[MA] 427. Chaos (Patreon)

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[A/N: We're back! And refreshed! This chapter is 70% longer than usual.

Let's roll.

Chapters this week: 1/3

Late chapters: 1

Next chapter: Thursday]

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| Sell Offer: 23%, 72M

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The Shaffer Company's runaway heir dropped all informality when Shen told him he was about Realizator Habnor. The True Disciple of the Warden-Overlord was no joking matter.

She had known Shen wasn't a nobody from the moment he, a Lawful Dominator—an uncommon sight—asked for information about the Deep Path—turning his existence into a very rare sight. That was especially true coming from someone speaking the Overlord True Language. But she could still deal with those things with her status, to a point.

Being connected to Realizator Habnor placed Shen galaxies above her.

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| Sell Offer: 23%, 66M

| Sell Offer: 12%, 30M

| Sell Offer: 4%, 7.5M

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In fact, her boss should've come to deal with it as soon as Habnor was mentioned, but the coward was doing what he did best: nothing. He had been forced into Wall Guard duty because that was the place a useless bastard with his considerable backing would do the least amount of damage. He knew enough not to try to get anything done and just let her do his work for him, which was usually a good thing, but now was a moment when he should have come.

The idiot was offending a newcomer with high connections by negligence, something his family would learn of and punish him for before she arrived at her destination.

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| Sell Offer: 23%, 55M

| Sell Offer: 12%, 22M

| Sell Offer: 4%, 5M

| Sell Offer: 2%, 2M

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Nmara was also offending Shen by forcing him to interact with someone as beneath him as herself. Not that she had a choice in the matter—and not that it would save her. People already knew about it. Her implant was telling her all about how everyone was trying to sell their shares of the Shaffer Company, and no one sane was buying.

She had run from home partly to depreciate the company's value so she could repurchase it from the vultures who had taken advantage of her mom when she had gotten addicted to... unmentionable matters. They hadn't bulged an inch for almost an entire year. Now, they were desperate to disassociate themselves from her.

Nmara waited a few extra seconds before the price dropped as low as she believed it would go without a buyer. Then, she sent a mental command to buy everything. The company returned to the Shaffer Family's hands.

She would die, but if Shen wasn't too vindictive, he might let her two brothers live. Her death wouldn't be meaningless, at least. That was more than most Low Officers could say when they offended someone connected to the Warden-Emperor.

"So...?" Shen said. "Are you taking me to learn about the Deep Path?"

Nmara turned her focus to the drow. Dark elves were a rare sight in Calimor, and when they came, they usually did in numbers. Always suspicious, those country bumpkins. They distrusted everyone in the City of Whispers because they couldn't scheme to save their lives. Pathetic.

Yet, Shen was no normal drow. His very build wasn't like a typical drow's. He was taller, stronger, and looked mature for one as young as he seemed. He was almost like the wood elves, who had changed their entire race's genes for a shorter childhood and faster maturing. Habnor had probably taken pity on him and changed his destiny.

Nmara wished she could be that lucky one day.

"The Enamel Tower is this way," she replied and started flying towards it.

A few different places could help someone of Shen's status, but she decided to use her opportunity to her family's advantage. The Shaffer Company's relationship with the Enamel Tower was a bittersweet one. If Shen destroyed them for their association with her after using her as he saw fit, the Shaffer Company would profit. If they didn't, they would profit and owe her family one. Win-win.

"Why the Enamel Tower?" the female asked.

Nmara didn't turn to the woman to reply. She was evidently a pleasure companion, as aeonians were known to have become ever since they fused with the succubi. They were tolerated and often ignored. The woman was going above her station to speak to Nmara, but she still replied—

Nmara almost fell from the skies in shock when she realized what had just happened: the girl had spoken the High Language.

An aeonian had spoken the High Language.

An aeonian.

That was a High Crime in Calimor.

Nmara slowed her flight speed, waiting for the hammer to fall. Soon, very soon, a team of Dominators would crush the woman as the sinful insect she was. Hopefully, Shen would also be condemned. Who knows? Maybe Nmara would survive the entire episode unharmed.

The attack never came.

