System's POV

Chapter 1480: Voice From The Past [Part 2]

All the Celestials and Fiends looked at the purple portal in shock upon hearing a voice they hadn’t heard for hundreds of years.

“E-Eldest, is that you?” Zaphiel stuttered.

“It is I,” the voice replied.

Zaphiel bit his lip. For the first time in a long time, he once again felt like a child who had done something wrong and was caught by his older brother in the act.

“Where have you been all this time?” Zaphiel asked, his voice rising. “We’ve looked all over for you!”

He couldn’t help but clench his fists in frustration, disliking this sort of uncomfortable feeling. The feeling like he had done something wrong even when he truly believed he had done the right thing.

“I’ve always been with all of you,” the voice calmly answered. “In these past hundreds of years, I saw how you lamented about being trapped in this ’cage,’ like a bird who wished to fly in the sky.

“I have seen how Wormwood communed with the world, secretly giving cures to those infected by plagues and pestilence.

“I was there when Forneus suffered a serious injury that forced him to hibernate deep under the sea for hundreds of years.”

“I felt very happy when Cahethal shared his knowledge of agriculture to the world, teaching people on how to grow their own food.”

“I sighed deeply when Apollyon chose self exile in Death Valley, so his very existence wouldn’t unnecessarily take the lives of others.”

“I cheered when Pharzuph and Anael managed to find exceptional women who could give birth to their children…”

“Wait! What?!” Belial interjected and looked at Pharzuph and Anael in disbelief. “You two have kids?!”

“Why of course?” Pharzuph smirked. “In fact, my 69th child will be born in a month. Don’t worry. I’ll ask you to be his Godfather after this war ends.”

Anael smiled faintly. He originally had no intention to share this secret with anyone. But now that the cat was out of the bag, he admitted that he had married six women, and all of them had reached the rank of Archon.

The corner of Belial’s lips twitched out of envy and jealousy. He also tried to look for a partner, but his “good looks” were too good for the ladies, which made them stay away from him.

The voice from the portal chuckled, finding Belial’s reaction funny. He then continued his speech as if to assure everyone that he had been watching all of them, even though they had tried looking for him.

“Belial, I know you only act the way you do because you are lonely,” the voice stated. “You should have joined Dantanian in his travels.

“He might have shown you things that would blow your mind. Of course, you also could’ve found your fated someone during those travels.”

Belial looked at Dantanian with bloodshot eyes, which made the Fiend of Many Faces take a step back. He felt like Belial was about to devour him whole.

But before the voice could mention the others, Zaphiel once again interjected.

“Eldest, are you telling me that I was wrong?” Zaphiel asked. “Was I wrong?”

“You’re not wrong,” the voice replied without any hesitation, which surprised not only Zaphiel but the others as well.

“Y-You mean that wanting to break free from his cage is the right thing to do?” Zaphiel looked at the portal in disbelief. “You mean that collaborating with the infernals was the right thing to do?”

A chuckle came from the purple portal.

“Whether you decided to break free from this world or not, both choices are correct,” the voice replied. “Since everyone is entitled to their own choices, they are also entitled to the consequences of their actions.”

Forneus snorted. “You haven’t changed at all, Eldest. You still speak in riddles, and your specialty of being vague remains the same after all this time.”

“Being mysterious is my forte, so it can’t be helped,” the voice commented. “But I don’t think this whole incident is a bad thing. I find it quite interesting, and I am looking forward to everyone’s performance.”

“Hah… so you’re telling us to put on an act to entertain you?” Dumah finally broke his silence. “You really like to look at us from above. Are we merely pawns in your game of chess?”

“Pawns?” the voice asked in a teasing tone. “Pawns have a role to play and that is to charge forward. If you can’t reach the other side of the chess board, that means that you don’t have the skill to become something else.

“Do not forget that after great hardships, a pawn can become anything. He can be a Knight, a Rook, a Bishop… or even a Queen that dominates the entire board.”

The voice then paused before continuing his explanation.

“Do you know what’s the difference between all of you and Zion Leventis?” the voice asked calmly. “He didn’t start as a pawn like you guys. He started as a spectator… a helpless spectator.

“Then, by a twist of fate, he became a pawn in this game of chess. And right now, that very pawn is challenging the player who moves the pieces in the board game. He is still playing by the rules, intending to beat Fate herself in her own game.”

The Fiends, and the Celestials glanced at the teenage boy, who simply stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

He only listened to the discussion and had no intention to intervene.

“If someone like him can stop being a pawn and become the player himself, then what’s stopping all of you from doing the same?” the voice asked in a challenging tone. “Zaphiel, you wanted to break free from this cage because you don’t want to be a pawn. You want to be a player, don’t you?

“However, there’s a big difference between controlling your own destiny and handing someone control over your destiny. You did well by asking the Infernals for help. But in the end, the Infernals will still tell you what to do—not the other way around.”

There was a short pause before the voice asked a question.

“Am I wrong?”

Zaphiel wanted to say no.

He wanted to say that he would be the master of his own fate.

But deep down inside, he understood that all of these were merely excuses.

The moment the infernals conquered Solterra, he would indeed be free and would gain the power to go to other worlds and even conquer them if he wished.

However, if he really did that, he wouldn’t be any different from the Jinns and the Infernals who conquered worlds simply for their own self-satisfaction.

Also, Zaphiel would never really be free. Since the Infernals granted him a favor, he would have no choice but to help them if ever they asked for his assistance to conquer another world.

No matter what promises they make, even if they were to give him great benefits, at the end of the day, he was still a pawn that hadn’t escaped the chess board.

“Then what should I do to stop being a chess piece?” Zaphiel asked. “Don’t answer me with riddles or vague words. Tell me what I need to do!”

The Eldest chuckled before giving him a reply.

“If you want to stop being a chess piece, there is one thing you can do.”

Everyone waited with bated breath to hear the answer that they wanted to hear.

“If you want to stop being a chess piece then all you have to do… is flip the table and end the game on your own terms. That is the only way for you to stop being a pawn and finally take control of your destiny.”

Thirteen smirked after hearing the advice of the voice that came from the portal.

He already had his suspicions of the true identity of the “Eldest.” But now those suspicions were confirmed.

The only question was whether the Celestials or Fiends would follow his advice and flip the table, sending the chess pieces flying and leaving the players stuck about what to do next.