Chương 75: Fate binds all

Gale'So Con'Dora smiled as she watched her brother defeat a third duel challenger. She pursed her lips in thought though. She clearly remembered checking the communication screen that listed all her siblings, which also told her their levels. Her little brother Joe had been level 85 only a day ago. But now he was at least 100. There was no doubt about that. She could feel his restrained system hidden power. It gave her a feeling of joy. The runt of the pack was finally growing.

She needed to win him to her side no matter what now. All the others were fools. She and her little brother would free them of their brainwashing. One thing still confused her. Why didn't he recognize her or acknowledge her at all? What had gone wrong on his world? He should know here by sight. Like she knew him by sight. It was in their blood. They were family. What had happened to him to make him forget everything? She needed to question him. But there was one glaring problem with that.

Eludia's princess was watching her constantly. She knew something was going on. She also clearly knew her little brother. There were faint traces of fate about them. Had they formed a bond? If they had, that would be the best news Gale could receive. It would help her bring him to her side. She just had to be very careful about it. She doubted she could do anything today. There was too much going on. Especially with that damn bounty, he had been given. She needed to figure out how to dispel that.

She sighed and took a drink as another group of dancers stepped forward. There were too many strings and not enough information. __ Joe paused as the Corthegian, looking at him so avidly, turned away. What the hell was that about? He wondered. For some strange reason, he felt a familiarity there, like they had met somewhere before. He shook his head. How was that even possible? She was a Corthegian. He put her out of his mind and watched the dances.

Joe pulled back his fist and slammed it into the face of the huge feline, fur-covered man-thing. Every single time his timer ended, he was attacked by someone. He had knocked out and sent home twelve people already. His cooldown timer flashed one hour this time, and he sighed in relief. The last few times had been only ten minutes apart. It seemed to be picking a time at random, which was highly annoying. Joe stood beside where Rose, Corel, Daisy and Catalina sat. This was the perfect chance to approach them.

He had been randomly looking at the things in his storage ring about twenty minutes ago when he noticed three new bow-tied boxes. Ones he had not put there. He stared at them, wondering when and how they had gotten there. He then saw one was labelled, and it simply said on it, for your troubles. Give to someone important. One box was red, one pink and one purple. Even without any names on them, he wasn't stupid. He looked up at the red, pink and purple-skinned Elves before him.

He realized now these boxes had been put there by the dwarf God. He walked up and stood before the four beautifully dressed Mortifi and Voldura. He knelt before Catalina first and presented her with the Red box.

"Your Highness," he said as he knelt facing the ground. After a few moments, she picked up the box from his hands.

"What is this child?" she said in her alluring royal voice.

"A gift of reparation. Again, an apology for my unseemly entrance," Joe said in his most formal tone. He then knelt before Rose and repeated the gesture with the pink box. She took it without a word, though he saw a faint smile appear on her face. He then did the final repeat before Daisy, who also took her box without a word. He stood and bowed before retreating back to his table. He prayed this wasn't another trap and that there was something good inside those boxes. That dwarf owed him as much.

It wasn't long before Daisy opened her box first. Joe watched intently for her reaction. He held his breath and dared not move a hair. Daisy stared into the box with a blank expression. She reached inside and pulled out a… golden corsage. She looked at it with a smile on her face, and Joe took a breath in relief. She wrapped it around her wrist and showed it to Rose. Rose gave Joe the faintest of questioning glances and opened her box.

Joe watched as she pulled out a pink and white corsage and wrapped it around her wrist. She smiled at it and happily showed it off to Daisy and her mother. Again, relief flooded through Joe. That had surely won him some brownie points, he hoped, at least. For the final box, Joe shook his head as Catalina threw hers over her shoulder, and it tumbled onto the floor. Can't win them all, I guess. He thought. He saw Rose and her mother exchange some heated words before Corel walked over and grabbed the box.

