“What is Touch?”
Ashe was perplexed. These sorcerers always managed to come up with new terms he had never heard before.
“He actually succeeded, Heath actually succeeded! How is this possible, how can this be possible!” Sylin roared quietly, suddenly turning into a desktop cleaning master, striking the desk hard and swiping the Screen of Knowledge onto the floor, shattering it into pieces.
Ashe swallowed: “Calm down, why don’t you explain to me what’s going on? Maybe I can offer all sorts of support apart from substantial assistance—eh!”
The tree trunk suddenly compressed inward. Ashe felt a heavy pressure coming from all directions, almost suffocating him. Even breathing became extremely difficult, as if he was about to turn into an Ashe pancake!
I can’t breathe!
“Aren’t you going to fight back?” Sylin said coldly, his left hand pointing at Ashe, making a ‘grip’ gesture: “Your body is still so fragile, I might accidentally crush you. I’ll count to three. Three, two, one—“
Is this the end for me?
If only I had killed him earlier… If only I hadn’t come to find Sylin… If only…
Facing death, Ashe surprisingly found that he was not as strong as he thought. His heart was filled with regret. He thought he didn’t care much about life, but it seemed that was not the case.
Or perhaps, what he cared about was not life…
Ashe instinctively closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, waiting for the severe pain before death.
However, when the countdown ended, the tree trunk did not squeeze Ashe into a pulp, but instead loosened somewhat, allowing Ashe to enjoy the freedom of breathing again.
He opened his eyes and saw Sylin stumbling and falling against the desk. Sylin had tears running down his face, but he was laughing: “You are indeed not Heath, you really aren’t… Hahaha! He succeeded? He actually succeeded? How could he succeed?”
Ashe silently watched Sylin crying and laughing, then after a long while, he finally asked, “What were you testing just now?”
Sylin, completely disregarding courtesy, sat on the carpet next to the desk. After a while, he replied, “The real Heath, he possesses the ‘Key’. He doesn’t need arcane energy or even language. As long as Heath activates the Key, he can control any follower—including me.”
He showed a deep-seated fear on his face: “That is a contamination more terrifying than death, it’s completely stripping away one’s self-control! I tried to commit suicide before, but death is not an excuse for disobedience. The moment before I attempted suicide, I lost control of my body until I completed the work he assigned. I then regained the ‘right’ to ‘use’ my own body… From then on, I could not resist any of his orders and could only faithfully enforce his will.”
“From the moment you placed the sword heart on my neck, I knew you were not Heath. But I dared not believe, dared not take risks—perhaps Heath was just pretending, perhaps you were a personality split from Heath, or perhaps…” Sylin’s voice was trembling, “I simply didn’t have the courage to believe that Heath would disappear.”
“I was afraid you were just another one of his tricks.”
Ashe looked at Sylin’s right hand: “You mentioned Stunning Eyes just now…”
“You didn’t inherit Heath’s memories?” Sylin raised his right hand, the hole in the center of his palm was so round, like a missing puzzle piece, the moonlight passing through without hindrance.
“This is a hole drilled by Heath himself, the price of the ritual.”
“Ritual… Ritual Faction?”
“Yes,” Sylin lowered his head to look at his hand, “To be fair, although the price is not small, the effect of ‘Stunning Eyes’ is extremely powerful. Anyone who is stared at through the hole in my palm will fall into a several-second mental lag, during which they can’t perform any actions, not even blinking.”
Mind Control!
Ashe deeply felt the horror of this sorcerer’s control skill. He couldn’t resist the experience of mental sluggishness he’d just had. He hadn’t even had time to think about ‘resisting’.
If an ordinary person’s mind is a waterfall, with countless thoughts splashing and surging every second, then Ashe’s mind just now was like a quagmire, with only a bubble born from decay after a long time.
“Of course, such a powerful effect is not without its limits,” Sylin said. “The Stunning Eyes can only take effect on each person once because only the first time is ‘shocking’, and after that, there’s only ‘stunning’.”
“I was just taken by the Stunning Eyes, so you’re sure I’m not Heath…”
“Heath has already seen my Stunning Eyes,” Sylin said calmly. “All the followers in the church who are given the Stunning Eyes, Heath has seen them all. He won’t let his followers have a way to counter him.”
Despite the lack of evidence, Ashe is now stuck in a tree, and Sylin could make him do anything. Sylin had no reason to lie to him.
However, Ashe still found it hard to believe. After all, Heath was a nobody who wasn’t even a sorcerer. Without Ashe, Heath wouldn’t even be able to pass the ‘Beautiful Beast’ Igor, a novice assassin. He would be directly robbed by Igor of his contributions and fall to the bottom of the prison.
If Heath really was a big bad guy with hidden cards, then… where are those cards?
I came all the way to substitute for him, and he didn’t even leave me a card!?
