Pathways

Later in the afternoon, after the crew had lunch, all members residing on the Black Pearl could be seen inside Arthur`s cabin. They were all seated with the exception of Arthur, who stood up in front of them.

"When you boarded this ship, I told you had a month to impress me. That's not the case anymore. Congratulations, you're now officially my crew," Arthur said with a smile.

There were no huge celebrations or shouts of excitement. Amanda just smirked, Franck was beaming, and Jack just let out a sigh of relief.

"We won't disappoint you, Captain," Frank said, holding his fist up.

"I know you won't," Arthur answered. "Now, for the second reason why I called you here. All of you know what Beyonder's are, so I want you to choose the path you want to take."

"Path?" Asked Lara. She knew of Beyonders, Arthur had told her and James weeks ago, but she didn't know what he meant with paths.

"There are twenty-two Beyonder pathways, each with its own abilities," Arthur began to explain.

"Every pathway start's at Sequence 9 up to Sequence 0, however usually from Sequence 4 onwards you have to take a potion and do ritual to advance. You cannot take one potion after the other, you have to first digest the potion you took before taking the next one. I'll tell you more about that later, first let's talk about each pathway."

Arthur began to explain each different pathway and their corresponding abilities, based on what he read in the novel and Harion.

He began with the Klein pathway, the Seer. "The Fool pathway was about fooling to bring mysteries. It specialized in illusions, shapeshifting, controlling others like marionettes, and divination."

"The Door pathway was like a fantasy mage. They can teleport, perform divination, phase through objects, cast spells, and record and use the Beyonder powers of other pathways. The Error pathway is the path of thieves. It's good at stealing from others. They can trick others through illusions, steal their opponent's abilities, even thoughts, and at higher sequences, their destinies."

He continues to explain the rest, like how the Visionary pathway is adept in psychological manipulation, and the Darkness pathway was related to the night and souls.

"Can we know your pathway, Captain?" James asked.

"I'm from the Hermit pathway, which starts with Sequence 9 Mystery Pryer," Arthur told them.

"Now, I explained the different pathways, but there are some that I won't let you choose," Arthur said seriously. "The first is the Hanged Man pathway. It's the pathway corresponding to corruption and degeneration. I won't let you choose this path because the hidden existence, the True Creator, is the god of this pathway, and anyone who reaches Sequence 8 Listener becomes a lunatic listening to his ravings."

The crew didn't have any objections to that. Jack, who had been saving money to buy a potion formula, knew how great of an opportunity he had. How many people could say they could choose any of the twenty-two pathways!?

"Now, the second pathway I won't let you choose is the Demoness pathway, for it's centered around causing disasters and catastrophes. What I meant by that is that at higher sequences, the only way to advance is by causing a disaster, likely killing hundreds or thousands in the process."

Again, nothing was said. Amanda, as a bodyguard, had already experienced killing someone, but even then the idea of killing thousands for no reason other than advancement didn't sit well with her.

"Besides, for you boys, taking this pathway means becoming a woman, since it changes your sex at a certain point. Of course, if any of you do have that desire don't feel ashamed. You can even come to talk to me, and I'll see if I can't do something to help you," Arthur told them. It was true, he had no problem with transgender people, he even supported them. But taking the Demoness pathway wasn't an option. "This pathway you guys can take, with the exception of the lady, unless you have the desire to turn into a man. The Red Priest pathway contains war-related abilities, and starts at Sequence 9 Hunter."

"Now, there are pathways you can take, but they also have some extra things that may or may not be a problem for you. The Mother and Moon pathway. I have no problem with you choosing one of the two, just know that at higher sequences you might turn into a woman. And for the Moon pathway, you will turn into a Vampire early on, which isn't a problem for me, but you should think about it beforehand."

That seemed to get Lara's attention a little, but she didn't say anything.

"And finally, the Abyss pathway, or the pathway of Demons. They gain demonic and devil-related abilities. In truth, if it wasn't for the fact that you will certainly go insane or become a monster later, I wouldn't have a problem with you guys choosing this path. At a higher Sequence, you would have to kill some people to advance, but you can choose who. I have no problem with you all killing rapists, pedophiles, abusers, or human traffickers, for example."

Arthur truly thought so. He knew that at some point, living in this world, he would have to kill, to save his or someone else's lives, or just to achieve something. He hasn't gotten to that point yet, but he knew that soon he would have to do it.

"Now, let me tell you about some things you should know, but it isn't common knowledge so don't go telling anyone else," Arthur said. "First, the acting method. This is the safest way to digest your potion and not lose control. The Acting Method is the process of acting according to your potion's name, and also learning some lessons about your powers you didn't know before."

"For example, as I said before, the Sequence 9 on my pathway is Mystery Pryer, so to simplify, I had to act as someone prying into mysteries. Another point was to do as I wish but do no harm. You should also know that it's sometimes possible to act ahead of time as I did with Sequence 8 Melee Scholar. I already had knowledge about close combat, so a part of my potion was digested from the start."

"Now, remember this rule! You're only acting!" Arthur warned them. "That means, don't lose yourself in the character you created, in the acting, for if you do so you might lose control."

They all nodded seriously, like little children who had been scolded by their mothers. Arthur almost laughed at that thought, but he didn't want to ruin the series of the situation.

"Now, for your final piece of knowledge of today, that is also not common knowledge, so don't go around talking about it. I'm talking about the Beyonder's Laws. The first is the Law of Beyonder Characteristic Indestructibility," Arthur said. "It says that the characteristics of a Beyonder are never destroyed or reduced, it only passes from one carrier to another."

Jack was the first to get what Arthur meant. Amanda was next, with Lara who seemed a little green.

"The second law is the Law of Beyonder Characteristic Convergence. High Sequence items of the same pathway and same high-Sequence group intermittently and unconsciously attract low and mid Sequences to come near it. That means you will be attracted to or attract items or other Beyonders of the same pathway as you. The only way to take notice of this phenomenon is becoming a demigod."

"The last law is…"