"I'm tired of you," Shen said. "I can't read your thoughts, but you stink of schemes. You're also terrible at hiding it enough to make yourself a pleasant guide. I can find someone else to help us. Don't follow me."

Then, he simply... left. Without attacking her. And without her companion being killed.

Nmara realized way too late that she had lost a great opportunity. She could've made a connection with someone of a status so high that he could even shield a High-Language-speaking aeonian. He also wasn't prone to getting easily offended, allowing Nmara to live after her offense.

Then again, if she had used the opportunity to rise and he left soon after, the powers-that-be would destroy her for being too daring.

In the end, she considered her profits today about as perfect as she could—

A Dominator approached, stopping before her. The old wood elf in black didn't look happy. "Give back my shares," he demanded.

Nmara smiled. Perhaps Shen was right; perhaps she was a lousy player. But she would be damned if she allowed this bastard to take her company from her grasp.

"No," she replied and prepared to enact her contingency plans in case of a fight.

It was nice to be back in the game.

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⁂

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Shen felt something eerie as he left the Low Officer. He was still missing his personal memories from his time before the Myriad Worlds, but he could tell something had gone weirdly. In fact, even when comparing it to his time in the World Tree—

Oh.

He realized what it was.

Chaos; he was missing the chaos.

In the Myriad Worlds, every interaction with anyone always led to something else. Everything was big and complex. Here, although Nmara was evidently involved in deep schemes—her mind was in overdrive, her soul burning with fear and hope, and her body language was all over the place—nothing had come out of their brief interaction. At least, not yet.

E'vania had called him Child of Chaos. Had the Ghost Doctor also Severed Shen's connection with Chaos—whatever that Chaos was—when she Severed him from the Heavens? It made sense, but he hadn't expected it.

Shen smiled. This... This was actual freedom. He could act and react, and things didn't have to be far-reaching. He could interact normally with people. He could breathe without upsetting the Heavens.

In fact, it was even better than just that. He looked at E'livia and saw the faintest Karma thread connecting her to Nmara. Yet, none had been formed between him and the wood elf.

Shen realized the Axiom of Karma wasn't like the "deeply established" Axioms of Reality, so to speak. Karma had been created and pushed to the Linked Low Heavens by an Ascender. It wasn't a fundamental part of Reality and, thus, couldn't touch him, who had been Severed from the Heavens.

Evidently, he could still be affected by many Axioms and Laws of existence, or else he wouldn't be able to interact with anything. Still, they needed to be at least at the High Heavens level, or maybe higher, at the True Heavens level.

That was a great discovery, a side effect of Severing that Shen bet wasn't widely known by people, or it might piss the Warden-slash-Pillar responsible for Karma. In a multiverse where the status quo was so important, Shen wasn't about to reveal it to anyone, either.

As if to confirm his thoughts, he felt his willpower increase when he learned that information. It was a very slight growth but more than what he had gained from all the knowledge Habnor had given him put together. This was definitely privileged information.

Heavens! He really liked improving his willpower so easily! With his Learning Ability Upgrades—

The lightning in his heart flared, and he forgot what he had been thinking about. But unlike some previous times, he noticed what happened. He knew his line of thought had been cut, even though he couldn't recall exactly where or how to return to that point.

Anyway, he turned to E'livia while they still flew away from Nmara—who had gotten company—and said, "Domain bubble?"

He didn't want to freely use his own domain. Infinite Improvement was quite addicting. In this place where willpower was better gained through knowledge, trying to hone his willpower by resisting the addiction would be a fool's errand. Too risky, almost no reward.

Eli'iva smiled and formed a domain bubble around themselves. She would be able to prevent anyone from eavesdropping—and detect further attempts at eavesdropping. Shen also deployed his aura for good measure.

He said, "That woman showed a lot of prejudice against you after you spoke. Can you change your appearance?" He guessed the answer from what she had told him about her technique, but it didn't hurt to ask.

She shook her head. "No."

"Hmm... You should reveal yourself, then. Sure, we don't know how dangerous it would be to reveal your true race here, but if anyone is connected to the Myriad Worlds, they would guess our identity just from seeing me with a female companion."

