Chapter 288 (1): Golden Triangle: Life, Void, Self

Life!

More than ten days had passed since Wayne united the power of the five chosen knights. During that time, he had been contemplating one question: life.

The meaning of life was manifold, often intersecting with concepts of religious philosophy, consciousness and soul, and the morality of good and evil. When the concepts collided, the answers were naturally varied.

Wayne was no philosopher. As a mage, he contemplated life through the insights and magical theories he had learned. Magic was about balance and evolution. The human body was the universe, and a mage’s evolution was the universe’s development and transformation.

Self-growth, reproduction, will, evolution... These aligned with the essence of life and the scope of the universe. Life, as they knew it, was the universe.

However, while life could be the universe, the universe didn’t solely refer to life. Wayne knew that very well. What he considered life fell far short of what made a universe. At most, it could be viewed as an abridged version—it would be nature.

Wayne hadn’t even come into contact with all that constituted the concept of nature. It involved not only the basic four elements—earth, fire, water, and wind—but also nature in the narrower sense, Sun, Darkness, Death, as well as Storm and Lightning. Considering the macroscopic view of nature, the faiths of the Life Alliance warranted deeper thought.

The Life Alliance had consisted of more than the five goddesses. All deities had to come together to constitute a complete life, a complete nature.

Due to the outbreak of the war of faiths, the Life Alliance declined, leaving only the five goddesses. Then, for unknown reasons, Darkness and Death withdrew from the alliance, leaving only Nature, Sun, and Moonlight.

The three could still constitute nature and life, but it was far from the glory and might of what the alliance had been in the past.

“Based on the deities’ choices, this path isn’t wrong. Such is life...”

“But it feels like something is missing.”

“Life shouldn’t be scattered and fragmented. She should be a complete entity...”

“Huh, the Goddess of Nature has quite an appetite. She alone can represent life. Don’t Sun and Moonlight have any objections as allies? Did Darkness and Death withdraw because they couldn’t stand Nature’s arrogance?”

“No, now isn’t the time to think about this. I’ve obtained the initial concept of life, which provides the framework. Now, I need to think about how I can combine the disjointed concepts into one.”

“

Book of Greed,

don’t just eat without working. Move it!”

“Bastard, what are you muttering about? What do you mean by ‘move it’?”

Veronica looked down at him from above, punching him in the face. She had been the one to move since they started. If he had so many complaints, he should start moving himself.

The two of them were in the bedroom, doing an exercise that was beneficial to both physical and mental health.

소

“Veronica, I’m pondering a serious question.”

“You say that every time I ask. How long have you been pondering... Stop right now!”

Veronica punched him again, feeling hurt. She suspected that Wayne had grown tired of her, and that he had actually been thinking about Senna’s stunning face the whole time rather than something important.

Or it might be Darienne, the Moonlight Knight. Wayne’s relationship with her had progressed rapidly. Initially, she had given him the cold shoulder, but now, it seemed that there was nothing they didn’t talk about. Whatever Wayne wanted, Darienne gave. A bystander would’ve thought that she was training a successor!

Something was wrong!

First an Oracle High Reverend, and now a chosen knight. Have you had too many good men that you want a change of taste and thus crave garbage? If that’s the case, go for the Darkness Knight. He’s trash, too!

“Speak, bastard!”

“My bad. I’m moving now.”

***

“Tsk, you talked big, but that’s all you’ve got?”

Wayne put on his pants and was about to leave. Veronica heard the taunt and immediately turned red with anger and frustration. She snapped, “The sun isn’t up yet. Where are you going?”

Senna, or Darienne?

“Correction, the Frozen Land only sees daylight once every year, and the day lasts half a year.”

Wayne looked refreshed, a stark contrast with a boneless Veronica. While putting on a shirt, he said, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to Senna or Darienne, but Master.”

...Phrasing. Did you even hear yourself?

“It’s time. I’m going to break through to the Gold rank. There’s no time to waste. I’m going to Master now.”

Last September, Wayne had completed his Silver Cross, consisting of god, life, void, and self, officially becoming a Silver-ranked mage. After eleven months, nearly a year, he finally completed the progress bars for all five faiths.

If not for the antique silver coins and the obelisks he had obtained, he didn’t know how long it would’ve taken him to plunder enough elemental particles through meditation alone. He felt a chill just thinking about it.

Since he had selected five faiths at once, and his life essence demanded a lot to begin with, the volume he needed became dramatically bigger. It would’ve taken him at least ten years without the multiple generous souls making deliveries to him.

Ten years! That would be enough for an ordinary person with no experience to debut five times. Praise the Lord of the Void, the Thousand-Eyed Demon, Obed, the two strangers from the Church of Death, and the kind-hearted people whose names he had completely forgotten!

Thinking of the blood, sweat, and tears that had been shed, Wayne prayed for them with gratitude, offering blessings and good wishes for their next lives...

Oh, wait, they had no next lives. The prayers would be meaningless, so he shouldn’t waste his time.

He had gathered the necessary elements and basically filled the progress bar. If he didn’t break through to Gold rank now, he would overflow with elements.

Thinking of his many displaced old friends, he didn’t have the heart to leave them homeless. He decided to quickly expand his shelter to give his old friends a place to escape the elements.

“You’re reaching Gold...” Veronica sat up, clutching the white bedsheet, her expression conflicted. “It’s only been so long. How are you so fast?”

Phrasing. Did you hear yourself?

“It’s slow. I could’ve done it faster,” Wayne muttered.

Veronica continued, “Help me up so that I can get dressed. I’m going to Mother, too.”

“You’re ranking up as well?”

