Chapter 1584: Chapter 275: Wanting to Become Human
When Mahid Fran was petrified in an instant, she knew she had made a mistake.
She regretted why she had to provoke Aiwass, and also regretted that she had a chance to make good with Aiwass but failed to stand firmly by his side…
Mahid Fran actually knew that Aiwass was the former Pope, who had defeated and replaced the powerful Benevolent Lord Adil in Heaven City, and she had witnessed him riding the King of Indigo descending upon Holy Spring City. On one hand, she hoped Aiwass was the prophesied Savior… because even the Benevolent Lords didn’t quite like this desert.
On the other hand, she felt somewhat unwilling — how could the Savior prophesied by the Parthians not be a noble and pure-blooded Parthian?
They followed the guidance of their father, protecting this desert for generations… with their power and wealth, perhaps they could have become monarchs of a nation if they left the desert. But they have been guardians here even before humans were born, passing this role down through generations… until now, the ultimate Savior turns out to be an outsider?
Moreover, he was so young, so small… even younger than herself.
Such jealousy had overwhelmed her infatuation with the handsome youth, transforming into a venomous, reasoning rage.
And now, she had calmed down.
She clearly realized she had fallen into a dreadful petrification — she hadn’t been petrified before.
When she initially learned the taboo magic with her father, her brothers often used petrification light to tease them, the younger siblings. He attempted to assert authority through this manner… just like her provocation against Aiwass.
But this special petrification not only pierced through all the armor and equipment she wore instantaneously… but seemed to show her the end of the world.
That horror, filled with despair, loneliness, and pain, made her feel like being inside a beast’s stomach. Endless hostility gazed at her from all directions. The last time she experienced this was when she was taken as a hostage to a slave camp during a rebellion.
Those slaves looked at her with such eyes.
And that time marked the beginning of her nightmares. Even after being rescued, she couldn’t help but shiver whenever she recalled that day.
Typically… when the petrification is lifted, she should recover quickly as if waking from a nightmare. The pain during petrification would vanish in an instant.
But this time, when the petrification was lifted, she felt sore all over.
As though suffering from a severe illness, even her mana had significantly drained, with the remaining mana becoming sluggish.
She instinctively looked at Hero Ismail and found that he had become honest.
He no longer displayed the previous arrogance and didn’t continue to provoke Aiwass but in a much more normal tone, called upon the retinue who were initially petrified due to touching the barrier and now also forgiven, and left sheepishly.
As he left, Ismail was silent, giving her a deep look.
Mahid Fran originally thought she understood people’s hearts, but at this moment, she couldn’t comprehend the meaning of that look.
— Was he blaming her for not stopping him? Or did he think she had harmed him? Or perhaps he regretted arguing with her here?
… Couldn’t understand, completely couldn’t understand. She only felt that that fool Ismail somehow became somewhat clever. Like a jester pretending to be silly, who acted normal after getting drunk.
Seeing Ismail choose to leave, Mahid Fran hesitated for a while before also escaping with her people. Before leaving, she cleared her throat and, in a splendid and soft voice, apologized respectfully and politely at Aiwass’ door.
But inside the house, Aiwass did not bother with them.
When he chose to lift the petrification, he didn’t care about these people anymore.
He was currently watching the bewildered Hayna.
Or rather — interrogating her.
What Aiwass said before wasn’t only directed at Ismail… he was also addressing Hayna.
“Hayna,” Aiwass spoke gently, “Do you know what I want to tell you?”
Hayna slowly shook her head, but then seemed to realize something and nodded slightly.
“Is it…”
She said softly, “Destiny?”
Aiwass did not answer her, but gently spoke words as sharp as a knife: “In your soul, how much of it truly belongs to you, Hayna?”
Hearing this, Hayna suddenly widened her eyes.
She knew… Aiwass was indeed talking about this matter.
Ever since she learned of her identity, she had agonized for a while — as a Swampfolk made from part of Lancelot’s soul, she was the wedge for the Shadow of Avalon ritual. At the same time, she made this ritual unable to function properly as the “faulty gear.”
As a result, she inherently possessed adaptability to the Path of Authority. That adaptability actually came from the part of Lancelot within her… although she quickly moved on, like a joyful and simple university student.
Meanwhile, she was born in Eagle Cape Village. It was a village completely permeated by Dusk Power, entirely calcified. Growing up amidst the Wild Hunt Legion, she saw more undead than people she knew. This also granted her adaptability to the Path of Dusk.
Hayna also had that part of ambition for the Path of Transcendence — when she learned the secret of the Silver-Crowned Dragon defeating the Supreme Heaven from Eagle Cape Village, she felt exhilarated. And on another world line, as the leader of the Hyena Gang known as “Anonymous,” she was indeed a wild and unruly warrior.
Now, she has taken the path of adaptation, abandoning her path of authority profession to become a full-fledged warrior.
