The Oracle Paths

Ulfar burst into a hearty laugh when he met Jake's outraged gaze. It was good for morale to see the big guy come down to earth.

"I was confident that it wouldn't be enough to kill you." He explained anyway to avoid any misunderstanding. "I've already tested it on Gerulf. It kills well, but on weeds like you, unless you disintegrate completely, you will just pop back to life every time."

"Yeah... I'm still of the opinion that I'd be better off keeping my distance from that weapon." Jake grinned unconvincingly. "And the same with this bow..."

The King of Beskyr followed his gaze to his white bow and laughed again. A wicked, not to say sadistic expression graced his face.

"This bow is called the Reverse Fate Bow. Unlike this sword, the bow has always belonged to my people. It is a legacy of Beskyr himself."

Jake saw this weapon in a new light, but that didn't justify the evil grin stretching to his ears. Reversing someone's luck was certainly terrifying, but you still had to have some.

"I know what you're thinking, but don't base your judgment on our battle." Ulfar admonished him kindly. Unbuckling his bow before storing it away with deferential strokes, he added, "This bow is both our ban and our most precious holy weapon. For a Beskyrian blessed with supreme luck, this weapon is a nightmare. Because this was a friendly fight, I did not make full use of its abilities."

"Meaning?" Jake sensed he wasn't going to like the answer.

And he wasn't disappointed.

"Normal arrows that can be fired without limit temporarily reverse the luck of the target hit. It's harmless to ordinary people, who don't have any." Ulfar clarified before dimming, "But this bow wouldn't be called Reverse Fate if that was all it did. There are two other types of arrows that can be shot and they require more preparation. The bow slowly builds up energy over the years to condense these special arrows, but it needs our Luck Aether to bring them to life.

"The second type of arrow eternally reverses the luck of the individual hit. Even if you use plenty of Luck Aether to correct the problem, you will only increase your bad luck instead. If you think you're a smart ass and manage to somehow acquire some Aether of Misfortune by some miracle, it's still bad luck. It is an extremely powerful curse that can only be broken by powerful anti-magic or by destroying the bow. None of its victims have succeeded in doing so, but it is definitely possible in the Mirror Universe."

Jake was glum. He also believed that lifting such a curse was possible, but someone capable of this feat was not likely to be found on the streets. Maybe Cekt, his master, would have a solution.

If the second arrow was so ghastly, he could only dread the last one. Ulfar did hesitate for a moment before telling him the truth. It was because they were in the arena and the energy barrier was insulating the sound that he dared to confide.

"The third type of arrow is what gives this bow its nickname. This is the true Reverse Fate Arrow. It expends an astronomical amount of energy, usually a decade's worth when fired at an ordinary human, but its effect is worth the sacrifice. The bow recharges faster, however, since we are on B842. The effect of this arrow does not affect luck as such, but the fate itself of the individual, no matter how obscure and impalpable the concept may seem. If the victim was rich, he or she will become poor. If they were married, they will be divorced or widowed in the coming days or weeks. If they had loving children, it is more unpredictable. Either they die or they start to hate the victim and want him dead. If the victim was powerful, and healthy, he or she will become frail and easily sick. Even the individual's temperament is affected. If they used to be courageous and enterprising, they will become cowardly and indecisive. Basically their whole life is turned upside down."

"What a... treacherous weapon." Jake was tongue-tied. He didn't have the words to describe such wickedness.

Ulfar nodded heavily as he brought out his bow once more. Abruptly lowering his voice, he concluded in a chilling tone,

"This third arrow is forbidden by our laws. The problem with this arrow is that it affects not only the victim, but everyone with whom he or she has ever bonded in life. The shooter himself is not immune to being affected. Our legends have it that Myrmid, Kinthar, Throsgen, Eltar, and Beskyr came to our world fleeing from something, but Beskyr was the only one filled with regret. I don't know if it's true, but I wouldn't be surprised if that bow had a hand in their misadventures.

