"Before that, I have to praise you, Laing, my child." Macardo's old face was still full of mockery and sneer, as if everything in the world was stupid and he was the only smart one. "Only a qualified child can talk back, question, and rebel. If you're really like Ruth, drooling and telling me that you're happy to be his tool and his lackey, then there's no need for me to appear and teach you. Or perhaps, you're the stinky stone in the latrine of Dorne. If you don't learn to respect your elders, then I won't teach you."
Laing was speechless.
Yuan Shiyuan thought that his father really liked to mock him.
Laing vaguely remembered that Dorne, who was the original Fist of the Empire, had a good relationship with Macado. They were good partners in internal affairs and military affairs, but later on, there was a rift between the two. Dorne still emphasized honor, perseverance, courage, and faith, but Macado thought that these were not worth mentioning. Macado was indifferent to fame and fortune, and mocked the so-called courage, glory, and faith. He even sneered at the countless victories, great achievements, and great glory that even the original Primordials were obsessed with.
In Macado's eyes, Dorne was a fool, and most of the original Primordials were fools. Other than Ruth, there were only a few people who could gain Macado's approval, such as Khan and Kirriman. But even Kirriman, who was the most gentle existence, had an irreconcilable gap between their political views.
He knew better than anyone that the gods (or the original Primordials) first gained power and then learned how to control it. Obviously, mortals could not compare to gods, but mortals knew how to use the greatest restraint to control every bit of power they gained.
Because of this, Macado could bear the hatred of almost the entire universe, bear the misunderstandings of anyone, bear the sins and disasters of the entire Empire's bureaucracy, and even bear the blame of the Emperor himself. Macado was not a god, but his self-discipline, self-knowledge, self-reflection, and confidence were the key to resisting the corruption of Chaos. The Seal Bearer saved the world time and time again. During the Great Expedition, the Empire could lose one, two, or even half of its original Primordials, and one, two, or even half of its army, but the Empire could not leave Macado, not even for a day. Countless appointment documents were waiting for him to sign, countless personnel assignments were waiting for him to nod, countless worlds were waiting for him to manage, and countless secret agreements and agreements were waiting for him to read.
This was Macado, the existence that even the Emperor had to call "my best friend" and "my confidant".
"My child, my daughter-in-law, you all know in your hearts." Macado gently tapped the ground of Platform Nine and Three with his golden double-headed eagle scepter. He smiled and said, "What Tzeentch said is not a lie. The Lord of All Changes has no need to lie. What he said is true. Many times, you do lack freedom. First of all, we have to admit that. Am I right?"
"… It is as you said, Father." Laing lowered his head.
"Your responsibility is too heavy. You know this from the beginning." Macardo sneered. The Seal Bearer looked into the distance. "All these years, I have been secretly observing the outside world through you. It can be said that from the first time you went to the battlefield, you had a sense of urgency and a sense of mission. You should be in your teens and twenties, the time when your original body should be able to express itself. You should be young and energetic, and you should be living a happy life. But from the beginning, you couldn't do that. Because you are an original body, you carried too much burden from the beginning, not to mention the things that happened later."
Laing lowered his head.
Suria, who was sitting beside Laing, suddenly felt a heart-wrenching pain in her heart.
Yes, from a long time ago, Suria had a feeling that Laing had always been carrying heavy responsibilities and obligations that were far beyond what he should be carrying at his age. He often pretended to be relaxed, but … the female knight could only reach out and hold Laing's cold hand tightly.
"Let me tell you today. What is freedom? What is freedom? " Macado looked at his son and narrowed his eyes slightly. "The so-called freedom is actually divided into two types. The first is what we call 'liberty', and the second is what we call 'freedom'."
