Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1318 Human Nature

"The other two..." Roselle put away his teasing expression, glanced at his children who had become angels, and continued, "One is the superficial divinity. When you need to spend most of your energy and emotions to fight against the true divinity that is constantly eroding you, there will be different external manifestations."

"Some remain gentle but lack change, some become even more cold-blooded and ruthless than before, and some become extremely stubborn, executing with determination as if they have given up on a certain goal...

“This is divinity on the surface.”

On the surface... Angel looked at Roselle thoughtfully, realizing that while He was explaining His "divinity", He was also making some excuses for the changes in His personality in His later years.

Of course, He could attribute everything to the pollution of the "Fallen Mother Goddess", desperately wanting to land on the moon, obsessively claiming to be an emperor and colonizing the moon, making Himself an emperor with mixed reputations, breaking with the Steam and Fiery Sun Churches, and jumping to the non-adjacent "Black Emperor" path to become a god. These were all influenced by the "newborn" character...

But this would undoubtedly cause Bernadette and Bonois to misjudge the impact of divinity on themselves, and when they had the opportunity to continue to ascend, they would neglect to deal with the dangers from the depths of the Beyonder characteristics.

Moreover, it would be difficult to get this proud fellow to admit that he did those things simply because of pollution. It would be more natural to attribute it to the influence of divinity... No, I'm different. I was really influenced... Angel thought awkwardly and continued to ask:

"Is this the reason why most of the indifference shown by the mythical creatures and the extraordinary people who become angels is due to this?"

To her surprise, Roselle shook his head and said:
"This is only true for some, such as most of the true gods and their angels, because they have enough anchors to stabilize their own state, and they still show enough of themselves in their indifference, stubbornness, and irritability...

"And the mythical creatures you mentioned are the divinity that most people vaguely understand, and are also the first level of 'humanity' in my understanding."

"Levels of human nature?"

Bernadette, who was listening carefully to her father's narration, asked back in confusion.

"This part of the content comes from the internal research of the Twilight Hermits. Of course, now I am sure that Adam revealed it on purpose," Roselle smiled at his daughter and said, not shying away from the name that ordinary people would not dare to mention. "They believe that human nature is divided into two levels. The first level is the most basic needs and instincts of living beings. They are greedy and selfish, indifferent to others, have no morality in the sense of ordinary people, and do everything to survive."

"These instincts are possessed even by the Prime Creator and the great beings He gave birth to and split from, not to mention the mythical creatures that were born. If they didn't even have these basic self-awareness and instincts, they would have become crazy and chaotic long ago, and would have been controlled and occupied by the divinity within the Beyonder characteristics, allowing those great beings to be resurrected in their bodies.

"The mythical creatures that most people come into contact with represent the first level of humanity, and therefore they regard them as 'divinity'. This is the manifestation of the general public's vague cognition. If the true gods stay at the position of Sequence 0 for long enough, and watch the anchors corresponding to their emotions and experiences disappear one by one under the scouring of time, humanity will also degenerate to this level.

"In this state, it is difficult to resist the erosion of the spiritual imprints of the 'original' and other great beings. In this sense, it is both 'humanity' and 'divinity' that we are fighting against."

Because the angels and mythical creatures that high-ranking Extraordinary people like us fight against mostly show the first layer of humanity after degradation, so they regard this state as "divine"? Even gods cannot get rid of the most basic instincts of creatures. Instead, they will slide in this direction due to the gradual wear and tear of humanity and anchors... Angel's mind flashed with the different but partially overlapping personalities of the angels and natural mythical creatures he had seen, and he said thoughtfully:

"This is the level of the Hidden Sage. His begging for mercy is just a survival instinct. He does not think it is something shameful because he does not have such a concept born in the human race."

"Yes, the Hidden Sage was born from the uniqueness of activation, and has no real growth or life experience, so he does not have a higher level of humanity," Roselle nodded slightly, "But some other natural mythical creatures, such as Amon and Medici, because they live in human society, are influenced by their own growth and the anchors they possess, and instead have what the Dusk Hermits consider to be a second level of humanity."

“That is the widely recognized human nature, which has good sides such as love, courage, and sacrifice, as well as bad sides such as hatred, cunning, and deception. But no matter good or bad, it is strong enough to better fight against divinity.

"In addition to these mythical creatures that are more similar to humans, the gods, because of their own 'positioning' of the anchor of faith, will also show the image of God loving the world. This is an effective positive cycle that can help them achieve a balance between humanity and divinity and fight against the inevitable madness that will eventually come."

Two levels of "humanity", three different understandings of "divinity", and some of them overlapped... Angel summarized what Roselle said in his heart, and had a deeper understanding of how to fight against the spiritual imprint within the Beyonder characteristics.

As the sequence ascends, this is no longer a simple confrontation between humanity and divinity, but rather maintaining humanity between the "original" and the great existence that once contained the source material, the spiritual imprint and the anchor that influences oneself, and it is maintaining the second level of humanity.

Whether it is sliding towards "divinity", becoming indifferent and crazy, or being influenced by the anchor and becoming the image perceived by others, you will no longer be yourself.

The gods of the Fifth Age no longer used specific images, but instead designed abstract holy emblems that represented authority in order to avoid the negative impact of the anchor of faith... But perhaps they had long been influenced by the images in the hearts of believers, such as the Goddess of Night... Thinking of this, Angel quickly gathered his thoughts, smiled and said:

"Unfortunately, I am not well prepared for the 'anchor'."

