Capítulo 1645: Chapter 326: Reunion After a Long Separation
Rather than piercing, it was more like devouring.
Those Sin Thorns constantly burned like dry wood, turning into black smoke.
The pearl clam shell absorbed this black smoke continuously, like a pump. This suction intensified the flames… As for the giant made of Sin Thorns, it twisted slowly in the vortex of suction.
And after absorbing to a certain point, the shell suddenly spat out water.
The water fell to the ground, but it didn’t flood everywhere or drown the town. Instead, it shot into the earth like a missile, in the form of a water column!
Like insects scalded by boiling water, numerous Sin Thorns quickly crawled out, baring fangs and claws.
As soon as they emerged, Aiwass captured them with the authority of the Sin Beast and pulled them onto the Sin Thorn giant. The water on them dried up instantly, and they too joined the combustion.
The information decompressed in the fire, turning into yellow-black turbid smoke.
And at this moment.
“——Are you really going to do this, Aiwass?”
Suddenly, a voice somewhat familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar echoed from the void.
It was absolutely not an illusion.
Even Lily couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
This is a miracle only she could witness and understand——
As the black smoke gathered, a misty and formless humanoid figure gradually came together.
It was some kind of information released by Aiwass when he burned the Sin Thorns with the Primordial Fire.
But this information did not belong to the Abyssal Celestial Envoy…
“…Sigh.”
A sigh sounded from the smoke.
With the burn of the flames, the human figure became increasingly clear.
“To save the world is never easy; one must overturn the limits of the impossible. And most importantly, one must not invert goals and means midway…”
An old, dignified, and elegant voice said, “I hope you remember this sentence.”
It was an old man.
An old man wearing a top hat, holding a cane.
That was…
“Professor Moriarty.”
Aiwass murmured softly: “No…Father.”
This was Moriarty, whose original soul had transformed into Sin Thorns and was then devoured by Aiwass, turning into mana!
After being devoured, he did not become part of Aiwass. Aiwass gained neither his memories nor his soul. The information merely stored inside Aiwass, exchanging for the mana capable of withstanding a meteor that could destroy a nation.
And now… with the leftover power from the Abyssal Celestial Envoy and the Heavenly Department Authority both decompressed by Aiwass, a vast amount of mana, this part of Moriarty’s existence was “redeemed”!
Looking at the professor now left with only a remnant shadow, Aiwass’s eyes blurred for a moment.
Defeating Old Moriarty was when they were in an “either you or me” righteous and evil conflict; Aiwass had to use every means to defeat the powerful and oppressive Moriarty before the crusade against the Fallen Celestial Marshal, without ever letting Moriarty go.
Moreover, at that time, Aiwass had not yet grasped the whole truth…
After that, he had no time to grieve and had to prepare to face the Fallen Celestial Marshal.
Because Aiwass couldn’t stop moving forward.
He didn’t have the time to cry, nor the time to mourn. He couldn’t pause for even a moment, not even a half-day’s rest was considered a luxury.
——And now, the Ring of Ouroboros ceremony has concluded.
Until the Serpent Celestial Marshal descends, there will be no other variables; and Aiwass has already learned of the Serpent Celestial Marshal’s plan to use himself as the void’s vessel.
Now, Aiwass only needs to wait for the day of the decisive battle.
…Precisely because of that, seeing Moriarty again, he felt a surge of nostalgia and sadness.
Now there were no conflicts based on interests, positions, morals, or ideals, only the nostalgia remained.
“No crying.”
The old man put on a stern face, pretending to be strict: “You’re now a demigod on earth, why are you still acting like a child?”
“…Of course, I won’t cry.”
Aiwass took a deep breath, showing a genuine smile: “It’s just a pity that you couldn’t see my wedding with Isabel.”
“No, I saw it.”
Professor Moriarty smiled.
He even slightly tilted his head, taking off his top hat to bow distantly to Lily.
His smile was so bright and sunny, so much like Aiwass, even his voice for a moment turned into Aiwass’s clear young tone: “‘Because we are one.'”
This echoing voice was mixed with many other existences.
Like thousands of beings speaking at once.
“…What is this?”
Aiwass’s heart trembled profoundly, and his thoughts became somewhat chaotic.
He was sure that he had never consumed so many people—
… No, wait?
Really not?
“They were once sacrifices offered to the Abyssal Celestial Envoy.”
As if guessing what Aiwass was thinking, Professor Moriarty spoke proactively: “In this world, there is absolutely no such thing as energy being born out of nothing, nor does any soul disappear into thin air. Even as I turn into Sin Thorn, am I not right within you? Part of the soul becomes mana, and part becomes pure information…
“Similarly, the souls sacrificed to the Abyssal Celestial Envoy are also so. These souls didn’t return to the Source River, so where did they go?”
