Enforcer Manual
Chapter 1148 - 966: Shame_2

Chapter 1148: Chapter 966: Shame_2

"Listen carefully, to abandon the flesh and become a pure Consciousness Entity is simply a necessary process in the Ceremony of Ascension, not its true purpose. Why must we discard the weak flesh, and why must consciousness persist nearly eternally?"

This was both a challenge to RT1 and a question he asked himself.

This time, RT1 failed to provide a clear answer.

It couldn’t even understand why the question was being asked; in its view, the Decadence Ceremony it replicated had sufficiently restored the Ceremony of Ascension. That was enough.

But this was also the first time the human figure had spoken so much to it.

In the past, although they had maintained a partnership, the other party was never a good partner. In RT1’s definition, the other was a lazy, self-centered, arrogant person who did nothing. When the new era dawned, this nasty characteristic was also optimized.

"The answer is to become the master of one’s destiny."

The human figure said, "Look at this prison. Who here has become the master of their destiny?"

Even the Judges that RT1 took pride in were just stronger ’crickets’ after all. They harbored a deep-seated fear of the Master and couldn’t possibly act against the Master’s orders... No, not even the thought of rebellion could arise.

The human figure remembered the days when he had just completed the Ceremony of Ascension and had just arrived in that vast world.

Just like all newcomers, the Guide had told him the survival rules of the upper world.

The first lesson every newcomer had to learn was to forget the path they had chosen during their Church period.

The master leads the way, but all guidance ended after the Ceremony of Ascension; in the upper world, they should find and create their own paths.

This was destined to be a long, believing journey, like being in the wilderness, where one could easily get lost and forget the way one came.

To create a singular mark.

With a nervous and excited heart, to write one’s own part into the scriptures of the Church.

To preach.

To have the first Believer.

"So what about you? What have you done?"

RT1’s frequency swelled again; this was the second emotion it displayed in front of the human figure today.

After jealousy, it was a frantic fury.

Or perhaps it could be most aptly described as impotent rage.

An impotent rage AI endlessly babbling before him could have been a comically effective scene, yet he found no laughter.

What he saw at the moment seemed just a reenactment of bygone days.

At that time, he was the one in an impotent rage, babbling endlessly.

Facing his only confidant and complainant, his own Guide to the upper world.

Jealous, yet only capable of impotent fury.

"Do you know why we established commandments in the Church, and why we made them Ascetics?"

"That is the selection mechanism you created."

Even in a state of anger, RT1 immediately answered.

Emotions never affected its calculations, nor swayed its judgment. In its view, the current brief chaos was just a minor bug that would be fixed soon.

"Not just that."

The human figure said, "The paths we create to a certain extent reflect our innermost thoughts."

Though the Believers revered them as Deities, they were only pioneers traversing further in the wilderness of Spiritual Energy.

This was a journey full of confusion, hesitation, and even pain, and the emotions they experienced while cultivating the wilderness would reflect on their believers.

And in the upper world, they could not open up to anyone.

They were both travelers and competitors, even the old teachers were no exception.

When everyone was in the same situation, they would not question the nature of their circumstances, until a maverick appeared.

Someone who did not explore or suffer, seeming to idle away in the upper world, laying in someone else’s garden all day when bored, could easily steal another’s believers.

Just like everything they had experienced was a joke.

Devil.

Over time, that person gained such a title.

Because in their cognition, the Devil is an entity that caters to human desires and also goes against the Ascetics and religious disciplines. He exploited this to bewitch the Believers’ minds and repeatedly succeeded, but due to the prophecy of the higher realm, they were unable to eliminate the Devil corroding the Church.

They could only record the Devil’s deeds in the Church’s scriptures, making those Believers who hadn’t been tainted believe in a Devil that is adept at bewitching minds, cannibalistic, and eagerly waiting to strike them.

Anyone who believed in the Devil would be deemed a Heretic and, according to doctrine, would be executed.

Yet even so, they were unable to prevent people from willingly falling into degeneracy.

Asceticism and adherence to discipline require day-after-day persistence, only achievable by those with incomparable willpower, whereas falling into degeneracy is but an instant decision.

This is the reason why the Devil remained undefeated.

This was the first time he spoke of the past to someone else. As a resident of the upper realm, no one understood better what was happening around them.

And all the denigration towards the Devil was their means of venting jealousy and frustration.

"Why can some people achieve what they worked so hard for through countless efforts without enduring hardship and pain?"

He had not yet obtained a clear answer to this question.

He could only surmise that the Devil and they were fundamentally different; from the beginning, they were not of the same kind.

It was an existence that even the combined forces of the upper realm couldn’t contend against.

"Didn’t you always want to know why I alone survived after the destruction of the upper realm?"

RT1 didn’t open its mouth, but its violently expanding state reflected its mood at the moment.

Humans are the most elusive creatures it had encountered; it never thought it would receive the long-sought answer in such a situation.

This answer was crucial for it, as it directly concerns whether they could achieve victory in the future battle against the "Devil."

RT1 always believed that the key to restraining Song Lan’s powers was hidden within this answer, as long as it could be thoroughly studied...

"Because I ran away, at the time they decided to eliminate the ’Devil.’"

For many years, he had kept this secret deep inside his heart.

When the prophecy changed, all those who were jealous and resentful of the Devil gathered together, giving them hope—eliminating the Devil completely would restore order to the upper realm.

They never doubted the victory of this one-sided war.

With the forces of the entire upper realm assembled, how could they possibly lose to a mere Devil?

Even if Life and Nothingness, who were closer to the Devil, were involved, their victory remained unshakeable.

Their plan was also simplified to the extreme.

Under the guise of negotiation, they lured the Devil to a location where a trap had been set in advance, waiting for the right moment to attack collectively.

Simple, yet effective.

This was destined to be a battle of uneven strength; without the prophecy protecting the Devil, he couldn’t possibly match the upper realm.

At that time, the residents of the upper realm, brimming with such confidence and realization, witnessed the destruction of the entire upper realm.

"What a disgrace."

He gazed downward at his own hands.

He was not only a deserter but also a betrayer.

Because this matter could possibly involve the Guide he had always admired greatly, he had secretly met with her before that day, hoping she would understand the bigger picture and join the camp of the victors.

Or at the least, avoid getting involved.

But in the end, he was instead advised by her.

—Leave.

—This might be the best outcome.