Villain: The Play of Destiny

"Baba!"

Keith heard an enchantingly sweet voice call out to him before his consciousness fleeted away, and when he opened his eyes again as his instincts kicked in, he found himself standing in the Secret Realm with the Steele of Time & Space no longer hovering before him.

He felt something inside his chest, something that was not there before but now seemed like a part of him, and when he focused on it, he found the Steele of Time & Space bound to him.

He ignored the System's notification and immediately pulled Yexuan inside, not waiting even a second after he sensed that the Child of Destiny's link to the Aspect of Time was about to disappear altogether.

And for a moment, he was stunned to see an unrecognisable and unconscious man land on the grass in front of him.

Focusing on seeing the World outside, a transparent screen appeared in front of him, and he was relieved that everyone was safe.

He was sure that with Amelia and Rebecca there, who were immensely favoured by Destiny, no harm could really come to the rest, but it was still a relief to see them all coming out of the battle unscathed.

It sure felt like an eternity since he had last seen them, but he bore the urge to call them inside and took a deep breath before looking at the unconscious boy.

Conjuring up an Aura Blade, he stepped forward, and without any hesitation, he plunged the sword into Yexuan's heart, making it explode with his Aura.

The boy's eyes did open when the blade pierced him, but then they went vacant and closed again, this time, forever.

After making sure that the former Immortal Sovereign was indeed dead, he finally lost himself to the thoughts and the glimpses he had witnessed in the Trial of Time.

"System, who was the girl who called out to me right before I passed the Trial?"

{The system is unable to answer your question as it requires looking into the Future.} He heard it speak in his mind and frowned at an indirect answer. {The System also suggests that the Host does not try to look into the Future as it would lead to unforeseen consequences.}

"I understand." He sighed, already aware of the implications, and he was not really interested in knowing the Future as that would harm his present. "When you showed me the Plans of Destiny, why did you make me read them from a different person's perspective?"

{It was not a different person Host. To guard against the consequences of snooping into the Plans of Destiny and attaining knowledge of the Possible Future, the system created a False Reality involving you, which as expected, was detected and eradicated when your dream ended and you opened your eyes.}

"I see. So, you tried to cheat Destiny." He nodded with a smile, understanding why he only remembered things from the Flase Reality that did not concern him.

{No one can chest the Divine Laws, Host. The System was merely guarding against prying eyes.}

"I understand."

He did not even remember the name he had in his dream or the family he had there, not even the life that he spent in that Flase Reality. The only things he remembered and retained the knowledge of were the skills that he learned in his dream and the things that were similar on Earth and Gaia.

Then again, False Realities were just like Dreams, without any relation to Reality.

"So you can create False Realities." He smiled.

{The System is unable to create a False Reality of that scale anymore. It was a one-time thing.}

"I see." He was not really disappointed with the answer as he was already expecting it.

No matter how powerful the System was, it still had to respect the Divine Laws.

"What exactly happened with the Steele of Time & Space?"

{It's a Divine Treasure with a Spirit of its own, Host.} The System replied, and Keith sensed a hint of playfulness in its voice. {It took a liking to your Blood and thrust you into the Trials of Space and Time, and as soon as you passed them, it merged with you.}

"Merged?"

{The Steele of Time & Space is now a part of you for as long as you live.}

"You knew it would happen?" He narrowed his eyes.

{Yes.}

"And you did not warn me." He voiced out his dissatisfaction.

{It was best that the Host remained unaware of what was going to happen next. Since the Host's Life was never in danger, the System decided to not intervene in the Trials and let the Host pass them on his own. As per the Host's instructions, the System was keeping an eye on Yexuan. But there was never an issue since the time you spent inside the Trial only lasted for a few moments outside.}

He found it a little funny that System was explaining itself, but he did not tease it anymore.

Keith saw a small golden ball of light floating in the air in front of him, which contained the Divine Dragon's Heart's Blood, the final reward from Yexuan's Quest, and he quickly stored it in the System's Inventory. He then took out the coffin he had prepared earlier and put Yexuan's body inside it.

Letting his thoughts rest, he finally checked the System Notifications.

....

....

....

[Ding! The Host has successfully stolen the Steele of Time & Space from Yexuan, depriving him of the blessings. Reward: 3600 Fate Points]

[Ding! The Host has successfully completed the Main Quest 4 and killed the Child of Destiny, Yexuan Parker. Reward: 4000 System Experience. 4500 System Points. 1300 Fate Points. A drop of the Yellow Dragon's Heart's Blood (Divine)]

Keith was pleased that he had not lost on any Fate Value that Yexuan possessed, all of which was plundered by the System.

