Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The wind drove the heat away. Roland’s robe was blowing in the wind, but Falken’s green-edged robe was not affected at all.
It seemed that Falken was already beyond the physical realm.
After a brief silence, Roland asked, “You’re asking me to leave Red Mountain Town sooner?”
It was not a random thought, it was what he was reading between the lines.
Falken smiled and said, “You’re truly smart. I do hope that you can leave Red Mountain Town as soon as possible.”
“Why do you want me gone?” Roland asked curiously.
“It’s not about you, but them.” Falken’s soul looked down at the town gently and said, “You’ve disrupted the balance in this town. I do not blame you. You did a good thing, but it’s not necessarily a good thing for the town.”
Roland stood next to Falken and asked with even more interest, “I haven’t noticed it yet. In what way did we influence the town?”
“You’re different.” Falken looked at Roland and said, “You and the Golden Son who just came are different from us. You are neither humble nor arrogant, and you treat everything equally. It’s a good quality, but not a good thing for the children of our town.”
Roland was puzzled. “Why?”
“Because they do not have strength,” said Falken helplessly. “They do not have a notable familial background. They can’t even read. Yet, they’re learning how you deal with things. What do you think will happen to them when they face nobles or other strong professionals with pride but absolutely no strength?”
His words were direct, if not blunt. For Roland, it was rather shocking. The chirps of insects and birds seemed a lot louder.
Subconsciously, he cleared his throat and said, “Is this world so horrible that one cannot defend their pride?”
“They can if they are strong, but they are not,” said Falken. “Is the world of the Golden Sons one where everybody has lived in peace without any discrimination since the very beginning?”
1Of course not! Briefly stunned, Roland smiled bitterly. “Got it.”
Then, he looked at Falken, finding it odd. “Why do I feel that your mind is a lot more active now that you’re a soul?”
Falken replied matter-of-factly, “Old age will certainly affect your abilities. My current appearance is from when I was strongest in my life.”
Roland sighed. He too felt that Betta and he had stayed here for too long and somewhat influenced the town. He looked at the lake, where Betta was still playing swords with the kids. “When did you realize that it’s inappropriate?”
“Half a minute before my death, I thought through many things.” Falken shook his head helplessly. “In fact, our town is too small and the population is too little, so you can easily influence us. Large cities are different. One million people live in Delpon. If you go there, it will be like a bottle of ink being thrown into an ocean. Nothing will be changed.”
“All right, got it.” Knowing that Falken was not really dead, he made fun of him. “I’ll leave after I put a few flowers before your tombstone.”
Falken was briefly stunned. Then he smiled and said, “It does feel strange if you put it that way... There’s a Guild of Mages in Delpon. You can try to join it. You’ll be able to learn a lot of basic knowledge there. However, you should be careful. Mages believe in survival of the fittest. You have to be prudent, or other Mages might easily kill you. After all, all the Mages seem pretty smart to me.”
“The Guild of Mages, got it!” Roland thought for a moment and said, “I’ll keep you company until you go to paradise.”
“That’s unnecessary. The goddess’s envoys are here.” Falken pointed at the sky.
A gold ring had appeared in the sky at some point. It grew large and eventually turned into an enormous gold mirror that occupied half of the sky.
Green plants, lakes, and opaque spots that seemed to be living humans could be vaguely seen on the mirror.
Was it... the entrance to the Paradise of Life? Roland subconsciously turned on his recorder.
For Roland, it was only an interesting phenomenon, but for Falken, it was his lifelong dream.
“Paradise!” Falken looked at the sky and opened his arms zealously, as if he were trying to embrace something.
A green pillar of light enshrouded him.
The strange power in the pillar of light made Roland uncomfortable. He subconsciously stepped back.
Exotic music vaguely echoed in the sky. Countless bright feathers floated down and covered the whole town. A female angel about 1.75 meters tall slowly descended from the sky and landed before Falken.
Falken fell on one knee and said piously, “Beautiful and sacred Guiding Angel, I’m grateful for your arrival.”
The female angel was impeccable in terms of appearance and body figure. She said with a smile, “Falken, in light of your devotion and your contributions, you are permitted to join paradise as a holy spirit. You will live forever without any pain or disease.”
“It’s my honor!” Falken trembled in extreme happiness.
The angel nodded in satisfaction. Then, she stared at Roland with her azure eyes. “A human Mage? You have a special soul.”
Roland frowned and stepped back again. The angel was indeed the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but she was also dangerous.
“Special how?” Roland asked back and stepped further back.
1As if she noticed the wariness in Roland’s eyes, the angel chuckled and moved her eyes from him to Falken.
“Let’s go, Falken. You are no longer related to this world.” The angel’s voice couldn’t have been more pleasant.
“Okay!” Falken stood up.
The angel flapped her wings and slowly ascended. Falken also rose to the sky along with the pillar of light. He waved a goodbye at Roland, getting smaller and smaller.
A minute later, he completely disappeared in the gold mirror.
Roland waved at the sky and put his arm down.
The mirror was gone, and so was the vague sound of music.
The sky was back to normal. The villagers who were paying tribute to Falken were still in the backyard.
It seemed that they did not notice any of the strange phenomenon just now.
Roland felt cold when the wind blew by even though it was a hot summer.
He suddenly realized that the game was much more complicated than he’d imagined.
Did deities... really exist?