Chapter 1113: Lovers Don’t Love

Hearing that Aiwas was going to find Hecate, Haibasha volunteered to go with him.

"You know Hecate?"

On the way, Aiwas heard Haibasha talking about the past and couldn't help but feel a little surprised: "But..."

...But Aiwass still remembered what Cardinal Hecate looked like.

She wore a laurel wreath on her head and had beautiful, long, wavy brown hair. In human terms, she looked to be in her late thirties at most. Furthermore, her power was not particularly strong, and she was even considered relatively weak among all the cardinals.

Haibasha was an ancient being, having existed for at least two thousand years. She had already been promoted to an apostle at the latest five hundred years ago... which meant that the number of people she knew back then must have been at least fifteen hundred years old. This amount of time was already quite long for an elf.

Or has Hecate already acquired the art of immortality?

...Just like the Child of the Moon, he obtained the ability of immortality from Hengwo?

"Don't mention me... Both Hermes and Hercules know her."

Haibasha glanced nostalgically at the giant sword floating behind Aiwass: "Although... you may have forgotten it by now."

Neither Hypatia nor Aiwass concealed Don Quixote's true identity. Whether or not to accept this identity should have been his own decision, not something deliberately hidden "for his own good."

To Don Quixote, Hypatia whispered, "One of Hercules' Twelve Labors was to journey to the underworld and bring Cerberus back to the material world. Just like... you brought Crocus back."

"...The physical body goes to the dream world?" Aiwass exclaimed.

"That's right. But he didn't know the way. After all, there are no maps in the Dream Realm. That's why he asked Hecate to open the gate to the Shadow Kingdom for him... After all, Hecate and Scathach are familiar with each other. She was already a half-step apostle back then, and the reason she didn't ascend to the Dream Realm was simply because she wanted to become a celestial official."

Scathach—Aivaz remembered that was Shadow Tiansi's real name.

"Then Cardinal Hecate... wouldn't that mean she's lived for at least two thousand years?"

Isabel murmured to herself: "Is it so powerful..."

"Maybe more than that."

Haibasha smiled and revealed a big secret: "She is very powerful. When Hengwo became a moon wizard, he had received witchcraft knowledge from Hecate. In a sense, Hecate can even be considered half of Hengwo's teacher.

"She wasn't a priest back then, but a shaman of the Beast Path. Her journey into the path of devotion must have been much later... at least certainly later than the founding of the Herasil Empire.

"I haven't seen her in a long time, actually. But what you describe is undoubtedly the Hecate I know. As for how she's lived so long... I don't know either. But I suspect it's some kind of rejuvenation, or the ability to sacrifice power in exchange for longevity. After all, she was quite powerful back then... But from what you've said, it seems she can no longer reach the sixth level of energy."

As they were talking, they followed the elevator into the seventeenth ring.

The Seventeenth Circle - This is the witchcraft level, which is governed by Cardinal Hecate.

"Seventeen" is the limit of the curse. Whether it's seventeen people, seventeen days, seventeen years, or seventeen generations... the power of the curse is like a tide. When the number reaches seventeen, the power will reach its final peak and then begin to decline.

All of the Theocracy's knowledge of witchcraft, curses, spells, and herbs is stored on this floor. The few elven witches in the Theocracy generally reside here, and some elven wizards also like the atmosphere here and choose to live here.

From the outside, it looks like a dark and dense forest, and you can smell the rich forest scent as you walk along the road.

The inhabitants here were extremely sparse. Even as Aiwas and his companions traveled along, they didn't see a single living person.

They walked along the cobblestone road in the forest.

When they arrived at a crossroads, they saw Cardinal Hecate standing in the middle of the intersection.

At that moment, Aiwass stopped.

Although his memory was not very good, he still remembered the scene when the cardinals served as carriers of the Pillar Gods that day.

Before being possessed by the Constant Self, Cardinal Hecate had deep blue eyes as beautiful as gemstones and as deep as the starry sky. It was after being possessed by the Constant Self that the sapphires in her eyes transformed into pigeon-blood rubies.

But now Cardinal Hecate...

You can see it at a glance - her eyes are red.

As vivid as blood, as bright as fire.

That was not Cardinal Hecate.

——But it is the constant self.

And no one else...even Haibasha, did not realize this.

"Lady Hecate..."

Haibasha looked at Hecate with a surprised look: "You are actually... younger than you were back then?"

In her impression, Hecate should be a middle-aged woman in her forties.

"Hecate" just smiled and said nothing.

Sherlock's brow furrowed slightly, vaguely guessing something from this reaction. Isabel suddenly looked at Hecate with some suspicion, then glanced at the quiet Aiwass before obediently swallowing the greeting that had almost slipped out of her mouth.

Hecate opened her arms slightly towards Aiwass, made a hugging gesture and waved to him.

Aiwass took two hesitant steps forward, then looked back at Isabel before continuing to move forward slowly.

At this moment, several extraordinary people on the path of wisdom realized something - it was impossible for Aiwass to be so polite and respectful to a cardinal.

Haibasha was the first to react and bowed respectfully to Hengwo: "Greetings, Hengwo."

"...Don't be so reserved in front of me. Tia, we are friends."

This was the first time Hengwo spoke. Her voice was clear yet slow, clumsy yet gentle. It felt like a gentle teacher who had just learned a foreign language, using a not-quite-standard, clear yet slow tone to patiently guide a foreign child.

The name "Tia" was Haibasha's nickname, which was enough to prove how close their relationship was.

But Aiwass also clearly realized that... Hengwo felt something was not right at the moment.

——Old friends reunited, but he could not sense the fluctuations in Hengwo's heart. She was neither happy nor indifferent.

That feeling reminded Aiwass of his own class reunion years after graduation, when everyone maintained fake smiles and tried hard to create a false atmosphere.

But in truth, I completely forget the story of my "old classmate" Haibasha. I might even have forgotten his name. It's just that, for the sake of face, I need to maintain a friendly smile... The smile on his face is so gentle yet fake.

Is this also the erosion of nothingness?

...No, this is probably just the aftereffects of self-mutilation, Aiwass thought.

After all, Pillar Gods are pure and holy beings, and no living thing born in the material world can be so pure. Once you become a Pillar God, it means you lose your "humanity."

Even the Pillar God of the Path of Love is no exception.

——Even the pillar of the path of love may not be able to maintain his own heart to "love".

(End of this chapter)