Chapter 800 System Oath
Laws spontaneously rippled through the world, an oppressive Will drawing a line.
The skies shuddered and the glass casing that formed the tall, curved ceilings of the Rune Tower cracked.
BANG!
Shards of glass fell in a torrent, a hail of sharpness sprinkling down from above in a fine mist.
And then the law took shape, condensing into a complex Rune swirled with a dense darkness.
But no one could pay much attention to it, not at all. Not when high above, right through the shattered ceiling of the tower, there was an eye that froze them all in place.
The System's Eye.
The crimson irises and black as death pupil shifted in the air, locking gazes with the spontaneously formed Rune. It seemed to scan it for a little while, and then its pupil pulsed.
The Rune that formed was reflected in the irises of the System's Eye. Then, it slowly faded the world.
Following it, the System Eye soon vanished as well.
A chilling wind and a biting heat. The two alternated over their skin and in the depths of their hearts, their hairs raising to attention and goosebumps raising across their bodies.
Everyone knew the weakest form of a System Link. It was known as the Lower System Contract, a simple law-abiding contract formed between two consenting parties. However, this sort of System Link had many flaws to it, and it could easily be overwhelmed if one's Will was strong enough.
As such, System Contracts were only useful when there were two people of equivalent strength willing to work on a short-term project together. Anything else and it would be a problem to maintain—either one party would have all the leverage, or there would be a situation where one party might surpass another given a long enough time.
Limited scope. Limiting use.
But… this was only one sort of System Link and there were many others…
Including the System Oath.
System Links were separated into System Contracts, System Compulsions, and System Oaths, each of which was divided into tiers of their own.
System Oaths were exactly what they sounded like. When one had a conviction, a thorn in their heart, or a grievance that boiled over beyond the point of resistance, a System Oath might be triggered.
However…
This wasn't something that just anyone could form.
A System Oath… it was impossible to trigger even the lowest level one without a shockingly powerful Will… A Will that shed beyond the level of convention, naivety, and what was novice…
The Will of a budding Progenitor…
A Shaping Will.
Ulrik felt a gaze locking onto his back, a constant feeling of unease appearing and latching onto his existence. This sort of Oath, especially when it had to do with death, would only vanish after one of them died.
This was only the second time in 2000 years that a System Oath had been triggered. The first time… the Ninth District was nearly brought to its knees before the Progenitor was finally slaughtered.
This time, however… the target was even younger, more talented, and several layers more mysterious.
Despite all the humiliating words Ulrik had spoken, despite all the disregard and careless disdain, Sylas didn't speak until that final moment. His words didn't even sound particularly angry, it was more like he was making a statement of fact.
Ulrik found his calm heart rapidly beating to the point it nearly flew out from his throat and into his mouth. He paled considerably and his own Will became akin to a boat lost out in dark, stormy seas.
To his side, Voxena, who had been pale from the very start…
Directly fainted.
…
Sylas appeared near the dusty roads of the bazaar.
"Lead me back." He spoke calmly.
Tongue'Head had appeared as though it had been waiting there the entire time.
"Right away, young elite!"
Sylas grabbed his collar and ripped down. His robes shredded to pieces as he swept a hand out. His sleeve fluttered out to the side, falling to the ground.
Despite the calm look on his expression, Sylas' Will was storming with a furious rage.
He wasn't someone who liked to speak much about what he was going to do. He preferred to just do it. But there was something that had compelled his mouth to speak at that moment, a coating of Ancient Ithkuil painting the bloody murder of his intentions.
He had meant every word he said. He didn't care if the next time he saw Ulrik the District Head himself was standing right next to him.
Maybe in his lifetime, he had never meant a set of words more than he had these ones.
It wasn't even that he particularly cared about Ulrik's jabs, or that the insults cut deep at all.
It was just his final straw.
"Here it is, young elite. Please have a safe trip."
Sylas nodded and then he vanished. This time, he had left the bazaar for good.
When he appeared again, he found that he was within the limits of his Temporal Lock Point treasure. A quick glance around told him that Szorn had only used two of the three sets of 10,000 Gold Aether Stones he had. That would leave room for one more.
At the same time, it seemed that it would be a bit longer before the time lock was through. It seemed that Sylas had severely underestimated the time he spent in a stun lock after first experiencing Time Runes. Otherwise, he shouldn't have had this much time left.
But that was also precisely what he needed right now.
The storminess in Sylas' heart was only growing. His Will fluctuated in a cascade of clashing echoes, reverberating in his body and reflecting across his soul.
However, his actions remained focused, his purpose sharp. In fact, it was sharper than it had ever been.
Like a blade's edge, his Will pointed forward, the suffocating anger in his chest boiling down to a steady simmer.
Then he began to take out the Treasures he had gained one after another.
In a single bound, he pushed the Bone-Tailed Lizard to the Bronze Realm.
Finally, he took out three Treasures he had spent over 10 billion Hero Points on.