Chapter 26: The Passage of Time – Interlude 2; Fighting Against the Force of Fate

** Jang Maldong POV **

It has been a year and a half since the kid showed up out of nowhere at my house and convinced me to train him. Initially, I was reluctant of the idea; I was already retired and had trained many Olympic athletes and martial artists who, in one way or another, left their names in the Olympic or national records.

So, I retired satisfied and came to rest at my country house in Incheon, where I lived for a long time with my late wife. Due to life's circumstances, I was infertile, and we never managed to have children, and we never decided to adopt. So, after she passed away and I retired, I could only stay here to spend my last days in peace, or well... that was the idea, but this last year and a half turned everything I knew about the world upside down.

First, the arrival of the kid who asked me to train him with the absurd idea of surpassing the limits of the human body. When he asked me, I thought he was another one of those lost youths of today who consume any hallucinogenic substance to escape reality, but seeing his stable posture and the clear signs of a martial artist, I knew he was not a drug addict.

But still, wanting to surpass the human limit is impossible. I don't say it because it's difficult or something, I say it because it is literally impossible. There are biological studies that prove it, and the body of every living being is limited by its own species, biology, and DNA. It is not like if you train your whole life to the maximum limit you can surpass the limits.

You can reach the maximum potential of the body, but surpassing it is just not possible. It takes years of evolution and passing improved genes from generation to generation, and continuing to improve them for the next generation for small improvements in the characteristics of a species to occur, but doing it in a single generation is impossible.

So I told the young man to give up any delusional dreams, to look for a realistic goal like being an Olympic athlete. Just by looking at his physique superficially, I can say that he is already at the silver medal level at least, if he refines it, he can surely be a gold medal athlete or even break world records, but chasing impossible dreams is a waste of talent.

However, what he showed me that day will stay with me for life. The young man, who introduced himself as Seol Jihu, showed me that he was born with abilities that already surpass reason and the natural. He demonstrated that he is capable of enhancing his base physical capacity and increasing it several times. I saw him lift 1 ton of weight, which is impossible even for the best bodybuilder focused on weightlifting in the world. If I remember correctly, the current world record is 501 kilograms, and the bodybuilder who achieved that record revealed that he uses steroids to stimulate muscle growth and development, so it can be considered the peak of the current human being in terms of weightlifting. But before my eyes, I saw the young man whose physique does not seem suitable for weightlifting lift 1 ton, double the weight of the world record.

For a moment, I thought I was hallucinating or that perhaps they changed the condiments in the food with drugs, but I quickly recomposed myself and recognized the reality before me. I meticulously checked the weights and the measuring equipment with which the young man performed the tests, and it was definitely real; he lifted a whole ton of weight in front of me.

After that, we talked a lot and at length, and he told me most of his story and his goals. He told me that he was born with great abilities and potential, but that he has trained them on his own throughout his life, and that years ago he met a supernatural being from another world who asked for his help to save their world from an alien invasion. The young man agreed but said he needed time to prepare, and now he seeks my help to train him and help him surpass human limits to be able to help the other world. Everything seemed like something out of a fantasy movie, but at the very least the existence of his supernatural abilities I have already seen. As for the other world, at that time I was still skeptical, but a few months later, I was personally invited to that place to help with the same cause.

All these events revived my passion for training great people, and this time I was more motivated. I was no longer helping to train people for ambitious dreams of fame and money; now I was helping to train people who fought for a just cause, who fought to save another world. For a while, I thought that was the case.

But unfortunately, the greedy and petty nature of humanity showed me its worst face. Many of those I trained in that place, when they reached the strength to make a notable change in favor of that world, they instead used it only to take advantage and make profits.

I felt disappointed and betrayed by many and thought about quitting several times, but I always remembered the words the young man told me during our first year. He said, "Keep supporting the other world as much as you can, maintain hope, and when you feel you can no longer continue, take a break. When the time comes, I will join that side, and we will turn the tables. I promise you, master, I will make them pay for everything." His words, plus the fact that not everyone I trained on that side betrayed me, are the source of the strength that still drives me to move forward.

For young Jihu, it may have only been a year and a half since we met, but for me, who have been living much of the time in the Lost Paradise, it has already been four and a half years. Time passes faster there than here on Earth; one day on Earth is equal to three days in the Lost Paradise, and although I do not spend all the time there, the truth is that I have spent most of my time in that place.

And now I am back in Paradise, taking care of an important matter that the young man entrusted to me. He said that this could save a person from a fate worse than the most horrible death and could save an entire kingdom from its demise, so I had no objection to fulfilling his request. The request is simple: deliver three letters, one to the temple of Luxuria, one to the king of Scheherazade, and the last one to Queen Roe Scheherazade, which I found curious since at this moment in the royal family of Scheherazade, only Queen Roe is present.

