Chapter 267: A Heart Unsuited

  "They are both correct, and both spoke according to their own stubborn ways." Aunt El sighed and said, "The most crucial point is that Meditations on Truth is a method that allows one to see the truth. Only a true heart and soul can communicate with The Black Star."

  "The truth?"

  "Yes, the truth of your own heart. Mere cultivation alone is not enough to reach the ideal state of this meditation technique. Only by honestly confronting your own heart and seeing your desires from within can you achieve it." Aunt El nodded, pointing at Ethan's chest. "To see your truest self—that is the true meaning of this meditation technique."

  "Do you know why almost no mages have ever been able to completely master this meditation? Because they are too clever; they think too much." Aunt El let out a long sigh and continued, "Since Lord Archibald founded the Necromancer Guild, the mages of Diya Valley have, without exception, been outstanding and peerless figures in the secular world. Every one of them is incredibly intelligent. They were able to become superior to others, and the weight and complexity of their minds and schemes are also among the best of humankind. But it is precisely because of this that they cannot master Meditations on Truth."

  "Once a person is too clever, they like to use their head to think, instead of their heart to feel. With too many schemes and thoughts, they naturally cannot face their own hearts directly. That's why they cannot complete this Meditations on Truth. The fate of those who force themselves to practice is only to have the magic power within their bodies completely spiral out of control and collapse."

  "Heheheh... a mage can never let their heart rule over their head. On the contrary, a butcher selling meat on the street, or a bandit who robs homes, can easily do this. There's a saying that goes, 'True honor is often found among the butchers and common folk,' which is probably this principle."

  "I see... so it seems." Ethan nodded thoughtfully. Given Sandro's seemingly reckless and thoughtless personality, it indeed didn't seem like the demeanor a mage should have, and no wonder he became the one among the Necromancers who practiced Meditations on Truth.

  "He founded the Necromancer Guild, which only the most intelligent, capable, and talented people could enter, yet he left behind the highest meditation technique, one more suited for simple-minded street vendors and common folk... Lord Archibald, the greatest magical genius in the history of the continent, did he play an enormous joke, or was there a deeper meaning?" Aunt El smiled wryly. "But perhaps this is the reason why he admonished Necromancers to be clear-minded, noble, and free from attachments. I only gradually understood these things after leaving Diya Valley for so many years. I also tried to practice Meditations on Truth back then, but found I couldn't. Now, perhaps I have gradually attained that clear and noble state of mind, but I no longer wish to cultivate it."

  Ethan nodded and said, "My cultivation of that meditation technique was also a chance encounter. At the beginning, I just treated it as an ordinary meditation technique for magic."

  "Given your personality, you are indeed very suited to practicing Meditations on Truth. But to reach a truly complete state, you must still truly face your own heart, including the ugly and weak parts. This is a very difficult thing, but I know you have already done it." Aunt El's smile was very kind. "So I said, you have grown up."

  Indeed, it was so. Only when his own heart had fully matured and become complete did Meditations on Truth reach its finished state. Ethan recalled his experience in the magical dungeon. It was by using Meditations on Truth to perfectly integrate the power of the Leaves of the World Tree and the Sunwell that he was able to break out of the prison cell and resolve the crisis at that time. He asked again, "Then what about the Leaves of the World Tree and the Sunwell..."

  "The Leaves of the World Tree and the Sunwell are divine artifacts left by the ancient elves, condensing the power of life and the sun, which perfectly counters the power of The Black Star. You, who possess these two powers, do indeed have the ability to hold The Black Star continuously without being harmed, and to use The Black Star. In other words, you do have the qualification to become the person in Archibald's prophecy." Aunt El's voice paused, and then, slowly and very solemnly, she said word by word, "But having the qualification doesn't mean you truly are that person. You saw for yourself in the test just now; your heart is not compatible with The Black Star. That's why you let go instead of holding on to it."

  Stolen novel; please report.

  "In other words..."

  "In other words, you are not that person. You are not the one from that prophecy."

  "I'm not. I never was." Ethan murmured in response to this sentence, which he had actually said to himself countless times already.

  Aunt El's tone began to become very relaxed, just like when she explained those problems to him in his youth, she said lightly, "Although you have the power, you don't have the heart. In these five hundred years, you are not the first person to be empowered by the Sunwell and the Leaves of the World Tree. There's nothing strange about that."

