[ has been completed.]

[As one, the Bearers of Destiny worked together to forge the path to the new world, creating a bridge in which the residents of the old can migrate into the new. While the path ahead is long, the most critical aspect has been concluded, though not without incident. For your contributions in creating the Aeon Bridge, you have been awarded 100 years of lifespan.]

[ has been unsealed.]

[Faction confirmed: Dark]

[ has been completed. Calculating result grade.]

[Results: Grade 1]

[Under your cunning machinations, the two Aeon Bridges that would have laid the foundations for a never-ending cycle have been merged into one, shattering a fixed fate and giving birth to infinite possibilities.]

[The power of entropy fills your veins…]

[ has been strengthened by 4 levels].

Claud trembled once as an incredible surge of lifeforce filled his body, and he checked his Looped Encryptor to make sure that nothing had leaked out from his body. Fortunately, other than Thirteen and the Moons’ Bearer of Destiny, some of the others had delighted looks on their face, which meant that their missions were probably…closer to his than that of the Dark and the Moons.

Of course, none of them probably entailed blowing up the bridges to destroy or to merge them, but the fact that these fellows had various expressions meant that they had different…goals.

“Right,” Claud muttered. “Status.”

Name: Claud Primus

Class: Omen

Lifespan: 742 years

Active Skills: Presence Nullification (9), Flight (5), Binding Order (7), Cleanse (6), FiBoD;O??? (0), FiBoD;O??? (0)

Passive Skills: DiL???C, Mana Locus, Omen, Understanding, Master of Permanence, Artificial Life Contractor, Aeon Fold — Omen (4)

Mana Circuit Superimposition: 6.99

Mana Control Proficiency: Master

Authority: 6

Comments: The gods descend, and the world writhes. Darkness pools below the soul; scorching light from above. Destiny calls, and you have awakened. Prepare yourself, Omen. Your time will soon come.

Claud frowned. The comments this time were particularly ominous. Whoever was writing this either knew a lot of things, or was incredibly dramatic. Whatever the case, however, it would seem that his lifespan had increased by more than three hundred years, and his Aeon Fold skill, which had been frozen and completely inaccessible to even his Understanding skill, was now unsealed.

Fully, anyway.

He glanced around, and then checked on his skill.

[Skill: Aeon Fold — Omen (4)

Skill effects: For every level of , your resistance to divinity and mental attacks increases. You can expend four levels to fully evolve any non-unique skill unconditionally. You can expend forty levels to gain .

Additional comments: Killing other holders of transfers all their Aeon Folds to you. Additionally, Aeon Folds can substitute for Fragments of Fate, and vice-versa, at a 1:1 ratio.]

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“It’s the first time I’ve seen a skill demand something as payment, though,” Claud muttered himself. His thoughts fluttered over to the Will of Freedom and Will of Solitude skills the Claud in his Second Tutorial had; it was very possible that the him there had expended multiple Aeon Folds to raise those skills to their highest level.

However, where did that absurd lifespan come from? Claud vividly remembered that the lifespan he saw back then was close to a million years, but would the Trial of Aeons really grant anyone a million years of lifespan? That was definitely impossible. The him back then definitely did something else, but even if he slaughtered every single one here…

Making a face, Claud looked around the place once more. The entire platform, ever since the bridge had turned from one made of stone to one of black and white, had been fraught with writhing lightning that threatened to smite everyone present. Something else was holding it at bay, however, and he managed to put down his fear.

The others were beginning to look around too. Thirteen and her Moonlit counterpart, however, were deathly still. With the censoring function working at full blast, there was no way for someone to look at someone else’s facial expressions. The two Bearers of Destiny were looking for the person that had forced two bridges to merge, but unless they wanted to end up fighting every other Bearer of Destiny, they could only passively search for the person they thought was the culprit.

Lightning flashed again, and a new set of notifications appeared in front of Claud.

