Tempting Fate

(Shiva POV)

Opening my eyes, I stood up from the bed, and after noticing the number of guards in the medical area, I asked one of the initiates, "What has happened? Why are there so many guards?"

The initiate I asked responded after bowing, "Lady Shiva, while you were indisposed, there was an attempted assassination of the Demon's Head, and while the assassin got away, the Demon's head shall survive as he only suffered a single stab wound to the side." How long was I out for?

As I looked at my watch, I saw that it was 7:00 pm and it was 8:00 pm yesterday when I fought Blank, and he kept me alive. I should feel angry and utterly useless, yet my mind soon began to thrum as various thoughts made their way to my mind.

What would have happened if I died? The League would have been weakened, and after this event, they would need all hands on deck, yet the fact remains that I lost. Yet, instead of feeling angry or forlorn about it, I feel excited as this blank now exists as a constant reminder for me to improve. After thinking about it, I realized I truly had stagnated in my training. 

Yes, I needed to become better. I will not allow such a loss to stand. I should thank Blank for this loss as he reminded me that I had much higher heights to attain, but thanking him will be difficult as I have never felt indebted to anyone before.

As I began walking back to the dojo, I wondered how I had healed so quickly. It may have been my innate durability. Yes, that is what it was.

(Nathan POV)

29 points for the gacha, and one day before, I can use my hundred dollars for it, but I am debating if I should roll for the high-end gacha or wait as I still need to get through the templates and powers I already have. Not only do I need to learn magic, nen, and the force, but I still need to improve my virus and its various upgrades.

While I can eventually become a jack of all trades and a master of all, I don't want to overwhelm myself just yet, and I silently thank the being who gave me these Essences for giving me the essence of the blank, as without it all of these Power Systems would be conflicting with each other eventually.

In terms of template progress:

[Sheev Palpatine (Star Wars Legends): 30%]

[Alex Mercer (Prototype 1&2) 62%]

[Emiya (Archer) (Fate): 30%]

All of them have made decent progress, and with each day, I feel my skills developing, it's like packets of knowledge being sent into my brain as the experiences of Palpatine and Archer have made my skills in weaponry grow at an astonishing rate. The force has yet to reveal all its mysteries to me. In fact, it feels like I have not even scratched the surface of its depths.

The power continues to entice me, and as I look at my hands and see the small sparks crossing between them, it shows the progress I have made. Ironically enough, the virus has made it so that if I ever hit myself with my own lightning, I won't have to worry about turning into a shriveled-up raisin thanks to the regeneration like a certain dark lord. 

But after my meeting with Death, the whispers have quieted down now and only remain there in the back of my subconscious mind. I never realized how unfocused I was spiritually, at least, but the light remained unknown to me, and I could feel the dark turning my attention to it like a possessive lover as it simply wanted me to remain in its hold.

And while this may seem nice, it only appears that way on a surface level. It's like a classic toxic relationship where it wants you to give it everything, and it leaves you with bits and pieces of what you want, and you know you can't get violent with it, or else it's going to get bad, and then worse.

Magecraft, on the other hand, is starting to reveal its potential, at least in terms of the tracing and projection side of things, as those were the only skills Archer ever really used. As the days went by, I could feel an egg-like thing building in my soul, and with every fight and spar, I felt it becoming more and more defined. But I could tell that even after finishing the assimilation of Archer, it won't be finished unless something drastic happens.

Chi training with Sensei is going as I thought, with him showing me the various uses of Chi, from enhancing yourself with it to using it as a means to heal using the ambient chi as a battery. I believe that there was a Chinese hero who, after absorbing chi from Superman, was able to exhibit similar abilities. But for now, while I realize that she can be used in other ways, they are unavailable to me as even Sensei could only use basic forms.

Ra's is still bedridden but alive, so the Lazarus Pit is unneeded, although I was tempted to have him go there so I could ping the location in my mind. Thanks to the virus, I could feel the infections I give others and even see through their eyes and hear what they hear. But I will eventually have access to their minds with time as I can feel them slowly but surely being infected.

Breathing in and out, I sit in my room as I have made a few moves as Talia has been watching me through the cameras daily.