She offered it to Catalina, and she took it. She removed the red corsage from within and placed it on her wrist. Then, she proceeded to ignore it and pretend it wasn't there. Rose beamed at her mother and clapped. Joe turned back towards the dancefloor and relaxed for an hour while watching more dances. It finally came time for group 10 to start their turn. Joe stood in the middle of the dancefloor as everyone around him began to pair off. Naturally, most avoided him.

It seemed no one wanted anything to do with him except one person in their group. Tevenny walked up to Joe. He bowed as she did and extended out a hand.

"I'm no God, but I hope I won't disappoint if we dance," she said as she returned his bow.

"It would be a pleasure," Joe said. She smiled at him, and they made their way to an empty part of the dancefloor.

"Do you have a dance in mind?" she asked as they stood opposite each other.

"I do. Follow my lead?" Joe said. She took a deep breath and nodded her head. As music filled the hall, Joe held out a hand, which Tevenny took willingly. Her eyes started to glow a bright green as they began to dance. __ Tevenny had always been considered a genius in her sept back home. Since her birth, they have showered her with the best teachers. The best resources, and even when the system arrived.

They dedicated the septs strongest warriors to guard her and ensure her advancement to level 100 as fast as possible. It felt like her entire World's future was balancing on her shoulders. They would all thrive or perish based on her actions. But for the first time in her life, Tevenny found out how small her world truly was. As Feormere twirled her around the dancefloor, he moved the mana in the air and filled it with his own. She had seen his dance with the God of Eludia.

That was nothing compared to experiencing it first-hand. She always considered herself a good dancer. A great dancer. Now, she was reevaluating her entire concept of what a dance was. She could not keep up with Feormere as he glided around the dancefloor. But it didn't matter because he dragged her along, making it look effortless. This was dancing like she had never experienced before, making her feel exhilarated. She tried to move her feet and match his steps.

But she made a mistake every two steps, which he corrected with a push of mana. How he managed to dance for them both simultaneously was beyond her understanding. So she just flowed with him and started to laugh with joy. She activated her Bloodline skill as soon as the dance began when the system notified her. This was her second Bloodline skill, letting her peer into fate. She was confused at first. Feormere had no fate line, so how could her second skill do anything around him?

Her eyes widened when the first lock on her skill suddenly, without any warning, loosened and broke. It was like something had burst within her; a blockage was suddenly pushed clear. She locked eyes with Feormere as they danced, knowing he had done something. Somehow, he had felt her Bloodline. He gave her the faintest of nods, confirming her thought. His eyes returned to their surroundings, and they danced. The first dance gradually ended, and Tevenny was finally set free and allowed to take a break.

Her feet throbbed as Joe guided her to her family sitting at one side of the hall. She sat down in relief and gulped at a drink she was offered.

"Sister. That was amazing. I didn't know you could dance like that. Do your feet hurt? Let me massage them." Tevenny didn't complain as her sister massaged her sore feet. She was too busy figuring out what happened with her Bloodline skill. How had he unblocked it? Was it the mana? Was it the dancing? Her mind raced at the possibilities. She was one step closer to unlocking her second skill and wanted to scream joyfully.

"Sister, what is it?" Valeri asked. Her eyes sparkled in excitement.

"Valeri, I think I'm going to do something idiotic today," Tevenny said, a huge smile on her face. __ Joe stretched as he prepared for the second dance. He was in the zone now. This, this was where he thrived. He did a little twirl and smiled. It was good to dance. He glanced up at the bounty message above. The cooldown had stopped, frozen with 20 minutes left. At least he would have no interruptions during his dancing. He could focus wholly on winning this competition.

His eyes were drawn to Tevenny, who sat receiving a massage from a girl who looked almost identical to her except for the short hair. He assumed she was a family member. Tevenny stared at him, eyes burning with desire. Joe knew her current desire wasn't for him but for what had happened while they danced. Joe had accidentally scanned inside her during their dance with his Mana Sight, where he spotted what could only be described as a mana knot inside her body.

