**Chapter 160: The Third Truth**
“Let me ask you this—do you understand the difference between the two?”
Angel kicked off his white soft boots, curling his legs up on the chair like an unstable big boy. He hunched down, resting his chin on his knees, holding half a glass of red wine, and gazed at me with an uncertain look that swayed back and forth.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.
“Call me an idiot, will you?”
But deep down, I knew Angel didn’t think I was an idiot. He just wasn’t sure if the Abyss within me could grasp that using the Chaotic Power obtained through ‘m*rder’ for growth was, well, not exactly great.
As a ‘pioneer’ and ‘guide’ of human society, the primary concern of the Holy Church, if you will, is ensuring that humanity develops harmoniously under the grand rules while maintaining their superior status. And as the Pope, Angel was the ‘head honcho’ of the Holy Church and humanity, so it was naturally up to him to deal with such issues.
How to advance the economy and society… From that perspective, the Gate of Truth is humanity’s greatest enemy. Its threat is no less than that of the Abyss.
After all, whether it’s the Power of Faith or the Power of Order, these supernatural abilities wielded by humans depend on talent. As Angel just mentioned, some people will never gain power no matter how hard they try—it’s not about effort; it’s about whether a deity has taken a liking to you. It’s terribly unfair!
So, just imagine, one day there’s a power that doesn’t require any sacrifices: as long as you’re ruthless enough and dare to go all out, you can gain extraordinary abilities. You could do whatever you want, whenever you want. You could even k*ll, siphon others’ bl**d, and grow even stronger… If the masses discovered this power and that it was easily obtainable, what would happen then?
Thousands of years of human civilization could collapse in an instant.
Despite all the unfairness in the world, so-called ‘gain’ must be achieved through ideas and effort. Without power, one can choose to be a small vendor, a mason, or even a butcher in the woods. As long as you’re clever and diligent, starting small and seizing opportunities, one day you’ll shine!
Every industry has those who reach the top and live well. Our society thrives because countless such individuals exist. But if one day everyone chased after easily accessible power, no one would build cities or cultivate crops, and humanity would regress to that barbaric age of raw meat and bl**d.
So, in a sense, the Gate of Truth is worse than the Abyss; from the perspective of public interest and self-interest, the Church must curb its existence.
Because temptation is terrifying.
But what’s more terrifying is someone who can’t resist temptation.
Angel probably didn’t expect me to think so deeply. He just wanted to tell me that Sin Fire, like the Abyss, signifies “destruction.” The difference is that the Abyss destroys others, while Sin Fire… well, most of the time, it destroys the self, taking others down with it.
I got that, of course—who says I’m not a genius?
“So, what’s the deal with the pill?”
As I spoke, I adjusted my b*tt on the chair.
…In a church this big, decked out in such luxury, why are the chairs so hard?
They’re so uncomfortable…
“That’s the new power the Gate of Truth is researching, or rather, the method of acquiring power,” Angel said, putting down his glass, picking up a box from the table, and taking out a Scarlet pill, weighing it in his palm.
“See this ordinary-looking thing? What if one day, someone could eat it and gain powers strong enough to rival deities, without burning their bl**d or paying any price… What do you think?”
!
My heart skipped a beat, and my eyes widened.
Just one pill and… no way, that’s impossible…
So fantastical…
“You’re kidding me.”
“Right? You think it’s impossible too,” Angel shrugged.
…Huh?
I immediately furrowed my brows and pouted: “What do you mean by that?”
Is this guy messing with me?
“Nothing much, just a guess… So, in fact, I don’t know what it actually is.”
He put the pill back in the box, casually gulped down his wine, closed his eyes, and smacked his lips, looking utterly blissful.
His laid-back demeanor made me want to explode. I slammed my hand on the table: “You don’t know, and you say a word?!”
Crash—
The empty plates danced up a good ten centimeters from the table, then steadied back down. Angel jolted back in his seat: “Hey, hey! Calm down! Listen to me, I may not know the pill’s effects, but I know other things…”
“Then spill it!”
Argh—
I’d had enough of this long-winded guy who loved keeping secrets!
“You have one minute to finish.”
With that, I raised a little fist menacingly.
