Interlude - Aurora Scroll (Patreon)

*Read Chapter 108 first*

Inside the inner chambers of the Cathedral of Sephoria, there was a room that less than five people were permitted to enter.

Currently, there were two women inside the room. On the room’s ceiling, there were tiny, flowing lights like a river made of golden dust. The walls were made of pure gold. The floor was made with the best quality polished stone.

One woman standing in the center of the room, peering into a crystal ball on a dais. The woman was white-skinned, white-robed, and had a bald head. On her body, there were countless tattoos full of religious meaning. Her blue eyes were bloodshot. She was forcing herself into seeing something she shouldn't see.

She was the Interpreter of Fate, the 99th of her line.

Suddenly, there was a throbbing pulse from the crystal ball and the Interpret fell on the floor, knocked back.

“Master!”

The other woman was her apprentice, who would become the 100th Interpreter of Fate. The younger woman’s dark hair reached her ankles. She hurriedly came to the aid of her master. She watched in horror as her master was bleeding from the eyes.

“W-what happened, master? You’re scaring me. You have been acting weird since we heard about the news of the Demon King yesterday.”

“I… I have made a terrible mistake. I have sinned,” Interpreter sobbed. “What have I done...”

“Master, please...” the apprentice pleaded.

“...The Demon King’s left eye... was supposed to get away,” Interpreter reluctantly.

“Ah!? But Commander Flavia confirmed it herself that it had been resealed before anything catastrophic happened,” the apprentice dismayed.

“Indeed… Fate, has changed.”

“That is… good, isn't it?” The apprentice softly asked.

“No… Oh, it was not, dearest. Because a small ripple might change into a wave in the future. The Demon King is a crucial existence in the Flow of Fate. With a change as big as this, the deviation would be unpredictable,” Interpreter was trembling.

“...Master, months ago you and the senior disciples conducted a secret ceremony to influence Fate. It has been our policy to let Fate flow naturally. What have you glimpsed from the future?”

“Apocalypse, child. And I fear I might have made it worse.”

The Interpreter of Fate kept sobbing tears minced with blood on the arms of her apprentice.

***

In a mysterious place where no gods dared to enter carelessly, there was a scroll.

It floated in stasis in the middle of a realm without earth or sky. As if inside a dream, the space itself was filled with protective and warding runes.

The scroll was called with many names. Its true one was lost in time.

The scroll was small, a short roll would unravel it entirely. It contains symbols that no being could understand but the value of the scroll was not its markings but where it took the reader.

There was a world where only those who saw the scroll’s content would see.

It was a carpet of white, as big as the sky and stretched on to infinity. The reader would be standing on the carpet, under a sky filled with aurora borealis. The carpet of white was filled with writings. Of events that had come to be and could be. Every sentient being had a place here. From the lowest of mortals to the highest of gods.

A long time ago, the gods deduced the scroll was recording the Flow of Fate with complete accuracy.

Somewhere in the infinite carpet was writing about a person.

Genesis Origin Year 9667.

Viers Isuel was born as the first son of Adrios and Sana Isuel.

While the writing was concise, the reader of the scroll could glimpse in further detail. The scroll could replicate the events of what was written and witness them in third-person view.

From that line, there were lines and lines of records. Only short sentences of happenings of remarkable importance but the reader could concentrate and the scroll would elucidate. From what Viers ate for breakfast that day to the color of his clothes.

The lines continued until they depicted Viers’ death at the age of 41 because of a Rank 3 monster. He was married and had four children before the end.

There were countless names on the carpet, records of people from birth to their death.

However, Viers’ records didn’t end like everyone else’s.

Revision 1.

Viers Isuel, 15 years of age. Genesis Origin Year 9682.

A soul from another world stumbled and fused with the Viers’ original soul. The resulting fusion altered his action slightly and he came across the Everlife Goldbloom Flower.

The entity that emerged was an anomaly. He took the identity of Viers Isuel and began his journey to gain power, changing his Fate forever.

Viers refused the guidance of Guo Song, a Sea Rumbling Bull of the Xian Continent, one of four Guardian Beasts charged with protecting an ancient seal. After refusing the bull’s soul taking refuge inside him, Viers ate his flesh and gained unusual powers, consuming the destiny of the Rank 7 Spirit Beast.

Viers took his Pathseeker studies seriously and trained diligently.

Vies explored his special powers.

Viers was forced to join the Cult of Dumuzin and temporarily became a Pathseeker with a water 4 affinity.

Viers Isuel, 16 years of age. Genesis Origin Year 9683.

Viers entered the Trialground of the Lamia as the fourth challenger but failed the last trial. He received a way to raise his affinity as a reward and vowed to return.

Viers survived the plot that resulted in Luxore town’s destruction and gained a soul 5 affinity.

Viers traveled the land. To avoid pursuers, he hid his identity.

The Interpreter of Fate of the Estellian Church interfered with the natural flow of Fate, trying to nudge Fate into giving the result she desired.

Viers met another otherworlder and killed him, usurping his gift.

Viers was caught by Freya and Gregory.

Viers lost against Freya but managed to escape with his life.

Viers ended up in the Pecan Village and was saved by Luca.

Viers bonded with his first familiar.

Viers healed up before leaving Pecan Village.

Viers met with Izabella in a friendly fashion before reaching Marakkus city.

Viers bought a slave.

With Izabella's help, Viers achieved success putting his roots in Marakkus city.

Viers went inside the new Biome to gain cultivation resources.

Viers ended up captured by the Blood Church’s plot. Izabella arranged that he was not killed.

