Darius could not be blamed for his shock, as this was more than just a minor revelation! There were many things to pick out from this statement, namely that there existed special focal points where one could connect to the core of Faust to derive pure energy from the world.
Darius was unsure if such focal points could allow one to automatically connect or needed some form of conduit like the pedestal Marasmus hovered over to channel the energies.
Then, there was also the fact that the First Resurrection Stone could actually swallow energy from the core of Faust! Even if the energy passing through the leylines would be diluted, that was still intense!
His face changed further when he thought of the implications, since it was very likely that Marasmus had been floating there for nearly all of his existence. 8 millennia of constant absorption… just what kind of power had the stone accumulated?
Darius had tried to Analyze, but all that kept coming up had been Marasmus' own character sheet. In other words, at this point in time, the Supreme System considered him and the stone as one and the same.
He swallowed heavily. If the undead and the stone were considered as one… then did that mean the Reaper could draw upon the well of nearly 8,000 years of accumulated energy? If he could, then how was he ever supposed to have been taken down?
Darius could feel himself slipping off the path of 56 slowly, like it was rejecting him. This terrified him deep down, but he managed to maintain his calm demeanor and continue with the barter.
"My Lord, since you have answered all my questions, I shall, in turn, answer yours as well." Darius said with a soft smile.
"Your first unanswered question was why I issued the mission. The reason is because under my own power of laws, I simply do not have the strength to beat you in any form of violent confrontation. As such, I thought to use the hands of others to help me achieve my goals."
Marasmus nodded with satisfaction. He almost wanted to call Goiter in and say 'Look, didn't I tell you? He was actually scheming because he was weak!', but remembered his aide was out there dealing with ants.
Darius continued. "Your next unanswered question was why I wanted the stone. The simple answer is that under my power of laws, I need it to advance to a higher tier of strength."
Marasmus thought about it and nodded. It sounded reasonable. The First Resurrection Stone was an item with which even Grandmasters could advance to that Legendary stage given enough time and some extra things.
"As for how I got to know about you and the stone, the answer is once again through my power of laws. When I reached the threshold for my current stage, its avatar descended and told me everything I've later shared in that mission."
The undead was stunned. Just what was this power of laws that this fellow kept talking about? Marasmus could feel it, its strength and overbearing nature in the way it shunted the native laws of Faust aside, but that was about it.
Before he could inquire about it, or maybe because Darius noticed that the Reaper wished to inquire upon it, the fellow continued on.
"The answer to your final question, which was about where I acquired such rewards, the truth is, it's the result of two things: A special native ability of my Itemancer class, which allows me to go beyond just identifying rare items, to sometimes exchanging select items for others, and my Luck which seems to have reached the first threshold."
Darius chuckled. "The former allows me to manipulate items to get what I want, resulting in the rewards I offered, whereas the latter allowed me to find these items that coincidentally fit the criteria I needed without much effort."
Marasmus would have definitely stroked his beard if he had one, for he seemed deeply contemplative. "Hmm.. Yes, I do sense that you have attained the basic ability of the mind and of the spiritual luck… truly remarkable!"
Darius looked humbled by the praises, making the undead snicker lightly. Marasmus folded his arms and looked at Darius imperiously.
"Well, our barter of information has come to an end. Shall we fight now and get this over with?"
Darius shook his head with a bitter smile. "Are you in any rush, Lord Marasmus? Forgive me if I'm wrong but unlike me, you should have all the time in the world, no? I've already admitted earlier to lacking the power to openly fight you. So, as someone who trades with items, I would prefer to trade for three things with you."
Marasmus looked intrigued by this proposal. "Oh, what three things would that be?"
Darius smiled thinly. "The first should naturally be my ability to leave your necropolis unscathed with my property. The second is your friendship and trust, which will further cement the first point. The third is your permission to borrow the First Ressurection Stone for the purposes of strengthening myself before returning it."
Just as Marasmus was about to likely explode, Darius raised a hand. "Don't worry, I can't reasonably expect you to merely trust my word to not simply run from you, when we've known each other for such a short amount of time. I have here something that will ensure that I stay true to my terms assuming I offer something good enough to move you."
Darius removed a roll of Soul Paper from his Inventory, shocking the undead. He instantly settled down before he could erupt with anger, seriously pondering over Darius' words for the first time.
Marasmus would never doubt Soul Paper, for even Gods used it to keep deals with each other enforced. He could also vouch for its authenticity, otherwise, he would have directly killed Darius for even daring to attempt to take the stone from him through anything other than combat.
The Itemancer sat in silence as his heart thumped. Ever since he had seen Marasmus' history, he had a subtle feeling that he had been shafted off the path of 56, yet he didn't feel to have ended up on any of the other 1.2 billion destructive paths.
Darius' strange spiritual feedback was telling him that he was currently on a new path, something out of the range of the sadistic AI's prediction. After all, Caesar was not a God, and no matter what, he could not predict every single outcome.
Even Vena herself was not that omnipotent. Had that been the case, then why would she have bothered summoning Darius? She could just have looked into the future to get all the entertainment she wanted. There would have been no need to slowly watch the reincarnator squirm from the ground up?
As was a law of the universe, not only of Faust but every universe out there, the future was never set in stone. There may be many outcomes, but until the axis of time connects with that particular moment to change it from 'future' to 'present', it would always remain in flux.