"But I see that you have maintained your humanity very well. Perhaps it has something to do with the way you serve as anchors for each other and your other identities. It's like acting and the ascension ceremony. Quality is more important than quantity."

Russell looked at Angel and Klein with some amusement and said.

I think you have maintained your humanity quite well. On the one hand, this is due to the special nature of the "Black Emperor". On the other hand, the legacy He left to the world is too much, far exceeding any emperor in history. If that is still not enough, you can even translate "Roselle's Diary" and print it in various countries to give Him a little more humanity... Angel complained in his heart, and at the same time realized that Roselle's words did not seem to conceal Klein's identity, as if he was hinting to his children that he was "The Fool".

She guessed that Roselle's purpose was, firstly, to warn Klein not to use the identity of "The Fool" to deceive his daughter, and secondly, to associate the superior image of "The Fool" with Hermann, which would help Klein maintain his humanity.

While she was thinking, Bonois, who had been silent all this time, looked at his father. His indifferent expression relaxed a little, and he suddenly asked:
"Did all your actions during those years come under the influence of divinity?"

Here it comes, the part where they start to question each other... Angel quickly gathered his thoughts, his expression and movements remained unchanged, but he listened attentively to the conversation between the two.

She also noticed that Klein's eyes were also on Roselle. Roselle, who instantly became the focus of everyone in the room, looked at his second son, who was almost a "natural mythical creature" in his words, and sighed, saying:

“Of course there is the influence of divinity, but the contamination of the ‘Fallen Mother Goddess’ has also changed me, making me involuntarily become paranoid and extreme.

"On the one hand, I was worried that the pollution would affect the people around me, so I subconsciously distanced myself from you. On the other hand, I was very angry at the 'Steam God' for his actions, which might have been well-intentioned but ended up in trouble, and I transferred these feelings to you.

"During those years, I felt hatred and disappointment on the one hand, but on the other hand I couldn't help but secretly care about you and recall your cute appearance in the first few years after you were born...

"But no matter what, it's enough to have the opportunity to see that you are fine now."

At the end, Russell's tone was a little low.

This is already an apology for the proud "Black Emperor". It is probably unlikely that he would bow his head and say sorry in person... Angel muttered, looking at Bonova, and found that the latter's expression was still a little indifferent. He just nodded and said:
"I see……"

"Ah."

Klein at the side suddenly sneered exaggeratedly, and Bernadette's blue eyes moved, as if she wanted to say something.

At this time, the second half of Bonois's unfinished sentence sounded hesitantly:
"Welcome back... Dad."

Russell was stunned.

He slowly stood up from the illusory throne, walked in front of his son, slowly stretched out his hand, pressed it on Bonois's head, and patted it gently as if recalling a scene in his mind.

Anyway, they have reconciled between father and son... Under the sunlight outside the window, this scene in the thin white mist made Angel feel emotional.

It was not until the projection of the Black Emperor disappeared in the room that Bonova came back to his senses. He looked around, waved his hand, took the Hermit Uniqueness on the ground into his arms, bowed slightly to Angel and Klein, and said:
"Thank you both for your help."

Bernadette also put away the "Knowledge Emperor" characteristic that aggregated Sequence 9 to Sequence 1, and took out a small card from her pocket as if she had been prepared, and handed it to Angel.

The latter took it and found that it was a "blasphemous card" that had been unsealed and had an old man named Roselle leaning on a cane and holding a lantern painted on its surface.

The bright starlight in the upper left corner of the card condensed into a line of text:
"Sequence 0: Hermit."

Like other blasphemous cards, it recorded all the potion formulas and corresponding promotion rituals for the entire "Hermit" path up to Sequence 0. At a time when Angel had gained a large number of extraordinary properties and seals from this path, it was indeed a much-needed item.

Bernadette's behavior also seems to imply that Cattleya, the "hermit" with whom she has a close relationship, is still a member of the Tarot Club and will not be interfered with by her.

Not only that, they did not express their gratitude to The Fool, as if they were certain that Klein was the mysterious being, or at least his clone... There was nothing they could do about it. Klein had already been promoted to Sequence 1, and apart from his path, all god positions or uniqueness had corresponding ones. The identity of The Fool was no longer a secret in the eyes of those who knew these things... Angel pondered as he watched Bernadette and Bonois leave the room as a brilliant stream of information.

Then, she turned to Klein and expressed an idea that had been brewing in her mind for a long time.

----

A corner of Raphael Cemetery in the northern district of Tingen City.

The figures of Angel and Klein quickly appeared and landed in front of a not-so-old tombstone.

The black-and-white photo on the tombstone is still clear under the protection of the glass embedded in the stone. It shows Townsend Neil wearing a classic black soft hat and with deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

Below the photo of Old Neil, there is an epitaph:

"If you can't save her, be with her."

Angel stretched out his hand, took out a sealed object seized from the "Moss Ascetic Order" from the mirror world, shattered it completely, allowed the characteristics of the "Mystery Peeper" to slowly condense, and sealed it in a small mirror.

Afterwards, Klein placed the mirror in Old Neil's tomb.

As long as Angel remains the "master of the mirror world", this characteristic will not leave the mirror and will not cause harm to Old Neil and other tombs around.

After doing all this, the two stood in front of the tomb in silence for a moment before walking out of the cemetery snuggling together.

(End of this chapter)