2273 - The Living Dead
“…”
The Golden Blade descended upon Robin's Fate Manifestation.
Swoosh
With complete ease, the Golden Blade sliced the manifestation into two symmetrical halves.
In the Archon's sight, one half began to tilt left and the other right as they fell.
In his sight… Robin's Manifestation's hostile expression shifted to shock and fear, the features of someone drawing their last breath.
Poof
Sevar spat out a mouthful of blood, took two steps back, then fell onto his right knee.
Yet he didn't seem pained or angry, instead wiping the blood calmly with a wide smile. “Unexpected… cutting a fate of this power only resulted in internal injuries and a minor restriction? Heh~ You've grown far too quickly, Robin Burton, so much so that your foundations were too easy to uproot, too soft to shatter, hehe.”
His greatest threat… was over.
The threats of Qarun, Interas, and Morpheus were indirect, hidden threats that could be handled appropriately and in due time, but Robin Burton was different.
It was clear he had a mission to kill him, and clear he had been equipped in every way to do so quickly… The All-Knowing God could no longer bear to let him live, it seemed.
Was killing him worth imposing a restriction on the sixth level for months and sustaining internal injuries? Absolutely.
The power displayed by Robin Burton's Fate Manifestation gave the impression that only he and Marlik could defeat him in a direct confrontation.
But if he went himself to kill him in a way other than Severing Fate—a way that wouldn't harm him severely—perhaps the Cosmic Elder would come out to defend him, and even if it were just a fragment, it would give Robin Burton a chance to escape.
And if someone that dangerous escaped, he would never be caught again.
This is, of course, aside from the direct enmity with the Cosmic Elder.
So Severing Fate and bearing the consequences was the safest solution... but he never expected the consequences to be this light!
"Hmm, my level of comprehension of causality has reached the peak of the sixth level. Perhaps I've been underestimating myself too much." Sevar stood calmly and dusted off his knee with a confident smile. "The side nuisance is over. It's time to focus on the rest..."
"Hmm?" But that smile quickly faded.
The two halves of Robin's Manifestation had not yet fallen; they were frozen in place.
Even the sense of threat and the flicker were still present and hadn't disappeared.
"What's happening?" Sevar approached the manifestation again in confusion.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
He had used Severing Fate countless times before.
It was an ability he had obtained from the Third Level of Causality, and he had employed it so frequently that it became his favorite, reaching a terrifying level where he could kill any Behemoth with it while sitting in his place.
As its name suggests, it erases a person's existence from the circle of causality.
What does that mean?
According to Robin's current natural path, he is destined to influence the lives of many people, attain unimaginable power, and become a great emperor whose word affects the universe. This is the Chain of Fate that inevitably awaits him.
What if all of this suddenly disappeared?
What if Robin had no fate in the Causal Gear? Meaning that the Master Law treats him as if he does not exist?
How would he continue to influence all those people and change their destinies while he
does not exist
?
In that case, the Master Law of Causality itself eliminates the variable factor. The Master Law takes it upon itself to hurl disaster after disaster upon such a person until his end comes as quickly as possible, thereby rectifying the conditions of the other fates linked to that variable element, and the universe continues on its way.
When one's fate is cut, their manifestation fades or their threads disappear, and sooner or later they die—it is an inevitable destiny.
But that is not what is happening… Robin's manifestation is still there, still flickering and threatening!
Then something astonishing happened…
Whoosh
Whoosh
The two severed halves began to draw closer to each other. Tendrils emerged from each half and started searching for the other gap until they found one another. When that happened, Robin's manifestation returned whole and perfect, as if nothing had occurred.
"Wha… What?!" Sevar exclaimed in astonishment and fury. "How?!"
His first instinct was to cut it again in anger, but he restrained himself.
Quickly, he raised his right hand toward Robin's Fate Manifestation. His thumb and index finger began to glow with that distinctive golden light. Then he slowly pushed the manifestation toward himself with them and began to examine what lay beyond it.
Quadrillions of threads, trillions upon trillions of intelligent beings—their fates were tied to that man. Any word or any action from him would affect them all, for better or worse. He was the living embodiment of the sworn enemy of any causality user.
Sevar nodded. This was a terrifying sight, but it was to be expected from
Lord Human
after all, and there was nothing strange worth investigating there.
So he pulled the Fate Manifestation back a little, and all the threads related to him disappeared. Then he pushed the manifestation back a bit further.
With this movement, he was supposed to see the threads that influence Robin and the path he would inevitably take if he continued on his current course.
Whoosh—
Sevar felt a terrible pain and a weakness sweeping through his body.
This ability grants him a cheat sheet, allowing him to look into his opponent's future and giving him the power to alter the future as he pleases. It is no less destructive and horrifying than the ability to Sever Fate itself.
“…What?!”
Sevar's expression froze instantly.
It was as if he had forgotten his pain.
There was no thread… no path.
He could not see what was destined for Robin.
“Impossible!” Sevar lunged forward and began examining the manifestation closely, hoping to find something.
The absence of a Future Thread means the absence of fate, and it means the person does not exist in the first place… That is the very essence of the Severing Fate process!
Had his fate already been severed?!
Someone like that should be dead.