Black String of Fate

The pursuers backed away, being extremely wary of the man they knew the infamous reputation of. The recent times were peaceful, like a calm before the storm, so many people had forgotten his name that echoed in the battlefields.

Arkham glanced over his future victims before looking in a faraway direction. Nobody except him could see what he was seeing, not even Cassandra. He opened his mouth and said in a loud tone,

"Kid, observe. This is how Grandmasters fight. I don't know if you've ever seen a fight of this caliber, but it'll be a valuable experience regardless."

In the direction where Arkham was looking, inside the canopy of a faraway tree, a young man sat while holding a half-bitten, juicy fruit in his hands. He was looking at the fight from far away, a privilege given by his senses of Celestial mind.

'Heh, I've seen a lot more than this young man, but I guess I'll entertain him.'

"Do show me, I'll be expecting a great performance…"

Arkham, who definitely did not hear whatever Xavier said just now, understood and nodded after seeing his smile. He made a vicious smile as he got into a stance and formed his aura.
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It was the most refined aura he had seen in this life till now. The emperor of Souvell wasn't much of a match against him, and the heavenly demon used Force instead.

'He has trained well. Soon, he could tackle the Sage rank, if luck is on his side.'

The pursuers backed off after seeing that blood-red aura surrounding the greatsword, being so ghastly that one could hear the dying screams of the titans it had slain.

"...We won't die that easily! Everyone, Black Rush sword formation!" The master, who had been still the entire time, announced, and everyone obeyed that order.

They moved in sync, a testament to the massive amounts of practice they've done for this. Even though this formation was meant to slay giant beasts who completely outclass their rank, Arkham, in their eyes, was completely worthy of such treatment.

"Futile tricks."

Arkham raised his sword and pulled it to his side, charging up his aura. Just a few moments later, he suddenly swung out, and a massive aura blade was launched at the enemies. They all raised their sword, trying to defend against this with their collective might, but only the master was smart enough to duck away.

*Swoooosh*

All the unfortunate souls who tried to defend themselves got struck in half by a force they could not even begin to stand a chance against. Their formation, which was meant to work against rank 6 monsters, was utterly helpless against a Grandmaster.

'Impressive, his projections are strong. I can tell his force, if he ever forms one, will be classic and straightforward. But… I can see the bloodiness in his blade. Has he gone through redemption from his dark past?'

Xavier thought while observing Arkham carefully. The attribute of pure strength laced with a hint of malevolence was something that looked very promising and appealing to him.

'A swordsman should not be too simple. That simplicity is reserved for absolute masters that even I have touched the realm of only once. He would've not gotten far if he was simply a strongman, neither would he have touched these heights if he was simply evil. It's this delicate and profound balance of both that makes him who he is.'

Being the swordmaster he is, he deciphered Arkham's sword the moment he laid his eyes on it. He smiled, and went back to eating the fruits he picked from the tree he was sitting on.

Back in the middle of the action, Arkham stared at the master dead in the eyes. Arkham's mind and heart were cool, because such an easy opponent could not make his heart race.

"Now, only you're left."

The last master rank pursuer took out his sword and coated it in a wild, purple aura. He had no choice, he knew he'd die right now, and he couldn't run from this monster. He had to face him upfront and hope to get lucky.

'He's underestimating me. Even though I'm a master, my aura is poisonous enough to lethally poison anyone below the Sage rank. Just one hit, and then it's my victory.'

Arkham looked at the purple aura with an aloof expression as he began to say,

"You're hoping for one hit, I'd assume. That poison says so. But, you see… You can't land a hit, you're too weak and unskilled for that."

While this may seem like arrogant boasting of his superior rank, Xavier, who heard everything from the distance, nodded sincerely in agreement. He can easily see that the aura cultivated by the master only has poison, and no skills behind them. It was a sword that came out of the disgusting venom of his heart.

'Tsk, if you gonna take that route, at least be as talented as me. Otherwise, it's a bad idea to let your sword be tainted by such dirty emotions.'

The master felt humiliated, and for this reason, he decided to do the one thing he knew would harm them massively if done right. He locked his eyes with Cassandra, who was starstruck watching Arkham, and dashed towards her.

Her eyes widened as she barely reacted to it, but the sword was already millimeters away from her neck.

*Pierce*

Cassandra closed her eyes in panic, her body expecting a grueling pain that might come anytime soon. To her surprise, nothing like that happened, and she was perfectly fine. The blade had stopped in its place, just barely touching her neck. She saw blood trickling down the blade, but it wasn't hers, rather, it was the master's.

She looked up, only to see a bloody head crushed by a giant greatsword.

"Stupid fool, I even warned him that he was unskilled…"

"Yeah, you did. But these types of fuckers are always overconfident for some reason."

Xavier appeared out of nowhere at the scene, surprising both Cassandra and Arkham.

"When did you.."

"It's not that hard, Arkham. Just learn to erase your presence, and you can become invisible to those who have stopped relying on their eyes.

Anyway, you did a great job. The balance you have right now of your traits is perfect for you, try to maintain that. Don't ever lose sight of the sword you have right now, and trust in this blade you've formed. Your aura is stable, but I could see your traits fluctuating a bit… Those doubts might become poison, so be careful."

Arkham was completely speechless at Xavier's critical evaluation. It was something that struck deep and concise, like a master pointing out a basic error in an amateur.

'He only ever saw my sword once. Just how did he… What is he?'

It wasn't just something in the realm of a genius now. No matter how talented a genius may be, deciphering the sword of a Grandmaster who has decades of experience on his back is something not possible for an amateur, especially not for an 11-year-old kid.

"Xavier… I want to talk to you in private. Cassandra, will you give us a moment."

"...Sure."

Cassandra was not able to catch up to the conversation these two were having, as she was a mage. In fact, ever since Arkham appeared, she could do nothing but take a backseat. She didn't mind it that much, because she knew that these monsters were on her side.

She walked away, leaving Arkham and Xavier alone. Xavier looked like he already expected what Arkham was going to ask, but he still waited for the question.

"Xavier… are you a regressed Sage? I've heard tales about people at those heights being able to regress back to their childhood self, in order to go back to their prime shape. But it doesn't make sense, as amazing as your arts are, they are still extremely incomplete, and you're for sure a Novice rank individual."

Xavier gave a wry smile and sighed, thinking about what answer to give.

'Well, I don't really have a reason to hide this, I guess. There's no benefit to keep this secret since it ultimately doesn't matter much.'

"You're close, but at the same time, too far. I was a Crafted Archon, at least in my previous life. I've regressed back to my childhood after dying, so that's that."

For a few moments, silence ensued. Arkham was so shocked that he wanted to dismiss this as an absurd story, but such a thing made a lot of sense. Archons were mythical legends, it wouldn't be too out of reality if he somehow did regress back in time.

"...A Crafted Archon? You reached the end of the path, like the Elemental King? I'm finding this hard to believe, but it makes the most sense.

Xavier… No, Sir Xavier, can you provide me with some proof? Something that only Archons would know?"

Xavier smiled after seeing the slight hint of greed and expectations in Arkham's eyes. He liked people who were honest with their desires.

"Okay, but first, don't call me sir."