Chapter 411: Fortuitous Encounter

[You will be relocated to the trial grounds on... 19, 18, 17...]

Seth blinked, the oracle bobbing above his shoulder, he could swear he could feel the oracle trying to give him the "I told you so" impression.

But he ignored it, shifting his gaze back onto the screen before him...

This wasn’t an offer that required his consent, it was a fortuitous chance grabbing him by the throat.

One could only imagine how long ago the world had started preparing this chance for him?

All this with barely a fraction of the fortune had been rejected back then...

"Tsk, tsk, meaning as long as I’m on this planet everything will practically bend to my will," he muttered, shaking his head.

Wait, didn’t his World Saint title also benefit his family?

He shook his head, stopping himself from going further into contemplation.

He glanced around the room, finding no suitable instrument, he went to the wall, digging his finger through the reinforced concrete to leave a message.

Scribbling a goodbye message for the others so they wouldn’t worry too much about his whereabouts...

Seth might be weakened, but he still bore capabilities that could be considered superhuman.

Though he was weaker compared to an awakened evolver, he was still stronger than a maxed-stat shackled realm evolver.

Leaving him still very much capable of superhuman feats...

Writing his message down just in time for the countdown to tick to 3...

He took a step back, and sighed, not resisting, but anticipating what came next...

He was regaining control, plus he could treat this like just another challenge.

Just like the perilous foes he so desired, who said this loss wasn’t a challenge?

If he could overcome this wouldn’t he just get stronger?

Seth’s hope was reignited, his fighting will blazing to life, he was ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

Regardless of the fact that he considered himself powerless, he believed he would find a way when the time came...

A concentration of green converged on his being, coating his frame completely, embracing him in a bubble.

The moment the countdown clocked 1... Seth’s vision flipped and blurred, the energy bubble bursting forth at a speed almost comparable to light.

Near instant, leaving a trailing streak as it tore through the sky.

In fact his bubble wasn’t alone, from various directions more bubbles streaked in, other candidates.

They all zipped through the horizon, converging over the sea, all streaking towards the towering pillar beam erupting out of the ocean...

With a flash the bubbles converged into a stream, transporting all candidates and warping their state into an intangible form, and sucked into the gleaming emerald pulsing glyphs inscribed around the grand towering pillar of Greed within the Temple of the Seven Sins.

The moment they were all absorbed, everything went dim in a blink, the temple doors snapping shut.

The towering beam of jade green dispersed into the atmosphere...

...

Back in the health care facility, all nurses were required to make a routine check on patients, due to the commotion.

So Olivia marked the attendance of the patient in room two, walking up to room one she took a deep breath.

As this was the room of a very important figure, she didn’t know his identity per se but from the mere fact that his recovery warranted a visit from the president and many more influential figures she was sure he was someone of high status.

She gently knocked on his door, giving it a second before announcing herself.

"Hello sir, I’m a nurse here for a routine check..."

Silence followed for a few seconds... she frowned, then knocked again, this time audibly louder.

"Hello, sir!!!" she called...

But still no response, one second passed, then two, then twenty.

"Could it be that he has fallen back into a coma?" she muttered in panicked worry.

Twisting the doorknob, she swung the door open while taking a step back just in case.

But the startling scene she expected to unveil before her wasn’t quite it...

Seth wasn’t sleeping, or meditating, nor had he fallen back into a comatose state.

No, instead he was straight up missing...

"Huh?" she gasped, her sight catching the scribbled text carved into the concrete wall beside the window.

She remained silent and took a few more steps back, directly contacting the president.

Of course she was an agent installed by the president here to protect and keep an eye on Seth’s case.

So naturally when there was trouble she contacted the president first...

She quickly scanned the surroundings making sure no one was in sight, and she spoke the moment the transmission crackled, signaling connection established.

"Seth Duskreaver is missing, but he seems to have left a message behind, making me believe that this wasn’t a kidnapping incident."

The voice on the other end remained silent for a second...

"Mhmmmm..." the president only grunted in reply, then the transmission was cut.

Olivia put the phone back in her pouch, reached the door, closed it and stationed herself by the side...

...

The scene shifts to the oval office.

President Cain put the phone down, relaxing backwards on his recliner, and sighed.

"Those kids deserve to know too..." he muttered, reaching back for the phone, and began making calls.

And within minutes, everyone took their fastest means of transportation and got to the health care facility.

Uriel, Jack, Elaine, Brandon and even Trisha gathered with the president before Seth’s door.

The president glanced at all of them, receiving a confirming nod from each.

He twisted the knob, swinging the door open.

Revealing the empty room and the scribbled text by the window, the first thing that caught their eyes.

"Sorry guys, I think I’ve found a way... Anyways, don’t look for me... even if I don’t return..."

Everyone reread the text as if making a double confirmation.

And Trisha was the first to speak, walking into the room.

Her listless eyes unfocused as she walked towards the wall.

She couldn’t read the text but she could sense the direction of everyone’s focus.

"As long as he wasn’t taken, it must be that he has gotten a fortuitous encounter, the world would seek to aid its sun after all," she announced while she rubbed her hands over the text.

The rest glanced at each other, then back at the text, regardless, even if that wasn’t the case this was what Seth wanted and they would respect his wishes...