Clockwork Bride

Page 358

...One angel cannot do this, but what about angels and humans combined?

Then the light reformed, giving rise to shape and matter.

An image with two arms, two legs, and one head stood upright there.

This is an image called "Human".

He emitted a blazing light, brighter than the setting sun, growing ever more dazzling, like the sun being born on the moon, so intense it could burn the retina.

Mitra wasn't truly a fool; he wouldn't stand still and wait for the enemy to finish their tricks. He immediately unleashed the power of [Reincarnation] towards the strange [person]. But the [person] raised their arm and caught the power of [Reincarnation].

Mithra looked at the "person" with his invincible double pupils, but he couldn't see clearly. He couldn't make out what the bright human figure looked like at all. This form, composed of the purest light, radiated power and purity, but Mithra couldn't see his face. Mithra could only know that he was neither Haydn nor Raphael; he was both Haydn and Raphael.

It is both human and light.

So far, the only thing his double pupils haven't been able to see seems to be that hidden Outer God. Could this be the Outer God?

The Giant of Light, of course, did not answer Mithra's question. He simply caught the power of [Reincarnation] and blew a breath into it.

The winds of freedom blow into the metal gears of the [Reincarnation] clock, into seven billion people, awakening the soul of every individual from their dreams.

“It’s no use!” Mithra declared loudly. “Perhaps I am not yet enlightened, perhaps these seven billion people are not yet enlightened, but they already share the same thoughts as me! I have spent at least a hundred lifetimes persuading and guiding them, and they will follow my path!”

Then the [human] finally spoke, using Hayden's own voice: "So you're so certain that you can't convince everyone to believe in you through your own actions alone over four hundred years, and that you have to rely on this twisted method of [reincarnation]. Mitra, I don't know whether to say you're confident or extremely insecure. But at this point, there's no point in complaining about it."

At the same time, the three rings of [Reincarnation], with their perfectly meshed metal gears, began to tremble slightly for some reason. Mitra could sense that the simulated illusion within [Reincarnation] was becoming restless.

"So I'll only tell you one last thing: I don't care if you don't believe in the Outer God. Karen doesn't believe in the Outer God either, and I never intended to persuade her. That's not the problem at all. Your problem is that you don't believe in people, yet you don't know that people are the true agents of that hidden god. The people and all the masses represent the will of that god."

However, Mithras disagreed. He certainly knew that the human mind and heart possessed ultimate power. Not only did he know, but the fallen angels and old gods also knew, and all the new gods knew. That's why Mithras used reincarnation to "guide and persuade" all humanity, to make them share his thoughts. Isn't this logic quite reasonable and perfect?

What exactly is wrong?!

However, the cycle of reincarnation could no longer suppress the awakening souls within it. Seven billion emotions and thoughts continuously surged forth from the core of the cycle of reincarnation.

There is fear, hatred, sadness, anger, contempt, timidity, pity, joy, jealousy, shame, and panic.

A chaotic mass of emotions, mingled with countless feelings, burst forth from [Reincarnation] like an explosion. These reactions are impossible to unify; in fact, unification would be terrifying. To proclaim "I am absolutely right" and utterly deny all other ideas is itself a form of madness.

On the one hand, there are people who support, admire, and follow Mithra's path.

On the other hand, some people hate and despise him.

That's enough.

Squeezing seven billion souls together was already an almost uncontrollable powder keg. With a single breath, the Giant of Light ignited that uncontrollable free will (the Secret Flame), freeing them from the prison that prevented them from transcending to Buddhahood, shattering the Ring of Reincarnation into countless fragments. They surged out like a flood!

The magic of the Giant of Light is like a mother's blessing, sending them to the place they now choose and want to return to, erasing the memories that Mithra forced into them in the cycle of reincarnation, reshaping the bodies of seven billion souls, and giving them a second chance, whether it is worth it or not.

Except for one person.

The torrent of seven billion souls crashed into Mithra, who looked utterly astonished. This was not an attack launched by seven billion souls, but rather the collective will of all of them to pursue the future, the survival instinct formed by the convergence of all their lives, enough to illuminate their future and create the future they chose.

They hurled him out of the star realm, out of the moon, into the universe, shattering all his supernatural powers and stripping him of all divine strength—a process excruciatingly painful. Mithra thus flew horizontally off the moon. After a brief period of floating, Mithra's body was bound by Earth's gravity—and began to fall.

"Why!?"

Mithra resolutely resisted the weak act of letting the revolving lantern of memories flash through his mind. As he was pulled toward the earth by gravity, he tried to call upon all the power and magic he had once possessed, but there was no response. He could only shout toward the sky as if reaching out to grasp the moon.

He was not convinced.

He is not willing!

