When the plot-skips players into the game world

"But..."

"Prodeno," Aiwass held the mirror in his hand, using it to point at the old Ibn beside him, "did you know that his sister once adopted Aziz? That means he's actually Aziz's uncle.

"And then, his whole family was killed by Aziz."

Upon hearing this, Prodeno was momentarily stunned.

Aiwass used the small mirror to point at himself again: "And my biological parents were also cursed and killed by him personally."

Prodeno stood there dazed for a few seconds.

Then he quickly caught up, walking beside Aiwass.

"...Sorry, I didn't know."

He whispered in Aiwass's ear: "So... this is a righteous revenge?"

"It's not revenge, Prodeno. At least not now."

Aiwass slightly turned his head, speaking seriously: "It's healing.

"If the poison is in the bone marrow, then it needs to be scraped out. Parthia has long been rotten to its roots, and any help or punishment would only be surface-level."

Originally, he had no such awareness.

Though Avalon culture emphasizes drawing swords to help when encountering injustice, his foster father's teaching was "think about the people around you." Thus, Aiwass would help others since childhood but was reluctant to cause conflict.

After gaining authority from the Holy Nation, he learned the elves' attitude — try not to interfere in earthly politics.

But now...

Perhaps because his past life's memories were gradually resurfacing, or as he "traveled the world," gaining more understanding of different realms... Aiwass gradually realized he couldn't do nothing.

Yes, his archenemy, the one he must defeat, is the Serpent Celestial Marshal; the root cause of the world's destruction is the sealed Dusk species, infecting the madmen is the Void Whisper.

The question arises —

— does one have to touch the void to fall into evil?

— is touching the void the inevitable mark of someone beyond redemption?

When did he start judging people's good and evil based on their Path?

Like the initial Avalon bureaucrats, directly condemning someone just for being a Transcender?

"I've gradually realized one thing, Prodeno."

Aiwass said, stopping at the steps.

His mind recalled the Blood Celestial Marshal before death.

He thought of the iris flower's underground tomb.

He thought of the Blood Slaves kept by the Sons of the Moon.

He thought of the desert guide Anar, the petrified Rock Cellar City, the salt scars on the Snake Woman Priestess, the courteous Geront, the naive yet wild Siren, and the worship at Heaven City.

And what ultimately came to Aiwass's mind was Aziz.

Aziz was neither a beginning nor an end.

He was merely a link in the process, an insignificant ant, a pebble by the roadside. Not a necessity but inevitably a part of this environment.

Aiwass turned back, looking at the third Ring bathed in sunlight, becoming splendid and holy.

And beneath the modern silver-white city, the nearly invisible oasis in the distance and even further the yellow sands.

"If we defeat the things that make people unhappy, will it make them happy?"

Aiwass slowly said: "Defeat the gods that mortals can't resist, does peace come to this world?"

If his purpose of living is to devour the Serpent Celestial Marshal, to slay the void...

Then if killing the void doesn't change the world, what then?

In a world without the void, are all people happy?

As the hero prophesied to save the world, who exactly is he protecting?

"When the world changes in cycles, eternal and unchanging.

"The righteous remain righteous, the filthy remain filthy. Kings are forever kings, slaves are forever slaves.

"No one rises, no one falls, all things are unchanging. The universe has solidified like the Amber Egg..."

Aiwass recited what the Serpent Celestial Marshal once said, subconsciously touching his right eye.

He slowly spoke the last sentence: "The world eternally reincarnates, like the Ring of Ouroboros."

— Now Aiwass also finally understood why the Serpent Celestial Marshal sought the path of evolution.

The Serpent Celestial Marshal is indeed Aiwass himself.

If no changes occur, he will inevitably walk this path.

Because the memories from his past life were incomplete, he experienced enough local knowledge, education, and awareness, resulting in a divergence from the Serpent Celestial Marshal.

— Yet at the same time, they are different.

One man was tired, and another stood.

As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

An old sun sets, another rises anew.

Hayna watched Aiwass, her eyes slightly widening.

Her right hand instinctively clenched — the gesture she once used to hold a sword.

Even Hayna felt her heart stirred by Aiwass's words...

Though she appeared rather unintelligent, she was once the chief. She wasn't ignorant of these principles; she merely deemed them useless after learning them.

Whether astronomy or mathematics, neither helped her become a Transcendent.

Regardless of her prowess in literature or music, reciting poetry or composing, none influenced her societal status — the ultimate determinant was how far she could walk on the Path of Authority.

At that time, Hayna pondered one thing —

Avalon was the Knight Nation, but why are there no knights worthy of song?

— Perhaps it's because becoming the glorious and righteous knights in stories no longer granted Strength.

Or because... the knights in stories were chosen.

They were favored by the gods, elves' foster children, fairies' friends, the world's darlings.

They were indeed the protagonists, unrelated to the knight's path.

And now...

"You know, Prodeno."

Aiwass said earnestly: "In my eyes resides a god.

"The true god… one of the Nine Pillar Gods, Amber. My right eye is the Amber Egg; she draws my soul as nourishment and is now about to hatch."

In Prodeno's astonishment, Aiwass continued:

"In just three days, the god will be born.

"This desert was born from inscription; this oasis from taboo.

"Amber is about to descend, the Abyssal Celestial Envoy to return to these lands. I want to let the god of this earth see what the world has become.

"— Then, use the power of the god who created all this to change everything forever.

"Remold the land with Amber's power, recreate rivers with the Great Abyss's strength."

As for the Sin Thorn...

It is indeed the firstborn of this world, the Ancient People. They are the ancestors.

But venerating ancestors shouldn't come at the cost of descendants' lives and livelihoods.

The dead are gone, while the living remain.

Since that's the case, let the deceased make way for the living.

If offerings are needed, it's not like there aren't other places for them to remain.

"I want to completely change this world," Aiwass stated firmly, "not just save it from the void—"

"Power of Conflict..."

Prodeno muttered softly: "This is the Power of Conflict."

In Horus's cultural belief, all things come from conflict and opposition — this contrasts the Primordial's philosophy of harmony.

The Horus People believed the invincible, eternal light of The Sun stems from the conflict and opposition of two forces. Creation's essence arises from opposition, not tenderness.

Like how archenemies make each other stronger, goals or hatred foster growth, rival nations can both become dominant...

Without a doubt.

It was Aiwass's hatred of all such ugliness that granted him the power to transcend destiny.

— Like a rising sun indeed.