Chapter 48 - Omens VS Ourainans
"If there were a chance, would you be willing to change your fate?" The old man asked.
I didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, I looked at him for a moment before asking.
"What would be the price of changing fate?"
Surely something that absurd couldn’t come without a cost.
If fate could be rewritten with a simple conversation over tea, then changing it would be easier than drinking water.
The old man smiled as though he had expected that question.
"There isn’t a fixed price," he replied.
"Every fate carries a different weight. What I can promise you, however, is that there is no inflation involved."
He gave me a confident thumbs-up.
"It is always an equivalent exchange."
I couldn’t help but smile wryly.
"That somehow sounds even less reassuring."
Equivalent exchange... who decided what was equivalent?
A year of life?
A treasured memory?
A loved one?
Or something far stranger?
The old man chuckled after seeing the suspicion on my face.
"You don’t have to worry about that yet. Whether you can even reach that stage depends entirely on you. First pass the trial I’ve prepared, and only then will we discuss the matter of changing fate."
That was fair.
If I couldn’t even clear his inheritance, there was no point discussing impossible things.
I nodded.
"Alright. Then I’ll take your trial."
"Good."
The old man’s smile widened.
"You may not show much emotion on your face, but I can tell you’re genuinely interested."
He poured himself another cup of tea before continuing.
"Since you have agreed, I will answer the question your companion asked me earlier. After all, someone who wishes to inherit my legacy should at least know who I am."
I straightened slightly.
I had been curious ever since meeting him.
Anyone who casually spoke about changing fate couldn’t possibly be an ordinary expert.
The old man slowly set down his teacup.
"First of all," he began.
"I do not belong to your world."
***
Several minutes later...
I sat there in complete silence, trying to digest everything he had just explained.
It felt like my brain had stopped functioning halfway through.
According to him, he belonged to a race known as the Ourainans, a civilization that had fought an endless war against another race called the Omens.
Their battlefield wasn’t limited to a single world.
Their conflict stretched across countless worlds.
The Omens corrupted fate.
By twisting it, they absorbed something called Providence, using it to strengthen themselves.
The Ourainans, meanwhile, altered fate according to their own will.
Whenever fate changed because of their actions, they received feedback from that same Providence.
The explanation sounded unbelievably grand.
If I were being honest, I probably understood only half of it.
One thing, however, became painfully obvious.
Both races did nasty things.
Both manipulated the lives of people without their knowledge, or maybe even with their knowledge.
Perhaps noticing my expression, the old man smiled knowingly.
"You think we’re villains."
"I didn’t say that."
"You didn’t have to."
"..."
I awkwardly looked away.
He only laughed.
"There is no action that is inherently good or evil, context gives actions their meaning."
He said some profound words but seeing that I was still unconvinced, he leaned forward slightly.
"Imagine a notorious villain. One day, for reasons known only to himself, he suddenly changes his heart. Instead of slaughtering his enemies as his fate originally intended, he spares every one of them."
He lightly tapped the wooden table.
"The lives he saves become his merit, but the moment he chooses this different path, his fate changes forever."
The old man smiled faintly.
"Whether that new future leads him toward fortune or disaster is impossible to accurately predict."
He raised one finger.
"Always remember this, if an impossible coincidence occurs or someone insignificant suddenly rises beyond all expectation or if an opportunity appears at exactly the right place and exactly the right time, there is almost always someone benefiting from that change behind the scenes."
He paused for a moment.
"The benefit may be tiny or immeasurable, but true coincidences are far rarer than people believe."
I quietly lowered my eyes.
He too, now looked suspicious to me, saying things which reduced his credibility.
And for some reason, everything he said reminded me of various novels.
A background character suddenly becoming important.
A forgotten extra overshadowing the protagonist.
A mysterious old man inside a ring.
Systems.
Heaven-defying inheritances.
Ridiculous lucky encounters.
Could all of those actually be the result of someone manipulating fate?
Then another question naturally surfaced.
’What about me?’
I hadn’t been reincarnated.
I hadn’t awakened a system.
The only thing I had gained was another lifetime’s worth of memories.
And even those had appeared because of my Aspect.
An Aspect I had concluded was related to perception, balance or maybe unity.
Was that also someone’s arrangement? Or had it simply happened?
"You look completely lost."
The old man’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
He didn’t sound disappointed.
If anything, he seemed amused.
"I suppose that’s enough philosophy for today. I have already answered more questions than I intended."
He slowly stood up from his seat.
"Now then, let’s begin your trial."
Just before I could stand, he raised another finger.
"Oh, one last thing. For this trial to have any meaning, I will temporarily seal your memories."
I instinctively frowned.
The old man waved his hand dismissively.
"Relax, I said your memories, not your self. Your instincts and your personality will remain and the choices you make will still be yours. Only the knowledge you’ve accumulated until now will be set aside for a little while."
Somehow, that explanation made me even more nervous.
The old man extended his hand toward me with a mysterious smile.
"Good luck young man, if everything goes well,"
He suddenly stopped himself before chuckling.
"I think I’ll let the ending surprise you because you are not alone in this trial..."
Before I could ask another question.
My vision darkened.
The room disappeared.
And my consciousness slowly faded away.