Chapter 316: The Book of the World (Part 1)
Inside a peculiar forest.
There was no light source here per se, but the grass on the ground and the tree trunks emitted a faint golden glow, illuminating the vicinity brightly.
Before long, a red shooting star suddenly flew in from the distant horizon, plummeting downward at extreme speed.
Boom! After a massive crash, two figures were revealed.
William tossed out a few holy artifacts to set up a small magic array, expanded the Holy Light barrier to a meter in front of him, and then took out a hundred-year vintage holy relic.
Only after doing all this did he begin to observe his surroundings.
Opposite him.
Samael shook his head. He looked around, a hint of confusion clearly flashing in his eyes.
"Where is this... Was there a deviation?" he muttered softly.
"When you summoned that kind of existence, did you ever think about how to restrain it?" William suddenly spoke, interrupting the other's train of thought.
Samael raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Have you lost your mind? That kind of problem should be your worry."
William sighed: "You are too naive."
"Evil spirits, demons, fallen gods... since ancient times, the stories left behind by these existences have all revolved around desire and sacrifice..."
"What exactly are you trying to say." Samael narrowed his eyes tightly.
William stared at him: "Even though you possess quite formidable power right now, in essence, you are still human."
"But that kind of existence is not. To them, all humans are nothing but pawns."
"No matter the reason you chose this path, when the day comes that they need you to sacrifice yourself, do you think you have any possibility of refusing?"
Samael's eyes were cold: "Hmph, since it is God's need, of course I am willing to offer my life."
"And then what?" William spoke calmly.
"Everything you hoped for in the beginning, the resentment in your heart—have these all turned out the way you wanted? Or rather..." He spread his hands: "You thought you contributed a spectacular curtain call with your life, but in the end, it was nothing more than your own absurd illusion."
Samael clenched his fists, remaining silent for a brief moment.
Then he sneered: "You are merely stalling for time, trying to extract God's weaknesses from me?"
"Keep dreaming!"
As soon as his voice fell, the dark green slime on Samael's body generated two long snakes that lunged at William.
"Did you think a few words could make me defect?" he shouted coldly.
"Hmph, whether you are foolish to the core or delusional enough to use this chance to set a trap, I will not give you the opportunity."
Facing the incoming attack, William was not in a hurry.
Three circles of golden patterns surfaced around his pupils, and at the same time, the barrier outside his body expanded several times over.
Hum— After a soft chime, the two dark green long snakes stopped in place.
Doubt flashed in Samael's eyes, and he tried to drive the long snakes again.
But this time, those two things turned around, baring their fangs ferociously at him.
"How... is this possible."
Samael revealed a look of disbelief; the power he released was actually out of his control.
"What did you do!"
William remained silent, manipulating the long snakes to continue forward.
Just now, after the Holy Light barrier was deployed, he had used [Divine Eye Seal] to restrict the spirit particle rune fluctuations around this thing.
Following that, an unexpected scene occurred.
Within the range of the Holy Light barrier, William's perception of the spirit particles in the air became sharper, and he was even more adept at using Holy Arts.
When these two Holy Arts were superimposed, they faintly allowed him to control the spatial range covered by the barrier.
"Could it be... this is the true application of Holy Arts?" he couldn't help but think.
The Church did not mention much about Holy Arts beyond the third level of theology.
For common theological parts like the [Eyes] stage, the corresponding ancient texts were naturally more abundant, while the rest required Holy Clergy Members to figure out on their own.
Obviously, William had faintly discovered something.
But now was not the time to ponder.
Seeing that he was about to be countered by his own attack, Samael naturally wouldn't sit still and wait for death.
He pressed both palms on the ground, and a massive amount of dark green slime flowed down from his cuffs, spreading in all directions. Before long, it surrounded William.
Sizzle... Sizzle... The slime made a violent noise upon contact with the barrier.
Those two long snakes also merged into the slime, struggling a couple of times before being devoured.
"Hmph," Samael sneered.
"Bright red, dull yellow, gray, pure white," William suddenly spoke up.
"What crazy nonsense are you spouting now." Samael heightened his vigilance, constantly observing his surroundings for potential traps.
