Chapter 80: True Human Power

"Later, Akibard sent me and this seal back to Nigen. Unfortunately, even I couldn't break open this blood gem, which was sealed using ancient Elven magic in conjunction with the Black Star. The only way to weaken the seal was to use the life force of someone like Akibard, who bore the Black Star's mark within their body and could fully accept its aura."

"Clarity and detachment, free from worldly affairs. That was Akibard's message to the necromancers. Those who could enter Dehya Valley were the finest among humankind—true practitioners of such a mindset would not obsessively train in the meditation technique, nor would they pursue power. They were the best possible guardians for that sword. Every necromancer who received the Black Star's mark could feel its presence. They all understood what it was without needing to be told. However, once a person's heart became clouded by desire and everything that stems from it, they would be drawn to the sword. If such a person still managed to master the meditation technique, it meant that their soul had become one with those desires, making them capable of resonating with the Black Star. That is why Akibard left this path open."

"Now, you should understand why the path Akibard left behind is one leading to death. Neither Akibard nor I ever wanted anyone to truly draw the Black Star."

"I only understand one thing."

Asa had been quietly listening all this time, but now he suddenly spoke. He was laughing—a mix of anger and bitterness. "Either Akibard was out of his mind, or he just had too much free time. If that thing was so untouchable, why not just explain everything clearly? Instead, he left behind some damn prophecy, deliberately being cryptic, turning everything into a complete mess…"

"You understand nothing, kid."

Moriel snorted, and the hot breath from her nostrils blasted over Asa, making his hair and eyebrows curl slightly from the heat. "Your ability to think, your vision, and your perspective aren't even worth one of Akibard's toes. Don't use that monkey-level intelligence and human value system to self-righteously judge beings far superior to you. That's what I hate most about humans."

"In the era of the great Elven Empire, the elves' magical prowess and technology were far beyond anything you human monkeys could ever hope to achieve. They understood the nature of the Armageddon's Blade better than Akibard ever did. And yet, in the end? They still picked up that sword. Because the very reason that sword exists is for someone to use it. Do you understand?"

"I don't," Asa admitted honestly, shaking his head.

"That sword is formed from countless desires, emotions, thoughts, and souls. Desire isn't just about greed—it's about pursuit. Whether elf or human, all beings look toward something higher, something better, something beyond. They seek more—more knowledge, more power. But as desires accumulate, they inevitably tip, distort, and collapse into despair, rage, and killing intent. And that—that is the essence infused within the sword."

"As long as living beings exist, desire will exist. And where there is desire, there will be this sword. There will be those who wield it. This sword is a gathering of death, yet it is also inseparable from life itself. Death does not oppose life—it is an intrinsic part of it."

"The progress and evolution of living beings are like a tower of stacked blocks. No matter how high you build, it will eventually collapse under its own weight. This sword acts as a threshold, causing the tower to fall before it becomes too high, too heavy—before the collapse becomes utterly irreparable. And in doing so, it clears the way for the next tower to rise. Before the Elven Empire, there was an even older civilization. Then came the elves, and now you humans rule the world. Perhaps, in the future, another race will rise to power… The Black Star brings destruction, yet within that destruction lies the seed of new life. That is the cycle of this world. Do you understand?"

"I still don't," Asa replied, shaking his head.

"As expected, little monkey."

Moriel didn't seem surprised. Her massive maw curled in what might have been a sneer, and the blast of hot air she exhaled seared Asa's skin. "Five hundred years ago, even I didn't quite understand. Akibard was the one who explained it to me... Hmph. I have to admit, even though he was human, he had his remarkable qualities."

"But in the end, he was still just a human. Even after seeing through the truth of it all, he could never fully detach himself from his human nature. He knew it was futile, he knew that day would inevitably come, and yet he still couldn't help but scheme to delay it for just a little while longer. He knew that if I destroyed the sword, humanity might be able to linger on for a few thousand more years before it reformed—yet he still fought desperately to stop me, just for the sake of the people before him in that moment."

"The thing that surprised me the most was that he could have turned himself into a lich and existed for nearly eternity, yet he never did. In the end, I don't even know how he died."