Cheshire had been sent out to scope Gotham and look for the Owls, so word from her has gone quiet. Shiva had returned to raining today with renewed vigor but would not stop staring holes into the back of my head. I also learned that Sensei was trying to kill me earlier when he inserted his energy into my form, as how it should go being exposed to it naturally rather than being injured directly.

And I could tell from her form and focus that she had gained a decent amount of strength. But it is quite literally facing the same boss you fought over and over again but at a higher level as you've memorized all their moves. They can just hit harder and faster, kind of like Gundyr from Dark Souls 3.

My thoughts were then interrupted as I sensed Talia herself making her way to my room, and while in most cases that would be a fan boy's dream, I remained on guard. She then knocked on my door, and as I got up to answer it, she kicked the door down and tried to slash at me with her katana.

As I unsheathe my blade to block it, I simultaneously slam her stomach with a palm strike. And as she is thrown back, I ask, "I know we did not meet on the best of terms, but is this necessary?" My question remains unanswered as she tries to stab me through the chest, and I then parry using my katana. I then grip her arm and then slam my hilt into her face. And then, taking the initiative, slashed her across the leg, leaving a shallow cut.

The impact makes her drop the blade, and as I hold my own to her neck, I ask, "So, does this feel familiar?" The question makes her frown as multiple initiates surround me, and I nod to myself as yes, this is familiar. But I already got what I wanted before the fight. I had cut myself on the blade, and my virus had spread across it. 

"I know you did something. I cannot prove it, but I will get to the bottom of this. It could not have been the owls as they remain in Gotham, and they would have sued one of their talons for the mission. So remain on guard initiate as while I can endure death, you cannot." She then stands up as I sheathe my blade.

Perfect, as my blood tainted with the virus will soon infect them as well. I just needed to promote her suspicion of me far enough so that she would act in this manner, as these prideful yet stealthy types will always make such moves when pushed into a corner and lacking options and leads.

Seeing as she cannot prove my involvement, my plan moves ahead. It's almost funny as she could not even feel me enflaming her emotions with the dark side the more she watched me. This power is still developing but is very useful in certain situations. 

No matter how controlled you are, if you cannot feel a force, you cannot defend against it. Thankfully, Psimon had returned to his Fearsome Five, as my current skill level would be easily found and tracked.

"Everything is proceeding according to my design." I think to myself as I embrace my inner Palpatine. However, all of this success has done little to disprove the growing tension I feel as Murphy has yet to appear in this existence of mine.

Retribution may never come, and maybe inviolate protects me from karma, so while low, the possibility remains. With this very thought process, I may have doomed this universe to fall into the Dark Multiverse, and this fact is only added on by the fact that Emiya's luck may actually exist. 

For now, though, I take out the book from the gacha that relates to nen, and as I skim over the pages, I decide to practice my tracing as green lights appear over the book, and I absorb the information and feel the history from which it was written.

The book did hold information on Nen and some of its applications, but the four principles and other training methods were absent, as if the book was incomplete. So, for now, I should hold off on developing Hatsu, Ren, and Zetsu.

So, in order to take my mind off the disappointment, I rolled my free ten for the day.

And to my horror, I see a crate spawn in front of me, similar to that from Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and as it opens, the cards pop out.

1. Trash (Literal Trash. There Is No Treasure Here.)

2. USB Containing Every Fart Sound Effect ( Let Her RIIIP.)

3. 10 Sheets Of Lined Paper (When They Tell You To Read Between The Lines And Find Nothing.)

4. IOU One Gacha (Hello Nothing, My Old Friend.)

5. Magnifying Glass (Burn Insects Burn!!)

6. Set Of Two Yo Yo's (It Do Go Down)

7. Parachute Backpack (Catch Some Air. Note: If You Have A Fear Of Heights, Do Not Attempt.)

8. Umbrella (The Kingsmen) (Manners Maketh Man)

9. Bespoke Suit (Represent The Power Of Drip)

10. Set Of Golden Dice (Star Wars) ( Dice Made The Kessel Run In Less Than 12 Parsecs)

This is definitely a sign.

(This is a shorter chapter today as I am reaching a bit of choice paralysis as I am struggling with where to go next with the story as the cosmology and scale of DC's New 52 are immen8se, so give me ideas, and I shall see what I can do.)