Divine Path System
chapter-1685

Varian walked in the streets of Pala capital. The city which boasted riches beyond was gone.

The street were just as large, the paved blue stone still gleamed and reflected the passer bys.

But there were fewer people on the streets, fewer smiles on the people, fewer hopes on the smiles.

Turning at the city square, Varian walked away from the financial district, toward the academic one.

More than a thousand years ago, the concept of innate talent ceasedto exist in Pala. Only cultivated talent, one directly related to the amount of effort remained.

Still, the old order resisted the changes, trying to cling onto their power. But a thousand more years later, the ground shifted.

Anyone willing to work and excel would never find themselves lacking any institutional support.

Children had schools, teenagers academies and adults corportations.

The downside Varian did not expect back then was that an absolutely meritocratic society made everyone hyper competitive even in other areas.

As a result, most of the population who would go any far in divine paths, still worked hard in their own spheres.

It sounded good on paper but listening to the chirpings of children discussing their school topics, Varian wondered if he did the right thing.

"Gene editing is stupid! It messes up the integration of soul and body! Why should we study and waste time on it?"

Advanced life sciences.

"My teacher talked about the concept of absolute space-time center, from which our space-time came into existence. He says it's in God's Eye!"

Advanced math and physics.

"Mommy, mommy, why did the teacher take away the history books of alliance? Grandpa says he studied it in sch—ouch!"

The kid blabbing about his history bumped into Varian and fell onto his butt.

Rubbing his forehead, the little boy looked up in apprehension. He looked like a college student, a fresher maybe? But he seemed mature, unlike those college students.

And his face…his face…

The boy frowned, trying to see the face. It was very handsome, very calm but…

'Why do I keep forgetting?'

"What are you doing? Apologize quickly." His mother patted his back.

"Ah, yes. I'm really sorry, big brother!" With a polite bow of his head, the boy said crisply. "What?" His mother's exclaim caused him to sharply raise his head.

The man in front of him vanished!

Looking at his mother's shocked expression, the boy said with a sheepish face. "Mom, don't you know space awakeners can teleport? I learnt this in elementary."

The boy's mother, a woman with regal temperment, shook her head in disbelief. Her father was a very powerful duke in the kingdom a thousand years ago. When the tides shifted, he was hunted down by the commoners who rose to power.

To disassociate herself from his enemies, she lived in a false identity, hiding her power even from her son and husband.

But the resources left behind by her cruel but influential father and her own natal treasure coupled with her own hard work allowed her to be a rank 8.

Rank 8 Celestial.

One of the most powerful, a literal pillar of Pala kingdom, no, it's Pala dominion in the Confederation.

She's confident that even if a rank 9 teleported in front of her, she'd be able to notice.

But this man…

She couldn't even remember his face, much less sense him vanishing.

A terrifying thought emerged in her mind. Had she really witnessed a…divine ranker today?

'L-Leader of the dominion?' She hugged her son tight with a pale face. It's a very, very cruel man who messed up this beautiful place in just fifty years. There's no way he'd forgive a child bumping into him. Not only the child but his entire family would be dragged into the streets and beheaded in front of the palace.

'But he didn't seem to care…'

That was odd. The leader was cruel. If this one wasn't cruel, then…

'Who is he?'

"Looks like your life isn't going well." Varian looked out of the crystal window, taking in the glance of the entire capital from the top of the royal palace.

"An entire duchy was slaughtered a year ago as their aesthetics didn't appeal to the dominion's lord." King Ferdinand sighed, his white beard hanging helplessly. Even the man himself seemed feeble, as if he'd be blown away by the wind.

The king who ruled the kingdom with an iron fist, the leader who the dukes feared and the man who never wavered in front of difficulties…

"A divine ranker makes even a strong king weak, huh." Varian pursed his lips.

Ferdinand laughed. It was a helpless, bleak laugh. "Genesis Empire forbade the divine rankers from intervening in the kingdoms' administration. Even though we always respected divine rankers, we still had our sense of autonomy, our dignity."

"And now?"

"We have nothing. The whole kingdom, no, the dominion is under a divine ranker. He got in a draw of high rank 1s. A freaking draw! He'll have it for a hundred years until the next draw. We're his temporary toys. He doesn't care about anyone's well beings, much less the common people's.

