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”We’re going to be judged on our sins? What does that mean? And by whom?” Hou Yi asked suspiciously. Sin was a very vague concept, as different people considered different acts and behaviors to be sinful. He didn’t like the idea of getting judged by the standards of others.
“In a nutshell, the array will force you to suffer the weight of your karma. The more bad karma you have, the more you have to go through, and for longer. Good karma will make things easier, but it won’t eliminate the effect completely.” Karna explained. Now that she was this close, she could tell that the array was indeed a copy of one that she’d designed in the past. She had been looking for ways to weaponize karma against other reincarnators, and this array had been one of her earlier attempts.
“What kind of suffering are we talking about?” The archer frowned. He didn’t think of himself as an evil man, but just like all reincarnators, he’d done quite a few objectionable things in the past. You could say that he’d earned bad karma not too long ago when he had ambushed people like Karna. It wasn’t even close to the worst thing he’d done, but in general he considered himself a decently moral man when compared to many other reincarnators. Compared to normal people, though? That was another question.
“It would seem that the suffering will in this case take the form of a pressure being placed on you for an extended period of time, enough pressure to really force you to crawl, and those that have a lot of bad karma will feel an increasing amount of pain during the whole thing as well. Then you’ll have to move over a distance also determined by your karma. If you’ve done a lot of bad things, then you’ll be crawling over a very long distance.” She explained helpfully. She could even read the exact details on the array.
“You seem to know this array surprisingly well.” Hou Yi remarked, noticing that fact as well. He wasn’t an expert mage, as he’d always been more of the warrior type, but he had quite a bit of knowledge just from having lived so long, and he had no idea what the array in front of them did. “You also don’t seem too worried.”
Karna smiled widely beneath her veil. “I’m a little surprised that you haven’t tried to figure out my True Name yet. It’s very polite and even a little gentlemanly to refrain from prying, but I would’ve expected you to have gotten curious enough by now.”
As her words seemed a little bit of a non-sequitur, it caught Hou Yi by surprise. "Well, considering the situation, I thought it better not to antagonize you further."
“A very good choice. However, if you had acted a little less politely, then you’d have an answer to your question.” She danced into the formation while her eyes flashed with power. Hou Yi could feel it as she read his True Name. “Celestial Archer. Very appropriate considering your legend. I’ll see you on the other side.”
The array didn’t even activate as Karna walked through it. Just before she vanished from sight, Hou Yi returned the favor. “Karma, huh? I should’ve expected something like that. Figures I’d meet one of the ancient ones in a place like this. I wonder what someone has to do to earn a Name like that.”
As he stepped into the array, it seemed like the weight of the world was dropped on his shoulders, and he crashed on the floor, unable to move a muscle for several minutes. As he slowly adjusted to the pressure, he noted that the only way forward was to drag himself forward just with his fingers and fingernails, and the distance to the other side of the array had turned into a long hallway seemingly without end, instead of the room he’d just been in. At least he wasn’t subjected to the pain he’d just heard about.
As Karna pranced forward, she felt almost as if she had cheated on the last two tests. Avoiding the effects of an array she had designed was easy enough even if her True Name didn’t already counter the effects. If she had been subject to the effects, then it might have been interesting to see what those effects would’ve been. After all, one of the primary conditions for earning the True Name she had was to reach the peak of both positive and negative karma.
Few people even knew there was a peak. Destroying a couple of universes was a very effective way of discovering that fact though, and she had maxed out her negative karma long before her positive. It had taken hundreds of lifetimes to get enough positive Karma to match. Karma was after all largely dependent on the principles of self-actualization, and she’d seen those lives as a penance of sorts. It was a good thing the two somewhat canceled each other out, and her True Name took care of the rest. Nowadays she was subject to the whims of karma only because she wasn’t actively warding the effects off. Life was more interesting this way, though it did come with some consequences. Those consequences were part of what made it interesting though.
The other test had been a stroke of luck, or in this case, her Tressym bloodline manifesting again. The arrays controlling these tests were simply unable to copy the level of purity her mana and Aura had, so her copy had actually been significantly weaker than she was. It also didn’t have access to some of her stranger abilities, so a battle would’ve been pointless. As it wasn’t in her nature to fight fruitless battles, it wasn’t in the copy’s nature either. That’s why the copy had simply surrendered. Hou Yi had managed to slide through the crack she had created mostly because he simply thought he should be able to, and she’d already created the precedent. Ashanti could’ve probably done the same if he hadn’t been so battle-crazy by nature. Even his copy would’ve inherited that trait.
