"Sigh, what does it matter if I am the ruler of the drakes or not... In the end, it's all just a -constraint..."
Rio was surprised by Fenix's words, so he asked,
"Hmm, why, though? Being revered as a hero by your people... isn't it already great enough, or do you want to achieve more?"
Fenix shook his head and said,
"No, I don't really have big ambitions... In fact, I never had big ambitions to begin with; I was just some random defective product thrown out of the house like trash..."
"But I didn't have hate or the drive for revenge in me... I understood they abandoned me because they wanted a proper, successful result, not a defective product like me..."
"The world works like this... From birth, your future is already decided; without talent or the support of allies, you can't grow up..."
"But when you do grow up, these same allies and pillars of support end up becoming chains that lock you down in a cage made up of your own emotions..."
Fenix sipped the tea and continued in a tired voice.
"I had a few friends when I was young; I wanted for them to live safely and happily; that was the reason why I decided to lead them..."
"One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had already started to create a place that could accommodate my friends and all those who I cared for..."
"As things went by, more and more drakes gathered under my wing and revered me as their leader... If it were someone else, they would have faltered under so much pressure..."
"Fortunately, I had talent. I thank my luck that I was born with exceptional talent, and thus I was able to stabilize things by becoming an SS-ranker..."
Fenix glanced into Rio's eyes and said in a solemn tone,
"I have created a haven for my kin, but now this very haven is a cage for me. I can't let go of my feelings, and I am bound by my emotions..."
"I can't abandon the things that I have created, and I can't afford to betray the expectations and dreams of all those who trust me now."
"Being a ruler seems easy, but only when you yourself experience it will you know that it's nothing but a giant cage that even a demi-god can't break out of..."
Fenix sneered and said,
"In this world, the strongest and most powerful cage is the one created by your own mind and emotions... Nothing can break out of it; if something can, then that 'thing' can't even be considered 'living' anymore..."
Fenix then pointed his finger at Rio and said something that even Rio wasn't expecting.
"You are walking that very path of discarding your status as a 'living' soul..."
A rare frown appeared on Rio's face as he questioned,
"What do you mean?"
Fenix sighed and replied in a calm tone,
"I know it's quite hard to believe, but the direction you are walking in is directly opposite to your path..."
"Tell me what your ambition is, and what is your 'path'?"
At that question, Rio replied without hesitation,
"My ambition is to just live a normal, happy life and retire early to be as peaceful as possible-
11
Before Rio could finish his sentence, Fenix suddenly interrupted him and said,
"Yes! Right there! You said you want to be 'peaceful', and do you know what it means to be 'peaceful'? The truest form of 'peace' is 'Eternal Death'!"
"Only dead beings have no emotions, no feelings, and true peace! They are unbound by the laws and are outside the constraints of the world..."
"You chose to walk on a 'path' that would bring you 'peace' and your ambition was to live a peaceful life... Although death and a peaceful life seem contradictory at first glance..."
"If you add the power of the 'world's laws' to this combination, the result will undoubtedly be something similar to an emotionless machine that is neither dead nor alive."
Fenix's expression turned more solemn as he kept talking.
"And you know what power I am talking about, right? It's your very own 'Sword Intent"!"
Fenix has lived his life being a loner while still being with others; he knows about being emotional and emotionless a lot; he has also walked a bit on the 'Path' that Rio is walking. This is the main reason why Fenix has become the very first person to see through Rio's deepest secrets.
Not even Rio himself knew the reason why he was constantly losing his emotions.
None could have figured out this weird scenario unless the other party has also walked the same 'Path' as Rio before!
...
"You see, the thing is, I also wanted to pursue what it means to have true peace, but I lacked the power of 'Laws', I didn't have sword intent, and neither did I truly want to lose my 'self'..."
"I walked that lonely path till I became an SS-ranker and figured out the dangers of traversing this 'path'; this is a path that will lead you farther and farther away from those who you
love..."
"You know what 'Sword Intent' means?"
Rio shook his head and asked,
"Enlighten me..."
Fenix nodded his head and said,
"As someone who has done a lot of research in this matter, let me tell you more details about various types of legendary skills..."
"Dao Rhythm is a 'law' that brings prosperity, luck, benevolence, protection, power, and confidence... That is the power suitable for a leader or a being who has made it his ambition to
become supreme..."
"No matter how much you delve into this 'Law', it doesn't bring any side effects to the user and only improves their standing in the 'world'..."
Fenix put the empty tea cup aside at that moment and continued.
"On the other hand, there is 'The Heart of Eternal Nirvana', and the 'law' behind it brings love, care, healing, warmth, and hope... This power not only doesn't harm the user, but it even helps anyone and everyone..."
"No matter how much of the power of this 'law' manifests on your body, it will do no harm..."
Finally, Fenix glanced at Rio and said,
"And then there is 'Sword Intent'... In the first place, a sword is a weapon; the very moment you awakened 'Sword Intent', you had already manifested a 'weapon' in your own body..."
"A sword is only called 'perfect' when it can cut anything and everything; you will need to walk a difficult path to make your 'sword Intent' reach perfection..."
"A perfect sword intent is said to be able to cut 'anything and everything'... It's a power that can sever even the threads of destiny if it reaches the realm of perfection..." "And only an 'emotionless supreme weapon' can wield 'Perfect Sword Intent... In other words, if you keep moving forward on this path, you will become a weapon that will have no
emotions..."
Rio's sword intent master improved to the point that the 'law' manifested in his body and gave him the 'imperfect sword heart'.
In other words, Rio has already completed half of the process of becoming a true emotionless weapon that can manifest the 'perfect sword intent'.
The only reason why Rio's sword heart is still incomplete is because he's too low in rank and hasn't discarded his humanity yet.
But if Rio keeps getting stronger and stronger, he will continue losing his emotions, and he will keep moving forward on the path of achieving true peace.
Thinking about it all, Rio frowned a bit and asked,
"No, something still doesn't add up... The thing is, I awakened my sword intent much earlier
than I realized my 'path'; moreover, I had already started losing my emotions before I even
had 'sword intent'..."
"Sword intent might be half the reason why I am losing emotions, but that is not all... There must be something else..."
Listening to Rio's words Fenix was also lost for words; he shook his head and said,
"I don't know; honestly speaking, all that I have told you was also just my guesswork; I have only walked this 'path' halfway, then I diverted it and went some other 'path'..."
"I didn't had 'sword intent' so honestly speaking, my words cannot be considered hundred percent accurate... But still, what I have said today can be considered a warning..."
Fenix tone turned serious, and he said,
"The thing is, the world itself won't tolerate an existence that has too much power... A
'Perfect Sword Intent' is so strong that it can sever even the very threads of 'fate and
destiny'..."
"And interfering with things like that will cause massive chaos in the world; thus, such an existence is really a huge threat to the very existence of this world..."
"The world aside... Rio, if you once decided to become an existence that can pose a threat to
the world and the lives of all those who live in it... Do you think others will tolerate you?"
"Such an existence won't be tolerated by even its own kin... Sometimes, too much of something can be very bad for yourself..."
Fenix's words were likely not hundred percent true, and Rio also didn't know why he was losing emotions before he even got sword intent, but one thing was sure.
Rio is stuck in a great dilemma now.
Author's Notes.
Yo! It's your beloved author here! Finally, we can start to see little bits and pieces of
information on why Rio is losing his humanity.
Question of the day:
What do you think Rio should do to get out of this dilemma?
(Tell me your thoughts in the comments)
By the way, don't forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story.
Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.