Divine Path System

"Va-Varian? W-What is happening? Why am I here?" The young Enigma sat on the bed flustered, her legs shaking as she tried to get away from him in panic but with her hands held tight in his warm hands, there's nothing she could do.

"You need to wake up." Varian pointed to the distorting world around them.

The room was dissolving, as if a building built by many blocks was being dismantled, block by block.

That wasn't it.

Even the black sky was also breaking, turning into a dull gray. So did the ground. The plants. The flowers.

Everything was dissolving.

"Va-Varian! What's happening?" Enigma's lips trembled and she looked at him with a teary gaze. "Am I not supposed to be here? Is that why everything is ending?"

Varian didn't respond to her questions. Rather, he held her in his arms like she's a princess and started walking out of the home.

"Varian! Watch your right, a tree is falling!"

Boom!

"A car is heading this way! It's driving system failed!"

Crash!

Even now, she was more concerned about him than her own life.

The young body of his hadn't awakened and wasn't very strong. But thanks to his powerful soul, Varian didn't worry.

Rather, he stroked Enigma's hair as he ran towards the unnamed destination.

Only when he swiftly dodged the dangers did the young lady brought up the question. "Wh-Where are we going?"

"Back to the real world."

"Real world?" Enigma muttered in confusion.

"Yep!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The world around him distorted and then shrunk. Everything turned gray except for the piece of land under him and the patch of sky above.

"Where are we…" Enigma hugged his neck tight and bit her lips. "I'll just go back! Everything will be alright. Send me back. I'll never come out agai—"

"Shhh," Varian placed a finger on her lips. "The world isn't ending because of you. And even if it did, I'd be fine with it. You are worth way more than any world to me."

"I…I…what…" Enigma's face turned beet red, from her slender neck all the way to the tip of her ears. "What are you saying?"

"Should I say it in simple words?" Varian chuckled and whispered in her ear.

"Stupid Enigma, I love you."

The Enigma in his hands froze for a moment before she fainted.

The soul of adult Enigma surfaced from her body and hugged him. Coming out of the younger self's body, Varian too hugger her.

Everything went gray.

*** *** ***

"L-Let me just bury my head somewhere." Enigma, back to her present form, lowered her head as she followed behind Varian.

"You were adorable." Varian laughed as he continued on the misty road.

They were still in the 'dream' but it's not their dream anymore. It's the dream of the Fortune Spirit.

"Were?" Enigma's voice rose without her realizing it.

"Meaning, you are more adorable now." Varian said with a smirk, without panicking at all.

Falling to such traps was something only novices would do. As the head of the household with three strong wives who are sometimes very stubborn, he got skills befitting his position.

"R-Right," Enigma smiled.

She was watching the whole thing but was in the young Enigma's soul like a spectator. She only managed to wake up in the last minute.

Their surroundings quietly changed and they saw a young girl sobbing under a tree. With a ghostly white aura, she sat hugging her knees all alone.

"Fortune Spirit."

Varian knelt in front of her to match her eye level.

"Wooo-W-What?! How did you come here?"

"You have to return." He said with a smile and pointed to the quiet world that resembled the countryside. "The moment I broke my dream, this world was weakened. Let's go."

"No. Everyone hates me. Every single time." The Spirit shook her head vehemently.

Varian raised an eyebrow. "You have the memories of the previous spirits? Or is it just you reincarnating again and again?"

"I got some memories here." The petite Spirit leaned her back against the tree and spoke in a weak voice. "I just want to go back to my home. But they all hate me doing so for some reason. Rather than being hated, I would rather be here."

The Spirit raised her hand and an apple fell from the tree.

"Here," She gave it to him. "This is a sweet fruit. I can create as many fruits as I want here. Hehe, isn't it amazing?"

Varian shook his head and patted her head.

"Hey!"

Ignoring the spirit's protest, he gently caressed her head. "It can be scary outside but locking ourselves inside is not the solution. It's just running away. It won't solve anything.

There will be times when you realize what you really are doing and in those times, you'll hate yourself."

The spirit hung her head low.

Perhaps she was already hating herself for doing such a cowardly thing.

