Chương 70: The thing that even gods are helpless against

Zuul finally stepped off The Road, slowly descending from the outer Echo to the ground below, the last location where his companion felt the presence of his… he wasn't sure himself who that person was to him yet. Successor? Usurper? Someone who wandered the path of the sword long enough to become, at the very least, a Heritor deserved to be acknowledged by him personally. Either to be cut down, or to be praised and elevated to stand alongside him. Truly, Zuul didn't know what to do.

Someone worthy enough to tug at his Skill like that didn't exist for thousands of years. But like any other unexpected occurrence of life, he would just meet it face to face and it would be resolved one way or another. Most problems in life could be resolved by meeting them head on, once you were strong enough. Aside from being mocked as a 'brute' by some of his close acquaintances for his straightforward approach to living. Not all problems could be resolved by cutting. Just most of them.

They landed in the middle of a half-destroyed city.

"Technologically advanced," he noted, studying the remnants of the torn-up buildings.

"Almost everything is mass-manufactured," Nan'en said, doubtlessly seeing much more than he could even imagine. He wouldn't be surprised if she already knew exactly everything that could be known about the place.

"I can see the echoes of borderline-restricted machinery. Also, two Skill Emergences related to artificial intelligence, at least one about some plague in the context of microbiology, a lot of variations of the nascent System… And that's only from a first glance. I can see how a more careful High Authority might push for stamping 'grade one' on this world, especially if they found something I didn't yet." He nodded, not particularly interested in those intricacies.

Letting Nan'en ramble was a small kindness, and he didn't mind doing it that much. When someone saw as much as her, it was natural for them to wish to share at least a small part of their vision. In other words, it was lonely to be the only one who could see, in a world full of blind people. He just waited patiently for her to get to the important bits. Some matters were much more pressing than a few half-dangerous Skill Emergences.

"–there's also a dead body nearby. An elf, of all things. And he's wearing the official regalia? I believe we have found the dead High Authority." Yes. That.

"Lead the way." Leading the way was more of a figure of speech at their level. While he had long ago consolidated his Skills and didn't have any that assisted with wizardry or sorcery anymore, shortening their path without outright destroying space along the way was a simple enough spell for her. Their surroundings warped, and it was a matter of just a few steps before they stood in front of the dead body.

"You didn't find them yet?" Nan'en shook her head.

"There was a battle here," she said.

"Your eyes can indeed see even the most hidden things," he said stoically as they stood in the centre of a battlefield.

"There was a single opponent," she said, giving him a side-eye.

"Human native, male, powerful movement-based skill. The High Authority fought him primarily with powers given by the mantle, and wasn't that strong otherwise. My guess is wizardry assist and a strong defensive skill. They got thrown on an entropy glyph."

"A native killed him? Think he's the one?"

"He is the one who's shrouded. I had to look at footprints and clues to figure out what happened here, but… I don't see anything that would indicate a high mastery of sword arts. If anything, they were using stolen swords like… disposable clubs. I don't think that's profound enough to get the attention of your Skill." Using a sword like a club? Dismissing everything that made the blade what it was, and just bashing things with it like a savage?

He glanced at the hilt of his own sword, and felt a hint of dread coming from it. Intriguing.

"The Art of the Blade is profound and mysterious," he said wisely.

"There are depths beneath the depths. Even I cannot say that I've mastered it all." Later, once he was alone, he would try it out. Could be a hint to discovering a brand new style. The more he thought about it, the more engrossed in the idea he became. Nan'en watched him with resignation, and released a heavy sigh.

"Brute," she muttered.

"There is nothing brutish about deepening your understanding of the Art! We must find him."

"Of course, of course… The Art." She raised her hands in surrender.

"We do have a problem with 'finding him' though. He's on the other side. Walked out with a bunch of other natives a few minutes ago."

"Then we will follow!"

"This is a grade three forbidden world with no Central Authority representative whatsoever. Entering it without a permit will mark us as heretics. Even being in its Echo is not exactly… legal."

"Ah…" His oldest, fiercest enemy. He could see its fingers, plotting his demise. Bureaucracy. He was the Sword Saint. It was a foregone conclusion that once he wished to step into a forbidden world, he would be allowed to do so. After he followed the proper procedure. Usually it wasn't a problem, the Law was almost always on his side, just because of who he was. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. But sometimes it wasn't. It was a pain in the ass.

"The permit is given by the High Authority," she said, looking at the body.

"Who is obviously dead. In the event of High Authority's absence, both Overseer and System Administrator have the right to do that instead. Neither is present in this world. We can't enter it until a new High Authority is appointed, unless you're ready to face consequences." Bureaucracy, while horrid, was still better than directly fighting the Law. That was a bit too extreme of an option, even for the potential Heritor. He closed his eyes in defeat. His oldest enemy, victorious again.

"Both of us are Trusted," Nan'en said.

"You can just appoint me to become High Authority and I will give you the permit, which would leave it to you to find him… You know what, on second thought, that's a horrible idea. I can appoint you to become High Authority instead, and then go and find this 'Heritor' of yours. Shouldn't take too long."

