GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?



Soverick saw it all. A grand free for all took place here and it continued for more than a day. It was a bout of savage bloodthirsty killing. There was a generous use of explosive consumables. Salvini might have had a hand in it. A few words here and there, when she went looking for Salvin, might have riled up some people. Those people might have sworn to try their best to stop her from becoming the last man standing. 

It will be payback for how she hunted them in the previous challenge. These people, having learned that they are not enough to kill her because of their failure to do so in the previous challenge, might have recruited the help of a lot of people. They are after Salvini and only her. But the other kings don't know that. All they know is that they won't let some normal person take the title from them so they will fight everyone else that isn't a king. 

The kings were ignorant and so they were used as tools in her scheme. But not him. He on the other hand knows that she caused everything. He can't see the future like the sages. But the past his is domain. He can see the flow of events and now everything culminated into this outcome. Causality gives him knowledge. And knowledge gives him power. 

He also thinks it will be an understatement to think she had a small hand in it. She successfully muddled the water. Then she swam in it like some aquatic creature. The others are land creatures. They are out of their depth and in a hostile environment while she is right at home. No one noticed until it was too late. Now they are all dead. 

"So what next?" He asked her. "Do we fight until the death of one of us?"

Salvini shook her head and answered. "I am afraid that I will lose. I can't see the future whenever you're around or when you're involved."

He nodded in understanding while caressing his blade. "Is that so? Then fuck off."

She obeyed and stepped away from the zeroth ring. "I did all of this for you and I am offering the title to you. I only ask for one thing. I want you to use the power of the child of the plane to kill me. I want my death to be of the highest honor."

Soverick attacked immediately. He used WRAITH OF DEATH: DANCE OF THE SPECTRAL WIND. He swung his blade haphazardly. Arcs of destructive energy were produced by his blade but they didn't travel in the world of manifestation. They traveled through the law matrix and appeared beside Salvini like intangible spectra. They surrounded her from every direction and enveloped her. She died quickly as they tore into her.

He watched her get ripped apart and eliminated but he didn't let his guard down. He watched his surroundings for a trap and made sure that she is really dead before he started walking toward the zeroth ring. Even then he was careful. He inspected his surroundings thoroughly most especially where he is stepping on. His caution is warranted considering who he is up against. He has already gotten half of her feats and he could feel the arena making the changes that are to happen when someone is the last man standing but he didn't let down his guard.

Pride goes before a fall. If he doesn't want to fall, he has to be vigilant and humble enough to admit that he is not invulnerable or all-powerful. There's one word that accurately describes Salvini and that word is snake. She is a snake and she is a very good one too. She is patient and has restraint. She always looks out for long-term goals instead of short-term benefits. 

The best time to get him will be when he thinks he has won. She might have set a trap to kill him and rob him of his victory even after her death. It seems far-fetched but he isn't willing to underestimate her. To underestimate someone of the bloodline of the sages is utter foolishness. It is a suicidal move to do that when he knows that Salvini can be more of a psychopath than Litori.

Nothing happened as he waited for the challenge to end. Still, he remained vigilant and will continue to remain so until the challenge ends officially. This entire situation smells of a scheme to him. He was expecting to find a worthy opposition waiting for him here in the 1st ring. Instead, he found a single person. 

That isn't odd. It is certainly possible for only one person to survive. That's the aim of the entire competition. But the chances that someone will survive the messy and chaotic fight that took place here are very low. Luck is the most important factor in determining that outcome. But Salvini removed luck from the equation. 

She managed to get everyone else killed directly through her fighting skills or indirectly through her guile. She did all of that only for her to seemingly give up the title to him without a fight. It is not a wonder that he will be highly suspicious or think that he might be in an illusion. 

The ability to see the future is great. It is the main ability of the first sage. Manipulating the present to get an expected future is what made the sage great. It was not because of his ability that the sage is so revered or why his enemies began calling every member of his race battle sage monkeys. It is the ability to gain power from that ability that made them fearsome.

The ability to see the future gives you knowledge. But knowledge is not power. The correct application of that knowledge gives you wisdom. Wisdom is also a synonym for cunning. Cunning when applied to their every action gives them power. It is not like his use of causality. He doesn't need to be cunning to use the information he has. That is both a strength and a weakness.