Chapter 94: Please Make Your Choice |
“Price...”
Kyle Aiven stood before the scale, rapidly analyzing the potential breakthrough points hidden within this question.
“Since the value of rune arts depreciates, that means the answer to this question must have other high-value ‘items’ that can serve as substitutes.”
“Life expands “possibility”... death returns to “inevitability”... future possibilities... based on current influence... the cost can be reduced by relinquishing what one currently possesses...”
Kyle Aiven muttered to himself as he pondered the keywords of the second question and the partial laws he had discovered.
“Since “possibility” can become a kind of price, then the meaning of “inevitability”...”
Suddenly, several possibilities came to Kyle Aiven’s mind.
“I will use my future development potential on the extraordinary path as the price.”
Whoosh—
“Not bad! Looks like my potential really is quite high.”
Kyle Aiven nodded in satisfaction; this was the judgment of the laws themselves.
He immediately continued trying: “I will repay it with my karmic talent ability.”
The scale flipped violently once more, still far exceeding the weight required to maintain balance.
“I will repay it with my current personal strength.”
The scale did not move at all.
“Alright, looks like this falls under the category of ‘real objects’ and isn’t included within the range of acceptable prices...”
Kyle Aiven raised a hand and rubbed the chin of his soul body in a thoughtful gesture.
His talent and future development potential were absolutely not things he would use as payment; even partially, he would never relinquish them.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke again:
“I will use my right to interfere with Coral Thorn City over the next three years as the price.”
The scale only rose slightly and remained far from balanced.
“Looks like this won’t work either...”
Kyle Aiven noticed that the hourglass had already passed the halfway mark. He felt he could not continue wasting time.
He took a deep breath and made up his mind:
“I will use my right to observe the world’s karma as repayment for these next three years!”
The right side of the scale rose by roughly one-tenth.
“Damn it! Not enough! Only this much?”
At this moment, Kyle Aiven felt a sharp pain in his heart. Three years without observation would still have been acceptable anyway, since his body could only lie there motionless regardless.
Sigh...
He sighed inwardly. Unable to think of a more suitable compensation method for the moment, he could only silently endure it...
Wait?!!
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Kyle Aiven!
“Why do I have to pay it all at once?”
He immediately tested the idea:
“For the next sixty years, I will spend half of my time every single day repaying this debt, and during that period I shall not observe the karma of the world!”
The scale slowly moved before finally stopping at the point of perfect balance.
“This actually works?!” Kyle Aiven was utterly astonished!
“It can actually be done like this?!” Watching the scene before her, Yolanda was left somewhat dumbfounded. She suddenly felt that back then, she truly had been a complete fool!
The legal clauses remained emotionless. The hourglass at the center of the scale flipped over, directly entering the final question—
“The third question.”
“Life shapes ‘stories,’ while death writes ‘endings.’ Your yearning for life is the price standing upon the side of life. What will you use to restore balance to the scale?”
Kyle Aiven had not expected the third question to be this straightforward. Had he known earlier, he would rather have “paid over six hundred years”...
He had no time to “grieve” and immediately focused his thoughts on solving this third question.
With the experience gained from the previous two questions, he realized that there truly were methods and shortcuts for dealing with this challenge. The key lay in whether or not he could discover them.
“I will repay it with rune arts.”
He continued by probing first.
The scale barely reacted.
“As expected—this question seems rather troublesome...”
Kyle Aiven looked at the pan that had hardly changed at all and felt a headache coming on.
“I will repay it with my future growth potential upon the Transcendent path, along with my karmic talent.”
Kyle Aiven directly wagered his two most valuable chips.
The scale changed only slightly, perhaps less than one-fifth.
“Tch... looks like we’ll need a new method of payment.”
Kyle Aiven frowned deeply as the light of his soul flickered unsteadily.
“...yearning for life... stories... endings...”
“What exactly is an ‘ending’? And what kind of classification is this?”
Kyle Aiven felt as though his brain... well... he did not actually seem to possess a brain right now...
In any case, it felt as though his mind were about to burn out, while his soul had also noticeably dimmed.
“What kind of price could possibly compare to a ‘yearning for life’?”
He had absolutely no doubt regarding the intensity of his love for life. Therefore, he needed to find a “price” within the deepest parts of himself that could rival it.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind—
“I will repay it with my feelings toward my clansmen!”
This time, the scale truly displayed a massive change; the right pan representing life visibly rose, though it was still clearly far from enough.
“Looks like my yearning for life isn’t as strong as an ordinary person’s.”
In Kyle Aiven’s heart, his feelings toward his clansmen were among the most irreplaceable things in his life. Yet even those emotions still could not compare to his yearning for life.
“Indeed... deep down, I still care more about myself.”
Kyle Aiven felt somewhat ashamed. If it were those few clansmen closest to him, they would likely have willingly given their lives for him; of this, he had no doubt.
Kyle Aiven let out a long breath and withdrew his feelings toward his clansmen. Now was not the time for sentimentality.
Yearning for life... ending... conclusion... ending! Death!!!
Kyle Aiven’s eyes instantly lit up as he loudly declared:
“I will use my fear of death as the price!”
“What?!!”
Yolanda covered her mouth in shock as she watched the gigantic scale begin to return toward balance.
Floating before the balanced scale, Kyle Aiven suddenly felt his soul become lighter.
An unprecedented sense of ease and clarity enveloped him. His attachment to life and fear of death simultaneously faded away. He felt as though he were standing upon the opposite end of the cycle of reincarnation, calmly observing the endless cycle repeating itself.
At this moment, he even felt as though the powers of life and death within the gigantic scale were cheering—but this was merely an illusion.
“Balance has been achieved.”
The majestic will echoed throughout the void.
“Congratulations to the trial participant, Kyle Aiven.”
“You are the thirteenth challenger to complete all trials. You have the right to remain within the Netherworld and become a guardian of the Netherworld; you also possess the right to return to the real world and continue your unfinished journey.”
Please make your choice.
Within the void, two gates slowly emerged.
One gate led toward the Netherworld, where an entirely new stage with a far higher starting point awaited.
The other pointed toward reality, vaguely depicting the elders of his clan gathered around the place where his body slept.
Kyle Aiven raised his head toward the gigantic scale, and a familiar, slightly mocking smile appeared upon his face.
My story isn’t over yet.
He turned around and stepped without hesitation into the portal leading back to the world of the living...
Watching Kyle Aiven’s figure gradually disappear, Yolanda softly murmured:
“What a fascinating little vampire child...”
Her gaze once again pierced through the boundless layers of space, landing upon the location of Kyle Aiven’s sleeping physical body.
“Considering how many ‘surprises’ you’ve given me, big sister will give you a gift. I look forward to meeting you again someday...”
Yolanda extended a finger, and a ray of law-light crossed through space and time, silently merging into Kyle Aiven’s soul.