Sovereign of the Karmic System

583 A Feat of Patience

As Fate repeated the name ‘Conflict’ to himself, he finally realized what was happening. A vortex of questions began rotating within his mind, all falling into place as if to uncover a piece of fate’s fabric that he himself had never seen.

Why had Conflict personally stopped the destruction of that specific universe? Why had he adopted that universe into his territory? Why had his domain refused the other domains’ help in eradicating Destiny’s spawn, protecting their territory until it was too late? Suddenly, everything became clear.

With a clearer mind the young boy turned towards the old man, who was now parading a smile as wide as his leathery face allowed him. “You planned all of this?”

The old man nudged his head to the side, his hand rose and rapidly fell, as if he was attempting to swat a pestering fly. “Planned is the wrong word, brother.. I was so tired of constantly losing.. Turns out, I was just playing the wrong game.” he said with a hint of embarrassment that was betrayed by the satisfied grin he was wearing.

Fate’s enraged expression was a ray of sunshine for Destiny, who basked in it wholeheartedly, drawing from it an infinite amount of happiness and satisfaction-So much so that he could not remain sitting anymore.

With a promptness that did not match his old appearance, Destiny firmly planted his feet on the partially molten floor and stood up while revealing, “I feel embarrassed for having taken so long to find the right path. To think that it was as simple as finding someone who was more interested in damaging you, rather than preventing me from winning our argument.”

“What surprised me the most, however, is how it all escaped your eyes.. After all, you are all-seeing, and you and Conflict never saw eye to eye.”

—–.ᴄᴏᴍ

What Destiny said, unfortunately, was undeniably true. Of all the leading members of the chaotic faction that had opposed him in the past, one had always stood out in Fate’s mind. That entity was, of course, the aspect of Conflict.

While the motive of most members of the chaotic faction was to eradicate what they believed to be an abomination against their nature, Conflict had a different goal.

Born within a power produced by every form of conflict in existence, be it something as feeble as the low attrition of a bird’s feathers against the wind, or something as vast as the gravitational pull of a star.. The aspect of Conflict was, just like Fate, one of the highest ranking aspects in the pantheon of existence.

A being that had existed for so long, that neither he nor his peers could remember who had been born first. An infinitely long amount of time these beings had spent comparing their powers, and arguing over the level of importance the aspect they represented occupied within the plane of existence.

These arguments, however, unlike that between Destiny and Fate, had always ended up in a stalemate, for the powers of such beings were so immense that no matter how many banded up together, or who was the victim of the assault, their existences were simply unshakeable-to a point where, for one of them to be extinguished, it was as crazy a notion as believing that soil could extinguish wind on a planet. The simple idea was devoid of reason.

Due to their inability to eradicate one another, these aspects of existence had, with time, decided to coexist peacefully. This peace, however, was built upon brittle foundations, for among immortal gods, which one did not wish to rule over the others?

Unfortunately, the powers of these entities were also the place their aspirations went to die.

Oppressive and never ending, these powers, since their creation, had never grown. No more fate to uncover, no more conflict to be had, no more design than what had already been designed-their powers were like sealed vats of water, never to see one more drop ever again.

Or at least, that was what they were all led to believe.

—–

Right at the peak of Destiny’s gloating, both him and Fate turned towards the darkness of space, which was now illuminated by the scalding floor they both stood on.

“I cannot remember how long it has been since your last visit..” Fate muttered as his sharp eyes shone a light onto a slowly forming dark silhouette, similar to that of Order, but much more stable, unthreatened by the power of Fate. This silhouette was completely smooth, and pitch black. Its only distinguishable feature was a pair of lidded red eyes that shone with the intensity of two red stars.

As this pair of eyes landed on the aspect of Fate, the black patch underneath them split horizontally, revealing a rift-like mouth. “It has been a long time coming.” said a demonic voice which appeared to have crawled its way out of the deepest parts of hell. There was no courtesy in this voice, nor respect or affection.. only the scorn an emperor would feel in seeing his long lost rival struggle to not be dethroned. He, of course, was the aspect of Conflict.

“You don’t look in good health.” Conflict said as his eyes shifted from the young boy to the universe that surrounded him. In it, he could feel the oppressive power of Fate run amok, fueled by the emotions of one of the very few people he would have truly considered one of his peers. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ ꪶ

Slightly embarrassed by being seen in his current state, yet unwilling to entertain small talks, the aspect of Fate regained as much composure as he could, then inquired, “What did you gain from this? We are not the only two primordial aspects of existence, and weakening me won’t put you above the others.” His tiny fists unclenched, and the universe stopped vibrating.

His immense power had only been reduced by a small fraction, yet, when put into scale to his immense power, losing even a fraction of that power was something worthy of notice. Defeated, he now wanted clarity.