E'livia looked troubled. "Revealing my true race might make even ignorant people connect us to our home. I don't know how common the E'holin are in the Shaft. Or throughout Reality at large. I was always under the impression that we're very closely connected to the World Tree."

"I see... But Nmara clearly expected something to happen to you after you spoke. We can't have that happen all the time. Also, if nothing has happened until now, either Habnor's name can shield us to some extent or people have already seen through you. If his name can shield us and he didn't say anything about you revealing your identity, we should trust him a little more. If this place's shot-callers already saw through your disguise, there's no reason to keep it, either."

"Of course, there is," E'livia countered. "Who knows? It might be that only the truly powerful people saw through my technique. That's what I expect, in fact. The Myriad Worlds' enemies might only have managed to plant weak spies in this place. Your presence with a girl is evidence, but revealing my identity will make them sure, and any enemy will have more reason to act against me. Or us. Actually, you shouldn't have revealed your real name. Everyone in the Myriad Worlds knows the drow called Shen has Un'Re."

Shen smiled. "We can deal with weak spies and strong foes. I'd even say this is the perfect place for that. If an enemy sends an Ascender to the Overlord Realm, we kill them. They can't use their Realization here."

She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head again. "Let's scout the area a little more first. Maybe it was just Nmara who's a racist."

He shook his head. "There's no need. I saw countless spies eavesdropping on our earlier conversation. They all felt the same way she did when you spoke. Or rather, some also wanted to attack you but held back, probably because a stronger force should be coming already—or so I guess. Even now, they are barely holding themselves." He pointed at a few people drinking tea in a nearby building. "You should drop your disguise."

E'livia frowned. Shen could tell she didn't like him being forceful, but he didn't care. He was being true to his One Self.

He insisted, "We have no backing in this place. Habnor made it clear he wouldn't act for our benefit, and people will eventually find out about that. We have a limited amount of time to get people used to our identity through the lens of his authority. Even if your identity ends up making you a valuable kidnapping target, it's better if as many people as possible know about it and compete for you than a limited number of powerful figures. Revealing your race now is the best move we can make."

"I disagree," she replied coldly. "And this is my choice to make, Shen."

He squinted his eyes and took note of her attitude. He still owed her for saving him, so he would let this slip—this once. Her strongheadedness wasn't endearing her to him, though.

He opened his mouth to reply, but E'livia beat him to it. "I don't think I like this new you. You feel cold. Distant. Even when we embraced in the ocean... You were just... Not there. You're not here, here, either. Not like before. You feel too... Rational. Even the way you just ditched Nmara... You messed up her life and just left? Just like that?"

Shen couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So we should care about a stranger doing her duty now? We didn't force her into her position; she did. Her life choices put her there. We're not responsible for..." He trailed off when he noticed he was being defensive—but didn't need to. "Wait, why are we having this conversation? You're the one who tried to kill me when I slapped you with the truth. You're not a kind little girl. People screw up. They pay for their mistakes. That's life."

"Well, maybe I am! Kind, not a little girl, I mean! I matured! You should try it sometime."

"Really?! That's the direction you want to take this?! On you being more mature than me?! Are you willing to die on that hill?"

E'livia crossed her arms. She hated being challenged like that the most out of the entire discussion. "Sure, why not? Are you going to kill me for that? Can you?"

Her challenge made him furious, but he kept it under wraps. For now. She was walking a fine line there.

"E'livia," he spoke slowly as if talking to a dumbass, "you might have said you're mad with me because I'm too rational, but the truth is that you're mad because we... evolved, let's use that word. We evolved differently. You became more caring, empathetic, emotional when you matured. I became more rational when I broke through in the Deep Path. Do you really call that being mature? Being rational?" He left the question, "Are you stupid?" merely implied.

E'livia pursed her lips. "Did you hear me at all, Shen? I'm mad because I want you to care for me. I used that Nmara as evidence of your change, nothing more."

He couldn't believe she was saying that. They weren't mortals. They both had a perfect recollection of what she had just said!

Shen replied, "You did not. You clearly tried to guilt-trip me because of what I did to her. And now, you're—"

She attacked. Shen tried to dodge, but her domain held him firmly. He couldn't fight back.