"These are the Sins present on your body," William extended his palm.
"You have suffered the torment of pain and deceit. Your heart is filled with resentment, yet even so, you still harbor a sliver of hope."
Shock flashed in Samael's eyes: "I don't understand what you're talking about."
"You had a very unbearable past, didn't you."
"Who the f*ck do you think you are? You think I would..." Samael roared angrily, but immediately, a strange feeling surged into his heart.
At this moment, he suddenly felt that this priest opposite him seemed to genuinely be trying to understand him, to feel the pains he once endured.
"Tell me about your pain, my friend."
William's voice was calm and gentle, containing a reassuring power.
"I... I..." Samael panted heavily, lots of sweat seeping from his forehead.
Thud! He dropped to his knees, supporting himself on the ground with both hands.
"I'm so tired..."
Samael actually began to recount his past experiences.
It was a story of once harboring hope, only for it to be shattered.
A poor boy full of yearning for the Church, who originally thought he could receive the help of a merciful Heavenly Father, but ultimately witnessed hypocrisy and apathy, even causing him to lose his precious family.
"Justice, kindness... have never been the exclusive terms of any particular faction; they are part of human nature..." William said calmly.
"You try to call upon a more powerful existence to change this, but they themselves might be the beginning of all Sin."
Samael's consciousness was somewhat blurry: "What... should I do."
"Regain control of your own consciousness and body. Drive them away, and no longer become anyone's vassal," William said.
"But... it's already too late. He isn't a descent of consciousness, but possesses a true body. No one can stop him. We will ultimately become slaves of God."
William frowned, thinking to himself: "Is there really no other way..."
Just now, he had used [Envoy of Sin] to interfere with Samael's emotions, infinitely amplifying the hope in the other party's heart, attempting to dig out the angel's weakness.
But—
"You! What did you do to me!" Samael suddenly shouted.
He had a face full of disbelief.
"You can actually control my consciousness. How could you possess such an ability?"
William smiled slightly: "Didn't I say it before? Setting traps is merely to save time."
Samael's throat rolled.
He realized the other party very likely hid quite a lot of strength.
And by bringing him here, he had essentially saved the other party from the angel's attack in disguise. Right now, the other party no longer had anything to hold back against.
"Wait..." Samael raised his head, his eyes no longer holding their initial resolve.
But the next moment, his entire body suddenly trembled, and the pupils of his eyes were dyed pure white.
William narrowed his eyes, secretly raising his vigilance.
Crack... Crack... All the joints in Samael's body twisted violently, and some white foam seeped from the corners of his mouth.
At the same time, the dark green slime covering his body rapidly receded.
The next moment.
Under William's thoroughly confused gaze, Samael actually undid his belt, started to relieve himself on the spot, and expelled a puddle of dark green liquid.
The air fell into a brief silence.
After pulling his pants back up, Samael folded his hands over his lower abdomen and "looked" at William.
At least from the latter's perspective, it was so.
"William, a soul from another world, hello."
Samael opened his mouth and spoke words sufficient to make William's expression change.
His voice was no longer as deep as before, but had become somewhat more androgynous.
"Who is Your Excellency? The angel?" William frowned tightly, secretly taking out another hundred-year holy artifact.
"The angel? That existence is currently still near the ritual magic array. The Church's Jolan Borgia is expending his life attempting to seal Him," Samael said.
William's gaze grew grave; the words "expending his life" were enough to indicate the severity of the situation.
"As for me... you may address me as the Will of the World."
"Will of... the World?" William looked the other party up and down, many guesses surging in his mind.
"I am this world itself, and this space is also a part of me."
"So... you possessed his body?" William asked.
"Possessed... it can be understood that way," the Will of the World said.
"I have eliminated your enemy. In human terms, this can be considered a small meeting gift."
"A meeting gift... this sounds like a friendly signal."
"That's right, I need your help, William."
A thoughtful look appeared in William's eyes. This guy who popped up out of nowhere was full of suspicious points, but it indeed didn't seem to hold any hostility for the time being.
Otherwise, relying purely on the other party's ability to possess bodies, he probably would have died long ago.
But...
