Arc 2 chapter 1:The Thorn That Was Always Meant To Grow
"We are but pieces on a board, and yet the hands that move us are neither divine nor kind—merely patient."
—Extract from the Forbidden Fragments of the Irides Manuscript
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Excerpt from the Academic Work: "The Fallacy of Coincidence: An Inquiry into the Nature of Fate and Unseen Machinations"
—Collected from the Restricted Archives of the Primordial Accord
Abstract
Throughout history, sentient beings have sought comfort in explanations.
A miracle is a fortunate impossibility.
A tragedy is an unfortunate inevitability.
A coincidence is an event so implausible that to question it would unravel the very foundation of perceived reality.
This paper proposes that coincidences are neither accidental nor arbitrary—that the unseen architecture of existence is not built upon chance, but upon deliberate, precise manipulation. Whether these manipulations stem from natural laws, unseen actors, or something beyond comprehension remains an open debate.
Through an examination of historical anomalies, causal distortions, and probability deviations, this study presents an unsettling possibility:
Perhaps what we call fate is simply the work of those whose hands never leave the board.
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The Coincidence Paradox and the Mechanisms of Fate
It is often said that the universe does not play dice.
This is comforting.
It is also a lie.
The universe plays dice constantly. It just prefers to load them first.
The Coincidence Paradox suggests that what mortals dismiss as random probability is often the result of external forces subtly adjusting probability toward predetermined outcomes.
Some call it divine intervention.
Others call it luck.
A few suspect it is something neither holy nor benevolent—just patient.
Consider the following cases:
1. The Veira-Saron War
Two civilizations, separated by thousands of light-years, initiated identical military campaigns against each other at precisely the same moment in galactic time.
Neither had prior knowledge of the other's existence.
Both documented their reasoning as "a sudden and unexplainable shift in stellar alignment."
2. The Lost Colony of Xyra-3
A planetary survey team discovered a fully developed city—one that predated their own civilization by millennia.
The structures matched those on their homeworld down to the last architectural flaw.
The records within the city contained detailed accounts of the surveyors' future arrival.
3. The Merchant's Dagger
A trader on a minor station purchased a worthless ceremonial blade.
Ten years later, an assassination attempt on a planetary leader was thwarted when the trader's son used the same blade to parry the killer's strike.
The assassin had trained since birth. The child had never held a weapon before.
The probability of a successful block? Less than 0.00003%.
4. The Unbroken Cycle of Exile
An emperor, upon ascending the throne, had every artifact associated with his predecessor destroyed.
Yet, within one generation, an identical set of relics reappeared across the empire.
The designs matched the originals down to the smallest imperfection—as though history itself refused to be erased.
5. The Twin Births of Epherion
The child of a minor noble was born under an eclipse, a once-in-ten-millennia event.
A thousand years later, another child was born under identical conditions, with the same genetic markers, the same anomalous eye color, and the same birthmark.
The child grew to be identical in every aspect to the first, down to their handwriting.
The first child's death had never been recorded.
To dismiss these occurrences as mere coincidence is to willfully ignore the simplest explanation:
They were always meant to happen.
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The Chessboard Theory of Controlled Chaos
There is an old saying in strategic warfare:
"A pawn that reaches the other side of the board is no longer a pawn."
Most assume this is a metaphor. They fail to consider the implications of the literal interpretation.
This forms the basis of the Chessboard Theory of Controlled Chaos, which suggests that:
1. The universe does not operate on randomness, but rather on structured patterns that create the illusion of unpredictability.
2. Some entities—whether biological, cosmic, or something beyond either—do not merely observe these patterns but actively manipulate them.
3. The pieces that exist within this structure, unaware of their movements, call it coincidence.
4. The pieces that become aware of it call it fate.
5. Those who break free of it become something else entirely.
The first four categories are well-documented.
The fifth?
Uncharted territory.
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A Pawn Awakens to the Board
Lily stood before the reinforced glass, staring at the boy in chains.
She had expected the air inside the prison to feel suffocating. Heavy with injustice. Thick with grief.
Instead, it was strangely light. Orderly. Honest.
A prison did not pretend to be anything but what it was.
The outside world was different. There, chains existed without being seen.
Laws existed, not to be followed, but to be bent by those with the power to do so.
Zane sat on the other side, his wrists bound, his gaze unreadable.
And for the first time since she arrived on Vatra, Lily had the unshakable feeling that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Which was deeply unsettling.
Because it meant that someone—or something—had ensured that she would be
here.
Not by fate.
Not by chance.
By deliberate, methodical design.
And if that were true…
Then she only had one question left.
Who was the hand that moved her?