Mind Demon's Path of Domination

Reol'ran's Detached Will floated inside his pitch-dark Soul Space along with Mark, their faces alit in the violet glow of the treasured mirror buried in his soul.

Frowning, Mark looked at his changed stats. Nothing much had really changed but it had grown more organized, and a new bar had appeared, too. A new bar that seemed like a helluva lot of trouble to come—Sufferings of Misfortune.

[Stats]

[Bloodline]

[Resistances]

[Cultivated Powers]

[Demonic Tricks]

[Traits]

[Contracted Missions]

[Soul Bonded Treasures]

[Sufferings of Misfortune]

Mark calmed his mind down to the level of an ancient well—he became incredibly rational. Focused like he had never been before and began to take a quick note of his entire system interface.

Clicking [Stats] just showed his Physical, Mental, and overall evolutionary Stats.

Clicking [Bloodline] just showed his Ephemeral Dungeon Heart Demonic Bloodline's name.

[Cultivated Powers] were simple too. They were just the abilities he had gained by evolving from a Demonling to a Lower Demon—Soul Sense and Defensive Magic Skin was all.

[Demonic Tricks] were the demonic tricks he had accumulated: Alchemic Shapeshifting, Heart Input, Dungeon Heart Seed, Parasite, Dream Shock, and Clown's Circus.

[Traits] were also simple. Before today, the only thing listed under it was his Demonic Heart; the ability to increase his lifespan by completing his desires. But now, there was also another trait in it:

[Soul Mate of a Heaven Soul]

[Your soul is bonded with "Reol'ran Mengroth" and you can use her Mindpower or enter her Mental Space anytime you wish, and she can enter your Soul Space or use your Mindpower whenever she wishes, as well.]

[Does not work across Worlds]

As long as he and Reol'ran were in the same World, he could teleport into her Mental Space (whatever that was) in but a blink. This was an incredible method of transportation—she was basically his Teleportation gate and he was hers. Moreover, he could also use her Mindpower—that sounded incredible.

From what he had understood, Reol'ran was a Tier 4 being and if he could share her power, the quantity of Mindpower he would have was incredible. Just that she currently had no power at all.

Mark looked through the rest of the system.

The [Contracted Missions] tab was also a feature that had always been there. It only had his mission from the Demon World listed under it. The mission to conquer a nation and turn it into a dungeon. If he did that, he would gain a Portal Key and a Seal of Destiny.

And the [Soul Bonded Treasures] showed the treasures bonded to his soul. It had a Portal Key to an Unconquered World listed inside it and nothing else. He could use the key to reach another World. He had nothing else in his possession for now as a Soul Bond Treasure.

He didn't even have any more Seal of Destinies.

Finally, Mark's gaze rested on the [Sufferings of Misfortune] bar and his face grew grim.

It had just been added after the mirror shard Reol'ran brought moved into the Violet Mirror's surface and became one with it. This tab was trouble.

[Sufferings of Misfortune]

[1st Suffering—Suffering of Man]

[Remaining Time: 1Y/3M/9D/12H/36M/27S]

The seconds reduced by one every breath he took and the First Suffering was soon to happen. In merely a year and some months, it would occur and he had no way to stop it.

Now, he knew why Reol'ran was forced to make their meeting faster.

The First Suffering of Misfortune—the Suffering of Man. He would have to face it and the information in the mirror shard was supposed to warn him about it.

But what was that truly?

Reol'ran's Will looked at his reactions silently and noticing his grim expression, she nodded.

"It's good that you take this seriously. The shard I brought was supposed to show you the time you had till your Sufferings of Misfortune and it had been a ticking clock. I had to tell this to you before it was too late, that is why I tempered with your destiny to make our meeting faster."

Mark turned to look at her. Her expression was not calm, she seemed uneasy.

"What is a… Suffering of Misfortune?" he asked.

"You wouldn't want to know." Reol'ran looked away from him. She had only wanted to warn him about this and had failed to think far enough about what he would or could do after he found out about it.

What would he do now that he knew about his coming, great misfortune?

"I like to know what I am up against," he said.

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as anything else."

"Sigh…" Reol'ran shook her head. "Do you remember that I told you something destined can never be gone against?"

"I do."

She looked at him, her amethyst eyes wide open.

"There is one thing I didn't tell you. And that is, once a creature reaches Tier 5, they can detach themselves from the bonds of Destiny and become fateless. They will have truly free will and no destined outcomes for their actions."

"...I see?"

"But there is a catch," she warned.

Mark felt an ominous feeling in his gut. "What catch?"

"Once a creature reaches the 5th Tier in their path of evolving towards perfection, they will detach themselves from any fate. True. But that is against the natural path of the River of Destiny and the River would never allow that to happen without at least passively resisting that.

