Chapter 1261
Wanting to Become Human
The moment Mahidifran was petrified, she knew she had made a mistake.
She regretted provoking Eivass and regretted not standing firmly by his side when she had the chance.
Mahidifran knew that Eivass was the former Pope who had defeated and replaced the powerful Lord of Heaven City, Adler, and she had even witnessed him descend upon Holy Spring City riding the King of Indigo. On one hand, she hoped Eivass was the Savior prophesied, because even the Lord of Heaven didn’t particularly like this desert.
On the other hand, she felt a sense of injustice. How could the Savior prophesied by the Anxi people not be a noble, pure-blooded Anxi?
They followed the guidance of their ancestors and guarded this desert for generations. With their strength and wealth, they could have become rulers of nations if they had left the desert. Yet, they had guarded it since before humans were even born, passing down through generations. And now, the final Savior was an outsider?
Moreover, he was so young, so small… even younger than herself.
This jealousy overshadowed her admiration for handsome youths and turned into a burning anger that consumed her reason.
Now, she had calmed down.
She clearly realized the terrifying petrification she had fallen into. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been petrified before.
When she was first learning forbidden spells from her father, her elder brother often used Petrifying Ray to tease his younger siblings. He tried to attack them and establish his authority this way, just as she had provoked Eivass.
However, this special petrification not only instantly pierced all the armor and equipment she wore but also seemed to show her the end of the world.
The terrifying coldness filled with despair, loneliness, and pain made her feel as if she were in the belly of a giant beast, with endless hostility gazing at her from all directions. The last time she had felt this way was when she was taken hostage by runaway slaves and brought back to their camp.
That was how those slaves looked at her.
And then came her nightmare. Even after being rescued, the memory of that day still made her tremble uncontrollably.
Normally, when the petrification was removed, she should have recovered quickly, as if from a nightmare. The pain she experienced during petrification would be forgotten in an instant.
But when the petrification was lifted this time, she felt aching all over her body.
It was as if she had suffered a serious illness, and even a lot of her mana had been lost, leaving the remaining mana sluggish.
She subconsciously looked at the Brave Isma’i and found that he had also become quiet.
He no longer had his previous arrogance and didn’t continue to provoke Eivass. Instead, with a much more subdued voice, he called out to his retainers, who had been petrified for touching the barrier but were now forgiven together, and retreated in disgrace.
As he left, Isma’i said nothing and gave her a deep look.
Mahidifran thought she understood human hearts well, but at this moment, she couldn’t decipher the meaning of that gaze.
— Was he blaming her for not stopping him? Or did he think she had caused his downfall? Or perhaps he regretted arguing with her here?
— She couldn’t understand, not at all. She only felt that that idiot Isma’i seemed to have inexplicably become a little smarter, like a jester who sold foolishness finally becoming sensible after getting drunk.
Seeing Isma’i choose to leave, Mahidifran hesitated for a moment before fleeing with her own people. Before leaving, she cleared her throat and offered a respectful apology to Eivass in a magnificent and gentle voice outside his door.
Inside the house, however, Eivass paid them no mind.
When he chose to remove the petrification, he stopped caring about them.
He was now gazing at the bewildered Haina.
Or rather, he was interrogating her.
Eivass’s earlier words were not just for Isma’i but also for Haina.
“Haina,” Eivass said gently, “do you know what I want to tell you?”
Haina slowly shook her head, then thought of something and nodded slightly.
“Is it…”
She whispered, “Fate?”
Eivass did not answer her question but spoke with words as sharp as a knife, “Haina, how much of your soul truly belongs to you?”
Hearing this, Haina’s eyes widened.
She knew… Eivass was indeed talking about this matter.
Ever since she learned of her identity, she had experienced a period of pain. As a Swamp Dweller made from a part of Lancelot’s soul, she was the wedge of the Shadow of Avalon ritual. She was also the “bad gear” that prevented the ritual from functioning properly.
Because of this, she naturally had an adaptability to the Path of Authority. That part of adaptability actually came from the fragment of Lancelot within her. Although she quickly recovered soon after, like a happy and simple university student.
At the same time, she was born in Eagle Cape Village, a village completely immersed and solidified by Twilight Power. She lived with the King of the Wild Hunt Legion from a young age, seeing more undead than people she knew. This also gave her adaptability to the Twilight Path.
Haina also possessed ambition for the Transcendent Path. When she learned the secret of the Silver Crown Dragon defeating Supreme Heaven from Eagle Cape Village in the past, excitement welled up in her heart. In another timeline, as the “Nameless,” the leader of the Hyena Gang, she was also a wild and unrestrained warrior.
Now, she had embarked on the path of Path Adaptation, abandoning her profession from the Path of Authority and becoming a complete warrior.