The King, who was her father, died a few months after we Earthlings arrived in the Lost Paradise, in a confrontation between the human armies and the armies of the parasites. Then her son, who was Roe's older brother, assumed the throne, but he died two years ago in another confrontation. After that, Queen Roe, who was only a 17-year-old girl at the time, was forced to assume the throne as the last member of her royal family. And now that two years have passed in Paradise time since she took the throne, she is now 19 years old and not married, but she has a fiancé who is from a noble family of the kingdom.

When I asked Jihu what to do with the letter intended for the king who is already dead, he told me he was referring to Queen Roe's husband, but since she is not yet married, then I should deliver it to the fiancé.

And now here I am at the temple of Luxuria to deliver the first letter. I found it strange that he asked me to deliver it not to the priests or bishops of the temple but instead to speak directly with Luxuria-nim. But considering that he said the deities asked for help even before they invited the humans to Paradise, it makes sense that the deities receive his letter.

When I arrived and bowed before the statue of Luxuria, I immediately received her attention.

"Hello, it's good to see you again, young Jang. It's strange for you to go out of your way to visit my temple; it has been quite a while since we last spoke. What brings you here son of Superbia?" said a clear and sweet voice that awakens feelings that at my age should no longer stir.

*Cough* *Cough* "Excuse my rudeness Luxuria-nim, but could you please contain your charm? It is not good for the health of this old man who is still young in your eyes," I said as respectfully as possible. I know that deities are very powerful and containing their divinity is not easy, but of all the deities, Luxuria-nim is definitely the one that can cause the most trouble for a man, regardless of his age.

"Sorry young Jang, it was my mistake. It's a bad habit I developed to annoy the naughty children, and sometimes I forget and end up using it without restraint. There, you should no longer feel anything strange," she said with a rather innocent voice like that of a little girl who has committed a minor mischief. It really is difficult to face Luxuria-nim.

"Thank you, I feel better. The reason for my visit is to deliver a message. I was asked to bring it from Earth, and fortunately, papers with few writings are possible to bring because the person who asked me to bring the message told me that it is something that no one, not even myself, should see.

It is only allowed for the deities to see it, or Causality might play a bad trick according to what he said. I also bring two more messages, but these have two different recipients, and I can only deliver them if you give me permission after reading the first message. The person who sends it told me to give you the name of Alex Diaz, and you would understand," I said, trying to explain everything that Jihu asked me to say to Luxuria-nim when delivering the message intended for her.

Luxuria-nim remained silent for a few seconds after listening to me, but then I felt a terrifying force rummaging through my pockets from where the three letters that Jihu gave me flew out.

I was a bit surprised because I did not expect such an intense reaction. The deities are always quite considerate and respectful with the Earthlings. I actually expected her to kindly ask me to hand over the letters, not for her to take them from me abruptly by force as a child would when he finds out his father brought them a new toy.

But what happened next surprised me even more. The temple of Luxuria-nim immediately began to shake violently, and then I was overwhelmed by six other presences as strong as that of Luxuria-nim, and I could no longer withstand the pressure. Everything turned black, and I lost consciousness.

** The seven deities of the Lost Paradise POV **

"You all took longer to come to my temple than I thought. Did you also notice the changes in the stars?" said Luxuria with a sweet and mischievous voice.

"You know we would not be here if it were not for that reason. Now explain what is happening," said Gula with a worried tone.

"True, it caused a new fork in the future. That is not a simple feat. I really want to know and keep the cause of such an effect," said Avaritia with some intrigue.

"Stop the nonsense, explain quickly, I don't want to waste much time. I could take this opportunity to rest and gather strength," said Acedia with such a tired tone, that anyone would think she hasn't rested in quite a long time, and the weak-willed might even catch her lethargy.

"Silence! Luxuria, explain what is happening and show what was sent before I get angry!" exclaimed Ira in an exalted tone, clearly already angry.

"Yes, it's not fair that only you know, I want to know too," said Invidia with much envy in her tone.

"Well?" said Superbia in a proud tone, making it clear that she has more right than the others to demand answers.

"You are the ones wasting time, if you weren't all so heavy I would have already explained. What happened is that my prince sent me 3 letters from Earth. One is addressed to me and the others are for 2 people here in Paradise, and the forks of new possibilities appeared at the moment these letters came into my influence, but I have not yet seen their content. Now that we are all here however, let's see what the one addressed to me says," said Luxuria with an excited and very sensual tone.

