The Oracle Paths

In the blink of an eye, thousands of Players burst into the room from all directions. Some burst in through the stairs, others came in through the elevator, while many more teleported in or came in through other, even more unexpected ways, such as the floor, the sky or the vents.

Before he could fully process what had just transpired, Jake found himself surrounded by more than three thousand Lost Divinities Players, a good tenth of whom exuded a life force comparable to or greater than his own at the beginning of the Ordeal. Within this group, there were several dozen enemies with an aura close to or on par with that of Belakor and Nucnar, whom he had just faced.

One of them, a huge, snow-white, scarred Nosk, even had a presence that rivaled that of the Spartan still sitting on his throne. As soon as he teleported into the destroyed hall, he exchanged an intrusive look of displeasure with the latter, and then, following their silent conversation, his cold, penetrating eyes fell on the culprit of this bloody scene:

Jake.

When Jake met the Nosk's gaze, his eyes narrowed with alertness. This was not his first encounter with Nosks, but while the ones he had faced up to this point were foolish hunters seeking glory and trophies, this one had the restrained poise of a warrior with nothing left to prove.

The only Nosk he'd ever met that came close was the Sixth-Ordeal albino Nosk named Khug' Kagamai, whom his master Cekt had saved on the Dungeon Digestor's Sixth Floor. But considering that they were two Ordeals apart, the mere fact that this Player gave him a similar impression was quite a credit to him.

Whether it was this daunting Nosk or the other extraordinary Players who had just stormed in, they rarely hid their identities, while the small fry that made up the other 90% assiduously wore their signature black hooded cloaks and a gold, silver, or bronze mask to conceal their identity. A portion of them wore no mask at all, but kept their faces down and their hoods on in an explicit effort to remain anonymous.

When everyone seemed to be there, a blinding flash of light flickered through the crowd and a huge, multicolored, translucent sphere towered over the ruined hall. This sphere of about twenty meters in diameter with colorful walls was hovering over them like a mini planet and... in some ways this thing looked like a soap bubble.

Jake broke out in a cold sweat as he recognized the species to which this alien belonged. Not so long ago, but it seemed like forever, he had witnessed the scuffle between a Nosk and one of these Bubble aliens shortly before his first Ordeal.

It was the first time he had become aware of the chasm between humanity and some other species. Digestors aside, the insignificance of humans in the Mirror Universe had been a wake-up call and the main driver of his perseverance.

Unlike the first and only alien Bubble he had ever encountered, this one was dozens of times more massive. This deceptively fragile soap bubble appearance, ready to burst at the drop of a hat, was in fact a death trap for those foolish enough to risk it.

The energy contained in this huge bubble was mind-boggling and could be compared to several thousand tons of C4 and perhaps even more. If this alien had the same abilities as the fellow alien Jake had encountered, then he could blow himself up and take the entire crowd of Players to his grave with a single thought.

The bad news is that this suicide blast wouldn't kill him. As if time were reversed, the energy released would essentially be reabsorbed, the only price to pay for such a powerful blast being a negligible reduction in its diameter. Perhaps there were methods to effectively fight and counter these Bubble aliens, but Jake was not privy to them.

"Belakor, you are compromising my mission!" A childish, but deafening voice echoed for miles around. The source of the sound came from the giant bubble envelope vibrating at high frequency. "I hope this emergency rally is justified or I swear I will make you regret the crappy hell that spawned you."

Belakor paled upon receiving this outspoken threat, but gritting his teeth he took it upon himself and retorted chillingly,

"Ozo, by questioning my sense of judgment, you are disrespecting Deimos and all the others here. Am I to understand that you wish to declare war on us?

The alien Ozo remained silent for a long half minute. With his iconic morphology it was impossible to know what was on its mind without reading its Aether and Spirit Body fluctuations, but the colored reflections on its surface gradually turned red. Then when it found Nucnar deeply embedded in a collapsed wall, the red receded and the bubble became multicolored again.

"This is your lucky day, Belakor. I'm in a hurry. Tell me who to kill so we can get it over with."

