Chapter 556: Seeing You Succeed Hurts More Than My Own Failure!

When the Great Apocalypse struck, my sister and I were both under ten.

Most adults died. Almost all survivors were children still in primary school. Then the Twisting Green slaughtered many more on the first night. I had not learned history yet, but I once heard a sentence in a listening exercise: Only those with unwavering faith can reach the other side of the Night. That was the only reason my sister and I managed to survive that night.

While scavenging through the ruins, we encountered a group of older children planning to go to the Silent Spiral. They discovered in a library that people emerging from the Silent Spiral were more likely to survive.

Yes, the library was still intact. My sister and I remembered that, so we followed them to the Silent Spiral. We were not short on food. It was easy enough to find unexpired supplies in the ruins of the cities we passed through. But when we reached the Silent Spiral on the sixty-seventh day, only eight of us remained. Everyone else had fallen to the Twisting Green.

After leaving the Silent Spiral, the eight of us traveled across the wasteland together. Since we had emerged from the Silent Spiral, we called ourselves the Children of the Spiral.

We discovered that there were still many survivors left. Children living in underground cities did not have to endure the Twisting Green, but much of the old world infrastructure had fallen into disuse. Life underground was miserable for them until we arrived.

To help them rebuild civilization on the surface, some of the Children of the Spiral stayed behind. Eternal Flame, justice, freedom. The Children of the Spiral became the new flames of civilization, teaching the children to place their faith in them so they could survive the Gloomwind of the night.

In the end, only my sister and I remained. We continued traveling across the land, studying records in libraries wherever we went. Most facilities had been destroyed by the Great Apocalypse, save for the identity verification systems. Somehow, they remained operational. Fortunately, our citizenship records had survived the catastrophe as well. Otherwise, we would not even have been able to enter the libraries.

We wanted to uncover the truth behind the Great Apocalypse, but it was a top-secret matter from the old era. All we determined was that it was not a natural disaster, but a disaster caused by humanity. During our research, we also studied records from other divine eras and discovered that even with the Divine Fire System, countless conflicts and disasters still erupted whenever one divine era gave way to another.

We gradually realized that individual consciousness allowed people to become more intelligent and learn new skills, but once civilization reached a certain level of development, consciousness itself became our shackles. To minimize internal strife caused by the succession of divine eras, sorcerers painstakingly created the Divine Fire System. Yet even that system was destroyed in the Great Apocalypse.

As long as self-awareness exists, conflict, disaster, accidents, and internal strife will follow. That is the tragedy of civilization. It is also our tragedy. We must transcend consciousness.

***

When Ashe opened his eyes, he saw a tiny Gold Lightning Wolf standing on his shoulder. The flickering arcs of lightning did not harm him. Instead, they draped over his body like fur.

He never expected the Transcendent Temple's Grand Law of Transcendent Prison to be the oldest Grand Law, the very first of its kind. However...

Ashe looked across the room. The aloof and alluring Silver Lamp was also wreathed in blue lightning. She tucked a tiny Lightning Hamster into the hollow between her breasts while her hair writhed like a mass of lightning serpents.

As he successfully hosted the Grand Law of Transcendent Prison, Silver Lamp also successfully hosted the Grand Law of Resonant Strings.

Whoosh!

With a thunderous boom, Ashe transformed into a blur and lunged forward!

Boom!

The instant Ashe's arm collided with Silver Lamp's, countless golden and blue arcs of lightning erupted from their bodies. The sheer shockwave, comparable to Legendary level in magnitude, left the Transcendent believers struggling to withstand it.

The shockwave was perhaps not what shocked them most. What truly shattered their worldview was the sight before them. The Grand Law of Transcendent Prison was actually fighting the Grand Law of Resonant String.

Ashe let out a thunderous roar. A golden lightning horn sprouted from his forehead, and as it crackled violently with electricity, golden lightning flooded the entire space.

Silver Lamp dropped to all fours and crouched like a beautiful fox. A tail of lightning sprouted behind her. When she straightened it, its hairs stood on end, and blue lightning spread across the floor.

Divine Possession, Second Form: Fantastical Creature!

Not every Grand Law possessed a second form. The second form was the combat method previous Divine Possessors determined to be the most effective way of unleashing a Grand Law's power. It was the equivalent of a perfect guide left behind by veteran players. That was why Ashe and Silver Lamp immediately entered their second forms after taking possession of their respective Grand Laws, skipping the stage of familiarizing themselves with their newfound powers.

