Zero Fate Against the World (New Version)

Thank you for reading, peace!

I posted this chapter in the wrong place, my bad!

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{{I have made my choice}}

{... I can't help you make your own decisions; only guide you from there on}

{Do what you must, I'll help you if anything happens}

"..."

Philip smiled lightly, his gaze falling on the System interface.

'Now or never.'

[You have chosen to evolve into a Type-1 Pure Human]

[Your Class has been automatically removed to avoid interference]

[Your destiny changes]

[Evolution shall commence]

/Sheen.../

"!!"

Out of nowhere, Philip's body started to glow and he began feeling rather sleepy.

His limbs gave way as a strange force washed over this body, rendering him utterly powerless as he almost fell to the ground, only to be held up by Dae as he pulled him closer to the fountain.

"I... Huff... Feel like throwing up really bad..."

"Hold it in for now!"

"Urg..."

"Alright! We need to end this as soon as possible. Phillip, Petter, I hope you two are ready. Philip, I'm sorry for this..."

Without wasting a single second, Dae cut Philip's wrist, making him feel even worse as he gnashed his teeth in pain.

Petter on the other hand gave Dae his bottle, taking a deep breath as he felt a little light headed.1

After the two bottles were filled, Dae picked the two and mixed each with a series of other materials. Making two beautiful red coins after pressing them onto the "waffle maker" under the heat of the bonfire.

Continuing the one he had made earlier, each of the three now had a bloody red coin with a few black marks here and there. 

"Now we just need to throw the coins…"

"..."

"Philip, are you still here?"

"Urg... What?... I don't... I don't feel so good… HUPP! Jesus!... I feel so... So damn sleepy… The ground looks so comforting…"

Philip's eyes darted left and right as the world spun around him. His face grew pale then green then blue as he underwent a series of transformations invisible to the naked eye.

"Shit! Philip is losing it! Petter! Help me carry him near the fountain!"

"Philip! Are you still here? Pick this coin and throw it in the water! You need to do that on your own!"

"Ah?... C-Coin… Right... The Title... Urg..."

"Give me that…"

His hands now had lost all sense of touch, making him almost drop the coin despite his immense physical strength.

The coin wasn't that light either, being almost a liter of blood and other materials compressed into a form, albeit severely dehydrated.

"My hand is so light…"

"Get a fucking grip! This is your only chance! It won't work a second time!"

"I..."

/Cling.../

Philip's eyes were murky, but he still managed to get a tight grip on the coin and throw it forward.

/Splash!/ 

Without even seeing what happened after, he fell unconscious in Dae's arms. 

/Splash!/

"... He lasted longer then I thought... Let's clean this mess, we shouldn't stay behind for long."

'I've already burst my time, they're likely looking for me right now but I can't complain. Everything went just as I wanted.'

/Splash.../

/Splash.../

The coins slowly sunk in the water until they hit the bottom of the fountain.

Over time, the coin took a darker color as if corroding, just like the other coins in the fountain. 

Petter now understood what those other coins were... Remnants of others like them, relics from a time now long... Long lost.

"... Is this all?"

"Yes. The changes won't happen immediately."

"What even was this all about?"

"A form of prayer for a Divine that has long been forgotten... Despite them being gone, their power still lingers, one we can use for our own benefit. That's all. Don't take it too much to heart..."

"Divine? Like Gods and..."

Dae's expression sank as he grew serious:

"Look... It isn't the time."

Feeling the tension, Petter subsided.

"... Right."

"Uhum... Be sure to get a towel in your mouth at night since this is going to hurt, and since you live next to me, I don't want to hear you screaming at night. I'm far too tired to worry about that."

"The rooms are all insulated, asshole!... Besides, is it... Is it too late to get the coin from the fountain?..."

"You can, but be sure to receive God's wrath, hahaha."

"Humph..."

'You say whatever you want whenever huh...'

/CRACK!/

""!!""

Out of nowhere, the statue started to crack, breaking into multiple pieces as the ancient water flowed through their feet.

In a few moments, the entire fountain broke apart, leaving only the single red jar atop its ruins, shining under the faint moonlight coming from a crack in the ceiling.

"WHAT?! Why did the fountain break?... No, that isn't the issue here."

Dae suddenly grew frantic, running past Petter as he threw Philip at him.

He crouched next to the fountain, observing it intently...

"Perhaps the fountain's power ended?... No! That's impossible! It's a possibility but this is Eridia's main Church! Not some other random place..."

"..."

'He's mumbling to himself... I've seen him do this a few times before. Looks like it's a habit of his.'

"The only scenario this Fountain could break would be if Eridia herself died! But she is very much alive… Wherever she is…"

"Then how did it break?"

'Eridia huh... So... Are there Gods out there?... I wouldn't find it surprising... But it only makes me feel worse.'

