Divine Path System

A long time ago, an exalted tribe that ruled one-sixth of everything under the heavens was pushed to the brink of extinction.

Left with no choice, the tribe abandoned its own bloodline and became a new species in itself.

It wasn't as simple as it sounded.

It's like humans abandoning their genes and becoming apes.

For the great tribe, it was even more demeaning.

But they did it.

The first generations of this new species had a singular goal.

"Escape!"

Since they stole the sliver of Order from their arch enemy and fled with their own tribe's sliver, an intense search began.

Every star system in the galaxy was scrutinized.

Their bloodline, the source of their pride, became the reason for their death.

The ones too prideful to throw away their bloodline were cruelly tortured and slaughtered.

So, the ones who swallowed their pride lived.

But out of fear, they kept running. From the center of civilization to barely civilized star sectors. From civilization to barbarian lands.

Finally, they even ran from barbarian lands and settled in a remote corner.

No life reached there. No civilization bothered to stay here.

It was an utterly desolate location.

But the new species didn't mind.

With great enthusiasm, they settled down in the star system with one sun and eight planets.

"We will grasp the powers of the two slivers, grow stronger, and take revenge!"

The first generation cheered!

"For the blood of our forefathers!"

The second generation continued.

"For our ancestral land!"

The third generation agreed.

"For our glory!"

The fifth-generation was confused.

"For the supremacy of A-Ares!"

The tenth generation marked a new beginning.

Unlike their predecessors, they focused on their present. The dinners weren't filled with blood-boiling revenge stories nor were the public speeches focused on regaining the lost glory.

Devas, for the first time, acknowledged their own existence as a species different from their ancestral race.

"The slivers of Order and Chaos are the gifts of our ancestors! The greatest treasures of the Universe! We must use them to grow stronger!"

The Deva Emperor promised.

"We made a radical discovery from the records of the Ares tribe. All slivers have a tendency to converge! So we combined the two slivers in a secure location and left them to their own devices."

The slivers which were separate until then began to converge in the fifteenth generation.

"Witness the legend in making! The sliver of Order and Chaos!"

The twentieth generation only knew it was an incredibly strong power.

They knew the slivers tended to converge. They didn't, however, know the consequences.

"Quick! Separate them! The aura's cycles are shifting to a deadly pattern! Into an order than kills!"

The convergence of Slivers was a slow and violent process.

"We can't do it! It's already too late!"

Once it crossed a threshold, even the divine ranks can't stop them from merging.

"E-Emperor, the aura is going out of control! The prosperity of the empire is in a steep decline! The blacksmiths can't embed aura into the weapons. The alchemists struggle to extract aura from the herbs!"

The Empire that was growing stronger with each generation encountered a situation they couldn't solve.

It was a decisive moment. If the Emperor let it be, the situation would've subsided after two centuries as the sliver would've calmed down.

But…

"Use the treasures of our ancestors and seal the evil thing!"

"T-The seal is too precious! Even our best craftsmen can't come close to—"

"Follow the order."

The seal was a bracelet. It was in the shape of the Ares tribe's domesticated creature.

A dragon.

The Sliver of Order and Chaos, which was in the middle of convergence, was mercilessly sealed in the dragon bracelet.

"Wait, Wait, Wait, you're the one that caused the problem first. Why are you calling them merciless?" Varian interrupted the story.

[…] The System would've slapped him if it could.

Can't he see it was in the middle of portraying its tragic past?

Damn it! Don't disturb the flow!

[The System didn't ask them for convergence. They did it themselves. The negative effects would've disappeared had they waited for one more generation.

But the Emperor, while making a good decision for his existing empire, made a blunder.

By trying to restrict the merging process, he crossed a line.

Thus…]

"…" Varian shook his head as if it was a pity. "So, the troubles increased after they sealed you?"

[They couldn't even seal properly. They were Devas, not the Ares tribe.] The System showed as much contempt towards devas as its respect towards the Ares tribe.

"So, they resorted to sealing off the aura?" Varian speculated.

[Yes. That's the only way to seal the system properly.]

"Then what?" Varian asked.

[Tens of thousands of years passed…at some point, the merging process ended. This system, as you know it, came into existence.]

"From birth, you're sealed, eh?" Varian felt like he was listening to some tragic childhood story.

[The devas were in a long decline. They wanted to release the aura without releasing the system. That was impossible. Moreover, since the merging was finished, the system's powers started to affect their civilization.

They were only supposed to decline. But they started to die.

It was a slow death. Watching the castle they built crumble brick by brick. Their achievements, their wars, their prosperity—nothing could save them.

In the end, they went from denial to acceptance. They gave up all efforts to unlock the aura and sealed it even further to prevent any possibility of this system from breaking out.

Then, humans rose. The ghost ship appeared and the aura lock, weakened by the passage of time, broke.

Using that opportunity, this System also escaped.

The human world was still new to this System. After a century of deliberation, the system showed itself to a noblewoman.

The noblewoman picked the dragon bracelet as expected. The System thought things would be great when...

Your grandmother appeared. She stole the dragon bracelet and shamelessly promoted it as your family's heirloom.]

"Cough cough cough." Varian turned his head away and started coughing.

Inwardly, he praised his ancestor. 'No wonder our family motto: Mine is mine and yours is also mine.'

'Wait…that sounds like what a thief would say?' Varian narrowed his eyes.