Jack looked at his hands. Closing them into fists. No tremor. No pain. Just power. Raw, unfettered strength. He was completely recovered.
He had faced the trials the voice had thrown at him. Survived them by impossible margins. And in return, the system had granted him the ability to make survival... easier. Kind of ironic. But not actually bad...
What now? The trial was complete. Was he free? Was this the end of this particular ordeal? Or was this just the beginning of something else? something requiring the kind of resilience immunity offered?
Suddenly, the world shifted...
Jack blinked. One moment, he was standing firm on scorched arena. The next, he was in this large, yet strange, chamber. No gradual shift. Just instant transition.
The air here was cool. Ancient murals adorned the walls. Depicting swirling clouds. Figures wrestling storms. And symbols that felt both familiar and alien.
Yet, mixed with the ancient stone and faded art were panels of smooth dark material. One that pulsed with soft, internal light. Mounted on these panels were glass-like screens. Currently dark.
Jack could also see... In the center of the room, there was a crystal orb. Hovering a meter off the ground. Glowing with a gentle, internal light.
The resonant and ancient voice could be heard again. Carrying the weight of cosmic indifference.
"Inheritance Trial for the Great Cloudfather. Phase 2 - Fate Trial. Change your fate!"
Jack scanned the room once more. Ancient patterns plastered onto futuristic tech. The floating orb felt like a relic. The screens like a monitoring system. This trial chamber was full of contradiction.
Cloudfather. Jack had devoured many scraps of lore from this world's library. He had enough knowledge about this entity. A deity from Nagaean Mythology. With five titles: Sculptor of Strength, Father of Fate, King of Vengeance, Emperor of Fog, God of Freedom.
Strength first. Now Fate. That confirmed a suspicion. Five titles, likely five phases. He'd passed Strength. Now came Fate.
He didn't know what changing his fate would entail. He didn't even know if he had a fate in this world. He started as a ghost in this strange world after all. Was that fate, or just a cosmic anomaly?
The voice spoke again. "Begin the trial. Touch the orb."
Jack walked towards the floating crystal. He felt no malice emanating from it. Only immense power held in check. He extended a hand. His armored fingers brushing the cool, smooth surface.
As his skin made contact, the crystal flared with light. The screens mounted on the walls surrounding them flickered to life. Not with images. But with chaotic, swirling static.
He felt a strange probing sensation. Like delicate tendrils of energy sifting through his very being. Searching. But, searching for what? A thread? A path? A destiny?
The static persisted for what felt like an age. Though it was likely only moments. The probing sensation intensified. Becoming almost uncomfortable. Like an itch deep in his soul.
Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the screens went dark again. The crystal orb's glow returned to its gentle pulse.
The voice returned. Its tone flat. Devoid of judgement. Yet carrying an absolute finality. "Trial failed."
Jack didn't flinch. Failed. He expected it. Dealing with fate felt like a concept too abstract for him.
"You possess no fate. No thread to follow. No path laid out. You are untethered." The voice paused. As if contemplating something profoundly unusual. "The Fateless. One of the few anomalies in existence."
Jack felt a flicker of curiosity. Untethered? No fate? Was that a consequence of how he arrived here? Died in another world? Reborn in this one as a ghost?
"The trial requires the manipulation of destiny. The bending of a predetermined path. You have none to bend or break. You are... null." The voice didn't show any emotion. Merely stating a fact of cosmic mechanics. "Therefore, the trial is incompletable via standard parameters."
Just as a sense of anticlimax settled over him, something appeared in the air before him. It simply appeared. A silver coin. Spinning slowly. Catching the light.
He could see on one side, a deeply etched image of a swirling cloud. On another side was a pentagram symbol. It drifted towards him. Settling in his outstretched hand. It felt cool and smooth on his hand as he caught it.
"A unique outcome requires a unique solution." The voice stated. "The Fateless cannot interact with the inheritance of fate. But there is another destination. Another Fateless."
Jack looked at the coin. Then back at the dark screens. Listening intently.
"This artifact serves as a key. To bridge the gap. To initiate contact. Seek the other Fateless in the center of the island. The Rainsister."
Rainsister. The name resonated. Jack knew that name, too. Another ancient deity. Entwined in the fragmented mythology of this world. From the defunct Nagaean Civilization. A culture lost to time.
He recalled her titles, just as distinct as the Cloudfather's or the Webmother's. Rainsister. The Witness of Compassion. Sister of Serenity. Queen of Exchange. Empress of Rain. Goddess of Knowledge.
These characters belonged to Nagaean Pantheon. A footnote for many in this age of steam and iron. Dismissed as just myths.
But Jack had learned to pay attention to the 'myths' in this world. He had pieced together what he could. It might not be correct. But it provided him enough information.
He recalled the Nagaean Mythology.
Long, long ago... The entity the culture called as the 'Genesis Source of Everything' had completed its initial work. Carving the continents, filling the seas, and breathing life into the myriad creatures. It had then retreated. Left the world to evolve on its own.
In the vacuum left by the Source's departure, mortals struggled. They built civilizations. They warred. They suffered. Life was harsh. Governed by cruel and indifferent forces. Both natural and unnatural.