So, Ashe still felt that Sylin was fooling him. A two-hundred-year-old Two-Winged Elf was controlled by a twenty-something non-sorcerer human? If Ashe told the Sword Princess this, she would probably respond, ‘Don’t read so many underdog storybooks at such a young age’.
After a moment of silence, Ashe asked, “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I’m thinking,” Sylin looked at the ground, “about what to do with you.”
“After all, the last task Heath left me was to kill you.”
Ashe was taken aback, “Kill me… wait, but I am Ashe Heath, you mean…”
“That’s right,” Sylin stood up leaning on the desk, “The last task Heath gave me was to do my best to kill him. To thoroughly erase the Heath who would be left after the ceremony.”
Ashe’s mouth twitched, his pupils shrunk, “So, my capture by the Blood Mad Hunter… Varcas… the Blood Moon Tribunal… and Gerard’s visit, all were…”
“All were ‘your own’ will,” Sylin said. “I’m just doing my best to carry out ‘your’ orders.”
The one who wants to kill me is Heath?
Even though Ashe tried to judge if Sylin was lying, his heart still beat uncontrollably.
Infinite malice and resentment flooded his thoughts like a deep sea. A bone-chilling cold seeped into his body, and he seemed to hear the laughter of countless people.
From the beginning, he was a clearly arranged pawn.
He couldn’t even tell who the real mastermind was. He was like a child who saw his backpack being tossed around by bullies, not knowing who to hit, almost about to cry out of frustration.
But strangely, Ashe didn’t ignite the fire of anger to dispel the chill in his heart.
He calmly accepted the truth that he had been fooled. He could even dispassionately observe his own thoughts tumbling and boiling, as if looking at someone else’s Sorcerer Handbook, enjoying a dramatic plot of storms.
When you can observe pain, you are freed from pain.
When you can observe the self, you are freed from fate.
Anger, resentment, and regret can’t solve any problems. Only absolute calm, precise judgment, and mechanical execution can penetrate all secrets, understand the truths of the world, and implement your own will.
Don’t let the hormones secreted by your body affect your thinking. Don’t let boring worldly concepts restrict your imagination. Don’t let an unknown future destroy your calm.
Ashe, you need to watch yourself, you need to transcend reality, you need to think about the correct next step, execute the strategy that maximizes benefits, using all available resources.
Just treat others as tools.
And treat yourself as a tool as well.
Then you can become the unprejudiced Observer Ashe.
“What is Touch?”
Ashe was perplexed. These sorcerers always managed to come up with new terms he had never heard before.
“He actually succeeded, Heath actually succeeded! How is this possible, how can this be possible!” Sylin roared quietly, suddenly turning into a desktop cleaning master, striking the desk hard and swiping the Screen of Knowledge onto the floor, shattering it into pieces.
Ashe swallowed: “Calm down, why don’t you explain to me what’s going on? Maybe I can offer all sorts of support apart from substantial assistance—eh!”
The tree trunk suddenly compressed inward. Ashe felt a heavy pressure coming from all directions, almost suffocating him. Even breathing became extremely difficult, as if he was about to turn into an Ashe pancake!
I can’t breathe!
“Aren’t you going to fight back?” Sylin said coldly, his left hand pointing at Ashe, making a ‘grip’ gesture: “Your body is still so fragile, I might accidentally crush you. I’ll count to three. Three, two, one—“
Is this the end for me?
If only I had killed him earlier… If only I hadn’t come to find Sylin… If only…
Facing death, Ashe surprisingly found that he was not as strong as he thought. His heart was filled with regret. He thought he didn’t care much about life, but it seemed that was not the case.
Or perhaps, what he cared about was not life…
Ashe instinctively closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, waiting for the severe pain before death.
However, when the countdown ended, the tree trunk did not squeeze Ashe into a pulp, but instead loosened somewhat, allowing Ashe to enjoy the freedom of breathing again.
He opened his eyes and saw Sylin stumbling and falling against the desk. Sylin had tears running down his face, but he was laughing: “You are indeed not Heath, you really aren’t… Hahaha! He succeeded? He actually succeeded? How could he succeed?”
Ashe silently watched Sylin crying and laughing, then after a long while, he finally asked, “What were you testing just now?”
Sylin, completely disregarding courtesy, sat on the carpet next to the desk. After a while, he replied, “The real Heath, he possesses the ‘Key’. He doesn’t need arcane energy or even language. As long as Heath activates the Key, he can control any follower—including me.”
He showed a deep-seated fear on his face: “That is a contamination more terrifying than death, it’s completely stripping away one’s self-control! I tried to commit suicide before, but death is not an excuse for disobedience. The moment before I attempted suicide, I lost control of my body until I completed the work he assigned. I then regained the ‘right’ to ‘use’ my own body… From then on, I could not resist any of his orders and could only faithfully enforce his will.”
