Chapter 13 - Destinies Entwined?

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

[System]

|<Future Sight>|

…

(First POV: Boros)

[June 7th, 04:57:48, 2248] - (Five Minutes Ago)

I was currently working on a fourth—third floor if you didn't count the room I was held in.

This floor was going to be an impossible-to-pass floor, and the order of floors would change eventually, but as of now, I needed to protect the dungeon core by separating my floor from high-level players.

I made this floor 5 kilometers by 5 kilometers, as this was going to be a big step up if I could correctly make it.

I placed tall mountains everywhere and kept the area covered in near-constant thunderstorms. I also had the large white rabbit from floor 1, which is now stored on this floor.

I had disabled the talent of the original Great Rabbits, so the snow storms should no longer be possible on floor 1. The second part of my plan was starting.

I was going to allow the players to fully grind as I then waited for them to push forward, only for them to run into me, thus feeding me their newly gained levels.

I also made a sword for Dimoultion not too long ago; I called it the "Demon King Candidate's Longsword," even though it was technically alive.

In total, both the sword and the extra floor cost me 317 points. Upon buying the floor, the locked options opened up a little bit.

[1km x 1km: 50 points]

[2km x 2km: 100 points]

[5km x 5km: 250 points]

[10km x 10km: 500 points]

[25km x 25km: 1,250 points]

[Locked]

[Locked]

[Locked]

As I keep buying the biggest floor size I can, it will just keep supplying me with bigger sizes. I could probably create an entire universe if I had enough points.

Looking at my points:

[Points: 1,843.98]

It wasn't enough for the creature I wanted to make the guardian of this floor. Of course, I could get a singular one, but I didn't want to without getting the entire race.

With that done, I decided to go back to my holding floor. I only made a doorway as the way to get back to my floor due to the fact that the floor wasn't done yet.

As soon as I opened the door...

*BANG*

I heard a massive bang. Walking through the door and closing it behind me, I was put directly to the left of the throne, right below the steps up to it.

I walked up the steps to the throne and watched as Dimoultion began barraging a human that was stuck against the wall, as he had been pierced by the sword I gave Dimoultion.

Sitting down on the throne, I allowed the fight to continue with myself as a spectator. It would give Dimoultion more practical fighting experience.

('My creator...')

The hive spoke into my mind, assuring me that it wasn't dead.

'How did he get past you?' I thought outwardly without any emotion.

('He had made himself completely invisible to physical senses, and by the time I caught him due to his emotional state, he was already at the door.') The hive's tone of speaking was very similar to that of someone with depression.

'It matters not; continue doing as you were previously.' I thought as I continued to watch the fight unfold in front of me.

('Yes, my creator!') The hive, with a newfound determination, stopped telepathic communication after saying that.

This young man was different. Who gets cut in half from the waist and then continues fighting?

I had a feeling he was someone I had seen before, but I couldn't draw a full conclusion due to the mask.

He has no reason to be here or to be fighting as if his entire bloodline is on the line.

"Out of respect for you, Dimoultion, I have created a statue to honor you, a warrior that has fallen in battle!" The young man said with an insane smile on his face.

To say that to a knight still alive was one thing, but to say it in front of a knight currently protecting their king was another entirely different subject.

Dimoultion was obviously furious, and even with the binds holding onto the knight, they were immediately broken as the knight rushed forward.

I could immediately tell it was a trap, and Dimoultion definitely knew it was, as the provocation was too blatant.

Yet the living armor rushed in any way.

As Dimoultion was hit with whatever that last attack was and flung into the wall, I knew I didn't have enough status points to win the fight.

As the young man was about to finish off Dimoultion, I decided it was time for me to speak up.

"That is enough."

The human's posture froze instantly the second he heard my voice before violently turning around with a swing of his knife.

His face held a small amount of surprise as he realized I wasn't behind him but sitting on the throne.

'That move...' my thoughts cleared as I began to realize something. 'That move is used against opponents way faster than someone else to ensure that whoever is behind them is hit, as people who are way faster like to attack from behind.'

