Ace was shocked after hearing Moira's explanation and fell into contemplated silence since the Fate Path Shifter didn't sound like a straightforward ability and many dangerous factors were involved.
Nonetheless, the benefits were equally great, and as long as he was careful, he could alter any path that led to danger or his impending doom.
"Thank you for worrying. But you know me, I won't do something I'm not confident in doing. If anything, I'll just run away if that path leads to some danger." Ace gently assured Moira.
"Now, let's see how this works. I want to see what kind of fate path I'm on…" Ace stated with a hint of anticipation and instantly activated the Fate Path Shifter ability, but he was also on guard just in case he felt like suffering backlash; he'll stop.
The moment Ace interacted with the new symbol on the ETFC, Ace's expression instantly changed because his spirit Qi was being consumed in huge waves, from 1% to 10% in almost an instant.
Ace's heart trembled as more and more Qi started to vanish and almost reached 50% consumption in two seconds, and at this moment, the familiar projection of the Live Fate Map appeared before him.
However, unlike the usual live fate map, it was completely colorless, and his figure was shown in a dark blue color similar to his fate point. However, at this moment, Ace's spirit Qi was gone, and he quickly cut it off when he felt his entire blood run cold as a sense of crisis overwhelmed him! Ace's completion was pale as he fell on his knees and panted heavily as his eyes were filled with terror because of what had just happened. He finally understood why Moira gave him that warning!
"Sir, are you alright?" Moira's worried voice sounded.
Ace pulled a forced smile before he bought a Qi recovery pill from the system and ate it, and only then did he feel alive again.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I was careful because of your warning, or I might've lost my lifespan just now." Ace stated as his Qi was quickly replenished.
But his expression was overcast in shadow as he remembered what he saw just before he cut off his Qi. Although he had barely gotten a glimpse, he knew he wasn't imagining.
"So, I'm of Black Fate Path, huh?" He stated it was hard to tell whether he was asking or mocking himself.
"It seems so…" Moira timidly replied as if she wasn't expecting this either.
"Then does that mean, if I have enough Qi, I can shift this path temporarily and even see the possible paths to change my fate?" Ace questioned again with a grim look in his eyes.
His previous happiness of upgrading ETFC was completely subdued, and now he was feeling as if death was looming over his head. Although Moira told him that fate can be changed, and sometimes fate also likes to play tricks, he was sure it wasn't false.
After all, even the system has hinted at fate, luck, and karma many times, and Ace knew better than to overlook this. Moreover, the ETFC compass was an Eternal Provenance Treasure of Fate and had never been wrong before.
"It is indeed just like sir said. The ability relates to your prowess. But since you can't even activate this ability, this could only mean the danger is far more powerful than your current self. So, I suggest you hide right away!" Moira promptly suggested.
However, Ace had something else in his mind as he asked, "I can run away, but I need to know who to run away from, right? Can you make it clear what this black fate path is about? Is it about my current operation against the Ravens? Or about my incoming heavenly punishment? Or could it be about my final end?"
"This… it could be anything. As I said, your actions will lead you to your final outcome. It can be a chain of events or just a singular occurrence that'll lead you to it. The Heavenly Punishment could also be considered a path of death since it literally means destruction, and Sir has overcome it many times.
"Or it could also be events after the heavenly punishment. It's hard to tell unless you can see the other paths. I'm afraid I can only control this ability when I'm at least 30% complete, and only then can Sir look at the paths of your desire. "Right now, the fate paths will appear randomly, showing you the fated path that affects your future the most," Moira stated.
Ace again fell into silence as he had expected this kind of response since this ability was too ambiguous.
Furthermore, he was already walking the path of doom as the Eternal Enemy of Heaven. Just the Heavenly Punishment was a path of death, and since he could now break through any time he wanted to the next realm, Ace didn't panic since there was a high chance it could be related to this.
Nonetheless, it still worried him since this might be related to his scheme against the Ravens or a stepping stone that led him to his death. But without full confirmation, Ace wasn't going to back down.
At this moment, Ace decided to seek guidance from the only person he knew, other than the system, who could shed some light on this.
"Master Malservus, are you awake?" Ace tried communicating with Malservus, who seemed to be in slumber.
However, to his dismay, she didn't respond, and he could only sigh as he had no idea how her slumbers worked and when she'd be awake.
'Sometimes, knowing your fate is worse than not knowing. Now, I wish I hadn't gotten this ability or even used it. But it's too late to lament over it now. At least now, I know there is death waiting for me on this path, and all I can do is to become stronger and avoid it.
'At least for the house members, I have to overcome even death…' Ace's eyes shone with determination as he already decided to continue forward. He hopes that this fate path of death was only because of Heavenly Punishment, nothing else.
After Ace calmed down, he waited for his Qi to recover before leaving the shop, talking away from the thief's house and heading towards the city's exit.
Now that he saw himself on the path of death, Ace was even more desperate to get power and remove this variable or at least get enough power to see the other paths.
That's why he decided to break through to the Ascension Grand General realm instead of putting it on hold!