'If there's a God out there, why doesn't he help those in need?...'

"I don't know, Petter… Unless… She broke it on her own... But that is even more unlikely since they can't break the pact!"

"Urg…"

'Now there's some sort of pact... What a pain...'

Petter was confused. A few moments before, he was drowning in anger and grief, and now he was hearing men talk about Gods and their actions…

Although he was in a bizarre situation, his common sense told him that Gods were simply a little too far-fetched. Despite everything he had experienced so far.

"But why would she break her own Holy fountain?... Wait..."

"The red Jar?"

Dae carefully reached for the red jar, studying its shape as he got up from the ground.

"I don't see anything special in this… Petter, it's better if you take a step back… No, three steps back."

/Sheen.../

Focusing, Dae's hand turned translucent as it began to crack and break, almost as if the very light bent erratically around it.

With sweat flowing down his forehead, deep and calculated breaths... He slowly and very carefully had his hand approach the jar when... 

/Fium!/

"ARG!"

Upon touching its surface, a red beam of light came out of the Jar, completely vaporizing all of the flesh in his hand, leaving only a dark, bony hand behind...

"K-KYOUNG?!"

"S-STAY BACK! URG! Huff... Huff... Pick that potion bottle and throw it at me, for fucks sake."

While Dae grunted in pain through his mouth, clenching his half-carbonized wrist. The situation inside his head was the complete opposite. 

'This reaction... It can't be, it shouldn't even be possible!'

'How is such an item here, of all places?! How could she leave it behind?!... Don't tell me the "Judges" didn't find it!'

"This is utter bullshit!" He exclaimed out loud as he gnashed his teeth, his eyes trembling

"?!"

Petter was startled by his sudden outrage, almost throwing the potion into the sky, but with a swift snatch, Dae grabbed it, uncorking it before applying its contents to his wound and drinking the rest.

Soon enough, his flesh began to pulsate as streams of blood fell down the lump around his hand. The black flesh was cast aside as a mass of veins and cells grew around his darkened bones.

The pain was insurmountable, yet Dae remained level-headed.

'They should've taken all of these away or at least sealed this in one of those God-forsaken places, but… If they left one behind, then maybe... There are others out there, forgotten.'

'But why? There is no way they've missed them. They wouldn't have scaped their senses... Not unless... Right... This must be within the "rules".'

'A twist of the order of things, a ploy we forgot to consider...'

Dae's eyes flashed as he thought of a distant memory...

'It hasn't been long since I've returned, yet I'm already being exposed to things we never even knew happened... This must be part of the changing times, the hidden carpet laid down eras past...'

'My plans must once again be revised. Before it's too late... I'll figure out what those bastards are planning.'

Finally, his gaze fell onto the strange jar once more, his thoughts cooling down:

'It is severely weakened. Albeit not damaged... I would've died otherwise... It only needs to be charged.'

'That said… Why did it choose to reveal itself? I don't know much about them but these items would typically choose their wielder and refuse contact with all others... Nonetheless...'

'It's now in my hands!'

"Ha...HAHAHAHAHA!"

"... Man?..."

"HOW COULD WE HAVE IMAGINED THAT THIS WOULD BE HERE?!"

"..."

'I better shut up for now...'

"Haa..."

'I was planning on getting one of these, but to think I would get my hands on one so soon…'

'Still, none of it matters; I must first find its true wielder if I want to use it... It's definitely not me since it reacted aggressively; however, it seems to be tolerating me somewhat.'

'This means... It must consider me a " Subordinate Apostle"... But to whom?'

'Who is the "Chosen?"'

"Petter?..."

"Y-Yeah?..."

'I don't like his gaze... I should've run away when I could...'

"Hey... Can you hold this for me? Just for a sec..."

"Hum? M-Man... I don't understand what is going on anymore…"

'No way! The thing that deboned your whole arm? Hell nah!'

"Catch."

"AHHH?!"

Petter jumped back as he unconsciously held the jar, only to realize what he did as his stomach grew cold... Alas, nothing happened.

Trembling and slightly in shock, Dae snatched the jar from Petter's hands and told him to grab Philip from the ground since he was thrown aside like a pillow.

He crouched on the ground again and placed the jar in the fountain, gently grabbing one of the ancient coins within.

/Crack.../

It immediately shattered like a wet cookie, a boring and unsurprising outcome.

"Hm..."

'Strange, he wasn't rejected either… So its two "Apostles"?... What even is this situation?'

'The only person that remains…'

At that moment, the gears fell in place as Dae received a sudden enlightenment...

'Holy… Of course!... It makes so much sense... Trapped for millennia and with its power winning, it had to make a choice, so out of everyone in the room, the one with the highest potential... It must've taken Philip as the most talented of us.'

'A Mental Lord and a Pure Human, plus everything else… It makes sense now... But it doesn't explain everything.'

