Links between eons

The cat looked up at Seth with a mixed expression before her body started changing, taking the form of a beautiful woman, covering her naked body by curling up into a ball.

“Can you?” she asked in a sweet voice.

Seth created a cloak and threw it toward the woman while turning around. A few seconds later, the woman spoke again.

“You can turn back now.”

Seth turned around to find the woman had made a dress out of the cloak and was looking at him with interest.

“I also thank you, Seth, for not feeding it completely.” Replied the woman, carefully holding onto the cloak at her chest as she bowed towards Seth.

“No need to thank me, Panther. If I had unleashed that, it would have only created more trouble for me. I have to thank you for sparing me the need to take that fight.”

Panther looked at Seth with interest and asked: “Would you have won?”

“Probably, but the price I would have had to pay… it would not have been a small one.”

Panther nodded, the interest in her eyes growing as she bit her lip and asked: “Do you mind?”

Seth chuckled and turned his head to the side: “Go wild.”

Panther slowly started moving forward, her feet gently stepping upon the soft grass as if afraid she would hurt it until she reached in front of Seth.

“Excuse me.” She whispered as she brought her nose to Seth’s neck and her nostrils moved up and down adorably while her eyes were closed.

After having her fill, she moved back with a red face and bowed lower than before, her tone taking a more respectful tone.

“Thank you for granting this little one the honor, bearer of the crown of destruction.”

“So you can smell it even through the seal.” Said Seth with a sigh. “Stand straight, Guardian of the Earth. Having you bow before me is a sin in of itself.”

Panther strengthened her back and smiled: “A bearer of a crown is worthy of having the entire world bow at his feet. This world has long been missing one.”

Seth shook his head and said: “Trust me, this world regretted this crown as soon as it arrived.”

“The order of the gods is not something any mortal should ever interfere upon. Whatever it claims it shall have.”

“Not this time.” replied Seth, shaking his head again.

Panther smiled softly and nodded. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Seth. I should return. The lands no longer welcome me.” As she spoke, she showed Seth one of her feet through the cloak, and Seth could see that her body was already turning transparent.

Seth nodded and said: “Sorry for the bother. Tell the others not to intervene in what I’m doing. My goal and your goals align, after all.”

Panther looked into Seth’s eyes, noticing no trace of deception inside them, and nodded.

“I will be sure to let them know, but I can’t promise all of them will listen. The further you push, some of them might choose to push back. I don’t know why you have sealed your strength, but I can smell your weakness, so be careful.”

“I wish you good luck in your endeavors, and may the weight of your burden not bring you down.” As she spoke, Panther turned back into a cat, leaving the cloak drop as she got sucked into the ground, disappearing from before Seth.

Seth bent down and grabbed the cloak, storing it in his storage space with a sigh.

“I didn’t expect to see you so soon...” Muttered Seth before resuming his journey.

The voices that had plagued him on his journey throughout the Curse Kingdom became silent. He was eventually out of its territory, arriving in Pain, the most south-westerly kingdom of the continent.

Seth didn’t stop after entering the Kingdom of Pain but continued to travel toward its capital city.

‘Where are the other two ascended?’

<They are now traveling towards the capital and will arrive in two weeks.>

‘Great. I should arrive ahead of them.’

With his destination being the capital of Pain, Seth continued heading straight toward it. His journey took just a few days over a week, and a large city was now before him.

The capital of the Pain kingdom was completely different than one would expect from its name. It was a lively and modest city, with small houses spread along an expansive valley surrounded by a large mountain chain.

Even from a distance, there were no large buildings beside the palace at the city’s center, some inns, and a few other businesses. People could be seen moving around like ants, and joyous laughs even reached the cliff Seth was standing on.

Passing the mountain chain would lead one straight inside the city. There was no wall, and the city relied on its natural position for defense in case of enemy attacks.

Seth only stayed on the cliff for a moment before teleporting straight inside, choosing a more retreated place for the target of his teleportation.

He didn’t change his looks since there were people from all across the continent inside the city, and no one would notice him as an outsider.

Walking out of the small street he teleported upon, Seth went to the main road and started mixing up with the crowds as he headed for the nearest inn. Since he still had to wait almost a week for the ascended to reach there, he might as well rent a room at an inn.

Walking into the closest inn, Seth nodded toward the people drinking at the tavern on the ground floor and made his way to the counter. After paying a few silvers, he picked up the key to his room and headed upstairs.

Entering a small room with a single one-person bed, Seth closed the door and lay down on the bed. It was soft enough that he didn’t even feel like creating a new mattress, and he closed his eyes as he heaved a sigh.

Since it was the first time he got to rest on a bed inside after a long time, Seth didn’t even bother cultivating and went straight to sleep.

By the time he woke up, it was already late at night. Sitting up from his bed, Seth went downstairs and turned to look at the bard singing for the customers inside.

Pain was one of the few kingdoms on the continent where singing was common. Smiling, Seth ordered a cup of liquor from the innkeeper and some food before sitting at one of the open tables.

After his order arrived, Seth continued to listen to the bard singing songs while enjoying his drink’s sweet taste.

‘I can’t wait for music to become a thing in Endora as well…’ thought Seth.

The bard would stop from time to time, telling even a short story or a few jokes, livening the atmosphere inside the tavern. People came and went, but Seth spent his entire night enjoying the atmosphere.

As the light started coming from outside through the tavern’s windows and the bard declared the end of his performance, Seth finally stood up from his seat.

Walking outside in the streets right after the bard, Seth began wandering. For the state of the continent right now, Pain was the ideal place to live.

