Shadow of the Evil God

The young emperor hugged his waist and looked up at him. "I've heard that. But I also heard that those attempts were all failures. The refugees over a thousand years ago had so many choices, but in the end, they chose to establish an empire—the Kasar Empire. Doesn't this prove everything, my teacher?"

Milava made many noises, and although she looked into his eyes, it was as if she was talking to herself, her eyes as dark as the night, motionless and unable to find focus.

Cesar stroked his hair gently again. "Because, my child, it's always easy to return to the safe past, but every step forward is accompanied by endless bloodshed, death, and failure. Simply taking a step forward at a heavy price is already a good result. Sometimes we even take a step forward and fall into the abyss."

"Why should we continue to explore a never-ending path forward at the cost of bloodshed, death, and failure?"

"No, you should look further," Cesar said. "It's not just us. Everyone who caused the upheaval was looking for a way forward: the Kuna people, the wise man who had always harbored fear, the Kasar Empire, and the Templar organization behind them. Of course, they also inflicted great trauma along the way—this was inevitable, because until they truly touched the way forward, they didn't know where the truth lay."

"Are the terror created by the thought plague and the darkness created by the advent of alien gods also acceptable?"

"Are you afraid?"

"Yes."

"I understand. You sought just as they did, but you couldn't find it. The failures of over a thousand years ago, the internal rebellion of the temples, the collapse of the external fronts, were all because you wanted to change the order of the pantheons and change their revered status. You no longer have the strength to say, 'I can still bring about change,' nor the courage to say, 'I can fight against dangers greater than the empire's destruction.' You've invested so much, yet gained nothing, and may even fall into the abyss. Why continue to invest?"

"You are touching the depths of my soul..."

Cesar held his head to his chest. "Because in the eyes of those extremely determined and tough people, returning to the safe past is unacceptable. I don't know what the Holy Temple behind the Empire is thinking, but I have been exposed to the plague of thought. Standing in the perspective of the wise, I can see that he has actually been tortured for thousands of years, and it is the torture of every tortured person from birth to death."

"Isn't this man just building a wall?" Milava asked him, eyes wide.

"That's not the case. If a wise man wishes to become and dominate the One Soul, he must experience the suffering of all. Famine, plague, pain, hardship, poverty, slavery—these horrors pile up within him, leaving him unable to endure. He has already established such a stable order for the Kuna dynasty that, barring any unforeseen events, it should last for ten thousand years. Yet, it's still not enough. Have you ever wondered why?"

"I don't understand..."

"Knowing this is fatal to the old, secure order."

"I am no less courageous than they are, Master, please tell me."

"I hope so, but it's not just a matter of courage."

"please tell me."

Cesar stroked Milava's hair and lowered his voice, "Because there are so many people of low status,

The ever-increasing despair and pain are so heavy that everyone asks, why does life exist? Why are we born? Why must we suffer at birth and not find peace after death? Why does evil exist? Why does the body suffer in torment? Why does the soul remain in a state of panic? Why do we yearn for things that are impossible to achieve?

"This is......."

"Listen to me, my child." He kissed his forehead and then leaned close to his ear. "So much suffering accumulated on that wise man made him realize one thing - if the old order continues to operate so steadily, there will only be one answer. As long as life is no longer born, as long as the flesh turns to ashes, as long as the soul returns to silence, as long as everything falls into eternal silence, there will be no more questions. This answer comes from the depths of darkness, from all the suffering that all lowly people have endured since they came into this world."

“Is this the fear of the wise?”

"The Wise Man's Fear can be interpreted in many ways, but I believe this one is closest to the secret. He believes that there is only one soul in the world, the so-called It, and all people and all beasts are its incarnations. Its original purpose is unclear, but if the ancient order continues to operate in this way, the call from the darkness will be drowned, leading to its only end. Faced with this terrifying premonition, what should we do?"

Milava's face drooped lower and lower, "I don't know..."

"Think about it," Cesar lifted his slender chin, tilting his face up like a cat. "Will you turn a blind eye and continue the ancient order? Or become an eternal monarch, forcing and invading all living things with your own ideals, hoping to change the outcome? Or the greatest possibility is to witness the call from the depths of darkness grow stronger and stronger, and greet the final end? Once this end comes, there will be no more life, flesh and soul, and of course, no more despair and pain."

Milawa raised her face but closed her eyes. "I've felt that kind of despair and pain before, but..."

"However, you have the opportunity to change. The rest of us can only raise these questions in the depths of darkness, and then die in despair. No amount of promises of an afterlife can make up for this immense darkness. It will become a curse, and then, everyone will be drowned."

"Don't the wise realize this?" he asked.

"Undoubtedly, the Wise One realized it, but he believed he could remain indifferent and above everything else. He was the eternal monarch of the Kuna people, forcibly invading the entire race with his own ideas. He hoped that his own peace could soothe the call from the depths of darkness and built the Wall of the Ancients. However, the ideological plague was bound to come."

