He spoke quietly, using Language to stimulate Erwin's mind, just as Erwin had done to the God of Stars not long ago.
This was certainly not because the old man still possessed something like a sense of justice, but simply because it was indeed very effective.
"Fortunately, they still trusted me quite a bit at the time and didn't take too many precautions, otherwise it would have been really difficult… Oh, by the way, didn't you notice?"
"Erwin, as a person who has not lived for a thousand years since his birth (see 3-349), have you ever thought about how you witnessed the Typhon Disaster, and how you were involved in my experiments from the very beginning?"
"This is very unreasonable, yet you remember it clearly. Of course, it's because you were never involved… The ones who were truly involved were your senior brothers."
"The only regrettable thing is that the souls of three Legend Wizards, one after another, only proved that Memory alteration and soul fusion indeed had indelible after-effects… This forced me to completely abandon the idea of transferring myself to another soul body at that time."
"I had to treat it as a chain. When I 'stitched' your soul and your senior brother's together, you were forever trapped at that step by this chain, unable to turn over until Death."
"Students who know they cannot improve are the best assistants… In fact, if it weren't for that Centaur's foolishness and the oversight you made, perhaps you could have truly stayed by my side forever."
"But there's no helping it. After all, a villain racking his brains can't compare to a fool's sudden inspiration…"
"Even now, I don't know what's going on in his head."
A somewhat complex expression on his face, the old man was a bit speechless at this point.
He wasn't pretending; he truly couldn't understand.
He, Chiron, was clearly a follower of the Goddess of the Magic Web, yet among his apprentices, the vast majority were divine oracle of the Olympus Gods, ultimately becoming so-called heroes.
Fortunately, even so, the church was still willing to give him enough respect and trust, after all, he was Hecate's student.
So when Chiron cultivated Achilles again, the old man contributed to his teaching as he had every time before."
With him leading the way, the church wouldn't pay too much attention to what the Wizards were doing, because this was something the Centaur was supposed to oversee.
However, out of guilt for using forbidden techniques, the Wizards often provided techniques that were not as 'dark' as imagined, and the Centaur would only verbally demand their prohibition, but in reality, he was unwilling to pay attention to their research.
"Hehe… what ridiculous kindness."
"Because one doesn't wish to see the Death of Life, one eats roasted meat while choosing to stay away from the butcher and the kitchen?"
"But I don't care about that, after all, such a Life was very good—until that day, after his student was captured by a God, he actually took the artifact from the Spirit World directly to Olympus to provide aid."
Taking a deep breath, even today, the old man could only attribute this matter to Chiron being a good teacher, a good scholar, but not a good apprentice, or a good leader.
And from that day on, the old man knew that the church would probably no longer be so lenient with this Centaur, and at the same time, his good days were also coming to an end.
It was just that he obviously hadn't realized the seriousness of the matter at the time, because a great War was imminent in the human world, and if he could just delay for a few years, no one would have time to bother him… So after much consideration, the old man simply played a trick of 'feigning one thing while doing another.'
"...But what I didn't expect was that all of this was interrupted by you again."
He redirected his gaze back to his student, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
"Do you know, when I discovered that you actually let a human with a God's mark into the underground palace, and even used him as a sacrifice, how much I wanted to extract your soul and torment it for a thousand years?"
"You don't know, just as you don't know that although this is Silvermoon City, a city personally named by the Goddess of the Magic Web, the church's reliance is never just the mystery lock. Therefore, even if I don't tell them, they wouldn't be unaware that the Wind God had been here."
"This is why I chose to conceal it at first… This was to make them focus more on this God of Olympus."
"I didn't contact him, I let Medea communicate with him, not because of her talent, but only because she is a divine oracle, and the other party is a living God!"
"Anyone who saw this scene would inevitably make connections… Plus her secret misappropriation of 'public funds' and the theft of Clock Tower's Authority—how much like a traitor's preparations before defection, and how much like a heretic colluding with a false God?" (See 3-370)
"But what was the result?"
"Nothing happened, because of you, everything returned to square one."
He might have been angry at the time, but now the old man was left only with a sigh.
That God did attract the church's attention… But before he could guide the clue to Medea, it ultimately returned to himself.
Perhaps this was fate, this was the protection given to believers by the 'Lord' who had never manifested.
The old man didn't know; he could only guess.
God… He didn't lose to the church, he just made a misstep in the face of fate.
After all, compared to him, an old man who had once met the Great Prophet Enoch and personally witnessed the establishment of Enoch's Gate, those newcomers were still too young.
Humans are not Gods, and Wizards are even less so warriors. The years had given him not only knowledge, but also Wisdom, experience, and refinement.
If not for this accident, he wouldn't have had to be so rushed, so urgent, even racing against Death, but could have calmly faced each prepared change.
But with this accident, he could only choose today's path.
"Hoo—"
"What's done is done, nothing is smooth sailing…"
He muttered softly, looking at his student, neither sad nor joyful.
