[Vol. 8] Chapter 328: Responsibility and True Heart
He saw far up in the sky, a golden shadow breaking through the heavens. The shockwaves it created were so strong that even Frederick City, the imperial capital far away and protected by some unknown formation, was affected.
He saw countless citizens open their eyes wide, staring blankly as if witnessing a miracle, looking up at that golden fist wind that seemed to split the entire sky. Some even shouted and cheered, excited and passionate!
After all, although the golden figure was blurry from such a distance, it was clear that it had soared up from the direction of the imperial palace. For the empire’s people, who had always admired the strong, even if they could not tell which side it belonged to, the meaning of this was obvious without words.
Only Rowan felt different. When he saw that golden shadow fall back toward the Star-Gazing Tower, as if carrying something with it, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. He felt a strange sense of familiarity.
It wasn’t just about the mysterious golden figure, but also something it was bringing downward. It was as if some invisible string inside his heart was faintly touched, making Rowan frown. But when he tried to sense it more carefully, he found nothing at all.
"Strange… why is my heart beating so fast? Is this some kind of uneasy feeling…?"
"Oh? Didn’t know you were a prophet too, kid. Hiding it pretty well, huh~"
"Uwah!"
A voice suddenly came from behind, scaring Rowan so much that he almost jumped. He quickly turned around and instinctively drew his sword, only to see a familiar black-haired, white-robed girl standing gracefully nearby, smiling as she teased him.
Rowan blinked in surprise, then finally let out a sigh of relief, laughing helplessly.
"Miss Violet, I know you’re really strong, but could you please stop appearing out of nowhere all the time? Especially sneaking up from behind people like this. Aren’t you afraid of giving someone a heart attack…?"
Still in her spotless white robe, looking like nothing had happened at all, the priestess just smiled casually. She glanced around as if observing something, then quickly said with a relaxed tone.
"Hehe, sorry, sorry. Well, this is all thanks to some silly thing made by a certain idiot. It always had problems anyway. I didn’t expect the teleportation error to be this big though, I ended up outside the palace."
"?"
Although her strange explanation left Rowan puzzled, he was already used to Violet’s habit of always speaking in riddles. He didn’t bother wasting brain cells trying to figure it out, and instead followed his usual style of ‘if I don’t understand, I’ll just ask.’
"Speaking of which, Miss Violet, what exactly did you talk about with my master last time? Ever since then, he’s been disappearing all day and night, acting so secretive. Honestly, the two of you are really similar, always vanishing and acting mysterious…"
"Oh, nothing important, just random little things. Kids shouldn’t ask too much… Anyway, so Bevis has already gone inside, right?"
Rowan barely held back the urge to complain “you look younger than me, how am I the kid here?” Seeing the black-haired girl’s gaze fixed on the depths of the Princess Palace beyond the tall walls, he suddenly realized what she meant. He quickly nodded, then pulled out his pocket watch to confirm.
"It’s been almost half an hour now. I just don’t know what Master is doing in there. Even if he’s an old friend of Princess Carinvega, I don’t think this is the right time to sit down and drink tea slowly…"
“So much time has passed already?”
Seeing Rowan still mumbling and complaining non-stop, Violet went quiet for a moment, then suddenly asked.
“Rowan Nilin, let me ask you a question. Between responsibility and true heart, which one do you think is more important?”
“…Huh?”
The topic jumped so suddenly that even Rowan, normally calm, was caught off guard. When he noticed the black-haired girl was not joking, he steadied himself, thought for a while, then shook his head helplessly.
“I don’t know. The topic and the idea are just too broad. It’s hard to form a clear answer. Miss Violet, why are you suddenly studying philosophy?”
“What philosophy… Forget it, let me give you an example.”
The girl waved her hand and, after thinking for a moment, continued:
“For example, imagine you never met Bevis, and instead joined a sect that had nothing to do with the Swift Wind style. You grew there, step by step, and in the end became the big senior brother whom all the younger disciples trusted deeply.”
“As the senior brother, you are the second most important person in the sect, just below the master. The previous sect leader poured his heart into training you, treated you like his own child, and after a hundred years decided to step down and let you inherit the position of the next sect leader.”
“You felt grateful for your teacher’s guidance and trust, and swore to do everything in your power to protect this family and make the sect and its legacy thrive. For decades, you worked tirelessly, day after day, never daring to slack off.”
“Under your leadership, the sect grew stronger and stronger, even reaching a new peak, slowly becoming one of the top powers in the world. But the good times didn’t last. One day, you suddenly learned that in the near future, a terrifying disaster would sweep across the world. It could not be avoided or fought against, and your entire sect might be destroyed by it. A true natural catastrophe.”
“While you struggled to think of how to resist the disaster and save your sect, some mysterious forces suddenly reached out to you. They said that although the disaster was terrible, it was not completely unavoidable. If you were willing to cooperate with them and help do things that they themselves couldn’t, then when the disaster came, your sect could remain safe.”
“To prove they could really do this, they showed you overwhelming power, something so great that even you could not resist. At the same time, you realized this might indeed be the only way left to save your sect. If you dared defy them, when the disaster arrived, your sect would surely be wiped out without a trace.”
“However, this mysterious group was not good at all. The tasks they gave you went against your true heart, and even included harming or killing innocent people. So this so-called solution was actually exchanging the lives and safety of innocent people for the peace of your sect.”
“In this situation—”
After painting such a detailed picture, the priestess finally looked at the sword-bearing youth, who was now lost in thought, and once again asked the same question:
“Rowan, if it were you, would you choose to hold on to your true heart, even if it meant your entire sect might be destroyed, better to die pure than live tainted? Or would you accept the weight of responsibility, stain your own hands, and endure humiliation in order to protect your family and your sect’s future?”