Chapter 228 - 4.54

The System couldn't described how he felt when the Host reappeared before his eyes, this time able to move and talk, respond back to him. Unlike the years he spent in the space struggling to get any sort of reaction from the Host, only to find out that the one who caused all of this trouble was a being that was in an authority category so far away from him that he didn't even know how he could get himself out of this trouble.

He trusted his guts and forced himself to try every option. Then, one day, the Host was returned back to him. It was just a lucky stroke. Perhaps the Lord of Fate himself had already guessed that this would happen, since he was, indeed, someone who controlled the flow of fate.

Even so, he wasn't capable of fully manipulating what happened with the fate. He was tasked to watch it, and govern over it, but the one who assigned the respective fates to each living being was not him but rather a built in system. He was, still, capable of tweaking the matters here and there, but high manipulation was considered a taboo and would garner him a lot of karmic sins and potentially threaten his position.

After all, above him, there was still the venerable and omnipotent being he couldn't touch.

However, this lord had a peculiar relationship with Xu Jiaqi, albeit the woman no longer bearing the memories that related to the lord's appearance after everything was reset and reverted back to zero.

The Lord of Fate originally disliked Xu Jiaqi for how much of an anomaly she was, and how persistent she and the being she was with became when it was about defying fate. As someone who was tasked to maintain the balance of the universe's fates and correct the mistakes, dangers, or threats..

Xu Jiaqi was a being that he loathed since it gave him so much work to think about. The couple broke all boundaries of common sense, all the rules, laws, everything. Just to preserve their love in a universe that defied them being together.

These two powerful beings, each possessing a power similar if not more powerful than his, chasing each other and breaking the flow of fate. If that wasn't his biggest nightmare, he didn't know what else deserved that title.

But then, as time passed, and the woman kept coming back to him, he started to have sympathy. It was a strange feeling, because he was a being created to be impartial and lacking in emotions. He wasn't meant to mingle with other beings. A solitary figure.

It was laughable, but while he was able to change a lot for others' fates, he was completely powerless in changing his own. His lonely position. Bearing it for thousands upon thousands of years, it was his first time coming across a mental patient like Xu Jiaqi who was so addicted in tearing herself apart like no other person would.

Every single time she came back to him, her state would get more and more.. destroyed. Broken. He could tell that the originally pure Goddess' conditions started to deteriorate because she fought with fate every single day. The retribution that came along with that sort of feat was not light. It was no wonder that she got to that bad of a state, but.. 

As time passed, a small slit in his heart was made. Seeing the woman defy everything like she was invincible, even if she wasn't. It sparked something inside him that he didn't even think he was capable of feeling.

A mixture of emotions that he both appreciated and loathed. It disgusted him, but he also wanted to find out more.

Xu Jiaqi, to him, was a rather special existence. One that he..

______

Ding!

The System was notified of another change in the space. This time, he wondered what it was. What could it be?

If it was another side quest, he convinced himself that he was going to try and destroy the Main System.

They refused to help him in any sort of way except for sending cryptic quests.. He didn't even understand what the quest meant! It was filled with symbols that he couldn't read, which was awfully bizarre to think about.

He was programmed with adaptability to every single matter in the universe, in order to assist him with the job of a System. But then, this thing.. he couldn't comprehend anything about it no matter how he investigated.

It was uncanny, but there was nothing he could do. He left it aside as his main target was nobody else but the Lord of Fate who stole his Host away.

Luckily, the Main System would not end up incurring the wrath of an extremely frustrated little System any longer.

That was because.. This time, the signal that was sent derived from the one he had been looking and trying to save for all this time.

His Host, Xu Jiaqi.

In the corner of his eyes, he spotted Xu Jiaqi's astral body finally gleaming with an aura of life and showing movements.

[Host.. Host!!!] The System, who was finally reunited with Xu Jiaqi cried out and rushed to her side, dropping all of his work.

[You finally returned.. Did you know how much this System worried about you?]

"..Hahah. I.. I'm back, am I?" Xu Jiaqi was also taken aback. Just a few moments ago, she was still in that.. place.

She didn't know what caused her to be taken there, but there was one thing that she was certain of after meeting 'that being'.

Xu Jiaqi bit her lips.

_______

...

"It seems like I don't have much time left. I have to admit, that little System of yours is a rather ferocious fellow. He has been trying his hardest to find where we are right now. Upon finding out, he tried everything to break into this manufactured world..."

"Well, he succeeded. That's good for him. This world is going to collapse soon, the little guy found out how to interrupt our secret meeting. I used a lot of power to get you here and tell you everything that I could.. That should do for now. You can go back soon, are you happy? You won't have to see my face again."

"..Remember,"

"You are the only one who can revert the balance back to normal. As long as you continue to go through the worlds, then you will be able to meet me one more time. When that time comes, I will tell you more, and show you what you have to do."

Xu Jiaqi, who have been placed under a strange magic that disabled her from talking was finally freed from the uncomfortable spell and regained her ability to form speeches.

Her gaze was filled with uncontrollable hatred and loathing. She didn't know why, but there was a pure form of anger looming inside her heart right now. She was someone who used to boast that she could control her calmness at any given moment, and would even mock others for not being able to manage their emotions at times.

And now, in the face of this being, she was feeling all sorts of explosive emotions that she couldn't suppress.

"Why do I have to follow what you're telling me? How can I be sure that you're not just.. lying and trying to fool me? It's you who took me here forcefully.. If you know who I am, you should also know that I hate being ordered around the most."

The being, whose figure was blurred, chuckled.

Even the sound of his chuckled made her frustrated by a lot.

"Listen, broken soul."

"I know more than you will ever do. You have changed a lot since when we last met, but that doesn't change anything. There seems to be an inlaid response within yourself that forces you to.. well, I won't say anything unnecessary."

"You just need to know that.."

"You will eventually beg the heavens just to be able to meet me. Even now, as we are speaking.. You are already in the process of falling. It shouldn't take long before you come back and ask for my assistance. It's not the first time this has happened. I can at least tell you that much, my old friend."

"..You're very confident, hm?"

Xu Jiaqi gritted her teeth as she started to feel pain all over her body, as if she was an evil spirit being purged by a holy power.

The being laughed at a much higher scale than his previous ones.

"I am. And I will continue to do so.. Because you are someone who chose to escape the wheel of fate again and again. To the point where you were subjected to a distorted fate. As the one who governs over it, you are an existence that should've been my enemy."

"My confidence is stemmed over the fact that.. You need me in order to survive. That is all I can say, as for the rest of the puzzle pieces.. You can find them on your own and solve the big problem by yourself. At that time, we shall eventually meet again."

"I hope, by then, we will meet on a much happier tone, with you achieving the happiness that you longed for so many years to no end."