Ian did not reply immediately. He simply reached out and took the core of the Origin Calculation Chip from the smiling Yafada’s hand.
He examined it closely for a long while, then looked up at the Elven Speaker and asked, "What is your purpose?"
This time, Ian genuinely couldn’t guess.
He was confident he could get the True Dragon to support him, confident he could get the Viscount and Marquis Barton to support him. Whether it was the Fae or the Ashlight Family, the Great Prince and the Second Prince, even the Imperial Emperor and Protector Axel, he was confident he could gain some level of support and acquiescence.
The various Paths of the Dao proved his perspective. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveI-Fire.ɴet
But Yafada was different.
Ian couldn’t see through his purpose... hence, he couldn’t lead, couldn’t discern, couldn’t understand.
He seemed like a pure seeker of amusement, wanting to see Ian succeed, simply because Ian’s success would surprise everyone.
But it seemed not quite like that.
"My purpose? It’s merely for revenge. And now, my dream has already been realized."
Yafada looked at Ian with a strange, open yet indifferent expression and laughed heartily, "Ian, have you ever seen someone whose dreams have come true in this world? Surely not, right? Your friends, seniors, teachers, and the Monarch of your teacher, all the people you know, including yourself, are all arrogant individuals whose dreams seem impossible to achieve."
"But I’m different. All I ask for is peace of mind, all I wanted was one person’s death—so my path has already reached its end. So I am fearless, I just want to watch this world burn, or perhaps release a dazzling light!"
With a forceful pat on Ian’s shoulder, Chairman Yafada, with a calm but endless smile, said: "So this is my purpose now,
"This world will explode with millions of sparks, and I want to choose the most brilliant one, to make it even more dazzling and bright."
"I don’t care about anything, I just want to see an unbelievable dream become reality."
"...I understand now."
Hearing this, Ian was instead a bit enlightened.
He had figured out that simple answer.
The young Prophet looked at the now calm Yafada with a gaze mixed with both envy and pity: "You have felt Nihility. Yafada, you didn’t really care whether the Elves flourished or declined, you just wanted to kill Campari."
"You succeeded, but your dream stagnated at this point, or possibly sublimated completely—your former ally, Lady Xiya Lai Ta’s dream, was to rejuvenate the elves, to unite all powers, Campari was certainly of the Fifth Energy Level, but merely a stumbling block in dreams, yet you couldn’t keep up with her steps, or rather, she, in turn, has to chase your realm."
"Your life goals have all been accomplished, you’ve almost reached the pinnacle of power and strength, yet you feel these forces completely meaningless."
"So you felt the emptiness. You’re unsure of what to do next, you’re too free... Family, power, strength, dreams, nothing can bind you anymore, you want to do anything, as long as you’re unafraid of the consequences, you can do it."
The water-colored eyes seemed to see through people’s hearts; Ian gazed at the now humorless Yafada and softly said: "You now..."
"Are as free as the fae."
"But you can’t be as happy as the fae."
Turning his head, the two have already arrived at the entrance of the Ashlight Family.
Ian faced forward, looking at the door: "Mr. Chairman, you want to support me, and I am absolutely delighted. Even if you only do so out of emptiness, searching for the meaning of your future life."
"But what I want to tell you is that your enemies were never just Campari, just as my enemies were never just the Viscount, Marquis Barton, and those you thought I wanted to take down."
"The order of Terra Continent now causes the mutual assassination and hatred among the Elf King’s Blood, the selfishness and meanness in our bloodlines, the rules of the functioning of everything, the various problems of society, and the flaws of civilization... these are but one aspect."
"Mr. Chairman, if I may say a conceited word, "
"Our enemy, is this world."
"Sir, as one of the smartest people I’ve met, you should be able to understand." With a slight nod, the door of the Ashlight Family automatically opened before Ian, and the young man stepped in with a smile.
Before the door closed, he turned around and locked eyes with the somewhat obscure-eyed Yafada: "The so-called Nihility is but a failure of imagination. Growing up in the desert, one cannot imagine the sea; living at the equator, one cannot comprehend the glacier."
"Instead of despairing , being a mere seeker of amusement, watching whether people like me can fulfill their dreams or will instead, like you, walk into Nihility..."
"Why not hate this world, beat it piece by piece, and reshape it into the form you desire?"
The door slowly closed; Yafada could closely follow, to step inside—he’s the most important ally of the Ashlight Family, no one would stop him.
But the elf stood motionless at the original spot.
Ian’s final words turned into a tremor of the soul, reaching his spirit.
[If you have figured it out, Mr. Chairman, then come to Xiawei Territory]
[Then you will see how I plan to reshape this world]
Yafada was silent for a long time, then turned around and disappeared at the end of the road.