"I feel like a bad person. If everyone hates what I'm doing, then maybe I'm doing something wrong." She said, choking.

"Well then little girl, I have a lesson for you." Varian stood up and said in a loud, cheerful voice.

The spirit lifted her head and parted her lips. "Huh? What is it, Uncle?"

Varian's energetic expression collapsed and he almost fell to the ground. "Your uncle, I'm not your Uncle!"

"B-But you called me little girl…"

"If I call you father, will you call me son? Don't be stupid!"

"I'm not stupid."

"Yes you are!" Varian folded his arms and nodded. "You think you're wrong just because everyone says you're wrong! That's stupid."

"No, that's common sense! Even though I never lived with others, I have some common sense from birth." The spirit stood up and argued, pointing fingers at him.

Varian made a sad expression, like the doctor about to announce to a father that his son had gone impotent. "Then it's not your fault. Your factory settings were wrong from the start."

"F-Factory settings? What do you mean?" The spirit yelled with a confused but offended expression.

"Anyway," Varian waved his hand, "If everyone thinks you're wrong, f—I mean, they're in the wrong.

People didn't believe I could become the ruler of my civilization.

I said this to elderly in old age homes, they laughed. So did the kids at the orphanage. Oh and the noisy uncles and aunts in the neighborhood.

Even though I kept saying it from my childhoo, none of them believed me. But here I am, not only the ruler but also the most badass one at that."

"B-Big Brother, if a kid goes around spouting stuff like that, it's normal to laugh. Children talk a lot of silly stuff."

"You're rig—but anyways! The point is, you don't need everyone to believe in you. If you believe in yourself, that's enough."

"But I can't! Since they all oppose me and hate, they must have a good reason. My birth must've been a mistake!" The spirit's eyes started to water.

Varian sighed and gently bent down. Then, he started pulling her cheeks.

"Listen here you little brat, I've been through a very emotional moment with my wife and I have neither the energy nor the time to lift your hollowed spirits.

I'll just say this, the people based on whose opinions you're throwing your life away for won't even think about you for a moment once they're out of this little world.

So, think for yourself. This is your life. If you die, it's over!"

The more he spoke, the more passionate he got in his speech and the more the spirit's cheeks were pulled .

"Wukay, wukaay, naw staaf my shiks!" The spirit tried to speak but only gibberish came out.

"Huh? Speak english, little brat!" Varian pulled her cheeks even more.

"Waaa!" The spirit shook her head back and forth before freeing herself from his clutches.

Rubbing her swollen, reddened cheeks, she glared at him. "How will I speak if you grab my cheeks?"

"That's irrelevant!" Varian snorted, shamelessly ignoring what he'd done. "Are you coming or not?"

The spirit stood up and dusted off her dress. Looking at her toes, she said in a meek tone. "I-I'm not suspecting you're using me or anything, but why are you asking me to come out?"

"Because I'm using you to kill an enemy outside."

The spirit froze and looked at him with a betrayed expression.

Varian shrugged with a nonchalant expression. "What? Risking my life to save a someone I barely know is ridiculous, you see. If you thought it's the reason I saved you, little lady, I have a galaxy to sell."

The spirit opened her mouth and then closed them. She shook her head once, twice and then repeatedly before clutching her head. "You could've just lied."

"Being straightforward is better manytimes."

"Fine, who do I need to kill?"

"An old bastard in a ring."

"Alright."

"Just like that? You're agreeing with no preconditions attached?"

"…I'm born from Fortune Anvil. If I go back, I will fuse with it. What more could you give me?" The spirit looked at him with a tired expression.

"Right, right." Varian sighed in relief. Thankfully, his wallet wasn't going to suffer.

"Besides, you convinced me to get out and survive. That's more than enough help, how can I ask you for anything else?" The spirit sighed.

"Even brats these days are so mature," Varian patted her head with a sigh. "Back in my days, we used to—"

"Your bone age isn't even twenty. So, shut up already."

"Tsk, disrepectful kids."

Kaacha! The sky cracked and Varian opened his eyes.

An old man in a black robe greeted him with murderous eyes. The bastard was at the very peak of rank 9, seemingly moments away from hitting divine rank.

"Hello, Varian."