Chapter 372
The Light Without a Source Lasted Only an Instant
As a third-tier priest, Eivass clearly understood the Queen’s physical condition. Lixia and Janis, seasoned fifth-tier extraordinary individuals, could more easily feel their old friend’s dwindling life force. After this sleep, Queen Sophia would not necessarily be unconscious forever, but she likely wouldn’t regain full consciousness.
This meant that the last, most precious conscious moments of her life were not spent leaving final wishes, entrusting her kingdom, or even having a private chat with her own granddaughter, Isabel. Nor was it spent reminiscing about her youth alone. Instead, it was spent engaging in trivial small talk with Eivass and the others. Janis looked up at Eivass.
Among the three of them, only one had never had such a relaxed and natural conversation with family or elders before. Lixia, as Meg, was not an orphan; she also had parents. Furthermore, she had a first love, a partner gryphon, and a spouse. Janis, as a pure-blooded elf from the Church, had a happy childhood. Only Eivass. He had never chatted so intimately with an elder woman, nor had he ever had the chance to act spoiled towards an elder. He had never been lost, nor dared to be lost. He had never been willful, nor had he had the opportunity to be willful.
Perhaps… Queen Sophia felt a pang of pity. Janis thought.
“Will you choose a gentler approach?” the elven painter asked Eivass softly. She didn’t explicitly state what she meant, but everyone present knew. It concerned those spreading “rumors” and targeting Eivass.
“No,” Eivass replied without hesitation. “It is precisely for Avalon’s survival that we must take this opportunity to eliminate the corruption. I intend to directly change the entirety of Avalon, making these people cease to exist… and for this, I hope Miss Lixia can help me.”
Hearing this, Lixia smiled with relief. Perhaps the Meg of the past would not have supported Eivass due to her conservative stance, but Lixia, now a contractor of the Ring Heavenly Envoy, was destined to transform and change continuously. “All things change easily, but change itself remains constant,” Lixia nodded slightly. “It’s time for Avalon to change, too. Tell us your plan. Let us help you vet it first.”
Eivass nodded and began to explain his plan to them. His plan was simple. Since these people had gone to such great lengths to prove the existence of “Miss Alistair,” Eivass wouldn’t bother debating them to prove Alistair’s non-existence. He only needed to act as a victim and a detective, finding “evidence of Alistair colluding with those knights.”
How to achieve this? A joke. He was Alistair, so what was the difficulty? As long as Lixia could personally confirm it, it would be solid proof! If he truly knew Alistair, Eivass would consider the harm such actions might cause her. But couldn’t “Miss Alistair” herself create evidence related to her? After all, Eivass and Alistair were two different people, something they had proven with great effort.
Of course, Eivass had another plan not long ago. It was an idea that came to him on his way to the Silver and Tin Hall while contemplating how to handle this matter. He had considered directly acting as regent, openly or secretly, and governing in place of Isabel. He believed Isabel would not refuse him, and Janis would also acknowledge him. Among the “great” generation of powerhouses, some might support Eivass, and some might remain silent, but at least none would openly oppose him.
If that were the case, he wouldn’t need to eliminate these people so thoroughly. Isabel might find them difficult to control, but Eivass could manipulate them much more easily. These people were inherently timid and profit-driven, possessing both flaws and desires. Once Eivass held power, they would be even simpler to utilize – indirectly controlling the Round Table Hall by manipulating these ministers from behind the scenes. This would essentially mean Eivass would have achieved behind-the-scenes dictatorship over Avalon, something the Lloyd Society had once attempted. This was certainly simpler than completely restructuring Avalon’s upper hierarchy.
At that point, no one would dare to resist Isabel, as it would mean directly confronting Eivass, who stood behind her. Eivass’s governance capabilities were certainly stronger than Isabel’s and those of the “knight” families. With him overseeing from above, and everyone below secretly manipulated by him, this would, in a sense, be an extremely efficient form of governance.
However, Eivass had neither the energy nor the desire for power required to govern a nation. He conceived such a plan simply because he disliked trouble, and this was the plan with the fewest variables. When the Heavenly Envoys descended, their territories would likely be torn apart by these self-proclaimed kings. It would be better to maximize military spending and borrow a large sum from the merchants to train a legion of extraordinary individuals. After the Heavenly Envoys descended and Star Antimony was fragmented, this force could be used to annex, occupy, and plunder the unclaimed territories of Star Antimony. The claims the Star Antimony people made for themselves could be utilized at that time. When one eliminates creditors amidst chaos, the debt would be cleared. Then, everything would get better.
