In the material world, fate might be nothing more than an exclamation, but on a supernatural planet, it could be the Unspoken Rules operating beneath the shadows.
When Barn fell, it also marked the end of the last Mother Goddess Road. From that moment on, subtle changes appeared throughout the world.
"...The abilities of the Mother Goddess Road can't be used anymore?!"
"Mine still work. But their effects have been reduced by at least two-thirds."
"What happened? Why do I feel my power weakening? I-I think I'm about to drop a rank? No, no, no!!"
For the remnants of the Mother Goddess Church, this day marked the beginning of a nightmare. Or rather, if they were willing to abandon everything from their past, it marked the beginning of escaping that nightmare.
The "Mother Goddess" had actually been only one step away from true godhood. With the emergence of a demigod and an eighth-rank powerhouse, its Rules had already begun to embed themselves into this world, becoming one of the plane's Quasi-Rules.
This was also why the more High-Level Professionals a pathway possessed, the stronger that profession tended to be. The collective power of a pathway was enough to alter the underlying code of the entire world—or form a distributed network centered around a supercomputer. In truth, the apex existence of a pathway was often its true holder. It possessed a degree of control and influence over those below it.
There had originally been no road, but when enough people walked it, it became one. When that road led to the heavens, it naturally became what was known as a "rank."
"The 'Mother Goddess' is gone."
Two chances, two opportunities to ascend to the heavens, yet both had ultimately fallen against the wind.
When the world's mechanisms determined that the "Mother