Strongest Hammer God

Chapter 1075: What Now?

Swamp Dragon waited and waited. The Gate of Death had been summoned over an hour ago, and nothing had happened. According to his calculations, the Overseer was supposed to be dead already, which meant that either he or Fierce Breaker should have received the offer to become the next Overseer.

But nothing like that had happened.

'There's no way she wouldn't have charged into the Gate of Death,' Swamp Dragon thought with narrowed eyes. 'She went from feeling almost hopeless to feeling hope. Afterwards, she went from hope to complete hopelessness, and finally, a radiant ray of hope appeared.'

'She couldn't have resisted the pull. Such an extreme shift in hope would have destroyed all of her hesitation and inhibition. The dangers of the Gate of Death are also known yet unknown to her. Everything points to the fact that she should have immediately charged in without hesitation. She wouldn't even have scouted. She would have just directly gone in without care.'

'90% of humans wouldn't have been able to resist, and as a beast, emotions have an even bigger effect on her. No matter how much I think about it, there's no scenario I can imagine in which she doesn't immediately enter.'

'The only explanation would be if someone else has stopped her.'

'Did he actually intervene? Why? There's an agreement between him and the owner of the Cosmos. A Heaven Breaker can harness all the power inside their Cosmos, and he desperately needs the power. If someone inside his Cosmos can comprehend the Major Law of Death, he can also use parts of the Major Law of Death. He wants Seekers to comprehend it. That's one of the reasons why he created the concept of Avatars to begin with.'

'An Avatar won't help you in the Gate of Death, but it already goes in the right direction. If you can manipulate it a bit more, you can actually survive the Gate of Death.'

'Why did the Will of Death intervene? The Will of Death agreed that he wouldn't destroy the Gates of Death as long as the summoner still intends to enter. Did he break the agreement?'

'He must have known that the Overseer wouldn't survive. Did he want to save her? I only know parts of his origin story, but from what I know, it doesn't seem impossible that he would sympathize with her. Her situation seems very similar to his situation back then.'

'If he doesn't want her to enter the Gate of Death, there are countless ways with which he could stop her. With his knowledge, age, and experience, he doesn't need to use power to get what he wants. He could start as a Mortal again and talk his way to the peak. Life itself is a solved game for him. There are no chances or guesses, only certainties.'

'He must have stopped her. There is no other explanation. I suspected that he might feel for her, but I didn't think that he would actually intervene. From what I've heard, he can be quite fickle. He changes his mind constantly.'

'But I still don't believe that this was the only reason why he has intervened. He usually doesn't interfere in other people's freedom.'

Swamp Dragon narrowed his eyes.

'He must have seen through my plan. All of reality is laid bare to him. As soon as he arrived, he saw the past, present, and a big chunk of the future of Ayuvar. Since he got involved, it must mean that he desires a certain outcome.'

'Fate has been sealed.'

'With his appearance, free will has lost its meaning. Whatever he wants to happen will happen. Knowing about it is part of the path to conclusion.'

'Control and freedom. These concepts are as ethereal and abstract as it gets. We haven't even begun to unearth their secrets, but he has mastered them. We will continue to do whatever we want to do, and we will willingly walk towards the goal he set for us.'

'Everything changed, and yet, nothing changed.'

'The third trial has failed. Everything in Ayuvar was under my control. Nothing in Ayuvar could have changed the outcome. Unfortunately, Ayuvar is not a closed system. Something else got in and changed the numbers.'

'The Overseer has become an unknown. Her encounter with the Will of Death must have changed her to some degree. My old info on her is no longer valid. I need to know more about her current state, but that's not easy to do. I can't make plans without knowing the variables.'

'I need to set up the backup plan first, but that has to wait. I need to talk to Sebastian, but there's a 90% chance that Kyle is already on his way to him. I can't afford to risk getting close to Kyle. There's a 95% chance that he will kill me.'

Swamp Dragon narrowed his eyes, and then he vanished.

"So, what now?" Kyle asked Sebastian. "It's been an hour, and nothing has changed."

Sebastian sighed. "Seems like it has failed. For some reason, she didn't walk through the Gate of Death."

"What if she did but survived?" Kyle asked.

"Swamp Dragon called it physically impossible," Sebastian answered. "She didn't walk into the Gate of Death. That's the only explanation."

"And what does that mean for our future?" Kyle asked.

Sebastian shrugged. "Not entirely sure. The Overseer must have lost all of her hope to escape at this point. She might just sit around, doing nothing. She might go for one last push on the World Wall. She might just kill herself. She might destroy everything again in a fit of rage."

Kyle sighed. "So, once again, we're powerless? Our lives depend on her whim?"

"Yep. It sucks, but it is what it is," Sebastian answered. "Luck is part of surviving."

"It also means that you have to risk your life now, right?" Kyle asked.

Sebastian nodded with an uncertain expression. "Swamp Dragon has failed to kill her. He has used all of his weapons, and now, he's out. He's probably also desperate."

"You won't change your mind?" Kyle asked. "You can just stay here. You can just wait until you're an Immortal. This is my fight, not yours."

"I would still need to risk my life," Sebastian answered. "Compared to you, I still need some Momentum. I need to battle the Immortal Elementals at some point, unless I gain access to an Immortal Law Well."

"Sure, but that's normal," Kyle said. "True Battles are a normal part of life. Sacrificing your life for someone else's plan is different."

"These are my decisions, Kyle," Sebastian answered. "They are mine to make. You should focus on your power."

Kyle sighed in helplessness and frustration. "Sure..."

Then, he left Sebastian alone again.

After Kyle had left, Sebastian looked at his Karmic Lines with worry and guilt.

He waited for a signal he didn't want to come.

He wished the signal would never appear.

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