"I couldn't have given an opinion before, but since the disastrous events on our planet and what I've learned since during these Three Ordeals, I have a theory."

Jake's eyes widened at these last words. He had met Myrmid in person. And his fellow deserters hadn't helped him...

"My theory is that in order to survive the threat to himself, his world, and his companions, Beskyr fired one of those arrows at one of his comrades, possibly himself, but I'd bet a coin on Myrmid. The primordial Myrmidian does not desert, does not give up. It goes against all his instincts and morals. And yet, they fled. Their home world fell soon after. Deserting a doomed world is not a crime! Or we' d be deserters too. I have not seen any rules in the Oracle System database on this subject. My Oracle AI has no recollection of it either. They deserted, it's true, but I believe there is only one criminal among them and that is our ancestor Beskyr."

Jake crossed his arms with an unfathomable look on his face. It was a weighty accusation. A secret that all ears were not fit to hear. There was only one crime that justified such exile to the point of eternally hiding from the Oracle: If they were personally responsible for the downfall of their System A16.

Ulfar's theory was not that far-fetched. If System A16 was supposed to resist the Digestor invasion in exchange for the sacrifice of some people dear to Beskyr's heart, it wasn't silly to imagine that he could have shot them with that bow. If these people were supposed to die, their escape would have allowed them to live, but the System A16 they were supposed to be defending would have naturally fallen after this reversal.

If that was indeed the truth, though, then this Reverse Fate Bow and Beskyr were far more terrifying than he imagined. More importantly, this plan had gone awry. Myrmid had still been screwed up by the Digestors and if he had indeed been the target of that arrow, then he had lost his fighting spirit and much of his strength.

No wonder those Brain Eaters were able to reduce him to this pathetic state.

"Don't tell anyone about this." Jake ordered sternly. If any bad people found out they had such a bow, they would be in serious trouble.

What he didn't mention was that the Oracle had probably known all along. If it didn't, the Oracle System had been aware of everything since they received their Oracle Device. For some reason, the Oracle had not been looking for that bow. Perhaps the truth was more complex.

"Of course. Only the King of Beskyr and a few select elders know the history of this bow." Ulfar promptly reassured him. "The only reason I'm telling you is because Lucia and Gerulf trust you and you are our new leader. Asfrid and Rogen also know."

Rogen was the leader of the Throsgenians. He was a good buddy of Gerulf's with a similar build, but while Gerulf was famously calm, this warrior had an explosive temper. Quite a feat for a being wielding cold and ice.

"Can I take a look at that bow?" Jake asked politely.

"Sure, but only a being with immense luck can wield it without risk." Ulfar warned him, as he handed the weapon over to him.

Jake calmly inspected the slightly rough surface of the white bow. It looked like ordinary painted wood, rigid and cheap. Nothing like the apocalyptic weapon described by the King of Beskyr. Nevertheless, the scan report told a different story.

[Reverse Fate Bow (Oracle Aether Artifact): A bow of mysterious origins capable of changing the fate of individuals and the world.]

Jake didn't even know what this Oracle grade meant.

[All Aether Artifacts unclassifiable above Diamond Rank] Xi enlightened him succinctly.

The functions described by Ulfar were also listed, but it was a little light on information for a legendary bow. His Oracle Rank was clearly insufficient. To be honest, Jake was even surprised that the censorship wasn't total.

"Take care of that bow, but from now on you better use it only as a last resort." Jake said as he handed his weapon back to the man.

As nuts as that bow was, it wasn't in his character to betray the trust of his subordinates. He had already received the tablet from Asfrid. It wasn't appropriate to act overly greedy.

Ulfar put his bow away for good and the energy shield isolating the arena was dissipated. The news of the King of Beskyr's surrender shocked the assembly, but all were relieved to see that none of them were seriously injured.

The event ended and the crowd dispersed with little ceremony. As of now, the Myrtharian Nerds had 2724 members.