The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 129: The Unfortunate Ones

Lumière's left hand throbbed with pain from the explosion, nearly causing him to pull out the silver-black dagger that had already pierced into the trunk of the "Shadow Tree."

Relying on his sheer willpower and his familiarity with such injuries, he barely managed to control his body's instinctive reaction.

The pain sharpened his mind, clearing away the two desires that Susanna Matisse had just imposed on him.

Pain and reason intertwined, flooding his consciousness, followed by a torrent of vast and terrifying scenes.

These were the accumulated experiences of the "Shadow Tree" over the past thousand years, fragments of countless desires that had nurtured and formed its trunk, and glimpses of its potential futures.

All of these were linked together by a mercury-like illusory river, overwhelming Lumière's thoughts like a flood.

Not only was the sheer quantity enough to shatter the mind of any mid-to-low-ranked Sequence user, but some scenes instinctively made Lumière choose to ignore or avert his gaze, not daring to look or discern them.

Just when he thought his sanity would be drowned and wiped clean by the overwhelming torrent, he realized that he had somehow endured it, as if there was extra space within him to accommodate the limitless number of scenes beyond his capacity.

Without wasting time selecting which fate to exchange, Lumière followed his danger sense and spiritual intuition, seizing upon one particular scene: "A brown-green tree root extends toward the base of an ancient building but is engulfed by an invisible flame that illuminates a section of darkness."

"With a crisp crack, the root snaps in the middle and falls into the depths of the darkness, first covered in a purple flame, which then shifts into a barely perceptible color, instantly disintegrating without leaving even a speck of ash."

Lumière withdrew the "Fallen Mercury" dagger and attempted to pry free that fate, but it didn't respond.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A barrage of brown-green tree branches, like an army of soldiers throwing spears, rained down from above, aiming to impale Lumière's body.

Each one of these branches was enough to pierce through its target and pin it to the gnarled roots below.

Inside the ethereal canopy, Susanna Matisse's emerald eyes widened as she continued to unleash desires—lust, hunger, greed, vanity—yet none had an effect on Lumière. Frustrated, she resorted to the physical attacks of a tree spirit.

Given that she was tethered to the "Shadow Tree," her attack was far more powerful than those of ordinary tree spirits bound to lesser trees.

Although she still doubted the sacrificial victim could truly harm the "Shadow Tree" with that so-called "cursed blade," Lumière's presence and actions raised enough alarm in her to make her act preemptively.

Better to assume the worst and respond aggressively, even if it wasted some power and delayed the ritual a bit, than risk unforeseen changes leading to failure.

Even a small chance of failure had to be prevented. Waiting until it truly happened would be too late.

The blood-flesh cloak covering Lumière's body suddenly contracted inward, pressing him thin and narrow, allowing him to dodge most of the oncoming tree-branch spears.

Two, however, were unavoidable, one aimed at each of his shoulders.

The blood-flesh forming the cloak surged toward the imminent impact points, layering itself into thick crimson cushions.