“Okay, okay…”
Angel immediately surrendered, but his eyes darted to the wine bottle on the floor. Noticing my clenched teeth, he sat up straight and focused before spitting words like a machine g*n: “In 864 AD, the followers led by Sac Leslie rebelled against the Holy Church and, in some form, secretly asked the Goddess of Sin for the power of Sin Fire. This went against the mutual agreement among the deities, but we were powerless to stop them. We watched as heretics quickly grew and battled the Church countless times over the centuries, but they ultimately fell, driven to the Eastern Continent, and twenty years ago, their ‘leader,’ the Great Demon, died by Levi’s sword. After that, the Gate of Truth lost its followers, and there was no more leader, but they still hold ill intent—”
He took a breath, wide-eyed and gasping like a frog that almost choked.
“They attributed their earlier fall to the ‘self-consuming nature’ of Sin Fire, so they secretly researched new powers, experimenting with various bl**d concoctions on humans to gain powers capable of rivaling deities. I discovered this during the Valen Catastrophe; out of curiosity, I went to the scene to understand the cause of the Abyss’s sudden emergence to prevent similar occurrences. Then I found the place where the Gluttony Abyss first appeared, realizing the chasm connected to a collapsed cave where there were signs of vessels and human activity. Since the cave was utterly destroyed, I couldn’t probe further, but I realized that disaster was likely manmade—”
“Wait! Stop! Slow down!”
Too fast. What did he just say… Gluttony Abyss? Wait, that cave is something from my memory… So, does that mean Gluttony originated from the ‘clinic’? Is that what you’re getting at? Huh?
“Angel, are you messing with me on purpose?”
I was so frustrated!
Why is he rushing through this?
“Phew, phew… No, didn’t you ask me to talk fast?” Angel huffed, staring at my puzzled expression, “You only gave me a minute…”
“Ugh…”
Didn’t I mean don’t ramble? Can’t he even understand that… such a typical guy…
“Then slow down a bit, but not too slow… Just let me understand it, and don’t make me feel annoyed.”
“…Not possible.”
Angel looked a little lost.
“Well, I don’t care.”
“You’re setting impossible demands.”
…So annoying.
And these chairs are so hard.
I shifted uncomfortably, frowning impatiently. I didn’t want to waste more time: “Did you say Gluttony is manmade? In that cave?”
“I didn’t say that. I merely mentioned it’s a possibility, a possibility…”
“……”
I raised my palm in anger.
“Don’t hit! We agreed! The Abyss woman’s word must be kept!”
Angel stood up gingerly, eyes darting toward my raised hand, stepping back slowly, surprised.
“…I’m a tough guy from the Abyss.”
Smack!
My palm slapped the table again, making the plates tremble with another loud bang.
Whatever…
“Go ahead and continue.” I nodded for him to sit back down.
But Angel didn’t dare come close to the table again. Cautiously eyeing me, he bent down to pick up the wine bottle tightly, holding it to his chest as if that would make him feel safer.
“Um, I’ll continue… But should I speak fast or slow?”
…Why are you asking me?
Isn’t it clear he doesn’t know if to go fast or slow!
Annoyed, I snapped, “No more chit-chat.”
“Oh… so I’ll just say it.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“…Two years went by, and during that time, I had people secretly investigate, but with no results. Until two years later, when you showed up, Carlos came over, and I hurried to Woodward Forest, the place where you awoke… Little Black Charcoal, guess what I found—”
“Cave, vessels, signs of people.” I interrupted impatiently, “Angel, if you keep stretching this out, I might seriously take action.”
Vague memories from earlier dreams surfaced. A silver-haired little girl smiling and waving at me, surrounded by lush woods. Looking back now, it eerily resembled the environment of Woodward Forest.
So, after I was sent to Silgaya, I was there all along…
“You guessed right. It’s another cave, located less than ten kilometers from the chasm. Everything inside was similarly destroyed, but this time, they weren’t meticulous enough… maybe something unexpected happened, so they fled in a hurry. In the cave, I found this pill and some things related to the Gate of Truth… Little Black Charcoal, my intuition tells me you’re one of their…”
Angel let his sentence hang, but his meaning was crystal clear.
An experimental product…
Me?
I couldn’t help but glance at my hands.
Fingers slender and long, the skin on my palms pale and tender, like that of a newborn.
These are my hands.
But…
What exactly am I?
Deep inside, I felt lost.
A wave of sadness washed over me, bubbling uncontrollably.
I felt like crying.
But I had to hold it in.
“Angel…”
This was something I had realized long ago.
I had understood it already…
Why was it only now that I felt sad…
“Does the Church… know about this…”
“Not really. The only ones who know are me, four cardinals, and… Margaret.”
