Chapter 75 The Dead End of the Chess Pieces
The familiar, unsettling smell; the body that could still move after being hacked to pieces; and the stench permeating the blood and grime.
These clues all whisper their connection to the truth.
Reinhardt quickly regained his composure from his fear and accurately grasped the clues, giving what he considered the most reasonable guess at that moment.
Of course, the main reason is that he believes in himself.
He knew that without sufficient motivation, he would never have chosen such an extreme and bloody path.
Of course... we can't rule out the possibility that 'that person,' who is a god, is an extremely perverted freak.
But that was not within his consideration.
The friend, who had no physical form, replied, "Yes."
"Many years ago, the vast territory of the Harlin Empire was infiltrated with the blood of demons. The people living on that land were corrupted and assimilated by the aura of demons, and even the lords and kings became their puppets."
"Their power continued to expand, and their pollution gradually spread outwards. To prevent an even greater catastrophe, you, Reinhard, the only god still alive in the world at that time, chose to extinguish it all within the city walls."
"Unfortunately, your power was no longer sufficient to purify that land. Even after exhausting all your life force, you were still unable to drive away all the demons."
Reinhardt's heart stirred slightly as he gleaned some clues from the other party's explanation, piecing together a deeper truth.
“So I came into being.” Reinhardt had completely regained his former calm, even though his heart was churning with turmoil.
“Yes.” His friend wasn’t surprised by his ability to guess the truth from just a few words; or rather, it would have been surprising if Reinhardt hadn’t been able to guess.
"You were born for this purpose."
Reinhardt tried his best to suppress his emotions.
He remained skeptical of his old friend's account, but deep down he knew that the truth was highly credible.
“If it’s really as you say, that my birth was to complete that massacre and purify all the demons in the Harlin Empire, then why did I place myself in such a distant place? Was it random, something I couldn’t choose? And why was I only discovered when I was sixteen or seventeen?” He raised his doubts. “If it weren’t for that natural disaster, if I had been more careful, my power wouldn’t have been exposed, and the purification you mentioned might never have progressed before I died.”
Now, stripped of his divine powers, he is just an ordinary person. Without memories of his past life, without the ambition and responsibility to save the world, and without those fortuitous events, he could perhaps have lived a simple and peaceful life in that small village.
"Do you really think it was all a coincidence?" The words of his illusory old friend went on to chill Reinhardt to the bone.
“The young son of the gods was unable to complete the purification ritual. Being born in a remote mountain village was merely to give you enough time to grow and mature. Reinhardt, the ritual began the moment you were able to use divine power.”
This was a complete and utter scheme!
The god controlled him, who was born as a human.
He calculated natural disasters, his own growth trajectory, and even more importantly, the hearts of men. There's a high probability that this divine being also left behind clues to help those who hate him find him once their power matures.
Reinhardt suddenly realized.
That punishment was fundamentally created for him; a god whose divine power was insufficient set up a scheme to complete the purification.
From beginning to end, he was just a pawn in the game.
A doomed move.
“But…I escaped.” Reinhardt’s voice trembled slightly as he tried to deny the claim.
“Buster, the Storm Army bandits, the ones who rescued me from the execution ground. They…”
Reinhardt wanted to say that they were outside the calculations, that they were the shovel that pried open the sealed door.
What he wanted to prove was that he was an independent individual who could have a future.
An unknown future to explore, and people to choose from.
This isn't the only path he can take.
But he quickly shut his mouth again, and his heart sank.
His old friend understood that he had grasped this point, and said slowly, "That's why I'm still here, Reinhardt."
“If you hadn’t died in that execution, if you had escaped by some unknown accident, we would definitely have met. And I would have told you the truth about what happened back then, and the truth about how you were born into this world.”
"Reinhardt, this is our promise."
As a god symbolizing wisdom, he lived longer than other gods. But in this new era where humans hold the power over life, his longevity has come to an end.
One god after another fell, and he, as one of them, should also leave with the times. If it weren't for keeping his promise to Reinhard, the Cloud Library would have already landed on earth and fallen to the mortal world.
Reinhardt felt his heart tighten and his breathing became very difficult.
He suddenly wanted to see Buster and tell him that he was not feeling well, that he was unhappy, and that he was sad.
In his mind, Buster would definitely comfort him, hug him, kiss him, and do everything he could to make him happy.
He felt lonely.
Reinhardt was surprised to find himself seemingly vulnerable. If this had happened before he was rescued from the execution ground, perhaps he would have been more composed, less hesitant to accept everything, and would have completed his plan without hesitation.
He felt somewhat lost, for many things.
I also felt a sense of emptiness and powerlessness.
Reinhardt's mind was in a mess. He lowered his head and remained silent for a while before speaking as if he had come to his senses.
"You kept your promise. Now, what should I do?"
"What do you want to do?" the old friend asked in return.
He wants to do many things.
Upon hearing this question, Reinhardt immediately pictured Buster, Madonna, and the other ladies. He almost blurted out "freedom," but then suppressed it as he recalled his purpose for being there.
"My eyes are still in the Harlem Empire."
He spoke with certainty, judging from the fact that the Harlin Empire was still maintaining a stable status quo.
The sigh of his old friend was a reply, and Reinhardt was thus imprisoned once again in a silent confinement.
Without giving him time to adjust, the god symbolizing wisdom kept his promise and continued, "Without the supply of divine power, your body will soon collapse."
In other words, he doesn't have much time left.
But if he goes back, the ceremony will start automatically, and there will be no turning back.
This was destined to be a dead end; he had no other choice.
Seemingly lamenting his resolute decision, the god symbolizing wisdom let out a sigh.
"It's a pity, Reinhardt, that you haven't left yourself a way out."
Reinhardt offered no further comment. He simply stood there alone, seemingly resigned to the situation.
Under the watchful eyes of his old friend, the tall and slender Reinhardt slowly straightened up. As if rousing himself, he asked an unexpected question.
"If I regain my divine power, can I summon back the souls of the deceased?"
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Author's Note: Waaaaah, baby Rhine! [poor thing]
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