Chapter 72: Playing A Dangerous Game

(Again author rants, I feel like my writing quality has dropped again as im drained of ideas. This chapter, I tried at first to end Teyvat and return to Fate then go Bleach. But it just didn't work at all somehow. Then I focus on Fate only. 3 Rewrite and I still not satisfied but just nothing could come to mind anymore. So, sorry if this chapter looks very different and incoherent. My brain hurt trying to devise a plot.)

(Anyway, here is the chapter. Sorry for the delay.)

A world changing event happened overnight in Teyvat and not many noticed. Those who did are mainly the Archons and Adepti. There are few who noticed it too, few groups of humans.

One of them is the Astrologer, Mona.

"What happened! The stars! They vanished!" She shouted and started running like a headless chicken around her camp.

———

With Ray.

He teleported Venti into the base and bound his soul to his bracelet without explanation before he left through a portal and appeared on top of the ground where his base was located.

He transported the base into a pocket space and left the world. Returning to Nasuverse instantly using Kaleidoscope magic.

Upon his arrival, he went to meet Zelretch to acquire information.

An hour later, simultaneous meteor strikes happened all across Europe and some major countries. Army of creatures out of horror story, appeared and ravaged capital cities and Dead Apostles territory, causing too much chaos overnight and by the daybreak, it became the calmest morning since the all out war between human and Magus.

All the bounties were put on his head, torn down and removed immediately, fearing their life would be next. It reaffirmed the people about the words passed down by their ancestors.

Never messed with a Magician.

Cities were leveled in the blink of an eye by meteors. Anyone that tried to put up resistance was crushed brutally by Legions of Undying souls, eager to reap more for the glory of their master and expand their numbers. Devastating tornadoes swept through the land and leveled the Dead Apostle's fortress.

Occasionally, Counter Guardian appears but their summoning is instantly denied by the Master of the Third Magic.

Overzealous clergymen wanted to seek justice in the name of God(Alaya) for the massacre of human but get stabbed and killed by their own saints, summoned just to torture and break their faith. Not even their revered saints sided with them in their so-called war in the name of God.

(Ray is trying to restore order to the world. That's why the servants agreed to help him.)

———

"Good work, Venti."

I walk over the scowling bard, angry by the forceful way Ray 'wield' him and works him to the point of exhaustion. Not that he could disobey even if he wanted because his soul no longer belonged to himself.

"Here, a floral wine. Might not taste as good as Dandelion wine but good enough for your palate." I put the clay jar next to Venti and lean on a broken fortress wall while looking at the first ray of sunlight peeking over the horizon.

"Thanks." Venti said and tore open the lid before taking a swig. "Mmn.. a delicious wine for sure." His eyes lit up as he took another swig and sighed with satisfaction.

"Chrysanthemums wine. I grab them from China. A nation with a culture quite similar to Liyue." I added before returning to silence while staring at the horizon.

In my mind, I was thinking of last night. I remember sorting out and understanding the Kaleidoscope. But suddenly I found a drive to complete a task that I left hanging for a while. Thus my action after that until now. Tying up all loose ends before they could fester.

Odd. Very odd that I am aware I am not acting normal but my mind couldn't find any abnormalities.

Regardless. Now that order has been restored and the timeline is fixed. The FGO timeline at least. The Fifth Holy Grail would happen regardless under intervention of my previous wish.

The world itself was still in a mess even without the war and everything. People are reenacting witch hunts to remove Magus from their community while the government loses all semblance of control to restore order locally.

There were too many things that happened and it would take a long time if I want to state everything. But, long story short. Society collapsed and smaller scale conflicts happen everywhere with various causes. Mainly being Magus that want to restore the Mystery start to cull the human populations into manageable size and destroy technology that causes the dissipation of Mystery.

Really, those no brainers. What they are doing is literally inviting Alaya and Gaia to prune off this timeline because destroying technology will cause humanity to become defunct and thus incapable to grow better.

Fuck them, if times come. I take the whole country and fuck off to another timeline.

Also speaking of another timeline. There isn't any need anymore to wait for the FGO and Fifth Holy Grail war to happen. I can just go there directly, across space and time.

"Yo, Venti. Wanna go on a bros only adventure?"

"Huh? Sure?" Venti was caught unprepared by the question and sort of just agreed and he was brought along by Ray into a portal.