"'Even if I can see those distant truths, even if I can trace the trajectories of all things, in the end, I am just a frail human—just a grain of sand in the great river of the world and time. So I will live as a human should. I will struggle, I will be weak, I will be powerless, and in the end, I will die like everyone else. That is what I want to do, and the only thing I can do.'"

"When I heard this… from what should have been the strongest of all humans, for the first time, I thought—perhaps humans are not such lowly creatures after all."

Moriel no longer looked at Asa. Her slitted eyes narrowed as if she were entirely lost in memory.

"That wretched man… If the other dragons knew that the proud princess of the Black Dragon Clan had even the slightest fondness for a human, it would be quite the absurd joke."

"...I think I understand now," Asa murmured thoughtfully, nodding to himself.

"Oh?" Moriel looked at him with some surprise, scrutinizing him for a moment. "It doesn't seem like nonsense… you actually seem to have understood a little."

"Then what he said… about the one who gathers power taking up the Black Star… does that mean someone like me, who possesses the World Tree Leaf—"

"Like you?" Moriel was briefly stunned, then suddenly burst into a rolling, thunderous laughter that echoed throughout the cavern.

"What, you think you have power?"

Asa opened his mouth, but no words came out. Moriel's laughter rumbled so loudly that his ears ached.

"Don't make me laugh." Moriel shook her head. "The 'power' Akibard spoke of—how could it be the same as the pathetic little scraps you people call power? To you, power is nothing more than the fists you use to beat others, the magic you use to blow people up, the magical energy coursing through your body, the size of your muscles—isn't that right?"

She shook her head again, her expression unreadable to Asa, though he imagined it was the same look humans gave when sneering at rats or cockroaches.

"To think that in the eyes of these latecomers, Akibard's level has been reduced to that of some brute who only knows how to fight, that his vision has been narrowed down to something so shallow. I almost feel sorry for him."

"You know what true human power is?" Moriel continued. "Let me tell you—it's desire."

"The minds of humans, their magical talents, are no match for the elves. Their physical strength is far inferior to that of orcs. Their lifespans last no more than a few short decades. Yet in that brief time, they have developed to where they are now. Why? Because of desire. They pursue, expand, devour, and strive madly for something higher, something better. That is why humans have come this far."

"But this desire, once accumulated beyond control, leads to collapse. They chase endlessly after strength, after power, until even the essence of what they are is buried beneath what their desires have twisted and created. That is the very essence of the sword's aura. This power gathers, concentrates, blends, and mutates. And whether out of ambition, revenge, despair, curiosity—it doesn't matter. Someone will inevitably take up that sword."

Moriel extended a claw, pointing it straight at Asa.

"This is the difference between vision and insight. Akibard spoke from the perspective of humanity. You—" She let out a derisive snort. "—you try to understand it from the perspective of your fists."

"You should be grateful that what you held before was only the sword's hilt. Your heart is completely incompatible with the sword's aura. The power of the Sunwell and the World Tree Leaf may have shielded your body from the hilt's influence, but the moment you come into contact with the fully intact blade, I guarantee—you'll be a shriveled corpse within three seconds, reduced to nothing but a pile of dust and fragments."

"Akibard was indeed far stronger than you, far more exceptional. But in the end, he was still just a man. What he spoke was merely his own speculation, not some divine prophecy that determines the fate of the world. It's just that the weak and pathetic always crave some grand prophecy to guide them, so they twist his words to fit their own illusions."

"Then… what exactly are the World Tree Leaf and the Sunwell? I once heard about them among the elves…"

"Hmph. Just more self-important nonsense from those pointy-eared fools." Moriel scoffed. "When the Elven King fell under the control of the Armageddon's Blade, the elves gathered all their archmages and poured their efforts into creating a few artifacts to counter it. The World Tree Leaf and the Sunwell were two of them. I won't deny that their magical craftsmanship was impressive. With their knowledge of the Armageddon's Blade, they actually managed to create something similar in nature yet opposing in power—the World Tree Leaf."

"But it was still inferior to the Black Star, and in the end, they never even had the chance to use it. When the Great Cataclysm came, only a small remnant of elves survived, clutching these artifacts as they fled."