He had been so surprised that he misstepped once during their dance. He couldn't help but stare at it. It was like a puzzle that called his name. So, as they danced, he probed at it with his senses. He didn't really understand what he was doing, but he had a sneaking suspicion that if he solved that puzzle and removed that knot. Tevenny's Bloodline would be freed. Again, he didn't know how he knew she had a Bloodline; it was just an instinctual feeling.

So gently, as they danced, he unravelled the knot with his Mana Sight. He didn't know it could do that, but it worked. When the knot was broken, her eyes were filled with tears of joy, and Joe knew what he had done was a good thing. But as the dance finished, he spotted two more knots. Now, he could see her unspoken desire for him to finish what he had started. Joe glanced over at Rose and almost stepped back. She was staring at him intently. Joe acted before he knew what he was doing, running to Rose's side.

"Rose, I can explain," he said in a panic. Rose's eyes softened, and her hands relaxed as she stared at him. She stood up and pulled him close to whisper in his ear.

"I saw something. Something hard to decipher. What did you do?" she asked. Joe started to sweat, standing so close to her, and he was uncertain just how much she knew about what he did.

"I… Just felt a need to lend a helping hand," he mumbled, trying to step back. He was so close he could clearly smell Rose's scent… and he had to be honest… It was a little stimulating. Rose, completely unaware of Joe's current internal troubles, only leaned in closer.

"Well, be careful. Whatever it is you are doing, I hope you understand the dangers that come with interfering with someone's internal mana." Rose finally took a step back, allowing Joe to breathe once more as he practically dripped with sweat. She also raised an eyebrow at him.

"I assure you, princess. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing," Joe replied with a wry smile, before glancing back at Tevenny. She was still staring at him like he was a piece of meat, which didn't really help right now. As he turned back to Rose, she then slapped him and sat back down. Joe was so shocked, he stumbled backwards before catching himself. Well, he hadn't expected that. But he was relieved that that was all she did. He heard laughter from Daisy and Catalina.

He smiled and bowed and then returned to the dance floor. The second dance was about to begin. He approached Tevenny and extended a hand. She looked from his hand to Rose and back again.

"Don't worry. Let's go," Joe said as the music started. After another moment of hesitation, Tevenny jumped to her feet, and they set out for the next dance. As they walked onto the dancefloor, Joe sent out a little probe of his senses as he activated Mana Sight. But to his alarm, nothing happened. Not only did his probe do nothing, but he couldn't even see the knots within her at all. As Tevenny spun and took the starting position of the dance, she blinked up at him.

Her brow furrowed before Joe wiped the shocked look from his face. Was he only able to see the knot when they danced? He wondered as he lightly took Tevenny's hands in his and smiled at her. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Are you sure this is okay?" she asked. Joe nodded.

"Yes, I was just distracted for a moment." Before Tevenny could ask anymore questions, the second dance began. To Joe's relief, the knots appeared as soon as the dance began, answering his own question. He immediately got to work. This second dance had a slightly faster tempo than the first, which increased Joe's task's difficulty. So he danced and probed, trying to unravel the knot while also focusing on the dance. He soon started to sweat from the exertion. Tevenny glanced up at him, noticing his struggle.

She tried her hardest to assist in the dance, but to put it frankly. She was no Rose. She could not keep up with Joe during the dance, so he was guiding her along with his mana. He honestly started to wonder if it was even worth all this effort. But as he focused and gazed at her, he knew he wouldn't stop. Plus, this was good training, he told himself. Yeah. He barely finished unravelling the second knot before the dance ended. Tevenny, this time, gave off a small mana explosion as the knot dissipated within her.

The sudden shock of it almost made Joe lose focus, but he completed the dance as Tevenny fell unconscious in his arms. Three yellow-skinned members of her team rushed over, shouting at Joe and taking Tevenny to the side. Joe was too tired to say anything, so he moved to the other side and sat down to recover. He felt that nothing bad had happened to Tevenny, but now he was seriously worried about whether he could even complete the final knot.

If it were even harder than the second, which it most likely would be, it would be a massive undertaking. Daisy appeared at his side with two pills. He ate them both greedily.

