Philip walked through the hallways, trying to avoid everyone for now and go straight to Terra, also known as the Old Man. He used ⟨⟨ Eye Vision ⟩⟩, ⟨⟨ X-ray Vision ⟩⟩, and ⟨⟨ Clairvoyance ⟩⟩ to find where he was and he found him at the only room at the top floor
"Merry, I'll be seeing the Old Man... Are you coming along? If not, you should go somewhere else"
"Arf"
Merry answered energetically and she carried along somewhere else since she could sense the severity behind Philip's words. Philip continued going up to the top floor
~~~
*Knock knock*
Philip knocked on the door and the door opened without anyone answering. He then saw Terra with his hand flicked to the side, as if opening the door telekinetically
Terra was wearing white robes and he was sitting on a king's bed. He sat straight without his back resting onto anything. The drown checkered blanket rest on his lap and the large white pillows is behind him. His long white hair is tied into a pony tail but his side bangs are still straight and resting on the blanket. But the ridiculous part is that his long luscious beard is tied into a braid with black ribbons tying it together
"Looks like Natsume and the girls had a good time taking care of you?"
Philip teased Terra
"It's mostly that little princess from Saykrandae"
"Clara?"
"Yes, and Natsume just joined in because she said it looked fun as Clara invited her. They're just trying to lighten up the mood"
"Hm, I see... Can I come in?"
"Go ahead"
Philip entered Terra's new room, after he gave Philip his old room. The walls were green and adorned with nature designs. The king's bed is made of ebony wood and unknown traces of natural wood, as per the Emily's analysis
Philip went ahead and grabbed the chair opposite of the bed and sat on it, facing Terra, like some sort of a gangster
"Philip... I took you to this mansion in order to give you protection and provide freedom of whatever you wanted to do... So far, you have been doing that and all of the leaders around the world are either afraid or avoiding you because of my presence and warning to the top leaders..."
"Sound right"
"Now, not even a year has passed, a lot has changed in the mansion since you've arrived... In the end, you were the one who will be protecting everyone. I feel bad for a mortal like you since my responsibility is being passed to you"
"You know, Old Man... You have been through a lot... You have encountered a lot of mysteries and anomalies throughout the history of Earth since you were born and every major incident needed you to fix and solve it"
"You're right... To be honest, I'm tired"
"I know that also"
"But I can't abandon this world since it's my duty. I worry that Earth will descend into chaos when I'm not around"
"You don't have to abandon the world..."
"What?"
Terra became confused
"What do you mean?"
"I can take care of Earth in your stead instead"
"No, you can't... You wouldn't be able to"
"Of course I can! I already saved the world two times, right?"
Terra widened his eyes from being reminded of Philip's feats
"Oh, right..."
"Also, I have learned of your true identity"
Terra widened his eyes from surprise
"Wait, what?! Did the Dragon Queen or Atlantian King told you?!"
"No... Have you forgotten? I'm powerful and I have learned a lot! You may be stronger than me a while back, but I'm far stronger than you now"
"H-how?!"
"I won't reveal my secrets, but... Terra Eretz-gaia Chikyu, the World God of Earth... That's your true identity"
Terra wasn't surprised anymore. Instead, he just frowned from being overwhelmed and confused
"This mansion is a mansion that you have built with your own power, the Terra Mansion, on the land of the original landlord or landlady. This means that this entire plot of land and mansion, including the pocket dimension in the basement, is all within your power"
"Yes, you're right"
"What if I tell you that I can save you from your own fate..."
"I know you can, you're the Fate Controller after all... But that sounds pleasant"
"But there's one condition..."
"What is that?"
"You will be liberated from you fate of being Earth's World God, but you have to work under me..."
"Okay?"
"In this condition, you won't be able to roam the world anymore and only walk around the land of Terra Mansion..."
"Hm... That doesn't dound bad..."
"But, whenever I'm around, you have to protect everyone in the Terra Mansion, along with everybody else that can defend the mansion"
"Hm... What's the different of that from protecting the world itself?"
"Protecting the mansion alone is harder and more gruesome than protecting the world... But overall, I guess 90% of the time, there's just peace. Only the highest beings would be able infiltrate the mansion"
"What? How? We're in the middle of everything and we are in a hotspot. Our location can be spotted immediately and threats of even terrorists and low beings can come"
"That's not the case... That's all I'm going to say. I can tell you more if you agree for me to change your fate. Do you agree or not?"
"..."
Terra took a long time to think and it looked like it will take longer for him to decide which fate he will choose
"You've been thinking for a while..."