———

"Sorcerer? A sorcerer invaded my temple?"

"Yea, surprise mf." A bow appears in his hand and wind gathers to form an arrow.

"You fool magecraft do not w- Kah!" The man on the marble throne vomits blood out of sheer disbelief. "Impossible! I am immune to all forms of magecraft!"

"That's the thing, Goetia. This attack was never a magecraft. Also, you can thank 'Barbatos' for helping me." I said with a wink.

Beast I or Goetia lift his hand to do something but I am faster, sword appear in my hand, imbued with space attribute and cut off his hands. Then I stab its heart, immobilizing him to his throne as I store away his soul.

"Should I try to farm a few more Goetia?" I wonder as I remembered that there is a chance of failure when crafting. Especially high ranked material. So, better be prepared.

"Wait, I forgot another ring is with Romani." I pick up the head of Goetia and wrap it up as a gift to exchange for the remaining ring later.

———

Within the command room of Chaldea, every staff including the temporary director, Romani Archiman was performing his duty as usual to support the Master who was resolving the singularity.

He left the command room for a moment since the Master isn't needing any help while he and his group of servants are resting.

With an empty mug in his hand, he humming his song singed recently by Magi★Mari, his favorite vtuber. Walking along the white corridor, suddenly a door opened by itself.

"Hmn?" Romani reacted and with terror. "Oi, did one of you assassins pull pranks again? This isn't funny I'm telling you." Romani said but there wasn't any response like usual when he uncovered the prank.

With shaky legs, we walked over to peek into the room and smelled something familiar, yet ominous. "Smell of copper…" He didn't dare lift his head high and only look at the floor within the empty room.

"Blood!" He shouted like a bitch when he saw a small patch of dark red puddle before he fell to his ass and crawled to his back desperately only to feel his leg was stuck.

"H-"

Before Romani could finish shouting, he was pulled into the room by an invisible hand. Inside are two laughing voices which allow him to calm a little and resolve his confused emotions.

"How is it, Venti?"

"This is beyond what normal pranks should be but his reaction is funny. Hahaha!"

"Oi, who are you two!" Regaining his bravery, Romani stood up to scold this two mischievous servants for this overboard prank and broke his limited edition Magi★Mari coffee mug.

"A friend bearing a gift." Ray replied with an amiable smile before tossing the severed head of Goetia to Romani.

"Human head!" Romani almost passed out looking at the severed head rolling toward him.

"No no, that's Goetia's head. The evil bad guy you Chaldean are fighting againsts. Also, I take your ring as payment." Ray used his Telekinesis to remove the glove and took the ring.

"Good bye." Ray waved before leaving along with Venti through a portal.

———

Ray was in his Workshop with protection and wards at full power. He had successfully turned the Ten Ring of Solomon into an authority like Rho Aias. However there was an issue where the Rings do not acknowledge Ray as their master/wearer at all.

Currently, he is diving into his deepest part in his mindscape where the abilities are stored. He tried to interact with the ten floating rings, forming a halo.

'Biometric scan results: Not identical.'

'Access denied.'

Same case with Artoria's Rhongomyniad. Then this is easy.

Ray just copies Romani spiritual signature, aka DNA for soul, then uses it on the rings.

'Biometric scan results: identical.'

'Access granted.'

[Abilities]

-Absolute Dominion of All Magecraft

-Ars Goetia: Demon God Pillars Summoning

-Ars Paulina: Grand Temple of Time

-Ars Nova: Sacrificial Attack / Band Light Convergence Ring

-Ars Almadel Salomonis: Anti-World Attack

'Holy shit! This is nuts. I can genuinely destroy a world now.' Ray was shocked beyond words looking at the abilities he could access from this.

Treasures like the Bab-ilu

flashed through his mind. That noble phantasm is obtainable and he can use it because the restriction applied on it, requiring great wisdom to figure out the combination to the key is within his capability.

"I think her name is Tine Chelc from the Fate Strange Fake timeline." Ray muttered and opened another portal to another parallel world.

Since he can choose what time he left, time really isn't an issue since he can simply return to the time axis where he just left, making the time he went missing from his current timeline being mere a few seconds only.

Kaleidoscopes definitely have more utility than Heaven's Feel.

