Chapter 1634: Chapter 317: The Birth of the Great Sage
"...Could it be that Odin also...?"
Aiwass hesitated to continue.
The Great Sage—or rather Mimir—knew what Aiwass wanted to ask.
"He won’t be corrupted."
He answered bluntly, "Because I haven’t actually taught Odin any knowledge—before this, he didn’t know any spell."
...What?
Upon hearing this, not only Aiwass, the Knight Heavenly Department, and the Red Calamity, but even the Silver-Crowned Dragon was utterly shocked, completely unprepared for this revelation.
The new Wisdom Pillar God, acting as the Great Sage’s substitute... can’t perform spells?
God of Mages can’t perform magic?
What kind of joke is this?
"He is the best vessel, the hero who completed the trials. All I did was inform him that the world is on the brink of destruction and what he should do about it. Odin is also a man of insight into the truth, but he’s not my replica."
Mimir’s voice was full of pride.
He had been silent for far too long.
Now, finally able to speak, he seemed to be on the verge of releasing ten thousand years’ worth of pent-up words in one breath: "Once he knew that rune magic is the biggest source of corruption—his first act was to create a new set of runes himself.
"Since old knowledge is flawed, invent new knowledge; since former legacies are tainted, rebuild new ones. He possesses the best talent, the greatest curiosity, and the heart of an apprentice... thus, this is enough.
"What he wants to achieve can only be accomplished by attaining the Seat of the Pillar God—by enchanting its mystery anew. I nurtured him for nine thousand years. Until now... until he became the Pillar God, did he finally grasp his first spell. Yet, as he mastered the first spell, he had already extrapolated infinitely into the future, thus mastering the last spell simultaneously.
"All old knowledge has been carried away by me. The Seat of the Pillar God is an empty vessel, with nothing inside. Only a blank slate... where he can build his own kingdom.
"After today, the Path of Wisdom will still exist; the Pillar God of the Path of Wisdom remains as the Great Sage; the Great Sage will still be the one who commands thunder, the one-eyed tyrant—"
Mimir laughed more heartily than ever, his now youthful demeanor appeared so carefree and bold.
"Still, from this day forward, no one will know the name Mimir. This name will be buried alongside all the knowledge in my mind into the void!"
It was a declaration of death.
Not directed at the Red Calamity, his foe—but a proclamation concerning himself.
——The Great Sage shall die.
Yet the "Great Sage" has already been born—
"...Great Sage."
Aiwass muttered.
This phrase can be translated as "Thrice-Great Philosopher," "Great Sage," "Bearer of Great Magic." Therefore, it can be called "Great Sage" or "Great Wizard."
However, until then, Aiwass never understood... where the greatness lay.
As the most powerful mage, the Great Sage was an excavator of the former civilization, as well as the best heir.
While the near-miraculous rune magic was indeed potent, it seemed lacking in greatness—it was merely the power used by the destroyed past civilization, unrelated to the Great Sage himself. Could it be that his achievement of slaying the Heaven-eating Giant Beast was seen as great enough?
And now...
Aiwass finally knew.
——From the day the Great Sage opened the Gate of Truth, glimpsing the truth of all things, he had foreseen this day.
One day, he would bring the corrupted knowledge to die alongside him.
And another pure "Great Sage" would be born.
He carefully selected his best replacement, ensuring no corruption would taint the other.
Even if he himself would ultimately walk to the end, even if no one would remember him, even if his research went unnoticed... even if everything he knew turned out to be outdated knowledge, even if a lifetime of research proved erroneous.
Even so, this was never in vain.
——The wisdom and legacy passed between wise men and their heirs—that itself keeps the flame alive.
This is the sole truth of the Path of Wisdom—every generation of mages transmits their arts as teachers and students, a projection from the Great Sage and Odin.
And now, Odin has inherited the position of the Great Sage.
The new rune magic he developed will directly replace and overshadow all former rune magic. This substitution is so seamless that mages in the Material Realm, if not strong enough, might not even notice its occurrence.
