Lord of Annihilation

AN: A bunch of info in this chapter. I've tried to the best of my ability to make it as clear and simple as possible.

Do ask me in the comments if you don't understand something. I will be sure to explain what I can.

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"Such beauty~!" Ka'lor'ah praised. 

To the eyes of the ignorant, the barrier in front of the duo looked ordinary; hemispherical in shape, smooth with no errors, pulsing with serene blue light.

However, in the eyes of the knowledgeable (like Ka'lor'ah), the barrier protecting the large boulder was simply artistic. 

Underneath its dull-looking exterior lay millions upon millions of colorful threads pulsating with wondrous energy. Threads of energy intersected to form the most beautiful patterns, forming a symphony of colors. 

"Holy…" a shocked voice came out of the crystal, "...this is a formation to hide from Cause and Fate?!!"

"WHAT?!" Even the aloof Lucius, lost his composure upon hearing her words.

'Rule of Cause' and the 'Rule of Fate', were Rules that were second-highest Rules in the Universe, just below the 'Rule of Beginning'. 

In other words, these two Rules were one of the fundamental building blocks of the Universe and something that was absolutely necessary for its existence. 

"To think that a formation to hide Cause and Fate would exist in a backward planet like Pectron…but why? What are they trying to hide from the eyes of the Lords?" recovering from her previous shock, questions began to flood Ka'lor'ah's mind.

Not only were these two Rules fundamental to the Universe, but it was also the method used by the Lords to observe everything that happens within it.

To create a formation to hide from Cause and Fate, meant that someone was doing something taboo. Something that mustn't or shouldn't be seen by the Lords.

As for examples for these taboo things might be…Ka'lor'ah and Lucius' act of going back in time, counted as one. By going back in time, they were trying to affect and alter Cause and disrupt the flow of Fate. 

These actions, if discovered by the Lords… let's just say, having them suffer a punishment that is a thousand times worse than death, would be considered as letting them off easy.

The deeds and taboos committed by Lucius and Ka'lor'ah, in order to travel back in time, were something that could absolutely not go unpunished.

They had, quite literally, committed the greatest crime that had ever been committed since the beginning of the Universe.

"Say, does this count as meeting fellow colleagues in distant lands?" Ka'lor'ah joked.

"Be serious." Lucius wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and solemnly replied.

Ka'lor'ah intently observed the dimly glowing barrier, studying each and every detail about it.

Minutes passed in silence, as the duo could feel an unfathomable pressure within their hearts and minds.

This pressure was nothing something that was physical. Rather it was the type of pressure that came from accidentally stumbling across a great secret.

An unknown amount of time passed before Ka'lor'ah tore her gaze from the barrier. She then cast the [Isolation] spell, temporarily isolating the both of them from the observation of the Rules.

"Okay, I've analyzed everything that I could see. It's a concealment formation, emphasized on hiding from Cause and Fate. There even seems to be an anti-detection and anti-observation array built into it, however, the latter two seems to be on the verge of failing."

"It's not purely runic and has a lot of other systems mixed into its construction. I can see traces of Machinery Craft, Arcane Craft, and some other niche systems."

Machinery Craft and Arcane Craft were similar to Runic Craft, as in they were studied for the purpose of exploiting and manipulating the Rules.

While Runic Craft depended on language and the power of words, Machinery Craft depended on machines and Arcane Craft depended on using the power of arcana.

Reyna's ability to give life to her mechanical creations comes under the system Machinery Craft. 

"I have to say, whoever made this formation is an absolute genius!" Ka'lor'ah praised.

However, in her very next sentence, she started to deprecate.

"Of course, it's not as perfect as the one I built and has a lot of flaws that can be exploited. In fact, seeing this one more time, it's filled with so many holes."

"The person, who created this, had a very shallow understanding of the higher Rules. This tells us that whoever made this was not of a Higher Stage, only around Stage 4 or Stage 5, seeing from this work."

"Also, the entire thing was made hurriedly not factoring in the surrounding environment and natural terrain. Going with that thought, it seems that this person was pressed for time, or was running from someone."

