Sitting quietly on the ground with his legs closed, Sol closed his eyes as he began to visualize the threads of fate once again.When one thought about it, it was rather ironic that for all his discussion about facing and rejecting Fate, following Fate became one of his greatest powers.But Sol was not dejected by this irony. He knew very well that once he reached the demigod level properly, he would not just be following Fate. He would completely control it and have it bend to his whim.For the meantime, he was observing all the threads that would guide him toward victory. The threads were not physical in the truest way but much like a GPS, in a way, the threads could guide him toward the right road.Much like a yes and no question or a guide buzzing whenever you took the wrong direction.

Thump - Thump - Thump

Slowly, ever slowly, his heartbeat started to slow down. The sounds of the world started to slowly quieten, and in the end, only absolute silence greeted him.He was deeper into a domain where nothing but him and Fate existed. Millions of threads were tied down to him in the most intrinsic way.Humans affected the world simply by existing, and the higher a human stood in society, the more influence he had and the more change he could bring.Sol was not only one of the most powerful beings in the mortal realm currently, but he was also the King of one of the largest nations, with millions of inhabitants under his control.In the same way, any of his choices and actions could affect the entire world and even the astral realm.

The threads that he could perceive were startlingly numerous, but he ignored them all, focusing on the more immediate problem-such as finding the way to this so-called treasure.

Step

He started walking, in this world filled with darkness and shining threads of all colors, he took a few careful steps, guiding him toward the path he wished to thread on and the goal he wished to grasp.

Focus.

The millions of threads started to vanish. One after another, filtering out the most useless ones.

Focus.

Slowly, all the thin threads were weeded out, and only a few were left, and he instinctively knew that those were the ones he was searching for.

"I got you."

Bringing his hand forward, he grabbed the thread, only to finally notice a few more threads entangled with it.

"Hmm..."

He could see Setsuna and Lilin's threads. But there were two more crimson threads entangled with the treasure he was seeking and also entangled with both Setsuna and Lilin.

"Oh?"

In this place, Sol felt nearly omnipotent.

"Should I kill them?"

He thought, and in the void, a pair of scissors appeared. He knew that it would be slightly complicated, but if he so wished, he could bring death directly to those two.

From the aura those threads were showing, they were nothing more than Duke-level enemies. Something that he could entirely and completely crush.

The distance was meaningless as they were in the same plane. Even if he couldn't kill them, he could surely give them a serious blow and incapacitate them completely.

"Ugh..."

He stopped himself. Even though he had the vision of being all-powerful, he was, in fact, not.

Giving a strike-through Karma and fate to kill enemies that were technically at the same level of existence as him would most likely incapacitate him. It was useless to take such a risk for two beings he could crush the moment he faced them directly.

"Setsuna and Lilin will have to face a trial."

Sol thought indifferently. He could feel his emotions slowly draining. The longer he stayed in this place, the more the feeling of being a different entity-a superior entity-floated in his mind.

He felt detached, as if he was looking at something that did not matter to him and was in no way related to him.

"This is dangerous."

He had not felt it when he was using the divinity. It seemed like this place was not somewhere he should stay long at his current level if he did not want to be assimilated.

It was a cold place with no feeling. A place that judged and established law with no care for right and wrong but only efficiency. Like a cold Balance that thrived to keep the equilibrium of the world.

"I wonder... Did someone create this system?"

What was Fate exactly in the first place? Who decided to create this system? What brought the creation of the universe?

Sol tilted his head and looked up. So many secrets. So many things to search and understand.

"I will come back."

Sol knew that he had reached his limit and was about to be completely eroded. As such, he took a step back and exhaled heavily.

It was time to go back to the real world.

"Sol?"

"Hmm..."

"Where should we go?"

Sol smiled as he continued to walk with his two companions. He already knew the answer, but he was in no hurry.

Either way, any treasure that was present would not leave. If it was the wing of freedom, then he just had to take his time and let them do all the work before coming at them.

"I wonder what members it is."

He honestly didn't care, even if it was a king level. He was sure that he could trade blows with one before being forced to flee. The sooner they worked on this and took out those pests, the better it would be.

Sol could feel that they were like a cancer, and if those bastards went crazy and started attacking the mortal world like crazy dogs, then the amount of damage they would make before being down for the count was not something he wished to see.

Thinking like this, he chuckled and continued to tease his two companions. Soon, it would be time to fight.

A few hundred kilometers away from Sol and the two others, deep in the entrails of the earth, a blue wolf tore apart three golems with her claws and fangs.

Not far from her, the young-looking dwarf kept firing bullets at anything that went past her. In the end, after a long fight, they finished destroying everything.

"This is taking longer than we anticipated."

"Fuck, I know it, okay? How would I have known that traps that were created almost a thousand years ago would still work? I am not a seer, okay?"

Acth seethed quietly. This fight hadn't made his wounds any lighter, and this was starting to piss him off.

They had entered this dungeon thinking that it would be easy, and at first, it was. They only had to drive out a colony of stupid ores and continue going down.

But each floor had an absurd increase in difficulty, and now they were facing golems that had the power and speed of an average Duke.

The only reason they even managed to win unscathed was that Neun was quite powerful herself and had become even stronger recently. But at this rate, it would be hard.

He could already imagine that they might face top-level dukes deeper in. This made him understand now how his ancestor managed to face the elves back then. This was indeed a top-level defense.

"Hahaha. With all of this, surely the treasure will be equally good, right?"

He was excited like never before about the possible reward that would come.

"Still, I didn't know you guys could change into full wolves."

He looked at his bestial companion with wonder. For all they were called beasts, war beasts, or beast-men, they only had some animal traits even when they entered their berserk mode.

It was the first time for him to see a true full transformation. In this form, Neun looked like a giant wolf and was quite threatening.

"We normally can't. I just managed to reach deeper than many."

This was the power she had witnessed when her king fought the usurper, and now she once again felt like she was closer to this ideal.

Soon, just a little more, and she might be able to become a King.

Then...

Divine punishment or not, she would enact her vengeance.

No matter the cost. Even if it was her own soul.