Chapter 382: Fate
(Basement Level V, Leo’s POV)
As soon as Leo walked out of the treasure vault, the guards stationed outside stepped forward without a word, their faces cold and unreadable, as though they’d been waiting for this exact moment with bated breath.
“Pause. Let us inspect you!” one of them said, as the other had already begun moving, gloved hands sweeping up his arms, down his ribs, pressing against his legs and circling behind his neck in search of hidden treasure items, scrolls or gems.
They didn’t ask permission.
They didn’t need to.
Leo remained calm, standing still as their fingers traced across his body like professional pickpockets in reverse, searching every inch for anything he might have smuggled out.
They checked his mouth. His throat. His ears. His soles.
And when they found nothing apart from the rusted necklace dangling from his neck, they exchanged a quick glance.
“Clear.”
“Clear.”
They stepped back in unison, as though the inspection had never happened at all, as though he hadn’t just endured one of the most invasive checks of his life from a man, for the sake of walking out with what appeared to be scrap metal.
“Start walking back…” the one on the right instructed, as they began to flank him once more on his way out of the vault.
No words were spoken.
Only the soft echo of boots against polished stone followed, as Leo was ushered through the secondary checkpoint, where yet another arcane scanner lit up the hallway in pale blue as it swept a horizontal band of light across his body.
It chimed once. No red. No alarms.
Leo exhaled softly, the necklace still tucked beneath his collar, cold against his skin like a coin left under moonlight.
He was directed toward a curtained chamber to the side, where his original robes had already been laid out, freshly folded, and ready for him to slip into once more.
He changed quickly, not because he was in any particular hurry, but because he wanted to get back into thick and private clothing as soon as possible.
Once he was done, the guards resumed their silent escort, matching his pace step for step, not a second faster nor slower, until finally, the silver doors of the elevator shaft appeared in view.
They didn’t follow him inside.
They simply stopped at the boundary, backs straight, eyes forward, with neither of them saluting nor speaking, as though his presence, and everything he might have chosen, had nothing to do with them anymore.
“Go–” The one on the left said, as Leo stepped into the lift, and the door automatically hissed shut behind him.
*Elevator Music*
Elevator music began to play once more, as Leo was left completely clueless on whether the elevator was moving up, down or no-where, as the long wait to reach the surface resumed.
—————-
12 minutes later, Leo reached the ground floor lobby of the Black Serpents Headquarters, and walked straight out of the exit with the necklace hidden beneath his robes as a free man.
Nobody stopped him. Nobody seemed to pay him any special attention, as he was allowed to walk out of the Black Serpents Headquarters, just like any other guild member.
He was cautious to check for trails.
Paranoid, that someone may suddenly jump him from behind and try to assassinate him, however, nothing of the sort happened, as he made it back to his apartment building without facing any attacks.
Upon reaching his apartment door, Leo did not enter immediately.
Instead, he stayed rooted in place, his body turned slightly sideways, fingers barely brushing the edge of the lock as he activated [Absolute Vision].
A subtle pulse of mana rippled outward from his body, washing through the apartment walls, the ceiling, the floor, everything within a thirty-meter radius suddenly laid bare before his mind’s eye in full detail.
No one in the corners.
No mana signature in the bathroom.
No heat signatures near the window.
No living aura.
And no signs of a threat.
Only stillness.
Only silence.
He waited three more seconds just to be sure, his fingers tightening against the frame, before exhaling softly and turning the key.
*Click*
The door creaked open as he stepped inside without a word, only to immediately lock it again behind him with both the bolt and the physical lock.
And only then… did his shoulders drop, just slightly.
Leo made his way toward the wall mounted cabinet, brushing past the sparsely decorated living space, as he reached for the second drawer, where his storage ring sat hidden beneath a pile of miscellaneous clothes.
He slid it onto his finger without hesitation.
A flicker of blue light later, the rusted necklace vanished, sealed inside the spatial fold of the ring, far away from prying eyes or possible interference.
Only after securing it, did he allow himself to sit down on the bed, as he grabbed the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex] from inside the storage ring.
*Flip*
He flipped it open, heart still slightly pounding, as he couldn’t wait to get out of this planet now, as fast as he could.
*Glow*
The moment the Codex’s parchment was exposed to air, it responded.
Golden ink bled across the page like molten sunlight, twisting and dancing as words slowly formed in their usual cascading elegance.
——————
>”You have witnessed the sixth color of revelation: Gold.”
>”Gold is not a reflection of power. Gold is not a measure of worth. Gold… is a whisper of Fate.”
>”When the golden light wraps around your form, it means your path stands at a precipice.”
>”It does not tell you where that path leads, only that it diverges from everything before it.”
>”To see gold is to stand at the edge of destiny.”
>”What you choose to pick, whom you choose to trust, or the road you choose to walk… will shape not only your life, but the lives around you.”
>”Gold offers no certainty. It offers only magnitude.”
>”For Fate does not promise fortune. It only promises consequence.”
>”Those touched by gold often rise higher… or fall farther… than any other.”
>”Heed this color with the reverence of a flame….. beautiful, but able to burn.”
——————
The glow slowly faded.
The Codex turned silent again.
But Leo didn’t close it.
He sat there for a long moment, thumb resting on the page, his thoughts distant.
So it wasn’t good luck that he saw at the vault, but rather fate.
Fate that could prove to be both good or bad for him depending on the circumstances, as the only thing assured when the golden aura appeared was that choosing one way or the other may alter one’s life forever.
It represented a turning point.
A fork in the road.
‘So the necklace… it might get me killed as well,’ Leo thought, the realization settling cold and deep into his gut.
For a moment, he cautiously activated [Absolute Vision] once more and began to check his surroundings for threats, as somehow his instincts screamed at him to not linger around on planet Twin Fang anymore.
“Well, I’ve done everything the Cult wanted me to do, it’s time to get the hell out of here now—” Leo concluded, as he quickly began to pack his bags with only one thought in mind…..
Which was to get off this planet before fate caught up.