Divine Path System Chapter 1770 1770: Origin of Origin

"Please, spare me! Don't end my life!" The Architect completely abandoned his pride, begging desperately.

"Give me a reason," Varian remarked, crossing his arms.

"This origin is merely a fragment! A flawed copy of the genuine article!" The Architect blurted out his most guarded secret. "That universe exists on a far higher plane. I simply patterned our own after it.

Because I only possessed a piece, I could only craft three avenues and nine paths. But that true universe… it holds endless paths!

It is a power system of an entirely different, superior tier!

I have the ability to bring you there! You could claim that origin for yourself—the complete origin! You would achieve power beyond anything you can fathom!"

Varian's eyes went wide.

Even though he had anticipated the existence of a multiverse, this revelation was a massive shock.

"And gaze at the void!" The Architect gestured toward the infinite emptiness surrounding them. "This is the Great Sea of Void, the Primal Chaos. Once you step beyond the borders of your own universe, the powers derived from it become useless.

You must master the energies of the void itself. Yet, once you grasp that power, you can transmute it into the essence of any universe you inhabit!"

Varian shook his head firmly. "I have no interest. I intend to spend quality time with my family before setting out. When the moment arrives, I shall uncover those truths on my own."

The Architect's demeanor crumpled. "If that is the case, I will expend the origin shard I carry. The universe's origin will remain forever broken. No matter your efforts, its ultimate destruction is inevitable!"

Varian narrowed his eyes.

A threat he could not ignore.

The Architect had always held this piece. Should it vanish, the entire universe was doomed to collapse. At best, Hortus could only delay the inevitable, not prevent it.

"Do not imagine you can kill me and seize it. I have tethered it to my own essence. Attempt it, and that origin shard will be erased for eternity!" the Architect threatened.

As he noticed Varian's contemplative look, he softened his tone. "I can even assist you in mastering the origin you currently possess.

Believe me, I only stole a fragment, but even that proved too overwhelming.

I was so heavily wounded that I could not contain it. I built this universe so that its power would be drained into acts of creation, protecting me from annihilation.

Even so, I was forced into a slumber that lasted for ages."

Varian questioned him. "What was your original intent?"

"Upon achieving full recovery, I would reach my peak strength—the pinnacle of rank 3, in your terminology.

The universe is destined for ruin, and the origin will weaken during that collapse.

I planned to use that opportunity to merge my shard with the fragment, gaining absolute control and ascending to a higher rank.

From there, I could stand against even the most formidable entities of that universe."

Varian nodded slowly.

The Architect, convinced Varian was fearful, immediately began making outrageous demands. "If you hand over half of the origin, I shall grant you my aid."

Varian chuckled. The man still viewed him as nothing more than a 'pitiful creation'.

'Status'

[Life & Death Avenue: 3000/3000

Space & Time Avenue: 3000/3000

Order & Chaos Avenue: 3000/3000]

Varian felt a sensation of something existing beyond this rank 3 peak. However, a bottleneck remained.

It existed precisely because a portion of the origin was absent. That piece remained with the Architect, manifested as the Harmony path.

'I have repaired the origin before, but those fixes simply restored existing pieces. Now, a vital component is missing.'

An idea suddenly dawned on Varian.

'True, the harmony path is absent from the origin. But the concept of harmony itself remains woven into the fabric of the universe; otherwise, much of reality could not function.

Even though the Architect removed it from the core origin, the essence of harmony did not vanish from existence.

Everything in this universe finds its roots in that same origin.

Wait… when I lost Logos, I still maintained multiple paths because my personal origin was generating slivers on a smaller scale.

Is the universal origin also crafting harmony on a smaller scale?'

Varian focused intently on the cosmic origin. It was fundamentally distinct from his personal one. It possessed a type of power that defied his classification, separate from all the divine paths.

Even at the height of rank 3, he could not fully grasp its secrets. Since he lacked deep understanding, manufacturing a shard of origin was impossible, at least for the moment.

However, Varian quickly pinpointed the cosmic origin fragment that governed the concept of harmony.

His intuition was correct. Just as his own origin produced slivers, this fragment was naturally exuding harmony.

Having total authority over this origin, Varian pushed it to its breaking point, forcing it to focus entirely on generating harmony.

He could not conjure a new shard, but since this was already a fragments-based origin, it should be able to reconfigure itself, mending its own imperfections!

The origin vibrated and diminished in size slightly.

It shed a portion of itself to patch the void created by the missing harmony path.

In that instant, Varian underwent a profound transformation.

[Rank 4: ???]

Turning his attention back to the present, he saw the Architect's impatient expression.

"Very well, the time has come for you to leave." Varian raised his finger to snap, and the origin-thief went pale.

"No, no, no! If you end me, the universe will perish."

"I care not."

"They will hunt you down!" he shouted in a final act of desperation. "I was not the only thief. There were three of us. One day they will detect what occurred here and arrive! You will meet a gruesome end!"

"Oh, since they are coming regardless and I am doomed to die, I might as well finish you off now, don't you think?" Varian laughed.

The Architect wished he could take back those words. "Please, I am of more utility to you alive. I hold knowledge of the multiverse. Deep secrets you cannot even begin to imagine."

Snap!

The Architect was wiped from existence, and true to his word, the origin piece vanished with him.

Varian hurriedly gathered what remained of his essence and scoured it for information.

He briefly glimpsed the life story of the Architect.

He had been a powerhouse in his own universe, reaching its absolute limit. His history was defined by endless, uninterrupted victories.

His only true challenge had come from a youth who ascended from nothing.

That young man was brilliant, his journey marked by great adventures and immense growth. Yet, for reasons unknown, his path eventually crumbled.

His progression broke, and something about him seemed to warp. That change resulted in his eventual fall at the hands of the 'Architect'.

With his only rival dead, the Architect claimed the entire universe for himself and finally broke free.

"Even the villain wins, it seems." Varian shook his head. "Life is seldom a fairytale."

He understood now that the outer reaches were filled with peril and treacherous beings just like the Architect.

[This monumental occasion calls for a celebration of suitable stature. The universe anticipates your grand proclamation—] Logos remarked.

"Speak plainly."

(She means she wants a celebration!)

Varian chuckled. "We shall host the greatest party in the history of the universe!"

He turned toward Hortus—the 'universe'—and prepared to depart when he sensed something arriving from across the distance.

His expression hardened, and he readied himself for combat.

"Eh?"

It was merely a letter.