Sovereign of the Karmic System



*DONG* The bell chimed with a deafening toll. A crisp roar that washed over the minds of those who were unfortunate enough to hear it, targeting the innermost parts of their psyche, and loosening their grasp over their free will.

Uncountable elementals, last to leave the platform, immediately turned to look at the sky, where the large bell had been swinging loudly. By miracle, the recently freed devotees and cultivators of the Immortal Armada had avoided the bell's control, as the latter's task of helping the former to acclimate to Roley's planet had brought them outside of the item's reach.

Only Roley, Der, and the elementals tasked with rummaging through the woman's possessions were caught in its range.

"You should not have trusted me, moron." The blond woman gloated while casually placing the ring back into the inner pocket of her robe, or whichever crease within the loose cloth she had taken it out from. Her aloof behavior had come back in full force, with lips gently curved into a benevolent smile and eyes narrowed into uncomfortably thin slits under her golden brows.

Her words, however, betrayed her state of mind. Behind her calm appearance, her heart was beating at a crazed rhythm. The reactionary part of her mind was clear, as she unconsciously calculated the possible outcomes of her betrayal, while the emotional side of her mind was foggy, and clouded by sheer anger and indignation. She was furious at the loss of her towers, as well as the humiliation of being trapped and forced to indulge her captor's request.

She could bear such shame from someone stronger than her, but the moment that creature would lose their advantage, she would always be happy and ready to avenge her bruised ego in spectacular fashion. Those were the moments the most vicious part of her personality would come to life.

And yet, Roley and Der stood unbothered. Too busy exchanging words of counsel and carefully studying the small notebook to notice her. The content of their conversations linger on three topics. Suggestions on how to break to seal, guesses regarding what Sacrifice's personal interest in their friends would entail, and opinions on whether or not to ask Daniel for help.

Noticing the pair's reaction, or lack thereof, the woman marched forward with heavy steps. "I am talking to you!" she barked out loudly enough to finally catch their attention.

"I thought you had left already." Roley answered with feigned confusion. His shoulders dropped as his head tilted to the side in annoyance. "What else do you want?"

Even less bothered was the warrior in full armor. The frontal part of his helmet had only lingered on her stunning features for a few moments before losing interest, and once again turned towards the small notebook.

The woman was dumbfounded. Had he never really cared for his followers? Was he acting before? She wondered for the few seconds her rational side got to keep control over her mind. A control that was soon handed over to its emotional counterpart, as her anger reached a new height. 

"You three! Give that fool a reminder of my powers." She ordered while pointing at the three closest elementals. A crocodile-sized salamander with scales of dark steel layered on top of a skin of molten metal, a ten feet tall bipedal golem with skin of ice almost completely shrouded in cold vapors, and a fist-sized orb of dark essence, which lingered several feet above ground like a miniature dark hole.

The three elementals responded to the woman's call and followed the direction of her finger, immediately gathering in front of their relaxed leader. "My lord, do you have orders for us?" Said a disembodied and emotionless voice whose vague origin could be pinpointed to the depths of the black orb. The other two elementals, eager about the prospect of interacting with their lord, waited eagerly for him to answer.

"No, Umbris. You, Onyx and Flaik can go back to your task." Roley casually answered with a gentle smile and a dismissive wave of his hand. His eyes had never left the woman's figure, and yet, the calmness they had portrayed had now turned into something cold, and threatening.

Seeing things evolve this way, the woman could not help but take a step back. Her will and thoughts had become a series of demands that, unsupported by her voice and authority, the elementals did not bother themselves with paying attention to, for they were not under her control.

"You should have left when I gave you the chance to." Roley muttered just loudly enough for her to hear.

The woman swallowed dryly. "I had to try." She said after letting out an awkward laugh. Her feet brought her further away step by step, one quicker than the previous.

Roley's shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "I understand. It is hard to fight your nature. So I hope you won't mind if I answer." Roley said as his black and white eyes rose to the large bell.

A shiver ran down the woman's spine, filling her peerless pale skin with countless little bumps. "No!" she yelled, but it was too late. In the time it took her to understand what was happening, thick vines had appeared from under the baggy sleeve of his robe, darting in the direction of the bell with mind-numbing speed.

Upon contact, the vines wrapped tightly around the instrument's waist and shoulders, then dove into it, filling its mouth and rooting the clapper in place. Of its previous majestic appearance, only a few patches of gold remained visible, but not enough room for it to slip away.

"I will keep this, for the inconvenience." Roley said as the vines started to withdraw, ripping away the almost negligible spatial formation that had kept the bell locked into space.

The woman's eyes turned cold, and murderous. Feelings that, however, she could not back up with power of her own. If only she hadn't been lazy in the past thousand years, and had cultivated properly. Maybe she could have been powerful enough to fight back now, or at least, escape with all her treasures secured. "That is too much!" She lamented nonetheless. Roley's repeated leniency had given her courage, and a good deal of thick skin.