The Will of the World—exactly what level of existence was this, and why would it specifically seek him out? The other party actually even knew that he didn't belong to this world.
"I understand your heart is full of doubts," the Will of the World said. "Please allow me some time to explain."
William shrugged, noncommittal.
"There are infinitely many worlds in the universe, and each world operates according to certain rules. The wind and rain, the tides, gravity and rotation—these are all manifestations of the rules. And when the rules are influenced by a higher-dimensional power, the world, in order to break free from the constraints, gives birth to a highly condensed amalgamation of rules—the Will of the World. That is me."
William frowned slightly: "Such a thing is too far beyond the scope of common sense. Does Your Excellency think I will believe it?"
As soon as his voice fell, "Samael" suddenly extended his hands.
Immediately after, the grass and trees suddenly began to grow madly, shooting straight up into the sky in the blink of an eye, completely illuminating this place.
The vault of the sky was seen to be filled with a massive amount of dense fog, within which faintly lay a barrier. But there were many gaps on its surface, like shattered glass.
And beyond the gaps was an endless void.
Crack... Crack... Accompanied by a crisp sound, the broken edges of the gaps actually began to continuously grow.
"With the abilities you possess, you should be able to see what I just did."
William's gaze was solemn. Relying on [Missionary], he witnessed the regeneration of the spirit particles in the entire space. This kind of power far exceeded the scope of Holy Arts; it was entirely power on par with the gods.
"The Holy Light barrier you have mastered, when practiced to the later stages, also has a similar ability," the Will of the World said.
"These are all utilizations and alterations of the rules themselves."
"And demons, angels, gods... the reason their powers can affect the world is all because they have tampered with the rules... that is to say, my authority."
Surprise flashed in William's eyes.
"Samael" revealed a reminiscent look: "This place is no different from other worlds; from the very beginning, there were no supernatural powers. But..."
"There are many unknown existences within the void. No one knows where they came from, what their purposes are... no one even knows what they look like."
"And in a certain period long before the appearance of humanity, they arrived at the outer layer of this world, attempting to intervene with the world itself using indelible marks of power."
"It was exactly during that period... that I was born."
William's eyes flickered; for a moment, he found it somewhat difficult to digest this information.
The content just now seemed to mention some incredible secret.
"You mean to say..." he raised his head. "Some external existence bestowed supernatural power upon humanity? Doesn't that mean... the Church, demons, and all these are..."
"Samael" lowered his head: "Bestowed... I prefer to describe it as sweet poison."
"But your guess is not wrong. This is a power humanity cannot control. Upon acquiring it, the struggles and deaths among humans only became more intense; the loss of this space is the proof."
"For a very long time, I prevented the invasion of their power, but ultimately, I still failed."
"Faith, spirit, bloodline, mission..."
"The reasons humans pray for power are all different, but ultimately, the things they do with it are highly similar."
"Those existences in the void successfully infiltrated this world precisely through this kind of power."
William shook his head slightly: "Even in another world without supernatural powers, humanity's choices would not be any different."
"To possess both good and evil simultaneously is not only human nature, but also a unique characteristic of humanity. Those powers merely amplified its effect."
Hearing this, "Samael" took a deep look at William.
"I have always sought change, but it wasn't until now, tens of thousands of years later, that I found the turning point. That is you."
William narrowed his eyes.
"One day, I was monitoring the actions of those existences as usual, but inadvertently discovered an exceptionally powerful force," the Will of the World said.
"That force was even more mysterious than those void existences. It carried a soul and passed by this world. Originally, this should have been a bizarre chance encounter, never to be seen again for eternity."
"But that day, I suddenly thought, if it were this kind of power... it should be able to drive away those void existences."
"So I sent out a call to it, and that power actually responded to me."
"A few years later, you appeared in this world."
William raised an eyebrow.
He originally thought he had come to this world by accident. He didn't expect there to be such an interlude in it all.
"The power carrying my soul..." William pondered inwardly.
If this "Will of the World" was not lying, then a power that neither it nor those unknown existences could fathom... what kind of existence must that be.
"You just said... I might be that turning point," William looked up at the other party. "Then what exactly do you want me to do."
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you