Except her attack wasn't an attack at all. E'livia embraced him. She had correctly guessed he would dodge it instead of believing she was just seeking comfort; that's why she used her domain.

She teared up and released her hold over him, but he remained frozen in his confusion.

"I'm scared, Shen," she said softly. She clearly wanted to yell at him but held her emotions back to reveal her true feelings. It was heartbreaking that she only did that because she felt like she had no other choice, as her words elucidated, "I'm scared, and the only person I know and trust is pushing me to make myself more vulnerable to potential enemies. I'm scared, and you're behaving in a way that makes me question if I should trust you. I'm... I'm so scared. I've never been without Dad before; I told you that. And I only have you. I can't have you part with me. I can't risk it. I'll... I'll behave. I'll drop the disguise. But please... Please... For me, be a little kinder. Even... Even if you end up just throwing me away later. Just for a little while. Please. I'll behave until then. I promise. Please."

So, Shen triggered her fear of being thrown away and ending up wholly alone because of how he had dealt with Nmara. He had known she was suffering but hadn't been empathetic enough to care or take that into account. He had an eidetic memory, but it didn't necessarily translate into knowing what to do with that knowledge; it didn't automatically make him wiser for it.

Well, he had screwed up, and he found out he really, really wanted to hate himself...

...for not giving a damn about it.

Shen didn't fully believe he had messed up. Her reaction wasn't like his response would be in her situation; she was being too illogical. He had waited for her to mourn back when they were above the ocean, but it was almost like someone would wait for a pet cat to get over the stress of moving houses. Now, he saw her remaining emotions as stupid and useless and didn't want to deal with them. His "pet" shouldn't be that devoid of logic.

He realized that at some point, he had come to believe, deep down, that E'livia was his to command. His property. Even if they weren't a couple yet, he had decided she would be his eventually, so she already was. That's also why he felt offended at the simple fact that she hadn't obeyed him. It had made her less appealing to him.

That wasn't him. Not at all.

Or rather, it was. He had always had a "domineering" side to him. But not like this. He wanted to be stronger than his partner, but to impress them, to feel their pride for him, not to subjugate them to such a level. This was wrong. Twisted. His Will of Absolute Power had pushed his very existence in a way he just knew he shouldn't have gone.

Yet, he only knew it as one might know a school of philosophy they didn't think was too bad but didn't subscribe to. He didn't believe it—despite also knowing he should have believed in it. That should be part of his Honor—the same Honor that should be keeping his Will somewhat locked.

Then he noticed the issue: True Boundlessness, which was attached to his essence, also believed he should be free to do whatever he wanted. Any moral code that decreased his potential gains was to be discarded when convenient. He was Truly Boundless, and although he didn't have Absolute Power over everything yet, he should exercise it over those below him, be it emotionally or at power levels.

It was logical. Simple. Obvious.

Shen could subjugate E'livia. She was in the palm of his hands. Isolated, vulnerable, needy—literally throwing herself at him.

Wasn't she already his, after all? Why not see her as his property? All he had to do was demand it of her the right way, and she would have no choice but to abide by his wishes.

Shen realized something was very wrong with him and did the only sensible thing in such a situation. The only thing that could stop him from living a life he should abhor. A life of a man who abused his power whenever he could.

A life that, the more he thought about it, the more striking it sounded, and the more he felt tempted by it.

He didn't even have the time to get away from E'livia. He was starting to smile. He was beginning to reach for her soul, force a connection she wasn't ready to establish, and make her his. She would serve him for eternity, as it should—

Shen willed every particle of his existence to cease to be.

The entirety of his One Self exploded.

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[A/N: Yup, things were chaotic in part because this would be the Tribulation's conclusion. The arc was supposed to be somewhat confusing. Shen changed too much in too little time. That isn't healthy. Nor did he stop to make sense of things.

I originally intended for him to notice the issues through learning alchemy, over a few chapters, but this feels more in tune with the rest of the tribulation. It also finishes a tribulation that has been going for too long.

Time to get back to normal—if Shen survives; there's a final challenge now that he found the way to end the tribulation.

The way to finish things was hinted at at least two times. I'll explain in the following chapter.] 

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