But I was weak; why try to use it on me? I couldn't understand his train of thought or his logic.

But as the person looked at me, I could see the fear in his eyes, as if I were the devil himself. But... I have never been seen by this person in my life.

This person was obviously afraid of me, and even though I currently had no way to stand up to his strength, I must play the role of an eminence in shadow. I must fake it till I make it!

"Well done for beating my subordinate, but besides beating my subordinate, what do you hope to achieve by being before me?" I spoke with a tone that held a mixture of pride and confusion.

The man's facial features highlighted his fear, anger, and desperation as all emotions combined into one expression.

"I originally came here to kill you, but I found myself only asking questions and finding answers." As the man spoke, I felt myself becoming more confused.

"I thought that if I killed you, then I could erase the evil you would bring. But I came to the conclusion that even though I may hate you with all my heart, want to throw up at the sound of your voice, and even want to slit your throat, I would only be destroying one evil, and another would take its place."

As the human in front of me spoke, I saw his face go from small amounts of fear and anger to full-fledged confidence.

"I've had a long time to contemplate what I would do and say once I got here, but the reason I've come to your dungeon and stood in front of you now is because I want 50% of your dungeon!" As the person finished his sentence, I could only be dumbfounded.

"What?" I was beyond confused.

"You heard me, I want-"

"I heard you." I instantly interrupted his incessant prattle and stood up from the throne. "You want 50% of my dungeon, but why exactly 50%?"

"If I don't have equivalent power to you, then how could I reduce your evil? If I were your subordinate, then you'd be able to order me around all you want, so I need 50% of the dungeon if I truly want to make a change."

The man in front of me, half-naked, looked more than confident and even had a smirk on his face as if congratulating himself for coming up with the idea.

"You break into my dungeon..." I began walking down the steps of the throne as I spoke. "Kill my kin, attack my right hand, and then ask for 50% of MY DUNGEON?"

As I stood in front of the person, only three feet away, my height completely towered over theirs. I was instantly about to reject his offer and verbally spit in his face for such an idiotic idea. However, I saw something that made me pause.

[You have gained the title: Seen By The Changer.]

[Seen By The Changer:

- The Changer has kept returning to view you. Catching the sight of this being could be good or bad…

- Mana capacity increased by 50.

- Title can grow into something more…]

'Tzeentch...' With that thought, everything was explained to me.

The changer had found his way to my doorstep, manipulating a mortal man to do his bidding for the great game and his perfect plan.

Yet I saw not a single bit of chaos or corruption in the body of this person.

'Maybe if I check his soul?' I wasn't sure about it, but the thought was tempting.

As I was now, I couldn't see his soul without it leaving his body. But what if I tried to use both [Soul Sight] and [Power Sensing Sight]?

Activating [Power Sensing Sight] I was greeted with a glowing orange aura that radiated from his body. It wasn't massive, nor was it everywhere; it attached to his body like a second skin, and small whisps of it would flow off of him and disappear.

Next, I activated [Soul Sight], and the aura around his body changed colors. There was a massive amount of white and black with bits of blue that radiated off his body the same way it did before I activated [Soul Sight].

The biggest change was that I could see his soul in his chest, near where his heart was. His soul shared the same colors that radiated outside his body, but there was something different.

There was a bit of bright, cyan-like blue hiding in the dark blue. In other words, this man in front of me is slowly losing his soul to the changer.

It was sickly to look at, as the cyan-like blue didn't mesh with the dark blue and instead festered like a disease.

"You said you wanted 50% of my dungeon, right?" A massive smile grew on my face as my brain went into overdrive.

If the changer wanted to fuck me over so badly, why don't I fuck him over? He wanted to use this person to further his plans, so let me use him to further mine!

"Yeah, that's what I said." The human in front of me said with a smidge of confusion.

"What is your name, human?"

"Dust."

I was doing everything I could to fight back my would-be mouth-tearing smile.