"I don't know... The offer seems very good, but the responsibility is massive that I shouldn't pass on to you"
"Well... I'm also offering to take on your responsibility"
"I can't..."
"..."
"Why do you want to take on the responsibility yourself anyway?! Do you think humanity is worth protecting and saving?"
"No"
Philip answered with no hesitations
"Then why?"
"Hm... It's just that even if humanity is flawed in almost every way, there are some others that passed the standards according to my opinion. There are unique humans that can be useful to me in the present and in the future. Even if they're flawed or not, I will take them since they are useful... Listen, I'm not protecting Earth because I cared for the world, I'm protecting it because out of the uncountable interactions based on causality that everyone will make, it will produce a special existence or power and that's all I care about. Earth is like a factory and of course I will protect it, even if this world was supposed to be already destroyed several thousands of years ago. That's also why I had to save the world two times, or else, we wouldn't be able to meet nor I would find Tenshi and there seemed to be some mystery in the universe that's looming over us"
"That's..."
Terra fumbled in his own words
"No, I can't place this burden on you... I have decided on that"
"There are also a few reasons that I can't tell you for now, because it may or may not affect your decisions. I want your genuine answer, unaffected by any factors"
"Just tell me..."
"No?"
"Then I won't do it..."
"Hm... Maybe this will help you decide for yourself and see how eager I am"
Philip stood up from the chair and walked towards Terra. He extended his two right fingers and slowly aimed for Terra's forehead
He plans to use ⟨⟨ Origin Seeker ⟩⟩ on Terra, a World God, a divine being, despite Sai's warnings of not using the Origin Seeker to gods since they all will be able to sense his presence
'But using it on Terra will be worth it... This will be a step towards powers...'
Philip's fingers came closer to Terra's forehead until Terra stopped his advancement by gripping his wrist
"What are you doing?"
"Origin Seeker"
Philip won't stop for anything as he used ⟨⟨ Null of Magnificence ⟩⟩ to forcefully push his hand and slip past Terra's mountainous grip
"!!!"
Terra was surprised from Philip's ability that he said. His eyes widened and he wanted to stop Philip but it was too late. Philip finger has touched his forehead
Philip entered the kaleidoscopic hyperspace once again and went towards Terra's origin
~~~
「 You have arrived... 」
"Where am I?"
Philip found himself in a chaotic world. The sky was full of bright stars and the land is blazing with fire and flames. Large lava oceans can be seen as far as the eye could see. Spouts of lava also rose through the atmosphere and several meteors of varrying sizes fell from the sky. He looked up once more after the ground started rumbling and lava waves rose violently. He saw a giant sphere of rock rapidly passing through the sky
「 We are on Earth, since the dawn of its creation, as well as the moon 」
"Huh?"
Philip was confused. He expected to see Terra's origin of where he came from. He also expected to be in the divine realm and immediately see different kinds of gods and goddesses looking at him, especially since that he's now currently the God of Darkness. But now, they are here on Earth
"Was Terra born as the Earth formed? Is that the case for World Gods? But that wasn't the case for Sai, no? Since she came from the divine realm and she was permanently appointed Saykrandae?"
「 That's right... I also don't know what's happening. We shall see 」
Emily genuinely did not know what was happening. This could only mean that this factor or intervention came from outside the universe, beyond dimensions, or past through timelines that the system has to further analyze it
Just then, Emily's thoughts was confirmed and she immediately warned Philip
「 Philip!!! Hide!!! Use ⟨⟨ Form of Godliness ⟩⟩ to perfectly hide your presence! Do not let this being see you at all cost! 」
"Okay!"
Philip then hid behind a crevice and used ⟨⟨ Form of Godliness ⟩⟩ to completely hide his presence by using a few hidden forms such as Beneath The Shadow Form, Silent Treatment Form, Around The Corner Form, Unseen Form, and Instantaneous Diversion Form
Just then, a being of epic proportions came down on the ground in a bright flash beam of light. He hovered above the lava ocean ad he avoided touching the surface
[Is this where that strange energy is coming from?!]
The being wasn't wearing anything. Instead, his entire body is like space itself with twinkling stars and revolving planets on his skin. He has no mouth and his eyes are white and glowing while his long void hair is freely flowing in the air. He also has a large horn on his forehead, two spikes that are protruding upwards from both of his elbows, and a bright pale blue diamond on his chest
[A primordial planet that has nothing special within it... Unless, this planet is a crossroad of time and space itself that events in the future and corresponding multiversal effects are intertwined within this planet that's causing various anomalies through timelines and dimensions?! That's fascinating and alarming... I must consult the True Goddess of Certainty!]