[Mission: Bridging the Aeon Span (Phase 2)

Mission Introduction: The end of the cycle approaches, and with it the cessation of all life. The foundation to a new eternity has been laid down, but in the void between worlds, there are parasites that have already latched onto this newly built path. With your will and mana, stand your ground against abandoned intruders and parasites.

Mission requirements: Kill all the intruders and parasites that appear.

Mission reward: 150 years of lifespan, is raised by a certain number of ranks, based on performance at the end of Phase 2.

Additional remarks: Failure to complete this mission will result in unfathomable consequences for all life.]

[Omen Mission: Shattering the cycle (Phase 2)

Mission Introduction: The end of the cycle approaches, and with it the cessation of all life. With the blessing of the five grand skies, a new world will be formed with the foundation of the old. Having carved open a world of infinite possibility with your own two hands, it now falls onto you alone to maintain the element of chaos.

Mission requirements: At least one intruder makes it through by the end of Phase 2.

Mission reward: is raised by a certain number of ranks, based on your performance at the end of Phase 2. Your lifespan is increased based on your performance at the end of Phase 2. You will be awarded a certain number of Fragments of Fate, based on your performance at the end of Phase 2.

Additional remarks: Failure to complete this mission will result in unfathomable consequences for all life. Be aware that you are the enemy of every other Bearer of Destiny present. If your identity is discovered, they will attack you.]

Claud frowned. Those two missions were clearly contradictory; one wanted him to obliterate, the other wanted him to preserve. In addition, there was no room to skirt around either; either he killed them all, or failed the first mission. However…

“Intruders, huh.” Claud couldn’t help but note that there was a fine difference between intruder and parasite. Whoever was in-charge of these Omen Missions definitely didn’t want these parasites too.

“What do you guys think?” Seven asked, glee and an uncharacteristic worry exuding off his boyish frame. It was a weird combination at first glance, but if Claud pushed a bit further, it would all make sense afterwards. Seven had clearly accomplished his own personal mission too, but the new missions were worrying him.

Considering that Claud had everyone here marked for death, the only thing the master thief did was to grunt once in reply.

Thirteen didn’t even bother responding, and the Seventh Bearer of Destiny made a small noise in his throat.

“Fine. Forget I asked. You guys are so unsociable.” Seven made a sniff. “Whatever.”

“She’s in a bad mood,” Claud finally spoke. “The bridge those two were making blew up. Best if we shut up for now.”

He glanced at the scythe behind Thirteen, who was doing a very good job at expressing its owner’s emotions. Of course, as the main cause of it all, Claud wasn’t actually going to feel bad about the whole thing, though. His words, however, was good enough to remind the guy who had been chased by a floating scythe and its emotionless that there were some people that shouldn’t be provoked, and with a sheepish smile, Seven looked around.

Shaking his head, Claud focused on the task at hand. The way the missions put it, it would seem that there were nasty things that were headed their way right now. Their goal wasn’t clear, though. Did these enemies want to occupy part of the bridge? Or was their goal to enter the rift? Whatever the case, Phase 2 of the Trial revolved around killing enemies; this meant that Claud had to be careful.

After all, the mission introduction did not say anything about their strength. But if these were beings that could drift in voids within worlds, Claud wasn’t going to underestimate them at all. At the very least, the safest assumption was that these things would have a tenacious lifeforce and be extraordinarily hard to kill.

To drop one’s guard would be to ask for it. Similarly, Claud would also feel displeased if some of the other Bearers of Destiny died; only by killing them personally would he reap the most benefit. Furthermore—

“Hmm?” Claud looked behind him.

At the same time, the other Bearers of Destiny whirled around to look at the centre of the platform, which was now shimmering with prismatic lights. Silhouettes rose up from these lights a moment later, and Claud frowned.

It would seem that there were helpers…

More importantly, however, was the fact that these helpers didn’t have a mosaic on their faces, which was probably the most welcome sight after seven days of square-headed people.

Claud was definitely tired of seeing squares on people’s shoulders.