"Although liberty and freedom are both called freedom, their meanings are very different. Liberty refers to the freedom not to be controlled by others, not to be influenced by subordinates and slaves. Freedom does not refer to 'doing whatever you want', but to be free from the control of others." Macado first stretched out his finger and used psionic power to write on the table. "This is very simple. Why did humans resist Chaos? Why did the immortals support the Emperor to unify Tara? Why did Anglo rebel against the slave masters? There is no other reason. They just wanted freedom to take back the control and autonomy of their own lives. That is freedom. "
"Yes." Laing and Suria both nodded.
"Similar but completely different at the core is' freedom '. What is freedom?" Macado smiled. "The meaning of freedom is very simple. It is to be free from the shackles of fate, free from the control of inevitability, and have the right to choose. That is freedom."
"Freedom is considered to be the recognition and domination of inevitability, but in practice, the ending that it produces is often absurd. For example, is Anglo free? If he is, then he was attacked by the Eldars in Danukailia, heavily injured, captured, and turned into a gladiator. In the end, he was implanted with the Butcher's Nail. All these can be considered fate. He is obviously not free, but Anglo resisted. He resisted with his own free will. This is obviously freedom, but what is the result of his resistance? "
"My brother was captured by my father. This is not freedom." Laing nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, this is fate, but this is the result of Anglo's own choice. When he reluctantly chose to serve the Emperor, he was free, but soon he lost his freedom. The moment he chose to betray the Emperor, he was free. However, as soon as he fell into chaos, he became an unfree existence and became a toy of Khorne. Similarly, the World Eaters were not willing to be controlled by the Emperor and chose to implant the Butcher's Nail on their own. This is obviously the control of their own free will, but we all know what the Butcher's Nail is. Can it still be considered freedom after being implanted with something like that?" Macado smiled.
Laing smiled bitterly. What was the Butcher's Nail? In the simplest terms, it was cutting the brain in half and implanting it with biological machinery. The person who was implanted with the Butcher's Nail would lose all source of happiness and excitement. They would only be able to obtain and secrete a trace of happiness in battle and slaughter. It was a dark technology that specialized in creating gladiators.
"Above the lie called freedom are endless shackles, Laing." Macado then pointed at Suria. "You chose to marry Suria, to accept the title of the Eldar God, and to become a king. These are all your free will decisions. No one can interfere with you. However, after you made the decision, everything changed. You are no longer free. Instead, you bear deeper responsibilities and shackles. You may not have regretted it, but you must have thought more than once in your heart. Why is it that when you pursue freedom, it becomes more and more tiring?"
"Everything is as father said, but I don't regret my choice to marry Suria." Laing felt warmth in his heart. He held Suria's hand and smiled at his wife.
"It's good that you have your own thoughts." Macado then said, "But from this deconstruction, we have to turn back to two paths. One is the determinism of all things. This is also very simple. We can find the cause of everything from any event. Since there is a cause, then everything is inevitable. The more you pursue freedom, the less freedom you will have."
"You want to fight against the Moment of Doom. You need to quickly control the country and build an army. Therefore, it is inevitable that you will become a king. It is also inevitable that you will marry Suria."
"And your path, from my sacrifice to the Imperial Emperor's attempt to create the original body, is inevitable."
"The attempt to create the original body can be summed up as the fight between humans, Eldar, and Chaos. This is inevitable."
"Then this problem is over because we can trace it back to the origin of Chaos, to the battle of Heaven between the ancient saints and those who fear death, to the birth of all things, to the Big Bang." Macado grinned. "In this case, the operation of all things is fixed. Then what is the point of living?"
"That's not right." Laing shook his head. "Otherwise, all the sacrifices we have made, all the sacrifices you have made, all the sacrifices of humanity and even the entire universe, wouldn't it be meaningless?"
"That's right!" Macado's face was full of admiration. The Bearer nodded slightly. "Then what resists determinism is free will. People believe that through their own efforts, they can reverse cause and effect and spontaneously cause events to happen. They can make choices that can start a new chain of causality. Everyone can make decisions, but they also have to be responsible for their own decisions."
