Chapter 25: Secret Supplicant and Spectator, Sacrifice and an outsider.
Adam doesn't have a deep understanding of the various pathways. He simply reads the novels and enjoys the wiki and pathway system the author created.
It's unique and truly intriguing. Because it's not just about power and flashy abilities, but the meaning of every single interpretation behind the name of each sequence.
But after experiencing this pathway system for himself, he discovers a terrifying truth.
As you digest the beyonder characteristic, the acting you do is no longer acting. As you continue walking this path, you will somehow be influenced by that characteristic and assimilate with it.
Because the moment you digest the beyonder characteristic in your body, it means you have become closer to the being you are pursuing. You have assimilated it and will never let go.
And what does the hanged man pathway mean?
"The hanged man pathway symbolizes sacrifice and sin-bearing, a man who sacrificed himself throughout his life to bear what no human could bear."
"Naturally, every sequence of the hanged man pathway is filled with sacrifice. The Aurora Order sacrificed their freedom and sanity, rejected by society and labeled as lunatics."
They sacrificed themselves to the True Creator in order to follow Him. They become a lunatic who cannot be understood and comprehended in order to achieve freedom and salvation from the sins that they have.
Even after the true creator was assimilated by Adam, the Aurora Order continued to faithfully follow Adam, believing He still lives within Adam.
So, what did the Secret Suppliant sacrifice in the very beginning?
"It's their freedom of faith."
"Once you become a Secret Suppliant, you sacrifice your freedom of faith to the entity that answers your request, becoming its most loyal follower and ultimately deserving of knowledge and becoming a Listener."
The next sequence of the Secret Suppliant pathway.
"So I have no other choice, right? I can't even hate Na'er now," Adam said resignedly as he looked at Na'er sleeping beside him.
He smiled naturally, like seeing the most beautiful flower he could find. Like a sun that brightly illuminated his entire life.
For the first time, Adam somehow felt the happiness of the members of the Aurora Order.
They may be lunatic, but the deity they follow always answers their requests. 'He' always communicates with them and never leaves their lives.
If that's not happiness? What other happiness is meaningful in this world?
Adam looked at Na'er and raised his hand in the air, wanting to touch her silver hair, but his hand stopped as his heart refused to do so.
A disrespectful act that a follower should not do.
His hand refused, his heart wouldn't allow it.
Even his body couldn't do it.
His mind told him he shouldn't do it, and he truly felt and acknowledged this.
"Even my cognition has been twisted, huh?" Adam sighed softly as he retracted his hand.
He reluctantly let go of Na'er's hand, which he had held while sleeping, and slowly stood up. Looking back, Adam could feel a special feeling and connection forming through his body.
An entity separate from the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena. The human side of the Silver Dragon King that answered his call.
Adam bowed slightly and decided to avoid seeing Na'er as much as possible. And if possible, the two should never meet again.
Because in his current state, Adam truly couldn't refuse the wishes of this little girl, even if she wanted him to kill himself.
"My condolences, Silver Dragon Princess, Na'er. I hope we will meet again in the future. I'm so sorry I can't accompany you right now, as all of this will cost me my freedom."
Maybe in the future, I can help you fulfill your wish. But right now, I don't even have the strength to keep myself safe from losing control.
The Elder Tree returned to Adam's body as if its task was complete.
Adam remained silent for a few moments before turning around. His actions truly hurt him, but Adam didn't look back and immediately went to the spirit pagoda.
As he left quietly, Adam realized that both of his pathways were completely unreliable in the lower sequence.
One offered high spirituality and knowledge of mysticism, while the other provided some knowledge of body language and improved eyesight.
One forces him to sacrifice something, and the other forces him to remain outside the stage play, simply becoming a spectator and unable to interfere.
"Spectator, a spectator is just a spectator. When the drama ends, and the stage play reaches its conclusion, we can only watch from the audience where it all happened and return to our own lives."
The enjoyment will eventually come to an end, and we will return to reality, becoming actors in our own lives.
Spectators, who watch from behind, watch other people's dramas and stage plays for various reasons. Perhaps they're tired, or they know it's the beautiful fantasy they desire.
Perhaps it's out of curiosity, perhaps because the story is enjoyable, or perhaps because their drama in life seems so simple and monotonous.
But there must be a reason why you want to be an audience for others.
But for me, I do it because I want to utilize Tang Wulin as my experience pack. Using him as a tool to help me promote faster.
Observing him from a distance, watching his every action, and seeing his performance in his life's stage play to better understand him.
This is my reason. This is why he does all of that.
Even if it's only for one month, I've learned various things about Tang Wulin from watching him from the audience's perspective.
So, there's no reason for him to watch this boring drama any longer, and he just walks out of this stage play to the next one.
Crack…
"It's finally digested. One month, just one month, and I can advance to the next sequence." Adam sighed softly and smiled with satisfaction.
The acting method is a truly cheating method. If you don't know about this method, quickly advancing to the next sequence is impossible.
Fors Wall took two years to complete her acting apprenticeship. But after learning the acting method, she only needed three years to promote alongside the Tarot Club and become a Sequence 2 planeswalker.
Klein only needed a month to complete his Seer act, and the Clown potion didn't even take that long. In just three years, Klein successfully ascended from a mortal to Sequence 0, becoming what he is in the story.
And Adam successfully completed his dual pathway act in one month. He didn't know whether to be happy or sad, because it came with a sacrifice in his heart.
"For now, I will rush to become a great soul master and increase my spiritual power before advancing to the next sequence."
There was also training he had to complete. Because even in the next sequence, the Spectator and Secret Suppliant still lacked combat abilities.