Interstellar Age

Chapter 224 A Potentially Lethal Wager

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Erich gazed at the vial, which contained only a few drops of a solid white liquid. He could not help but groan over his circumstances as he reached forward and took the vial from one of Kali's four hands.

Where he then popped off the lid, and thought to himself how he would severely punish Mirage if he somehow managed to survive this potentially lethal wager. With a certain degree of courage, Erich downed the few drops and immediately felt his spirit detach from his body. 

Erich gazed around the room, and saw that Mirage was crying, while performed CPR on his seemingly lifeless body. He simply scoffed and shook his head as he voiced his thoughts aloud.

"I always knew it would be a woman who would be the death of me..."

But interestingly enough, another voice appeared in Erich's ears, causing him to look around in fright. 

"Oh, I am afraid you are mistaken, my friend. This is not the afterlife... But rather the weave of fate itself...." 

Erich looked around his surroundings and could not find the origin of this voice, and quickly called out, demanding to see who was speaking to him. 

"Who are you! Show yourself, coward!" 

Instantly, a figure appeared in front of him. What revealed itself was the figure of a dark Elven woman. Who appeared both old and young at the same time? She pointed towards the location where Erich's body lie, which suddenly diverged into several scenes, almost as if Erich was watching someone play a video game that had been split into several screens. 

"Fool! Watch! Do not speak to me! Not until you have learned the truth about fate and its mysteries." 

In one of the screens, Mirage was crying over Erich's corpse, seemingly killed in an instant by the few drops of fate's essence. Which was the first scene that Erich witnessed. However, in another, Erich had refused Kali's offer before Mirage could accept on his behalf. And he walked out of the palace and returned to the Alfheim Dominion in search of a new companion, having given up on gaining the aid of the Asura Cabal.

And yet, on the third screen, Erich had seemingly taken the substance with no effect, where he became the pleasure slave of Kali while forced to endure unspeakable sexual torture. And on the final screen, it was as if Erich was looking into a mirror. 

Erich looked forward and paid attention to all four screens, which, as time went on, began to diverge into even more potential fates. Some ending with Erich being killed after trying to escape Kali, while another ended in a war that would engulf the galaxy after Erich had died drinking the essence of fate. 

Before Erich realized it, there were more screens that appeared in his vision that he could possibly count, and they kept diverging into new ones. Each possibility that had come as a result of Erich's many potential actions had created a new screen which continued onward into infinity. 

Eventually Erich stopped watching and looked over at the Dark Elf, who wore a rather smug smile on her face. 

"You see, what we sages thought was fate was simply the infinite possibilities that occur as the result of all living beings' actions. There is no such thing as fate, only the many potential futures that can exist in our timeline. 

The sages believe that there is one guaranteed result of their visions, and that the Dark Sage will inevitably rise to destroy the order that exists in the galaxy. But they have never thought to think to themselves that perhaps the Dark Sage will rise and do these things as a result of their actions trying to prevent it. 

It's just a shame that in order to realize this, I had to have my consciousness permanently stuck in the state of foresight...."

Erich gazed upon the Dark Elven woman and was quick to ask just who she was. 

"Who the hell are you?" 

The woman smirked, and shook her head before informing Erich that she had long since forgotten her name. 

"My name? You know, it has been so long I don't even remember. All I know is that I was once the Great Sage of the Order, but unfortunately, after developing what we referred to as the essence of fate, which was really just a concentration of the chemical that is unique to our brains which allows us to see the future, I became comatose. And ever since then, I have been stuck in a state of foresight. I do not even know if those old fools have kept my body alive! 

It would appear that you have been swindled into making the same mistake that I have.... Luckily for you, your abilities are stunted, and because of this, your time here will be temporary. Who knows, perhaps your foresight will improve when you finally awake from your slumber.

Oh? It appears our time is already coming to an end. Remember my words, child, fate does not exist, and those who believe in it are doomed to create that which they fear the most. The sages are too stubborn to admit they have been wrong all this time, and so long as they continue to gaze into the future, their effect on the galaxy will be disastrous. They must be stopped! 

Farewell young one, and may you accomplish your goals of bringing peace to your master's domain?"

With this said Erich snapped back to reality, where he realized that he was standing perfectly still, as if almost no time had actually passed. Once he realized he was back in his own body, he looked around to see if he could still see the many possibilities of fate, and realized that they were gone. 

After taking some time to acclimate back to reality, Erich informed Kali of what he had seen. Including the explicit details of the sexual torture she would have put him through as her pleasure slave. Where she then broke out into a fit of mad laughter as she confirmed she definitely intended to do that. 

"So you fuckers really can see the future! Or perhaps maybe it is just this drug? A pity there isn't more! Well, I would say I am wholly satisfied with this wager. Very well, I admit defeat. Give me three days to think this over, and I will have your new team member sitting waiting for you all outside your ship." 

Erich was just glad that he had survived the encounter, and not ended up permanently comatose like the woman in his vision. As for Sinaria, she was deeply disturbed to know that the Sages were not prophets of fate, but merely a group of people gifted with the ability to see the future, and had mistaken their own predictions as destiny.

It was almost as if the foundations of her people's civilization had come undone in an instant. She would mope around the ship for the next few days and drink excessive quantities of palm wine while the team waited for their new arrival. 

As for Mirage, she was completely satisfied with the wager and its result. And she was deeply curious about whether or not Erich's abilities had grown as a result of consuming this substance. She did not know how it was manufactured, but she felt if she could get her hands on more of it she could improve Erich's abilities a thousand fold, making him the perfect candidate for the Empire's next supreme leader.