Arcanum: Chaos Path

Chapter 144 Azik is atonement
It was three days later that Azik saw Lucifer again.

It was a rare sunny morning, unlike usual days when the sun was almost completely gone. This morning, Klein had already left after accepting a new commission. Jack and the Red Angel seemed to have something else to do and also left their residence early in the morning. Only Azik, who was theoretically staying as a guest, was left in the huge villa.

Under such circumstances, Lucifer knocked on the door of the villa. When Azik put down the newspaper and opened the door, he saw an angel with black hair and golden eyes standing at the door.

The other person had changed into a new set of clothes that looked more casual than a formal dress, but still gorgeous. The thick book in his hand remained the same.

"Good day, Azik." Lucifer raised his hand and pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up, then smiled at Azik with a very relaxed attitude. He said, "Jack told me you wanted to see me."

"Good day, Lord Lucifer." Azik was much more nervous in comparison. He welcomed Lucifer in, brewed some black tea with some awkwardness, and handed it to him before saying:
"I do want to see you. Perhaps Jack has already told you the reason in his letter. I want to meet my past self, the Archon of Death."

Luo Lin, who was wearing the Lucifer vest, smiled when he heard this. He took a sip of the black tea brewed by Azik, then looked up at him and said:
"This is dangerous. You should be aware of your situation. Facing the former Archon of Death might bring back memories of your past in the Balam Empire. That was the time when you were most deeply influenced by the God of Death and divinity. Actor, are you ready for the shock?"

"I don't know." Azik was silent for a second and then shook his head. Then his eyes became firm again and he said, "But at least I don't want to passively wait for death."

Azik thought a lot during this period, and occasionally he would dream about the past. Although it was not clear and could only be called fragments, it still allowed him to glimpse how different the former Archon of Death was from his current self.

Azik was afraid and resisted, but finally decided to do it.

At least in this way he still has the possibility to control his own destiny, rather than being passively devoured by the other half of his soul.

"Perhaps it's not devouring?" The black-haired angel seemed to have seen through his thoughts and chuckled. He opened the wordless book, turned to a certain page, and said:
"Azik, do you want to know about your future? Since you're a good actor, I don't mind letting you know some of the scripts in advance."

Although he said this, the young man's face showed an undisguised evil amusement. It was obvious that he did this simply because he wanted to watch a drama and have fun.

Azik pursed his lips, didn't refuse, and said, "So what was my future originally like?"

"You..." Luo Lin's eyes fell on the blank page of the book. There was no text on it, but Luo Lin's mind automatically emerged with all the original stories. This made him smile and said:
"It can be considered a good ending. You gave up another part of your soul, and someone helped you avoid fusion. However, as a price, you will also be forever trapped in reincarnation."

"Do you like this ending?" Luo Lin looked up at Azik and said with a smile, "If you like, you can still choose this way."

Azik was silent again. After a few seconds, he sighed, then laughed again and said, "If it were a few days ago, I would probably choose this ending, but now I want to choose another one."

"Oh?" Luo Lin raised his eyebrows and motioned him to continue.

Azik looked at him with a firm yet gentle gaze, and said, "I want to merge with the other half of my soul, I want to get rid of reincarnation, and I want to defeat divinity with humanity." "What made you make such a change, actor?" At this moment, Luo Lin asked like a director and a reporter.

"There are many reasons," Azik replied calmly. "If I really had to find a decisive reason, it's probably because the world Jack and the others described is so beautiful. I want to help them, so I can't sink into this kind of despair any longer."

Luo Lin showed a surprised expression and looked at Azik and said, "I didn't expect you to be an idealist."

"No, I'm not." Azik shook his head, showing a bitter smile, and said: "I have actually dreamed of many things during this period. I dreamed that I died and woke up again and again. I also dreamed that I was sitting on the throne, and one person after another fell down beside me, and then turned into skeletons and crawled up..." His voice was a little trance, like a dream mumbling.

"I feel this is wrong, it shouldn't be like this, but there is another me who says it should be like this..." Azik lowered his head and whispered, as if he was immersed in memories.

Luo Lin looked at him quietly, knowing that his actions had brought about some changes. Compared to the original novel, Azik had obviously recovered more memories, but perhaps due to the influence of reuniting with his children, compared to the original novel where he became increasingly indifferent due to the influence of memories, the Azik in front of him was obviously more painful.

Feeling the pain from the tug of war between humanity and divinity.

"Besides that, what else did you dream about?" Luo Lin suddenly spoke. His voice was gentle, like a priest listening to someone's troubles and offering relief. But the next moment, he said in an extremely cold voice, "Did you dream about your children?"

"I dreamed that they were also among the corpses, and I dreamed of their disappointed expressions towards you."

Azik suddenly raised his head and looked at him.

Luo Lin smiled at him, but his voice was like a verdict: "You know very well that your children will not be willing to accept such a father."

Azik's body was almost shaking, his lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Luo Lin's eyes seemed to carry a hint of pity, yet also a nonchalant smile. He stood up, raised his hand and lightly pressed it on Azik's head, like a god caressing a lost lamb, and said with a smile:
"You are atonement, Azik. For the sins you have committed, for your bloody past that you cannot describe to the children..."

"When Jack described the world we wanted to create, you must have been very happy. You can finally atone for your sins and make up for your..." Rowling paused, unable to help but laugh, before continuing, "Your past as the Archon of Death."

"...Yes." Azik finally uttered a word. He looked up at Luo Lin and said, "I want to atone for my sins."

"I know that the mistakes of the past cannot be truly made up for, but at least now I hope to contribute my part to that beautiful world."

(End of this chapter)