Chapter 902: The Key to the Ghoul (Two in One)
Aiwass remained silent, looking up at Lucifer.
He was so tall that it even reminded Aiwas of the experience of facing the Giant Prince in the past.
Now that I think about it, the reason why the giants became so tall... was probably because of the trace of blood left by the Supreme Sky.
When Zhigaotian was still the king of the winged beings, he must have been just as tall...
“…He and I are different.”
Aiwass took a deep breath, trying to speak with more force, but in the end, he only uttered a pale whisper: "Don't confuse us."
This was completely different from the righteous and powerful words he had used when he had said to Cardinal Galatea, "I am not a snake."
For some reason, Aiwass felt a strange sense of guilt when facing Lucifer. It was as if he had truly made a mistake, but also as if his conscience had simply been wounded by that childlike, pure gaze.
Aiwass's words were closer to a weak defense than an angry warning: "I don't remember anything... I'm just a discarded remnant."
It was a hesitation that felt like he really owed him something.
It was as if he had done something wrong to him in the past, and the shame and remorse were deeply engraved in his heart. Now, time had passed, and he had long forgotten the story and the people of the past, but he still vaguely remembered the feeling of indebtedness.
But I really don’t know him!
"I usually tell the truth."
Aiwass said seriously: "I have never had any ill will towards others."
“Snakes are the same,” Lucifer replied without hesitation, “Snakes always tell the truth when they lie.
"Every word he said, taken individually, was the truth—aren't you the same kind of person?"
Lucifer's words struck a chord with Aiwass: "You say 'I'm telling the truth,' but inside you're saying things like 'I'm telling the truth even when I lie sometimes,' and 'Foxes are very good at lying.'"
"...Don't read my mind!" Aiwass frowned.
"I don't read minds, because the doors of all beings' hearts are open to me. Just as you can see colors and smell flavors, winged beings can also feel the 'hearts' of others."
Lucifer simply smiled gently and knelt on one knee again. "However, you are indeed different from a snake. When a snake uses the truth to deceive others, it always believes it in its heart. But you will say words in your heart to convince yourself... because you still cannot accept the false as the truth."
Aiwass inexplicably felt a sense of anxiety - after re-merging with Aleister and achieving spiritual peace and perfection, he rarely felt anything that could touch his heart.
But now, in front of the remnant soul of Tiansi from the old world, Aiwass felt as if he was still an ignorant child.
"Why do you always kneel before me?"
Aiwass frowned and said sarcastically to Lucifer, "I am not your king, so there is no need for you to pledge allegiance to me."
"Because you are so small, much smaller than a snake."
Lucifer showed no sign of anger, but patiently explained, "I need to be eye-level with you to show that we are equals; and I kneel to you to express my goodwill—this is what the snake taught me. He told me that kneeling is a ritual used to distinguish between superiors and inferiors.
"I have no intention of conquering your being or soul, nor do I wish to invoke the authority of the Winged King. Therefore, I rest my wings here. I will perform the reverse ritual as a gesture of friendship. It's like swallowing one's teeth and retracting one's claws, or sheathing a sword."
As he himself said—as the love and light abandoned by his true self, Lucifer’s words were indeed full of kindness.
Aiwass also realized his gaffe.
He pursed his lips and faced his mistake frankly: "I'm sorry, I don't know why... I lost control of my emotions just now."
“That’s a good thing.”
Lucifer said gently, "This just shows that even the 'Snake' feels guilty about this matter - he had to cut away his guilt to prevent it from affecting his actions. This proves his friendship for us, doesn't it?"
"...Is that what you think?"
Aiwass was speechless for a moment.
He didn't know how to explain it - even though Lucifer had learned the human language, he couldn't quite understand the thinking patterns of ancient people like Lucifer.
"Indeed," Lucifer nodded slightly. The golden giant was as brilliant and flawless as He appeared. "His feelings for us are genuine, but for a higher purpose, he had to abandon us. Just like his tribe, they would give up their lives as a living sacrifice in order to reach the highest.
"He sacrificed me without my consent. I am dissatisfied with this. But he feels guilty and suffers for it, so I forgive him. He cut off one of his goodness, and that is you. Your pain is the same pain he suffered in the past. When a person sins, he must repent, and repentance requires atonement.
"So I ask you - will you deceive me again, like the snake did in the past?"
After finishing his explanation, Lucifer repeated his previous words and extended his hand towards Aiwass.
However, at this time, Aiwass's mentality and understanding had become completely different.
He gradually began to understand Lucifer's thoughts——
The handshake just now was a reunion with an old friend; but the handshake now is the real "first meeting" with Aiwass.
"I won't."
He spoke in a sonorous voice, tightly clasping Lucifer's huge right hand: "But I won't make promises like 'I will never betray' or 'I will never lie'...
“I can only say that everything I have done is true to my heart.
"I will never do anything that I will regret. I will never cut out my regretful heart."
Hearing this, Lucifer smiled happily.
He said gently: "Then you and he are not the same person.
"Nice to meet you, my friend. You look a lot like a friend of mine... What's your name?"