"If you want 50% of my dungeon, you'll have to fight me for it," I said as Dust's face visibly paled.

"But, as I see it now, you're weakened, low on supplies, and tired. That isn't fair to you at all; it is no fun fighting a man on the verge of death." As I spoke, I began walking back to my throne. "In 72 hours, you will return to my dungeon in order to fight me for 50% of it."

As I sat down, I saw Dust's thinking face.

"What about the inhabitants of the dun-"

"That will be taken care of; they will make a path for you; not one of them will attack you on your way in or out of this dungeon," I said as I quickly interrupted him.

"But if I am going to do a favor for you, you shall need to do a favor for me. Before those three days are up, I need you to activate this item." I said as an item appeared in my hand.

'This is where my gamble begins, Tzeentch!' I thought with an internally insane laugh.

I threw the item at Dust, and he immediately caught it.

"What is this?" Dust looked at the item with confusion.

"I call it the Behelit—don't use any appraisals on it—otherwise known as the Egg of the King. You will have to activate it before the three-day timer for our battle has ended. Do you accept?" After I finished speaking, an absolute calm expression was shown on my face.

The Behelit looked like a crimson egg with four weirdly shaped bumps that looked randomly placed. It had a chain attached to it as well.

Normally I wouldn't be able to make such an item, but as I found out with the rabbits, as long as it is small, all talents and skills will be at a reduced price.

If I made a large dragon and gave it skills, the price should be massively increased, but if I made a rabbit and gave it the same skills, the price would be massively reduced.

Making the Behelit to my liking took a lot of my points, but it was overall worth it if he could truly activate it.

"How do you even activate this thing?" Dust spoke as he looked at the Behelit and then at me.

"You need to sacrifice for it. Family members, friends, or even random people, but quantity can beat quality. If you sacrifice family members, you might not have enough to activate it.

Once you have enough people gathered, let the Behelit come into contact with your blood." I spoke with pure indifference as I explained what needed to be done to activate the item.

Dust now looked at the item with disgust.

"Can we do some other deal? Can I have any other option?" Dust had asked me, but I just stared at him.

For a good 30 seconds, we sat in silence, with Dust growing more and more mortified over time.

'Sometimes silence is the best option. Let your opponent make up falsehoods in their mind about what you might do instead of allowing them to know what will happen. Fear of the unknown is powerful.

"Do you accept these terms, Dust?" I said as I continued staring at him. It was important I said it this way so a quest would be generated by the system.

"I... I... I accept..." Dust seemingly tried to find some way out of it but could only relent and accept.

With that, I smiled.

"Now that we have reached an agreement on something, would you mind giving one of your healing vials to Dimoultion?" I spoke with that soft smile still on my face.

"Alright, I guess..."

"Also, next time you meet a being of my caliber, do try not to have your genitalia out; succubi may be supportive of it, but I am not."

As soon as I spoke those words, Dust looked down, blushed, and covered his genitals with his hands.

"If you don't like it, then stop looking!" Dust screamed as he ran to where his other bottom half was.

'Such a weird human; the things he says and does make no sense. As if he is a paradox of oddities and contradictions.' I thought with a frown.

Yet I had no reason to worry; if everything goes according to plan, then I will find out exactly who he is.

…

(First POV:)

[???, ??:??:??, ????]

As I walked through the wasteland that could only be described as chaos waste, I bled.

My body was bloody and broken, but I continued to walk. The planet Earth was... gone.

Somehow, through the game Entwined Destines, the ruinous powers of chaos were able to materialize.

Players began getting the powers and races of their characters in the real world, and all hell broke loose.

It started with the people trying to play hero and villain, but ultimately all crashed down when the first worshippers of chaos finally opened the gates for their masters.

'Thank God Azaogdesz died...' I thought as I internally cringed. We would have quickly lost the fight if the full force of a prime Azaogdesz had been there on day one.

But I was the last one. Not last, as in last resistance or the last one fighting, I was the last human alive.