"Thanks," he mumbled as he relaxed and let the pills do their work.

"Shanshara thinks you should stop now. She saw how close you were to failing. You should stop," Daisy said.

"I can't, it's just one more," Joe said, not meeting Daisy's eye.

"Stubborn High Human. You should listen." Daisy stomped her foot.

"If you fail, it will damage her beyond repair. She will lose her life," Joe winced and looked over at Tevenny and her group. She had regained consciousness and was talking with the girl who looked just like her. They were arguing.

"I'll let her decide. I won't push it. But if she wants to continue, I will do it," Joe said in defiance, now meeting Daisy's stare. She backed down after a moment and cursed. Shaking her head before she returned to her seat. When the silver-skinned man announced that the third and final dance was to begin, Joe stood up. He started to compose himself. He looked over at Tevenny's group.

It seemed like Daisy had given them some pills also, as Tevenny now looked in top condition and stood ignoring the protests of those around her. She stamped her foot down and started walking over towards Joe. The decision was made. It was, once again, time to roll the dice.

"Are you sure?" Joe asked as they met face to face.

"Yes," Tevenny said simply, getting into position. Joe nodded and joined her as the music began. They moved. This final dance was the fastest yet. As they glided around the dancefloor, Joe quickly noticed they had much more free room around them now. There were only three pairs still dancing, which was a blessing. It allowed him to extend his mana out more freely, making movement easier. Ten seconds into the dance, he also noticed that Tevenny was keeping up with him now. Her movements were more fluid and graceful.

She flowed along with him, perfectly in time, matching his every step. Though her face was taut with strain, she was clearly pushing herself beyond her limits. So now it was Joe's time to shine. He began. To say this last knot was more complex than the rest was an understatement of mammoth proportions. This was no knot. This was a mana disaster. He struggled even to distinguish the different streams. His mind raced as he tried to find the starting point.

Someone must have noticed his panic as a voice appeared in his head.

"Calm your mind. Do you have another sight skill? If you do activate it now," Catalina whispered. He took a deep breath and activated Dao sight. He saw it then. The bundle of mana was one huge twisting stream. He found the starting point and began. Relief flowed into him, and he nodded in thanks, knowing that the God of Eludia would see and understand. Joe took a deep breath and began. Using his Mana Sight and Dao Sight in unison, he funnelled his senses to lightly brush along the knot within Tevenny.

She flinched at his touch, losing her step ever so slightly. Joe noticed and pulled his senses back to lighten his touch even more. But still, he didn't stop, he couldn't, he was committed now. He began to pry the knot apart as best he could, even as Tevenny winced and began to visibly weaken as the strain on her body increased. Which resulted in Tevenny losing the ability to continue the dance at the current pace. So now the pressure on Joe increased as he picked up the slack.

It wasn't as simple as stopping the dance, as it was inextricably tied to what he was doing. So he wrapped Tevenny in mana and continued, sweat pouring from him. But as he moved, he saw the obvious outcome approaching. He wasn't going to make it. He didn't have enough time or enough mana. So he made a decision. The price would be massive, the backlash to come… He shook his head. He knew nothing would stop him now.

So with a flick of his mind, he switched over to his enriched mana, which burst from him like an erupting volcano. He flowed with renewed vigour as a timer began in the back of his mind. __ Rose stared in awe as she watched Joe falter and then explode into action. The mana that flowed from him changed, and he sped up. He was practically dragging the Aur Garde Fern girl around the hall now. Yet to any normal observer, she looked like she was dancing along with him.

Rose couldn't pull her eyes from the sight as beams of light erupted from the girl's eyes, flooding the hall with cascading luminescence that flashed from every surface. He was doing it. Somehow, he was doing it. Only now did Rose start to understand as her Bloodline began to pulse, and she felt her mother pulse in sync. She spread her senses out around the room. Every Bloodline present pulsed. She counted twenty in total. That was a lot.

