Endless Debt-Chapter 966 - 60: Fate’s Deadlock

The vision faded to black, but Bologue’s image was forever etched in the Third Seat’s eyes, like a projection of the Devil in the mortal world. The Third Seat was filled with nothing but endless anger and hatred towards that face.

"Thief, Usurper, Deceiver..."

The Third Seat rarely lost control of his emotions, hurling all kinds of venomous words at Bologue.

After the outburst, the Third Seat quickly calmed down. His breathing appeared heavy and rough. He rose from the darkness, the dim scene brightening up, with the glass round bottom coming into view, and the Shadow King appearing within the Third Seat’s sight.

"I found those infiltrators," the Third Seat said. "It’s Bologue Lazarus. He has already ascended to become a Negative Power User."

Upon mentioning the Negative Power User, the Third Seat felt a hint of panic. The last time they clashed with Bologue, he was just a Condenser. Now he’s already a Negative Power User. This terrifying growth rate made him deeply uneasy.

"This is a good opportunity," the Third Seat suggested, "Using Fog Abyss Fortress as a prison to incarcerate and assault Bologue."

After saying this, the Third Seat felt his blood boiling with excitement he couldn’t contain.

"That’s right, as long as we control him, no matter what that Devil wants to do, he won’t succeed. We can use Bologue as a bargaining chip to engage in a game with him."

The Third Seat looked fervently at the silent Shadow King and continued, "Even... to say, use his body."

This sentence caught the Shadow King’s attention. He raised his head slightly; beneath the mask was still a realm of darkness, making it impossible to discern his gaze.

A cold gaze swept over the Third Seat’s body. The Third Seat’s emotions cooled a few degrees, and he said calmly, "We can’t miss this opportunity."

After a long silence, the Shadow King let out a sigh of helplessness.

"Do you think humanity can resist fate?"

The Shadow King threw out a question unrelated to the dialogue.

The Third Seat didn’t hesitate and shouted, "We can, we can do it!"

The Shadow King nodded, not refuting the Third Seat’s words, and continued with his thoughts, "I once thought the same. After all, I’ve gone through so many hardships and triumphed over them... I’m just a step away from victory now."

"We can keep going; we are close to success," the Third Seat said. "Returning to the mortal world."

Seeing the Third Seat’s excited look, the Shadow King’s hoarse laughter carried a hint of bitterness, "Then I started to think, is my resistance also part of fate’s design? Part of a conspiracy?"

The Third Seat collected his emotions, quietly listening to the Shadow King’s words.

"Yes, the act of resisting fate itself, could it also come from another greater, more magnificent fate?"

The Third Seat didn’t know how to respond.

"The Devil, Leviathan, he gives me that feeling."

The Shadow King expressed his inner thoughts to the Third Seat. He’s had many suspicions about Leviathan for a long time, but he’s always been a silent person. This was one of the rare moments when he confided in someone.

"Sometimes I feel like everything in this world is just a movie."

"Movie?"

To the Third Seat, a movie was just something he heard of. This emerging thing didn’t usually pique his interest; all his energy was put into managing the King’s Shield Guard.

"This world is a movie, and everyone is a character in it. Our fate was determined even before filming began, and no one can change their destiny... Maybe some can; they’re just like me, realizing they’re merely characters in a movie. We want to change our story, to go from side figures to main characters. We’ll strive for it until...

Until he, that Devil, notices us."

The Shadow King exclaimed in surprise, realizing such a fact wasn’t easy, and contemplating it made one’s heart uneasy.

"That Devil is like the director of the movie. To present the film with the ultimate result he desires, he won’t allow anyone to interfere with the shooting."

The Shadow King gave an example, "For instance, he needs me to retrieve Xilin’s corpse; then I will certainly obtain it, regardless of the twists in between. Like fate’s bondage, that body will always come back to me... It’s just like that."

The Third Seat fell into silence; he began to understand why the Shadow King was so confident in retrieving Xilin’s corpse; because it’s Leviathan’s will, so the Shadow King will certainly succeed, no matter what.

Likewise, as Leviathan’s Chosen One, Bologue will not fall here no matter what, even if the Shadow King acts personally, he won’t leave him behind.

After all, such a scene is not in the screenplay of the movie.

The Third Seat murmured, "This sounds too terrifying..."

The Shadow King replied in a low voice, "Everything is just a grand symphony, and regrettably, I’m not sure if this will be the final echoes."

Just when the Third Seat thought the Shadow King would abandon the hunt for Bologue, the Shadow King changed his tone.

"The Silent Ones are already on their way to find Bologue."

"What?"

The Third Seat was momentarily stunned; the Shadow King’s words had just been full of submission to fate, yet now he made a completely contrary action.

The Shadow King responded flatly, "I know my fate, but until today, I still cannot accept it."

"More importantly, I guess Bologue thinks the same way."

This sentence the Shadow King didn’t say aloud but chanted internally. He lowered his head, only to see his abdomen had, at some unknown time, a faint black umbilical cord, which extended deeply into the darkness.

The Shadow King could guess what might be on the other end of the cord, subtly anticipating that scene.

...

The high surge of ether and the booming vibrations disrupted Church’s action. He hid in the shadows until the distant ether reaction gradually calmed down, then he leisurely stepped out from the shadows, into the deserted corridor.

Something went wrong.

Church looked in the direction the ethereal fluctuations came from, with added worry in his gaze; the infiltration turned into a skirmish after all.

He didn’t hesitate too long; Church trusted Bologue’s personal capabilities. As the strongest Negative Power User among them, Bologue would not disappoint.

Church needed to focus on the current task, completing his infiltration mission.

He took a deep breath, awakening the power dormant within him. Church’s attire began to transform, turning into pure black, almost merging with the darkness, his visage slowly twisting into another form.

His peripheral vision swept across the shadowed corner, where lay a corpse that had long gone cold. Its face was scarred by knives, making it difficult to discern its original appearance.

"Sorry, borrowing your identity,"

Church whispered to the corpse, stepping out of the darkness, micro light rising in his pupils, and subsequently, Church’s presence rapidly diminished, as if entirely blending into the surroundings.

Entering into the dark corridor, the end of the hallway echoed with disorderly footsteps, Church sidled against the corridor wall, and soon he saw enemies rushing from within the corridor.

They were a group of ordinary people, seemingly mercenaries contracted by the Gray Trade Association, carrying large amounts of Alchemy Armament on them, Church lowered his breath, and the mercenaries passed him by as if they hadn’t seen him.

One mercenary seemed to sense something amiss. He stopped and turned to look down the corridor, seeing nothing but a vague darkness. The only noteworthy thing was a spot on the corridor, where an old painting hung, though he didn’t recall there being a painting there before.

The mercenary didn’t dwell on the anomaly for long, chalking it up to his nerves causing a false alarm; he turned and continued running, catching up with his group.

Seconds later, the "painting" in his eyes began to move, Church quickly walked to the other end of the corridor.

One of Church’s eyes dimmed, while the other twinkled, emitting peculiar power, completely shielding Church’s presence.

This bizarre Secret Energy not only dramatically lowered Church’s presence but also twisted others’ perception of Church, actively ignoring his presence and perceiving him as an ordinary object blending into the environment.

Clearly existing in the same world but inaccessible, as if isolated in two parallel realities, and this was Church’s true Secret Energy.

Transform into a specter, transform into a phantom, transform into an unknown observer.

Church took large strides into the depths of darkness.