Free Web NovelChapter 298: Chapter 298
Yet, this "chagrin" of His was fleeting, replaced by an almost overflowing ecstasy at discovering a god-tier joke.
His figure wriggled excitedly in the seat, as if countless invisible spectators were cheering for His discovery.
"But—! But think about it!" He spoke to the empty tavern, or rather, to the absurdity of the entire universe.
"A virtual world simulating the apotheosis of that madman Destruction, a sandbox whose very existence could be deemed a tragedy... has actually! Actually given birth to a being capable of redefining life, even guiding life to ascend! Haha! What a rare sight! What a magnificent accident!"
His voice grew higher and more impassioned, filled with the pride of a creator and the schadenfreude of a spectator:
"Not to mention, Amphoreus, this ball of causality already twisted like a Möbius strip, has now become a tangled mess! Hahaha! Chaos! Miracle! Unpredictability! Aha... Aha is about to witness the biggest show!!"
He cackled, the very tavern seeming to tremble with him. After laughing for a good while, He gradually calmed, tapping the table idly with a finger, His crimson eyes sparkling with delight and... a glimmer of mischievous intent.
"Heehee, about time, isn’t it?" He muttered to Himself. "After all, that little guy named Asterion has been a ’squatter’ in Aha’s desolate Path Space for so long... Before he leaves, maybe I should give him a little gift? Hmm... what to give..."
He pretended to think, tracing meaningless arcs in the air with a finger. Suddenly, He clapped His hands together, a radiant smile of ultimate delight and ultimate danger blooming on His face.
"Got it! That thing... he’ll definitely like it! And it will surely bring Aha the supreme — Elation!!!"
...
The truth is hereby unveiled.
In fact, for a long time, from the moment Phaethon donned that mask symbolizing Elation, he had unknowingly stepped one foot into the Path Space of Elation.
However, the essence of the Path of Elation, its power more inclined towards igniting emotions, creating chaos and miracles, was ill-suited to handling Phaethon’s immense, complex, and weighty memories, vast as a sea of stars.
Aha could not, and had no intention of, helping him directly sort through those painful pasts.
So, this Aeon, delighted to witness "interesting developments," exercised His authority.
Deep within His own Path Space, He ingeniously created and maintained such a special "space"—a domain where Phaethon could actively face and process the memories of "others," a buffer zone preventing him from being passively crushed by the weight of over thirty million lifetimes.
In other words, what Phaethon had always believed to be his "subconscious" realm, used for storing and organizing memories... its very essence, from the beginning, was an extraordinarily special Path Space of Elation, tailor-made for him by Aha.
Here was both a sanctuary and a stage; a cushion to alleviate suffering and a breeding ground for nurturing even bigger "fun."
And as compensation, Aha became the spectator and director, seated in the prime viewing spot, utterly delighted.
...
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*Let me tell you a story...*
*In the beginning, as legends say, the world was chaos.*
*Then, a flame ignited from the void, illuminating the primeval darkness.*
*Thirteen majestic Titans were born from that fire of creation, Their wills sketching the world’s contours.*
*Three wove fate, charting its course;*
*Three cleaved heaven and earth, separating the pure from the turbid;* freёwebnovel.com
*Three molded life, bestowing form;*
*Three guided calamities, sowing trials.*
*Then, the nascent children of men, with innocence and awe, looked up to the World-bearing Kephale, who carried the entire world upon his shoulders, and posed a tender question: Where is that Titan, whose gaze is gentle yet resolute, who chose silently to guard us all?*
*The omniscient and omnipotent Kephale delivered a silent prophecy: Go to the eternally clear lake waters of Okhema; upon the surface reflecting the first stars, you shall find the final Titan’s imprint...*
*And I, named "Phaethon of Aedes Elysiae," was once an unfinished epic of growth, a name suspended mid-journey.*
*But today, at this moment, I shall take up that pen and continue the story named Asterion.*
*Once, a delicate empress gazed upon me with eyes that saw through the world’s truths, and sighed thus:*
"Truly, you are the Deliverer foretold by prophecy. Gaining power is as effortless as breathing for you. It seems... as if you need not pay any price."
Her voice held a barely perceptible bitterness, "What we exhaust our lives and hearts to attain... might merely be your ordinary."
Asterion remained silent. No one knew that beneath his calm exterior, he clearly perceived a cruel truth:
*Every gift of fate has long had its price etched in the shadows.*
Nevertheless, he still raised his head and declared to the destiny hanging high above: "If you wish to collect the price from me, then come and take it yourself! I am here!"
*This, then, is Asterion’s Sixth Lesson: To reflect upon the power he possesses, not to flee, but to profoundly comprehend the price that shadows it. And after comprehension, still choose to bear it and move forward.*
*Through countless days and nights ground down by cycles, Asterion once firmly believed that as long as his will was strong enough, he could endure forever.*
*He thought himself unyielding steel, rock that would not wear away.*
*Yet, the torrent of time is crueler than any foe. Silent and unseen, it can erode the strongest fortress. Wave after wave of hope and despair, like relentless tides, scoured the shores of his soul, carrying away the initial edges and warmth, leaving only a surface polished smooth and cold.*
*In the end, his body and mind, inevitably, showed fatigue in these long, suffocating years, like an overused precision instrument, developing subtle yet not negligible wear and tear within.*
*His companions sensed this weariness rooted deep in his soul. They looked at him, their eyes filled with concern and worry.*
*Their comfort was warm and earnest:*
"Before learning to love this world, Asterion, the first thing you must learn is to love yourself."
*This became the Seventh Lesson Asterion learned in his endless journey — to cherish oneself, to treat one’s own heart with kindness.*
*But...*
*This seemingly simple lesson, its core was shrouded in a fog even he couldn’t discern.*
*No one knew...*
*When he strove to practice "loving himself," was it truly to sustain this body and mind teetering on the brink, or merely... to prevent the concerned gazes around him, the companions who loved him, from showing that heartbreaking worry for him again?*
