Super Righteous Player
Chapter 996 - 54: The Awakening of the Fifth Glowing Light

Chapter 996: Chapter 54: The Awakening of the Fifth Glowing Light

It was neither the path of ascension, nor the path of ritual, nor the path of corruption...

But the path of the clergy, or rather, the path of the priest.

It was precisely because Julius’s vision was so short-sighted that he hadn’t realized Father Ludwig wasn’t merely offering him an empty promise.

The jealousy burning fiercely in his heart, the shock of seeing a dazzling star rise from his grasp—the Gold-ranked Transcendents were no longer just high and unreachable legends, but close at hand, and he himself could very well block their path.

It was this sense of "control" that could erase the intense inferiority complex brought about by the sense of distance. To confront the jealousy within his heart, to pursue visible goals with full confidence and effort... that too was a form of the desire for ascension.

It was enough to ignite his desires, elevating the obstacles that had stymied him to the level of Gold.

But that was under the premise that he hadn’t truly obstructed Bernadino’s path.

Only thus could the sense of control, which once held Bernadino in its grasp but ultimately did not clamp down, become the sword that cut through the thorns of inferiority.

Father Ludwig had chosen Julius to complete the latter half of the task not because he had any particular trust in Julius.

Rather, it was precisely because Father Ludwig knew Julius was an envious person that he entrusted this opportunity to him.

Bernadino was like a moth drawn to the sun, and Julius was like the moth’s shadow, closely following behind.

—As long as Father Ludwig’s plan was successful, it meant that he had created a pair of twin gods with his own hands.

As for whether he himself survived... that was the least important thing.

Having become the bishop of Yawen, he had long come to view his creations as more important than his own life.

How many spend their lives longing for the chance to create a masterpiece that will be remembered for centuries—and this opportunity lay before him.

Indeed, there could indeed be problems on Julius’s side.

But having already foreseen this future, this possibility... he could not bear to personally mar this peerless work of art with a stroke that would greatly diminish its sharpness.

Whether to tell Julius the plan or to use Curse Binding to constrain him, either would make it artificial, losing its natural beauty.

—Thus, Father Ludwig chose to leave it all to fate.

He did everything he could, sacrificing himself—not to Yawen, but to the art itself.

The twin gods naturally hatched from fate.

It was truly a beautiful creation.

The most splendid and profound art... is this unpredictable fate itself.

It’s just a pity, Julius lacked wisdom. Or rather, his virtue was insufficient.

At least when he struck Bernadino, he didn’t realize it at all. And by the time he belatedly came to his senses... it was already too late.

All he could do was to follow through on a path of darkness, to prove he was not wrong.

Upon reflection, that was probably before Bernadino invited him into the Tower of Black Radiance.

Annan let out a deep sigh.

"So that’s how it is..."

He finally began to understand Bernadino.

—Bernadino originally had a future full of promise and a character that could be described as pure.

But because of the malice of others... Bernadino grew increasingly pained.

At the age of thirteen, even if Julius had erased all his achievements, he could have truly gone to Dennisiowa Theological Academy to study. The academy wasn’t a nomination-based school; recommendation letters were just a means of gaining extra points. Yet Bernadino, frightened by his own mistakes, did not dare attempt to make amends.

If he could have entered the academy, he would undoubtedly have embarked on a different life. His inherently irrational heart might have made him a clumsy scientist or a mad philosopher. But in any case, his understanding of art was enough to at least become a bishop.

In his twenties, Bernadino gradually gained a foothold in the Royal Capital. His sculpture business was booming, and he gained some reputation. He could even open a store, find a kind and gentle woman who wasn’t particularly beautiful, have one or two children, and live a life of prosperity and peace.

Then he would have become a denizen of the city, not working as a miner or fisherman on Gemstone Island. His children might become sculptors or even Wizards. Either way, they would at least live better than he had.

In his thirties, Bernadino, who had already saved a considerable amount of money at the Tower of Black Radiance, could even use that money to make investments.

It was precisely the time when Benjamin became famous, with the commercialization of various transformation products sparking a new industry—he was not a wizard’s apprentice, yet he could move freely through the Mist... He even had the chance to become a true tycoon.

His life had been stripped of its most splendid potentials.

Yet, life was not a one-way street.

He still had many possibilities.

The earlier, the sooner... the more choices he had.

"It is easy to hold what is not yet secured, it is easy to plan for what has not yet happened... It is easy to shatter what is fragile, it is easy to disperse what is minute."

Annan murmured, "But he chose instead—to inherit this malice."

Indeed, Bernadino had become someone else’s creation.

But he was not merely a creation of Julius alongside Ludwig the priest... he became a joint creation of Julius and Ludwig.

The moment Bernadino became aware of Julius’s jealousy, a hatred as fierce as that jealousy ignited in his heart.

He indeed sought revenge against Julius.

But he became the new Julius.

Venting his own hatred upon the world.

Of course, this was meaningless.

It was much like Bernadino’s own temper - an "irrational" displaced anger.

—The Light of the Fifth Day is the light of the world reflected in the eyes.

The relationships between people themselves can also become a power.

Gratitude is a power, revenge is too; kindness is a power, malice is too. No transcendental powers are needed for one person to impact another.

The world seen by human eyes is actually upside down. It is only through rationality—or rather, the brain’s correction—that it is flipped back to the right way up.

Annan, as Ivan’s son, found himself alone and cast away in Frostwater Harbor.

From Viscount of Roth Fort to a decaying man, from Denton to Nicholas, from Philip to the Winter Reverser... everyone wanted to kill him, everyone wanted to get rid of him.

Annan encountered no small amount of malice directed at him, indeed, far more than Bernadino. But he was always able to deal with it.

However, his own strength isn’t the reason for being targeted. Nor is the fact that the hostility ultimately didn’t affect him means it was "lesser hostility." It could even be said that the entire dark side of the world revolved around Annan.

Because the true entity wanting to kill Annan was The Worm.

The world’s devourer and destroyer.

Yet—

Even so, Annan never strayed from the right path.

Even if burdened with deep malice, Annan would not vent it onto others. He wouldn’t be tainted by external malice and "darken," nor would he stoop to its level.

—The Light of the Fifth Day is the light of color, the light of brightness.

Moreover, it is the light of rationality for [seeing the world in the right way].

"So it is... I—"

I have fully understood.

In that instant, Annan felt his mind become as clear as crystal.

Six beams of invisible light shone at once.

Within Annan’s mind, heart, eyes, or perhaps inside his body...

At last, a never-dimming radiance was ignited.

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