"How should I decide?"
Everyone was looking at me, as if my decision would decide the fate of the entire world … Yep, this was the truth. My current decision could indeed affect Aichy's fate.
Apart from a math exam, it would be quite difficult to make a completely correct decision in this world. While I would obtain some benefits, I would also lose something of equal value.
I had to choose …
At this moment, everyone's eyes were on me. Ambiguity was the only option that couldn't be chosen. And I had already made my decision.
Cavendish had an expression of excitement as he looked at me, as if he had already noticed something.
"This is the Hades, so let's do things according to the rules of the Hades. Both Goddesses are obviously unforgivable, but there's a difference …"
I did my best to organize my words so that my favoritism wouldn't be too obvious.
"In this world, intentionally killing someone is obviously a capital crime, but causing someone else's death through negligence will only result in a sentence of seven or eight years at most. The results are the same for both sides, but whether or not they have any malice is the core mechanism for determining who is guilty. Cynthia can't escape death. As for Astrya, let's imprison her for life. I'll be responsible for imprisoning her until the end of the world. "
Cavendish didn't hide his disappointment at all. This wasn't the answer he desired at all.
"You trust that woman that much?"
"Yep, I trust her more than I trust you."
That's right, the law's judgment was only a reference. What truly made the decision was still my own subjective opinion.
I trusted Astrya, which was why I hoped that she would be able to survive. As for whether or not she would cause any trouble in the future? Back when I took the wrong path, Adam and Marguerite imprisoned me for more than one hundred years. Now, in order to prevent Astrya from doing anything unpleasant, I would simply imprison her.
"Since the Soul Tower can be used to separate souls, it can naturally be strengthened as well. I can guarantee with my own soul that she won't ever regain her freedom."
Cynthia's death might cause the Holy War to go out of control? Even if she was still alive, the Holy War would still go out of control. In order to end this Holy War and destroy the fate of the world between the two Goddesses, one of the Creator Goddesses would have to die. Since I had decided to let Astrya live, it was only natural that I would have to kill Cynthia.
Aillé and Aillé had previously come up with a strategy that would be biased towards order while remaining neutral.
As for what was a mother? I pretended that I didn't hear anything at all. My parents in my previous life were on Earth, while my parents in this life had already died more than three hundred years ago. If I really had to calculate it, a more general definition would be that all life in the world originated from the Creator Goddesses. Weren't we all their children? She didn't seem to have any maternal love.
We were simply created by her. Yet, endless misfortune was arranged for us. And when I thought about how the Mist Kingdom and my birth parents would be destroyed because of her, I lost even the last bit of affection I had for her.
On the other hand, Cavendish's face was filled with displeasure. He did not conceal his dissatisfaction at all. This was not the answer he was hoping for.
"Astrya is trustworthy? Have you forgotten what happened to the God of Holy Light? From a certain point of view, Roland could be considered our common elder brother, but he was deceived by that woman and became a tool to abandon himself. Do you want to end up the same way? "
Hearing this, I smiled. At least in certain aspects, I was completely different from Cavendish.
"You think you can relax by pushing your guilt and regret onto others? I don't have such a habit. Perhaps Astrya gave me advice or even subconsciously tried to guide me. But for me to reach where I am today, every step I took was my own choice. Perhaps I'll feel pain and regret for my past calamities, but I'm not foolish enough to deny my own past. Nor will I be weak enough to push my guilt onto others. "
I paused for a moment as my past memories appeared in front of me. Although most of them were painful, there was nothing worth regretting. Even if everything happened again, it probably wouldn't be any different.
"My life is the path that I chose for myself. I have eyes, a brain, hands, and feet. I can see and think. Even if others give me advice and guidance, in the end, it's still my own heart that makes the decision. I don't know what happened to Roland back then, nor do I want to know. At the very least, I feel that Astrya is trustworthy, and she didn't harm me. That's enough for me. "
Yes, no matter how many times I said it, everything could be an excuse. It was simply because I trusted Astrya.
Astrya (my System) had been by my side for more than three hundred years, and she had always guided me. When I was a Holy Knight, she was the Radiant Holy Knight Training System. When I fell into darkness, she gave me Evil Points. When I tried to change my fate, I ended up becoming Fate Points. Astrya wasn't the one guiding my fate. Rather, I was the one changing "her."
I could guess that perhaps Astrya intentionally pretended to be a mindless System in hopes that she wouldn't affect my judgment too much. She probably only guided me in my pursuit of power. Without her help, it would have been impossible for me to create the Hades.
I could guess what happened back then. From a certain standpoint, I had to thank Cavendish's existence. The Chaos Bloodline would be attracted to the Chaos Abyss, and the Chaos Abyss's whispers would never stop. As a child of the Chaos Abyss, Roland would probably have to listen to the whispers of demons for several hours every day and night. It wouldn't be strange for him to make such a decision in the end because he couldn't bear it any longer. Countless Chaos Bloodlines, including Eliza and Cavendish, had all entered the Chaos Abyss in the end.
