Perenthia struggled to control herself. Her body was vibrating so hard with anticipation that she was breaking the wooden chair in which she lounged, the mythic materials unable to handle the force of her movement.

Fated Confluence was a Soul Skill that let her tap into the latent energies and thoughts that happened in her vicinity. Her vicinity being many kilometres wide. A range she could further extend with divinity if she so chose. The Skill was constantly on but she didn’t mentally pay attention to every single whisper of intent or thought. They weren’t coherent enough for that.

Honestly, she thought the name of the Skill was utter shit. Fate wasn’t real and whichever predecessor had named it such was a self-indulgent assclown of towering proportions. It didn’t tell her fate. It simply fed her the information that was happening now, so she could use probability to determine the most likely outcome.

That was where her second Skill, Probability Assessment, came into help. Burned into her very eyes, to follow those whispers of ‘fate’. But directing her attention to such a deluge of information would have been mind-numbingly boring. So, her third Skill handled that for her. Nascent Mind was her. The other her. The one dealing with all the information, all the whispers, all the thoughts, and plucking out the bits that would be of interest to her.

It had picked up on something and then lines of probability had bloomed before her as Perenthia picked out the ideal path to get what she wanted. She just hadn’t known what that was at the time. Probability had just simply told her that if she went to The Forest’s Rest that she would get something she wanted. She didn’t know what, but her Nascent Mind did.

Witnessing the boy in the white and purple robe manipulate reality had told her everything she needed to know. Kalin’s lackey had been employing Silver Tongue or a similar Skill to try and manipulate the table the boy sat at, subtle soul energies gently nudging them to agree to whatever that buffoon wanted. Then those same soul energies had just… vanished. They weren’t destroyed, or countered. No protections, barriers, or shields were employed. No opposing soul energy to seize control of the area. They simply vanished, like they never existed.

Most people might not recognise what such an event meant, but Perenthia was not most people. She could recognise someone with Skills like her own. Someone as unique as she was. And oh how that made her want him. To possess him. To hold him. The two of them together. Forever.

She stared at him, really stared, like her eyes could see right through him. He was a human. Not that she cared. Race didn’t matter. Appearance didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he would be hers, and she would be his. Bound together for eternity as they shaped Reality.

She watched him unerringly from beneath lidded lashes as he helped to settle the table after the attempted intercession of Kalin Silverscale. A nobody, as far as Perenthia was concerned. Sure, he was a Prime Seed, and son of a Greater Divine silver-scaled Wyvern, but he was a nothing to her. Nothing, unless he got between her and her other half. Because if anyone came between her and him, then Reality just might decide that the probability of their death was suddenly extremely high. In fact, some might say that their demise was a certainty, written in the fabric of Reality itself.

She gazed on possessively as her beloved laughed, his long blonde hair swaying in the breeze. Noted the foods he ate and how he favoured the sweet and sour sauce over the gravy. She drank in his form even as he quaffed a small amount of wine. He was clearly so careful and deliberate. Perfection made flesh, a twin to match her own. She kept her eyes on him until he and his friends left. Her attendants had remained utterly silent, using their bodies to disguise her constant gaze and pretending to pick at the food, giving the illusion of a small group out to eat.

As her beloved left, Perenthia followed the lines of probability with all the information coming in from Fated Confluence fed by a sliver of divinity. He would compete in the World Reaping Crafters Tournament. Of course he would, she thought. Why would he bother to pay for something when he could grind the weak beneath his heel. Who could be a greater crafter than one who designed Reality itself?

She smiled so brightly it hurt. Her slot had been purchased, so she would have all the time in the world to observe him, to understand him, to get to know him, so that when she revealed herself, he would see that she was everything he needed.

And if she was everything he needed, then he didn’t need those other people. Getting rid of them was a necessity, but not an immediate one. She would learn about them first. Learn their weaknesses and how they were connected to her true love and then she would snip away those connections one by one until he was all hers. Forever and ever.

