The statuette had lost control over the gateway. It tried to regain control and expel the tentacles, but was ultimately helpless against the massive outflow of the four elements. On one side, the tentacles were madly capturing elemental particles; on the other, fire elements were leading the mad dash to the tentacles’ embrace. From the outside looking in, both parties were rushing toward each other, and their passion was reciprocal.
The statuette was the outsider!
A massive wave of innumerable elemental particles poured through the gateway. The sheer quantity of them changed the wave into more than the sum of its parts, creating a terrifying force.
Were this a flood release, the statuette had initially controlled the floodgates, and how much Wayne could obtain depended entirely on how much the statuette was willing to grant. But now, the floodgates had been destroyed. The flow would not stop until Wayne’s life essence was satisfied.
In basic magic theory, earth, fire, water, and wind corresponded to a human’s life essence, and they were the prerequisites for one to light up the hexagram and become a full-fledged mage. Were the grand, boundless world a living being, earth, fire, water, and wind would be the universe’s skeleton. They constructed the world and stabilized space, serving as the foundation of all things. They were crucial to the universe’s life and prosperity.
The statuette didn’t want to lose its elemental space. Despite its initial surprise and ecstasy at finding Wayne, it was now furious and hysterical, roaring and swearing to tear him to pieces and reclaim everything that had belonged to it.
Wayne did not hear the roar; he most likely wouldn’t care even if he did.
Shouting at him was meaningless. The complaint should be made to the Book of Greed.
Merging with the book, he freely unleashed his desires. No matter what dangers and terrors lay ahead, he would not stop until his hunger was satiated. The elemental space stored so much of the four elements that it seemed endless. His life essence gradually filled, finally seeing progress from 0% to 1%.
At the four corners of the Book of Greed’s cover, the larger eyes—yellowish brown, golden-red, deep blue, and turquoise—shed their greyness slowly. The Book of Greed
Wayne had to thank the Lord of the Void. The book had elevated his life essence to an impossible level. Even with thousands of tentacles, even if he mediated day and night like a madman, it would’ve still taken him eight to ten years to satisfy his life essence.
Now, it was different. He only needed two to three months. That saved him years of hard work!
Lord of the Void, I don’t want to work hard anymore.
Regardless of what the Lord of the Void was after, he had enjoyed substantial benefits. It wouldn’t be out of line for him to kowtow to the guy for the generosity.
The strengthening of his life essence increased his mana and enhanced his thought. He felt powerful, and the sudden surge of power made him haughty, convinced of his omnipotence. He believed he could take down not just Isabella but even Silvia with a single hit.
He knew it was an illusion, but was still lost in the ecstasy. He gripped the statuette tightly, refusing to let go. To make sure he never lost the divine artifact or had it stolen from him, he decided to keep it on his person.
His chest writhed, and a black vertical slit opened up in his flesh. A pale, veined tentacle emerged, coiling around the statuette to drag it into the black crevice. Then the crevice closed, leaving his chest looking no different from ordinary, only there was an additional eye-shaped burn on the skin.
That could be a stylish fake tan.
The will residing within the statuette didn’t know what he had done. It couldn’t see. Light had abandoned it, leaving everything in darkness. Time and space didn’t exist in this boundless abyss, which lacked even the most basic elements that formed materials. The abyss craved anything and everything to fill it. It would accept all sustenance, be it matter or energy.
The statuette began to panic. It didn’t know what Wayne was, but one thing was for certain: Wayne was indulging his desires. The mad, obsessive, and reckless man was destined to perish from his eventual insanity.
To save the elemental space, the statuette decided to fulfill his wishes. Since the kid wanted to die and didn’t understand what restraint was, it would give him all the knowledge every mage coveted.
“Muhaha, receive the knowledge with gratitude, boy!”
“This, too, is the power you desire. This is the essence of the universe...”
“Take it! As you come to learn everything, you’ll understand what magic is, what gods are, and the true face of all existence!”
“You need not fear madness, for only through madness can one comprehend everything!”
An infinite radiance radiated from the statuette, spreading like sunlight in wave-particle duality. The knowledge granted encompassed a legendary mage’s lifelong learning, plus the truth and wisdom gained in the Astral Plane. The wave crashed into Wayne, the destructive force comparable to what an ordinary person would experience when the Gate of Truth opened to them.
Anyone could obtain knowledge, but whether they could handle it wasn’t a concern for the Gate of Truth.
As a mage apprentice who hadn’t even lit up his hexagram, Wayne wasn’t much different from an ordinary person. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t be able to handle it!
The Book of Greed trembled in excitement, extending its tentacles to capture all the light and consume it. The book came alive. On its cover, dense arrays of veins swelled, and countless eyes trembled as they tried to open. The eyes of Sun, Moonlight, and Nature began their awakening.
The one for Nature opened first, its grey eyeball already able to shift. The central eye looked over, meeting the gazes of Nature and Death while urging the eyes of Moonlight and Sun to awaken as soon as they could.
As the eyes of earth, fire, water, and wind in the four corners gradually brightened, what Wayne had envisioned finally became reality. He had found the correct way to activate the book.
The central eye was the Book of Greed’s core, meaning Wayne’s self. The dense clusters of small eyes represented the complex truths of the universe. The more he learned and understood, the brighter the eyes would become.
He could use those truths and wouldn’t go mad from knowing too much, nor did he have to worry about becoming a puppet of desires. The Book of Greed was itself the embodiment of the greatest madness and desires in the world.
As long as I’m mad enough, I can’t go mad!
The statuette was speechless despite its strong urge to curse. It had never seen anyone this insane. At this moment, it realized that Wayne was special. Individuals differed in their talent and potential. Some were destined to reach that unreachable peak.
It was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, but also a great longing.
Geocentrism Sect Headquarters.
Banners hung everywhere, and ribbons fluttered. Followers released white doves that symbolized peace and beauty, pushing the gathering’s atmosphere to a new height.
The true climactic moment was Archbishop Ivor’s speech.
He finished singing and dancing with the followers and stepped onto the platform with an amicable expression. He raised his fist in the air in an impassioned gesture.
“The Geocentrism Sect is an organization for the common people. We don’t encourage religious wars and do not pay any attention to warfare. We don’t want conflicts with any other sects.”
“We only care whether everyone is well fed and dressed warmly, whether every parent can feed their children, and whether the children can develop healthy minds and bodies.”
“Our master, the Lord of the Void, once delivered a divine decree that the Geocentrism Sect is to pursue peace, and so is every follower. We follow our lord’s guidance and never make empty promises. We will serve everyone earnestly.”
“On behalf of the entire sect, I, Archbishop Ivor, pledge to all followers and townspeople present that you are all my family, and as long as the sect exists in Enrod, no one in the family will ever go hungry. You will all have more eggs than you can eat.”
Ivor shook his fist while the followers and townspeople waved at him. The mayor led an applause. Everyone got what they wanted and had a bright future ahead of them. The crowd erupted into cheers, chanting, “Long live the Archbishop!”
Ivor pressed down his hands in a gesture of humility. A hundred years would suffice for him. Only the Lord of the Void deserved eternity.
Just then, he heard his master’s voice in his head.
“My servant, the Anointed One has descended. He has lost his way and gone down the wrong path. Immediately bring him before me at any cost. I will personally show him the right direction.”
Ivor saw from afar the red beam that marked a spot outside the town—that was where the statuette was located and where the Anointed One was.