It was a peaceful kingdom with a prosperous economy and the liveliest atmosphere. As he kept walking the roads, people would approach him from time to time, trying to sell him all sorts of goods.

A stroll through the main street would allow you to get your hands on anything you might want or need. Some were selling food, some clothes, some accessories, some drinks, and some even weapons. There were even some children that would guide travelers throughout the city for but a single silver coin.

As he was walking the streets of the city, Seth felt that Endora, while a lot more beautiful and clean, still had a long way to go. The atmosphere inside the capital of Pain was not something one could create using ascended energy.

As Seth was sighing, a woman from the side of the streets called out to him. “Young hero. Are you interested in a read?”

Seth heard her voice and turned towards it, noticing it was a woman with a small table in front of her and some cards on it. There was a large plaque behind her on which it said: “Fortune reading.”

Seth chuckled and started approaching the woman’s stall, sitting on the chair right in front of her stall.

“Hey, friend. Don’t get fooled by this swindler’s words.” Said a man that had a stall set up across from her, causing the woman’s face to flare up and yell at him: “You’re the swindler, selling those worm-rotten cakes to young and naive women. See how the gods will strike you down for bothering my customers.”

She then turned towards Seth with a large smile, her voice changing completely as she said: “So, young hero, what would you like to know? It is only ten silver coins for a read.”

Seth chuckled and placed ten silver coins on the table. “Whatever you want. I’ve never had my fortunes read before, so I couldn’t tell you.”

The woman nodded, immediately taking the coins and dropping them into a box she was holding on her lap like she was afraid Seth would take them back. She then grabbed a thick pack of cards and started mixing them. After a while, she said: “I’ll be doing a general read of your fate.”

Seth nodded, and the woman had him cut the deck in half before picking the top three cards and fixing them on the table right in front of Seth.

“We’ll first have a look at your past.” Said the woman before turning around to the leftmost card.

“The reversed Hermit. A lonely past filled with isolation and pain. Your path was covered by a fog that prevented you from finding your way, causing your journey to become aimless.”

Seth smiled and asked: “Can you read more into it?”

Surprised, the woman nodded, pointing towards the price mark with her finger.

Seth put ten more silver coins, and the woman immediately dragged them to her box. She drew two more cards, placing them right under the reversed hermit.

She then flipped the leftmost one.

“Reversed Emperor. You lived a rigid and cold life, unaffected by what the world and other people threw your way.” Said the woman, pointing towards the Hermit card again. “The reason for your lonely journey seems to be of your own making. You pushed everyone away as you traversed the blocking fog to pursue your goal.”

She then flipped the second card under the hermit.

“Upright fool. In the end, your path led you to your rebirth. You were offered a new beginning, pulling you out of that disorienting fog.”

The woman ended her reading and looked at Seth, waiting to see if he wanted to see even more. Seth shook his head with a smile and said: “Continue.”

The woman flipped the middle card in the initial set of three cards. “Present.”

“Upright Magician. You now walk a new path, pushed forward by renewed willpower. A path of creation and desire.”

Seth threw ten more silvers toward the woman, and she pulled out two more cards. Flipping the first one, she continued:

“Upright Lovers. Your new path is filled with love and partnership, in stark contrast to the lonely path you used to walk before.”

“Upright Justice. You have found the truth of your new path and will continue to pursue it relentlessly. The fog that used to block your path has now cleared, and you can finally see the destination you are looking for.”

Seeing Seth smiling as he looked at the cards, the woman moved her hand to the last card, symbolizing the future.

“Upright World. You will arrive at the end of the path you are threading and bring your mission to completion. All that effort you put into clearing the way forward will pay off, and you will finally accomplish your desire.”

Seth threw ten silvers to the woman, and she drew two more cards.

“Reversed tower. Your path ahead will have a lot of obstacles, but you eventually manage to overcome them.”

“Upright Star. You will regain faith at the end of your path, and your hope will be rekindled.”

The woman looked once over the cards on her table before turning at Seth.

Seth smiled at her and took out a gold coin, placing it on the table and keeping his finger on it. “I have a question for you. I wonder if you could read the answer for me.”

The woman looked at the gold coin with shining eyes and gathered the cards on the table. “Of course, customer.”

“What is waiting for me at the end of the path.” Said Seth.

The woman looked strangely into his eyes and said: “Customer, you know that fate will never give you a clear answer.”

Seth released the coin and said: “Just read it.”

The woman pulled the coin into her box and remixed the deck before extending her hand for Seth to cut it.

Seth grabbed the top, and the woman moved to put her part above Seth’s when two cards fell from her fingers, falling face up and crooked on the table, their corner of one covering a corner of the other.

The woman paused and looked down at the two cards.

“Judgement and Reversed Devil.” She then shook her head and moved to grab the cards on the table.

“Sorry, customer, my hand must have slipped. I’ll remix the cards.”

Seth chuckled and shook his head: “No need. What do those two mean?”

The woman frowned and said: “Judgment symbolizes reflection, reckoning, and awakening, while the Reverse Devil stands for freedom, release, and regaining control….”

Seth smiled and threw another gold coin toward the woman while standing up. “Let’s hope your reading will come true.”

The woman nodded and took the coin, dragging it to the box between her legs.

“What a strange guy.” She muttered while moving to pick up the fallen cards when she spotted another card hidden under the Devil card.

“Emperor…” she lifted her hand and looked up, searching for Seth, but he was long gone.

Sighing, she added the cards to the deck.

“May fate be in your favor if you ever encounter the one hidden behind your lack of freedom.”