Chapter 1260
The Sun Obscures the Stars
Looking at the complex expression on the Brave Isma’i’s face, a mixture of sorrow, unwillingness, and relief, Eivass guessed what he was thinking.
“No, there is no predestined Savior,” Eivass sighed, shaking his head slightly.
He now indeed possessed the power to change everything, but it was not inherited from his parents, nor was it a family legacy, not even a reward from a Monarch or a God… It was the advantage he had accumulated through immense pain and sacrifice made by “himself” in countless reincarnations.
The only external force he had borrowed here was probably Amber’s initial self-sacrifice. It was precisely because Amber sacrificed herself that these subsequent possibilities arose.
Just like in roguelike games, where every death grants you an out-of-game growth. If you accumulate enough out-of-game growth and then enter the game, you cannot say that the stats are unfair—all this is accumulated through time and effort, a mountain of corpses built from repeated deaths.
What kind of suffering did the former Ring Heavenly Envoy endure?
He was once very lost, trying to find a way to save the world from a future of despair. He had walked through almost all of the Nine Great Paths before finally finding the correct direction.
—Then, in order to bring the world to the right place, he abandoned himself along with it.
If the “Savior” were a sounding rocket, he would be the rocket’s booster. To make the rocket fly higher, he chose to burn himself out and fall from the sky.
“I completely understand you, Isma’i,” Eivass said slowly, “but it is not only the ‘legendary Savior’ who can save the world. It is those who save the world who can be called Saviors. Do not trust prophecies too much, just as you should not trust the words of others.
Even the words of loved ones are mixed with lies and prejudice. How can you be sure that what the Prophet saw perfectly matches the future? How can you be sure that he described what he saw in its entirety?
He was born in the past, does he know everything that future people will face? Is he afraid of the future and has he incorporated his own understanding into it? Will he modify his own prophecies just to guide others’ actions, or to cause chaos, or to bury hope?”
Eivass looked at Isma’i and said softly, “You yourself are a Lord. Have you ever concealed bad news or altered it after knowing it? The Prophet is the same. Because you have your own personal tendencies, so does the Prophet. Therefore, prophecies are not to be trusted.
If you believe prophecies entirely, it is equivalent to giving up personal effort. Because the ‘Day of Prophecy’ has not yet arrived. The former Lords wished for their slaves to think this way, thus giving up resistance… but they never expected even the future Lords to believe in prophecies, which is truly laughable.”
Hearing Eivass’s words, the Brave Isma’i widened his eyes slightly.
He had never considered such a situation.
How could the Prophet… be wrong?
Rather, it would be that if one were an Anxi person, one would not have any heartfelt doubts about the prophecies in “Anxi.” It was something etched into the soul of their culture, a reference book used to explain the world around them.
Despite being called a “Brave,” Isma’i was in reality one of the few Lords who enjoyed reading.
He had read countless books, including those left by ancient Winged Ones, and also rare classics plundered from other countries. Before meeting Eivass, he had dismissed them as superstition… but after truly meeting the “King of Indigo,” he instinctively questioned the knowledge he had acquired.
“I can indeed change all of this, Isma’i,” Eivass said seriously. “But it is not because I am some fated Savior, but because I have the power to change it. If your power were greater than mine, you could do it yourself.
“To take a step back, you are not a Savior, but can you not do anything? Suppose in a month, all Anxi people will be liberated… then those who would have died in the war in Ark City but survived that day due to your benevolent rule, would they not exist?
They survived because of you, didn’t they? To them, who saved them, you or the ‘Savior’? If you also believed in prophecies and did nothing, would they have survived? Then, in fate and prophecy, should they exist or not?”
Hearing Eivass’s words, the Brave Isma’i’s fingers trembled slightly.
His mouth opened and closed, like a dying fish. His chest heaved violently, his emotions fluctuating intensely.
From a rational perspective, he felt Eivass was right. But this almost negated everything he had believed before… As an Extraordinary of the Twilight Path, this drastic change caused him immense pain; but at the same time, as an Extraordinary of the Transcendent Path, this shift in perception brought him intense comfort.
“The brilliance of the sun obscures the stars, but that does not mean they do not exist beneath the daylight… is that it?” Isma’i murmured.
He looked up at Eivass.
Eivass faced the light, his whole body bathed in the sun’s flames, shining with brilliance… appearing divine.
But he was not aggressive. Instead, he lowered his head, smiled at him, and extended his hand to pull him up.
“No need to kneel, Isma’i. Never again.” Eivass said lightly, “Just as you do not need to kneel to me, nor do the slaves need to kneel to you.”
“…What are you going to do?” Isma’i felt like a child.
Not only was there a significant gap in power, but his knowledge and temperament were also vastly different. This reminded him of how he had struggled to survive in front of his cruel and capricious father when he was young.
So, he instinctively modified his words: “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“If there’s anything to do… then assist me. If you get any news, remember to report it to me,” Eivass said casually. “They might become my enemies.”
The “they” here referred to the other Lords.
As he spoke, Eivass glanced at the others who had fallen into a state of “end of civilization”: “They can’t hear anyway. Just say you were petrified along with them.
As for me… I am going to overthrow slavery.” Eivass said gently, “I do not wish to aloofly comment on the systems and cultures of other civilizations and deem anything different from my own as wrong. I just think… no matter what meaning it once held, bad is bad, and backward is backward.
Not to mention, it doesn’t even have meaning anymore now—the former slavery was for the convenience of offerings to the Abyss Heavenly Envoy, so that everyone could survive. But now, even the Abyss Heavenly Envoy himself is about to be dragged down and killed… Then the system established in the name of the Abyss Heavenly Envoy has now become a ‘commemoration’ convenient for his own rule?
If a problem exists, it should be solved. Future problems will be solved in the future. Do not dream of a one-time solution, nor ignore an imminent ailment, thinking it has ‘always been this way since ancient times.’
—Don’t you agree, Isma’i?”
(End of this chapter)
