Sovereign of the Karmic System

"Tell me what have you come to my domain for." The aspect of life inquired with what Daniel felt was a hint of respect. His perception had not failed him, for in him, Life had seen an entity that could afford to do something she couldn't, but had long wished she was capable of.

She was the consciousness of Life, an aspect of existence that may not have been as powerful as the more omnipresent members of her kind, but was still deeply respected by the vast majority of aspects within the pantheon. Her existence was, to some extent, perceived the direct opposite to that of Death. None would dare deny the validity of her power. Yet, while respected, she was also a living consciousness. An entity that was able to feel emotions, and that included hatred.

And hatred she felt aplenty, mostly towards herself, for she valued the sanctity of life and death, but also hoped for the waste of life to have a consequence.. Or purpose. That is what Karma was. Pure and deserved consequences.

At first she had no good opinion on Daniel, but as she heard his words of reprimand, she came to realize that he was not only different from the rest in the way he had originated, but in character as well. He spoke just like any other mortal, creatures that had been able to evolve and survive while having to constantly face the barrier imposed by their conscience.

To a mortal, life was valuable, and most of them would avoid wasting them, for they knew the weight death carried with its arrival. This concept, Life believed Daniel could understand. The same concept that made the inhabitants of this planet the most fitting to be champions of life.

What Life did not understand, unfortunately, was that Daniel had long lost that side of his humanity, and that his empathetic words were but sweet words of nothing. He did not particularly care for the lives of these humans, nor was he bothered by the woman's inability to keep her champions safe.

His intention was to prod the spot of her mind that she was the least confident about, and trigger a response. He was manipulating her.

But, alas, most aspects of existence failed to understand this level of deceitfulness, and that was especially true for the aspect of Life, for her champions were pure and good at heart, and lacked these types of selfish traits.

As the woman demanded for an explanation, Daniel smiled faintly. He was satisfied by what he had achieved, but did not let it show. He would rather the woman think he was a better person than he actually was. "We are looking for a group of cultivators, beasts and elementals. We believe we were led here because they had something to do with you." Daniel responded patiently.

The eyes of the middle aged woman narrowed, "Elementals cannot become champions, and I have many humans and beasts living within my domain. What tells you that they are under my care?" She asked before suddenly remembering Roley's presence. He too, like Daniel, emanated a faint power of existence. One she had recognized as the gift of Destiny, which she was quite familiar with. "Has his gift led you to me?"

Roley took a step forward, and once he stood next to Daniel, responded, "The trail we were following ended here. To rescue the boy of the woman you were possessing. I believe we were meant to meet you."

Seeing Roley from up close, the woman could not help but be surprised. His words had reached her ears, but something else was catching her attention, "How did you come so far without losing your consciousness?"

The woman had noticed a complete lack of power of death around Roley's body. A power that, unbeknownst to them, every champion of Destiny possessed. After all, each member of their kind was originally paired with a host, who they were tasked to absorb the consciousness of, and steal their bodies from, effectively killing them.

Roley, however, seemed to have lived far beyond the span of time it would take for one of the parasitic consciousnesses to take over their host's body. He also emanated double the amount of existential power of life, showing that he had not only maintained his consciousness, but was still sharing his body with another.

Roley was not particularly interested in sharing his story with the aspect of existence. He also knew that her interest was only marginal, and that his nature had only allowed her to have a better predisposition towards him, as opposed to how she would have felt dealing with the warmongering sociopath the Elementalist was.

"It is a long story." Daniel interjected, rejecting the topic of conversation. Then continued, "The group we are seeking was quite numerous, and their members inhabited several connected planets which, the last time I have seen, they used to roam the multiverse." As he finished describing, Daniel turned to look down the mountain before adding, "The three species used to live in harmony, not unlike the creatures that inhabit this world. It would not surprise me if they naturally gravitated towards your domain of life."

At this point, Daniel was only fishing for information. The only trail he had led to this woman, and he was convinced that only she could direct them to the next step. Yet, despite how accurate his description was, the woman appeared confused.

"Strange.." She muttered to herself. "I can recall such a cluster of planets in my travels, one which gave off the type of aura your friend possesses. But it was uninhabited."

These words seemed to take a toll on Roley's and Der's mind, as they immediately stepped forward. Der especially, who had come too close, invading an unclear limit of personal space whose invasion Life appeared annoyed by.

Apologetic, Der took a step back, then asked, "Where was this? Where did you come upon it?"

Life recognized Der's expression. It was the same expression Johan's father had on his face when debating whether to leave the house to search for him, or stay, and protect the rest of his family. It was pure worry, and distress. It was clear that whoever was part of the group they were seeking, at least this man had no ill intention towards.

