Chapter 925
The Man Who Merged into the Sun
“Do you know who I am?” Adolf suddenly asked.
“…Your Excellency Adolf von Menzel,” Count Leipzig forced a friendly smile. “Of course, I know your identity…”
He still wasn’t sure if Red Phase was dead or not… but when he tried to call for help, the hollow echo from the depths of his bloodline gave him a rather grim answer. Even if Red Phase wasn’t dead, all connection to them had been severed. To him, that was no different from being dead. But Adolf’s gaze upon him grew colder.
Suddenly, Adolf spoke, “I’ve heard you have a peculiar understanding of art?”
“…Ah, yes.” Hearing this, Count Leipzig perked up. His usually timid and cautious voice grew much louder. “I sculpted other ‘me’s’ into immortal works of art—are you interested in my creations? Haha… I mean, after all, you are a renowned artist throughout the entire Star Antinomy, so I am quite pleased to receive your praise.”
“How did you do it?” Adolf asked softly.
“I fed my flesh and blood to others,” Count Leipzig stated solemnly. “As they consumed me over the years, they gradually became another me. And on this foundation, each vessel has its own unique characteristics, life experiences different from mine… these subtle differences became the framework of art. I unearthed each person’s shining moments, found their roots of immortality. Then, I added the seasoning—my fervent, viscous, and deadly love. I allowed them to reach the realm of unending existence with me… because deep down, I yearned to become an eternal being!”
“…I see.” Adolf sighed. He asked his final question, “Who taught you this?”
“I learned it instinctively.” Count Leipzig’s face beamed with a confident smile. “It came from the depths of my heart…”
“—No.” Adolf interrupted Count Leipzig. “I taught you.”
“…What?” Count Leipzig froze for a moment. In that instant, his eyes widened sharply. As if struck by lightning, memories “preserved” in the past were suddenly unlocked. These were memories of him following Adolf and studying art—
“I can’t surpass you, Teacher!” the rowdy youth shouted. “Ever since I saw your paintings, they’ve been stuck in my head! No matter how I paint, those paintings are always in the shadows of yours…”
“So, you mean,” the young man, shrouded in shadows, spoke gently, “you feel I’ve become your restraint… is that it?”
“I never said that,” the youth mumbled. “But it’s true—honestly, I’m not wrong! I want to paint my own paintings, not ‘Menzel-style’ paintings! But the more I learn from here, the more I lose my true self…”
“Then what do you want to obtain?” the young man asked patiently. “What is your own style?”
“My fervent, viscous, and deadly love!” The youth stood up without hesitation and praised loudly. “Love that never stops—unlike your stillness, I want to create art that moves—art that never stops!”
Looking at his shining eyes, the young man was momentarily lost in thought. He stared blankly at the confident and brilliant youth, whose resolute face was now as pale as a statue.
“…Ah, indeed.” The young man remained silent for a long time, his hands drooping dejectedly. His lowered face was submerged in shadow. “You and I are not on the same path, Finn. You do not belong to the Path of Twilight… but you are right, I may not be suited to teaching.”
As he spoke, he reached out and gently patted the youth’s head. “—Then, you are free.”
Dim yellow power seeped into his mind, slowly flowing out from his eyes. Memories were “preserved” in the depths, along with every painting of Adolf he had ever seen. Adolf’s influence was gradually erased, leaving only the purest, already formed skillful techniques and talent. Finn Heinrich’s eyes widened slightly. That was… the proof that he once firmly believed himself to be a genius.
“Did I harm you, Finn?” Adolf spoke softly. “Those ‘works of art’ of yours, they are you and yet not you. Is that incomplete self… the real you? Is a life extended from that incomplete self, your life?”
Adolf recalled the moment he saw Count Leipzig again. He had stood in the midst of a vast snowy landscape, seeing the elegant, noble-like Child of the Moon bow to him with an evil smile. He looked at the figure coldly. But the other party was so arrogant, as if they had never seen him.
“—I come with the goodwill and greetings of my Master, my Respected Father, my blood of blood, Mr. Franz Pomanach.” Count Leipzig had said.
At that moment, Adolf knew… Finn was long dead.
Now, he was not speaking to Count Leipzig. He was softly addressing the skinny, handsome youth of the past. “Perhaps it was my fault, I did not teach you well. Your wrongdoings also have a part of me in them… this is my sin. I thought about what I could still do. Why not teach you this final lesson?”
Adolf reached out and tore off his left arm. But even so, the empty sleeve did not spurt blood. He then hurled his left arm fiercely, like a handaxe. The moment it touched Count Leipzig’s body, it was like a drop of blood dissolving into water. Count Leipzig’s body suddenly shattered into bloody mist—but instead of scattering to the ground, they condensed in the void into a pure white canvas.
“Pain. Love. Peace. Joy. Sorrow. Anger… human emotions have colors. The human soul is the best palette, and human memory is the best pigment.” Adolf said softly, “This is what I taught you, but it seems you only remembered the colors of pain and love.”
He spoke and placed his right hand on his forehead. He extracted a wisp of blue-green memory and casually flicked it into the void. This symbolized “the past”—it was the entirety of what constituted his personality. Just as Count Leipzig, having lost a piece of memory, was no longer the complete Finn of the past…
“Since you are so obsessed with ‘human body’ art, so obsessed with eternity and ceaselessness…” As he spoke, Adolf extracted another wisp of deep blue soul and forcefully flicked it onto the previous memory, mixing the colors. This symbolized “the future”—he had originally had the chance to become a Disciple.
“—Then let us complete this final piece of art together.” He had said it. He wanted to give Eivass a final gift, as thanks. As the last painting of his life, a work of art engraved with his entire life… how could he not crush his own soul to create this immortal masterpiece? He had overheard Eivass’s conversation with his Teacher. For the future “Heavenly Envoy,” giving a gift made of mortal things would be too mediocre.
“To merge my body into the sun…” Adolf said in a low voice and took out his still-beating heart. He crushed it into a thick, deep red pigment and threw it into the palette. This was life, representing “the present.”
Memory, soul, and life—he shattered everything of himself, leaving no room whatsoever. Although Hengwo had abandoned herself ten times, she ultimately retained “I.” But Adolf chose complete abandonment. He transcended the limit of “1” and entered the realm of “0.” From this moment, his life entered its final countdown.
Eivass told his Teacher… that the Paths with a total Sacred Number of eleven might possess the power to create miracles. Beauty, with a Sacred Number of two, and Twilight, with a Sacred Number of nine, added together… precisely equaled eleven. The zeroth Path, and also the tenth Path. —Finn’s “love,” and the “void” he reached after abandoning everything, also amounted to eleven. If his artwork could even slightly assist Eivass’s ascension, it would be like adding fuel to the fire of the sun.
Thinking this, it seemed truly wonderful. A thought suddenly surfaced in Adolf’s mind. A childhood wish… an opportunity to finally realize it…
To merge into the sun’s fire—to become a flash of light, or an eternal flame.
(End of Chapter)
