I grant a break for my squad as I visit the Akatski Academy. Rest is training. 

Clad in simple clothing and a bag with my sword at my waist, I traverse the capital, turning heads and chanting whispers. 

The news of Vanriem's uncovering was spread like wildfire across the kingdom. In particular, Aria and Cane cited me for my sole clearance and discovery, spiking my reputation and putting me as the hot topic again.

The far sight of a piercing castle and humongous pillars greet me.

"S-Sir Loi!" The guard exclaims at the gate. "What brings you here today?" he asks and opens the gate. 

"I'm here for a visit," I reply. 

"Ah! It's my honour to see you, please have a pleasant trip."

I nod and enter. 

It hasn't been long since I graduated but it feels...nostalgic. 

"Loi!" Kaine says. The guards probably informed the academy of my presence. 

"Sir Kaine, it's been some time!"

"Indeed! You...look great...unbelievably great. Haha, I don't know if I can defeat the current you." Kaine smiles as he looks at me. "You've grown stronger."

I nod and return the smile. 

"There must only be one reason why you are here. Is it time for the Archive?" Kaine asks. 

"Yeah."

He escorts me into the Academy. 

"mmh...you look different." He says beside me. 

"What do you mean?"

"...Your eyes are brighter, different from last time."

"Pardon?"

Kaine scratches his head. "Never mind."

He guides me to the fourth level where people in black coats and red shirts greet me. "A pleasure to meet you, Sir Loi Krist. You may call us the paper guards." A man says and bows. Each hides their identity with a plain white mask attached to a cloth over their head. However, the danger they exude is no joke. Each is stronger than me. 

"Likewise," I say. 

"From here on, we will bring you to the archive's entrance, Instructor Kaine is not permitted to follow."

Kaine nods and pats my back. "Go. I will be rooting for you."

"Thank you, sir."

I follow the paper guards down a seemingly infinite corridor. In the blink of an eye, a giant golden double door appears before me. The experience seems to be the work of magic illusions. 

The surface gleams with ethereal radiance, casting otherworldly mana over my body. Intricate engravings of celestial arcane and motifs adorn the door; I can't take my eyes off the art. 

With a snap from the paper guards, the door swings open, shooting blinding lights. 

"Uck?!"

I squeeze my eyes shut and turn away. The moment I open, I find myself in a white space, devoid of any matter, pure plain white. 

A string of mana shoots itself into my head and expels popping sounds. Surprised, I stumble back and grasp my forehead. I can't feel anything happening, no discomfort or abnormalities. 

"Thee shall receive the answers thee seek, apostle." 

!

A sentence manifested in my psyche. Something spoke but it had no voice. 

A blink and I find myself in a small suffocating room. Drawings of symbols and haphazard scribbles invade every corner, pasted and scattered from the ceiling to the ground. 

At the end is a desk with a lamp and stacks of documents piled around it. The back of the man sitting on a chair faces me. The sight of a simple weathered leather top and black pants hanging loosely, it's evidence of the time spent poring over the documents. 

When he raises his head, I see white hair but no ears. 

"What?" I mumble. 

The man hears it and turns, twisting his neck like a squeezed sponge. His face is hollow, a complete void.

"Don't stare for too long." The 'man' says. His voice seems to be a young man's.

"Ah!" I snap awake from the trance. "What..."

"This is the consequences or rather the sacrifice of intertwining with gods and the essence behind the universe."

I simply stare and nod. I don't understand a single word.

"You have many questions. Well, this archive is my masterpiece after all." 

Huh? What is this...thing...saying?

The man gets up and bows, moving his right leg back and waving his arms to his chest. "My name is Levyenia Merline, the Great Mage of Astrology."

...Who?

"Hm...judging from your expression, I seem to be buried in history. No matter. We shall proceed." Merline pulls his chair and sits down. "First of all, I don't have time to explain everything so I will summarise it for your curious mind. I am the creator of this archive and the sole cogwheel that runs this wonderful dimension. This space retains bits of will left behind by important figures of humanity. Upon entry, the archive will connect worthy successors with their desired 'teachers' of sorts who will answer their questions. In a way, you, being here, can be the descendent of a powerful intent. Although you may forget everything you see here once you leave, the lesson learned stays as a scar." 

I see...I can more or less understand how this archive exists. Merline might have made some contract with the gods to sustain bits of passing souls and store them in this library. How much was stored in this archive may be behind my imagination.

"That's correct!" Merline says. "And you are the first person to contact me...and is the first person to fight the toughest enemy, fate itself."

...

"Trust me, even fighting gods will take less effort than defying fate. Because fate is the string of our existence. The atom of reality."

"That's not answering my question," I say. "I want to learn how to fight fate, not accept it."

"I didn't say it's impossible to win. After all, you've been given a very powerful weapon to aid your journey. That majestic power within you, granted by her grace."

!

"Do you...know more about this power and who gave me it?" I ask. 

"Yes. Your constellation is the goddess of life and destiny and she controls the art of existence." Merline says. 

"I don't get it."

"It's hard to explain in words but she is the strongest ruling divinity over all divine beings overseeing this world."

"...Is that so...? Why would she pick me?"

"I don't know. She even sacrificed a part of her soul to pry you through the constraints of time."

Although I expected it, my regression does have something to do with that goddess.

"I can think of two most plausible destinations. Either she saw something that I didn't see or she had no choice but to choose you." Merline rubs his chin. 

...

"Think about it, if she wanted to save this world from those martial artist invaders, she could have chosen someone more eligible. Don't flatter yourself, there are many with personalities like you, people who are forced to commit evil yet have a humane conscience. You are someone fated to die young, fated to be behind, to be in the background."

...

"Tch...what a waste of time," I say. "I know that. I FUCKING KNOW ALL OF THAT! Fuck! I'm leaving-"

Merline slams the table with his fist, blasting soul-shocking waves. "I'm simply stating the gravity of your enemy! Fate is something not even I or your constellation can fight. You are not the first challenger, I tried too!" Merline exclaims.

"Ugh..." 

"So what if you have that power? One wrong mistake and it's your death. You are not invincible. I had the blessings of many divinities and this is what happened to me. A forgotten history."

Merline's words had no hostility but rather scoldings from a parent. I can feel sadness and regret in his voice.

He sighs and gazes at the piles of documents.

"Didn't you say it's not impossible to win against fate?" I say.

"Yes. That's the truth I've realised after many years, nothing can win every time, no matter how small the possibility is. That means fate can be defeated too...but..."

He goes silent for a while before saying "I touched the relic of destiny a long time ago and found that the world is fated in the path of destruction, specifically in your generation. Everyone and everything will die, leaving a lifeless world of nothing. An entity even stronger than...anything will come. I've tried to prepare the world for such, this archive is one yet all was futile."

He sighs. "I'm rambling too much, I apologize, it's been a long time since I...talk to something. If you want to defy fate, I can only tell you to try. Just try. Try and try and try and try. Fate is elastic. If you alter it, it will go back to its original route. The harder you try, the stronger the resistance. The only way to win is to pull fate until it breaks, that's the only way to defeat fate."

...

I nod. 

"Let me answer your specific question. How can someone with no innate talent win against the gifted? There are many ways. The first is the easiest..."