"It was only centuries ago, inside a universe I have lost control over." Life responded. In her voice was an equal degree of shame and anger, which resurfaced as she thought of the waste of life that had occurred so that others could gain control over her territory. She also felt ashamed, for she was unable to stop it despite being capable of it. But, alas, that was what she was. The aspect of life. An entirety empowered by all life within the multiverse, but who could also never kill anyone.

"You said it was uninhabited.. Have you seen any remains, or signs of battle?" Daniel asked, unwilling to let Der's worried state of mind derail them from their goal.

Life shook her head. At the time, she had spent quite a bit observing the strange sight that had appeared in front of her eyes. On each planet she could feel the purity of nature, almost as if each world was made to host the beautiful variety of life present within the multiverse. She had regretted not being able to recover the system, which she saw as a most perfect aquarium, capable of creating its own life, given enough time.

Unfortunately, while she had decided to fight to recover such a perfect habitat, it was difficult for her to fight without taking lives.. And if that was not enough, the aspect of existence that had invaded her universe was able to increase his influence far beyond that of Life herself, forcing her to leave the universe behind.

"No battle took place on those planets.. And that came of no surprise, knowing which entity they must have faced." Life responded with deep hatred. Her eyes once again turned towards the small town, now abandoned from the champions and elementals, and left for the few surviving champions of life to rebuild.

"Was it the aspect of Sacrifice?" Daniel asked. It made sense in his mind. Who but him existed to be a threat to Life? Overlord of beings who wasted the lives of others in pointless sacrifices, or wasted their own slaving for poor wages and little to no recognition. Very little good was present in the nature of Sacrifice, and he was, overall, a malevolent existence.

Daniel found the nature of Sacrifice to be dependent to that of Life, and found it quite odd, considering Sacrifice itself must have acknowledged the value of life, for its sacrifice to be worth something. The irony was not lost on him.

The aspect of Life nodded in confirmation. Her relationship with Sacrifice could be described as an abusive one, for the latter knew what her weakness was. She wouldn't take a life, and since she represented what Sacrifice lived to see the end of, he had educated his domain to always be aggressive towards the champions of Life. In fact, Sacrifice had so little respect for Life, that he allowed his champions to outright instigate her.

Due to the nature of their relationship, Daniel was inclined to believe in the story she had told. Many were the universes the pacifist aspect of existence had lost to his nemesis, and it appeared that his people had, accidentally, found themselves in the middle of this conflict.

Luckily, Daniel thought, the aspect Life had blamed for his people's disappearance was the aspect of Sacrifice.. Had she lost the universe to the aspect of Horror instead, who was at an even higher level than Sacrifice, there would have been close to no chance that his people could have survived the invasion.

Unfortunately, Der and Roley lacked this type of understanding, and the moment they witnessed Life's nod of confirmation, they became extremely gloomy. After all, while Roley's system had somehow confirmed their family and friends to still be alive, what quality of life could they have been experiencing while imprisoned in Sacrifice's domain?

"Very well. Can you pinpoint us to the lost universe? We will pay a visit to the abandoned system." Daniel said with an indifference that sent a shiver down his companion's backs. The fact that he wasn't affected by what they had discovered, they found quite disturbing.

The aspect of Life looked Daniel up and down for a few moments, then stopped as her eyes met his own. She was not looking at Daniel's appearance, but considering which degree of influence a universe full of life could grant him. After all, influence was the source of their kind's powers.

"If your intentions are to fight Sacrifice, I would suggest you put the idea aside." Life said before looking to the side. She did not appear convinced that Daniel could match her old nemesis.

"I have fought worse." Daniel responded, slightly irritated by the woman's words. He felt an uncharacteristic pride towards his power. One that he had never possessed when he was a cultivator.

Life shook her head in disappointment. She had noticed Daniel's pride.. She had seen it before in the members of her kind. Yet, she did not start a debate with him. Instead, she explained, "Sacrifice belongs to a different type of aspect of existence."

"And what type would that be?" Daniel asked.

"The worst type." Life responded right away. "While not bound to sentient creatures like your power, all three of us are bound to life.. But his bind is much looser than our own. If you fight him, you will have no more chances of defeating him than you would defeating an ancient one."

The woman did not appear willing to speak more clearly than this, and yet, it was somewhat enough. Daniel had always been a smart individual, even before cultivating his mental power. The moment he had heard that he would be facing the aspect of Sacrifice, he had already started thinking of all the concepts the aspect of sacrifice would include.. And this vague warning had revealed more to him than it had to his two companions.

As she finished speaking, Life slowly rose to her feet, regaining her original brilliant appearance. Then walked towards the edge of the platform. As her pale foot landed onto the air, she left the three with a few last words, "If you kill him, I will mourn for a lost life, knowing that he deserved it." She then disappeared, shrouded by the cloud she had walked into.