"Thus, the River throws six Sufferings of Misfortune at the Tier 5 creature and only if the creature truly survives the Six Sufferings can they attain free will and become Tier 6 creatures."

Reol'ran grew silent long enough to make Mark realize the implication.

Normally, the Six Sufferings of Misfortune only happened to Tier 5 Creatures. It was a Tribulation that they had to pass to become Tier 6 Creatures.

She continued with a grimmer face, "Even most Tier-5 beings do not survive even their First Suffering and just die. Those who survive all six are incredibly rare even among the Tier 5 creatures. In fact, many Tier 4 beings don't dare to evolve and become Tier 5 due to fear of the Six Sufferings."

Mark's face became a bit uncertain.

Her gaze pierced into him. "That means, you have to face off against something that Tier 5 creatures with experience that would dwarf even mine will die against. And you have to face the first of the six in merely a year. Do you think that you can survive it as you are today?"

Strangely, Mark felt calm. A bit confused, but calm.

"All of this doesn't add up," he said, "Since I am destined to meet you and have a life with you as your Soul Mate… if I die in this Six Sufferings, won't that destiny never happen?

"You said a destined event must happen no matter what. If you never changed my destiny and I died in the First Suffering without even knowing what I am up against, won't I die before I accomplish my destiny?" He asked. "Won't the destiny of me meeting you never be met?"

Reol'ran shook her head. "You noticed it. As I said, a destined event will happen no matter what but that's for normal people. If a creature reaches Tier 5, they detach themselves from the River of Destiny and the Six Sufferings are a punishment for doing that—that means, since you are facing off against the Six Sufferings, you have somehow detached yourself from Destiny already."

Mark turned and stared at the Violet Mirror that seemed somehow way more majestic.

Its shimmering surface felt like it was a bottomless chasm of uncertainty.

A metaphorical weight pressed itself against his shoulders and he took a deep breath in.

I have a year more.

"It must be due to this mirror that you have to face something so ludicrous, it must have detached you from Destiny somehow," she said, "I have never heard of such a case—a Tier 1 Lower Demon is just not supposed to face something like this. When I got the Shard and saw it showing the remaining time for you to go through your First Suffering, you had to know this about yourself."

Reol'ran's Will seemed tired, but Mark could see the uncertainty within her eyes.

"How strong are Tier 5 creatures?" Mark asked.

If even they die off in this tribulation, what hope did he have at all?

She looked away from him and focused on the mirror, amethyst eyes incapable of meeting his.

"Tier 5 creatures…" she dragged. "In your demon terms, it goes like this. A Demonling becomes a Lower Demon, a Lower Demon becomes a Middle Demon, and a Middle Demon becomes an Upper Demon by evolving."

Mark nodded.

"An Upper Demon is equal to the Tier 3 creatures of other races. And after that are the Demon Kings of your race—creatures equal to Tier 4 beings. I am a good match in battle for a Demon King but…" she looked straight at him.

"After Demon Kings, then comes Demon Emperors. A Demon Emperor could probably kill me with a gaze—Tier 5 creatures have horrifying strength… They could destroy planets quite easily!"

Mark grimaced. "And even they die in this Six Sufferings?"

"They do." Reol'ran stayed silent.

Mark looked at the remaining time.

[Sufferings of Misfortune]

[1st Suffering—Suffering of Man]

[Remaining Time: 1Y/3M/9D/12H/25M/11S]

"I still have time. Do you know what kind of thing I'd have to do to survive?" he asked.

"I do not know anything more than how dangerous it is," she sighed, disappointed in herself. "I wanted to get more information about it but my time was running out. Different worlds have different timelines. One hour in the Hunter World might just be a minute in another World. If I had waited any more time to get more information, I would have only met you after the Suffering is over and you…"

Mark took a deep breath and got out of his Soul Space.

He opened his eyes to the real world.

A small air conditioner was buzzing near his head. The basement was unlit and silent. There was no longer the ice sphere here anymore which used to trap Reol'ran inside it.

Mark spread his wings.

"What are my chances of surviving?"

Reol'ran sighed. "The only way I see you surviving is by growing strong enough and preparing like a madman for each of the Six Sufferings."

Mark could feel a cloud looming over his head.

One year, huh? As long as I am strong enough, I won't have to worry.

Reol'ran asked in his mind, "Do you have any ideas on how to survive?"

"Yes, I do," Mark said.

"Good that you are not panicked," Reol'ran praised. "You need to find ways to grow stronger too."

Mark walked out of the basement and Dona jumped into his embrace. He smiled and kissed the top of her head before pushing her down and ripping off her hoodie. She kissed his neck and he kissed hers.

Reol'ran closed off her senses.