Divine Path System

Varian tried to struggle his way out of the old man's grip. He might've succeeded since the opponent was a mid rank 2 like himself. But the formation that activated, even if it's only in this one corridor was enough to suppress him.

In a desperate attempt, he tried to disrupt the formation through the power of chaos.

Any formation was dependent on some sort of 'Order' to run. Chaos, by its very nature, was the nemesis to anything Orderly.

Since it's a formation set up by the tribe of Heaven, it shouldn't have much resistance against Chaos. These guys shouldn't know much about it.

So, Varian prepared for his escape and h—

"Huh?"

The formation barely shook.

"Ares." Elder Aion pursed his lips and shook his head. "Should've guessed. No one seeks chaos like them."

Varian used all his power to barely turn his neck and stared at the Elder in the eye.

Was this old guy insane? Ares were extinct billions of years ago. Heaven tribe surviving was a surprise in itself but Ares too?

In the forbidden region of Harmony Spiral, he confirmed their end. Every single member of Ares was dead. And every single one of their descendants—Devas—were dead too.

There's no one alive. If there's one, by the virtue of the legacy, Sarah should've been aware of it the moment she stepped into the divine ranks.

"Stop bullshitting." Varian didn't like the situation he was in.

Would he get executed? Probably.

Would he try to get out before then? Definitely!

He's thankful his rank 2 power wasn't revealed as the formation suppressed him before it could happen. If they treat him as a rank 1, his life would be easier.

Now, all he should do was attempt not to get immediately killed. And what better way to do it than to hint the other party he knew something they didn't.

"Ares is extinct for a few billion years already. Are you living under a rock?"

"Huh?" Elder Aion blinked in confusion before turning to Qoteus and scratching his beard. "You didn't even hit this guy and he went crazy."

"Elder, I…" The young man was confused as well. He glanced at Varian and Varian fearlessly glared at him.

It seemed to have triggered a switch as he violently gripped Varian's throat. Blood gushed out as his fingers sank in and he leaned forward. "You son of a bitch, where is Nodon? What did you do to him?"

Varian did not answer.

Keeping Nodon's status ambigious might buy him a few days as the Heaven tribesmen conduct a search for his traces. In case they didn't find him and he's confident they wouldn't, he would have some bargaining power…until they decide to torture the hell out of him for the information.

"I'll give you the answer soon, Qoteus. Good job finding the intruder and informing us. If you didn't convince him properly, he wouldn't have stepped into the palace and things could've been troublesome."

Varian's eyes widened as he looked between the young and the old. "You knew from the start?"

He thought it was perhaps some false memories that caused him to slip up.

"Of course, I know. How would I not?" Qoteus rubbed the runes above his eyebrows and looked at him with contempt. "You uncivilized barbarians call it blasphemy. We call it research. The crystallization of our tribe's wisdom."

"What are you—"

Things were going strange but before he could enquire any further, Varian's vision darkened and he fainted.

When he woke up an hour later, he found himself in a sleek black walled prison with a familiar scent. It's the smell of rotting corpses and dried blood. It shouldn't have bothered him but for some reason, it did.

There was a flickering light from the lamps nearby—the lamps placed on a bunch of fresh skulls with some decaying flesh.

It was ugly, disgusting and scary.

'Scary? Just this?' Varian didn't understand how he could be scared by something so basic.

The floor under his feet was glowing with a faint light and then he realized.

'Formations to reduce courage and invoke fear. Soul formations?'

He quickly checked the six solid walls of the room and realized they all had formations engraved deep inside.

'Would I be able to break them?'

Honestly, he'd never seen these materials or those formations. While he might break the materials alone, if they were reinforced by formation, unless he managed to completely break out of the prison room, his attempts would be futile.

If he managed to do some damage, he'd likely be shifted to a tougher prison. And if he did no damage, well, what's the use?

'I have to study the prison first.'

As he's about to start that, the wall he leaned against rippled. Varian jumped back, breath halted and fists clenched.

An old man in blue robes, white beard and golden eyes entered the room nonchalantly.

Before Varian could take any action, the prison room lit up from the glow of the formations.

Without much resistance, Varian was pressed to the floor.

"Let's have a candid chat. Even if you're a madman from Ares, maybe you're one of the lesser mad ones."

The force on Varian lowered and allowed himself to sit up straight. He placed himself against the wall and looked at the old man with a confused gaze. "Are you still going with that talk? Ares are extinct."

"It's best for you and me if you stop this nonsense and speak straight." The elder said in a calm but solemn tone. "Extracting your soul will damage the memories, no matter how advanced we are in our soul research, we are still not as good as the Vitas and Ativs."

"I…" Varian paused for a moment and considered everything so far. This old guy was either lying or maybe there's some misunderstanding.

'I am in the secret realm and I found Heaven's Tribe is actually alive. But they seem to believe that Ares is also alive.'

Furrowing his brows, he asked. "I have a few questions myself."

Elder Aion raised a brow. "Are you sure you're not insane? You're my prisoner. You answer me."

"You can kill me and try extracting the information or we can talk it out."

"And then I'll kill you. Or better, I'll throw you to the beasts to rip you apart while healing you before death and continuing that for an eternity. You'll serve as a warning to other Ares members."

Varian took a deep breath. The scent of the prison was growing more and more disgusting. It was starting to affect him mentally.

He's beginning to realize why they didn't bother to torture. These formations were weakening his mental and physical defenses.

With courage taken away, even an iron willed soldier would give up all information. And this old man was simply laying the foundation for what's to come.

"I will tell you what I know." Varian shifted uncomfortably, trying to tell himself that it's going to be okay. But like a novice that's still new to warfare, his body protested.

His heart began to slightly race, his fingers began to tremble and his breath turned erratic.

'Calm the eff down.'

He forcibly calmed himself and looked back at the old man who was staring at him with a stern gaze.

"It'll be easier for you and me if you answer me as I answer you." Varian proposed while clenching his teeth.

Why was he feeling nervous for such a small thing? His heart began to race again, fear gripping him as his mind imagined the terrible things that would happen.

"I'll go first." Elder Aion said. "Why are you here?"

Varian wanted to answer immediately, a voice in his mind telling him not to anger this powerhouse. But he pressed it down and muttered. "No, it's me first. Which year is it?"

Elder Aion didn't look pleased with his words. He even raised his hand at Varian and the formation behind him began to activate.

Varian gritted his teeth and asked, his voice solemn. "Old guy, which year is it?"

The old man stared into Varian's eyes for a few moments before saying. "659th into 1st thousand of the 10th million."

"What's the reference point for that calendar?"

Aion's brows knit together and his voice grew impatient. "What else? Since the departure of the gods."

"…What the hell." Varian deeply exhaled.

Things suddenly started to make sense.

The monsters in the wild which were said to be ancestral figures of many present day beasts.

The chronos arts by Nodon which were said to be long lost.

The surviving and thriving tribe of Heaven which went extinct.

The constant reference to Ares tribe as if they were still alive.

The secret realm wasn't a leap into a different space. It was a leap into a different time.

A time before the great war between the primordial tribes.

"I'm from the future and you're all going to die."

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