What exactly did he lack compared to Hayden? Was it simply because he didn't become a lackey of the Outer Gods like Hayden? He was unwilling to accept that!

If Hayden were still here, he would definitely tell him: That's not how it is.

Hayden always understood that it was difficult to trust someone as inexplicable as Angela, and this often troubled him. He wondered if his decisions were wrong, and if they would ultimately bring even greater disaster to the world. While believing in himself and relentlessly pursuing his chosen path—Hayden constantly doubted his own judgment and was troubled by it.

...But Mithra didn't understand any of this. This man, who was convinced he was right, had no idea what kind of distress this was.

"Maybe I lost, but why!? Why did things turn out this way!? Is it because there's a god more powerful than me up there, making fun of me!?"

So he was indignant. Even if he fell to the ground, died, and turned into a meat patty, he would still grit his teeth and question them.

...Perhaps that's why, just as he was falling from the sky, passing through the atmosphere, being engulfed in flames, and passing through the dark clouds—Mitra suddenly saw a beam of light pierce through the clouds and land on his face, which was unable to move.

He saw what the beam of light peeked through the dark clouds. He finally saw something that his invincible quadrupedal pupils had never been able to see clearly in the past four hundred years.

He finally saw the so-called Outer God.

He saw a figure from behind.

He saw many figures from behind.

Every back view he saw seemed familiar.

In his final moments, as death approached, Mithra finally understood what he was seeing. He saw Avalokiteshvara, other bodhisattvas, his former companions, even Acala and the goddess Mila... all those who were disappointed in him, who had left him, or who had been "abandoned" by him, from his closest companions to the backs of the poor, unemployed, and destitute ordinary people at the bottom of society.

Everything you see is just my back view.

what! ?

Where is the promised god of wrath, the father of destruction?!

Where's the indescribable tentacle monster from outer space that was supposed to be here?!

If that's all there is to it, then why did I go to such lengths to guard against it? Why did I argue with Guanyin and the others? Why did I give up so much, neglect the management of society? Why can't I find peace, why can't I find liberation?

For the first time in his life, Mithra, with his unwavering will and undying Daoist heart, finally felt what it meant to...regret.

And so the man finally died like an ordinary person.

Cross the river to the other side,

Gone forever.

448: Goodbye to all the magic of capital

Solar system

冥王星轨道

Uriel has prepared the trillion-degree fireball projector. Its material comes entirely from the wreckage of the Mithra space fleet on-site, making it a massive mechanical structure.

The fireball's energy is also collected from the local area. It's not that it has to be done this way, but in Uriel's view, destroying the world with the desire to destroy it is an important part of righteous retribution.

However, although these doomsday energies had been rising rapidly, Uriel now saw the index table plummeting, about to fall below the necessary value.

He glanced inside through the massive defensive wall of Jupiter's orbit—so that's it, the enormous prison of souls had been demolished. Seven billion souls were trapped inside; no matter how the illusions deceived their minds, their secret fires would ache from imprisonment, yearning for release. These souls alone fueled most of the heat of Uriel's great fireball.

Then He looked again at the resentment emanating from the underworld, from the souls of the dead. For some reason, it had decreased somewhat, but the absolute number was still quite large.

But just as Uriel was about to activate the device, He heard a communication being sent:

"Uriel, now is not the time to destroy the world."

"What is it, Raphael?" Uriel answered the call, glancing at the source of the transmission as well. "You mean to say that the calls for an apocalypse have subsided a lot? That's true, but the dead souls... wait, what are you doing!?"

He lost his composure. He couldn't remain calm.

Because when Uriel glanced over, he didn't see Raphael, but a [person], enormous in size, taller and stronger than anyone else, formed from the purest light. Moreover, Uriel couldn't make out his face.

Because angels are neither omniscient nor omnipotent. A finite being cannot fully comprehend the infinite. Fortunately, regardless of anything else, the royal angels generally possess considerable knowledge. So even though he couldn't see it, Uriel still grasped the situation on a knowledge level, and was even more astonished.

Because that person is no longer Raphael.

Neither omniscient nor omnipotent, nor an all-good angel, but merely one of God's sons, who also needs to grow, needs to be tested, and is not perfect.

Even a prophet of the human race can hardly be called a qualified savior.

But when the imperfect son of God and the imperfect son of man unite because of love, the situation is quite different. Although they are still far from perfection, they have already transcended the trials and reached a higher level.

Having lived a full life, fighting against evil and upholding the path of goodness, he was naturally crowned with the crown of righteousness from that day forward.

Filled with astonishment and fear, Uriel murmured his name:

Israfil

The giant of light stood on the moon, gazing at Uriel in the orbit of Pluto. Uriel couldn't see his face either, so he passed through Mithra's Jupiter defensive wall.

