Ruler of Six Paths

The shining stars dimmed instantly as they heard this. 

A second passed in absolute silence with there being no prompts whatsoever. Then…

[The constellations from Backwater are splashing around in their muddy swamps.]

[The constellations from Shadowfen have stopped their curses and are slapping the backs of their prisoners heartily.]

[The constellations from Elysium are looking at you.]

[The constellation 'Wings of Inquisition' is looking at you with interest.]

The first two notifications were from Underworld and the latter were from Heaven. Leo had attracted quite the attention by saying one line. 

There weren't any more messages than that as the ones that have come up were bigshots. However, other constellations expressed their feelings via their constantly blinking stars in space. It was as if they were all mocking and laughing at him for saying such a stupid thing. 

Underworld and Heaven were distinct places within the same plane as the Eight Realms. They were separated from the Eight Realms by Limbo, a place where there was neither extreme joy nor suffering. A suspended place of neutrality for the souls. 

The Ninth Realm was devoid of Limbo, Heaven, and Underworld. There were no natural boundaries, only artificial ones, separating one constellation's place with another. 

Gaining the attention of such powerhouses was not nice. They could literally wipe him out if they wanted to, thankfully it was not possible here. If anything wrong happened, the Administrator could always jump in to protect him. If things became even more problematic, the higher authorities would jump in and it won't end well for anyone. 

Leo continued to bow, and after getting no response from the one he had called out, he said, "Senior, this junior does not have a lot of time. So please carefully listen to what I am about to say and then make your informed decision."

[The constellations from…]

Mute the notifications from all except Ruler of Six Paths. 

All the messages stopped. Taking a deep breath, Leo continued, "Senior, the hell one experiences cannot be understood by anyone else. Going on a rampage to destroy everything can certainly calm one down, but it is not the answer. One thinks death is sweet, for they do not have to worry about anything and can rest, but is that really the case?"

Leo stopped bowing and looked up in a random void of space in front. 

"Complete death means ceasing to exist. When there is nothing, absolutely nothing around you, what peace can you ever achieve? What rest can you ever take?"

Leo then shook his head. 

"Temporarily seal your memories and enclose yourself in a room devoid of light. Have there be no recollection of you ever being born or doing anything, and see how it feels. That's the closest you could come to experiencing complete death, if that's what you're aiming for."

Leo sighed. 

"Senior, I may not be the best incarnation for you, but I am the one you need right now, and you're the one I need."

Leo then bowed again and extended his hand out. 

"Senior, come with me. I'll take you to the highest place you've never even dreamt of. You would not be standing at the peak alone, there will be people by your side, one of whom standing next to you would be me."

At this point, a star began glowing brightly. Every other star dimmed, and it was as if they were anticipating a certain someone's death for his audacious act. 

[The constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths' is gazing at you.]

Leo finally heard what he wanted to hear for so long. He did not have a heart in this state, but if he did, it would be thumping wildly.

[The constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths' is taking a sip of tea without averting their gaze.]

[The constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths' had put the teacup down and crossed their legs, looking down on you.]

[Ding!]

[The constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths' has imposed a penalty on you for revealing their alias without permission.]

[Ding!]

[You will be put in a locked-in state for thirty days and will have spiritual centipedes crawling all over you.]

W-w-what!?! 

Leo shivered the moment he heard this. His actions were visible to everyone along with the dread on his face. 

[The constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths' calmly takes a sip of tea while the corner of their lips slightly curve up.]

[Many constellations are wondering what punishment the Ruler of Six Paths had imposed on you.]

[You are being offered ***** for revealing the punishment to the constellations of Backwater and Shadowfen.]

[The constellations of Backwater and Shadowfen are looking at the constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths', wondering why they had bothered to come out of their slumber for such a puny mortal.]

[The constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths' has caused the swamps of Backwater and the labyrinths of Shadowfen to collapse.]

[The constellations of Backwater and Shadowfen have lost tremendous amount of providence.]

[The constellations of Backwater and Shadowfen are kowtowing and apologizing for daring to question the constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths'.]

[The constellations of Backwater and Shadowfen have left to restore their collapsed structures.]

[The constellations of Elysium are wondering whether the 'Ruler of Six Paths' had decided to change sides.]

[The constellation 'Wings of Inquisition' says they'll welcome the constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths' with a grand tea party.]

[All the apples in Elysium have been rottened. Snakes have emerged from them and begun infesting their gardens.]

[The constellations of Elysium are not happy with the cheap gimmicks and have left to take care of the snake infestation.]

[The constellation 'Wings of Inquisition' has been sent a box of special tea leaves by the constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths'.]

[The constellation 'Wings of Inquisition' is thankful. They take a sip of the newly sent tea.]

[The constellation 'Wings of Inquisition' has lost slight providence and left for secluded cultivation.]

[Many constellations pay their respect to the 'Ruler of Six Paths' and have silently left.]

Leo was truly baffled by the series of notifications coming in front of his eyes. The entire starry sky was silent, but he could picture exactly what was happening by reading and hearing these notifications. 

[The constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths' says you'll die.]

Leo looked at the brightly suspended star in the blanket of space. For a second he felt annoyed, but then realized something and smirked. 

"Heh. With how it's going, I think it'll be the other way round if we don't form a contract."

[The constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths' raises their eyebrow while sipping tea.]

Leo was happy to have the attention of this constellation. Despite saying the constellation will die instead of him, there wasn't an anger-filled response, but one of curiosity instead. 

Leo stopped smirking and bowed. 

"Senior, there's no time to explain everything. Please sign a contract. If you aren't satisfied with what I have to offer you, the contract can be terminated any day easily."

[The constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths' has rejected your offer…]

"What!?"

Leo felt dizzy and the surroundings around him were slowly turning black. Before fully going dark, he saw a line of words. 

[…is what they want you to think.]

[The constellation 'Ruler of Six Paths' has sent you a contract.]

[Do you wish to accept? (Y/N)]

Goddamn it! 

Leo cursed internally as his consciousness was on the verge of collapse and being sent back to the real world. 

Accept! Accept! Accept!

Leo tried his best to think of accepting the offer, but he had no idea whether his wish was granted, as by the end, everything had turned dark and he lost consciousness.