Now, he could spend a couple of years in peace without having to bother about dealing with the next Child of Destiny, Damien Eisendarth, who was paired up with Avriel in the Plan of Destiny that he read.

Keith took a deep breath as he looked up at the sky, feeling refreshed and right at home.

He glanced at the Palace that now belonged to him, but then he turned his eyes towards the cottage that Yeuxan had built in this place.

As he had expected, there was nothing of importance there, but he did find a letter placed on the table, which seemed to have not been written long ago.

It was written using Runic Symbols, but Keith had been studying them under Amelia and on his own, and he managed to decipher them, without needing System's help with it.

His eyes narrowed at the details, and he frowned at a certain name that Yexuan had mentioned, where he was asking Amelia to protect Alana from a girl named Medusa. Other than that, he was telling her about the Evil Deeds he would commit in the future.

Even if what the letter contained was all turned out to be true in the Future, Keith's conscience was clear. To him, the lives of innocents and mortals did not matter. He also knew that he was not the person who would bother with things and people whom he considered insignificant and who did not even matter to him.

If he did commit all the atrocities that Yeuxan had mentioned in the Timeline he had returned from, he must have had his reasons.

Keith kept looking at the letter he had just finished reading and then smiled. He did not destroy it but kept it to hand it over to the person it was intended for.

However, he did destroy the cottage after exiting it, leaving no trace of it behind.

He did not want Yexuan's little cottage to destroy the beauty of the place that now belonged to him.

And instead of taking a tour around, he willed himself to exist the Steele of Time & Space, and in a blink of an eye, he arrived right in front of Rebecca, catching the girls off guard.

He chucked when Yingying's blade stopped midair, and he sighed in his heart when he saw relief wash over all their faces.

"He's dead?" Amelia asked, and he nodded to her.

"He was a little too stubborn." Rebecca pouted, complaining about how Yeuxan refused to die, and then told him about everything that happened and how things transpired after he left.

He calmly listened to the details, a little proud of his daughters after learning how well they fought, but he did not tell them that the reason why Yeuxan just refused to die was mostly because of the Fate Value and blessings that he had left, and the Invincible Halo that he was under.

When Destiny sensed the Steele of Time & Space had been compromised, it immediately interfered by helping Yexuan assimilate the Divine Dragon's Blood during the battle.

Had he not stolen the Steele of Time & Space in time, the boy would have likely continued for a while longer and gained more strength.

"So, do you want to go back to the Estate or do you want to explore our new home?" He playfully asked, and Rebecca immediately smirked at him.

"So, you managed to get your hands on it. Good!"

"Of course." He chuckled and then slowly lifted Kiara and Minami in the air, not waking them up. "Shall we?"

"Yes!"

Rebecca answered immediately and then grabbed his and Amelia's hand, and then Yingying and Iseul grabbed Keith's vacant hand before they all disappeared from the place, arriving in the Realm that existed inside the Steele of Time & Space.

All four of them were stunned as they felt the pure Aura of this place bask their senses, and then they gasped as they looked at the stunningly majestic Palace that could be seen from even this far away.

"How big is this place?" Iseul curiously asked as she looked around.

"It's a world of its own, but only we are the conscious beings inside it." He replied. "As for how big it is right now, I will let you all explore it."

"Right now?" Rebecca did not miss the detail in his words, and he nodded to her, confirming her guess, which made her eyes widen in shock.

"It's a Divine Treasure of Space, Silly." He teased her, and she pouted at his words before looking at the Palace.

"Let's go inside!"

"We will wait until Kiara and Minami wake up." He told her and then created soft wooden beds before placing the two girls on them.

Amelia raised her brow when he suddenly took out a letter from his pocket and offered it to her.

"A letter that Yeuxan left for you." He told her and watched her frown.

"What does it say?" She asked, not reaching forward for it.

"A few brief accounts of the future, where he is trying to convince you that what he is saying is the truth, and then a list with few details of my Evil Deeds." He told her. "And him begging you to run away from me before it is too late."

"Okay." She nodded and then took the letter from his hand, and without even opening it, she used her Aura to shred it into countless pieces, erasing it from existence.

Her action made Rebecca giggle, who hugged her, and then two sister wives left together to explore this new place.