All the deities directed their divine senses to the letter in question and immediately read its content. It appears to be written in an Earth language, but that is not a problem for the deities who easily translated it into an understandable form with their divine powers. The content is as follows:

>> Hello beautiful Noona, it's been a while since we last saw each other. I want you to know that I have not forgotten my promise at any moment and I am almost ready to come to your aid, but the time is not yet right, you will still have to hold on there a little longer. The reason for this letter is, first, to remind you of our promise.

Second; with my eyes, I have seen new things, things that are not pleasant and that I would like to avoid, such as the tragic future of a woman and her kingdom that fell to the greed of the Earthlings, so I want to change that future at all costs. In this letter is my plan, and I hope you can decide based on the results it can bring to your world. Personally, I don't think they are very negative, but from this side, I can't see it clearly, so I leave the decision to you and the other deities of the Lost Paradise.

My plan is based on the fact that I know that an amulet with your Oath has been granted to each member of the royal families and promised to grant another one to each new member who joins, either by marriage or by birth.

I know that the Oath can fulfill a divine wish and that is why it has many strict requirements to be used correctly to prevent third parties from coercing its owners to ask for the wish in their names, but what I ask is not difficult. I ask for a modification to the requirements and that in case it is to ensure the safety and well-being of its bearer, the Oath is activated immediately if the wish of said bearer is to be saved or rescued from their situation, even if their wish is not said with words or thoughts, that the Oath is activated with even a subconscious desire and the situation warrants it.

That is the request I have for you to modify the restrictions of such Oaths. If you accept this request, then I ask that you translate the other 2 letters I sent into the Paradisiacal language and put a seal of the temples of the 7 deities on them to legitimize them. In this way, when Master Jang Maldong delivers them to their recipients, they will not suspect their legitimacy. <<

"What do you think? We had already seen that future and given how things are, we know everything was heading in that direction, but the moment these letters came into my domain, new forks appeared that offer new opportunities," said Luxuria now with a tone more serious than anything else.

"It's fascinating how a small note with writings can change things. We can see the path and the possible outcomes, but we cannot tell mortals to prevent them. If we warn them of what we saw, the Parasite Queen will automatically obtain a way to counter our solution because Causality and Fate do not allow us to interfere directly in mortal affairs due to our vows," said Gula in a serious tone as well.

"Yes, but if the knowledge and intervention come from another mortal, then Causality will not be as strong, and the Queen's cards to prevent the event will be less effective," said Ira.

"But at the same time, since the intervention comes from a mortal, it will still be facing the force of Fate, and Fate is not easy to change. It may be that his intervention does not have the strength to change anything, and everything remains the same," said Superbia.

"We should not discard the new forks that appeared just because of these letters. That alone shows that the power of Fate behind this mortal is not weak. It may work," said Avaritia.

"He has the eyes of the Golden Constellation. If only actions as small as his letters can create new forks, that means his eyes have developed much more than we originally expected," said Acedia, whom despite her normally lazy behavior, just spoke with much more energy than would be believed possible.

"Luxuria, you said it was impossible for him to develop his eyes in an environment as poor in mana as Earth, but this clearly shows that he exceeded your expectations by far. If that is the case, I see no problem in agreeing to his request. The worst that can happen is that fate is stronger and corrects its course," said Invidia.

"Are you forgetting about the 'Parasite Bitch'? If we agree to this request, she will have a clearer view of him when he enters here. If so, we will not be able to hide him from her, even with our divinities together," said an angry Luxuria.

"Foolish, what is the point of trying to hide him when the effect of his letters was already a clear indication that it will be impossible to do so. You can't cover the sun with a finger. The moment he enters the Lost Paradise, the 'Parasite Bitch' will see him as clearly as the sun at noon. She has the sight of the supreme deity after having usurped her throne. Seeing that your prince has already developed the sight of the Golden Constellation, hiding him will be impossible," said Ira, much angrier than usual.

"Fine, then we will accept his request. Those in favor, agree, and those against, disagree. Vote, " said Superbia while indicating that she agreed.

"Agreed," said Gula.

"Agreed," said Ira.

"Agreed," said Invidia.

"Agreed," said Acedia.

"Agreed," said Avaritia.

"Disagree," said Luxuria, but all the other deities looked at her with annoyance, so reluctantly she said, "Fine, I also agree."

With that, they translated the other two letters and returned them to Jang Maldong, who was still unconscious in the temple of Luxuria. Then the other deities returned to their own temples, and Luxuria woke Jang before saying goodbye and telling him that the request for the letters was approved and that he has to complete his mission to deliver them to their recipients.