Chapter 651 — The Cooperation of the Defiant
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
When such a blasphemous utterance came from the mouth of Virodai, who had always presented herself as pious, Gao Yang found it inexpressibly uncanny. And after hearing those words, he noticed something else as well—that faint sense of dissonance about Virodai was not merely a matter of "dehumanization." In this Saint Princess, Gao Yang also sensed something... unfamiliar.
Though her outward appearance had not changed in the slightest, and her manner of speech and bearing remained much as before, in certain places hard for others to perceive, the finer details of this princess's temperament seemed to have undergone subtle shifts. She was still the same person, yet within... she seemed no longer the same as before.
Gao Yang truly could not say what these differences, all but impossible to put into words, actually were, for his own understanding of Virodai was quite limited. But he guessed that the change in her must be connected to this ancient person who called herself "Ophelia Norton."
"What are you thinking about?" asked Virodai—or rather, the ancient soul who called herself "Ophelia Norton"—noting that Gao Yang had gone a long while without answering.
"I'm thinking about just what kind of existence you are..." Gao Yang said frankly. "An ancient soul that keeps reviving? Dwelling within this shell of a body? Did you replace the original Virodai Moen at some point? And where is the original Virodai? Or... did she ever exist at all?"
"Is that question so important?" the woman asked gently, her placid expression never changing. "Kamael is right there at your side—an ancient magus who has survived from the Spark Era to this day. In terms of sheer uncanniness, surely he, whose very form of life has undergone a fundamental transformation, ought to be more inconceivable than we are, no?"
"But I trust Kamael, and I can't simply trust you the same way, so yes, that question matters," said Gao Yang. "You have too many secrets and reveal too few of them. You've operated under another identity for so long, and now your contact with me seems far too sudden... So it's necessary for me to understand where you come from and what your true purpose is in suddenly telling me all this. Why come to me? And how could you be so certain I would cooperate with you?"
"Since you care so much about it..." Virodai/Ophelia smiled faintly. "Then there's nothing wrong with regarding us as a stubborn soul lingering in the mortal world, unwilling to disperse. I am indeed dwelling in this shell now, but I did not replace her... Long before this shell was even born, long before her personality and consciousness had emerged, we had already completed our dwelling—so you may regard me as the original Virodai Moen, for what I have lived through is her complete life, only carrying with it a more ancient and far longer memory.
"We are indeed different from that ancient magus at your side. We have moved through this world for many years; we know the changes the human kingdoms have undergone in these years, and that is why we were especially curious about your appearance... Frankly speaking, in our long observation, there are not many factors that can be called 'variables.' You are one of them...
"Our observation of and experiments upon the Temple of Yaoxiao have now drawn to a close. That project will yield no further gains, but we hope to undertake the next stage of cooperation with you. As for why we chose you... you have already taken in a defiant one, have you not? What's more, you are propagating a new doctrine in the Southern Region. Frankly, what you are propagating coincides exactly with our goals—we have reason to cooperate.
"As for whether you will cooperate with us... that is your choice. Whatever you choose, we will gladly accept it. I can only say that if you choose to trust, you will receive a reward fully commensurate with that trust; and if you do not trust us, then we will simply go do other projects first."