'When dealing with the unknown, the most obvious answer is not always correct. Building an assumption based on the little I know and understand is nothing short of foolish!'

'The understanding I had of the situation has shattered somewhat. And while it won't stop me from using it, I cannot be complacent...'

'I wanted to make us all into monsters so we could survive, but maybe... I was being too conservative.'

'Let's take it a step further... And shatter it all.'

'The ploys, rules, tyranny... Everything... Until we can revert the rules of this sick, broken reality!'

Dae clenched one of his fists as he held the jar tightly...

"..."

Petter gazed at Dae with fright. For some reason, looking at him crouching on the ground while holding the red jar tightly with a scary smile was... 

"Let's go, Petter! We're done with this place. Let's bring those extras to their rooms before they wake up."

"..."

Petter decided to stop thinking. They saved his life in a sense; it's best to trust them than to worry. 

But above all, he felt his brain needed some time to reboot.

…

/Later that day.../

Philip had a weird dream...

Starting as a monkey, Philip explored various places and found strange items as he grew older, again and again... 

Explore, grow, learn, flee, die, birth... An endless cycle. But one that flashed by in the blink of an eye.

Slowly, he stopped walking on all fours, his fur fell, and he started to walk straight, wearing the fur of those more apt than him, using their very fangs; he hunted those he could not with his fragile nails.

In a moment of shock, lightning fell, and fire rose to the skies... 

He looked down as it danced through the forest... But while the beasts ran, he stared down at the unknown force before him... And reached out into the undiscovered.

From rocks and twigs to fiber and wood, he adapted, transformed, and bested his environment, becoming more than he was before, each and every day, a hunter more capable.

This continued for many "years" until he eventually found himself in a strange place... By then, all of his fur was gone. His feet had changed, becoming rounder and his fingers longer, allowing him to better grip and manipulate the world around him.

His instincts were gone, leaving behind the wonder for the undiscovered, the desire to explore, mold, and innovate, to create... And conquer that which was unfamiliar.

The land around him, however, was far from unwelcoming; it boasted all kinds of sweet fruits and the cleanest waters...

He didn't know how he got there, but that was his dream place. 

The environment was in balance; what he needed was given to him, and there was little, if ever, a need to go beyond his space in this land. 

Leisure and peace, for days... Weeks... Months... Eternity... Alas... It lacked something, that very thing that led him here in the first place.

It lacked something for him to struggle towards.

Thus, he soon grew bored of that place, sparking his buried desire for change; he sought an exit... Only to realize that he couldn t.

All exits had disappeared. Or rather, he forgot how he got inside. 

At that moment, he realized, as he experienced a new emotion, that he was trapped in this endless paradise. 

He felt... Fear... A type of fear he had never felt before. Not one born from instinct, not one born from danger, but the very fear of the unknown. The very thing he sought so intently before was now creeping up on his back, telling him that it could not... Be conquered.

In a fit of anger, he lashed out against paradise, willing to bring incomprehension and struggle to this eternal land. In his endless fury, he cracked a large, simple tree... And a red fruit fell from inside it.

He was confused at first, wondering just how this fruit had come to be and worse... One he had never seen before had fallen before him...

His experiences told him to study that which was unknown... Yet... Angered and wishing for change, he soon brushed away the oddities, picking up the red fruit, as in his endless rage, tiredness had finally befallen him. 

Its a sweet smell... Was far too alluring.

But before he could take a bite of the delicious red fruit, he woke up. 

...

"Arg… What happened? My head... My back... Everything hurts."

What was I dreaming about again?... Forget it, I have better things to do.

"... My room? How did I?..."

'They must have brought me here after I lost consciousness…'

He reached for his hair, brushing it lightly as he took a deep breath.

"Hoo... My memories are still a bit fuzzy. I thought it would be easy to maintain consciousness, but I must've been knocked out almost immediately."

'I wonder... Was it because my Class was unequipped, rendering me powerless?'

'Or was it due to the nature of the System itself?...'

"Either way, first..."

'Let's see what I got.'

'Open Log.'

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Notes

Hey, as you know, since most chapters are pretty big, I'm cutting some of them as I edit them and leaving behind more streamlined sections that can be read in one sitting and enjoyed as they are.

I'm usually cutting most chapters in two and posting their pieces one after the other. This way you can all enjoy it without having to wait too long.

Since the chapters are so long, we usually have an entire minor interaction begin and end within them, so they can be isolated rather easily.

This chapter was a little unusual, though; it was about a quarter of the entire chapter, so the next one will likely be over 7 K words long, but it makes sense since most chapters are around 10K, and this one was 3K.

I'll be posting the next one soon. I'm slowly getting my routine back, so I'll likely be returning with other works as I go on this roll.

Thank you for reading and commenting on the novel! See you all tomorrow!

Peace