It was in this era that five individuals, five mortals, rose above the rest. Not through divine intervention initially. But through sheer will, unique talent, and actions that fundamentally reshaped the world. And the potential of sentient life within it.
They ascended. Became gods. Or something functionally indistinguishable from them.
First among them, or perhaps alongside them, was the Cloudfather. He was said to have been a warrior. Leader of his tribe. One burdened by the injustice he saw.
He wasn't just strong. He understood the nature of force. The nature of true strength. He learned to sculpt it. To refine it. Becoming its sculptor.
But brute force wasn't enough. He saw how destiny. Or what mortals perceived as destiny. The relentless tide of misfortune for the weak. The easy path for the cruel. It dictated outcomes.
He didn't just rail against it. He sought to understand its threads. Through sheer force of will and insight, he wrestled with probability and causality of fate.
He used this understanding not for personal gain. But to deliver retribution. Those who preyed on the innocent found their 'fate' twisted. Their planned victories turned to ash. He became the King of Vengeance. A terrifying, inescapable shadow for the wicked.
He moved unseen. Masked in the fog and mists he commanded. His judgement fell without warning. And in doing so, he broke the chains of predetermined doom for the worthy and imposing it on the guilty.
He offered something revolutionary to the world. The possibility of choice. Earned through struggle. He became the God of Freedom.
Then there was the Webmother. Accounts were scarcer for her. She was often depicted as a songstress and a weaver. Not of mundane songs or cloth. But of connection.
While Cloudfather wrestled with individual threads of fate, Webmother was said to have understood the network. She saw how actions rippled. How lives intersected. How choices intertwined.
She didn't force paths. But revealed connections. She was the architect of subtle causality. The mistress of consequence.
Some feared her. Seeing her as a manipulator behind the scenes. Pulling strings. Hunting targets without any known reasons.
Others revered her for showing them how seemingly insignificant acts could blossom into profound outcomes. Her domain wasn't fate.
But the intricate tapestry of existence itself. The unseen bonds that tied predator to prey. Ruler to the ruled ones. Fortune to misfortune. And ultimately, soul to soul.
She facilitated understanding. Sometimes through harsh lessons. Sometimes through unexpected illusionary revelation. She was the silent partner in the world's intricate dance. Ensuring that nothing existed in true isolation.
As for the Rainsister... Her myths painted a different picture. Where Cloudfather was tempest and judgment, Rainsister was the point of sustenance and calm.
She was said to have been a scholar. Someone who saw the suffering of the world and sought not to punish the cause. But to alleviate the pain. Not just by doing it herself. But also through inviting others' participation.
She witnessed compassion. Not just in grand gestures. But in the quiet kindness between strangers. And elevated it to a divine principle.
She brought serenity to troubled lands. Not through force. But through balance. She understood the fundamental needs of life. Water, food, safety. Thus she guided the flows of resources. Ensuring trade was fair. That sustenance reached those who needed it.
Her domain covered the vital waters that nurtured life. But also cleansed and washed away stagnation.
And her greatest gift, perhaps, was the shared knowledge. Teaching others to understand the world. To heal themselves. To learn from the past. She offered solace and the tools to build a better future.
The next deity, the Bonebrother, was a figure of stoic power. Legends spoke of him rising from the deepest parts of the world. Or perhaps from the remnants of the fallen.
He was the shaper of the earth. The one who strive to build solid foundation. While Rainsister controlled the flowing water, Bonebrother commanded the unyielding stone. And the enduring structure of life itself – bone.
He was the tough builder. The one who provided resilience. He built mountains that defied storms. Crafted caverns that sheltered mortals. And instilled within creatures the capacity for endurance.
He was also seen as the shepherd of souls. Guiding them to rest. He was the keeper of the underworld. Not as a place of damnation. But of finality and peace.
He represented the inescapable truths. Gravity. Decay. And the strength found in foundation and persistence.
He was the quiet, immutable force against chaos. The one who ensured that even after destruction, something remained. Something capable of enduring the calamity.
Finally, the Breezechild. The most mercurial. The hardest to pin down. He was the incarnation of change. The whisper of inspiration. The restless spirit.
Legends depicted him as young, fleeting boy. One who was present everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He was the force that scattered seeds. Carried news across continents. Stirred stagnant air into cleansing winds.
He was the bringer of new ideas. The spark of creativity. The source of the desire to explore beyond the horizon.
While Bonebrother represented foundation, Breezechild was the wind that carried things away from it. He wasn't tied to a place or a form. Embodying flexible changes in movement and thought.
He was the conduit for unexpected encounters. The force that brought strangers together. The passion that planted love and hope. He was the embodiment of the ever-changing present and the uncertain future.
Five mortals, forging divinity from the raw elements of existence. After the Source withdrew. They weren't perfect. Their myths were full of conflicts, disagreements, periods of withdrawal or harsh action.
But for the Nagaeans, they were their gods. Born of their world's specific needs and struggles after the prime creator left.
And now, in the Cloudfather's trial that was meant to gauge fate, Jack had been judged Fateless. And the trial pointed him towards a Fateless deity, the Rainsister.
It was a piece of new information not existing in any record. The revelation that Rainsister was a Fateless character.
The silver coin felt warm in his hand now. A key. To bridge the gap. To contact the other Fateless. The Rainsister.