Now, it was time for the final step.
"Come… Look at me, Erwin."
"From this moment on, you will forget everything from today and instead remember your true identity—your senior brother, my student, the Legend Wizard who first followed me in researching the God of Stars, Jordano."
"Unlike Erwin, you are ambitious and incredibly talented."
"Bold and reckless, yet meticulous."
"A thousand years ago, during the Typhon Disaster, you were the first to discover the God of Stars, then dragged your teacher into it, and even murdered your junior brother who wanted to betray us during later experiments."
"Ultimately, you felt no one could be trusted, not even your own teacher. So you used an unknown sorcery to control me, to control Erwin, and then hid behind the scenes, manipulating the entire situation with your masterful mind sorcery."
"You succeeded; no one found anything amiss… Until today, you sensed a slight unease, so you decided to abandon your arrangements in Silvermoon City and instead exchange all of it for something more valuable—Hebe, the Goddess of Youth."
"So after dealing with all the loose ends here, you will choose to take your spoils to the underground… that vast and boundless underground world nestled between the earth and the underworld!"
"This is not without reason, because long ago, you discovered those special races who call themselves 'Dark Elves.' And although you don't plan to join them, you can live in seclusion among them, using the Elves' power and the dark, ever-changing environment of the underground to stop pursuers!"
"Furthermore, the underground world has a different passage from the human world and the underworld. This is a semi-independent world similar to the underworld, covered by the earth… So even if the God King wanted to enter in person, he would have to directly face Gaia's interception."
"This is your plan, a little risky, but precise and perfect. Do you remember?"
The voice echoed, and as the old man narrated, using Erwin's turbulent mind, the mental patterns laid down long ago began to influence his thoughts.
Most of the old man's past was erased, after all, destruction is always simpler than construction.
Until everything was complete, the old man slowly stood up. Looking at his former apprentice, he knew there were still flaws, but this was the best result under the circumstances.
This other former student of his indeed had contact with the Dark Elves, although it was also at his instigation, all of it was traceable.
Moreover, besides these layers of concealment, the old man believed his greatest reliance to escape unscathed was his choice 'not to be greedy.'
Yes, not greedy, because he never intended to take away the Goddess of Youth and the golden cup he had painstakingly captured.
Considering that in most cases, the orchestrator of an event is inevitably the biggest beneficiary, since the biggest gain had nothing to do with him, he naturally wouldn't be the primary suspect.
While it was regrettable to give up his gains, the old man's mind remained clear.
He knew what he wanted and what his core pursuit was.
Before today, his core pursuit was 'Life,' because he was about to die.
But after today, he no longer lacked lifespan as much; becoming a God was his core pursuit.
A Goddess of Youth and a Divine Artifact would certainly aid in becoming a God, but having studied Astraeus for thousands of years, the old man also knew that these were not essential for a Wizard.
There was certainly more than one path to Godhood, and studying Gods and Divine Artifacts did not guarantee success; on the contrary, once Hebe and the Divine Artifact were with him, he would have enemies everywhere, both in the heavens and on earth.
When the risk far outweighed the reward, giving up was true Wisdom.
Let them remain here, becoming the spoils of Jordano, the greatest blasphemer in Silvermoon City's history, who desecrated the God of Stars.
As for me…
"As for me… I am naturally just a dead man."
"This is the last lesson I give you, Erwin.
Although you can no longer hear it, as a Wizard, never trust or rely on any existence."
"Whether it is a person, an object, a powerful Divine Artifact, or the so-called unchangeable 'truth'."
"From today onwards, there will be no Chief Wizard of the White Tower in the world, only a recluse spellcaster, the founder of a certain human academic school, an astronomer, philosopher, mathematician, a wise man who seeks to analyze rules with knowledge, the Great WizardAkelaus."
"And he will not step onto the stage of the human world again until the end of this epoch."
The old man… no, Akelaus, who had long shed his aged body, glanced at his old body, which had been pierced by the [Sword of Destruction], and then at his student in every sense of the word.
He then fully entrusted the third-level ritual beneath the ancient city to the other party, and then tore open a spatial gate at the core of the ritual.
Once the final ritual began, all traces he left here would be distorted and covered.
No one could detect his traces.
Even a God above Gods, like the God King, was the same; this was a verified conclusion.
And finally, looking at this complete ruin, Akelaus sighed with emotion.
It's over… everything is over.
"The White Tower is about to be destroyed… I witnessed its establishment, and I will leave with the knowledge of the old White Tower, and then witness its collapse with my own eyes."
"Do you know, Wizards of the Third Epoch.
For the past thousand years, we seemed to be constantly advancing on the path of Wizardry, but in fact, for a long time, we have been restricted."
"Silvermoon City, the kingdom of God, the source of faith."
"The earliest Wizardry originated here, it gave us weak ones protection… But Wizards, when we became strong, it in turn became a cage that imprisoned us."
"Soul, Life, Years, Fate… these things that they regard as sacred are precisely the reflections of truth scattered in the human world."
