The Cursed Gamer

Chapter 314: 314: Tale of the Strongest Mortal

Chapter 314: 314: Tale of the Strongest Mortal

Chapter 314: Tale of the Strongest Mortal

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Abstract Entities were the strongest force in the Omniverse, there was close to no other match for their authority within the cube. It was so because they were the personifications of the different concepts of the Omniverse, something most God or Mortal could do nothing but obey.

Of the classes that existed within this batch of entities, the official highest one was the Class-1 Abstracts—numbering few, as they were the personifications of the most important concepts.

[Contessa Fate – Abstract Entity – Tier Indecipherable]

This redhead in front of Neji, as gorgeous as Antares the star, was one such being, holding unfathomable powers in her fingertips.

Fate, Future, Destiny—and who knew what else was this woman the symbol of? Now, this same person warned him to say goodbye to the most helpful person he had the chance to encounter in this life.

As a thoughtful older sister, Fate wanted Neji to stay away from Luck, with good reasoning behind her words, which made Neji speechless for long.

"...Sorry, but I can't do that," was the answer that Neji came up with after a long minute of thinking.

If it were him from before when he fought the Prime Gods, Neji wouldn't have needed a minute to say this. He might even have talked back to this woman, insulted her for suggesting such a thing, but now he knew better—he knew her words were on point, that he might actually bring down Luck with him in the worst-case scenario.

However, even while knowing that, he couldn't help but say no to Fate's face.

"I cannot continue my rescue mission without her help, the Omniverse is too big for me to search for my girls on my own. It'd take ages; ages that I can't spare since some of them might be going through hell as we speak." Neji explained in a voice much gentler than what he was used to using.

"And what if this selfishness brings Luck down with you?" Fate said, her arms crossed, as she looked into his eyes with no change in emotion. "Have you ever thought of that? Well, now that I have proposed the question to you myself—let me give you the answer too. The answer to that question, according to destiny that I have authority over, is that you indeed die and bring my little sister down with you. The odds are so much higher compared to your survival that it's not even laughable."

Neji said nothing, and she used the silence to turn around and walk to the table near her, running a finger down the glass of the table as she continued to speak.

"The Gamer System is a power with authority beyond almost all other beings. It's one of the only things that allow a mortal to reach the peaks of Abstract Entities and beyond because it's a thing made by beings much stronger than the said Abstracts, outsiders with powers that don't make sense. Yet, it's a thing that has been frowned upon since the 1st Gamer's shenanigans." Fate turned around to look at Neji, "To tell you the truth, not just the gods in Prime, but a lot of beings inside the Cube want you dead just because you are succeeding the first Gamer."

Noting Neji's silence, Fate continued with an indifferent expression. "So besides the Primordial God and his subordinates, you have many others to worry about; many who are prominent figures inside the Cube, those who would be—and some already are—quite enraged if they find out one of the top Abstracts is sponsoring your journey." Fate said. "Why else do you think an Abstract Entity, classing on the level of the Omniverse, got a 250 years increase in punishment just because she scared some puny little Gods of a desolate universe the likes of Naruto?"

Fate walked back to Neji, standing right in front of him. She was tall, her height matched his 6"5 self as she put a finger on his chest, rolling it gently when she began to speak.

"Luck is already experiencing bad things for helping you, child. Do you want that to grow into things more dangerous? You should be grateful that she helped you find one lost girl. Find the others by yourself, leave her alone." Fate said, looking into his eyes like the unsatisfied parent of a girlfriend. "I don't want my baby sister to fall down the abyss for a little God such as yourself. Sure, you may have the potential to surpass even I one day, but currently are you anything but a toddler in the grand scheme of things?"

"…I promised her that I'd free her from punishment before it ends," Neji finally began to speak, his lost expression changing to a more confident one. "I keep my promises, you would know if you look back into my fate. I will find my lost girls and get stronger while doing so. Surely strong enough to solve my own problems and consequently enough to free Luck, to protect her from both internal and external threats."

Hearing his confident words that must have sounded like a bluff to her, Fate smirked softly. "And how exactly will you do that?"

"Just like how I killed three hundred Prime Gods," That too after treating fifteen years with lazy seriousness, but Neji didn't mention that point—he was sure she would catch on to it anyway. "Killed all of them, along with the daughter of the Primordial himself, the woman who pushed herself to Tier 99 at the last moment yet got annihilated regardless."

"Hoh? No wonder you're so arrogant," Fate chuckled a little. "Those are actual great feats; I will give you that much."