The rift-like mouth of Conflict’s avatar momentarily assumed a human-like shape, just long enough to form a simple smile. “In your omniscience, brother Fate.. You were always short-sighted.” Conflict muttered as his eyes turned to Destiny, whose powers were growing, and solidifying alongside his status as a true aspect of existence. Not a byproduct of Fate anymore, but a true and undisputed part of nature.

Moments later, Conflict turned to look back at Fate, and with an even wider smile, one that revealed the elation he was feeling thanks to the success of his plan, he muttered, “Bound to fate or up to destiny.. I never had any interest in which of you two was right.. Weakening you was but a bonus, for me.” His demonic voice resounded throughout the universe like a roar of thunder, slashing past the now weakened and unstable power of fate like a sword through paper.

“When he first appeared, I thought the wars created by his abnormal existence would be enough to fuel my powers.. To push me ahead of you and the rest, but that never happened. He was too similar to you.” Conflict said, catching the attention of the unstable avatar of Order, and the ecstatic aspect of Destiny. “His existence added nothing to mine.. Unlike that of his spawn.”

Suddenly, Fate remembered. His mind drifted on the pearly white canvas that was the universe’s fate, and on it, he saw memories of a distant past. Uncountable images appeared, scrolling by the billion in but a blink of an eye.. Then slowed down, more and more, until a specific memory was revealed.

In this memory, in what used to be an ancient meeting place for the aspects of existence, thousands of deities stood on pure gold pillars, while staring down at the abnormal existence of a younger Destiny. Their eyes filled with disdain as he made his case for why he deserved to be considered part of their kin just like everybody else.

These thousands of entities were split into two sides. One that demanded Destiny’s execution, and the other, who vehemently opposed them.

The only beings capable of maintaining their composure were the ancient aspects of existence, who, more than anyone else, wanted to find a permanent solution to this problem. While every other aspect of existence argued with muted voices, Fate and Destiny discussed under the attentive gazes of Fate’s peers.

Thousands of years had this meeting lasted, and not a step forward had been made. Yet, when the possibility of an all out war between the two factions started to materialize, a few words caught the attention of the semi-aspect of existence.

With eyes full of interest Destiny listened to these words, until finally, he turned towards Fate, and he proposed to join him in a bet.

Every moment Fate dug into unearthed a memory, a detail of the day that had ultimately led to his defeat. Nevertheless, reliving a mistake was not what Fate was looking for. With peering eyes he focused not on his memories, but those of others. To the man that challenged his existence, to the words which had solved a long dilemma, and to the identity of the being who had whispered in his opponent’s ear.

Sure enough, the voice he heard was that of Conflict.

With a seductive tone that promised to fulfill Destiny’s deepest dream, Conflict suggested that the two took part in a bet.

Shell-shocked by the revelation, the aspect of existence stopped focusing on the tapestry of fate, and once again joined the others in the present. Then, like a dispirited chorus, his many voices chanted in unison, “You did not care about me falling down a step, because if successful, his champions would create more conflict for you.. Unnatural conflict that will elevate your powers above ours.”

Once again, Conflict’s rift-like mouth took the shape of a grin. From behind his immovable smile, the demonic voice resounded once again, “Just a bit of time. It will only take a fraction of the time we’ve been alive.. I’ll reach heights you and I have never seen before, brother.”

Conflict’s words weighed heavily on Fate’s already dispirited mind, yet, they did not cause it to fall apart. Instead, they had an oddly calming effect on him, almost as if unveiling a truth Fate had yet to understand about the multiverse he believed he was such a fundamental part of.

Slowly, his chubby hands relaxed, his face, once contorted in confusion and shock, eased back into their original peaceful state. As if reflecting his state of mind, the power of fate of which the universe was filled, and that was vibrating and eroding anything it came in contact with, stopped moving.

A faint smile appeared on Fate’s child-like face. “I was too complacent.” he muttered with a matter-of-fact tone. His chubby arms brushed over his clothes, straightening them over his body. He then turned to look at the pair of demonic eyes attached to Conflict’s silhouette, and added, “Maybe our consciousness isn’t without purpose.. Maybe we exist to enforce the nature of our existence.”

Conflict’s eyes narrowed, yet, before he could respond, Fate waved his hand, creating a wave of unstoppable power that crashed against the silhouette with indescribable power, banishing it from its domain.

Destiny, who had been basking in the glory that achieving his goal had brought him, was now startled by his brother’s words. Without missing a beat, he turned towards him, and with hardly hidden worry reminded him, “Remember, direct involvement wasn’t part of our agreement.”

“Of course..” The aspect of Fate chuckled in response. “However, I don’t lack helping hands.”

As he finished speaking, Fate turned towards the almost extinguished avatar of Order, who was only moments from perishing from the pressure of Fate’s rage. He then ordered, “Deliver this message to the members of both factions. The restrictions against mortals have been lifted. Find and eradicate any champion of Destiny alive, and bring me Karma’s head.”