Pride's "Gift"

After a moment of silence, [Pride] glanced at Sean with his large eyes.

"You are wise, you humble one."

A slight smile appeared on Sean's lips.

It seems that her little scheme hadn't escaped the other party's notice. However, [Pride] hadn't realized it before, but now she understood that Sean was acting.

But Pride didn't get angry, nor did it expose Sean's acting skills, nor did it take back its previous promise. It even changed how it addressed Sean.

This is enough to prove that matters concerning the gods are very important to the mind of Pride.

Moreover, this probably also indicates some of His approval of Sean.

Sean wasn't embarrassed or annoyed that his little scheme had been seen through. He casually rested his hands on the railing and said naturally, "Thank you for the compliment, although that's what people have always said about me since I was a child—besides, you see, doesn't this mean we've reached a basic consensus?"

"You are indeed very smart, and you have always known what you want—" [Pride] said, "But you will never understand what you are about to face, so be it."

Sean remained noncommittal. "We'd better not repeat what we've already said; it's pointless."

"So, what do you want to say?"

Sean snapped his fingers, "I can't completely trust your promise, but at least it's something to look forward to—besides, the fact that you want to fully awaken proves that you have a goal in mind..."

Looking into Pride's blood-red eyes, Sean shrugged. "Don't look at me like that. I know I'm not qualified to discuss those high-level matters; I'm not worthy of your level."

"Teasing and sarcasm won't bring you any benefit," said [Pride].

"But I'm happy to say it—however, I do have a suggestion," Sean said with a smile.

[Pride] swept his gaze up and down again. "Probably another time you borrowed my power to help me accomplish something. You lowly one, in your own level of existence, you may be an outstanding being, but to us, heh heh—"

Sean shrugged. "What's the point of saying all this? You're still inside my body, and you can't use your power without my permission—my suggestion is indeed old-fashioned, but old-fashioned can also be called classic, right?"

[Pride] He remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

Sean continued, "You just mentioned that Sloth is a traitor, right? I think you ultimately want to punish the traitor after you fully awaken. Why don't I make some arrangements for you in advance, such as gathering more detailed information or weakening its current power? This may be a small matter for you, but even small good things are good things, right?"

"In exchange, your knowledge, your mastery of power, your control over magic—these are all insignificant to you. Giving them to me, this 'humble one,' doesn't seem like a huge loss, does it?"

"Furthermore, regardless of your true thoughts, before you fully awaken, although we have a parasitic and host relationship, we can essentially cooperate. You can think about this—since your life level completely overwhelms mine, is it unacceptable for you to make me even stronger?"

Having said all this, Sean leaned lazily against the railing, awaiting Pride's reply.

He was confident that his words would persuade the other party.

Pride's mind is clearly very sharp; He can fully understand what Sean says, and He is proud enough, which is the source of Sean's confidence.

The ability to See Through Hearts that Grindelwald taught him also applies to the concept of "Pride".

Or rather, this is what Sean truly thinks—as long as you are not omniscient and omnipotent, as long as your level of consciousness and logic of thought have not completely transcended the realm of mortals, the so-called higher-level life forms are merely those who possess greater power. In fact, your power that surpasses that of mortals is still under my control.

Therefore, if the human heart can be manipulated, the so-called heart of the gods can also be manipulated.

Moreover, Sean's proposal didn't contain any major pitfalls.

As Sean had predicted, Pride raised its massive head after a brief moment of thought.

"An interesting proposal, you humble one. Very well, I agree to your proposal."

Sean laughed, "Looks like we've reached an agreement?"

"For now, we can consider it this way: the humble."

Sean didn't mind the other person calling him a "lowly one" repeatedly, and he said casually, "Then let's pick something we can talk about first?"

"Raise your questions, you humble one."

"[Sloth], why can His power be borrowed by ordinary wizards, and why are there three wizards who have borrowed this power? Those three people are behaving very strangely, as if they are sharing a single consciousness..."

Sean described Thomas's situation in detail.

After listening, Pride calmly said, "The power of Sloth was not borrowed."

Sean frowned. "I clearly sensed something was wrong, and you should have sensed it too."

"It's just a superficial manifestation of power," [Pride] explained to him. "Most obviously, you. You should be able to sense that as I gradually recover, you have an almost immune resistance to all kinds of Eye Technique magic."

Sean nodded. Yes, all kinds of talents and spells that use the eyes to cast magic are almost ineffective against him. Whether it's Stephanie's Enchanting Eye or Cat-Leopard Pudding's Hypnotic and Spying Eyes.

He even withstood the Basilisk's direct gaze once—although Sean didn't try it again, he could vaguely sense that even if the Basilisk stared at him directly again, it wouldn't have fatal consequences.

His resistance is getting stronger and stronger, and he may eventually reach the level of immunity that "Pride" refers to.

"This is the manifestation of my power on your body. In the simplest terms, it is my immense power revealing a trace of my aura. This trace of my aura intertwines and merges with your own magic, becoming what you call the power of Sin."

Sean nodded thoughtfully. This might be equivalent to a system with multiple layers of permissions. The system is Sin, while the host naturally has the right to unlock the system. Of course, this right is only the most basic and superficial permission.

"In other words, they are not using the true power of Sin, but merely transforming and utilizing the superficial manifestation of power—" Sean said carefully. "However, in my understanding, even the most superficial power can only be used in part by the host."

