Power of Runes Chapter 540: The Depths of Fate (1)

Fate was never a single path.

It was a limitless ocean of possibilities, where every choice created another current, every current crossed another, and every existence became both the cause and consequence of countless events that would continue long after the existence itself had vanished.

Within that endlessly vast Ocean of fate, there was no true beginning and no absolute end, because the moment one thread was followed to its origin, countless others were already branching from it, while the future that appeared to be the destination of that thread was simultaneously becoming the origin of another.

To comprehend Fate was therefore never simply to understand what would happen.

It was to understand why it could happen, how countless possibilities became connected, and why even the smallest choice could eventually produce consequences that no existence could have predicted.

And within that incomprehensible Ocean of Fate...

Arthur was sinking deeper.

The countless golden threads surrounding him no longer appeared as separate strands within his perception, because the distance between one possibility and another had gradually disappeared, allowing him to perceive the connections between them as clearly as though they had always been lying before his eyes.

Every movement carried a consequence.

Every consequence created another possibility.

Every possibility became part of another path.

And the endless cycle continued.

Arthur’s consciousness remained immersed within that understanding as countless fragments of knowledge continued connecting together, filling gaps that had remained within his comprehension for ages, and the deeper he went, the more insignificant individual events seemed to become when compared to the vast structure formed by all of them together.

The Resonance of Fate had already begun to fade from the surrounding Web, yet Arthur remained immersed within the enlightenment it had opened for him, because the enlightenment itself had already gone beyond the phenomenon that had triggered it.

His comprehension of the Rune of Fate continued rising, slowly but steadily, while countless mysteries that had once seemed impossible to approach began revealing themselves one after another.

Then, somewhere within that endless depth, Arthur’s attention slowly began returning toward the world outside his enlightenment, and as his understanding gradually settled, the endless Web surrounding him became less overwhelming, with the countless connections that had once filled his perception slowly separating back into their individual threads.

His consciousness slowly returned.

The sensation was almost like waking from an extraordinarily long dream, except there had been no dream at all; there had only been understanding, layer upon layer of it, stretching far beyond anything he had ever comprehended before.

Arthur remained silent for several moments as the last traces of enlightenment gradually faded, and when his eyes finally opened, the golden threads of Fate once again became visible around him.

His gaze moved through them calmly, as though he were seeing the familiar Web for the first time.

Then his expression changed slightly.

Time had become meaningless while he was immersed within the enlightenment, and although his perception of Fate had undoubtedly changed, there was one thing he knew with certainty.

Arthur turned his attention toward his comprehension of the Rune of Fate.

90%.

His eyes lingered on the number for a moment.

Only Arthur knew how much time and effort it had taken him to reach even this level of comprehension, and as his understanding of the Rune continued to grow, the difficulty of comprehending it had increased alongside it, with the concepts and knowledge involved gradually reaching levels that seemed to transcend everything known not only to ordinary beings, but even to himself.

The further he advanced, the more he realized just how vast the Rune truly was, because every increase in comprehension did not simply give him more knowledge, but opened another layer of concepts that had remained beyond his understanding until that very moment.

Thus, such a bountiful harvest was something that instantly lifted his mood considerably.

But Arthur knew better than to let himself remain immersed in that satisfaction for too long.

The enlightenment had given him a valuable increase in his comprehension, but it had not changed the situation that had forced him into that enlightenment in the first place.

Ash was still somewhere outside the Web of Fate.

The Runes were still in his possession.

And the changes Ash had caused were still spreading through the future Arthur had once known.

With that thought, Arthur’s attention returned to the matter he had temporarily set aside, and without wasting any more time, he slowly raised his hand and allowed his newly strengthened understanding of Fate to spread through the surrounding space.

The golden threads responded almost immediately.

Countless lines of Fate brightened beneath his perception as his [Authority] passed through them, and in that instant, the entire Web seemed to open before him, revealing the countless beings connected to it, their identities, their positions, and the countless paths extending from their existence.

Arthur searched.

He searched through the countless possibilities, followed the threads belonging to beings connected to Ash, traced the changes that had appeared around his existence, and even used the deeper understanding he had gained from the ’Resonance of Fate’ to examine the places where Ash should have left traces behind.

Yet there was nothing.

No matter how deeply Arthur searched, the result remained exactly the same.

Ash was nowhere within the Web of Fate.

Arthur’s expression did not change much, because he had already expected this result, and the purpose of this attempt had never been to genuinely find Ash but simply to determine whether the enlightenment and the additional 4% comprehension he had gained had somehow allowed him to perceive what he previously could not.

It hadn’t.

The thought passed through his mind almost casually as he withdrew his Authority from the countless threads.

The comparison was simple, but the conclusion behind it was even simpler.

Ash did not merely possess an unusually concealed Destiny.

He did not have a Fate that Arthur couldn’t penetrate.

There was simply nothing there for him to grasp.

That realization was irritating, but it was not surprising anymore, and Arthur dismissed it from his mind without allowing himself to waste another moment dwelling upon something he could not currently change.

Instead, his attention shifted toward another presence.

The Rune of Fate.

Arthur’s consciousness moved through the connection he possessed with the Rune, and the moment that connection opened, a voice entered his mind.

{You finally stopped searching for something that does not exist. It was unexpected that you realized it so early.}

The voice was strange.

The Rune of Fate’s voice felt detached from ordinary emotion, almost as though it were simply describing something that had already happened rather than participating in the conversation itself.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"So you were watching."

{I was always watching.}

The answer came without hesitation, and yet there was something almost peculiar about the way the Rune spoke, because it did not sound like the other Wills, who often allowed their emotions to leak into their words.

Arthur remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Then tell me what happened while I was comprehending the Rune."

The Rune of Fate remained silent for a brief moment before its voice finally entered his mind, carrying the same detached calm as before.

{While you were immersed in the enlightenment, Ash used the power he had accumulated through a title called the Chaos Harbinger. That Chaos entered the Web of Fate at a rather interesting moment, because the Web had already been disturbed by Ash’s existence, the changes he had caused, and the ongoing rewriting of the Grand Fate.}

Arthur’s eyebrows rose slightly.

"A title?"

He had expected to hear about the Runes, Ash, perhaps even another interference from that unknown existence, but a Title was the last thing he had expected to hear.

"And you’re telling me that Ash suddenly possessed a title that you had never seen before, one capable of interfering with Fate?"

{Yes. I found it rather interesting myself. I cannot determine where he obtained it, who granted it to him, or whether its origin is connected to something that has yet to happen.}

Silence fell, heavier than the words themselves.

***