"You wish for me to sit idly, stuck in this cold, damp Echo, burdened with responsibility that I care nothing about… Have you no pity for my old bones?"" Your idea of finding him is to issue an honorable challenge to every person you meet one by one. I'd like to leave this place within this century, you know? Bet I can find him in five minutes, at most, shroud or no shroud."

"What's the bet?" Before Nan'en could reply, he felt another presence. A familiar one. His hand touched the hilt of his sword. The world strained and started to unravel under the weight of his Skill, the young Echo not up to the task of even existing nearby. To the right of him, things ceased to exist. Buildings were cut, turning into ephemeral dust. The ground was cut, until there was nothing to stand on. Skill Emergences were cut, dissolved in pointless meaning. Space was cut, leaving no place to exist in.

Half the city was gone, as if it was never there. Only a hole in reality remained, pure nothingness that couldn't be cut because it didn't exist in the first place. There, in the middle of nothing, he stood as if nothing had happened, dusting the nonexistent dirt off his shoulder with a sleazy smile that Zuul hated so much. His second oldest enemy.

"What a coincidence meeting you here!" the man said cheerfully as if nothing happened.

"Could you believe that?! I was just taking a stroll along some newly discovered worlds, minding my own business and promoting living a healthy lifestyle because walking is good for you, you know? And then I see such a curious place, with the doors open even! And–""Xin." Zuul's voice was sharp enough to cut. Xin bent down to tie his shoelaces, somehow dodging the undodgeable attack at the same time. Nan'en took a step back.

Zuul was more than certain that the spot she stepped to was the one that would be miraculously untouched by the battle.

"Long time no see!" Xin waved at him like they were old friends. He wore the face of a human. Plain, in his forties, with short dark hair and mass-manufactured glasses, as if he needed them. His clothing was curious – also mass-manufactured in an unfamiliar fashion of a fairly technologically advanced world. Considering where they were, Zuul was certain that it was the same clothes the natives wore. Coincidence, my ass. He couldn't help but notice that Xin wasn't striking back.

That meant he wanted to talk, which was usually worse.

"Cut the bullshit," he said.

"Why are you here?" Regrettably, a true battle was… not advisable, here. Some of their attacks would doubtlessly slip to the other side, and while accidentally destroying a forbidden world was not only lawful, but also encouraged, he didn't want to kill the potential Heritor after all the hassle of finding him.

"Okay, okay, you got me," Xin raised his hands in mock defeat, his still smile never wavering.

"Nothing could slip by the wisest one, eh? The thing is, that little dead fella over there was a dear friend of mine." Zuul's gaze moved to the dead body for a moment.

"So what?"

"My poor, poor Tar'en." Xin wiped off a tear, clutching his heart with another hand.

"He died so young, not even a millennium to his name! Such injustice! I was so hurt by such injustice, in fact, that there was nothing else I could do but come and avenge the poor soul." There was a slight pause in his speech.

"By becoming the High Authority myself, of course, and fixing this world in the most productive and harmless way possible. Bring it on the right side of Law, purge the Heretics, all that jazz. So, you see my intentions here are entirely pure and lawful. I even have a recommendation for the position, signed by Tar'en himself! What a coincidence!" Zuul had to admit that he took a moment too long to process what he just heard. Xin, the High Authority? Was this a joke?

He was going to just leave his sector without a leader to… what, play at forbidden world reclamation? Was he insane? With him stuck here, Zuul would be able to just walk into his sector uncontested and do whatever he wanted. Though, of course, Xin was insane. Regrettably, there was logic in his insanity. If he wanted something, the best course of action was to deny him that thing. Did he know about the Heritor? There was no way. But on the off chance that he somehow did …

"How about no?" he said.

"I claim this world as mine. Fuck off."

"Well, where's your recommendation?" Xin looked around, as if searching for it.

"Hmm? Nowhere? That's what I thought. Well then, by the right of… Ah, whatever. I'm now the High Authority. You fuck off. Out of my world by my divine will, yadda yadda, you know the drill, can't be in a grade three without my permission, so… Goodbye and fuck you? I'll see you soon." Zuul felt Xin claiming the mantle. The Law was forcing him out. Insanity. It was at that moment that Nan'en broke her silence.

"By my right as Trusted," she intoned with gravitas.

"I appoint Zuul, The Sword Saint as an Overseer for this world." She was met with silence.

"Wait, what?" Xin said, wide-eyed.

"You can't do that. I deny your appointment!"

"Are you Trusted, though?"

"Ehh…" The mantle of Overseer claimed.

"By my right as Trusted, and by my right as an Overseer," Zuul said with a wicked smile.

"I appoint Nan'en, The Wandering Oracle as the System Administrator for this world." She lowered her head humbly.

"I accept this responsibility."

"You can't fucking do that!"

"Oh but I did. Have you tried skirting the Law less? I hear there's a very sweet right for those who do exceptionally good in the eyes of the Central Authority. Now then, what did you want to do again? Fix this world and put it on the right side of Law? I think I need to oversee that. We can't have you accidentally doing something unlawful. This will be very by the book, very correctly done integration." He smiled kindly.

"And I will help you every step along the way." Xin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Fuck you."

"That's an infraction. Nan'en, dear, can you write him up for that?"

"Of course."