From these perspectives, Hayna has adaptations in as many as four paths.
Hayna has never dwelt on this truth, partly because she has always believed in “don’t think about things you can’t figure out” and “don’t talk about things you can’t encounter.” But in reality, she was just hypnotizing herself.
The brave Hayna is her, and the cowardly one is too; the loyal Hayna is her, and the rebellious one as well. She has never made distinctions, nor does she want to.
Her personality keeps changing partly because of the fluctuating path power deep within her soul and also because of the influence of those events—knowing the true nature of the Silver-Crowned Dragon, always adhering to a flexible way of survival, it was these that made her willing to abandon the adaptability of the path of authority and transform into adaptation; she did not choose transcendence because she had good relationships with Aiwass and Isabel; and she no longer had the thought of lingering in the past because she knew her memory and longing for that village came from the influence of Dusk Power.
The reason she continued to change is that Hayna was always avoiding the answer to the question—
“What is the true essence that makes up ‘Hayna’?”
Aiwass saw that Hayna was slow to respond, so he spoke with a slightly heavier tone, repeating the question: “What is your true path? What kind of person do you want to become? What dreams do you have?”
“I…”
Hayna hesitated, her words caught in her throat.
She was silent for a long time, then exhaled: “I… I can’t answer that.”
Generally speaking, the higher the path level of a Transcendent, the more extreme and pure they become. However, Hayna is an exception—even though she has already reached the Fifth Power Level, she still hasn’t figured out what her path is.
This proves one thing: not all high power levels become extreme. With appropriate countermeasures, one can maintain complex humanity at higher energy levels.
“Hayna.”
Aiwass’s tone softened a bit: “Lancelot is already dead. He completely gave up the duties of the Shadow of Avalon and chose to become a Knight Heavenly Department. Your mission is also over.
“Helquinn is now by my side, and Eagle Cape Village’s mission has also ended.
“Isabel has also become strong enough that she no longer needs your personal protection—is the role of Royal Guard really the career you idealize?
“As for transcendence—the Serpent Father is about to ascend, and the Path of Transcendence will soon disappear. Next, it might transform into evolution, or perhaps something else. But the Path of Transcendence can only last for a mere two more months.
“So… what about you? What kind of road do you really want to take?”
Aiwass looked at Hayna and said seriously, “You can be considered… the first Transcendent who led me closer to this world. I don’t want you to remain lost until the very end.
“Everyone always needs their own road, to leave some footprints of their own, to make some sound of defying destiny. When you look back at the end of life, you can see which things were imposed on you by fate. And which things you earned or seized for yourself.
“—Hayna, you would be angry over civilians being killed and thus hold a grudge against ‘the baker’. Then would you be willing to speak up for slaves who have truly been enslaved and tortured?”
“I…”
Hayna instinctively hesitated for a moment but soon found her resolve: “Of course.”
She initially wanted to say something like “I am a Guardian,” “I am a shield,” or “My strength is for protecting ordinary people,” but when the words reached her lips, she felt they were so pale and weak. A simple “of course” carried more power.
Aiwass took a deep breath and issued a command: “You should go find the Red Hand Gang.”
“Yes.”
Hayna instinctively responded, and after a few seconds, she asked, puzzled, “Is it to secretly support… to facilitate your destruction of the Red Hand Gang?”
“No,” Aiwass denied, “it’s to support the other side and destroy Holy Spring City.
“Hayna… I remember, you have already prepared for death, right?”
When Hayna first arrived at Holy Spring City, it was partly to kill the baker and partly to offer herself as a sacrifice for Aiwass’s promotion ritual.
“I don’t need your assistance or sacrifice. You should find what you truly want to do—you are a person of strength, able to destroy a city with a mere gesture. People’s fates change easily under your will, yet you are evading the responsibility of being a powerful person and are uncertain about your own positioning. That should not be the case.”
Aiwass slowly said, “You should not become a puppet of fate, but rather the master of destiny. Otherwise, you will become a machine creating waves, bringing misfortune to more people.
“In any case, you should go and see for yourself. Go help them. Go listen to their voices. Go see with your own eyes those enslaved by fate, and awaken the anger within your heart.
“No longer as a shadow of the Founding Monarch, nor as a villager who grew up in the Wild Hunt King’s territory, not as a student of the capital, or the friend of the Pope and Queen, or the youngest Knight of the Arbitration Hall—but as a traveler, a knight of justice. Just as Helquinn once did… purely for upholding justice.
“You indeed come from a civilian background, but your life has never been ordinary. Your greatest suffering was merely being without money… yet even so, you never went hungry. You have lived better than most people, and your innate talent has always allowed you to stand out.
“So—now it is time to see true suffering with your own eyes, Hayna. As a person of strength, under the name of an outsider.
“This might offer you some inspiration.
“It might be very painful, but it’s worth it.”