  "So that's how it is." Ethan let out a long sigh of relief.

  The last trace of doubt in his chest finally dissipated. Even for a prophecy he didn't really believe in, it was still a great relief to know for certain that it had nothing to do with him. In fact, when he thought about it, he never had that kind of ambition to begin with.

  When it comes down to it, whether it was the Sunwell and the Leaves of the World Tree, or Meditations on Truth, these were all things he obtained by chance. He was just dragged into the vortex created by those people through a twist of fate. Even though he had now become the center of this vortex, what he was fighting for was merely to quell this storm and its conflicts.

  He was really just an outsider. This was something he could finally and completely affirm without any doubt, and his heart felt suddenly clear and open.

  "Thank you, Grandma." Ethan nodded heavily. "Whether you are Agrael or someone else, regardless of your relationship with me, you are the person I am most grateful for in my life."

  Aunt El smiled kindly, but Ethan didn't notice the deep bitterness and helplessness hidden in the depths of that smile.

  "Alright, all that's left is to find a place to hide this properly. If that stubborn fellow Ronis had been willing to soften up a bit back then and come to beg me for this ring, perhaps none of this would be happening now. He went to great lengths to create a secret chamber to seal it, along with so many magic barriers, but in the end, it was all for nothing."

  Ethan nodded, thought for a moment, and suddenly asked, "By the way, why did Sandro break this sword hilt and take it out of Diya Valley back then?"

  "Why don't you ask him about that?"

  "I did, but he refused to say." Ethan shook his head with a wry smile.

  "I don't know the specifics of what happened. At that time, I was recuperating in a place after suffering not-so-light injuries while assassinating Pope Dracon." Aunt El pointed to the ring on the hilt and replied lightly, "This ring was what that old fellow Dracon was preparing to use to draw The Black Star back then. Although it's absolutely impossible to suppress the power of The Black Star, judging from the way it can guide and suppress the hilt's power, it is worthy of being something that cost the old man over a decade of effort... If he had really gone to Ainfast and obtained the Leaves of the World Tree back then, perhaps..." Aunt El coughed lightly twice, as if subconsciously rubbing her chest. Ethan knew that her chest would hurt whenever the weather was particularly cold; it seemed to be an old injury from many years ago. "That fellow was also worthy of being the number one expert on the continent at the time... heh, worthy of being the former..."

  Ethan opened his mouth, wanting to ask but ultimately not speaking. He was now no longer willing to inquire about these old matters just out of curiosity. What he learned from Sandro was that these old people with too many stories will naturally tell you what they can; if they are unwilling, no amount of probing will be useful.

  "That bastard Sandro really gave me a difficult problem. Why doesn't he go find a good place to store this himself? He now finally wants to return to the transcendent state of a Necromancer, detached from worldly affairs, yet in the end, he pushes me out. Sigh, forget it. I'll give you one last piece of guidance." Aunt El smiled wryly, lowered her head, and pondered.

  After a long while, she looked up, sighed, and still with a wry smile, looked at Ethan, "Take it to Nighon. I know someone there who will be very willing to accept this thing. As long as you can truly deliver it to him, then probably all matters will have a temporary conclusion."

  "Nighon? The Underworld?" Ethan was surprised and uncertain. He really hadn't expected that the place Aunt El would point him to would be such a place.

  "Even when Ronis and Sandro joined forces to protect it for twenty years, it was still sabotaged by schemes to this state. Do you really think there's anyone on this continent who can guard this thing now? The thing itself is certainly dangerous, but the most dangerous thing is the greed and ambition it incites. Only in that place is probably somewhere that human greed and ambition cannot reach."

  "Really... everything can be concluded?" Ethan sighed. If it was true, this long journey could finally have a clear destination.

  "Perhaps. This ring has already altered the fluctuations of this sword hilt. The consumption rate of the Sunwell's water will become very slow. The well water in this pouch can at least last for twenty years. And in twenty years, with that fellow's ability, replenishing some well water should probably not be a problem."

  "Who is this person you're talking about?" Ethan frowned. He found it truly hard to imagine anyone who could compare to Sandro and Ronis combined. From Aunt El's words, it seemed this person was far stronger than the two of them together. If these words were spoken by someone else, he would never believe it.