———

"Welcome back Big Brother Ray!" Sakura and Illya excitedly ran and jumped towards Ray who caught them in his embrace.

"Hello too, Irisviel." I called when I saw Illya's mother walk toward me along with her husband who glared at me as if he wanted to kill me but held back.

Everyone greeted each other and I introduced the new addition to my group, Venti, Dvalin and Lisa. Then we all went to Alma's little village which at this point looked like a proper town by its scale.

"You stinking brat dare show your face after leaving me and Lamina behind without telling us anything!" Alma punched my head, although it didn't hurt much despite how big her swing was.

Lamina on the side added she is glad that she didn't need to tag along as she is content looking over her people and staying in this piece of land.

"Sorry sorry, I forgot that the communication method no longer works. But don't worry, this time anyone can contact me regardless of how far the Kaleidoscope can reach." I reassured her and suggested to everyone that we go to Konosuba world to have a vacation since this is a rare occasion that everyone is together.

"Is that world safe? Like, didn't they have problems with demon lord invasion?" Tanya asked worriedly since the majority had voted to go.

"No worries, everything will be smooth sailing." I smiled saintly, remembering how I threatened the demon lord to steer clear from me and my group after I infiltrated their cycle of reincarnation in an attempt to find another non Nasuverse world to test out Ars Almadel Salomonis and Ars Nova.

Ars Almadel Salomonis shoots a band of light collected by Goetia's Ars Nova that essentially stores a great amount of mana into a ray of light converging and stored in the Temple of Time. Instead of burning the history of mankind, I can substitute with my mana instead since I have an infinite amount of them.

The kids were especially excited to go, much to Kiritsugu's dismay and were ignored by his own daughter when he forbade her from joining out of fear for her safety.

After sending away everyone with his parallel world clone. He decided it's time to absorb the Gnoses. He didn't know how it would go but he didn't need to worry since the Kaleidoscope gave him a form of Immortality whereby he cannot truly die as he already exists in countless parallel timelines and in different time axis. If he dies, he can take over another Rayark von Einzbern from another time axis.

"Fuh… it's time. Ars Paulina." Ray vanished and entered the isolated dimension called the Temple of Time.

"Is the ritual ready?" Ray, seated on the marble throne in the temple as numerous giant tentacles with eyes and various colors, sprouts out the ground to greet his return.

'Everything is ready, king.'

'All preparation has been completed and the pillars will initiate the ritual.'

"Begin the ritual." Ray declared as the pillars hummed in synchronization as a grand multi layered and complex magic circle expanded out on the temple.

Numerous circuit-like lines appeared on the ground and converged on the marble throne where he sat, acting as a funnel to the magic circle which collects the siphon out divinity and flows it to Ray's body.

'Ritual Begun.' Multiple voices rang in Ray's head as the Demon God Pillars declared the start of the ritual.

The entire temple rumbled as great power shook the fabric of reality, ground crack and apocalyptic lighting rumbled across the sky.

What he is attempting was very dangerous yet, without the aid of the System. He could only make do of what he could. Start by tearing apart the divine authority in the Gnoses which contain the trace of the Primordial One's will and turn it into pure divine power that he can absorb with the help of Demon God Pillars.

Ray shut his eyes and focused inside his mind.

'First I must strengthen my soul before upgrading my divinity.' Ray guides the divine power flowing into him, to his soul and nourishes it.

———

STR: D+ > C+

VIT: C+ > B+

AGI: D+ > C

DEX: C > B

INT: A- >A+

WIS: S > S++

LUK: D+

———

A short moment later, Ray already can feel great changes. Yet he only absorbed a very little amount of Divine Power and his body already reached its peak and almost went from Demigod rank to God rank.

Ray continues to absorb, intending to break through to God rank.

———

STR: C+ > A

VIT: B+ > A

AGI: C > A

DEX: B > A

INT: A- >A+

WIS: S > S++

LUK: D+

———

'My body immediately undergoes metamorphosis?' Ray observed and noticed what happening right now is similar to that moment although without the System to make everything perfect.

Ray waited for quite some time, observing how the metamorphosis is expanding his limit, like the ascension of game characters to increase the level cap.