Fate's expression became serious once again. "However, let's not forget the very important point that says such a scenario only happened because the Will O' Omniverse was actively suppressing the invading Gods. It won't be able to do the same when the Primordial sends stronger Gods after you, or when… he descends for you himself."

Neji smiled after a second, "I can handle it, I am growing faster than ever. Sure I lack the Quirks that made me so powerful in the Prime God Battle, but I now have access to Mana—a whole new world has opened for me."

"I know; I know that the Voidmancer power indeed has the greatest potential." Fate said with her eyes shining softly. "The first gamer also had a similar power, such was why he had the title Demon God of Light and Darkness."

Neji's eyes squinted as he heard that. "He did? That's surprising."

"His void powers didn't have the same potential as you, of course, as his Class came from the remnant of the Abstract Entity–the personification of Void itself– Oblivion, who died at the hands of Primordial eons ago in a war. Compared to that, your Class comes from the Primordial himself, yours has potential beyond his—though I suppose his light powers made up for it." Fate explained.

"…You seem to know him quite well." Neji deduced, "Were you guys close?"

Fate laughed aloud softly, finding the question amusing for whatever reason, as she sat on top of the table she was standing over.

"I suppose… I was to him what Luck is to you." Fate said, watching Neji's eyes glow for a moment as he realized the situation. "Yes. Funny isn't it? The 2nd Gamer has the 2nd best person while the 1st has the 1st most person in this job of luck and fate."

"Funny yup, I guess that's why you are so jealous." Neji looked at her weirdly as Fate frowned.

"What?"

"What 'what'? Are you simply not just jealous that your little sister has her own Gamer; while you lost yours? Does this situation seem funny and ironic to you? Is this why you want me to leave her so that I die just as the 1st did? Perhaps it's not all jealousy either, perhaps you just want your sister to not be heartbroken like you since I might meet the same end as the 1st."

"…." Contessa Fate's smile began to vanish the more he spoke, and by the time he finished she was glaring fire at him. "Neji Hado, don't take my carefree talk with you as a sign of me liking you. Do not joke around with such matters-"

"I am not joking, though." Neji cut her off with a pissed growl. "My bad, my bad, I now realize you are not one to Luck going heartbroken. You are just a selfish woman who can't see her little sister drown in the happiness that once belonged to yourself—it's not that you don't want Luck to end up dead for me, but that you don't want Luck to end up in a happily ever after ending; an ending that you never receive-"

That was as far as Neji could speak, being the final nail in Fate's patience as she reached out a hand to his throat. Her hand didn't have to touch him, floating a few inches from his neck, while red energy had already started strangling him.

"How dare you!" Fate's red irises spread to her sclera, a pressure of authority appearing around her form as the force on Neji's throat only increased. "Who gave you the authority to talk to me that way, huh? Do you have any idea what I can do to you with just but a thought?"

"W-what?" Neji growled back, not struggling to free him from her clutch and rather just glaring at her from the air where he was lifted, even as his face was red from the lack of air. "Come on, kill me and prove my point—I am sure that will help you sleep tonight, fucking mentally ill bitch."

"You imbecile, who do you think you are-"

"Whoever may I be, I am surely not someone whom you can mess with just because you have issues with your sister!" Neji shouted, interrupting her as air burst in the room, causing Fate's hair to flare backwards.

Along with that force of air thanks to his Godly constitution, a 'something' else boomed forward as well, looking somewhat like lightning but more like cracks in reality as they leaped to clash with the red energy—the authority of Fate—that was choking his throat. The two authorities clashed for a moment before they both burst into nothingness.

Neji fell from the air, on his knees, and took fast breaths. He looked down at the ground in confusion, but soon looked up to glare at Fate again; Fate who was staring at him with wide eyes.

Neji kept breathing irregularly for a while more, not saying anything as he was confused at what just happened, while Fate stayed silent as well.

Soon, Fate's shocked expression slowly changed to that of pure amusement.

Neji heard her mutter something about 'Tale' and whatnot, just as he remembered what Lady Luck had told him about powers related to that word back when he was discussing it with Jashin.

"Now it would be somewhat awkward if I try to kill you again after such an embarrassing fail," Fate said, moving her shoulders a little to shrug, as she gestured her finger to lift Neji from his knees to stand up straight. "However, I will warn you to not say such things to me ever. I loved him, it makes me mad hearing you remind me how I failed to protect him. However, now that you said it, I suppose it is a bit true that… I am a bit jealous of Luck—but never tell her that, though, or I will kill you."