“And so it came.”

"Yes. The plague of thought contained boundless despair, easily crushing his path of exploration and plunging him and his dynasty into the abyss. After realizing this, a terrifying ruler was born. It left behind the remains of the grave and embarked on a path that I could not fathom."

"The master of blood and bones." Milawa muttered to himself.

Cesar thought of Old Thane and the witch Corini behind him. "Yes, the Master of Blood and Bone, it's probably somewhere in Noyen right now. In the future, Allandi and Old Milava will also stand by it." He stroked his face. "Compared to that Overlord who suffered such a great defeat, we are actually quite lost. Despite this, I am also exploring the path forward in my own way."

Milava stared up at him. "What do you expect of me, my teacher?"

"I can't guarantee that what I'm doing is right, nor do I dare ask you to follow me resolutely. You are God's Chosen One. Aren't the miracles I can accomplish in your soul greater than those I can create? You've already found so many ancient and steadfast followers. You can do whatever you want. Whether you seek a path forward with the courage to fail, or hold on to the old power, either way is your choice."

Milava was lost in thought, and then suddenly impulsively put her arms around Cesar's neck and pressed closer to him, her warm breath against his ear and whispering.

"Even after I made such a provocative statement, you still indulge and comfort me, my teacher. Do you know what I fear most right now? I'm thinking that as long as I can put aside the courage I've just regained and be with you, I won't be afraid of anything. Even if it means being your servant, washing your clothes, cleaning the house, and helping you with those political affairs. As long as I can hear you say again and again, 'My child, you're doing well,' I will be satisfied."

Cesar held him, listening to his whispers, and felt the body of this guy in his arms become softer and more slender. His mood swings were very extreme, so his mood changes were reflected in his body, and they also changed suddenly and rapidly. If it were an ordinary person, their sexual characteristics would definitely not be as unstable as his.

Milawa's fingers became thinner, and her voice became softer. "So, whatever you ask me to do, I will do it... As long as you can hold me like this, stroke my head, and call me child... If you even take a step away, I will kneel here and beg you over and over again not to abandon me."

"But you know," Cesar said, "that your imagination of me is too high. This illusion..."

"That's why I want to try a different approach. I want to defeat you while we're exploring the future, and then possess you. Then we can be inseparable forever. I always believe that you are omnipotent, that even if you give orders to the mountains, they will still travel far. By becoming your student and defeating you, I can make miracles appear and create impossible scenes. I want to believe..."

César was at a loss for words when Milava turned around, her eyes gleaming with mystery as she gazed at him. Her tangled black hair cascaded across her forehead, cascading over her ears and shoulders, ironing her porcelain-white face. With deep affection, she lifted her lips to him, treating him like a mother. He kissed his teacher, a kiss unlike any before; César felt as if he had given him his soul.

"Call me child again," said Milava, closing her eyes and letting her long eyelashes fall, touching the two light blushes on her cheeks.

"If you fail, my child, you come to me." Cesar kissed his warm lips and felt the bulge in his shirt, so he leaned closer, pressing his heart against his heartbeat. "We can live together, but then you have to be obedient," he said.

"Never separate," Milawa emphasized, "and if it's another case, you'll have to listen to me."

"There are more than just these two situations, Mile."

"If we both fail, before the curse from the depths of darkness overwhelms everything, you must devour my flesh and blood, swallow my soul, so that I cannot return to that one soul, but become a part of you. That way, I can still accompany you in eternal deathly silence, gazing at the darkness. Perhaps this is not a kind of..."

"Does it have to be this way? Does it have to be this way for all endings?"

"This can give me courage." Milawa said, lowering her head, holding his hand, and kissing the fingertips gently. "I look forward to the day when you kiss my fingertips, my teacher."

......

"Is this some kind of spoiling?" Gouzi asked him after Milawa left. "Even though you always complain about his extreme personality, as soon as he kneels down, you can't help but indulge him."

Cesar lowered his head and thought. At this time, the wine came. He poured a glass and also poured a glass for the dog.

"I think so," he said. "But how can I put it? This guy possesses a divine beauty. When faced with a woman he loves, he gradually transforms into the most alluring man. You've seen old Milava, who spent decades with Arlanti, and he's completely different from the Milava just now. But when faced with a man he loves, he gradually transforms into an extremely attractive woman. When he knelt just now, I couldn't help but want to call him child, to pity and comfort him. That deceitful prophet must have deepened this strange and deadly charm of his."

"He wants to be inseparable from you in every possible outcome, even if you eat him."

"This must be part of his inhuman nature. His head, sewn together with Alante's, has already made it very obvious," Cesar said. "But at least he will try to explore the way forward."

*****