"But here comes the problem. Since it is their own decision, they naturally have to be responsible for their own decision. The chain of responsibility, law, morality, and ethics began to appear. Then, it was inevitable that emotions would arise and hatred would spread. The intense emotions of mortals reflected and intensified the mutation of the subspace, leading to the birth of Chaos. It also led to endless exploitation, enslavement, hatred, and killing between mortals."
Laing and Suria looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
"As the hatred grows, it gradually becomes impossible to trace back to its source. The hatred that is nurtured and produced by class, race, country, and culture will only overflow and gradually evolve into an uncontrollable war, spreading hatred to every single mortal." Macado looked into the distance. "Chaos was born from this. Obviously, they are the source of all evil, but so far, no way to completely defeat them has been found."
"Even the truth of the Empire can't work?" Laing asked in confusion.
"The truth of the Empire … Do you know that as the truth of the Empire spread in the Great Expedition, a new materialistic God of Chaos is being born in the subspace? If this continues, a new God of Chaos will appear, and the Supreme Emperor will be the spokesperson of this new god." Macado revealed his yellow teeth. "This is not good. Not good at all."
"Why is it not good?" Suria was still confused. "If this is done, won't the Supreme Emperor gain enough power to deal with the Four Gods of Chaos?"
"The nature of the war has changed. It has changed from a war between mortals and Chaos to a war between Chaos and Chaos." Macado shook his head. "The Supreme Emperor's method only made the map smaller and made everything pure. He crudely divided everything into 'us' and 'enemies'. The chain of hatred and war will continue to play out, and there will be no end to it. However, if the Net Dao Plan succeeds, the scale will be controlled, but in essence, nothing will change."
"And this is the reason why the immortals left the Supreme Emperor one after another. They found that they had been deceived. The Supreme Emperor did not have a way to completely solve the problem of Chaos. On the contrary, he crudely brought everything into his own order and control. After gathering the power of mankind, he also used the shackles called order and rules to strangle the countless possibilities that mankind should have. Therefore, the disappointed and angry immortals left one after another. Only I understand him, I understand the Supreme Emperor."
"The original bodies were born as weapons and tools. They were born to kill and rule," Macado said gently. Macado said gently, "But the Supreme Emperor is not like that, I am not like that, and the mortals are not like that. Originals have to be brave and fearless, but mortals are not born warriors. But the Supreme Emperor still did it. I, Macado, as his only confidant and best friend, am willing to sacrifice everything for him, even if I have to use up all of my psionic energy to maintain the golden throne, even if I have to use up all of my eternal power, just to let him arrange for his funeral."
"That's a long way off. Now you understand that all the so-called freedom is a false proposition." Macado continued with a smile. "Then the question is, what is true freedom? How do we end the chain of hatred? How do we achieve our own freedom? How do we surpass mankind in denial and affirmation? This is the ultimate question that involves the origin of the universe. I will leave it to you."
"What should I do?" Laing asked subconsciously.
"Silly child." Macado smiled kindly. "You will have to find the answer yourself, because this is a question that neither the Supreme Emperor nor I can answer."
"You want me to answer a question that neither you nor the Supreme Emperor can answer?" Laing said with anger and displeasure. "How would I know? I am only fifty years old this year. What about you? You have lived for seven thousand years, and the Supreme Emperor is forty-eight thousand years old. You want me to answer a question that neither of you can figure out? "
"That's because you're our child." Macardo suddenly reached out his withered and wrinkled hand and pressed Ryan's head, gently rubbing his long black hair. He stared at Ryan affectionately and kindly, as if he wanted to imprint everything about Ryan in his mind. "Isn't it the expectation of a father to pass on his life's dream and wish to the next generation?" Macardo asked. "Don't you want to pass on your life's dream and wish to the next generation?
Laing was stunned. His original body was about to say something, but he realized that Macado's figure was gradually fading.