As she reached the end of the tunnel, she came to a large open area with an illusory sky above. There were several buildings and forested areas in the surroundings as well. A large stone stele had been placed right in front, and the stele was covered in writing in many different languages and scripts. Apparently, there would be no more tests, but she wouldn’t be able to get her reward until a sufficient number of people had made their way to this place. If she had been the only one to take the tests, then she would be able to pick immediately, but as there were more than enough hopeful explorers, she had to wait until nine people had arrived, or the last set of tests she had passed through was empty. If no more groups of three had been formed by the time the last person taking the lasts tests finished, then those that had passed the tests would be able to take their rewards and leave. Any hostile action taken in this area would immediately disqualify you of course.
The selection of the rewards was also quite strict. The rewards could all be found inside the large black pyramid at the center of the open area, and as the first person to have reached the goal, she’d be able to pick first. There was a trick to the selection of rewards though. They would all have to silently make their selections at the same time, and if more than one person picked the same reward, then the one who arrived first would get it, while the other person would have to leave empty-handed. There was nothing stopping them from working out the rewards beforehand, as even now she could go and view all the rewards on offer, but that required trusting those ahead of you in the order.
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"It seems the theme of sick sense of humor still prevails," Karna spoke mostly to herself.
“Should we go and check out the rewards?” Gem asked while materializing as a Faerie Dragon again. Apparently, spirits didn't count and would not be able to pick rewards, which was only fair since they didn't have to go through the tests either.
“We might as well. It’s going to take a while for the rest of them to arrive. They made the last test long on purpose as they likely wanted to make sure enough people would be able to form groups of three. And depending on their karma, some of the latecomers might still have an opportunity to create an upset. I’m quite sure both Ashanti and father will take a long time to get through that last test.” Karna walked towards the black structure visible in the distance.
“Want to make a bet on who gets through first?” Gem suggested.
“I don’t mind, but what are the stakes?” Karna was always up for a little added excitement.
“How about the loser has to do any one thing the winner demands?” The mischievous spirit suggested.
“Bold of you. That’s a very open-ended bet.” Karna wasn’t one to shy away from a bit of risk though. “Sure, let’s do it. Since you suggested the bet and the stakes, I assume I get to pick first? I’ll pick Shaheera.”
“Ah, you went with the safe and uninteresting pick. You should know better though. That’s not how Karma works.” Gem did a little wordplay, giving her words a double meaning. Shaheera was by far the youngest of the six in their two groups of three, and he naturally hadn’t had the chance to gather too much negative karma, so as far as bets went, he was very safe. “I’m going to go with a risky pick and choose the archer boy.”
“Bold. Very bold. He’s a reincarnator, and not a very young one either. I could see someone like Mayumi doing well, but him? Seems unlikely. Why him?” Karna was caught off guard by Gem’s pick.
“Couple of reasons. First of all, I get the feeling that while he isn’t a good person exactly, he’s a fairly straightforward one. I doubt he’d gather too much negative karma as he’s the type that won’t go against his own convictions, even if those convictions wouldn’t be seen as a moral good by most people. He might kill a few people, but I doubt he’d kill innocents just for sport. Secondly, he seems like the stubborn type that could tirelessly power through that last test even if he is at a disadvantage. Those are not the main reason though. The main reason is that him being the second would be the most interesting result.” Gem was the type that would make tactically odd choices just because it would make things more interesting. Annoyingly, she often ended up being right, just because that’s just how things tended to work when they were involved.
“Interesting, why?” Karna narrowed her eyes.
“Others might not have heard what you whispered that annoying little bint back there, but I did. You might have meant it as a joke and a way to rile her up, but if I win this bet, I’m going to hold you to your threat.” Gem cackled.
“You wouldn’t!” Karna exclaimed, though she knew better.
“Oh yes I would, and I’m going to watch.” Gem crowed.
“So that’s what this is about. You just want to watch. A pervy spirit, that’s what you are.” Somehow, she knew Gem would end up being right. Not that she was all that opposed to the idea. He wouldn’t be the first ‘enemy’ she bedded in her numerous lives.
Their banter continued until they reached the pyramid, at which point they got something else to think about. “A whole structure made of Blackstone! And several obelisks as well!” Karna clapped her hands out of giddy expectation. The material the pyramid was made of was more precious than anything they’d seen so far on this world, with the possible exception of the gauntlets she’d found.
“Can we take it with us?” Gem asked eagerly. They’d worked with the material before and she knew just how useful it could be. The obelisks surrounding the huge pyramid were made of the same material as well.
“We’ll have to see. I think the testers might appreciate the humor if I were to ask for the pyramid instead of another reward.” Karna speculated while walking inside the building.
As they entered, the insides of the pyramid were actually fairly narrow, which was good news as that meant there was more of the dark material. Inside there was a singular central chamber with nine podiums for nine people to stand on. Surrounding the central chamber were nine smaller rooms with the rewards placed on display. The differences between the five ‘worst’ rewards were not large. There were two weapons with a bit of divine power inside them, two techniques inscribed on jade slips ready to be studied, and a single huge chunk of a very precious metal perfect for creating a weapon or armor.