The being exudes a powerful presence that can be felt by Philip
「 Analysis complete! That's the True God of Worlds! He governs all worlds in the multiverse that is or will be inhabited by mortals, gods, and monsters alike. We must not, in no way, alert him of our presence! 」
'Got it'
[In the meantime, I will create an overseer to this world to watch it for me...]
The True God of Worlds extended his hand downwards and pulled it while closing his fingers together, meeting it the center, without bending the segments of his finger
The earth under the lava ocean rose and formed a mountain. The mountain then twisted into a twirl and detached itself on the surface. The twirl of earth continued to spin until it formed a body. The body is humanoid and similar to Terra's body but his hair and beard are short and still white
Terra looked down on his hands and inspected his body, unaware of what just happened to him
[Listen to me... You are my creation and you will follow my will! You are to protect this world until its destruction. You are not allowed to perish nor pass that responsibility to anyone else. Your name shall be Terra Eretz-gaia Chikyu, a World God different from the rest of the World Gods, a different being. Is that understood?!]
"..."
Terra didn't reply instantly since he's still confused of his own existence and the fact that he just came to be
「 An existential crisis... 」
[Do not worry about trivial matters and all you need to worry about is my will. You will follow my orders!]
"Y-yes..."
[Very well...]
The True God of Worlds has claimed thr primordial Earth to himself and planted Terra to be its own World God, rather than naturally letting the divine realm assign a World God to Earth
[Hm... A lot of beings are already being born on this world, even though it's just in the process of formation! This is unprecedented...]
The True God of Worlds looked around and sense different energy signatures from different beings. He also looked towards the revolving moon, as if beings were also being born there
'This is my chance!'
Philip declared to himself
「 What do you mean?! 」
'Terra's fate... I have learnt it... I will change it!'
「 No! Not now! 」
Philip snapped his left fingers as he ignored Emily's warnings and calls. An audible sound reverberated throughout the world
[Hm?!]
The True God of Worlds was extremely alarmed and he immediately knew that the wave of energy was very troublesome. Because of Philip's Fate Control, Terra fell asleep and lost consciousness and the True God of Worlds did not notice this
The True God of Worlds extended his hand towards Philip's direction and a large chunk of the earth was gouged away, revealing himself even though he was still perfectly hiding. The eyes of a True God can see him completely if he's in the open
But even if he's a True God, he has no match against ⟨⟨ Form of Godliness ⟩⟩ as he could barely see Philip. Because of the Four Absolute Rules that's defining the forms that he was using, he could completely dodge the eyes of a True God, not to mention, he was already using ⟨⟨ Null of Magnificence ⟩⟩ to effortlessly move his body without wasting any movements
But even so, he's still facing a True God and sight is not the peak of the True God. The True God of Worlds has sense and prediction that are levels ahead of any ordinary beings
The True God of Worlds flicked his hand behind him and a wall of polished black marble rose up to block Philip's movements
He was successful in blocking and stopping Philip's movements for a split second. At that split second moment, the True God of Worlds created three more walls, a ceiling, and a floor of the same material, imprisoning Philip inside
[A being that can dodge my sight... Fascinating! Where did this specimen come from?!]
The True God of Worlds muttered as he pulled the cube and levitated towards him
Meanwhile, Philip was worried and slightly panicking. He understands the power of a True God but he needed to change Terra's fate if he wanted to achieve power
'I'll just consider this as another challenge to achieve my goal. I know it will not be easy!'
「 I understand... Then, if you're willing to fight your way out of this, you only have five abilities that can help or match you against a True God 」
'⟨⟨ Null of Magnificence ⟩⟩, ⟨⟨ Form of Godliness ⟩⟩, ⟨⟨ Sword Concept ⟩⟩, ⟨⟨ Spear Concept ⟩⟩, and ⟨⟨ True Recoiless Technique ⟩⟩'
「 Correct. You know what to do, unless you want to talk your way out of it 」
'I won't take any chances'
Meanwhile, the True God of Worlds is already holding the cube with Philip inside of it
[A mortal? A stray god? Or an unknown? Whatever this is, it deserves a punishment... I also sensed fate...]
'Blood sword on the right, blood spear on the left...'
*Sniff*
[I smell blood... Not of a mortal's blood nor a god's blood... What is this?!]
'Sword Concept + Spear Concept: String Entanglement'
「 Advent of Twin Blades has commenced... 」