“Did you get his name?” she asked in a gleeful voice as she turned to Whisper.

“Nate Weber of the Risen Sun Sect,” replied her female attendant quietly.

Nascent Mind disagreed as Probability Assessment told a different story.

“A lie. Not his name. That is real. The Sect is a lie. Look into it.”

The second order was directed at Murmur. He simply nodded.

“And not a word to my Father,” ordered Perenthia. “I will tell him in my own time.”

Her Father would understand and respect her choice. After all, how many Lesser Divines were there that could manipulate Reality itself?

*************

Nate rested on his patio in the early morning sun, drawing out the structure of the new ability with his Divine Paint. He had three Abilities left to create that would ultimately rest beside Life Imitates Art and Art Imitates Life. The first of the three new abilities would encompass his Conceptual Insight and Conceptual Sight of the Runic Artist. The resulting Ability should, at the bare minimum, mimic his current capabilities, though he’d gotten an idea from the night before. The pink-haired elf had glowing eyes and Nate was considering carving this ability into his own eyes and therefore Divine Vessel. He suspected doing so would make it easier to channel Divine Energy into the ability while also anchoring it to his body and making it something he could have feed passively off his mana. A part of him also had to admit that he found her eyes striking and liked the idea of having something similar.

The second was an ability to create and manipulate runes and materials. Such an ability was going to rely heavily on mana and needed to be incredibly modular. The ability would draw inspiration from Conceptual Runic Mastery and Multi Conceptual Material Shaping. Of all the planned abilities, this one was the most complex in design and, as such, he was intending to leave it for last.

The first two abilities only covered a few of his existing Skills and while the third had initially been planned to focus around his Conceptual Spatial Authority, he’d come up with a slightly different plan. The problem he had foreseen was the loss of some of his Stat enhancing Skills. Conceptual Amplified Magic and Artist’s Desire were both force multipliers in terms of the power Nate could bring to bear, but they didn’t fall into any of the existing categories for Abilities. Initially he had considered creating a fourth ability that focused on self-enhancement, taking his total abilities to six.

That was until he had heard of the World Forger Sect and their particular Path. If he could figure out how they used their Inner Worlds to empower themselves, he could create a Spatial Ability that not only served as storage for his home, flying ship, and art gallery, but also as a way to empower himself, mimicking his System given Stat amplification Skills.

However, as he was about to compete in a crafting tournament, and since he had no knowledge of the World Forger Sects methods, his focus was on Runecrafting Ability. Like any good spell, the shape he was creating from his paint was three dimensional. Around him floated a miniature world, the lines of paint incorporating Sigils that, when given Intent and fed mana or Divine Energy, would respond to Nate’s commands. A hub was set aside within that incorporated the Divine Sigil for Mana, surrounded by interlocking shapes of the Grandmaster Sigil for Control. Nate decided he would need to raise that one to Divine at some point, which would mean rearchitecting parts of this ability. But at least that gave him a clear path for improving this Ability.

Then there was the modular section used for shaping and empowering materials. Inside the Shape and Power Sigils, Nate would need to add the Sigils for the material he wanted to target. Encasing it all was a sphere of shifting Sigils. Destruction kept at bay by Space with Creation swirling through the gaps left behind. Because, to improve materials correctly, he needed to be able to destroy the parts he didn’t need and create the ones he did. And Space because letting the other two Sigils directly interact was a recipe for disaster. He knew that from experience.

Nate crafted all day and long into the night, slowly shifting and moving his design for his new ability. Sigils were added and taken away, moved to new positions which triggered cascading effects that then had to be solved only for Nate not to be satisfied with the new structure and to start over. The basic design in his head made sense but creating a balanced ability that met his perfectionist desires in Reality meant that he needed to constantly problem solve. Each time he created a balanced spell, he would test it against his existing Skills. And each time so far, he found the ability wanting. But with each iteration he was getting closer and closer to parity with the Skills on his Class Core.

