Divine Path System Chapter 1769: Varian

It is a daring gamble.

Currently, the three of them possess roughly equivalent power. However, due to the devouring nature of Hortus, Varian holds a slight edge.

A victory would be theirs if they could eliminate him within a few seconds. Conversely, if he manages to endure those initial moments, his power will surge definitively, rendering him unstoppable.

The first second ticked by, with Varian balancing on the brink of death, seemingly on the edge of imploding.

The God Emperor felt certain that Varian would tear himself apart in the following second. The Architect shared this exact expectation.

Given the current progression of events, logic dictated that they would emerge victorious.

But just as that outcome seemed certain, Varian abruptly shifted his strategy, throwing their carefully constructed plans into chaos.

Disregarding the God Emperor, he poured the entirety of his focus into an assault on the Architect.

The Architect had bolstered his own power to a peak rank 3 level by drawing upon the materialized laws of the universe.

Yet, with the universe being consumed, this support was compromised, already suffering from significant instability. He was barely holding his position.

Varian channeled Hortus' will to strike the universe, rattling its six laws and nudging it toward total collapse.

The materialized laws flickered and grew dim. Though they retained some light, their brilliance was entirely gone.

The Architect's strength plummeted from peak rank 3 down to high rank 3.

"NO!"

Seizing the opening, Varian targeted the space laws that had imprisoned Hortus.

The chains snapped, and Hortus returned to the universe. The quasi-universe surged, and its rate of consumption spiked dramatically.

The God Emperor's face drained of color as he realized he could no longer exile a now-mighty Hortus.

He determined to make one final attempt to slay Varian. This was his last chance.

"Varian, perish!"

Expending his life force, the God Emperor funneled all his power into this single blow.

Should Varian meet this head-on, he would sustain grievous injuries, causing his strength to temporarily plummet beneath even that of the weakened Architect.

From there, the God Emperor and Architect would force Varian into a cycle of attrition, trading their own health to diminish his power.

The three would see their strength steadily decline, gradually falling from peak rank 3 to low rank 3.

Once that point was reached, Varian would lose his grip on Hortus and weaken even further.

That would be the moment they would strike him down.

Everything rested on this decisive attack. The God Emperor braced himself for a long, grueling fight.

But Varian never intended to engage in a straightforward collision. In his view, fighting that way against such a foe was simply foolish when the objective was victory.

"Show some respect for your teacher." Varian invoked the power of the harmony path.

Every power the God Emperor wielded was absolute, save for this one aspect. His three avenues operated like a flawless engine, marred only by this solitary crack—a gap Varian used as his leverage.

Utilizing the harmony path, Varian fractured the God Emperor's Order and Chaos avenues, severely crippling him.

This weakened God Emperor could no longer maintain peak rank 3 strength. His true power fell to high rank 3, and he wasforced to supplement it with slivers.

But with that single move, Varian destabilized those reinforcements.

His ultimate attack was easily nullified.

Now, Varian stood alone at peak rank 3 against two foes clawing their way back to high rank 3.

"My, how the tides have turned," he chuckled, lifting his sword.

"Darn it! Curse it all!" the Architect snarled.

"Teacher, your actions are misguided! Peace is everything. Peace is—arghhh!"

"Sword of Soul."

The universe split into shades of green and red. The Architect turned pale as he witnessed his own technique turned against him.

No, it was different. It had been improved!

"Judgement of Soul."

A third line manifested between the red and green, defining the domain of the soul.

The souls of both the God Emperor and the Architect were violently ripped from their physical vessels.

"Sword of Anti-Gravity."

The very fabric of space-time within the universe repelled their spirits, banishing them beyond its boundaries into the void.

He couldn't banish them indefinitely; so long as the universe existed, they could find a way back.

Indeed, they returned in a heartbeat. Their bodies regenerated, poised to launch another strike.

But Varian was not foolish enough to grant them that opportunity.

"Sword of Harmony."

Rivers of pure white and absolute black pooled beneath Varian, twisting together to forge a blade. The center of the sword glowed with a beautiful gray forged from the fusion of the white and black.

The sword struck the God Emperor and the Architect simultaneously, ignoring the distance between them.

The harmony between the God Emperor and his slivers was severed, leaving him deeply diminished.

The blade also struck the connection of 'harmony' between the Architect and his dying universe. He was weakened even further.

"Sword of Annihilation!"

All nine paths merged into one, causing the entire universe to shatter. Simultaneously, Hortus achieved its full expansion.

A blinding radiance burst from Varian, drowning out the universe and overwhelming their senses.

Severely compromised, the God Emperor and Architect incinerated their life force, giving everything they possessed to intercept the blow.

Miraculously, they survived.

As the light faded, they scanned their surroundings.

All they saw was emptiness.

"That strike was aimed at the universe, not you," Varian said with a chuckle.

The entire universe had been consumed by Hortus, leaves only the three of them in the void!

There were no laws here, no trace of aura.

There was nothing but the void.

Interestingly, Varian could continue fighting as he did before because he was fully sustained by the universe itself.

But the God Emperor, now outside of it, was severely diminished. He struggled to maintain even a low rank 3 level.

The Architect fared better, though his power had dropped to mid rank 3.

The battle had concluded.

The variable they had dismissed as a mere pawn, the variable they had ignored, the variable that was destined to fail—that variable had triumphed!

Varian had emerged victorious!

The God Emperor stared at Varian with an empty expression.

"Any final words?" Varian asked with a nonchalant gaze.

The God Emperor sighed. "I only hope that you will treat the universe with compassion, unlike this wretch."

Varian breathed a soft sigh and clenched his fist.

The God Emperor spoke no more as he dissolved, as if he were being scrubbed from reality itself.

With a quick flick, the three slivers returned to Varian.

(Haaa~ Good morning—wait? What happened! Var?! Where have we ended up?! Run, the God Emperor is there!)

[Run immediately!]

{Um…where am I?}

The familiar tones of Samsara and Logos greeted him, joined by a new voice.

'I have won the battle. You should rest. We will speak soon,' Varian mentioned gently, and the three slivers were flooded with the information of all that transpired after his initial defeat at the hands of the God Emperor.

(Oh? Then I will prepare the maid uniform for Logos! Hehehehe! Oi, newcomer, say hello!)

{H-Hi}

(Just a hi? Say 'Hi, Master~' Show your devotion, newcomer!)

{H-Hi master…}

"Haaa~" Varian temporarily silenced them before turning his attention to the trembling creator. "Speak up, you little bastard."