During the unsealing of the Demon King’s left eye, using the chaos between the Blood Church and the Estellian Church, Viers snatched the Demon King’s left eye and managed to escape. He thought it was his only chance of survival.

The Demon King’s left eye went inside Viers’ body, becoming a parasite. Absorbing his vitality and slowly converting him into a demon.

Viers Isuel, 18 years of age. Genesis Origin Year 9685.

Viers Isuel had found a way to remove the demonic influence of the Demon King. But in doing so, he would also lose his healing factor and other abilities. Left with no choice, Viers continued utilizing the demonic energy inside him.

Viers Isuel, 23 years of age. Genesis Origin Year 9690.

Viers Isuel became a Level 4 Pathseeker.

Viers Isuel, 34 years of age. Genesis Origin Year 9701.

Viers Isuel had gathered all the fragments of the Demon King and subdued it. Becoming the new Demon King and a Level 5 Pathseeker.

He roamed the world consolidating his old powers and influence while gathering new ones.

Viers Isuel, 36 years of age. Genesis Origin Year 9703.

Viers isuel’s status as an otherworlder was spread to the whole continent.

Viers Isuel, 37 years of age. Genesis Origin Year 9704.

Viers killed the Dead King of the Dreadnorth and crowned himself the King in the North.

Viers Isuel was unsatisfied with his peak Level 5 power and sought ways to break through to Level 6.

Viers Isuel, 55 years of age. Genesis Origin Year 9722.

Viers Isuel was regarded as the strongest Pathseeker of the age. His influence extended throughout the whole Human Dominion and beyond. He was a revolutionary and brought many technological and magical advances. A known tyrant and dictator but the people under his rule prospered. The continent was his in all but name.

Until the angels intervened.

Viers Isuel, 58 years of age. Genesis Origin Year 9725.

The Angelic War became the third bloodiest war in the history of the Lumen Continent after the Twilight of the Gods and the Fifth Hellwar.

During the war, the angels managed to disable the Everlife Goldbloom Flower inside Viers’ Intio, rendering him unable to gain more lifespan. His vengeance was swift and diabolical. The chief perpetrator, Angel Merael was subjugated to every torture in existence and the process was broadcasted to the entire continent for 44 days. After that, the angel’s soul was perpetually tormented in Viers’ Soul Prison, spending every moment in agony.

Viers managed to kill an angel. A feat unheard of since the Age of the Gods.

The war raged throughout the continent for three years. Viers refused many offers of help from the Goetia Nobles of the Nine Hells throughout the war. Eventually, Viers Isuel’s forces were decimated.

Finding he was hopelessly unmatched, Viers escaped to the Xian Continent in the east, searching for ways to become a Level 6.

Viers Isuel, 65 years of age. Genesis Origin Year 9732.

Viers reached half a step Level 6. His constitution as a Demon King hindered his ascension. His only hope for a full breakthrough lies in the Holy City of Sephoria.

Sensing his life was at an end unless he ascended to Level 6, Viers led a small elite force from the eastern continent and attacked the holy city.

The Battle of Sephoria was participated only by a handful of combatants but it became the fiercest battle ever waged by a mortal Pathseeker.

Viers slew seven angels and one, sank half of Sephoria into the sea, and would have killed all the leaders of the Estellian Church, including the Pope for barring his way to Level 6.

But her nemesis, Freya stopped him. From decades of multiple support from the Interpreter of Fate, she had been forged into a weapon to stop Viers’ rampage on this day.

Interpreter of Fate’s ultimate aim was to recover Viers’ resources such as the Everlife Goldbloom Flower and his attainments so that the Estellian Church would be ready against the approaching End Times in the dawn of the tenth millennium.

But Viers was unwilling to let someone else benefit from his death. Viers utterly destroyed his body and soul, taking many of his foes in a suicide attack.

No matter what the Interpreter of Fate did, the Estellian Church would not gain Viers’ amassed power and resources.

But Freya survived and with her, the Estellian Church survived. A single ray of hope for the End Times.

This was the extent of the Interpreter of Fate’s vision. The convergence of Fate led to here. Unbeknownst to everyone, Viers had a backup plan. The records of Viers had more stories to tell.

Viers perished but he had already sown seeds for his revival in the Xian Continent.

His ascension to Level 6 was hampered because he took the Demon King's power into himself in his youth. With his death in the Battle of Sephoria, Viers lost special powers and must start walking the Path of Power from zero once more.

Before Viers departed for the final battle at Sephoria, a woman who loved Viers asked what words he would like to have on his tombstone in case he failed.

'A minor setback', Viers answered.

Viers Isuel now rode a new Fate in the Xian Continent and his time as Viers ended.

Revision 2.

Viers Isuel, 16 years of age. Genesis Origin Year 9683.

The Interpreter was not aware Viers had knowledge from another world. Viers suspected someone was using Fate to plot against him.

Viers asked Clarissa to search ancient knowledge in the memories of the Lamia Queen for defensive measures against Fate’s meddling.

Viers healed up and cast the Insignificant Fate Arte before leaving Pecan Village.

Viers arrived in Marrakus a little bit later without the nudges of Fate and didn't meet with Izabella.

Viers bought a slave.

Viers’ first interaction with Izabella made him wary and he took his next actions carefully.

Viers didn't enter the Biome that the Blood Church set as a trap.

Viers didn’t take part in the unsealing of the Demon King’s left eye and robbed one of Marakkus family’s vaults.

Viers left with his group to Regidana city.

Inside the mysterious scroll, under the eternal aurora, the lines after lines on the infinity carpet continued.

Writing tales that already happened and not yet happened at the same time.