"On the contrary. I value my people more than you value your toys." Roley retorted. "Would they still be alive, had your powers not failed you?"

"How did they fail?" the woman could not help but ask. "Was it your system?"

Roley's lips curved into a knowing smile. In his mind a small window of an array of colors had appeared. On it were written the list of rewards he had received for the recently completed task, to find information regarding the location of their friends and family.

The window had appeared the moment the small notebook had fallen into his sight. He did not need to touch it, or open it, as a matter of fact. Being near it, in a situation where he could have easily come into its possession was enough for the system to consider the mission completed.

The rewards of the mission consisted of two things. A deeper understanding of the primordial essences contained within his body being the first one, and the unshakable loyalty of all elementals under his command being the second. With the second reward, Roley's elemental army had become effectively immune to the brainwashing of the devotion system, and by extent, to the bell it had created.

Nevertheless, despite being aware of why the woman's powers had failed her, Roley did not bother to explain. Instead, he asked a question of his own, "You have more serious problems to worry about." As he spoke, the bell, once as large as a house, had shrunk to the size of a fist just in time to dive into Roley's sleeve, never to be seen again.

By now, the woman was feeling utterly defeated. All her plans had fallen to pieces, and her most treasured assets had either been stolen, or destroyed. Her cultivation could hardly keep her alive in deep space, let alone allow her to face her two opponents. No, she needed to retreat. She needed to get away as soon as possible, lick her wounds, and maybe look for Sacrifice's help. Maybe he, after hearing of her heroic attempts at protecting his property, would grace her with a favor, and recover her lost treasure. That was all she could do.

And yet, something did not feel right. Roley's eyes followed each and every one of her movements, leering at her like a cat would a hole in the wall, ready to strike the moment the mouse would dare set a paw outside.

"You lied.. You said the bell was enough, and that you wouldn't kill me." she muttered with a trembling voice. Her feet shuffled backwards, taking her away from him one shaky step at a time.

But Roley never moved. The smile had all but gone from his face, as his features twisted with a faint righteous indignation. "I wouldn't kill you. I am a man of my word." He said with hands raised above his shoulders to show innocence. "I will not kill you." He repeated.

The woman could not bring herself to believe such an obvious lie. Or was it? She kept wondering as her feet brought her further from her opponent. But then, her bare shoulders struck a hard surface with a faint thud. Clanks of metal shrieked into her ears as she turned around in panic. "Wha-" She yelped, but it was too late.

A cold bar of sharpened metal dropped diagonally, meeting her clavicle with a quick slash. Then, there was blood. Before Der's figure could even come to focus, his large and imposing features further blurred, shrouded by the layer of moisture that had formed by the corners of the woman's eyes. Her left hand soon touched the cold surface of the ground, while the fingers of her right hand instinctively grabbed for her slippery ankles. 

The notion that her body had been split in half would never come to her mind. 

She could barely feel the pain, and could have stood up, had she wanted. That was what she thought as her left palm pressed against the white marble in an attempt to bring her to her feet, yet struggling not to slide over the blood that had pooled underneath her. Her mind was hazy, and fickle. Memories of distant events had made their appearance, tricking her into believing that she was not dying, or in danger.. Just sleepy.

"I have to guard it. I have to guard it, or he won't be happy.." She muttered in an attempt to find the drowsiness. A mission she had appeared to be persevering on until finally, her slender and pale hand finally slipped, and her face came crashing against the ground. Her blood softened the impact, and warmed her freezing cheek. It comfortably welcomed her arrival, like a warm pillow on a cold night.. and just like that, her eyes closed.

"Is she dead? Actually dead?" Roley asked Der, who was closer to her and had sharper senses.

To respond, however, was not the middle-aged warrior, but the young man who had quietly appeared by his side. "Probably not." Daniel said before reaching for the notebook. His eyes never once bothered to land onto the woman's body to check, and yet he spoke with certainty, for he knew what kind of creatures the wielders of Destiny's gifts were. 

Startled by Daniel's sudden appearance, Roley backed away, moving out of arm's reach. He had a mind of asking him where the hell he had been, or why had he only come now, but then, as the woman exhaled her last breath, he turned towards her.

What many would have expected to happen to a person's body after their death, had not happened to the young woman. Her corpse, split cleanly in a diagonal cut, with guts and organs strewn over a large pool of blood, had suddenly started to glow a warm and gentle white light. Holy in nature and kind in nature the light grew in intensity, until, just seconds after its appearance, it burst into a countless number of sparks that, just as quickly as they had appeared, dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind no traces of her body.

"What on earth was that!?" Roley asked.

"Most systems have a life saving ability in their repertoire. If I have to guess, hers must be related to the power of devotion. A God exists as long as some people believe in them, or something like that. It is not too bad, as far as that kind of ability goes. Beats mine, at least." Daniel casually explained just before his eyes left the notebook to meet Roley's. "So, are you handing that over or not?" He then asked.