"Honestly, I'm amazed that it even worked in the first place. Even with all the flaws that it possesses, it somehow managed to hold on for all these years. Such a blessed person."

"Why is this thing here? What is it hiding? And most importantly, how did we stumble upon this?" Lucius questioned with a grim voice.

There was no such thing as coincidence in this Universe. 

Every event was a combination of several factors and the product of many Rules. Even the most random of actions, actually were the result of Cause and Effect and were subject to the flow of Fate.

Lucius managing to coincidentally meet the group of Silver Fist Ape teenager, him discovering a new ability, him finding the peculiarity of this lake, him losing control and coming to this spot, all these actions and events might seem individually random, but put together seemed to be following a pattern.

As for why this was strange, one has to remember, Lucius was also a person hiding from the Rule of Cause and Rule of Fate. He always carried Ka'lor'ah with him, whose crystal body was a mobile concealment formation.

As a person hiding from Cause and Fate, he should also not be affected by the flow of things and thus, must be immune to such coincidences.

'If us coming here was a product of coincidence, then it should mean that we are subject to the flow of history and causality.'

'If this is true, then it is only a matter of time before the Lords are alerted of our existence and discover us!'

Thinking about those near-invincible beings, Lucius' spine shivered with fear and his heart quaked with fear.

"How we managed to stumble into this thing, I don't know? It could be pure chance, or perhaps it could be a coincidence." Ka'lor'ah slowly spoke.

"As for why it is here and what it is hiding, I might have a clue." 

"Recall how we discovered an enormous amount of life force underneath the lake? I just checked right now, and there seems to be a path underneath this boulder leading into that mass of life force."

Upon discovering why her initial detection had failed, Ka'lor'ah exploited some of the flaws in the barrier and managed to scan inside and underneath the bottom of the lake.

The result of her scanning revealed an enormously large labyrinth of passages and pathways, forming a complicated underground web leading to the mass of life force.

In fact, Ka'lor'ah noticed that the mass of life force wasn't stationary but rather, was moving towards another location, through this complicated underground structure.

This boulder seemed to be an entrance into this underground labyrinth.

"Putting together all the clues, I can vaguely guess what's going on…"

"There is a Stage 4 or Stage 5 being underneath this place, who is using some kind of forbidden life extension technique, to enrich his life force."

"Whatever this method is, it must be heretical and blasphemous that goes against the Rules of Universe. Some method that mandates that the process to not be discovered by the Lords, requiring the concealment formation to hide it."

Taking a deep breath to calm her emotions, Ka'lor'ah continued.

"Worst of all, there is no way for us to run away quietly."

"Having stumbled upon this barrier, our 'causality' has tied in with the cause of this being. Unless we end that being's 'Cause', there is no way for us to extradite ourselves from this situation."

"If we are to ignore this, we will no longer be able to hide from the Lords and it will only be a matter of time before we are discovered, and our plans foiled."

"In short, we are currently totally fu*ked!"

After explaining these matters, an odd silence descended between them. Lucius' face wore an ugly expression, as his eyes flickered with hesitation, rage, and helplessness. A terrifying aura was being unleashed by his body.

Ka'lor'ah silently gazed at him and did not dare disrupt his thoughts. In fact, she was feeling a similar feeling as Lucius.

Right now, the duo was between a rock and a hard place.

On one side, was a Stage 4 or Stage 5 being whose condition was unknown. They had to kill him and end his Cause if they wanted to continue hiding from the Lords.

On the other hand, was to ignore this problem and run away. However, no matter how far they could go, as long as their causality was exposed, it was only a matter of time, before the Lords found them.

Truly a difficult situation.

Inhaling a breath of fresh air and exhaling his suppressed breath, Lucius looked ahead and solemnly said.

"I've had enough of being subject to the whims of another. Enough of having my fate controlled."

"So what if there's a Stage 4 or Stage 5 being under there. The worst thing that could happen is me dying."

"I would rather fight knowing my death than run away and wait for it."His eyes deepened in its colors. Madness and savagery flitted across his gaze.

"Let's kill this bastard!"