Surprisingly, ten of those were from integration members, which was absurd to think about. What was happening with this integration, and why did so many have Bloodlines? She felt the biggest pulse as Joe's presence swelled and the system unveiled his Aura. Her eyes widened when she felt his strength, felt his essence. Felt something almost incomprehensible flowing from within him. It was hard to believe that this was the Aura of an E-grade… No, she realized.

He was not an E-grade; he had ascended to the hidden grade. Gale'So Con'Dora stood and basked in the Aura that filled the hall. Her eyes stared at the ceiling, tears falling down her cheeks as she began to sing in euphoria. Valeri Loquitor fell to her knees as a powerful, overwhelming sense of foreboding erupted from her mind. Her eyes began to water uncontrollably as she struggled to keep the sight of her dancing sister in her vision. She had to keep watching, and she dared not look away.

Her sister was battling for her life, and Valeri was helpless, unable to do anything. She felt she was about to pass out when a voice entered her mind. Someone was singing. She dragged her eyes from her sister and found the voice's origin. It was the female Corthegian her sister had told her to stay away from. She soared into the air and sang. Her Aura, even stronger than the one coming from Feormere, flowed out as a counterbalance. Restoring order to the hall.

Those who had been crushed before were now able to look up. Valeri's eyes returned to her sister as she saw a thick golden line appear around her. She knew what that was. That was a fate line. Valeri cried again. Knowing what was to come. __ Joe almost lost control of his body as a massive, thick golden thread appeared around Tevenny. What the hell is that? He brushed the thought from his mind. He was still unravelling the knot, so he had to ignore it.

He pried out another section of the knot, which caused the whole bundle to unfurl in a violent spasm and stop, hanging motionless before his eyes. Tevenny screamed in pain as the now loose bundle materialized around her. Joe was given a moment of reprieve as he stared outside of Tevenny. The massive thread pulsed around her as they danced. He had no idea what he was looking at. But whatever it was, it was unfathomable. He refocused on the now loosened knot. It was time to end this. He began.

Pulse Joe had to swing Tevenny around as he pulled free a knot, and she convulsed violently. He cursed as he reinforced the mana wrapped around her body, bringing her back under his control. Sweat poured down his face in rivulets. Steam rose from him as he pushed himself beyond his limits. Pulse This time, Joe screamed as he strained to contain the forces clashing against him, which tried to tear itself free from Tevenny. He gritted his teeth and pushed on, unravelling another part.

Pulse Tevenny's eyes stopped glowing, and for a singular moment, she lost consciousness. When she did, the huge single golden thread shuddered and then reformed. Its shape, slightly altered. Joe didn't know what it was doing. But he could not help her with it. He pressed on, unravelling another piece. Pulse Joe pulled, and suddenly, the knot almost completely unravelled. He struggled to keep it under control. His arm convulsed, and he heard a bone snap.

Tevenny's neck twisted so much he thought it was about to break free. Somehow, he brought it back to its normal angle. Blood dripped from her eyes as she stared at him. The air around him slowed, and with a swish of motion, the bundle shook one last time. Then, it fully unravelled and disappeared in a spark of light. It was done. He had done it. Then he stared in horror as the huge thread around Tevenny pulsed with a blinding light. The air stilled, and Joe felt like he was suddenly floating in zero gravity.

His feet slid, and he thought he was about to tumble when, just as suddenly, the air around him returned to normal, and he righted himself. But he barely had a moment to breathe one last deep breath, when the huge golden thread snapped and exploded. __ As Tevenny floated weightlessly in the arms of Feormere, she knew that what she planned to do was suicide. But she had to do it. Her Bloodline pulsed. She had to break fate and reforge it anew. It was the only way to complete her bloodline.

So when Joe unravelled that final knot, she felt a moment of pure bliss. She stared at the beautiful Human holding her up with unimaginable strength. She was so thankful. Her eyes started to bleed as she gazed upon his face. Then, with one last pulse of her Bloodline, she broke her thread of fate. Everything exploded. __ Catalina Terravignion had seen many things in her long life. But today was the first day she had seen someone break their fate line. The hall exploded as fate thrashed uncontrollably.