Then he take a look at the status screen, which is the only thing he can use to observe the changes

Name: Rayark von Einzbern

Age: 15 (Physical)

Rank: Demigod > God

Race: Transcended Human

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Main Class: Animancer

Secondary Class: Magic God

Title: Magician of Second and Third Magic, 9th Head of Einzbern, Lord of the Undying Legion

———

STR: E-

VIT: E-

AGI: E-

DEX: E-

INT: E

WIS: E

LUK: D+ > D++

———

So, compared to a bonafide God out there, I am nothing but a newbie with this low of a stats. But, I definitely feel much stronger than before, a great qualitative jump from previously. Like hundred times stronger than my previous self.

Now, I move on to Divinity. I tried to pour the divine power into Divinity of Soul but strangely it wouldn't accept the divine power no matter how much I try.

I desperately try to lead the divine power into the three Divinities I possess but none of them accept the power which leads me to a panic.

'No, calm down!' I told myself and tried to pour divine power into my abilities instead. Choosing Legion of the Undying instead.

…

…

…

After channeling the divine power into Legion of the Undying for a while, I noticed it increase in rank. Jumping from Master all the way to Legend and I exhausted almost 40% of the divinity in the Gnoses

(I did this after realizing, divinity is own understand of a law and knowledge cannot be substituted with raw power.)

'Maybe this could work…' I look at the Enhanced Mind ability.

My current mind is incapable of understanding the information provided by Akasha during my acquisition of Magic without risk of descending into insanity for understanding knowledge beyond my capability without insight. But, what if I pour the remaining divine power into upgrading it. Maybe I could finally do it if my mind is strong enough to resist the mental pollution it causes.

I poured the remaining 60% divine power into Enhanced Mind out of hastiness and oh boy that was a bad idea I wish I realized earlier.

———

INT: E > D

WIS: E > D

———

———

INT: D > C

WIS: D > C

———

———

INT: C > C+

WIS: C > C+

———

———

INT: C+ > C++

WIS: C+ > C++

———

———

INT: C++ > C+++

WIS: C++ > B-

———

It hurts! My brain felt like it suddenly inflated and compressed inside of my skull!

Without noticing, my body outside is bleeding from the ears, nose and eyes. My brain is forced to evolve fast to adapt to the sudden upgrades of Enhanced Mind. But looking at the results, maybe it was a worthwhile risk to take. Just need to keep it a secret from Tanya.

-Enhanced Mind (Transcendent)

Exactly as it stated, my mind had reached a Transcendent level and many unanswered questions in my head were instantly given an answer.

Also, thankfully Lisa isn't in my mind or I can't imagine how the upgrade would harm her.

Meanwhile outside the body in the temple, the Demon God Pillars are unsure what they should do, looking at Ray's state as they just wait and see. After all, their loyalty stems from his absolute control of them and nothing else. They didn't really want to be controlled by being other than Goetia and Solomon.

———

"This is fun, Big Brother! Let's do it again next time." The girl with white hair, excitedly wriggling into Ray's lap despite the stare given by Dvalin for stealing her spot.

"Sure, but you must promise to be well behaved or else. We will not have another vacation." Ray said wryly because this girl went ham after realizing she was in a fantasy world.

Irisviel and the exasperated Kiritsugu support what Ray just said, wholeheartedly.

"Yes! Never try charging at monsters ever again. You almost gave me a heart attack, Illya." Kiritsugu sighed as his appearance turned older by a few years while he massaged his chest.

Illya, after registering as Wizard at the Adventurer Guild, went on her first adventure. The infamous and dreaded Giant Frogs which had trampled even a goddess.

Thank goodness she is smart to understand and identify the weaknesses of each monster and used lightning magic on the Giant Frogs which is a water attribute.

Kiritsugu however, being a worrywart father he is, thought Illya was in danger.

"Sir, m-may I confirm if your table had ordered 150 portions of fried Giant Frog legs and 200 Hamburger steak?" The poor waitress triple checked the order and tried to confirm it at Ray.

Ray instantly turned his head to the two big gluttonous dragons at the edge of the table, looking away from his gaze. He also caught sight of the bard happily partying with other drunk adventurers, holding their mugs and singing along with loud laughs.

"Yes. Any issue?" Ray confirmed to the waitress before asking if they lack ingredients or anything.

"No problem." The waitress bowed quickly and apologized for interrupting before she ran back to the kitchen.