The deaths he caused in these fifty years is more than the last three big wars combined."

Varian closed his eyes, exhaling deeply. He would've acted right away if such things happened before. But now, he had to be cautious to act in a high profile lest the god emperor's clone took action.

The only reason Varian even bothered to visit Pala despite the paranoia was to learn about the alliance, no, the confederation's current situation.

After the day of calamity, the rank 2s tried to locate the rulers. They failed to locate their traces. All the clones of the rulers vanished, including the ones guarding at the border. Some strange theories were floated around.

The breaking point was when Hades of Mors found his slave contract with Yami vanishing. He proclaimed himelf the ruler and tried to eradicate Genesis from the instinctive hatred for living.

All Mother Asherah performed a forbidden ritual, merging with the hundred 'races' she created and re-entered mid rank 2.

A stalemate was created and then a truce was signed.

Snake of Chaos, Ophion took over Nexus but the divine powerhouses of the empire, mostly in the path of Order, found it extremely humiliating.

All three new leaders lacked the charisma to command loyalty from the divine rankers.

During this time, a theory began to float that God Emperor and the alliance rulers died in a mutual destruction. The deaths of Jai's three commanders added credibility.

Calls were growing from a vocal group about invading the Jai Empire and ruling over the entire Eden.

Ophion didn't show much interest but Asherah and Hades did. Asherah wanted the glory and the opportunity to carefully study the top races of the empire that fought against them for so long.

Hades just wanted the chance to kill living beings.

"It's funny that I felt free when I was much weaker but now I'm hesitant to even kill the ruler of this dominion. To hesitate to crush a weakling like high rank 1, I never thought I'd be like this." Varian sighed deeply. Ferdinand looked at him with a complicated expression. His vision had come true. Varian's hand indeed covered the entire alliance. From his words, it's obvious that he had become a rank 2. And not just any rank 2, perhaps a strong one at that. But despite that, he didn't dare to act.

While Hades or Ophion or even Asherah might be stronger than him at the moment, he didn't think they'd scare him to the point he'd be so hesitant.

There's only one person who would make him like this. Only one…

King Ferdinand's wrinkled brows creased and he asked in a trembling voice.

"I-Is T-Thore—?"

"Shhh!" Varian said instinctively, a look of solemnity and caution in his eyes. "Don't say his name. He'll know." The old king blinked, recalling how the arrogant divine rankers cursed the God Emperor after learning about his death. The vulgar titles, the cruel jokes and worse.

If he really could hear them all, if he really knew, then what would…

The king shuddered and asked in a low voice. "…is he dead?"

Varian had a wry smile on his face. "Unless the universe tried to destroy him, I don't think he had died."

"Then why…"

"I don't know, I'll have to ask them. Why did they vanish?" Varian gripped the window sil.

His clones, heavily suppressed in power to remain hidden, finally found traces of the old rulers.

But they still failed to locate any trace of Primula or Calamity. But it proved that the rank 2 was not a weak one. If he had a choice, Varian didn't want to go into such a fight, exposing his location.

'If the rulers come out, they can solve the problem. Calamity and Primula will be found, I will get help with fusing the forbidden regions. And God Emperor…his clone will not act rashly if we can all join forces.'

But as he thought about it, the scene of God Emperor's phantom overpowering the rulers flashed in his mind. Varian's hopes shattered, revealing the ugly reality. Would it really matter if they're together or alone? Wasn't it all the same?

'No, it makes a difference.'

Shaking his head, he clung onto his hope.

'It's better to fight together than alone. Anyway, once we fuse the forbidden regions, things will completely change. Two high rank 2s under blessings of forbidden regions against a God Emperor who's suppressed by the two regions, it'll be different.

As long as they can stop him for just a few years, I can take care of God Emperor by myself.'

If they had withdrawn because they were injured, Varian had confidence to heal them with the power of Samsara. Despite being significantly weaker than them all, his healing powers were unmatched.

Seeing a path forward, Varian nodded at the old king. "If I succeed in what I'm about to do, not just Pala, all kingdoms will be back to peace and prosperity."

Leaving behind those hopeful words, he vanished.