet would not be returning in the 2nd Origin Era. Unlike Yaan however, this wasn't only a feeling that he had, it was something he knew from experience. He had encountered the prophet in each Era, so he knew that when the prophet was destroyed by the hand of fate, he would not return for the remainder of that Era.

Actually, it was the prophet who had first mentioned the term 'hand of fate' to him. At the time, Defiance didn't understand why he referred to it as such, but after going through three Origin Eras, he felt like he was starting to understand…

The hand of fate appeared from nowhere to push events into a certain direction. It appeared with no warning, completely dominated all things, then vanished without a trace, leaving not even the memory of its existence behind.

Yaan didn't know what had happened to the God of Chaos, but he knew that he was gone. He was gone, but before leaving, the prophet managed to jolt him awake.

Suddenly, Yaan felt like he had been stupid - truly stupid. He actually took such a huge risk, a risk that relied on an external power saving him! In his pursuit of will and understanding fate, he was willing to put his life on the line, but relying on some external 'Origin Fate' to step in and save him was too much.

He only acted as such because he had the distinct feeling that somehow, in some way, he would not die, even if he simply stood there and allowed Defiance to attack. Regardless, this wasn't the right way to go about his pursuit of dao. The prophet was right - he created his own fate!

His fate was not the fate that the world dictated for him, but the fate that he would create for himself and the world. Yaan had realised this truth upon ascending to the Divine Step, so what was he doing right now, attempting to comprehend fate by relying on the world's fate, the very thing that he wanted to overcome?

Not only did Yaan no longer have the feeling that he would survive no matter what he did, but he had come to an entirely new understanding - there was no such thing as 'Origin Fate'. That was simply a term used by those Origin Gods who had experienced time in a different order compared to himself, to describe the inevitability of the past which they had already lived through, knowing that this would become his future.

But who was to say that their understanding of the past, would actually become his future? He could not rely on this…no, more so than that, he did not want to rely on this!

He could think more about this, and the God of Chaos's death, later on. Right now, there was only one matter of importance - surviving this battle with Defiance.

As Yaan narrowed his eyes, he focussed on the giant before him. He no longer had any thoughts of fighting Defiance Sovereign head on, because he now understood that it was not the time. 

No matter what he did, he would not be able to defeat the God of Defiance in this Origin Era. This wasn't Yaan admitting his inferiority to Defiance, but simply a fact - the current God of Defiance was a 2nd Ascension Origin God, whilst he himself had not even transcended the Origin a single time. If he wanted to defeat the God of Defiance, he needed to cultivate past the Origin.

For now, all that mattered was surviving.

Defiance attacked without warning, sensing that Yaan was going to act. However, he struck a moment too late, hitting empty space as Yaan took two steps onto the first thread of fate that he found.

Yaan's new plan was to run, and then hide. He couldn't defeat Defiance in a direct confrontation right now, so there was no point in continuing this fight. Even if they continued their battle, at best, Yaan would be able to fight back, but at worst, he would slip up and lose his life.

That said, Yaan remained calm, this situation wasn't nearly as desperate as might seem on the surface. He was still able to flee from Defiance, and although he couldn't run forever, he didn't intend to - he just needed to escape for long enough to properly conceal himself.

When it came to hiding, nobody in the current world could compare to Yaan.

Yaan reappeared elsewhere in the world, then he quickly looked around to discern where he was. He had again grabbed the first thread of fate without examining whom it belonged to, nor where it would take him. He wanted to get as far away from Defiance as possible, otherwise Defiance would track him down too quickly for him to conceal his presence properly.

After seeing Infinity Lake below him, Yaan realised that he was still in the Four Divine Star System and immediately turned to leave. However, before he had the chance, he was prevented from escaping by a slender hand that grasped his wrist.

Frowning, he turned and glanced at the Primordial Asura. 

"Are you siding with Defiance?" Yaan asked bluntly. He didn't want to waste time here, but if the Primordial Asura was going to use this chance to deal with him, then he might not have any choice. After all, she was also an Empyrean, he couldn't just ignore her.

As for the Primordial Spirit, Yaan looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm not. I want to help you." She quickly denied, but since she didn't let go of his wrist and continued circulating her power to prevent him from leaving, Yaan felt extremely dubious.

"Why would you stand against Defiance to help me?" He asked.

"I need to speak with you about your recent actions regarding the soul trait that I share with my sisters and many others. Yaan, exactly how many of us are there?"

Yaan didn't show anything, but he felt alarmed by the fact that she had apparently been observing his actions without him noticing. He was't surprised that she had noticed the matter of her shared Dao Soul trait though, since all Empyreans were able to see through their own Dao Soul, and to a lesser extent, the Dao Souls of others.

He didn't want to have this conversation right now, but she held his arm using a strange technique and wasn't letting go.

At this moment, Defiance Sovereign's aura swept across the surface of Infinity Lake. Yaan's eyes flashed between the distant man rapidly approaching, and the woman still holding his wrist.

Before he could say anything, she suddenly said something that caused his mind to stir.

"The stone ring is a dao treasure, and yet all three of us sisters are able to use it. My own investigation found that all individuals with this shared Dao Soul trait can use the stone ring. I'm sure you must understand what this implies…"

Yaan's mind shook, because he immediately understood her implication. The stone ring was a treasure that had always intrigued him, yet he had never been able to use it. If it was a dao treasure, that made sense…but if it really was a dao treasure, and if all of those individuals could truly use it…

Could the shared dao soul trait really be so shocking?

BANG!

Defiance Sovereign finally arrived. With no time left, Yaan quickly replied telepathically:

"Three million living beings share the Dao Soul trait, some alive, some dead. Now let go, or I will be forced to attack you."

As soon as she heard him, the Primordial Asura let go and stepped back, putting a large amount of distance between herself and Yaan. Defiance Sovereign ignored her, staring at Yaan with the gaze of a hunter as he raised his fist and struck down once again.

The Primordial Asura quickly entered the Spirit Palace, before erecting its defences to protect her sister within.

Yaan took two steps, vanishing from the Four Divine Star System. He again had no time to look at where exactly he was travelling, but this time, he had a clear target…

The Primordial Sage.

Yaan never forgot that originally, he had felt the convergence of many paths of fate in the Neutral Star System. Although the Neutral Star System played a role in the formation of the net of destruction, he felt like this was not the end. He also still remembered something the God of Chaos had mentioned before…

'According to the God of Chaos, the Primordial Sage will be the deciding factor in the convergence of fate…and when the finale arrives, I will make the final decision.'

Yaan didn't feel surprised when he stepped out into the very centre of the Neutral Star System, where he found the Primordial Sage, alone.

Before, when the Primordial Asura revealed the secret of the stone ring, Yaan understood exactly what it suggested. He also realised that this was the last piece in a puzzle that he had been trying to solve for a long time now.

In the few moments between then and now, he used this new information to finally understand.

Finally, he had solved the puzzle of the Primordial Sage.

He finally understood her…and he now understood the dao that she cultivated. Just like Justice Deity, the Sage possessed an inner dao beyond that which could be seen on the surface, but compared to Justice Deity, her dao was far more shocking.

Even Yaan could not help but look at the Sage in a new light.

Before revealing the core, however, he first needed to touch the surface.

Before the Sage could say anything, Yaan spoke one, simple word. As he spoke, a comprehension resurfaced from the depths of his Dao Soul, a comprehension that he had avoided pursuing ever since he first touched upon it. He understood better than anyone, the dangers that this enlightenment carried. He also knew that compared to the danger, it was of little use to him personally right now…but even so, it was now time to show the world a card that nobody would expect him to play.

"Void."