Villain Retirement

Chapter 1168: Chapter 1168: Fate Itself

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my world?"

Riley has met many gods before. His brief stay at the Planet of the Gods has allowed him to encounter people even odder than him. It was just a shame that most of them had probably died from the war, as Riley still wanted to meet all sorts of odd personalities.

But even with the thousands upon thousands of gods he had laid eyes on, there was only one or two who truly exuded the definition of being god-like.

But the creature in front of him right now?

She was what Riley had always imagined to be god with the way the Pope talked about him all the time.

Godly. Ethereal. Ephemeral. Saintly. But most importantly, Domineering.

He had only felt like this when Makina fought against him.

Was the god in front of him actually as strong as the primordials?

Monkeh did say that the world of Camrose was a different dimension altogether and not a part of the broken multiverse. If so, does that mean that there was a different set of primordials in this world?

If so, then was this god in front of him one of them?

"I asked you a question, Anomaly. Who are you, and what are you doing in my world?" The god repeated her words as her body slowly materialized and completely took shape.

Her blonde hair which looked almost like the tendrils of a star blended with everything around them. Her face, oddly similar to Aerith’s, caused Riley to tilt his head to the side as he stared at her. The god also returned his gaze, staring at his face and seemingly trying to figure out the answer to her question by herself, but failing to do so. She was about to open her mouth again, but Riley finally answered.

"My name is Riley Ross, God of Camrose." Riley said as he bowed his head, "And I came here like everyone else, I needed to reach the deepest parts of the Grand Triangle—my friends and I only seek passage, and if you grant it, we will be gone sooner than you think, God of Camrose."

The God of Camrose floated closer to Riley, circling around him almost like a feather moving through water; her hair that melds with everything around her, completely covering Riley’s view.

"You smell very good, God of Camrose," Riley muttered as he turned and followed the God of Camrose as she spun around him.

"Hmm." The God of Camrose only hummed before hovering away from Riley again, also tilting her head to the side which Riley imitated,

Your friends—I recognize one of them as a resident of my world," she said, her gaze fixed on the empty air. But Riley saw something else reflected in her eyes—Monkeh, locked in battle against a horde of enemies, with Heli fighting alongside her. The reflection shifted, revealing V, Miss Pepondosovich, and Aurora together, submerged in a tranquil lake, steam rising as they bathed, completely at ease.

It would seem only he was alone.

"I have sealed Monkeh’s powers for a reason, as it is too much for this world to bear. But to think she would bring beings even more powerful than her—tell me, what do you have planned? Are you planning to overthrow me, Riley Ross?"

"No," Riley shook his head, "As I said, we are only here to seek passage to get to the entity known as One."

"Hmm." The God of Camrose hummed again as she stared Riley straight in the eyes. She swam back in the air again, seemingly thinking of a trillion things at once, "You don’t seem to be lying, Riley Ross. But unfortunately for both of us, the rules have been set—and even I can’t change it. You are to be a Hero to my world. Accomplish that, and your passage will be granted."

"And what about my companions?" Riley tilted his head to the side.

"I am granting them passage as we speak."

Riley looked into the God of Camrose’s eyes again, only to see Miss Pepondosovich and the others being teleported away back into their ship.

"Why not also grant me passage, God of Camrose?" Riley blinked a couple of times.

"Because the role that Fate has given you would decide the very path this world will take," the God of Camrose shook her head; her hair flowing like a soft and weightless veil as she did so, "You are the one and only Hero, an event that hasn’t happened before and probably never will again—the next iteration of Heroes are not to arrive until a hundred years from now, and yet here you are."

"You are the God of Camrose, Fate itself," Riley narrowed his eyes, "Can you not just remove my status and grant me passage, God of Camrose?"

"It is true that I am Fate, and I am called Fate," the God of Camrose, Fate, waved her fingers in the air and watched them dance, "But Fate is also stronger than I—it is absolute, even for I who holds its powers. Once written, it can never be undone."

"Hmm." Riley placed his hand on his chin, "Then what do I need to do, Fate?"

"Fulfill your role," Fate whispered, "But most of the time, the role of the villain would be cast first before the hero—but perhaps Fate has other plans now. The Hero first before the Villain, but why?"

"May I tell you something, Fate?" Riley sighed as he shook his head, "I am the villain you are talking about."

"I know," Fate hovered closer to Riley, her face only inches away from his, "I have read your story, Riley Ross. You are a being of pain, torture, and bottomless evil with no redemption. The one who will end everything—many similar have come before you, but no one completely similar to you. You are the first of your kind. But much like the so-called primordials of your dimension, I can not do anything to you for that is not my Fate. If you have come here to destroy my world, then that is the Fate...

...but you are a Hero, and therein lies the anomaly. You are not meant to destroy my world, but to save it."

"Hmm."

"But if one such as you, someone who holds the strength similar to mine is the Hero... I dread to think of what Villain you will bring to my world."