The moment Silver Lamp glanced toward the spectator stands, Ashe was already in front of her. His palm crashed down like a thunderous claw, capable of tearing through all things.

There was no spirit or Miracle at play here. A Divine Possessor was a tactical weapon transcending everything else. All they needed was instinct.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Golden Wolf Ashe fought with overwhelming ferocity, tearing into his opponent like a beast. Every strike unleashed a violent burst of lightning, leaving explosions in his wake. Silver Lamp was forced onto the defensive, but she was far more agile. Her attacks were swift and frequent, as cold and precise as a surgeon's scalpel.

The two golden and blue figures darted across the chamber, locked in a furious battle, twisting around each other like lovers and tearing at each other like beasts.

Then, with a sharp crack, the blue figure blasted into the air like a cannonball, smashing through two levels of ceiling and landing on the ninety-eighth floor.

Another thunderous boom followed as the golden figure gave chase!

When Ashe caught up, he discovered Silver Lamp took the opportunity to flee upward. He immediately pursued her, relentlessly chasing her up through the building.

When they reached the ninetieth floor, Ashe felt himself pass through an invisible boundary. Silver Lamp stopped there as well.

The walls of the entire space were covered in deep red grids, resembling both a blood-red warning and a giant net meant to ensnare its prey.

"Happy now?" Weiser looked at him, her tail swishing back and forth. "Every ten floors, there is a Miracle prison designed to contain Legendary-level beings. Once you enter, you cannot leave. Even a Divine Possessor would have a hard time breaking out. Once the Transcendent Sect activates it, they will have an even harder time deactivating it. You won the gamble. Because of you, I have no choice but to carry out my plan according to your pace."

The moment Weiser saw Ashe jump down, she knew she had already lost. Once Ashe took the Grand Law of Transcendent Prison, the Transcendent Sect would undoubtedly seal away the Grand Law of Resonant String immediately. Ashe certainly was not kind enough to help her break through the glass casing protecting it.

After witnessing someone actually steal a Grand Law, the Transcendent Sect would never unlock the casings during future worship ceremonies. She would never get another chance to take one. In other words, she could either give up or act together with Ashe.

She could never give up the Grand Law of Resonant Strings. In her plan, the Transcendent Sect's two oldest Grand Laws were essential. Unlike the other Grand Laws, they were the keys to her ultimate goal. Without those two Grand Laws, her entire plan would be impossible.

Ashe had anticipated Weiser's reaction. His time adventuring with Iger and Harvey had not been wasted. He might not have learned how to commit the perfect crime yet, but he knew how to sabotage one.

Ashe grinned. "Can't be helped. We are leaving tomorrow. We cannot exactly leave empty-handed. Someone was going to steal them anyway. Why can't it be us?"

"You never intended to take the Grand Law," Weiser said, stroking her tail. "If I had not shown up, you probably would have taken your companions down to the first floor and held off the Transcendent Sect until dawn. Then you would have returned the Grand Law and escaped. The Transcendent Sect cannot chase you outside anyway. Their faith binds them to this building. That would have taught the Transcendent Sect a lesson. They would have tightened security and never given me another opportunity."

"I did not realize you understood me so well," Ashe said in surprise. "I thought only Iger could read my mind."

Weiser sneered. "I also know you want to be a hero. Several times just now, I tried to extend the battlefield into the spectator stands, but you forcibly pushed me back. Does protecting the weak really give you such a sense of moral superiority?

"Too bad the Transcendent Sect will not see you as a hero. To them, you and I are both thieves trying to steal their Grand Laws. Even if you claim you are trying to stop me, it will not matter. They will think they are perfectly capable of stopping me themselves, like this prison.

"They will see your defense as nothing more than an excuse for attempted theft, and your good deed as nothing more than an act of brazen villainy. That is not how you become a hero. To become a hero, you have to be more cunning than villains and more ruthless than evil itself. There are no moral heroes, only heroes with the power to back up their ideals. You have to make people trust your abilities before they accept your morality.

"You had the chance to earn the Transcendent Sect's friendship and become an honored guest of the Music Day Alliance. But from this moment onward, you are just another villain trying to steal a Grand Law, just like me. Those sects will not risk believing your explanation. Your talent will no longer earn their admiration. They will only see you as the source of disaster."

By the end, Weiser could no longer contain her anger. Lightning exploded around her body, and her tail stood rigid. She had already paved the road for Ashe. In fact, she had practically spoon-fed him the opportunity, yet he had not only flipped the table and refused to take the meal but had even nearly smashed her bowl along with it. How was this any different from her original plan now?