"Ray, do we even have enough Eris to pay?" Tanya at his side elbow softly to get his attention.

"Money? No problem." Ray gives her a thumbs up before opening a portal to the royal treasury, scooping a handful of mithril coins. "Never need to worry about cash with Kaleidoscope in my hand." Ray replied with a smug grin which annoyed Tanya who is a model law abiding citizen, looking at him with a face asking 'really?'.

Next to Tanya is Sakura silently watching everyone and confined in her own mind, thinking something. Also, she is chuckling creepily which worries me a little.

Lisa though is nowhere to be seen, probably went missing after a walk down the business district where magic shops that sell magic tomes and trinkets were.

Everyone had their fill when the foods arrived, partying along Venti and the rest of the Adventurers before returning home.

———

Back to serious business.

Ray stayed confined in Ars Paulina because it was outside the axis of time and space which means he can stay very long here and time barely moves in the real world.

Unsurprisingly, Ray was fine despite the bleeding from brain damage. He is silently meditating while trying to comprehend the information he previously didn't dare to.

It was an enlightening experience for him in a bad way. He knew this would happen and yet he did it and now regret it. He understands now why ignorance is a bliss.

He seeks to restore his System or at least replace it somehow. Yet, he got a glimpse of it. The truth about the System. It was, unsurprisingly, created by Ray Elliot and he already knew that. But those abilities, as easy it is for Ray Elliot to grant him those abilities, he can take it back as easily too.

He knew he cannot trust those abilities anymore. Especially when opposing the man himself. But, it didn't mean he must remove it. He just needs a way to turn them into his own ability that no one can take away.

"No wonder I cannot upgrade my divinities. They were never mine to begin with." Ray said angrily and hit the armrest of his marble throne. "He dared to trick and set me up, making me think I have power only to take it away from me in the midst of battle."

His anger didn't last long before he tried to fix it. With disregard to the injury he might sustain, he stabs his own chest with his hand and plucks out three orbs which each represent each divinities he owns.

He took out the sealing crystal which contained the fragment of Angra Mainyu's Saint Graph, All the World's Evil and placed it in the empty hole left behind after removing his divinity.

The Demon God Pillars look at their new master like he is a madman but also respect for attempting an action that no much different to suicidal.

Ray gained his confidence to control All the World's Evil based on the conceptual effect of Solomon's Rings to command Demon, a creature from the sixth dimension and using it to control All the World's Evil which also is a Demon. He wants to absorb the demon to be used as a method for him to devour back the divinities.

Three hours later.

Ray succeeded. With All the World's Evil corruptive nature, he corrupted the divinity itself and removed any foreign influence before sealing it back into his soul.

(I do suggest you read Daemon and True Daemon at type-moon fandom to get a grasp of what All the World's Evil is. coz idk how to explain. They are same existence as lovecraftian gods. Another example of Deamon is Gilles tentacle thing from Fate Zero.)

Worryingly, what concerns me the most is the side effects of absorbing All the World's Evil would do to me. Ray didn't do it recklessly. Since he could manipulate souls, no way he will ever allow All the World's Evil to do anything suspicious. Although, from now on he would have to wear clothes 24/7 to cover his chests.

The bloody wound he inflicted on himself now occupied by the King of Daemons, four eyes that occupied the cavity similar to Goetia's true form. Around the eyes are red veins spread around his body like roots and it pulses with a red glow as if blood is flowing through it.

The other Demon God Pillars seem to be more accepting of Ray after his transition as they bathe in his malevolent presence which bears down its weight upon them. Perhaps, they thought Ray was attempting to become a True Daemon.

———

Sitting with everyone, talking about their recent vacation and catching up on what she missed during the trip to Teyvat.

*DUP DAP*

Tanya suddenly felt a strong throb from her heart that caused her to space out for a moment before her eyes instantly darted to Ray. It seems it wasn't just her as Charlotte, Artoria, Dvalin, Venti and Lisa also did but most of them didn't know what this odd sensation meant. Tanya did however.

"Say, Ray. Can you summon my sword and store it in your mind." Tanya's voice becomes cold like frozen tundra.

"Why did you suddenly ask such a question?" Ray looks at her with a confused look but his back is dripping with cold sweat and cursing the original.

'What the fuck have you done!' The clone made using Kaleidoscope cursed.

