Super Righteous Player
Chapter 1066 - 124: A Heart That Cannot Afford to Fail

Chapter 1066: Chapter 124: A Heart That Cannot Afford to Fail

Hearing what Yawen said, Annan’s pupils suddenly contracted.

This was a secret completely beyond Annan’s expectations.

"...Was the Charioteer murdered back then?" Annan murmured to himself.

He had originally thought the Charioteer had died due to an accident.

But now it seemed... was it intentional?

But the current twelve True Gods were all friends of the Charioteer. She was even the guide during the gods’ ascension ceremony... who could possibly have killed her?

"We don’t know. We know nothing." Yawen sighed, "Perhaps only Sisyphus witnessed it. And after that, the body of the Charioteer was buried."

As he spoke of this, his expression also dimmed, "But at that time, Sisyphus had not yet completed his own ascension. He could not be counted as a deity... and with his Gold rank, he simply couldn’t comprehend where the enemy was or even recognize what kind of attack it was.

"Sisyphus could only see the Charioteer’s body suddenly fall apart before his eyes. And the chariot he rode fell from the highest point...

"The Book of Truth of Sisyphus still existed, and his soul was not damaged because of it.

"Although the Charioteer had died, the ceremonial chariot could actually still operate on its own. With the help of the Mysterious Lady, he could have completed the ascension ceremony. But Sisyphus truly didn’t want to become a god anymore. Or more so... he didn’t want to see the chariot ever again.

"Sisyphus no longer believed in Justice, nor did he believe that he, in such a state, could administer Justice for the world.

"However, Justice is a truth that must exist. Just as he had promised, ’Justice does not die.’ It cannot be allowed to die.

"Therefore, Sisyphus used his last ounce of energy to pave the way of the Saint.

"—And to create the Sacred Remains, he carved out his own heart. Yet he did not die on the spot, but only after the Sacred Remains were made, and he had passed his heart to the next generation of ’Justice’—even performing the heart transplant himself.

"Afterward, he chose a silent death at a moment unnoticed by anyone else."

Although he was only half a step away from ascension.

But Sisyphus gave up the readily available immortality.

For he was completely drained.

It was not a sudden blow or an impulsive act, but a complete denial of his entire life up to that point.

—The deities he revered, the ones he loved, all shattered before him. And he could do nothing but watch helplessly.

What kind of Justice is that?

"Indeed, ’Pale Justice’..." Annan murmured.

He could completely understand the state of mind of "Sisyphus" at the time.

As the future God of Justice, yet powerless to do anything.

The strongest desire shattered by "failure." This complete dismantling had caused Sisyphus to lose all hope of becoming a deity—he didn’t even want to live anymore. Immortality was probably nothing more than torment to him.

Should one say... worthy of ’Pale Justice’ after all.

Indeed, so pale and powerless.

However...

Annan suddenly realized something.

He had obtained the Curse Binding "Heart of Sisyphus" in a certain nightmare before.

That Sisyphus, it seemed, was not the one he had thought of—the one who kept pushing the rock to the very top only to start over again. But the "Heart of Sisyphus" of this world—

[Heart of Sisyphus (Taboo Type): You must not despair over failure.]

[This Curse Binding attaches to you without maintenance cost and triggers automatically, releasing itself automatically after the conditions are met]

[When you fail three consecutive judgments and attempt to try again—]

[Before the next successful judgment, all abilities applicable to this judgment temporarily +1]

"The Curse Binding can be triggered infinitely, but each trigger will add +1 to the corrosion degree; if triggered multiple times on the same judgment, then on the second trigger, an additional +2 will be added to the corrosion degree, totaling +3; on the third trigger, an additional +3 will be added, totaling +6, and so on."

"A last gift and a tribute from a loser—Denton."

"One must not despair due to failure... and a final gift from a loser, huh."

Annan murmured.

He faintly realized something.

Why... despite not considering himself so "just," he was chosen by the "Heart of Justice";

Why in the "Odes to the Celestial Chariot," there was one "who ascended due to love as a madman";

Why the Curse Binding of Sisyphus’s heart demands "one must not despair due to failure";

Why Paper Princess wanted him to inherit the "Heart of Justice" before advancing to Gold...

"The heart of Sisyphus... is it the Curse Binding that Sisyphus left behind?"

Annan couldn’t help but ask, "Paper Princess, did you say that to me because I possessed this Curse Binding?"

"Indeed, it was because I saw your Curse Binding that I suggested you pursue the profession of Sisyphus. This Curse Binding would surely make you very compatible with the heart of Sisyphus, the profession of Sisyphus..."

Paper Princess gently shook her head. "But the Heart of Sisyphus is not a Curse Binding left by Sisyphus. Rather, it is quite the opposite...

"Because of Sisyphus’s failure, such Curse Bindings came to exist in the world. There will not be a third Charioteer in this world, which means... there is no room left for failure.

"The Heart of Justice is the very crystallization of Sisyphus’s desire for ’justice,’ as one chosen by ’Pale Justice.’ To inherit this sacred relic is to take on Sisyphus’s pursuit: ’to never let those who seek justice in this world give up hope.’

"...In other words, the Heart of Justice greatly detests Sisyphus himself."

"The will within the sacred relic is the will of the Saint himself, isn’t it..."

"Correct, it is Sisyphus’s ’original intent’ that abhors ’being overthrown by failure.’ Hence, it specifically requires the inheritor to never flee due to failure, and even more so, to never give up due to disappointment."

Paper Princess said softly.

Yawen suddenly imitated someone’s emphasis, reciting in a strange old language that Annan had never heard before:

"Heart of Justice, selfless, fearless;

"Bearer of flame, chooses death over defeat;

"Life ends, flame continues, man flees, flame extinguishes;

"Lambs look up, there must be a bright star."

"...What language is this?"

Annan couldn’t help but ask.

He had never heard this language before. It sounded like a series of clacking whispers, but through Yawen’s recitation, Annan understood the meaning, as if it was a slightly awkward ancient text.

"This is what Sisyphus said before his ascension."

Yawen spoke slowly. "At that time, Chrono-Law had not yet been established. The world did not have the cycle of the seasons... Not to mention these people of Aesirland. Sisyphus wasn’t even purely made of flesh and blood. To put it in terms you can understand, Sisyphus was a living flame elemental."

"...A flame elemental?" Annan echoed.

For a moment, he was uncertain of what exactly the Heart of Justice was...

"It looked like a pale flame made up of a cross about three to four meters high, with two golden glowing rings intersecting in an X shape, suspended right in the middle of the cross. The voice it emitted was a deep hum from within the flames and the crisp sound of bells when the chains rotated and collided.

"The hum within the flames expressed its will, while the bell sounds were the embellishment of emotions. I stripped those aspects of emotion for you... so that you might roughly understand the determination of Sisyphus back then.

"It first swore to the Charioteer that it would rather die than be defeated.

"It believed that nothing in this world could drive it to despair—because the Charioteer was its star. It would become a star for the people, so that all those who felt injustice could simply lift their heads to call upon it. No matter the sufferings it bore, it would turn them into fuel for the flames... And if one day it were to be defeated, then it would surely shatter in the sky. The fires would fall like rain, and at that time, a new person would take up the ’Flame of Justice,’ taking its place on this path, and become a bright star for all.

"Indeed, in the era before the birth of Chrono-Law, Sisyphus was already prepared for death. And that ’primeval fire’ is the Heart of Justice.

"But it had not thought through... What would happen if the Charioteer were to fall."

The "Flame of Justice," which swore to never despair, ultimately despaired due to failure.

—Henceforth, the Heart of Justice could no longer tolerate any form of despair.

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