51. The Emperor's Sword (II)

"I've already found a way to keep Divinity away from you."

"From that Treefolk?"

"How did you know?"

He Shenyan smiled. "I know a lot of things—ah, his reputation in the White Tower is fairly good. He's a man who keeps his word. So, what did you pay?"

The Emperor's expression remained unchanged. "Compared to your life, it was a negligible price."

"I'd actually rather you all didn't fixate on saving me." The mage shrugged, looking utterly unconcerned. "There's something wrong with me psychologically, my friend. My self-destructive tendencies have completely taken over."

"For someone who wants to kill himself, your ability to articulate it is astonishingly clear."

"Because I don't care enough."

He Shenyan bared his teeth in a grin. "As long as you don't care enough, you can turn many things from impossible into possible. Wanting to kill myself can't hurt me anymore. I'm just surprised by the feeling—to be honest, even I can hardly believe it."

The Emperor stared steadily at his young friend. This mage from another universe, who had always been busy saving others, looked so fragile at this moment.

He stood beneath the stars, a smile on his face, yet no trace of a smile in his eyes.

".Nihilism."

After a long while, the Emperor said quietly, "You think all of this is meaningless. I understand that feeling."

"What? The great Emperor once felt that way too?"

"In the ancient 2K era—yes, I did."

The Emperor seemed to sink into memory, his expression turning somewhat bitter. "At the time, I thought humanity could end its meaningless infighting through its own efforts. They could unite and walk into the stars together. I was wrong. I had to act. There had to be a figure like a deus ex machina to lead them."

"I didn't like