Just like an exceptionally talented programmer, diligently maintaining the flawed code while quietly reconstructing a more perfect underlying structure. Once ready, he will topple the old framework through the method of overlay—using creation to obliterate the old civilization.
Indeed, the magic of the Great Sage was not truly great. However, Odin’s new rune magic is great enough.
And all that Odin is capable of achieving comes from the cultivation by the Great Sage.
Even the name "Great Sage" was chosen for the future heir, Odin.
Miracles come at a cost.
——And Mimir, from the very beginning, had already seen himself as the fuel for the miracle!
"As a Pillar God... you were merely a sacrifice leading to the future?"
When the Great Sage appeared, Aiwass had already vaguely anticipated this moment.
If the Serpent Celestial Marshal wanted to become the vessel of the Void, descending with the Ring of Ouroboros into the Material Realm... what would he do?
The first thing to do is to eliminate other vessels, making himself the only vessel through which the Void can descend.
The vessels in the Material Realm had been cleared, so who else in the Dream Realm had been polluted?
Due to being infected by the Void, severed by the Hourglass, and suppressed and sealed by the Silver-Crowned Dragon, the Red Calamity had opened the Gate of Truth and "remained silent" — the Great Sage... and the Serpent Celestial Marshal, who knew all this himself.
Though the Eternal Self and the Beast Master had been suppressed to the limit, resulting in the Eternal Self never being able to cease its struggle with the Beast Master, at least they had not been polluted; the Amber, as the hub of reincarnation, was also nearing its limit... but it too remained temporarily pure.
——Then, it is only necessary to eliminate the Red Calamity and the Great Sage.
Even the Red Calamity itself realized this... thus feeling suffocated.
The crisis of death welled up, and he seemed to vaguely understand why he was severed and sealed...
"The Void named Victory, and the Void named Seeking Knowledge..."
Mimir began to speak slowly, taking a step out from the void: "They are all my enemies."
In his hand, Thunder transformed into a spear.
It was not a magic wand, but a spear for hunting giant beasts!
"Announce my name!"
The enormous Winged One with six golden wings behind him declared loudly:
"——I am not Mimir, nor Atlas!"
It was in stark contrast to the declaration he made when he first appeared.
"I am the Winged Celestial Marshal! I am the Sky Dominator! I am——Uranus!"
It was an identity long abandoned, a true name long forgotten.
The next moment, the Thunder Spear was thrown!
As the Thunder Spear was thrown, the Red Calamity couldn’t dodge in time and was instantly pierced!
The spear that crossed the river of fate, just like the future foreseen by the Great Sage... had already determined its inevitable result when it was thrown.
The moment the spear touched the Red Calamity, it began to whirl furiously.
It was a spin capable of drilling a hole in the heavens!
If this strike fell upon the earth, it could even shatter an entire continent.
This strike was no less powerful than the Abyssal Celestial Envoy... or rather, it was several times stronger than the Abyssal Celestial Envoy pulled into the Material Realm!
The body of the Red Calamity was crushed and compressed by that terrifying force—Its entire bones and scales burst and shattered. Although the slender Thunder Spear was as thin as one of its scales, it nearly pierced its body into the void!
If this scene were to happen to a human, it would be like a needle piercing the body, yet exploding a hole over twenty centimeters in diameter!
The spear that instantly pierced through the Red Calamity flew off, and its aftermath tore the entire sky of the Dream Realm—clouds turned into azure sky, and deep purple cracks seeped out from the blue sky, resembling the world’s destruction in the past.
And Uranus merely waved his hand, and the Thunder Spear instantly teleported back, landing in his hand.
Looking at the slowly recovering Red Calamity, whose eyes were filled with horror and fear, Uranus smiled.
His power was still increasing.
"I have returned——"
That was Uranus’s declaration.
——The mighty power of the former Winged Celestial Marshal had all returned to this body.
Even...
That unbalanced and uncontainable great power had already caused his body to rupture.
Inside the fractured, porcelain-like body, an amber glow seeped through.
Yet Uranus still stood towering, sharp eyes staring at the Red Dragon.
Just like the hero who once hunted the Heaven-eating Giant Beast.
He was the wrath of the Sky itself!