"So from the day I realized all this, I already knew—Silvermoon City is not a fertile ground for Wizards, nor is any place watched by those high above."
"Power can only bring stability; only change can bring development."
"The human world today does not belong to me, nor do the starry sky and the underworld; any place where those Gods can wantonly display their power, they do not belong to me."
"Only the underground, that place sandwiched between the earth and the underworld.
The world sees it as a wilderness, but I see it as honey."
Stepping through the portal, at this moment, Akelaus had already sensed the spatial traces pursuing him, but this no longer concerned him.
"Come, let history bear witness to all of this."
"Right and wrong are never decided by one generation, and morality and ethics are just ripples in the tide of the times."
"Tens of thousands of years later, perhaps future generations will curse me, seeing me as a ruthless butcher; or perhaps some will sing of my achievements and great deeds, adorning me with glory and splendor."
"But that doesn't matter anymore."
"Because famous heroes, generals recorded in history, and even kings who rule over all Gods… they are all like this."
"Turning over a thousand volumes of history, it only tells one truth."
"In this world, only the victor… can be King."
…
On Mount Olympus, in the Queen of the Gods's bedchamber.
The War in the human world was in full swing; soon, Ares would clash with the church that believed in the Ancient Gods on the battlefield.
Although she found her incompetent son displeasing in every way, Hera still patiently turned her gaze to this important matter.
Fortunately, besides her son, her daughter was still very thoughtful… She tirelessly arranged the bathing place every year, allowing her to wash away a year of fatigue.
The Queen of the Gods was very happy about this; she would be even happier if Hebe's Divinityand Divinity were not so weak.
It was a pity that Divinity could not be changed, and only Divine Power could be improved with faith.
For this, Hera did not hesitate to personally issue a decree, rarely using the Queen of the Gods's Authority, ordering that the several small city-states around Nafplion City, as the core, must worship Hebe as their faith, grateful for her contributions to her Mother God.
After all, as one of the rulers of the God Court, she did not lack that bit of faith; on the contrary, her daughter needed some more… But for some reason, sitting on her high golden throne, whenever she thought of the Goddess of Youth's existence, Hera suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
Bang… Bang!
Her heart inexplicably accelerated its beating, and taking a deep breath, the Queen of the Godsdid not know where this premonition came from.
In the midst of her speculation, she planned to use her believers in the mortal realm to convey a divine oracle, to see what Hebe was doing and if she had encountered any danger.
However, as Hera concentrated and tried to use devout God Officials as anchors to send down a divine oracle through the Magic Net, she suddenly discovered that she could not find her Divine Officials for a while.
No, they were still there, but for some reason, they had gone to a nearby city-state… Frowning slightly, with Divine Power surging, the Queen of the Gods directly sent down a divine oracle.
She wanted these God Officials to explain to her, but soon after, the believers' response left her speechless.
In order to give the faith of several cities to Hebe, Hera had not set up too many Divine Officials there in the first place, nor did she want other Gods to have too much presence.
But in the recent period, traces of demons and evil creatures had coincidentally appeared one after another around the other cities that believed in the Goddess of Youth.
The Church of Youth, not skilled in combat, had no choice but to ask the Queen of the Gods's God Officials for help in clearing them out.
As a result, the few remaining God Officials left one after another, and only a few remained to guard the temple in Nafplion.
But without needing to sense further, Hera knew that they had already died.
This had just happened, yet no God would pay attention to the mortal realm for the Death of a few God Officials or a few thousand believers.
Such things were too common… But getting up from her seat, intuition told Hera that something was definitely wrong with Nafplion.
Just as she was about to go and check, at that very moment, another voice suddenly came from the doorway.
"Your Majesty… The Nymphs who were on duty in your West Sea garden returned today, they—"
"Tell them to wait!"
She rebuked coldly, her unease growing stronger.
Standing before the golden throne, Hera clenched her hand in the air.
At this moment, the Authority that the God King had given her began to be invoked.
All things seemed to converge in her palm, and heaven, earth, and sea surrounded her.
The Queen of the Gods's Authority spanned space, helping her gaze across the distance towards that small city… However, with just one glance, Hera was struck as if by lightning.
"Ah—how could it be Him!"
Boom—
With a cry of surprise, Divine Power unconsciously dispersed, and the vibrating Divine Palace trembled slightly.
A line of bloody tears flowed from the corner of her eye; if she had gone in person, Hera might not have had any problems.
But precisely because she had invoked the Queen of the Gods's Authority, while she saw more things, she did not have enough strength to bear it.
Vaguely, a voice she had heard not long ago echoed in her ears, as if ignoring the protection of the God Court's power, and even truly descending into this palace—
"Praise you, praise you!"
"The co-ruler of billions of demons."
"The source of all fallen heavens."
"The flesh mother tree that devours all realms!"
"Your most loyal believers are here to sacrifice to you, offering the bones and blood of Gods, and the skeletons of millions of living beings."