I was currently dying, and not as much in my body as a potion could heal that. I had fought the Everchosen in one-on-one combat and taken soul damage.

As he was honorable to the very end, he allowed me to choose my deathbed.

As I took another step forward, I hit an invisible field and walked through it. The entire planet was nothing but black, unlivable ground, with the corruption of the four chaos gods all around.

My surroundings quickly changed. Green grass, nice and cool sunlight, and a singular tree that provided nice shade. This would be my deathbed.

Yet there was already someone hogging half the tree. He was sitting under the tree with an everlasting calm expression.

"Yo, Grin, can you make room for one more? Especially for your old pal Dust, right?" Even though I was bleeding from my mouth, I still cracked jokes.

This place held multiple invisible fields that deterred people and prevented the forces of chaos from finding it. It also froze time for anything in this field that was dead.

As I took a seat in the grass under the tree next to Grin, I laid my head back against the bark of the tree.

"You know, it was hard without you, Grin. I tried to be a hero, but I failed." I began laying out all my sad failures on Grin. "I know you're dead, but you truly were the best mentor and the strongest."

Grin was dressed in the armor he died in, a full draconic set that seemed like a secondary skin. His armor even had a tail.

Even though I was desperate, I would never desecrate his final resting place with my greed.

"I'm the last one..." Tears were welling in my eyes as I could barely get out what I was trying to say. "I'm the only one who remembers all of you guys."

"I know I was strong, but I should have been stronger. I could never craft the gear you could, no matter how much I tried, Grin." Tears fell from my eyes as my vision was becoming a little blurry. "Who would have guessed the alchemist and blacksmith dual classes would bite me in the ass? I should have known I couldn't be like you guys..."

"And now I'm here, sitting next to the dead body of my best friend, who was my mentor and considered the strongest of all players." As I let it all out, I couldn't help but notice a bird land on the branch of the tree.

'It doesn't matter; I should just rest now.' I thought without any pressure for the first time since the world turned to shit.

"But what if you could save them?" A voice called out to me.

"Who said that?" I opened my eyes, slowly turned my head, and saw no one.

"I did. The crow on the branch."

As that was said, I looked at the crow once again; it had three eyes.

"What do you want, Changer?"

"What if you could save them?" The crow's voice sounded like what I wanted to hear, but that's because it was temptation speaking in my ear.

"What does it matter to you? You already won! Congratulations on winning, fucker." I snapped at the crow.

"But that's where you're wrong."

That caused me to pause and stare at the crow questioningly as my vision further blurred.

"What are you talking about?"

"We, the four chaos gods, have succeeded in invading this world, and the universe will soon fall. However, once this universe is destroyed, there will be no change. I do not want this, so I ask, Do you not want to try to save your people?" The crow's head turned very quickly and bird-like as it spoke.

"Even if I do, I'll probably have my soul snatched by you the second I agree, and even if that doesn't happen, my soul is currently shattering," I spoke with some difficulty as I spit up more blood.

"But what if you could?"

"You're the god of liars; why would I believe you?"

"Because you're desperate, that's why you'll believe me, because humans hope."

I cringed at his words because he was right—I was the last person alive, not affected by the chaos gods.

"What is it that you'll do if I agree?" I spoke with the utmost caution, but with my vision finally starting to give out, I couldn't continue much further.

"Your soul is dying; in order to heal you, I'll send you to the past and have you reconnect with your past's soul. In the past, you could stop us from winning to bring back your people. After all, their souls were eaten, so no amount of heaven or hell will save them."

His words were starting to sound good. If only I had more time...

"I... agree as long as you don't turn me into one of your disgusting servants."

"Of course, see you in the past, last hope of humanity, Dust." Those were the final words I heard from the crow as everything turned dark.

…

(A/N: Sorry for the late post. Writing background information took a lot longer than I thought it would. Besides that it is now confirmed Dust is a Regressor!!! How will the future play out with him trying to change it??)