A colossal mechanical angel arrived on the moon, standing before the Giant of Light. A sense of oppression enveloped the area.

What is He going to do?

After Mithra, will it be Uriel's turn to insist on starting a war, only to be defeated by the Titans? It seems like that's indeed how things should develop?

Unfortunately, Uriel did not give the giant that chance.

[Prince of Heaven, Ersaraphiel]

He took human form and bowed his head to the Son of Man.

...That's only natural. Aren't all angels ministering spirits, sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? That serpent that refused to bow to the son of man is still lying paralyzed beneath the Japanese earth. Uriel would be insane to fight a giant.

Although Uriel was clearly still somewhat resentful: "Are you going to stop me?"

"Now is not the time to destroy the world. But if you insist, I will stop you."

The Giant of Light answered calmly, without any forceful words. But in that instant, Uriel clearly sensed that the possibility of him destroying the universe with a giant fireball was gone.

[You have indeed freed seven billion imprisoned souls, blowing away the memories imposed upon them through repeated brainwashing, and at least ten thousand years of torment.]

So even though Uriel bowed his head, he was still complaining.

But what do you intend to do with the wronged souls who have already passed away? Will you simply erase their pain with healing energy?

"Of course not, that would be no different from Mitra's brainwashing through reincarnation."

The Giant of Light answered in Hayden's voice.

“What has happened cannot be denied, and wounds can be healed, but the events have still occurred. So there is no going back—I will lead them forward.”

forward.

Uriel, however, was even more displeased: "Forward? If you don't stop me, I'll make them go forward. Each soul will swiftly head towards the place it chose time and again in its life, freely choosing its place between good and evil. This is the fairest approach, and the fastest way to relieve the suffering of unfortunate souls."

Fairness, perhaps. If death itself isn't the end, if dying isn't truly dying, if the soul is ultimately immortal… then death isn't so terrifying. In comparison, being ruthlessly exploited and oppressed by capitalist gods, or trapped in the world by bizarre high-tech methods used by a mad bodhisattva, or even trapped in this world by one's own resentment, might actually be far more terrifying and painful.

but,

“Ending it now would leave many people without a choice. That’s not a loving approach. Without love that understands the pain of others, justice is meaningless.”

The giant of light bent down and spoke to the billions of vengeful spirits who had followed him to the moon.

"Uriel wants to destroy the entire world and settle everyone's life choices immediately."

"But I know that deep down everyone still wants to be saved, wants to live, wants to be happy... regardless of whether they have truly stood up against the evil hell on earth created by various tyrants."

“Mithra has been killed. The chief culprit of four hundred years of suffering is no more.”

"Of course, I know that you have many more objects of hatred and even greater resentment besides Mithra. But once the chief culprit is eliminated, if you continue to purge like this, you may really hate until you kill every living person. And such vengeful spirits are undoubtedly evil, not the wrath of justice."

"A fire that burns everything is not meant to save. I hope everyone has the opportunity to choose again."

Just like Hayden himself, he regretted more than once, lamenting that he might have made better choices.

"So why don't you consider following me and moving forward? After all, it would be a better outcome than for everyone to become equally unhappy."

So, just like everything else in the world, billions of vengeful spirits began to discuss it, and they had a great many opinions.

The main concern, and the most practical one, is: "How do we know that moving forward will necessarily lead to a good place?"

"There's no way of knowing."

The Giant of Light said, in Hayden's voice,

“I don’t know if there is a heaven, or a better place than this. But since there is such a power of love as Angela, I am willing to believe that there should be. Because people who have suffered so much should not not have a better place in the end.”

“I don’t know if we can get there by moving forward, but I have seen Miktti Kashiva, watched her burn away the vengeful spirits that did not want to go with her, and then ascended to heaven with the souls that were willing to leave hope for their descendants. I believe she went to a better place, without much evidence, just a belief.”

"If she can do it, there's no reason why we can't."

The salvation of one person represents the possibility of salvation for everyone. It sounds far-fetched, just a faint glimmer of hope.

However, although many people would seek destruction when there is no future and no hope... most people would ultimately choose that glimmer of hope over destruction or the pain of eternal stagnation.

In particular, Adam, the biggest and strongest vengeful spirit, was the first to stand on the side of believing in Hayden.

Another major group of vengeful spirits argues: "There are still many bodhisattvas and other capitalist gods around. How can we let them go? They are the ones who will make the world's future worse; we should kill them first!"

“I’ll take care of that before I leave,” the giant said, in Hayden’s voice. “I won’t kill them; there’s no need to anymore. But I have a great idea. An idea I’ve been thinking about for ten years, and now it can finally be put into practice.”

He secretly spoiled the vengeful spirits' strange idea. Many of the spirits were overjoyed and agreed.