Chapter 560 Necessary Evil Controlled Fire
"……student?"
Aiwass narrowed his eyes slightly, put his right hand behind his back and looked at Cardinal Loki.
Vines on his shoulder also narrowed his scarlet pupils synchronously.
Cardinal Loki glanced at Vines, his mouth, still stained with stitches, curled up slightly. "You're not an honest man either... Should I say you're worthy of being called Moriarty? This sinful surname..."
"What do you know?"
"a lot of."
Cardinal Loki replied, “I know most of the secrets in this world, even more than you can imagine.
"Evans... I repeat, I do not wish to be your enemy. I know that if I fight you, I might be utterly destroyed, so why not skip this step altogether... If you want to know something, just ask directly. I have the answer."
"For example... the fact that you, as a fragment of Huan Tiansi, were recreated by your 'grandfather' Jacob."
——It’s different from what everyone else calls Aiwass.
It does not refer to a vague "divine entity", but rather to a very clear "fragment of Huan Tiansi".
Aiwass' heart sank slightly.
When he was nearly possessed by Huan Tiansi during the previous promotion ceremony, Aiwass had almost become convinced that he and Huan Tiansi had a very close relationship. Now, however, he had only reaffirmed this suspicion from a third-party perspective.
"...You haven't answered my question yet."
Aiwass was silent for a moment, then looked at Cardinal Loki again: "What did he learn from you?"
Loki's smile faded as he heard this.
His ombré hair, which reminded Aiwass of the flames of a gas stove, suddenly began to move without a breeze. Like a frozen, stagnant flame pattern, it began to burn again.
Loki said slowly, "He inherited my most important mystical skill from me—my stargazing tantra."
"...stargazing?"
Aiwass murmured, "Astrology adapted to the path?"
He remembered that Professor James had written several papers on astrology when he was very young.
His talent for mathematics and astrology was so profound that Aiwass once considered him a transcendent being of wisdom and adaptability. Given his youthful enthusiasm for astrology, it made perfect sense for him to travel to the Theocracy to learn more advanced knowledge.
"That is the original text of astrology, a method of observation born when the second sun shattered. The many secrets I know were told to me by the stars.
"—The stars told me that I would meet the successor to my destiny on that day. Then I met the student James Moriarty.
"He was roughly the same age as you back then, only a few years older. Before that, he had never encountered the Adaptation Path and wasn't even a Transcendent. But as Xingxing said, he was very smart and mastered it quickly... He learned from me in three years and mastered the essence.
"He learned astrology from me, and when he's free, he'll stand here and observe the Theocracy with me. Although he's not an elf and doesn't have the Amber Worry, he's also eager to help others and preach the Controlled Fire alongside my followers."
"That sounds like it would be all right," Aiwass interjected.
Cardinal Loki replied, "The problem is that for a short-lived person... he holds too many secrets, and they are too heavy. What he worries about is far beyond his ability. But that's nothing... As an astrologer, you see too much and can do too little. One day, you will adapt."
"But he didn't."
"Yes, but he didn't. The more secrets he uncovered, the more he wanted to interfere with the world. He read many books from the Thirteenth Circle and visited many teachers. His original one-year study abroad was repeatedly extended to four years... After seeking true knowledge, he returned to the Royal Law University of Avalon to complete the rest of his coursework.
"At least at that time, I just thought he was going to make a difference in Avalon."
Cardinal Loki's voice was rational and calm, as if he was reciting a script, without any anger or even any waves.
"He was only 24 when he left me. He was full of enthusiasm, passion, and knowledge, and he wanted to start his own business. It was 20 years later that I heard from him again.
"—From what I understand, it was the witch named Anna Kingsford who changed him."
Cardinal Loki was not shy about sharing his secrets.
Perhaps this was because he wanted to show goodwill to Aiwass, or perhaps it was the common trait of every astrologer - because they knew much more than they needed to know, they would talk non-stop once they started talking.
This was undoubtedly information that Aiwass could not obtain at all.
What Loki said confirmed the information Aiwass already knew - Moriarty's extreme concept of "premature death and necessary evil" was indeed inherited from the controlled fire.
But from what Loki said... he didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with his philosophy.
"...You said he was pursuing you, and you would be unable to stop yourself."
"Yes."
"You are forced to steal Freya's secret medicine?"
Aiwass questioned.
Regardless of whether Loki is the criminal or not, as the old man in the monitoring room, he must know who stole the "Tears of Time".
Unexpectedly, Loki didn't quibble or lie, but frankly admitted: "Indeed."
"...Is this also part of the 'necessary evil'? In order to be elected Pope, he intends to use the Tears of Time and even murder the bishop to force Saint Ningpo?"
"So that's what you think."
Hearing this, Loki suddenly laughed and said, "This is why you don't understand me.
"—I don't care about the position of Pope at all. All cardinals are pastors. What's the point of being the chief pastor?"
"You don't deny the attack on Pure White?"
Aiwass asked.
The corners of Loki's mouth rose slightly, and he nodded lightly without responding.
Aiwass then asked: "What is your purpose? Or, if you really succeed the Pope - what do you plan to do?
"If you really don't intend to be my enemy, then the answer to 'what should I do' should be clear to me. You said you would answer any question you have."
"—controlled fire."
Cardinal Loki answered without hesitation: "I will promote controlled fire and save the Eternal Theocracy; I will sever the elves' heritage and allow them to be reborn.
"As you know, the elves' immortality comes from the curse of the amber. If the amber were truly cured, the elves would lose their long lifespan, the Eternal Kingdom would fall into chaos, and eventually fade away with the passage of time. The Church of the Nine Pillars would also lose its foundation. I knew this before Freya did, even before anyone else... When I became an elf, I already knew the source of the elves' immortality.
"Although the name of the Eternal Theocracy itself comes from the legacy of the Eternal Saint, rather than the Pope—but rather than the Theocracy, I hope that the Church of the Nine Pillars will ultimately survive."
Cardinal Loki answered slowly and word by word: "Because it was the candlestick, not the tree, who forgave my sins; and it was the candlestick, not the pope, who gave me new life.
"I am a follower of the Candlemaker, not a child of the giant tree or the amber. What the elves do or what the giant tree does has nothing to do with me. I only walk my own path."
"...I prefer the Theocracy to the Elves, and I prefer the Church to the Theocracy. Is that what you mean?"
Aiwass understood.
Loki really didn't need to lie - he was indeed a fifth-level devotee, and his will was strong.
He serves only the survival and interests of the Nine Pillars Church... and the Eternal Saint is the core inheritance of the Eternal Church, passed down from generation to generation and succeeded by the Pope. In other words, these Popes are always independent of the church system.
What Loki wanted was not "to become the Pope himself", but to "prevent the Saint from succeeding the Pope".
He knew the principles of the Amber, and therefore knew it couldn't be cured completely; and the solution to alleviate the Amber was "controlled fire"... He also knew that severing the inheritance wouldn't cure the Amber, it could only reduce the probability of Amber forming. But this was exactly the effect he wanted.
——Seal the flame that can produce light but will also burn humans.
This flame is the "Amber Curse" itself.
This is Loki's path of dedication - for the survival of the church and theocracy, he lets the elves destined to amber die as soon as possible so as not to affect others.
This is exactly...
Premature death.
(End of this chapter)
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