Although Avalon’s economic situation might rapidly deteriorate within these two years, it would become the safest place after the apocalypse descended. And by the time the first wave of Heavenly Envoys passed, Avalon’s territory would expand by at least three times. The Star Antimony, having become a ruin, and the Iris Flower, completely ruled by the Child of the Moon, would not be able to attract talent compared to the future Avalon or Camelot. From a utilitarian perspective, this was undoubtedly the most convenient, hassle-free, and efficient “nation-saving plan.”
…But in essence, this “nation-saving” was a form of usurpation. Queen Sophia would undoubtedly become an apostle of the Crown Lord in the future. The apostle’s transformation would not be immediate, but as a priest, Eivass would surely have another chance to see her. Even though he sensed an implication from Her Majesty the Queen that, “If you are capable, you may take it”… if he truly acted in that manner, he would lose the face to see this elder who inspired such warmth and respect in him.
It was the imbalance of the Path of Transcendence, which was on par with his Path of Devotion as a third-tier path, that pushed Eivass’s thoughts to extremes. His Path of Devotion and Path of Transcendence were both third-tier, but the Path of Transcendence held absolute initiative – this was actually a deviation. Just as Janis, an extraordinary individual of balance and beauty, had a deviation towards the Twilight Path. The only difference was that her deviation was towards a new path she had never advanced on before, while Eivass’s deviation was towards a path he was already walking, which was why he wasn’t in serious trouble.
Humans are a race with affinities for the Nine Great Paths. In any event, a momentary thought could arise due to a temporary deviation of a certain path—perhaps leaning towards devotion, perhaps towards authority, perhaps towards transcendence, perhaps towards twilight. But in any case, these were “thoughts that these people might have had originally.” This was undoubtedly a part of Eivass. It was a rational thought that he, as an HR manager and a Paradox Interactive game player, would naturally have, not “a thought that shouldn’t have appeared in his mind.” It was just that these thoughts would normally be quickly suppressed by the affinities of other paths due to reasons such as “reason,” “morality,” or “bonds.” When the Path of Transcendence was severely deviated, the thoughts he generated were difficult to suppress by other paths.
Just like gluttons and libertines, if they walked other paths, they would at most remain at the stage of sweet-talking. But if it were an extraordinary individual of the Path of Love, or in a situation with multiple affinities where the Path of Love was strongly deviated, they might act on a fleeting thought. Now, Eivass, having regained his sobriety, felt a sense of lingering fear.
“…Perhaps it was because I completed the Ascension Ritual twice that the resonance from the Ring Heavenly Envoy did not cause me to lose control directly,” Eivass thought to himself. Each completed Ascension Ritual meant adapting to the Path Power of that stage. While it subtly altered one’s personality, it wasn’t so pronounced. The Queen likely realized that something was wrong with Eivass’s state, which was why she used the last conscious moments of her life to accompany Eivass and alleviate his overflowing thoughts of transcendence.
The Path of “Transcendence” required not only actively surpassing others but also the magnanimity to accept being surpassed by others. The “Devotion” path, which is selfless, also requires truly accepting kindness and love from others to truly understand how to impart that warmth to others. Eivass was adopted and sheltered by his foster father, received help from his elder brother, and saw Yulia protected and treated by his foster father… This is why he subconsciously protected those around him, helped his classmates, and treated those who were injured. He passed on the kindness he received to others. A torch ignites a torch, and light extends light. This was the core tenet of the Path of Devotion.
In a trance, Eivass suddenly understood why priests had to study the “Fire Worship” method. He gained a deeper understanding of the Path of Devotion. It wasn’t just about replenishing depleted life force; the life force replenished by the Candlemaster was to make priests understand that “perpetual giving is unsustainable.”
The light without a source lasted only an instant. How can one who has never felt love genuinely and persistently love others? This warmth and compassion that Eivass had never experienced was the true gift the Queen bestowed upon him.
Update complete! I slept for eleven hours today and don’t feel uncomfortable anymore. I’ve finally recovered…