It was the four best rewards that stole the show. The first one was a pill that Karna identified as one that would allow someone at the ninth rank to reach immortality very quickly and with relatively few side effects. The second one was a vial full of blood and judging by the carvings surrounding the bottle the blood came from an immortal ranked dragon. If she had to guess, Karna assumed it would be the distilled blood essence that would allow someone to give themselves a draconic bloodline. The third prize was a collection of techniques, the usefulness which was a little hard to judge without studying them, but judging by the fact they had been positioned as the second-best reward, they must be fairly powerful.
It was the first-place prize that drew Karna’s and Gem’s attention though. “Seriously? They have a spark of divinity as a reward?” Gem asked with a bit of shock. The thing was a literal spark of glowing energy radiating divine power. Anyone that acquired the spark would take their first step towards reaching godhood.
Karna wasn’t looking at the spark though. She was staring at the decorated purple and gold pillow that the spark was laying on top of. The pillow was soaking in the divinity of the spark, and she could sense it had become a divine object as well. She was practically drooling at the possibilities. “The rules stated that we could pick any object here, right? It didn’t have to be one of the prizes, did it?”
“Karna?” Gem asked in a judging tone. “Your draconic nature is leaking.”
“Well, look. The spark would be useless to us. We’ll gain one naturally anyway. Still, I still think that the only thing that can compete with the pil-, I mean with the spark is the pyramid itself.” Karna corrected herself.
“Uh-huh. So, let’s pick the pyramid then. Do not pick the pillow!” Gem argued waving her tiny paw at Karna’s face.
“But I wanna!” Karna cried out, fully prepared to throw a tantrum quite unbefitting her age.
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“Someone’s finally approaching.” Karna stood up and stretched her body a bit. The last week had not been wasted as she’d spent the entire time cultivating. She had no idea what was going on outside, but the level of divine power inside this place seemed to only be growing thicker, and it had already been a very good place to cultivate before she had started. She wasn’t too far from reaching the sixth rank, which would allow her to effectively fight even rank nine enemies, even if someone like Arjuna might be a bit much.
“Time to see who won.” Gem stated happily, already certain of her victory. She knew how her master’s karma worked.
“Just so you know, since you decided to use your command in such a way, I’m going to have you assume the form of a tiny puppy for the next twenty years, and you’ll have to wear cute and tiny dresses the entire time.” Karna threatened the spirit.
“We both know you’re not going to win so doesn’t matter. Now let’s get to it.” Gem stated fearlessly. She wasn’t wrong either, as Karna could already sense the person that had arrived was not Shaheera. Nor was the person powerful enough to be Ashanti or Arjuna. That only left Hou Yi or the other reincarnator man that had gone with Arjuna and Shaheera.
They exited the simple building near the black pyramid, which they had been inhabiting for the last week, and made their way towards the stone stele. There they could see Hou Yi reading the instructions. “Bingo.” Gem whispered in a gleeful voice. “You know what to do.”
“Fine, fine, you pervy spirit. It takes two to tango though. He might refuse.” Karna pointed out.
“Hah! We both know that’s not going to happen. Not if you put in any effort. And I expect you to put in enough effort. I expect a proper show as well.” Gem shot down her attempt to deflect.
“Welcome to the finish line.” Karna greeted Hou Yi in a warm voice, knowing that he would appreciate a bit of geniality after the ordeal he’d been through.
“Thank you.” The man gave a genuine heartfelt thanks. “Was that truly the last test?”
“Yes. The stele is quite accurate in its description. You can view the prizes inside the pyramid, and some of them are quite nice indeed. However, we won’t be able to pick any prizes until nine people make it here. And as you well know, that might take a while.” Karna explained while purposefully standing quite close to the man.
She took a good look at him from head to toes. The man was relatively handsome, at least enough to somewhat justify the obsession of the crazy woman, and he was well-built with lean and powerful muscle. A very typical body type for reincarnators that knew what they were doing. She certainly had no complaints about him appearance-wise, and truth be told she found the idea kind of attractive in a wicked sort of way. She hadn’t had a partner since the elven prince and could really use one after all this time. The idea of boffing someone that could be considered an enemy of sorts, and someone she still planned on taking vengeance on, had a sort of a forbidden appeal to it as well. Besides, anger could make for interesting partners.
"I believe that and I'm eager to see them, but I really need some rest after what I’ve been through.” Hou Yi said emphatically with a bone-tired voice.
“Understandable. The buildings around the pyramid have private spaces for rest, and while there are no bathing houses, there’s a very beautiful pond not too far in that forest.” She pointed to the side. A plan of sorts was already forming in her head.