"Your understanding is correct. Even the most superficial power can only be partially utilized by bridges like yours," said [Pride].

"Those people?"

"Because [Sloth] has not awakened at all, and has not even gotten rid of the most basic light sleep."

Sean frowned. "Not awake at all? That means, in the Soul World of the [Sloth] host, [Sloth] can't even appear like you and talk to me?"

"Yes, even if [Sloth] is a traitor, as the leader, I will be the first to awaken. Only after I am fully awake will the others slowly awaken and recover their power."

Sean said with some doubt, "Since [Sloth] hasn't awakened, then the power... um? You just said that it's precisely because of this that they can borrow the power of Sin? Can I understand that they forcibly extracted the power of the sleeping [Sloth]?"

A hint of appreciation appeared in [Pride]'s eyes. "Not bad, you humble one, your thinking is very flexible—that's right, it is precisely because [Sloth] has not awakened that it is possible to borrow its power. Once it awakens, this power can no longer be borrowed."

"I see..." Sean nodded, then asked again, "So, why does my magic change its nature after coming into contact with Thomas and the others' magic?"

"The resonance between magic of the same level means that your magic will return to normal after you appear and a while," [Pride] explained simply.

"I see... So, in order to continue using the power of [Sloth], those people will suppress its awakening and keep it dormant?" Sean asked.

"If they want to continue borrowing, then they will."

Sean nodded, then glanced at [Pride]: "So, what do you want me to do?"

[Pride] smiled for the first time, but although He used Sean's face, His smile was different from Sean's gentle and lazy smile. His smile was full of the oppressive feeling and disdain of a superior.

"You are too weak, you lowly one. Wait until you are stronger before you come to discuss these matters with me. Consider this information as a gift from me."

Sean shrugged. "Say what you will—but I have plenty of other questions, don't you think?"

"Why should I answer you?" [Pride] chuckled lightly, then sank straight into the lava.

"Hey, you big guy, hey—" Sean called out twice, but [Pride] stopped responding. Only the blinding bubbles in the lava lake below continued to burst one after another.

"Tsk, boring—" Sean muttered to himself, "He's so different from the kind of old man you see in novels, no gift or anything..."

Shortly after Sean finished speaking, a magic ball slowly rose from the lava lake.

The sound of Pride echoed around the Sky Island.

"As a wise bridge, I will allow you to borrow more of my power, as a means of saving your life."

As Sean gazed at the magic ball, the methods of using magic, which he had never learned before, naturally came to mind.

Furthermore, he could clearly sense that he could borrow a portion of the power of Pride at any time, even if he wished. Although this power was only a drop in the ocean compared to Pride, and only a small part of Pride's many mysterious abilities.

But for Sean at his current level, that would almost double his combat power.

This is practically an instant power-up device, with no cooldown time or usage restrictions.

If Sean is willing.

But his expression was slightly serious.

The Pride voice rang out again, but this time with a hint of amusement.

"The cooperation is settled. You can borrow a portion of my power at any time, and I can guarantee that this power will not harm you. However—do you dare?"

"The Humble Ones—"

The voice, filled with laughter and amusement, gradually faded away, and there was no further sound.

Sean stared at the enormous magic ball, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Even if this power is tempting, even if there's the guarantee of [Pride]...

He was right; Sean dared not use it.

Despite the length of Sean's conversation with Pride this time, and even his apparent advantage, the essence of their relationship remains that they are both collaborators and each Pride's greatest adversaries.

When Pride fully awakens, Sean is no longer Sean, even if the other party promises to preserve Sean's soul—but what about everything else? Consciousness, memories, body, friends, teachers, lovers, family...

Pride made no promises regarding these matters.

In other words, Sean will ultimately have to confront Pride, either gaining control of the power or leaving behind only a soul.

Faced with that enormous magic ball, this "gift" originating from [Pride] should be put in quotation marks.

If Pride harbors ulterior motives, the more Sean draws upon this power, the weaker his resistance to Pride's erosion may become in the future.

This could very well be a sweet time bomb.

Pride clearly saw through Sean's cautious and cowardly nature, which is why he took such action.

"Merlin's Iron Underpants, you ill-intentioned bastard!" Sean gritted his teeth in hatred.

The allure of this power is just as great as the risk!

"Anyway, I don't need it now. I have enough trump cards. If I can't handle something, there are two tall guys to take care of it. It's just a useless thing."

Sean kept his eyes away from the alluring magic.

He took one last look at the lava, then closed his eyes, and his body disappeared at the edge of the Sky Island.

Shortly after Sean left, the lava lake began to tremble again.

A giant hand reached out from the magma, then clenched its fist in the void once more.

The crack on the horizon, which was slowly healing itself, accelerated the repair process.

"Well--"

A long sigh, brimming with various meanings, echoed throughout the world.

When Sean opened his eyes again, the first thing he did was check his physical condition and magical state.

Everything is as usual.

The coin proved reliable; after a long talk inside, [Pride] didn't do anything wrong.

Sean had relaxed a little, looked to the side.

The Lloyd Couple, still unconscious, lay there motionless.

"Tsk, we can't just leave these innocent people like this, but that guy didn't tell me how to save these two people..." Sean rested his chin on his hand, looking somewhat troubled.

Just as he was hesitating, there was a knock on the door.

Sean walked over and opened the door, where a smiling old man was standing.

"Oh, Sean, so you're here." Dumbledore a smile.