Solitary Sword Sovereign Part 2

Invasive Thoughts

In order to use The Vanishing Point, Will had explored the deepest recesses of his mind, and the experience had cost him greatly, a debt he could not afford. He started to realize that he had underestimated the gravity of the situation.

After a deep internal reflection, he noticed that parts of his soul had been torn apart, and his mind had suffered greatly, making it difficult for him to even notice his injuries, let alone move on his own. It was becoming more and more obvious that he had gone through a pyrrhic battle, and his road to recovery lay not only in physical healing but spiritual and mental healing as well.

Despite his wounds looking as though they would never heal, his eyes remained focused. He was determined to make a full recovery, against all the odds. Adelda could tell that Will was a fighter, his dark pupils spoke of the 5 years of adversity he had faced.

Slowly, but surely, Will started to meditate, his breathing becoming deeper and more composed. The room suddenly filled with a soft, glowing light as Will accessed the World Energy, the mystical energy that permeated all of creation, to heal his wounds as best as he could with his mana and repeated use of simple spells such as Minor Recovery, a spell meant for healing flesh wounds.

With every inhale, he gained a little bit of strength, while every exhale revealed the trauma he had undergone.

"Argh! F*ck me twice and call me Dave! This shouldn't hurt this much!" exclaimed Will as he could no longer hold it in.

For a moment, Adelda could see the damage done to Will's mind and soul, as the mage's body twisted and convulsed in agony. His mind was a chaotic mess of emotions, memories, and visions that threatened to drive him mad.

Will started to feel a small measure of regret as he struggled to reign in his heterogeneous mind. He had taken a gamble, and it had paid off. But he had missed the fine print. He had suffered damage that was difficult to recover from.

'I am a Prince, how can an insignificant ant like you compare to me!'

'Peerless is skilled in casting! What kind of teacher can produce a student like this? There is no way he could have taught himself.

'If only I had used my other skills I would have crushed him under my feet in seconds!'

'Did Peerless goad me to get me to use The Unrelenting Hunt? Or am I thinking too far into it? Building up too much momentum has cost me greatly.'

'Focus and remember, Father said that the key to an Omnidirectional True Strike is to concentrate on partitioning Truth into small sections then...'

A swarm of thoughts that had belonged to Gianluigi assailed Will's mind and prevented him from taking control of his soul and thus his body. The little energy remaining in his body had already been in an unbalanced state and was now threatening to go berserk.

At this rate, not only would he suffer energy deviation and damage his cultivation pathways, but he would also cause even more irreparable damage to his body and soul.

'And this was the moment, Will knew, he fucked up.'

Despite his dire straits, Will was still able to mock himself in his mind. A habit of his he never wanted to change.

He did not panic for long. He had been in many perilous situations and yet he had survived. When he had been flooded by the werewolves he had managed to make it out. When he had fought Bastian in King Yama's gate his life was always at risk, for the former did not hold back.

When he fought Ignius, he had limited himself and put himself at risk, pushing the limits of Martial Harmony to prevail over the restricted Ignius.

Many times he had to think on his feet to survive. He could only beat the Storm Wolves because he played on their hinrks. Conversely, he could only swallow his pride to survive after Hanzo had harmed Alice before him and insulted him.

Jingsung Ha was a challenge like no other. Almost a version of him greater than him at all he did. Be it the path of the sword, technique, or experience of the Dao of Water. Yet Will had managed to survive by creating Unbound Vector.

'I can't wait for plot armor to kick in. I have to take initiative.'

Will was disillusioned and always saw himself as the main character of a story. It was a way for him to help cope. Even before the system, he did the same thing. Often losing himself to his imagination and whimsical thoughts.

'I need to break the 5th wall here.'

Will sighed and made a crucial decision. One he had been contemplating for a while. He was not a complete fool. He had made plans in case he ended up in such a situation.

'Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, act on the realistic. That's all we can do.' Will despised the feeling of having no control over his destiny and did his best to swim upstream. He was now willing to make a great sacrifice. One that came at an immeasurable cost.

Will stood up groggily and wobbled a few steps toward Wodin, who was leaning on the wall arms crossed in front of his chest.

"All Father, let's make a deal."

Wodin could not help but smile. Moments like these were what made him so interested in mortals. To what lengths were they willing to go for power?

'Since he is a disciple of Modus the Mad and is high on another man's intent I'm curious what kind of deal he wants to propose.'

"Amusing. I'm an all-ears boy."

...

Hercules and his comrades had left the control room and had sealed themselves in a private room. Wodin had talked to Odysseus via telepathy and the duo had come to a certain agreement. Afterward, the duo approached Hercules and Narcissus with their ploy.

"I see, so Modus the Mad is the boy's Master. Now I understand why Athena stuttered. This also explains a lot."

Hercules could not help but sigh. He had his suspicions, but Modus was not at the top of the list. He was simply too reticent. Modus was not the most powerful system Administrator but he was one of the most feared.

Like Odin he was difficult to pin down. Unlike Odin however, he was very anti-social. Modus was infamous for having barely passed on his legacy to anyone.

People were not even sure what kind of fighter he was. All they knew was that Modus' power stemmed from a combination of multiple dao. But a few, in particular, stood out because of their rarity. Two of which were The Dao of Madness and The Dao of Perspective. Only a handful of extreme beings like Modus and Thor had managed to tread on such a path. But it was highly destructive. Not only was Modus one of the very few beings who used both Dao, but he was also the only System Administrator that could stand without the backing of a clan.

His potential to cause mayhem made him a being few wanted to antagonize. Zeus included.