Everything happened so fast that, even with the Fragmented Reflection Eye accelerating his perception of time, Rygar still couldn't calculate all the changes that were happening in his life.
His own Sixth Sense seemed confused, not giving him a clear direction.
He knew that any step taken from now on would invariably change Destiny on unpredictable scales.
Therefore, the first thing he had to do was hide from Hitogami's Divine Sight.
It was impossible even to think about reading the book or performing any other action safely without first protecting himself from that incessant gaze.
So, Rygar opened the book in his hands.
On the simple black cover was the title: Future Guide for All Things.
On the first page, even before the main content, there was a warning in striking, incisive letters. The handwriting was clearly his own:
Past me! Pay attention! You're stupid and arrogant! Be less stupid and don't be arrogant at all! Trust the companions around you, there are still beings in this world who can wipe the floor with your face, you idiot!
Rygar couldn't help an irritated sigh — the first thing his future self did was curse at him?
It was strange to read something like that coming from himself. His eyes continued to scan the page until he found the next instruction:
This is God-level Magic: Celestial Sealing, created to repel Hitogami's gaze. Before anything else, use this magic on yourself. It was created by you, for yourself. You must succeed on a single attempt.
He looked at the enormous incantation that followed; it seemed to be a little over two whole pages of incantation, the longest he had ever learned.
Without hesitation, Rygar took a deep breath, gathered his mana, and began to chant the spell.
"Eternal veils that cover the truth from insolent eyes! I come to the stars, judges of the infinite night; I call to the secret chains that run beneath time….
….
….that rest upon the untouchable heavens! May no flame, no star, no divine or demonic eye dare to pierce this impenetrable barrier!
Celestial Sealing!"
As soon as he uttered the last words, the air around Rygar trembled. He had actually managed to activate it on the first try.
His mana was drained at high speed; even among God-level Magics, this one seemed to demand a lot in terms of mana.
An invisible pressure arose, as if reality itself were being stitched around him.
The raindrops that were falling ceased to touch him for a moment, subtly diverting, as if they did not dare come near.
For a single moment, it was as if he had been removed from the world's perception; he only felt such a sensation when he tried to see Badigadi with his Demonic Eyes for the first time.
Rygar felt a chill run down his spine as he sensed the infinite changes and complexities of the magic. This was, without doubt, a magic worthy of the God-level title.
And then, everything returned to normal. He didn't feel particularly different.
They say that Magics of that level have effects capable of shaping eras and creating cataclysms that resonate for generations.
But this was a utility Magic, so the comparison didn't make much sense — perhaps at least that was necessary to escape the All-Seeing Eyes.
After confirming the activation, he read the next passage.
This Magic makes you immune to Divinations, Demon Eyes, Hitogami's Divine Sight and, unfortunately, even Verdia's Future Vision. The drawback is that the user can use the Magic only on himself; you cannot use it on other people. In other words, only those with enough mana to reach God level have hope of learning this magic one day.
Even with this small drawback, Rygar was very satisfied. He had been trying to rid himself of that malicious god's gaze since the first time he saw him in the Dwarf Territory.
On that occasion, when Hitogami invaded his dreams for the first time, his sharpened senses promptly warned him of the hostility. He had never felt such malice in anyone during his life, and all of it directed at him.
Even with that disguise, that mask he wore — Rygar still felt only a hostile presence in front of him.
But stopping his gaze proved more complex than expected.
Blocking mental invasions was relatively simpler, but blocking the Divine Sight of a God, capable of seeing the future and perceiving the entire world, was infinitely more complicated.
Still, his future self seemed to have succeeded eventually. And, as expected, had left that knowledge prepared for him now.
For the first time, Rygar felt free from Hitogami's constant gaze; it was as if an invisible weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
He felt more confident for no longer being exposed to the Divine Sight, but decided to remain alert.
After all, his future self had made a point of calling him arrogant and stupid — he probably knew better about that than the Rygar of now.
After all, it was someone who knew his flaws, someone who had already lived all the consequences of his future choices.
So, he would follow the advice and try to be less arrogant; humility is the way! As for being stupid… well, there really wasn't much he could do about that.
If he was right, at this very moment Hitogami himself should be in shock.
Despite being able to see the future, his Sight clearly had limits — from not being able to see Orsted to not knowing about the Dragon God's Time Loops.
Until five minutes ago, Rygar was little more than a relevant pawn, trapped under Hitogami's constant gaze and ignorant of Orsted's secrets. He probably didn't even come close to qualifying as a true threat.
But now, the situation was different.
Without Hitogami's gaze upon him, and knowing Orsted's secret, even not yet strong enough, he was a threat.
Only, before acting, he needed to understand.
He needed to assess his position clearly, discover which problems lurked.
His future daughter said that Hitogami had brought them numerous tragedies and calamities.
Of course, if she didn't mention them specifically, then it was likely that they had survived most adversities.
The biggest problem that made his future self want to interfere with Time was, in the end, Orsted's Time Loop, which would erase them from reality.
But Rygar was sure the path to that point hadn't been as easy as she made it seem.
It was probably precisely that path that led to the final result of despair. Therefore, he had to delve into this Guide and understand everything he could for now.
He couldn't repeat the same mistakes if he could change them.
In an instant, he shot through the rainy forest, leaping through the branches with his usual speed.