She unveiled her Aura just as it exploded. Knocking everyone unconscious. A God's Aura was not something a mortal could withstand. She shot out mana threads, first at Joe, dragging him from the explosion's epicentre. Then she grabbed the other dancers. The Corthegian woman singing in the air and the rest. She pulled everyone towards her and opened her domain. Moving them all to safety. She closed it off and stood amidst fate. A thread attacked her, but she swatted it aside.

Two more thrusts in her direction, and she jumped over them. She stared at Tevenny. Who floated in the middle of the fate-shattering. She was still alive, barely. Catalina created a divine spark and held it in her hand, just in case. More fate threads struck at her, and she moved among them gracefully. Approaching the centre. She reached it in the blink of an eye. She placed her free hand upon the girl's brow and brushed the sweat away. She then wrapped her in divine mana, cutting it off.

She moved as fate exploded around her. When she reappeared, there was a tear in her dress. She scowled as it repaired itself. That was too close, even for a God. She floated outside the shattering, dodging threads reaching for her and observing the girl within. None of the threads touched her. A short moment passed before the first thread broke away and started to dissolve. One became two. Two became three. Then, only two fate threads remained. They both swung down and smashed into the girl.

Catalina braced herself to use the spark. This was the final moment. Could the girl survive? It was all on her now. __ Joe stood up, his broken arm clasped at his side, and looked around. He had no idea where he and everyone else were. All he knew was that Catalina had put them here. He raised his head and spoke.

"Let me out," he said.

"Are you insane? Do you even know what is out here?" Catalina replied.

"I don't, but I do know Tevenny will die unless I help her. There is one final step." Joe stood waiting. His mind ran. She had to let him out. He had to finish what he started. Rose stood next to him, radiating a look of concern. Joe wasn't sure if she was concerned out of worry, or something else…

"Just one more thing," he said to her, turning back to look at the sky. Something inside pulled at him. It was time.

"Now! Let me out!" he shouted. He heard a curse, and suddenly, he was flung from the domain. He landed on his feet beside Catalina. He nodded thanks and turned to the sight before him. What he saw was a horrifying sight as Tevenny's body was fractured in two. Either side of her had been stabbed by two massive golden threads that pulsed violently. Small mana explosions erupted all around her. Joe stepped forward and began walking towards the scene. Every step he took felt heavy and weighed him down.

A force pushed against him, causing him to stop. A small explosion erupted next to his ear, deafening him. He stepped forward again. Uriel's light shone bright inside him and pulsed with determination. A voice echoed inside his head.

"What are you doing? Why did you come back?" It was Tevenny. She sounded far away.

"The last step. I know now what you did. You severed your fate?" he asked.

"Yes, I did," Tevenny replied. Joe shook his head. He didn't understand much about fate. In fact, he didn't know anything about it. It was like a foreign concept. He liked being free to decide his actions. Discovering that he was an anomaly, someone outside of fate, only made sense to him. Who wanted to be controlled by an unknown higher power? But then again… was that so bad? He stepped forward, only a few steps from Tevenny's severed body. More explosions erupted around him.

"You should go. I failed," Tevenny said sadly.

"I failed my family." A tear formed in the corner of Joe's eye. He understood that feeling all too well. He crouched down and wiped the tear away.

"Don't worry. You haven't failed yet," he looked upon her; more specifically, he stared at the golden threads pulsing through her body. Uriel's light pulsed in rhythm with the thread. He knew what he had to do, but he hesitated. Was he willing to give up his freedom? Of course, he was. He could save her life for a minor cost. An image flashed through Joe's mind. An image of his mother. She had died when he was a teenager. He could see her clear as day, as if he had seen her only yesterday. She was beautiful.

Her final words echoed inside his mind.

"There are men who flee fate, only to have it swallow them whole. Then there are men who embrace fate and do not show fear," he whispered. He then reached out and grabbed hold of one of the threads of fate. His entire being, everything he was, was consumed in a blinding light. Only a whisper lingered… My son…