Ashe had taken a Grand Law, she had taken a Grand Law, and the two of them were fighting. In the end, was the result not the same?

Ashe, do you even realize what you just threw away?

Boom!

Ashe charged at her, and Weiser instantly seized his wrist. The two struggled against each other as arcs of lightning streaked across the deep-red grids, sending ripples through them.

Weiser sneered. "Regretting it now? Want to take your frustration out on me?"

Ashe grinned. "No. I just don't think that you would surrender this easily. Unless I bring your threat level down to the level of a Lala Fat, I still won't feel safe."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As thunder roared like an orchestra, the two exchanged offense and defense several times within seconds, grappling on the floor and locking each other down. Weiser finally gained the upper hand and pinned him beneath her, sneering, "Does playing the nameless hero really give you that much satisfaction?"

"I'm not a Crowslaughter. I never wanted to be some kind of hero, nor am I kind enough to save people I don't even know, much less expect them to applaud me," Ashe gritted his teeth. "I just cannot stand watching cowards swagger around in front of me."

"Have you never cursed at a woman before?" Weiser sneered. "Go ahead. Curse me as viciously as you like. It is not as if I have not heard it all before. I am sick of hearing Myriad Continent profanity. Give me something interesting."

"Do you enjoy having everyone see you as a monster?"

Weiser said nothing. She simply exerted force with all four limbs, trying to crush his neck.

"Silver Lamp Holy Maiden. Priestess of the Four Pillars Cult. Disaster of the Grand Laws..." Ashe sneered. "You try to hide your true name and appearance while simultaneously flaunting your existence. Why are you so contradictory?"

"Reality is but a fleeting illusion, and the Virtual World is the eternal future. You might genuinely believe the second half, but I am not so sure about the first. I heard from Tahmas that you have some twisted ideas, like killing people is simply helping them reach liberation faster. If you truly believed the first half, then how do you explain the way you behave?"

"I occasionally want to gather a few companions," Weiser said. "Either way, it is all the same. Everyone will awaken in the Virtual World eventually. Reality is merely a fleeting illusion, a prison, a game."

"Oh, really?" Ashe said. "Even if reality really is a game, it is a game you have been obsessed with all this time. You do not use that first half to convince other people. You use it to convince yourself, so you can feel justified in doing whatever you want.

"You instinctively crave more attention, greater prestige, more powerful titles. You clearly care about everything that happens within this so-called illusion. I do not know what information you learned that convinced you reality is beyond saving, but you have never actually tried to save anything you care about. All you do is hide in the Virtual World and wait.

"The Transcendent believers believe that shedding consciousness is the path to evolution, while you believe returning to the Virtual World is the path to freedom. You are not so different from them after all. At least the Transcendent believers are actually working to realize their ideals. And you? You use empty slogans to justify your evil deeds, run wild across this land, and wait for death to wipe everything away.

"As a villain, you are not exactly a sophisticated one. Even the two people around me have more style. As a believer, your ideals are not even as honest as those of the Four Pillars Cult. At least they admit they just want to indulge themselves."

"You. Know. Nothing!"

Lightning coiled around Weiser's body as she somehow found even more strength, as though she intended to crush Ashe to death right there.

Ashe seized an opening and swung his palm. His lightning claw slammed into her, sending her crashing into the wall. He rose to his feet. "I have no interest in the inner workings of a coward."

Whoosh.

Weiser exhaled a breath of lightning and touched her cheek, quickly calming herself. "What is the point of talking to someone as empty and idealess as you?"

Golden lightning nearly filled the entire space.

Ashe charged toward her as he spoke, "I do not have any ideals worth boasting about, but..."

His speed was somewhat slower now, but Weiser did not dare underestimate him. Lightning wrapped around both her hands as she prepared to meet him head-on.

Smack!

The moment Weiser launched a lightning-fast thrust, Ashe shattered like a bubble and dispersed into wisps of smoke.

Weiser quickly recognized the familiar sight. A Substitute spirit! Why can the Substitute spirit talk? No, that's not the important part. The important thing is—

Amid the abundant golden lightning, a golden wolf-like figure burst out from within. It seized the opening Weiser's attack had created and slammed a lightning claw into her chest. A pillar of lightning nearly pierced straight through her body!

"Seeing a bad woman like you succeed hurts me more than my own failure!"

With Ashe's thunderous palm strike, Weiser was blasted away like a cannonball. The crimson grids twisted violently under the impact, while the blue lightning wrapped around her body shattered completely!