The hostile gaze of all the Players that Jake had knocked out focused in unison on him. All the Players who had dropped everything to come here also zeroed in on Jake, their faces tinged with curiosity. Who could this formidable foe be to motivate such a rally?

The truth was that most of them had already identified their target, including Ozo. All of these Players knew each other well, or at least had memorized the faces of all the other members working with them. Jake was the only outsider and his appearance and presence was so impactful and eye-catching that it was impossible not to notice him.

"Deimos, do you really approve of this gathering? I find it hard to believe that you can't handle this problem on your own." The white Nosk who had remained silent openly asked the question that everyone was wondering about.

The Spartan's reputation as an undefeated warrior was well established and those in the upper echelons of Lost Divinities for this Ordeal had an even clearer understanding of his extraordinary abilities. The probability of meeting a stronger player than him in this Fourth Ordeal was practically nil.

The Spartan, who seemed determined to remain seated, turned his head to the white Nosk and Ozo, and smiled enigmatically before calmly confessing,

"I appreciate his courage and talent. It takes a lot of guts to walk into a lion's den like Lost Divinities alone. It doesn't happen often and it would be a shame to rip his fangs out so soon. On the flip side, most of our new members are excessively arrogant. Fighting this man will do them a world of good. Those who perform satisfactorily will be promoted. Ozo and Khag' Dagmai I would like you to accept this selfish whim of mine. Belakor has only acted under my command."

" ... "

Khag' Dagmai and Ozo had a short telepathic conversation, then the white Nosk accepted the terms in both their names.

"We accept."

The Belakor demon's face distorted with glee as he received their approval.

"DID YOU HEAR THAT?! THOSE WHO KILL OR CAPTURE HIM WILL BE RICHLY REWARDED! ATTACK!"

The thunderous, hate-filled bellow of the twice-defeated demon spread like a shock wave through the audience, galvanizing their souls and increasing their bloodlust tenfold.

"KILL HIM!"

That was all it took to spur them into action. With an earth-shaking roar, nearly three thousand Players swarmed over Jake like a tide of insects. Even Jake, who thought he had become immune to fear, felt a shiver of dread run down his spine.

Even before bracing himself for the impact, his retinas were dazzled by a barrage of light flashes, spells and missiles.

BOOOOOOOM!

Like a chain reaction, several hundred cataclysmic explosions detonated instantly at millisecond intervals and the area where Jake was standing was immediately leveled by several dozen meters. Molten rock, lightning, plasma, poisonous miasma, acid rain, blizzards and windstorms collided and intermingled, forming a zone of chaos annihilating everything inside.

Those who witnessed the scene shuddered as they watched the devastation, but they were soon overtaken by a different concern. The Jake they thought they had obliterated suddenly reappeared behind Belakor, and with a sudden twist of both hands he ripped his head off after grabbing his head and digging his claws into his skull.

A geyser of purple blood splashed across Jake's face but only a sinister glint gleamed in his icy eyes. There was no pleasure or disgust on his face, only an oppressive killing intent. To achieve victory, he had to embrace violence and stop hoping for a peaceful resolution.

At that moment, he had completely given up the idea of saving Carmin and the others. There was only an inexhaustible will to fight.

"Bring it on!"

His Spirit Body ignited and at a speed far too fast to be prevented he etched into his flesh the Words of Power, which had won him victory over the Alpha Were-eagle Lansho. For better results, he used Aether Conversion and an improvised Aether Spell to sustain the intense expenditure of spiritual energy. He also invoked his Soul Stone to prolong the state as much as possible.

Strength, Stamina, Agility, Speed, Intelligence, Power, Perception, Sharpness, and even his Luck, all of his basic parameters affecting his combat ability were greatly amplified. When the Words of Power began to work their mysterious magic, the thousands of Players facing him underwent a dramatic change in expression.

The white Nosk's eyes brightened with realization, while Ozo remained as inscrutable as ever. But those who watched it closely could see that it had quietly regained some altitude. It seemed that it was no longer in such a hurry to participate.

As for the Spartan Deimos, a solemn and puzzled expression crept over his stony face for the first time. He had underestimated this human.