Free Web NovelChapter 595: Chapter 594 Oedipus_1
"Hmm?" The Fantasist looked somewhat surprised, "This assessment, it seems higher than I had imagined." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"Did you expect me to curse at you?" Aiden said.
"Even if you did, I wouldn’t find it strange," the Fantasist replied. freewebnøvel.com
"My critique is solely for the plot of the story you wrote," Aiden picked up the magazine and waved it, "An Oedipus-style tragedy, although it’s a cliché and doesn’t align with my personal taste, objectively speaking, it’s decent as a story."
"Oedipus? Is it a story from another world in your memory?" the Fantasist asked with keen interest.
"Yes."
"Another classic tragedy? Would you submit it to ’Childhood Dreams’? I’m really looking forward to it," the Fantasist said genuinely, his eager expression and shining eyes taking Aiden by surprise.
"I won’t submit it, the story is a bit inappropriate for children," Aiden responded.
"That makes me even more interested," the Fantasist said earnestly.
"A myth, a king, cursed for a sin he committed in his youth, his kingdom plagued by a sphinx sent by the gods, and he was prophesied to die by the hand of his own son. Thus, after his son was unexpectedly born, he abandoned the child in the wilderness," Aiden began to summarize the story, "The son was found and taken in, named Oedipus, and raised by another king. Oedipus accidentally learned of a prophecy that he would kill his biological father and marry his own mother. Unaware that his current parents were not his real ones, he fled his country out of fear. On his wandering journey, he came to his father’s country, got into a conflict with an old man, and killed him, this old man..."
"Was his father, I see," the Fantasist nodded repeatedly.
"Oedipus discovered that the country was offering a reward: whoever could solve the sphinx’s riddle and drive away the monster would inherit the throne of the deceased king and marry the queen," Aiden said, "He solved the riddle, unknowingly fulfilled his own prophecy, and even had children with his mother."
"So what was his ultimate fate?"
"After ascending to the throne, his kingdom was struck by punishments from the gods for his unknowing incestuous acts, with plagues and famines running rampant. In searching for a cause, Oedipus learned the truth from a prophet, the queen hung herself in shame, and he, cursing himself, blinded himself and went into exile."
"Such a tragic fate," the Fantasist remarked.
"Just like the characters you create, pure fate-driven tragedies, with the characters unable to resist their own endings," Aiden said, "I personally dislike such stories, where the character’s experiences reek of the creator’s malice towards them, but I can’t deny these kinds of tragedies have some reference value. The story you’ve written, it’s passable. The characters interact, the protagonist meets someone, and then because of fate, she dies, a tragedy unfolds, just like that, nothing original, but it’s coherent, though I think some readers probably won’t accept it."
"I’ve received a letter from the editorial department, some radical readers are offering a bounty on me," the Fantasist laughed, "Since you think my story is okay, why change Deborah Awen’s ending? Your doing doesn’t hold much significance."
"One thing at a time, I just said that as a reader, your ’crafted’ story is passable," Aiden threw the magazine back onto the table, "But the situation you’ve set up in reality is different, I’m merely a character in it, I can only critique everything you’ve arranged from a character’s perspective."
"And you’re the male lead," the Fantasist said.
"So which main character would like their experience to be a tragedy? As a character in the drama, I think the experience is terrible," Aiden countered, "I dislike your ending, so I changed it."
"So, your critique of this real-life story differs?"
"Yes."
"May I ask how you critique this one?" the Fantasist pressed.
"Can I be frank?" Aiden wanted confirmation again.
"Of course."
"Really?" Aiden asked once more.
"If I said you can, then you can," the Fantasist sighed.
"Then I’ll just say it..." Aiden paused for a moment, "I think you’re a son of a bitch."
"Uh..." The Fantasist maintained a smile that was both awkward and polite.
"You really are a son of a bitch," Aiden repeated.
"So you ended up cursing, after all," the Fantasist said helplessly, shaking his head.
"You’re the one who asked for the truth," Aiden replied earnestly.
"Do you have a problem with my story?" the Fantasist asked, appearing to be very patient.
"If you’re going to spin a story, why torture people in reality with these bizarre settings?"
"Because it’s more fun that way," the Fantasist smiled as if it were obvious, "Since I have the ability to make my fictional stories play out in reality, of course, I’d want to try it out, as material for my work."
"You should say it’s more amusement, truly fitting for the scheming goddess," Aiden raised his hands, "I don’t think there’s any point in continuing this debate over the matter; our values simply don’t align."
"I can see that, you’ve found a way to get along with us rulers," the Fantasist nodded.
"To be honest, I also wonder why all of you rulers are like this?"
After only a few minutes of conversation, Aiden was certain that complaining to this ruler would be futile, just like the scheming goddess, he had no sense of morality, nor any sense of shame; he lived solely for his own pleasure, and holding him accountable or criticizing him was utterly meaningless.
"It probably has to do with the nature of authority, ’Wisdom’ authority can replay memories, ’Desire’ authority can control the scale of desire, ’Existence’ authority can directly create whatever is conceived, with these authorities, the desires of mortals can easily be fulfilled. If we don’t continuously pursue new pleasures, we’ll eventually become like plants, without wants or needs. We didn’t seek authority in order to become plants," the Fantasist replied, "After creating things to satisfy myself, I’ve come to enjoy creation; creation is an interesting affair, I can’t make something I’m unaware of, but I can extract materials from known things and recombine them into new existences."
"From a mortal’s perspective, you truly are hedonists," Aiden shook his head.
"When you become a ruler yourself, you’ll understand," the Fantasist said cryptically.