"Sure." The clone Trace the Greatsword of Artorias instead since the one bonded to Tanya is a unique object owned only by the Original, not him. The same as the rest of his harem's bond. He shares none of such bonds as the Original.

After looking at the sword, Tanya's face instantly fell down and casted a shadow by her bangs.

"Who are you!" Tanya instantly conjured a blade into her hand and pointed it at the clone's neck who was already trying to escape but held down by the others as Tanya interrogated him.

Kiritsugu and Irisviel already lead the children away the moment it would turn into a conflict.

Alma locks the fabric of space to prevent the clone from using a Kaleidoscope to escape. Not that he could with Rhongomyniad also locked the fabric of space in place.

"Wait! I am innocent, the original forced me to do this. I cannot disobey my creator!"

Surprisingly, the interrogation was easy because the clone spilled the beans instantly when he was on checkmate without any path to escape.

"Original? Creator?" They repeated and instantly piece the not difficult puzzle.

"Where is the real Ray!" Alma yanked the clone from the girls and shouted at him.

"He locked himself in the Temple of Time. Trying to ascend to become an edgelord probably." The clone shrugged and spat on the latter part. "Who knows, the boss seems to be brooding about something dangerous in his head and used the Demon God Pillars to initiate the Usurpation Ritual."

"How! How can he have time to do all that in such a short time?" Charlotte questioned because she only remembered Ray disappeared for a night accompanied by Venti. No way he has time to prepare a magic ritual in such a short amount of time. Not to mention Demon God Pillars? Temple of Time? When did he get those?

"Uh.. actually, we didn't just kill Dead Apostles and attack some countries. We also time travel to another dimension with his Kaleidoscope to kill the Demon he calls Goetia… and collect Solomon's Rings too…" Venti sheepishly informs the important part he should actually tell everyone.

As much as Tanya wanted to beat and hang this useless drunkard, she didn't have time to spare.

"Bring us to him. NOW." Tanya demanded.

Combined with how everyone seems to want to tear him apart, the clone concedes and opens a portal to the Temple of Time where Ray resides currently.

"Geez, the Original really does rear a bunch of vicious tigresses." The clone clutches his jewels, thanking whatever god out there his family jewels are still intact.

He rather died from disobeying the Original than being ripped apart by a pack of tigresses.

"I pray for you luck, Original. Because, hell hath no fury of a woman scorned."

After he opens the portal and sends everyone over, he disintegrates and returns to his parallel timeline.

—————

Name: Rayark von Einzbern

Age: 15 (Physical)

Rank: God

Race: Transcended Human(?)

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Main Class: Animancer

Secondary Class: Spiritual God(?)

Title: Magician of Second and Third Magic, 9th Head of Einzbern, Lord of the Undying Legion

———

STR: E

VIT: E

AGI: E

DEX: E

INT: C+++

WIS: B-

LUK: D++

(+ Means it can temporary double the stats)

(-Means it can drop under certain circumstances)

———

—[Ability]—

[Divine Power] (Master)

[Divine Reactor Core] (Master)

[Enhanced Mind] (Transcendent)

[Future Calculation] (Grandmaster)

[Precognition] (Expert)

[Spiritual Subjugation] (Master)

[Telekinesis] (Master)

[Magic Resistance] (Expert)

—[Spell/Skill]—

[Alteration] (Legend)

[Tracing] (Grandmaster)

[Time Alter] (Master)

[Tri Formation Array] (Master)

[Space-time Portal] (Master)

—[Authority]—

[Second True Magic: Kaleidoscope] (Adept) {Universe}

[Third True Magic: Heaven's Feel] (Expert) {Omniverse}

[All the World's Evil: King of Daemons] (????) -New-

[Rho Aias] (-/-)

[Rings of Solomon] (-/-) -New-

[Legion of the Undying] (Legend)

{(-/-) Mean cannot be upgraded.}

Major Divinity:

[Divinity of Magic] (Low)

[Divinity of Soul] (Mid)

[Divinity of Creation] (Low)

Minor Divinity:

[Divinity of Space] (Low)

[Divinity of Time] (Lesser)

——

7 Sins Series:

Lust (Sealed)

Greed (Sealed)

Pride (Sealed)

Wrath (Sealed)

Gluttony (Sealed)

Sloth

Envy (Sealed)

———