Divine Path System

Isadora left Varian behind and walked into the winter palace, a quiet place in the mountains built for her seclusion.

The former crown prince was more than happy to expedite the construction and spent his own resources to send her away.

The place had its own cleaning and maintenance formations, invalidating the necessity for maids and servants.

So they spent these six months in nature, not seeing a single person for so long. It was as if they were the only people left in the world.

She didn't know if Varian had the same thoughts but often times, Isadora felt that this was a wonderful life to have.

The strolls in the garden filled with fragrance of flowers.

Exploring the forest, bit by bit, without using any powers.

Practicising synergy, learning a bit more about the strange man. Realizing that another person wasn't very different from her.

Coming to see it less and less as a training session to gain power and more and more as a way to touch a soul…and feel her own.

Sparring for hours with petty punishments and prizes. No threat to life, fighting for just the thrill of it.

The nice fatigue that comes after pouring everything into practice.

A quiet companion in that fatigued state, who would sometimes annoy her by grumbling about his wives. And wives and wives and wives!

After a nice bath in a lake, watching the night sky with glittering stars, like diamonds embedded into a black veil.

And falling asleep, dreaming a sweet day…of today to happen tomorrow, the day after and for days to come.

Even though there was a devil they had to face, there was no sense of anxiety bubbling up in her.

Isadora was doing her best already. Hitting the divine ranks was no easy task even for her. Especially since she'd be ascending in three whole paths at once.

"If I don't have to stay with an idiot who ends up getting dragged into danger every other week, I'd have lived in a peaceful like this." Isadora muttered as she watched her reflection on the lake.

Sia and Enigma might also like this kind of life.

But without Varian…

"It'd be a bit…just a bit boring."

The princess pursed her lips and looked up at the night sky. The white light of the stars poured down gently, highlightng her celestial beauty, like she's a fairy of the lake in the myths.

…And the light unknowingly turned red.

"Huh?"

Darkness swallowed all light as Isadora pulled herself away from the lake, barely escaping a giant monstrous hand.

"Varian, run!"

She screamed through the synergy link.

An overwhelming aura enveloped the entire world in that moment as a purple skinned giant rose from the lake, his head reaching the clouds.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," The giant's voice sounded directly in her mind and he raised his hand.

The darkness of the night and Isadora were both dispelled in a blink as a blinding blue light filled the entire world.

Coming down with an intensity that promised hell, a blue beam reached Isadora.

The princess' face turned pale and she activated the silver card, teleporting out of the palace.

"My goodness!"

People from all over the world saw a blue pillar emerging from the sky and landing somewhere on the ground.

And then a destabilizing shockwave, powered with incredible energy, swept through the world.

If one was in outer space, observing this region, they'd have noticed a blue wave sweeping the entire planet.

A giant crater spanning dozens of miles but going hundreds of miles deep formed where the palace once stood.

Watching the location of her memories get erased, Isadora clenched her teeth and her eyes turned cold.

"What happened? Too scared already?" The devil, Icarus, looked at her with a teasing gaze.

His eyes darted to a particular location before he smiled at her. "Don't worry. I promised hell, didn't I? He will regret everything before he goes insane."

"You aren't going to get a cha—Varian!!!" Isadora nearly screamed her lungs out as the man who wasn't supposed to be here landed next to her.

"What the hell are you doing here? Run!" She screamed into his mind, equally panicked and angered.

Varian kept his gaze fixed on the devil, his expression unsightly.

Even though the devil hadn't fully broken the seal, he's already able to contain slivers of divinity.

In that sense, he's stronger than a pseudo divine ranker and weaker than an actual divine being. And Isadora wouldn't be able to defeat him.

It's unfortunate that this happened. But there's only way out.

Varian threw a ring to Isadora and said directly in her mind. "Once you die, you'll regress back to the beginning. Use the experience to reach the divine rank before this guy breaks out."

Isadora nodded and looked at the devil with a determined gaze. Even though she'd most likely die, she wanted to go down in a fierce fight.

"No, no, no." Icarus' face was now fully purple, unlike his original skintone and looked very distorted, like he's some evil entity. "I can guess what you talked about. Regression."

Varian stiffened.

"A ring that allows you to regress everytime you time. No side effects at all. It's too good to be true." Icarus clenched his fists and the exact model of the ring formed in front of him with his potent blue energy.

"You…it's all you." Varian gasped.

"Yes, it's all me. The devil." Icarus laughed, his roaring laughter reverberating across the entire world.

"The other half of me set restrictions into the world to lock me in. But he's long dead. I just had to eat away the restrictions.

Every regression cracked the restriction. You thought you sealed me. Wrong. You were only delaying my inevitable arrival."

Icarus raised his arms, the dark sky turning completely blue.

"Now, in this one instant, the world is going to be subjugated. All the great warriors of this world who could put up a fight are being suppressed."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The aura shockwaves that began since the devil arrived from long and short distances began to make sense.

The kingdom's powerhouses were all under attack. And this one guy was suppressing them all.

His powers were beyond incredible. They were ridiculous.

Even though he was stretched across the world, he still remained stronger than Isadora.

'If the good part of the creator left behind safety mechanisms, there might still be a mechanism to fall back onto if the primary safeguards fail.'

Varian's gaze fell on the ring and a dangerous thought emerged.

He grabbed the ring and poured his aura into it.

"Stop!"