From these perspectives, Haina had adaptability to as many as four paths.
Haina had never delved into this aspect. One reason was her consistent belief in “not thinking about things you can’t figure out” and “not talking about things you can’t encounter.” But in reality, she was just hypnotizing herself.
The brave Haina was her, and the cowardly one was also her; the loyal Haina was her, and the rebellious one was also her. She had never distinguished, nor did she want to distinguish.
Her personality constantly changed because the Path Power deep in her soul fluctuated, and also because of the influence of those events. It was precisely because she knew the essence of the Silver Crown Dragon and because she always adhered to a flexible way of survival that she was willing to abandon the adaptability of the Path of Authority and transform it into adaptation. She did not choose Transcendence because her relationship with Eivass and Isabel was good. She no longer had the thought of staying in the past because she knew that her remembrance and longing for that village came from the influence of Twilight Power.
The reason she kept changing was that Haina had been avoiding the answer to that question:
“What truly constitutes the person called ‘Haina’?”
Seeing Haina’s continued silence, Eivass’s tone grew a bit heavier as he repeated his question, “What is your true Path? What kind of person do you want to become? What are your dreams?”
“I…”
Haina hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping herself.
After a long silence, she sighed, “I… I can’t answer.”
Normally, the higher the Path Tier of an Extraordinary, the more extreme and pure they would become. However, Haina was an exception. She had reached the Fifth Tier but still hadn’t figured out her Path.
This proved one thing: not all high-level beings become extreme. With appropriate countermeasures, complex humanity can be maintained at higher Energy Levels.
“Haina.”
Eivass’s tone softened. “Lancelot is dead. He has completely abandoned his duty as Shadow of Avalon and chosen to become a Knight Heavenly Envoy. Your mission is also over.
“Helchin is by my side now, and the mission of Eagle Cape Village has ended.
“Isabel has also become strong enough and no longer needs your close protection. Is the Knight Royal Guard profession really your ideal profession?
“As for Transcendence—the Father is about to ascend, and the Transcendent Path will soon disappear. It might become Metamorphosis, or something else. But the Path of Transcendence will only last for another two months at most.
“So… what about you? What path will you take?”
Eivass looked at Haina and said earnestly, “You were, in a way… the first Extraordinary to guide me closer to this World. I don’t want you to remain lost until the end.
“Everyone must eventually have their own path, leave behind some of their own footprints, and voice some resistance against fate. When you look back at the end of your life, you will see what was imposed on you by fate and what you earned and seized for yourself.
“—Haina, you will be angry when commoners are killed and resent the ‘Cake Maker.’ So, are you willing to speak up for those who have truly been enslaved and tormented?”
“I…”
Haina subconsciously hesitated for a moment but quickly became firm. “Of course.”
She originally wanted to say something like “I am a guardian,” “I am a shield,” or “My power is to protect ordinary people,” but as the words reached her lips, she found them so pale and powerless. A simple “Of course” carried more weight.
Eivass took a deep breath and issued an order, “Go find the Red.”
“Yes.”
Haina instinctively responded, then after a few seconds, she asked in confusion, “Are you asking me to cooperate secretly… to facilitate your destruction of the Red?”
“No,” Eivass denied. “It’s to cooperate with them and destroy Holy Spring City.
“Haina… I recall you had already prepared yourself for death, right?”
When Haina first came to Holy Spring City, it was partly to kill the Cake Maker and partly to offer herself as a sacrifice for Eivass’s Ascension Ritual.
“I don’t need your assistance or sacrifice. You should find what you truly need to do—you are a powerful being who can destroy cities with a gesture. People’s fates are easily changed by your will, yet you are evading the responsibilities of a strong person and are even wavering in your self-positioning. This should not be.
“You should not be a puppet of fate, but a master of fate. Otherwise, you will become a machine that creates waves, bringing misfortune to more people.
“No matter what, you should see it for yourself. Go help them. Listen to their voices. Witness firsthand those enslaved by fate, and then awaken the anger within you.
“No longer as a clone of a founding monarch, no longer as a villager raised under the King of the Wild Hunt’s territory, no longer as a student in the capital, a friend of the Pope and the Queen, the youngest Knight of the Arbitration Hall—but as a traveler, a righteous knight. Just like Helchin did in the past… solely to uphold justice.
“You may be of commoner origin, but your life has never been ordinary. Your greatest pain was merely not having money. But even so, you never starved. You lived better than most people, and your innate talent always allowed you to stand out.
“So—it’s time to witness true suffering firsthand, Haina. As a powerful being, in the guise of an outsider.
“This may give you some inspiration.
“It may be painful, but it is worth it.”
(End of Chapter)