He smiled to himself. He had over a week till the tournament started. By the time it did, he would have an ability that exceeded what Kali’Terra had given him. Then he would show the Dynasty just how good of a crafter he really was.

*************

Kiri’s voice was drowned out by the roar of the crowd, even though she was up in the premium booth area set aside for Divinities, and she was forced to repeat herself.

“Does Nate know you’re doing this?”

“Nah,” replied Frick.

The little Spirit had been granted access by Kiri’s request.

“So the rules are what? Loser gets eaten?” asked Kiri as she looked down into the arena below where some kind of giant bird was fighting a squat, demonic looking monster.

“Basically. Or they have to offer up something the winner is willing to take in exchange for their companions life.”

Kiri decided then and there that it would be best if they didn’t bring Nate to this underground companion deathmatch arena.

“Most aren’t Familiars or Companions,” explained Frick. “Lots of captured beasts and monsters and a bunch of Demonic and Celestial beings.”

“So what’s your plan?”

“I’m gonna keep fighting till I can eat a few demons or spirits that will fit in well with the Horde,” answered Frick with a toothy grin.

“That’s a little messed up… confident you can win?” asked Kiri.

“If I lose, whatever you’re worried about ain’t going to be my problem!” cackled Frick.

Kiri nodded thoughtfully, settling into the comfortable chair provided and planning out how much she was willing to risk losing by betting on Frick. The answer, it seemed, was a lot.

Frick was called down for his first match within twenty minutes and Kiri watched him handily defeat a Celestial with two sets of wings and a sword that had shone with a pale and angry light. She snorted to herself as she watched Frick literally copy a few of Nate’s runes to suppress the summoned being through Shadow and Destruction.

At first, she’d expected the first fight to have the best odds but the greatest risk, since Frick was an unknown, but Kiri also didn’t have much information to determine the threat level of his opponents. Now though, Frick had set the scene that he held a Mage type Class. Which meant his odds against Mage counters were extreme. Kiri knew for a fact that Frick was not a Mage and was simply abusing his connection to Nate. She smiled as she placed her second bet. Nate might be able to make wealth out of mana, but Kiri could take that wealth and put it to work, with a little help from a mischievous, little, goblin spirit.

She’d offered to bring Wulfgar along on this little outing but the Blood Warrior already had plans for some sparring and practise with Jak. Gwen and Fili had gone shopping for some new clothes, which while Kiri wouldn’t have been opposed to seeing Gwen model some outfits for her, also felt like she was intruding a little too much. Besides, she and Gwen were just a fling. Spending too much time with her or putting too much effort into the temporary relationship felt like it would just make things a little too personal.

As for Nate, he was busy with his ability development, though she had checked in on him. Finally there was Jemima, that slug of a woman was hard at work brewing up some new concoctions for Kiri, hyper intent on keeping herself useful. Wise of the alchemist as far as Kiri was concerned. Because the moment she stopped being useful and making up for her litany of crimes Kiri would end her. Jemima’s execution was only held off so long as she provided a benefit to Kiri, her brother, or once they returned to Galle, to the world that Nate wanted to create.

Two more matches passed. The first was the squat, demonic creature again, this time facing some kind of flying spirit that launched spears of wood. The durability of the demonic creature won out for a second time and Kiri wondered if that was one that Frick might want to devour. The second match was over in the blink of an eye as a flying butterfly similar to the one that belonged to Felicia, the owner of their accommodation, was devoured by a wolf-like beast with fangs as long as Kiri’s arm.

Then it was time for Frick to fight again and this time he was met with the squat demonic creature.

“And now we have the fan favourite, we know you all love him, it’s Das’brik of the Fifth Hell against the newcomer, Shaman Frick of The Undefeated Horde! This battle is to the devouring! Strap in fight fans! It’s going to get UGLYYY!!!!” screamed the announcer.

Frick’s laughter as he grew in size drowned out the sound of the ecstatic crowd.