I didn't hear any whispers from the Chaos Abyss. No matter how I looked at it, Cavendish was the one who helped me. He took over most of my Chaos Bloodline, which also attracted Cynthia's attention. If my "System" had let Cynthia do whatever she wanted, and such a speechless Gemini Split didn't happen, she would have been the Chaos Abyss Prince Roland from the game's history.
[… Thank you.]
After a long period of silence, Astrya finally thanked me. I knew that she wasn't thanking me for not killing her. She was thanking me for trusting her.
"No need to thank me. Verbal thanks aren't sincere at all. Remember to repay me with your body. Right, if that's the case, what's with the daily Quests? Myth-ranked Quests can be understood as major changes in fate that will bring about a large amount of the power of fate, but daily Quests are both annoying and trivial. You won't be able to obtain anything from daily Quests, will you? "
[Your very existence is to break fate. That power will only increase as time passes. As for those daily Quests, don't you think they're quite interesting and creative? They're quite suitable for killing time?]
I immediately got angry and wanted to take back what little trust I had left. Astrya had actually made me suffer for several hundred years just for fun?
[It wasn't just to make you suffer. Although it's indeed quite interesting to see you suffer … Cough, I should at least find a reason to give you points. If I told you that you could increase your income by doing nothing at all, wouldn't you become as lazy as a pig and stay at home all day? If you stay at home for too long, your heart will become very, very dark. Just look at your younger brother. Isn't he an obvious example?]
"I …"
Seeing how anxious Cavendish was becoming, I thought back to the liches that had gone crazy because they stayed at home for too long. I suddenly felt that Astrya's words made sense, and I couldn't counter them at all. Could it be that Astrya had truly become a pervert because he stayed at home for too long and had too little contact with others?
"Shut up!"
It was unknown who Cavendish was angrily shouting at. He paced back and forth while constantly pinching his head. It was obvious that something was wrong. Since everything was out in the open, and Cynthia's Armageddon was about to arrive, my mind was still calm, but Astrya's mind was probably in chaos.
Cavendish covered his right eye as he lowered his head and panted heavily. It was obvious that he wasn't in a good condition. Looking through the gaps between his fingers, I could see that his right eye was completely bloodshot, and his pupil, which had become vertical, was filled with killing intent and anger. He was growling in his throat as if he was suppressing something.
"Ha … trust? You'll regret it! "
"Ha, I won't. Have you ever seen me regret anything? If someone really did lie to me, I'll admit that I was stupid and greedy, and then I'll just think of a way to take revenge. Regretting something won't change anything. It'll only make me feel bad. "
I didn't care at all about Cavendish's murderous expression at all. I shrugged, feeling even more relaxed now.
I didn't pretend to be calm at all. I was even more relaxed inside than I appeared on the surface. Cavendish's bottom line for this negotiation was quite clear — kill Cynthia and give the Chaos Abyss its freedom.
Since I had already agreed to this condition, it meant that we had already reached an agreement. As for everything else, it didn't matter if we talked about it or not. Let's just treat it as a form of brotherhood … Perhaps this would be our last chance to talk face to face.
"… My head is about to explode. This crazy bitch is insane. When will she start? Hurry up and kill her so I can finally have a good night's sleep."
I shrugged helplessly. I wanted to hurry up as well, but …
"Didn't you want to use the Tower of Death to split your soul? That's quite difficult, and I can't do it. Let's wait until Aillé sleeps enough first. "
The Four Pillars each had their own duties. It would be enough for them to operate normally. Splitting a Creator God's soul wasn't something that could be done on its own.
What if Aillé didn't wake up? Then I would just have to wait. But I felt that with Aillé's foundational abilities, he would probably be the first Pillar God to truly awaken.
"… Actually, you can take some action first. For example, go kill that Sophocles the Deceiver or something. I find him quite annoying. Once the Chaos Abyss regains its freedom, you'll have one less competitor."
Ha, a free fighter sent to my doorstep was truly delightful.
I had thought that Cavendish would agree to my request. That was because he had an impatient personality, and it was obvious that he needed an opponent to vent on. Plus, he wouldn't just watch as a Chaos Main God came to save Cynthia. With his personality, he should have taken the initiative to attack. But when he heard what I said, he actually calmed down.
Contrary to my expectations, Cavendish wasn't in a hurry at all. Instead, he slowly walked to the side and suddenly reached out with his hand. That … that pot of fish soup appeared once again.
Then, he took out several stools and stood on them while stirring the fish soup with a blender.
"I'm not in a hurry. Let's just wait. It's almost done. Let's eat some fresh fish soup first. After today, we probably won't have a chance to sit down and eat together again. That fish tail over there. How about some fresh and juicy fish meat? It's about the same age as you. "
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