The last bit of power left in Clayon's body was running out. Macardo had also noticed this. The Bearer's mocking and frivolous attitude was gone. He revealed his mortal face. He was a plain old man with one foot in the grave.
He was the founder of the bureaucratic system of the human Milky Way Empire. He was the most powerful person under the Emperor. He was the strongest psionicist in the Milky Way Empire other than the Emperor. He was a hero personally judged by the Emperor, but he had long been forgotten by most people.
He did not look holy at all. He was not like the Supreme Emperor and the original body, who were mesmerizing and worshiping at first sight.
This was because this was a human face, a mortal face. He didn't have any divinity on him. If one didn't look at his golden double-headed eagle scepter, most people wouldn't be able to distinguish him from an ordinary old bureaucrat.
"I still have a lot to say to you, child, but I don't have time." Macardo helplessly looked at himself disappearing. "Your existence is the result of me and the other Immortals trying our best to save the dark power that created the original body. My genes and the Emperor's genes formed you."
"The immortal genes in your body have been destroyed by Tzeentch and shared with Suria." A golden light shot out from Macado's chest and poured into Laing's body. "Now, let me restore it, but this will be the last time."
"Father!" Laing finally shed tears. The original body tried to reach out, but he could not grab anything.
"Go find the meaning of your battle. Go find a way to end this chain of hatred. Go solve the ultimate problem of the universe. There is still hope, Laing." Macado's figure turned into light. "Please, my son."
"What you lost was the shackles called freedom. What you will gain is the entire world! Child! "
The final mark of the Seal Bearer in the universe disappeared. The light of the hero dissipated with the wind of chaos in the subspace. There was no longer any echo. Platform 9 and 3/4 had been destroyed. What was left was a large expanse of nothingness.
All the confusion on Laing's face disappeared. The original body pulled Suria, who was already crying, to kneel down.
"Thank you, father!"
The gray knight's original body's immense psionic energy burned again. It was more vigorous than ever before. Other than the usual sky blue and silver flames, there was also a golden flame.
From now on, Laing was no longer confused.
"Father's hymn is the hymn of mortals." Suria gently wiped her tears. The female knight sadly reached out her hand. "He is a hero, a true hero."
Ryan reached out to wipe away his tears. The Primordial Origin opened his hands and began to recite an ancient song.
"The hand of the Supreme Emperor is the hand of protection." The sky blue and silver flames lit up.
"The hand of the father is the hand of nurture." The golden flame lit up.
"When the two hands come together, the door opens."
A door to return to the mortal world appeared in the chaos of the subspace.
"Thanks to the blessings of Tzeentch and the other three gods of chaos, they have given us enough origin substance from the elven gods in Morgul's body. There is even a surplus." Tears flowed down Ryan's cheeks as he forced a smile at Sulia. "Ugh … It's time to go back and carry out our own mission, the mission we've chosen. Save the mortal world and stop Eichaen and The Final Moment!"
"Yes!" Suria held Laing's hand.
… I am farewell, Seal Bearer's section break …
Brittany, Fontainebleau Palace.
It had been more than two months since his father and mother went missing. Devonshire had never hated his own weakness and incompetence as much as he did today. The eldest son of the Sun King was training under the guidance of the Green Knight. He received all kinds of lessons and sat in court to listen to Uncle Lauren and François's grandfather. He just wanted to be able to persevere as soon as possible.
After finishing the whole course, Devonshire dismounted from his horse and was about to take a rest. At this time, a gust of wind blew, and Devonshire suddenly felt that his head was gently stroked.
The proud baron usually hated it when others touched his head. Except for his father, his two mothers, and Uncle Anglo, Devonshire would be angry when others touched his head.
But why did it feel so warm and sad?
Devonshire's son shed tears under the strange gazes of the Twilight sisters. He reached out his hand but did not catch anything.
Some West Magic turned into the wind and left forever.
Forever.
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