A CHANCE

Leonel could suddenly feel an unprecedented level of control over the world. He felt that he could push and pull the Force Arts that appeared, layering them on top of each other, fusing them in parts, or even in whole.

He didn't hesitate to go all in. Although he didn't know exactly what would happen, since it wasn't happening within his body, he was willing to take the risk.

Leonel's gaze flickered as the two fused into one, but to his astonishment, when the process was complete...

The Force Art collapsed.

No, it didn't collapse, it seemed to cease to be. There even seemed to be an air of Anarchic Force that came into being, one that left Leonel without words.

Had he done something wrong? Or was this what would have happened to him had he absorbed Alexandre's Ability Index?

He thought they were the perfect opposites of one another, what happened?

Or maybe... was it precisely because they were perfect opposites that they had canceled out like that? But then why did the Anarchic Force appear?Material © .

Leonel thought back to the last time Anarchic Force had almost screwed him over. Wasn't it Wise Star Order that had helped him deal with that? He hadn't even noticed the lingering danger.

After he formed his Tenth Node, the Regulator had sent some backlash toward him, but for whatever reason, he hadn't noticed the ticking time bomb within his body until Wise Star Order pointed it out. Then, he had to soak in Cleansing Waters until the matter was dealt with.

Was this a similar situation? Was it because the Regulator felt that the resulting Ability Index was too powerful, and so it stepped in to stop it from forming?

It was just a guess, but Leonel had a feeling that it was an accurate one. But, it was simply enough to test it.

[Goggles]

[Ability Index:Karmic Puppet]

[LineageFactor:-]

Leonel pulled out Goggles' Force Art, his eyes narrowing. Feeling the Lineage Factor like this, it was almost, well... He could feel how grandiose it was. It was far more complex than his own or Alexandre's.

After some thought, he fused the Lineage Factor with his own Force Art and watched what happened.

The fusion completed and the complexity fell drastically. Leonel could feel that it had weakened both his own Ability Index and Goggles', but the result was an interesting one nonetheless.

The Force Art concentrated and hovered above his palm. He studied it for a long while, losing himself within it for a while.

He didn't know how much time passed, but when he looked up, his eyes were bloodshot and his Dream Force, which had yet to properly recover, was actually in an even worse state.

From what he could tell, the combination of his own Ability Index and Goggles' would result in an Ability Index that was focused on divining the future.

Rather than the certainty of Goggles' Ability Index or the versatility of his own, it would be distilled into an ability that could simulate the future.

It would actually be far more effective than Leonel's own Dream Simulation or Dream Class ability. But it would also be stripped of all of his other abilities. For example, the control he had over his body, his thoughts, his split minds, everything.

This was a good example of what would happen if you absorbed an ability that wasn't compatible with your own. That said, the result was better than what Leonel had expected. It seemed that while he wasn't fully compatible with Goggle's Ability Index, they at least shared similar enough branches that they didn't become a cripple.

Just to make sure the whole "becoming a cripple" warning wasn't entirely overblown, Leonel fused his Ability Index with one that was as far away from his own as he could think of.

[Normand]

[Ability Index:Pure Speedster]

[LineageFactor:-]

Leonel fused the two, and the result was... about as expected.

The speedster aspect was focused into his mind, but his Dream Force control and well of stamina were practically sapped dry. If he fused with Normand's Lineage Factor, he would be able to think at a speed thousands of times, maybe even millions of times faster than he could now...

For about a picosecond.

The moment he had any sort of intention to think anything, his Dream Force would be sucked dry so fast that he would be an invalid in a split second of a split second.

Essentially, taking on this Ability Index would make him a vegetable. He wouldn't be able to control any aspect of his being. He would be immobile and all but brain dead. He would be a prisoner in his own mind, except he wouldn't even have his own thoughts to keep him company.

A cold chill ran up Leonel's spine. This was worse than just being a cripple; it would make every waking moment feel like hell. He would prefer if someone just killed him if he ended up in such a state.

Leonel shook his head, realizing that he had gotten distracted. He still needed to know if the Silver Tablet had any other abilities; maybe he had to broaden his horizons so that he could understand some things.

That said, there were many thoughts that were slated into the back of his head. For example, this Silver Tablet could be extremely important for not only Ability Indexes but Lineage Factors as well. He wondered what changes it could help him to make to the tentacle womb and golden-scaled koi fish.

'Wait...'

'Wait...'

Leonel stood in place for a long time, his eyes somewhat vacant.

Ability Indexes...

He never really put much thought into what they were.

Of all the things in existence, Ability Indexes felt so completely... out of place.

They weren't a function of evolution. Ability Indexes were entirely random, and there was nothing hereditary about them.

They were probably the only thing in the whole of existence that seemed completely separate from the laws of cause and effect. It just clicked for him how absolutely ridiculous this was to say.

But why? Why did they exist?

Leonel stared at the Force Art hovering before him, his mind in a slight state of absolute chaos.

A chance. That's what they were. Ability Indexes were a chance.

A chance for a low-born to change their fate in a single instant.

A chance to grow powerful by focusing inwardly instead on what the outside world could provide you.

A chance to escape the cycle of life and death... the looming threat of the Northern Star.