"...."

"In exchange for this embarrassing showing today, I will do you a favor." Fate walked over to Neji, who was still weary of her, and put a finger on his chest again—rolling it over his heart, as her finger glowed red.

The red energy entered Neji sharply, making him gasp a little, but the pain subsided right away.

[Ding! You have been cursed by Contessa Fate, marked with the curse of `Uncertain Destiny`!]

[The Will of the Omniverse's Blessing is unsure if the curse should be removed or not.]

Neji's eyes widened, as he sharply flinched back from her touch. "Why are you doing this? I removed my first curse after so long. Why are you making it hard agai—"

"Uncertain Destiny. It's usually considered a curse, yes." Fate interrupted him as she walked back to sit on top of the table, her skirt tightening on her thighs due to the pressure. "But in your case, it should be a blessing. With the use of your System, you are able to increase your luck points, so the 'uncertain' part should only be lucky ones. Only good things should happen from this. Well, for the most part."

Neji's anger melted a moment of consideration later, though he still frowned. "...Why are you helping me all of a sudden?"

For a moment, he wanted to add 'are you replacing your gamer with me?' but he held the urge in, he might get killed for real otherwise.

"At the start, I said I saw your end, didn't I?" Fate said. "It wasn't a lie."

"...."

"Singular beings such as myself and yourself don't have definitive futures, but sometimes when our type does have a definite fate then, almost all the time, it will happen no matter what we do." Fate said. "A prime example would be the future seen by humans titled as Nighteye. In the future he saw, the poor you were impaled by Fotia's fiery sword—that exact scene happened in the end, even though you avoided all the other possibilities from the predicted future."

"Uh-huh… I see your point."

"Yes. You have countless more situations in your fate that are definitive, ones that would mark your end for sure. However, with this 'Curse' I just shot you with, your Fate has become changeable, very unpredictable." Fate explained further, "However, I will suggest you use Future-Sight-related powers in moderation starting from now , stop using it entirely if possible. After all, seeing your own future while having this curse/blessing often makes the seen future unchangeable. Do not worry about the other people seeing your future though, it's fine as long as they don't tell you the details."

Neji was displeased quite a bit at the downside of the curse/blessing, but he just told himself it was for the better—it's much preferable to not see the future every other minute like he did in the last eight months in the MHA-world. At that time frame, he couldn't even rest most of the time because of the pressure of knowing the bad future.

"Anyhow," Suddenly, Fate waved her hand as his body began to vanish. "I don't wish to continue conversing with you, I still don't quite like you, but Luck does and she is mad that I am keeping you here. Tell her I am sorry when you meet her."

"…Sure thing," Neji replied without much joy, as he was teleported from the Fortress of Fate.

* * *

When the strange existence that was the current Gamer vanished from her sight, Fate stayed silently in her spot for a few long minutes.

Fate's eyes locked on the spot he was a while ago as strange emotions passed across her face.

"They're so different," she muttered under her breath. "Yet, at the same time…"

["To think he was on point when he said you were just jealous of your little sister,"] All of a sudden, a voice rang in the room, the voice of someone whom Fate absolutely detested.

"Says who the fuck—the mentally ill low life who dare call herself the Director of the Last Act?" Fate scoffed as her previous dazed expression vanished. "You are so 'not over him' that you are still making Anti-System stuff to this day. Do you not feel any shame when calling me out?"

["Oh shut up, you know of nothing."] The feminine didn't sound offended, and rather giggled playfully. ["Blame the Beyond Omnipotent, it's all them who are at fault here."]

"Right. Those two things." Fate sighed. After a bit of silence, she asked. "You think this boy has what it takes?"

["Mhm… After four hours of thinking, I would say I don't at all have an answer to that question,"] The Director replied. ["I would decide after he finds me and we talk face-to-face."]

"You seriously thought over my question for four hours, eh? That's new." Fate was surprised. "But if you are going to wait for him to find you then… Good luck to you."

["Heh? May luck be with me, then."] Another laugh that was playful too yet at the same time somewhat bitter, sounded out in the room.

"I will pray for you," Contessa Fate got off the desk and began to walk to her chair. "Want to come for a tea? It's been a while."

An expectant reply never came, as Fate groaned and recalled just why exactly she detested this existence, this foolish being who wasn't an abstract—yet could so casually chat with her.

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