“Almost. I’ll get a preview.”

“Alright.”

***

“You’re advancing to Gold rank now?” Silvia looked at Wayne in surprise. “I remember you at Silver last year. Is something wrong with your body? Come here, let me check.”

“Silvia, people are different. I’m certain that his body is perfectly fine...” Senna leaned against the window. When she saw Veronica holding onto Wayne’s arm warily, Senna bit her lip and said as if she was remembering something, “Very vigorous and pure.”

Veronica bristled.

Silvia rubbed her temples, feeling a headache growing. Instead of wasting her breath, she gave Wayne a reproachful look. “Regardless, we need to check him. Um, Master, you should help!”

Her son was too talented, and the original bloodline far exceeded her expectations. She no longer felt comfortable giving lessons. As a legendary mage—one of the more powerful ones at that—Senna was more qualified than her to examine Wayne’s physical condition.

Under Veronica’s dissatisfied gaze, Senna sauntered up to Wayne and pressed his shoulders to sit him down on the sofa. It seemed that she even planned to straddle him.

Wayne crossed his legs naturally, telepathically warning her not to misbehave.

Senna smiled slightly. Given their clearly hierarchical relationship, she had neither the qualification nor the ability to examine Wayne’s body. It would only be an act.

Two minutes later, she finished her fake examination. Face flushed and gaze hazy, she returned to stand by the window, breathing heavily and speaking in a trembling voice, “All-all done. He...”

“...Enough, stop talking.”

Silvia was nearly driven mad by how wrecked her master looked. It was only some hand and shoulder action, and Senna was the one touching Wayne; was it really enough to turn her into such a mess?

Master, just how much do you like my son?

Silvia didn’t know about Senna’s true condition, so she couldn’t comprehend Senna’s desire for Wayne—it was a kind of desire that originated from her entire body and mind. The fact that she could maintain rationality and only touch his hands showed how strong her willpower was.

(꒪⌓꒪)

Veronica gaped. The outside world was too cruel. She missed Kristen and Vera. In their trio, she could be in charge, but there was nothing she could do about Senna.

“Master, can Wayne advance to Gold?”

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Silvia only dared to ask after Senna had regained some composure.

“Yes.” Senna took a deep breath and said seriously, “Wayne’s not like us. No, he’s not like any mages. His Silver Cross is unusually stable, making it difficult to take it apart and reassemble the pieces. Get a quiet room ready. I need to guide him alone.”

Are you really just guiding him?

x2

Silvia didn’t trust her, and neither did Veronica. They both suspected that someone would get pregnant in the process.

“You can watch, but don’t make a sound to disturb us.”

Receiving Wayne’s message, Senna spoke as he ordered despite her dissatisfaction.

The four of them went to the cabin’s basement. Wayne sat cross-legged in the middle. Following Senna’s instructions, he removed his shirt. His well-proportioned body made Senna unable to look away.

Gulp!

x2

Silvia facepalmed and turned to hit Veronica’s head with a hand chop, snapping, “Be serious. This isn’t the time to look at a man. How old are you already? Can’t you be more mature?”

The criticism was obviously meant for someone else, but Veronica felt deeply ashamed and lowered her head immediately.

Senna didn’t listen at all. She frowned at Wayne and expressed her helplessness through her thoughts. She would like to help him break through his bottleneck, but she couldn’t. Simple physical contact had made her imagination run wild, so she couldn’t possibly do more.

Silvia didn’t dare to do anything rash, and Veronica wasn’t even qualified. Senna’s inability to help him put them at an impasse.

“Let’s try first,” Wayne broke the silence. ‘I don’t expect to succeed on the first try. If it doesn’t work, I’ll seek out Mr. Moula.“

Senna nodded, having Silvia explain the Golden Triangle and the steps to evolve a Silver Cross to a Golden Triangle. She added whatever Silvia had missed.

Black Forge Hexagram: earth, fire, water, wind, void, self.

Silver Cross: god, life, void, self.

Golden Triangle: life, void, self.

“You already know the Silver Cross, Wayne. I’ve also told you about the Golden Triangle before. Let me repeat it. Life, void, and self refer to...”

From a hexagram to a cross and finally to a triangle, the most stable shape, mages had to maintain balance at every step. When they were advancing, however, they had to break the balance and disassemble and assemble everything to grasp balance once more.

Life referred to life essence. Void referred to knowledge, and self referred to thoughts. These were the essence of a Golden Triangle. They had to be balanced no matter what.

The three coexisted and influenced each other. Once the balance was broken, the consequences would be dire.

For example, when a Gold-ranked mage entered the Gate of Truth, gradually understanding everything with all the knowledge flooding into them, their thoughts would be corrupted, and then their life essence. They would evolve to resemble the original inhabitants of the Astral Plane and become monsters.

Never mind Gold-ranked mages, even legendary mages couldn’t withstand the process.

Marshall—the Lord of the Void—and the Forgotten Ones from the Red Leaf Asylum all lost their balance, and thus, not only did they lose their sanity, but their body became inhuman, too.

That was why Anastasia had given up on looking for her body. A corrupted body meant a life essence that had been irretrievably changed, and the body would be useless even if she recovered it.

At the same time, Anastasia’s thoughts had been suffering constantly because of a loss of life essence. Her balance was broken, and she only survived to this day thanks to the divine power of the three chosen knights.

Nature, Sun, and Moonlight created a new shell for her, barely making up for the missing life essence.

The false life essence was ultimately nothing but a shell rather than her own body. Anastasia was barely surviving, unable to move forward. Moreover, her false body left her thoughts tired and weak. She could not rest when she didn’t have a peaceful balance.