CHAPTER 50: DEATH’S CHASE

’This motherfucker might as well have spawncamped my ass.’

That was essentially Xenos’s first thought when he saw the Priest standing there, in front of him.

It wasn’t the usual ’I’m fucked’ thought most had, though he was, no.

Nor was it panic or fear but more of a deep, genuine annoyance.

Even now, staring down Eris’s Disciple, or what was left of him, he found himself dismissive. But, of course, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t taking his situation seriously.

Oh, far from it, as the moment the Priest appeared, he was already moving.

The air split with a ripple of light as Nikalaos’s Rune burst into existence.

A perfect symbol of a roulette wheel, bright without color.

"It’s mine now."

Xenos reached out, his hand closing around it.

A swirl of fragments rushed toward and inside him.

It slammed straight into his chest and vanished beneath his skin.

They intertwined, and the world flashed.

Light devoured everything; no...

—

╔════════════════╗

║NEW RUNE BESTOWED!║

╚════════════════╝

[Fortune’s Wheel]

—

Divinity did.

When it went dark, the void welcomed him home.

It was a familiar pitch-black, soundless, endless void.

He floated in its nothingness, his gaze fixed on the Rune spinning before him...

"Pretty."

His pupils dilated as his Beholding Eyes activated, calling upon lines of blue script.

—

[Third Rune: Fortune’s Wheel (Rank 5)]

[Description: The fickle hand that spins Fate itself. The bearer may invoke a single Elemental Ability beyond their Root Rune, one that does not belong to them by nature. Each invocation reshapes destiny, but at a terrible cost. The Soul will fracture with every use, and repeated defiance of Fate may leave nothing left to spin.]

—

Xenos whistled.

"So that’s how the bastard kept rewinding time."

He cracked his neck and smiled faintly.

"Yeah, that’s not staying like that."

Xenos couldn’t have himself slowly die with every battle.

There was something much better he could do with this.

He lifted a finger, channeling [Dealer,] his Soul Glyph.

The void trembled as his Will pressed against the Rune.

He was rewriting and reshaping it.

"Let’s make you more... fun."

The letters flickered.

—

[Third Rune: Fortune’s Wheel (Rank 5)]

[Description: The hand that spins Fate itself without mercy or pattern. The bearer may call upon any Elemental Ability, regardless of origin, but its nature is determined entirely by Luck. The Element, its strength, and even the chance of manifestation itself lie at fortune’s whim. It may grant the perfect power... or nothing at all.]

—

Xenos crossed his arms, waiting for it to finalize, but—

Ding!

The Rune buzzed angrily, rejecting the rewrite.

—

[Further Constriction Needed!]

—

"...Hm.’

Expecting as much, he snapped his fingers again, narrowing its scope just a bit.

—

[Third Rune: Fortune’s Wheel (Rank 5)]

[Description: The hand that spins Fate itself without mercy or pattern. The bearer may call upon any Ability no better than a Derived Element, regardless of origin, but its nature is determined entirely by Luck. The Element, its strength, and even the chance of manifestation itself lie at fortune’s whim. It may grant the perfect power... or nothing at all.]

—

Before he could even think, a pulse of Divinity hit him.

The Rune had locked into place, turning gold.

Its appearance now matched the others.

"Perfect."

Xenos’s smile couldn’t be wider.

"A glorified slot machine for death."

With that, the void shattered like glass.

Reality slammed back into focus.

The cave returned... as did the Priest.

Xenos stood there, being stared at in disbelief.

’So essentially...’

He brushed dust off his cloak.

’...I just got myself Elemental manipulation that depends on my Luck.’

Even though he couldn’t use Primary Elements, it still seemed perfect.

’Let’s spin the wheel.’

A faint tattoo etched itself beneath his left eye.

Its lines curled into the shape of a small circle...

A miniature Fortune’s Wheel.

Above it, his eye itself had changed.

What was once a glowing gray turned into another Fortune’s Wheel.

Though unlike the tattoo, this one actually moved.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick—

It began to spin through the Elements.

DING!

Quickly, it reached one.

—

{Lightning!}

—

Xenos blinked.

Once spun, his Element would be chosen, and it’d be the only one he could use for the duration of the Rune’s activation.

So Lightning?

An Element of speed in this situation?

It was...

"Nice."

Power flooded through his body, electric arcs dancing across his skin, lighting up the cave.

"It seems like I’m feeling quite charged."

Chuckling at his flop of a joke, he rolled his shoulders.

"What..."

The Priest was still frozen in place.

"What did you—"

"Let’s play tag, shall we?"

Xenos interrupted flatly, and before he could say anything else—

Ding!

He, too, was interrupted.

—

╔════════════════════╗

║NEW SOUL GLYPH ACQUIRED!║

╚════════════════════╝

[Dual Fated]

[Description:

You are the Luckiest of Runethera.

You are the Unluckiest of Runethera.

Bearer of Fortune, Harbinger of Ruin.

Fated for Divinity, Bound to Calamity.

You are the Dual Fated.]

—

’Dual Fated, huh?’

Xenos glanced at his hands as static danced along his fingers.

’Fitting’

He chuckled, low and amused, before turning on his heel.

"Anyway..."

His right hand waved at the Priest...

"Thanks for the Rune~!"

And he bolted out of the cave, lightning trailing behind him.

Yet the moment he left the area, the Priest appeared right in his path.

"Ah..."

Xenos paused.

"...really?"

Survival might really be impossible here.

"You were sent here just to kill little ol’ me? Does House Hades have nothing better to do?"

The Priest didn’t answer; he just calmly brandished his staff.

"Yeah, definitely spawncamping."

Far from giving up, Xenos resumed his escape.

Lightning cracked through the trees as he ran, almost gliding across the forest floor, every muscle in his body buzzing with lightning, overcharged; sparks bursting with every step, burning tiny lines of glass into the dirt.

His world blurred, branches tearing past, while leaves exploded from the shockwaves.

And yet, no matter how fast he went, behind him, the Priest was there.

A single step behind.

Always one step behind.

Every time Xenos darted right, the man was there.

Every time he vaulted off a root, the ground behind him cracked open.

"Persistent bastard!"

Xenos yelled, vaulting off a boulder as an earth spike shredded through it.

"Do you have abandonment issues or what!?"

The Priest didn’t answer and simply raised his staff.

The runes on it glowed a deep brown.

"Ah. That’s never good."

It wasn’t.