At last.
As long as Yakatikto wasn't the type who lived purely for entertainment and decided to mess with him...
Then there should be no more complications.
Who else in this world could possibly stop a Moon Sovereign?
Surely the other Moon Sovereigns wouldn't see Yakatikto teaching him the Primordial Forbidden Magic and then descend personally—risking backlash just to beat her up?
That would be utterly insane.
Yakatikto raised her hand once more.
Immediately, multicolored threads began weaving through the heavens, faintly visible as they gathered toward this location!
This was fate...
Buzz!
The countless threads condensed into a single strand—
Like a needle stabbing downward!
Shhk!
In an instant, it pierced straight through Shin Senka's body from head to toe, completely impaling her.
And at that exact moment, Rei saw a new magic appear within her.
「Eighth Forbidden Magic — Fate」
Yakatikto looked toward Rei with clear interest.
"As for you~"
"I really want to see that. Your time should be almost up anyway, right? Why not let me take a look?"
The "time" Yakatikto referred to was naturally the duration of his Future Simulation.
From the Abyssfall ruins all the way to the deepest part of this place, a considerable amount of time had already passed.
There were only a few hours remaining now.
And what Yakatikto wanted to witness was most likely his Tower of Ten Thousand Spells forcibly stealing magic directly.
Rei asked,
"Is that okay?"
Yakatikto smiled lightly.
"It's fine. Because it doesn't matter."
Yakatikto was fully aware that she existed within a Future Simulation.
Which meant she could act however she pleased.
"Thank you. Then I'll take it myself."
Normally, this would be the moment for polite formalities.
Saying things like if you ever need help in the future, I'll definitely assist you.
But after thinking about it...
What kind of difficulties could a Moon Sovereign possibly face?
If she truly called on him for help, it would probably be a nine-deaths-and-one-life situation...
And once such a promise was made, perhaps ordinary people could still maneuver around it.
But who knew what kind of effect such vows had on Moon Sovereigns?
What if a single sentence entangled him in causality...
Too terrifying.
Better not.
So Rei abandoned all courtesy and got straight to the point.
He extended one hand.
A sphere of light slowly began emerging from Yakatikto's body, being pulled outward little by little.
Yakatikto felt as though something inside her was being extracted.
It was the sensation of something once completely filling her—
Now continuously being pulled away.
What she felt was emptiness.
As well as the fading and loss of part of the laws she once grasped.
Her perception of fate became blurry once more.
And she completely forgot how to use that magic.
"What a fascinating talent..."
"Your talent already rivals certain divine authorities."
Yakatikto carefully savored the sensation of the extraction, her eyes slightly unfocused, almost as though she were enjoying it.
Her magic was literally being stolen away—
And she was still enjoying it.
Rei realized he could now vaguely make out Yakatikto's face.
So the previous obstruction had been fate itself interfering.
Yakatikto had removed the intersection of their destinies.
It was as though they were originally meant to know one another, but she had twisted that destiny, preventing Rei from truly recognizing her.
Even standing directly before him, she still couldn't be seen clearly.
Though this concealment hadn't been especially deliberate.
So it wasn't total invisibility—
Only a hazy blur.
And furthermore...
Moon Sovereigns could notice the disappearance of their magic and sense the feedback from its loss...
Rei memorized that detail as well.
Although he didn't know whether all Moon Sovereigns functioned that way, it also meant one thing:
If he ever faced another Moon Sovereign directly in the future and attempted to steal their magic—
He absolutely had to be careful.
If they detected it, the situation would likely erupt into battle immediately.
Gurgle...
At last, the magic fully entered Rei's body.
「Eighth Forbidden Magic — Fate」
CLANG!
And almost at the exact instant the magic entered his body—
The Yakatikto before him vanished like a bubble bursting into nothingness!
Immediately afterward—
Pitch-black fissures exploded open across heaven and earth in every direction!
Overwhelming malice spread throughout the entire world!
Everything that had just been destroyed was about to return once more!
Rei's expression grew grave as he cast one final glance around him.
This was no longer a place to remain.
If the simulation continued any longer, who knew how many Moon Sovereigns would become involved?
Without Yakatikto's protection, there was no telling whether he would fall into the sight of someone else.
"Release."
Shhk!
Rei opened his eyes once more.
Before him still stood the Fishfolk Sage.
Those bulging eyes.
That gaze overflowing with wisdom.
「Eighth Forbidden Magic — Fate」
「Initiation Form — Fate Enforcement」
「Activation Conditions: A fate-related class, God-Tier Fate-type Talent, and prior observation of the destinies of all things.」
「Activation Cost: Upon activation, inflict one calamitous fate upon yourself.」
「Activation Effect: Instantaneous Release — Define a short-term fate for a target and forcibly compel the target to act according to that designated fate.」
「Curse Release — Place a fate-level curse upon a target, causing them to gradually approach the prophesied destiny you have foretold. However, this command cannot forcibly violate the rules of the world.」
The more absurd the prophesied destiny—
The lower the likelihood of it coming true.
Just as a story still had to follow logical progression...
This was not My Wish, where any desire would inevitably be fulfilled.
This Primordial Forbidden Magic resembled granting wishes to others—
Except those wishes merely continued moving closer toward fulfillment, with a chance of eventually becoming reality.
「Release Form — Torrent of Fate」
「Activation Conditions: Lead the transition of an era, possess a world-level influential faction, and have an existence capable of influencing the destinies of the majority of the world's inhabitants.」
「Activation Cost: Gain three irreversible destined fates — Permanently lose the possibility of becoming a god, permanently lose the possibility of witnessing the Origin, permanently lose the possibility of becoming a Moon Sovereign.」
This price essentially meant one could forever remain only at Level 8...
Rei could clearly sense that if these costs were truly triggered, even an existing god or a Level 9 class holder would instantly fall from that realm upon activation.
Returning to Level 8.
The same applied to Moon Sovereigns...
「Release Effect: Become the leader of an era, perceive the destinies of the entire world, and manipulate the direction of the world's fate.」
Manipulate the fate of the entire world...
In other words—
Yakatikto could do it.
She unquestionably fulfilled the activation conditions.
However...
If she truly activated it, she would probably fall from the position of Moon Sovereign as well, right?
Would she...?
「Final Form — Strings of Dominion Over All Things」
「The ultimate Fate Magic」
「Activation Conditions: Level 10 Diviner, Level 10 Prophet, Level 10 Mage, Level 10 Chaos Trickster」
「Activation Cost: Lose all class levels.」
「Release Effect: Freely manipulate the fate of everything in the world without requiring any preconditions. Directly distort true destiny while ignoring the rules of reality itself.」
Not merely living beings—
But mountains, rivers, space, time, and all other things could have their destinies manipulated.
The Void itself could regain vitality.
Time could once again become reversible...
This—
Was the Eighth Forbidden Magic—
Fate.