He still wouldn't reveal anything until he was absolutely certain of what was happening.
If his future self chose "this" moment to send someone from the future, then surely something was about to happen — something he wanted to change for some reason.
Rygar ran to the Combat Temple and then entered the Magic Tower. He went straight to one of its research rooms and sat calmly at the table.
Breathing deeply, he opened the book to the page where the real content began, just after the magic's incantation.
He didn't recognize the handwriting, but soon understood why: the book began being written by someone else.
---
Hello, Daddy! This part was written by me, your dear little daughter who cannot be mentioned!
First, we'll give you an introduction about how this book was written and why there are things we cannot reveal. You are an intelligent person, so I know you'll understand everything quickly.
Basically, this first part of the book will introduce you to the concept of Destiny. How does it work?! Where does it apply?! Where is it irrelevant?!
Let's start with Destiny Interference!
There are many things we will not mention in this book, because it would not be good to divert them from the original course.
In other words, everything about the future that we mention here are events, names or situations that would be great if they were altered, or that, alternatively, don't matter if they are changed or not.
We all strongly theorize that the 'Attraction of Destiny' will always make certain things happen.
Let's give a personal example: when Daddy was twelve years old, he suffered an ambush led by the North Emperor, Larax.
If we didn't want the 'Ambush of the Tyranny Storm' to happen, we could simply reveal to you all the details of how it would occur, and that could easily alter the event completely.
But, if we only said that 'you will suffer an ambush,' it would probably still occur, even if you knew that 'something' would happen. That is how the Attraction of Destiny works. We will talk about this again later.
Now let's talk about the Strength of Destiny in individual people. Every being born in the Six-Faced World already has a Destiny.
In fact, even before being born, Destiny is practically defined. Some Destinies are strong, others weak.
A Weak Destiny can manifest, for example, in the case of a newborn boy in a Demon Tribe about to be exterminated.
In that scenario, his natural future would be to die shortly after birth, without accomplishing anything remarkable.
However, if that same boy possessed a Strong Destiny, coincidentally an adventurer would pass by, save him and maybe even take him as a disciple out of pity for the exterminated tribe.
Rygar paused his reading for a moment. The idea of lives condemned even before being born bothered him a little.
Didn't that naturally condemn the existence of someone with a Weak Destiny? Was that person basically destined to never accomplish anything special?
But, breathing deeply, he resumed reading.
Of course, there are variables outside Destiny that can throw this whole logic into the air. Free will exists to a certain extent, sustained by the variables of 'Will' and also in special cases.
To exemplify: there are beings who are outside the rule of Destiny, like the Demon Empress, the Dragon God and the Human God, among a few others.
When, for example, the Dragon God saves someone who was destined to die at a certain moment, that person's Destiny doesn't change exactly — but future setbacks may not be as great as that moment of death, allowing them to prosper for the rest of their life.
There are also those with powerful Destinies who simply do not make use of them. Two individuals with equally Strong Destiny can have drastically different outcomes depending on Luck and Will.
These factors, although related, are not identical. And, furthermore, one person's Destiny can directly influence another's.
Returning to the example of the demon boy saved by the adventurer: he could be rescued by an S-Rank Adventurer with vast knowledge, or by a C-Rank with no great skills — and that would radically change his future paths.
The rules of Destiny and Luck are so mysterious that even those who study them deeply cannot fully understand them. Therefore, Daddy, do not worry about trying to understand all of this immediately!
Anyway, I want to talk now about an individual perfect for many examples: Rudeus Greyrat. You may not believe it, but that human's Destiny is probably as strong as yours, Daddy.
It was only after studying and understanding more about Destiny that we understood how he survived for so long, even being our opponent.
The mention of Rudeus Greyrat made Rygar sit up straight in his chair. Until now, he had treated Rudeus as a secondary character, a little dangerous, an annoying presence, but not central.
The text continued:
Beings with an Extremely Strong Destiny are incredibly hard to kill. If, for example, an assassin tried to poison Rudeus, he would easily fall for that trick under normal circumstances.
But his extraordinary Destiny would cause the poison to be discovered by someone in time; or that there would be a convenient healer nearby; or even that something unexpected would happen to the assassin before completing the act.
As a general rule, with Destiny Strength so great, only someone with an equally Strong Destiny can kill another with Destiny of that level. And even then, it's not easy. Rudeus Greyrat is probably destined to live a long life.
The other reason to choose him as an example is how much Waste he demonstrates. Despite possessing a Destiny as powerful as yours, when young, he didn't have a Will to match.
His determination was fragile and insignificant, probably a reflection of his experiences in his previous world. And that made him easy to overcome in that aspect by almost anyone.
However, later, a strong attachment to his family strengthened his Will, and his feats skyrocketed.
At one point in his life, he even began to develop his own Temporal Return Magic. Of course, he didn't manage to complete it, since he ended up being killed by Aisha.
But the fact is that his Will transformed his path and led him to surpass his own limits.
Rygar closed his eyes for a moment while reflecting.
Rudeus's name had appeared many times, even if it was only to use him as an example. If he had a Destiny so strong, it was unlikely that he would be irrelevant.
According to what was mentioned at the beginning of the text, then it could only be supposed that there were many 'things' related to him that needed to be changed.
He let out a long sigh. The book already contained many surprises, and it was only the beginning.
-----
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