“…Evans.”
Aiwass did not say his last name, but after a long silence, he only said his first name.
Compared to the family represented by the surname "Moriarty", the name "Evans" is the name that Aiwass himself truly recognizes - that is, his real name.
He believed that Lucifer could sense it.
Although it is just a remnant of soul, a piece of consciousness, a pile of embers, a solidified yellowed photo... it is completely different from the guy who became the Fallen Angel.
But at least Aiwas hoped that the other party could sense this sincerity.
"I sense it, friend."
Lucifer smiled lightly and relaxedly: "Sure enough, it is worthwhile to guard here all the time..."
"…Protection? Value?"
"People should persevere in doing things. This is also the lesson the snake taught me."
Lucifer mentioned snakes almost every other sentence, but Aiwass felt that there was nothing wrong with it. "The snake said that if you persist until the end and then give up, it is almost the same as giving up at the beginning. Therefore, if you make up your mind, you must go all the way and never look back.
"I have been guarding this place since the day my old self ascended. I watch the sun shine eternally upon the earth, and nothing in the world changes. I can feel the passage of time outside, constantly wearing away my preservation technique, and my time is dwindling. The power of the Tao seeps in, and the souls of the children I preserved here gradually transform into demons. In the end, no one can communicate with me.
"But I think I should at least wait until the first group arrives here. I want to tell them how the sun died and how the stars were born. I want to tell them the truth about what happened back then, why the Fallen Angels were born... I want them to be careful of the lies of the Snake, which are always true."
At this point, Lucifer looked at Aiwass with a smile: "But I didn't expect... the first person to come here was actually 'Snake', just like before. Oh, sorry... I forgot, you are not a snake. You are just a friend who looks very similar to him.
"In this way, my mission is completed..."
"etc!"
Seeing Lucifer's body gradually becoming transparent as if he was about to give his last words, Aiwass quickly stopped him and said, "Tell me the story of the 'Snake'! And how I should be careful of him... Now he and I are enemies! And I know nothing about him..."
"...You are actually the shed skin of a 'snake', right?"
Lucifer said something shocking.
Seeing Aiwas’ pupils shrink slightly, Lucifer smiled and said, “Because ‘Snake’ mentioned it to us.
"He's not a god, but he knows a lot about gods. I've asked him before, and he always tells the truth—he says he was reborn here from the future, and that the end of the world came in the distant future. He's been through the cycle several times, but he's never been able to break it. That's how he got to know me."
Lucifer said gently, "He said that every time he could become my friend. He seemed a little sad when he said this. I didn't understand why then... but now I know. It's because every time, he needed my help to ascend to heaven again.
"But I think... if that's the reason, there's no need to apologize to me. When the world is destroyed, time turns, and all the disasters and changes happen again, those who are still struggling will surely suffer the most. On the contrary, those of us who are muddle-headed will live happily and die peacefully.
"He came to be my friend with the intention of eventually killing me. I only enjoyed the joy of having a friend, while he had to endure the torment of his own conscience.
"He told me he would leave behind many shed skins. He would continuously sever his tails in every era, cutting off a large portion of his self and the most important memories, letting them experience life, expanding them, and then taking them back into himself, using this method to maintain his humanity. Although I don't know why he lacks humanity since he is not a Pillar God...
"The snake said, 'People only have one pair of eyes and one life in this world. They can only see what they see and experience what they experience. But if you cut yourself in half, you can have many lives... If your own knowledge can't solve a problem, perhaps someone else can.'"
"From the looks of you, you should have a way to solve the apocalypse, right?"
The golden giant's voice was gentle and calm, giving people warmth and strength: "Come on.
"Since you are right, it is your turn to eat him."
"Should I...eat him? Eat Huan Tiansi?"
Aiwass' pupils widened.
Is this actually possible to accomplish?
"certainly."
Lucifer affirmed, "As the snake said, snakes never lie. In past reincarnations, there have always been victorious snake sheddings. He himself was once a snake shedding in a certain period of history, and is no longer his original self. If he can win, then you can win too."
After hearing this, Aiwass suddenly understood!
This is extremely important information.
Many unsolvable problems suddenly became clear to me.
Aiwass knew almost everything!
Why did Huan Tiansi's behavior seem so detached from that of the ancient Huan Tiansi, so determined to leave this world? Why did the Pillar Gods all bet on Aiwass, but not one tried to kill Huan Tiansi beforehand? Why did the Shepherd ultimately forgive and spare the Fallen Angels, sabotaging Huan Tiansi's plans with his own life? And...
Aiwass's system!
——It is subtly different from what I had guessed before entering the Tower of Babel.
Now, he could basically deny the theory that the system originated from Huan Tiansi's memories—because Huan Tiansi was closely connected to the creation and destruction of this tower, and it could be said that every part of it was unrelated to him. In this case, how could Huan Tiansi's memories be missing something from this?
Come to think of it, there is one more thing——
During Aiwas' brief time as a cardinal, he saw a sentence in his newly crafted [Cardinal's Certificate] robe:
[“——Hello? Can you see this?”]