The professor patiently explained.
“… So you stopped me from absorbing the eldest ones’ information?”
“Because there might be polluted information among them… I think it’s better not to be careless.”
Professor Moriarty said in a deep voice, “I originally didn’t intend to come out. But seeing your reckless actions, I couldn’t help it. These Sin Thorns compressed from ancestors, I think it’s better to annihilate them completely—there are some things that don’t need to be remembered. If you don’t want to bear this ‘patricide’ great sin, then let me.”
“… Alright.”
Aiwass felt a tightness in his heart, realizing that he might have been somewhat arrogant.
Perhaps it was becoming a true terrestrial deity in such a brief period that made him even feel somewhat omnipotent—such arrogance was indeed Aiwass’s great sin itself.
Because, in a certain sense, “believing miracles will happen” itself is a kind of arrogance unwilling to accept reality.
And Professor Moriarty’s appearance reminded Aiwass of the mechanism of devouring and transforming Sin Thorn—the high conversion rate of the Sin Beast, which cannot be reverted, perhaps suggests something in itself.
Unexpectedly, it was his foster father who reminded him of this…
Professor Moriarty also evidently realized Aiwass had awoken. He nodded with satisfaction and pride: “I know you’re smart, Aiwass. With just one sentence, you can understand everything…
“… Now it seems that the ‘world apocalypse’ I saw is probably the world frozen by Amber. It’s truly ironic; the Evil God I always wanted to defeat is actually the self-sacrificer who saved the world.”
Now, Professor Moriarty, apparently with Aiwass, has also come to understand all the buried truths.
“What do you plan to do afterwards?”
Aiwass asked seriously, “Do you need me to put you into the Source River? Now I’ve carried the unclean sin; you can reincarnate or become a Celestial Marshal.”
The old man was noncommittal, just laughed heartily: “You already know the answer to this question, don’t you?”
—Yes, Aiwass actually knew.
Professor Moriarty never cared about the entanglement of life and death. As for reincarnation and the afterlife, or the riches and glory after death, to him, they’re all fleeting…
Now, having understood the origin of the apocalypse and seeing Aiwass on the path of eradicating the Void, this “failed Savior” actually had no more obsessions.
He looked at Aiwass, who still hadn’t acted, and suggested: “You could seal them away and bury them at the bottom of the sea. Consider it as giving them a new burial ground. Now the authority of the Abyssal Celestial Envoy is with you, meaning that there will be no new Abyssal Celestial Envoy born in this world… Using the lingering Taboo Power to seal them is just right.”
“Hmm, I was just about to do that.”
Aiwass nodded, responding softly.
But just with a distracted moment, Professor Moriarty disappeared again.
No farewell, no hug, and no saying where he was going. Just like every time he traveled far from home.
If Lily hadn’t also seen him, Aiwass would have thought it was just his own illusion.
“… Heh.”
Suddenly, Aiwass let out a relaxed breath, his eyes changing from the indifferent aloofness of a deity back to being clear and gentle.
… In front of his father, he was always that still naive child.
He casually pinched, and those dusky yellow fumes were separated from the black smoke, condensing out of thin air into one irregular piece after another of Star Ice!
Other Sin Thorns were continuously drawn out and burned by Aiwass, subsequently frozen eternally with Taboo Power, preserving the information within.
Compared to this old technology of “Sin Thorn,” “Star Ice” indeed belonged to Great Abyss’s technology, belonging to this era!
A sudden fleeting thought crossed Aiwass’s mind:
Perhaps…
This barren world with nothing that can attract the Candle Master, such an Outer God, is exactly because Sin Thorns attract the Sin Beast, which takes them as food!
If this world were to be destroyed again, then what would Star Ice attract?
The Celestial Marshal Shard of the Abyssal Celestial Marshal is much stronger than one-fifth of the Geometric Celestial Marshal’s shard power—relying on continually inhaling and exhaling mana left by the Great Abyss, those “pearl clams” kept spitting out more and more water, forcing out more and more Sin Thorns.
And as the smoke continued to rise, rain clouds were gradually accumulating in the sky!
Soon after, rain as precious as gold gently fell over the entire Parthia from above.
Neither violent nor filthy, but as gentle as silk with a slight scent of the sea.
People knelt on the ground, praising this miracle, not knowing where it came from… nor did they know what they would see when they woke up the next morning.
Until all Sin Thorns were drawn out, Aiwass had been busy from noon all the way until late night.
The preparation for all miracles was complete.
“—Almost there, it’s time.”
Aiwass murmured softly to himself.