“From the moment you placed the sword heart on my neck, I knew you were not Heath. But I dared not believe, dared not take risks—perhaps Heath was just pretending, perhaps you were a personality split from Heath, or perhaps…” Sylin’s voice was trembling, “I simply didn’t have the courage to believe that Heath would disappear.”
“I was afraid you were just another one of his tricks.”
Ashe looked at Sylin’s right hand: “You mentioned Stunning Eyes just now…”
“You didn’t inherit Heath’s memories?” Sylin raised his right hand, the hole in the center of his palm was so round, like a missing puzzle piece, the moonlight passing through without hindrance.
“This is a hole drilled by Heath himself, the price of the ritual.”
“Ritual… Ritual Faction?”
“Yes,” Sylin lowered his head to look at his hand, “To be fair, although the price is not small, the effect of ‘Stunning Eyes’ is extremely powerful. Anyone who is stared at through the hole in my palm will fall into a several-second mental lag, during which they can’t perform any actions, not even blinking.”
Mind Control!
Ashe deeply felt the horror of this sorcerer’s control skill. He couldn’t resist the experience of mental sluggishness he’d just had. He hadn’t even had time to think about ‘resisting’.
If an ordinary person’s mind is a waterfall, with countless thoughts splashing and surging every second, then Ashe’s mind just now was like a quagmire, with only a bubble born from decay after a long time.
“Of course, such a powerful effect is not without its limits,” Sylin said. “The Stunning Eyes can only take effect on each person once because only the first time is ‘shocking’, and after that, there’s only ‘stunning’.”
“I was just taken by the Stunning Eyes, so you’re sure I’m not Heath…”
“Heath has already seen my Stunning Eyes,” Sylin said calmly. “All the followers in the church who are given the Stunning Eyes, Heath has seen them all. He won’t let his followers have a way to counter him.”
Despite the lack of evidence, Ashe is now stuck in a tree, and Sylin could make him do anything. Sylin had no reason to lie to him.
However, Ashe still found it hard to believe. After all, Heath was a nobody who wasn’t even a sorcerer. Without Ashe, Heath wouldn’t even be able to pass the ‘Beautiful Beast’ Igor, a novice assassin. He would be directly robbed by Igor of his contributions and fall to the bottom of the prison.
If Heath really was a big bad guy with hidden cards, then… where are those cards?
I came all the way to substitute for him, and he didn’t even leave me a card!?
So, Ashe still felt that Sylin was fooling him. A two-hundred-year-old Two-Winged Elf was controlled by a twenty-something non-sorcerer human? If Ashe told the Sword Princess this, she would probably respond, ‘Don’t read so many underdog storybooks at such a young age’.
After a moment of silence, Ashe asked, “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I’m thinking,” Sylin looked at the ground, “about what to do with you.”
“After all, the last task Heath left me was to kill you.”
Ashe was taken aback, “Kill me… wait, but I am Ashe Heath, you mean…”
“That’s right,” Sylin stood up leaning on the desk, “The last task Heath gave me was to do my best to kill him. To thoroughly erase the Heath who would be left after the ceremony.”
Ashe’s mouth twitched, his pupils shrunk, “So, my capture by the Blood Mad Hunter… Varcas… the Blood Moon Tribunal… and Gerard’s visit, all were…”
“All were ‘your own’ will,” Sylin said. “I’m just doing my best to carry out ‘your’ orders.”
The one who wants to kill me is Heath?
Even though Ashe tried to judge if Sylin was lying, his heart still beat uncontrollably.
Infinite malice and resentment flooded his thoughts like a deep sea. A bone-chilling cold seeped into his body, and he seemed to hear the laughter of countless people.
From the beginning, he was a clearly arranged pawn.
He couldn’t even tell who the real mastermind was. He was like a child who saw his backpack being tossed around by bullies, not knowing who to hit, almost about to cry out of frustration.
But strangely, Ashe didn’t ignite the fire of anger to dispel the chill in his heart.
He calmly accepted the truth that he had been fooled. He could even dispassionately observe his own thoughts tumbling and boiling, as if looking at someone else’s Sorcerer Handbook, enjoying a dramatic plot of storms.
When you can observe pain, you are freed from pain.
When you can observe the self, you are freed from fate.
Anger, resentment, and regret can’t solve any problems. Only absolute calm, precise judgment, and mechanical execution can penetrate all secrets, understand the truths of the world, and implement your own will.
Don’t let the hormones secreted by your body affect your thinking. Don’t let boring worldly concepts restrict your imagination. Don’t let an unknown future destroy your calm.
Ashe, you need to watch yourself, you need to transcend reality, you need to think about the correct next step, execute the strategy that maximizes benefits, using all available resources.
Just treat others as tools.
And treat yourself as a tool as well.
Then you can become the unprejudiced Observer Ashe.
