Chapter 2719: Soul Trait: Casualty Culling

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Guild Headquarters

"I understand your resolve, my lord. Your willingness to sacrifice yourself for the greater good is admirable. But is walking into the guild’s headquarters truly serving that greater good?

"My lord, you fail to see that your plan is full of holes. If you fail to persuade them to use a demon contract to bind you instead of whatever they have planned, you will end up giving them the final key to their schemes.

"Then, instead of saving the world, you would have quite literally doomed us. Think about it more carefully, my lord. What you are planning to do might very well be the beginning of the end.

"So I won’t allow it. Even if I must break and go against everything I have stood for all my life, I will not let you tarnish the legacy of the Godson Bloodline. I would sooner die than see that happen," Catherine laid out her reasoning with calm precision, each point carefully placed, and her tone was steady until the very end.

That final line, though, was brilliant. It struck the mark. Listening to those Pax immediately stiffened. The words seemed to echo in his head. The mere thought of destroying the legacy of his idol/ancestors crept across his face. It showed in the tightening of his jaw, in the brief fracture in his composure. For the first time since declaring his resolve, it wavered.

Pax went through Catherine’s words again and again. The more he weighed them, the more he realized she was right. If he succeeded, he might save the world. But if he failed, he would be the one who doomed it. Considering the odds of his success, the risk was not worth taking.

However, that did not change his initial dilemma. Neither of the two solutions seemed viable anymore.

Then a thought crossed his mind. What if the final key in the New Age Merchant Guild’s plan were destroyed? If the key no longer existed, there would be nothing to hand over, nothing for them to use. Wouldn’t that take care of all his problems? That was it. All he had to do was let go.

Having come to that decision, Pax chose to act without announcing his resolve to anyone. He would secure the runes he inherited from Demigod Godson within an artificial ego gem and ensure they were returned to their rightful keeper, Catherine.

Then he would destroy the final key to the guild’s plan, his last act as free man. He no longer held any hopes of grandeur. In their place remained something simpler: a plain resolve to reclaim his life from the guild.

Just as Pax made his peace, he heard his teacher call out, "Master Wyatt, I will be direct. I hope you can help fund my lord Pax’s appeal with that entity in exchange for me."

For a moment, I simply stared. I had just watched Catherine crush the birth of a hero at its cradle, and now she had the gall to suggest something so twisted. What did she take me for? And wasn’t she overestimating her own worth?

"Who do you think you are?" Corey suddenly erupted responding to Catherine’s ambiguous proposal to me. "You are overestimating yourself. Don’t embarrass yourself any more. Leave before I decide to finish what I didn’t earlier."

"Go ahead and do what you must," Catherine replied calmly. "But hear me out first, because later it might be too late for you to regret it."

Her confidence made Corey raise his brow. Taking advantage of the brief silence, Catherine continued, "Why do you think Demigod Godson made me the keeper, executor, and arbiter of his will and inheritance?"

The atmosphere grew still as she revealed, "I was born with the innate soul trait, Casualty Culling. In case of my unnatural death, everyone responsible, directly or indirectly, would be culled by the casualty. The effect would be proportional to the part they played in my death, and inversely proportional to their distance from me at the time of it."

"There is no way such a bizarre soul trait exists," Corey blurted in disbelief.

For a brief moment, she silently thanked her good fortune and Pax for stopping her from killing this jinx. If she had, she and Lil’ Baem would both have died.

Corey herself was not afraid of death. With her multiple past lives, she believed she would simply reincarnate again. But the same was not true for Lil’ Baem. And that thought unsettled her.

Catherine only smirked before sharing her status page with Corey and me, leaving us to judge for ourselves. "My soul trait is no secret. Why else do you think, with my strength, I was able to guard Demigod Godson’s relics for so long? This is also why the Emissary of Light had to use the Pope to contact the Masters and hire their trinity to try to assassinate me. Now do you still think I’m overestimating myself?"

"I do, you stupid old hag. How does knowing your soul trait change anything? You’re crazy," Corey shot back, recoiling from her as if she had caught the scent of something foul. Then she threw me a sharp look, almost wounded, as if to say, ’See? Even that bitch has a soul trait. When am I going to get one?’ Like it to Corey to find a way to be jealous in a situation like this.

"You ignorant little child," Catherine replied coolly. "If I were to commit suicide because of the remarks you just made, what do you think would happen? You would die for sure. But do you know who else would die with you?"

She dismissed Corey with those words, giving her a taste of what her trait truly meant before resting her gaze on me.

Meanwhile, Pax stood frozen, watching his teacher try to trade her life for his. He no longer knew what to make of the situation. Earlier, he had wanted to intervene. However, Catherine had already messaged him, pleading with him to let her complete her duty and not let her die in disgrace, not after carrying it out faithfully for over a millennium.

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