Black String of Fate

Xavier stood still on his spot, not out of fear, but an instinctive feeling. Ever since that weapon was manifested, Xavier felt as if a single wrong move could kill him.

'This guy is so sure of his abilities, he's taking my confidence as amusing. I don't think there is any way for me to bluff him into backing off…

Damn, what should I do? A single strike will surely kill me, regardless of how many barriers or defenses I put up.'

He knew this fact with confidence since he himself had manifested his own weapon. He remembered that time vividly, and he even knew that he had barely scratched the surface of that realm. The weapon manifestation realm was so much more than just a simple manifestation, but Xavier unluckily could not find the time to delve into its potential at the time.

Heck, he was in that realm for just a few minutes before he sealed it, it was too less of a time to properly learn more.

'But this guy, he has apparently been a god for more than a million years. That's a time that I can't even wrap my head around that he has experience of… Hah, I'm really biting off more than I can chew.

Will I die today? Will I die when I've finally awakened? No… This isn't meant to be. I shall not accept such a fate.'

Xavier once again gained clarity in his eyes and looked into the eyes of Regaleth. There was no madness or greed of earlier, and neither was there a solid battle intent. Now that he thought about it, it was extremely unusual for him to outwardly express his inner desires so easily to a dangerous enemy. He had a theory, but he wasn't sure.

'Is it his powers that are making me spell out my desires? He did proclaim himself the god of taboo…

Well, I just need to survive right now. He'll surely kill me if I ask for mercy, so let's provoke him instead.'

"Why are you gods interfering in the mortal plane in the first place? First I regressed, now I meet a god who took over the body of a weak kid.
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Are you guys that desperate for entertainment?"

Regaleth eyebrows twitched after hearing that from Xavier. He was not the one to take taunts seriously, but Xavier really hit a nerve he shouldn't.

"You know nothing, mortal, nothing at all about the grand conspiracy brewing in the divine realm. You think being regressed is something special enough to make you worthy to be involved in the grand scale of things? It's better you don't speak nonsense about matters you know nothing about. In fact, I'll make sure you never speak about such things again…"

Regaleth slowly began charging his blade, but Xavier spoke up again with false bravado.

"Ho? I have a feeling that you're making excuses to justify killing me. I don't know what kind of conspiracy is going on, but I can at least infer that there are parties that are at odds with each other.

The god that regressed me, and perhaps even the trial administrator, I feel like you both don't belong to the same side… Oh? Why are you getting flustered? Was I right?"

Xavier could see the surprise on Regaleth's face, his grip tightening on his glass dagger.

'...He's more prospective than I thought. Azaroth really knows how to find gems. That damn annoying guy, now that I think about it, he was way too confident after using the power he had painstakingly collected over the years.

Has he left some sort of protection on him? Well, no other way to know than to try.'

All of Regaleth's plans were formed in fractions of a millisecond, and before Xavier could even react, a dagger had reached his eyes. He genuinely could not react, but soon, he found out that the dagger did not pierce him.

"...So I was right, you have marked this child, haven't you, %$&$%?"

Regaleth spoke into thin air, but as soon as he said that undecipherable name once again, Xavier's instincts made him aware of another presence lurking nearby.

The most unsettling thing about this presence was it seemed as if it was inside of him. Soon, Xavier felt his body losing control, as his mouth started speaking on its own.

"Regaleth, you annoying cockroach. Leave this mortal realm and do not interfere right now. Soon, it will be time for the stage to open, but right now, you're splashing on a half-baked cake batter.

Beware, you fucker. When that time comes, I'll be the one who'll hunt you down. Tsk, now I have to use even more casualty to get rid of you."

Xavier watched as his hand went up and a foreign energy began to manifest on his palms. He could not even begin to sense that energy, let alone comprehend it. He knew that this was something out of his league.

"This'll hurt a bit, child. But you should be able to bear with it for a moment." The being who had possessed Xavier's body spoke as he grabbed the knife that had flown towards him with the charged palm.

"...You're not gonna fight back, Regaleth? I have your divine symbol in my hands, you know?"

"You still think I'm a naive, dumb god, don't you? I knew that you'd manifest the moment he spoke about the things he's not meant to know yet. I'll accept this defeat, at least, now I know just how much value you give to this child…"

Xavier, or in this case, Azaroth, impassively listened to Regaleth as he twisted the energy collected into a spell.

'Divine Spell: Inverted Chaos Seal.'

Xavier's world inverted colors for a brief moment in his eyes, and he suddenly blacked out. There was no pain, no discomfort after casting that spell, he just fell unconscious without even knowing the reason.

As he passed out, he heard a voice ring in his ears…

'This is the last time you're getting plot armor from me. You're not worthy to provoke gods yet, grow more.'