377 Delois's Enlightenment
On the other side of the dark sky, in the distant night sky that stretches as far as the eye can see, countless twinkling stars and sparks dance and weave through it.
Disregarding everything, focusing intently and working tirelessly.
When he came to his senses, Dekan found that the scene he was standing in had changed back from the Holy Kingdom to that mottled and colorful starry world.
According to his understanding, this world is a boundary between the living and the dead, a place where neither should be visited.
Or perhaps it belongs only to the realm of the Goddess Tike.
She may have been waiting here for thousands of years, even tens of thousands of years.
With loving eyes, she watches over the cycle of life in all things, waiting for this land to be reborn again and again.
Having witnessed the final fate of the Holy Kingdom, Dekan calculated the time and felt that this Shadow World should also be coming to an end.
But he found that he still looked like a spirit.
It also made him realize more clearly--
I was able to come to this realm not only because I received her protection and was summoned by her.
More importantly, I was truly in a life-or-death situation to be able to come to this realm.
To be or to be, that's a big problem!
Based on his previous experiences in the Shadow World, once he successfully completes all the tasks and his time in the Shadow World ends, he will naturally be sent back to the real world.
But now, if I were to return to the mortal world in this state, I'm afraid I'd become a guardian spirit!
Of course, given the chaotic state of spacetime here, it's possible to be transported to some strange world, become a vengeful ghost, and participate in eerie games...
Dekan finally looked again at the Goddess of Reincarnation and Fate not far away; only she could help him.
However, she rarely answered Dekan's questions from the moment she appeared.
I couldn't sense any coldness from her at all.
But Dekan also knew that perhaps that was the difference between gods and humans.
Just as demons cannot comprehend human kindness, humans also struggle to understand the emotions of deities.
[There's one last memory there, one that belongs to you.]
The Goddess of Reincarnation and Fate seemed to understand Dekan's thoughts every moment and responded to his confusion.
Dekan looked in the direction that the Goddess Tike was facing.
Under the starry sky not far away, two figures appeared out of nowhere!
And those two figures were none other than the Goddess Tike, and him!
Wrong.
Dekan frowned.
The figure carrying a lantern and walking towards the gray-haired figure in the distance was indeed the Goddess Tike.
The gray-haired figure with horns on its head and a few demonic markings on its cheeks turned around in surprise to look at the Goddess Tike.
Then, I bowed to her.
This scene was just like a replay of when he first arrived here not long ago.
However, while the Goddess Tike was still the Goddess Tike, the gray-haired figure was not Dekan but Delois.
[That's the scene from the last time I brought you here.]
The Goddess Tike beside him gave an explanation to Dekan.
Dekan nodded blankly.
He discovered that they seemed to be in a spectator mode, watching this projection from thousands or tens of thousands of years ago.
This also answers one of Dekan's initial questions—whether he had seen the Goddess Tike when he was Delois.
The answer is unfolding before our eyes.
In the distant projection.
Delois and the Goddess of Reincarnation and Fate both seem to have a rather taciturn style.
After Delois finished performing the priestly rites to the Goddess Tike, he said nothing and simply kept his head bowed for a long time.
They were devout, as if they were praying to a deity.
[... I'm asking you.]
Finally, Goddess Tike spoke first.
"Yes."
Delois answered in a steady voice.
Why do you need to understand people's hearts?
The Goddess's question was so direct and clear that even Delois seemed to tremble slightly in surprise.
He thought the Goddess would ask him questions about his faction or stance.
"Now that things have come to this... I haven't thought about the specific answer to this question for a long time."
Delois thought for a moment.
He seemed to hesitate, wondering whether he should treat God's question with more solemnity or in a more relaxed manner.
However, the final conclusion is that there's no need to worry about it now.
Only after he understood the human heart and the pain that only humans can feel did he truly understand the concept of suffering.
But correspondingly, he no longer wanted to ponder the nature of human nature.
And his purpose in pursuing the human heart, perhaps, changed several times in the beginning, later, and finally, until he could no longer figure it out...
"At first, it might have just been out of curiosity, or to relieve my boredom."
Delois answered the Goddess's question honestly.
"I might be thinking that if I can't understand real pain, I can't perfectly apply magic to my own pain..."
Although he dislikes pain, he must first experience it himself before he can inflict it.
Over time, he gradually became numb to some extent.
Physical and mental pain seem to be nothing more than this.
Each time, he inflicted torment on his enemies far exceeding death, making Delois himself feel that this was all there was to life, and death was just a matter of a little.
With this perspective on life and death, he also had no interest in harming the weak or those who were not evil enough.
It's not that I might feel guilty, it's just that I find it boring.
Delois knew that at this stage, he was walking on the edge of a cliff.
He already possesses dangerous talents; one wrong step and he could become a calamity that harms the world, even more dangerous than the Chaos God.
Fortunately...
"Until those two years that changed me, which were also the most confusing period for me... my purpose in pursuing the human heart may have unknowingly changed."
Delois's gaze became complex, as if something more had been added to it.
"It wasn't until later, standing before her tombstone, that I realized my dried tears told me I was merely trying to fill the void in my heart..."
But by then she could never come back, and he had fulfilled his wish and understood human nature; everything should have ended.
Delois continued fighting until the very last moment.
The Goddess didn't speak, indicating that she was gesturing for him to continue.
Delois lowered his eyes, as if he were thinking about something again.
He still doesn't want to recall the hellish scene that unfolded when Clodia died.
Hearing her prophecy, "Your heart will break,"...
And when it is truly fulfilled.
It was as if his soul was trapped in a dead end, unable to move. A moment felt like decades, even more painful than the torment he endured with the goddess of life Sisina.
"Perhaps it's a curse... perhaps it's punishment for the demons who understood things they shouldn't have, or perhaps it's simply the price that comes with understanding the human heart."
Delois finally spoke slowly.
"I've become strange, I have more things I want to protect, which has given me many more weaknesses... Even if I'm shattered to pieces, I don't want to experience that kind of pain again."