He had already denied that the words came from the Lord of Scales and Feathers, but now it seemed... it was so cheerful and carefree, it didn't seem like a relic of the Heavenly Ring. It seemed more like Aiwass himself... but an even more cheerful Aiwass.
Aiwass had no objection to the fact that he had a system because he had memories of the game "Ouroboros" from his time on Earth. In other words, it was all within his understanding.
But here comes the problem.
"James Moriarty" does exist in the game.
But James returned from the end of the world!
He had obviously only experienced one life, and it was the life in which Huan Tiansi chose to become the "Endless Knot" and the life in which the Tail Ring Ceremony was not carried out!
——If my experience is exactly the same as in the game, then what about the seven previous lives that have the same memories as me?
James obviously didn't have any deep memories of Aiwass, otherwise his attitude towards him wouldn't be like that. But if Aiwass had a memory of the end of the world and a system that could allow him to learn quickly, there was no reason why he wouldn't become a big shot.
In other words, it is highly likely that Aiwass in past lives did not have a system and no memory of the "Ouroboros"!
The "memories of past lives" that were originally taken for granted seemed to turn into countless broken glass fragments at this moment.
From this perspective...there are only two possibilities.
One possibility is that those "Aivas" without a system and no memory of the "Ouroboros" were considered "sacrifices" from the very beginning. They were nothing special, just like other snake skins.
A mere nine lives certainly wasn't enough for Aiwass to dabble in so many professions and items, master them in advance, and construct a nearly flawless system. Therefore, the system consisted of all the "snake sloughs" split off by Huan Tiansi. It certainly wouldn't be like this life... where only the Shepherd and Aiwas were split off, with no extra snake sloughs.
Another possibility is that the plot of "The Ring of the Tail" that Aiwass remembers never existed from the beginning.
This is obviously impossible - because even Lian Huan Tiansi's own behavior is predicted by the "game plot".
If we rule out this possibility...
Huan Tiansi clearly harbored a strong hostility towards Aiwass, repeatedly attempting to possess his body, yet never actually proceeded. He clearly knew that Aiwass had already prepared a countermeasure against the Ring of the Tail and had the support of many Pillar Gods, yet he still proceeded with his plan step by step, as if he knew nothing...
All kinds of strange behaviors were explained at this moment.
——He is trying to "restore" the game plot!
Lucifer said that those "snake skins" "contain the most important part of memory", but for Huan Tiansi, what is the most important memory?
That is the proof that he is a time traveler from another world!
He constantly transfers his memories of being a time traveler into the material world, cultivating a naive "time traveler," then fighting with the other and devouring it. In this way, he constantly emphasizes "who I am" to avoid forgetting himself in the long cycle of reincarnation.
Although Huan Tiansi lived through nine lifetimes, in a sense, he may have only lived through three...
In that original era, there was no James, the savior who returned from the future, nor was there Aiwass, who had a love-hate relationship with Huan Tianshi. He had become Tianshi from ancient times, and became the pillar god "Huaweihuan", but he was completely unable to save the world...
At that time, Huan Tiansi might have realized something.
He then prepared for a long, long time... He led the "Fallen Angels" onto the "correct path", brought James back from the day of the end of the world, gave the sacred entity to Jacob to cut... awakened Aiwass and his system, and cultivated the most important chess piece.
——The most important thing about the “key” is that it fits perfectly.
If the locks are changed, the key may no longer work.
But this key cannot be replaced in any way...it is Huan Tiansi's "true self"!
Therefore, Huan Tiansi made a lock in reverse order for this key!
Prepare the stage, prepare the script, prepare the actors, and restore everything to what you see in the game until the actors appear on stage - and smash it all to pieces.
He didn't dare to kill Aiwas directly, nor did he dare to take over his body directly... because he was worried that his excessive interference would cause a bug in the "script"!
At that moment, Aiwass thought of what he had said to Professor Moriarty:
"--If I were a key, I would eventually be a ghoul key."
At that time, Professor Moriarty smiled happily.
At that time, Aiwass didn't know what he was laughing at...but now, he seemed to understand a little.
The professor may not know the "history" that he has not experienced, but he is the one who can best feel the traces of his fate being involved and changed!
He realized that the fate of the world was being manipulated by others, and finally realized that the "key to everything" lay with Aiwass.
That's why he laughed so happily when Aiwass said that!
"My friend."
At this moment, Lucifer said gently, "If you lack courage or strength... then accept my gift.
"When you stand before the snake, please say hello to him for me. Tell him that I have never hated him."
As he spoke, he gradually faded away.
The three pairs of solid white wings inlaid with gold behind him fell to the ground one after another with clanging sounds.
Lucifer's remaining voice still echoed in the air:
"I'm just a little sad—we could have faced the end together, and he wouldn't have to be so alone... so alone to the point of madness..."
Update completed!
This chapter had to be written in two parts. It took me a long time to finish it, and I almost didn't catch up with the full attendance -
(End of this chapter)
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