Chapter 40: Do You Crave Power?
"Do you crave extraordinary power?"
Divoman’s throat moved, but no sound came out.
His deep crimson eyes tried to fixate on Sylvia’s face, but out of reverence, they shifted to the ground.
A few seconds later, his slightly hoarse voice emerged:
"I do."
"Good."
Sylvia raised both hands and symbolically clapped twice in front of her.
"But there’s one thing I must say upfront—"
"The path I’ll guide you on is not one of those thirty-two extraordinary paths..."
"Hmm, you might not understand this, but that’s alright. You just need to know that the extraordinary path you’re about to tread is riddled with thorns. What awaits you ahead could be a plain—or it could be a cliff."
"Since you’ll be the first to walk this extraordinary road, I can’t guarantee you won’t explode from the conflict between powers."
"What I can tell you is, when conducting the ceremony for you, I’ll try as many tests as needed to ensure your safety."
"Even so, are you still willing?"
"Of course, you have the right to refuse."
After saying this, Sylvia added silently in her heart:
In truth, you're just a guinea pig, testing whether this path is viable.
Of course, the consequences won’t be too dire. If anything goes wrong, I can absolutely keep you alive.
Divoman was silent for a moment, then spoke:
"Your Grace… as the first test subject to walk this path, can I receive a larger share of resources?"
Hearing his words, Sylvia smiled—a natural smile, devoid of any unusual emotion:
"You’re quite clear-headed."
She gave a simple remark, then nodded and said:
"As for your question—yes."
"As long as you’re alive and meet the conditions for advancement, I’ll prepare the ceremonies and materials for you."
"However, this might influence the result I’m hoping for, but in the spirit of fairness and justice, I must tell you—"
"I can provide you with a safe and complete extraordinary path, but if that’s your choice, you’ll have to do a fair number of tasks for me and prove your investment value."
"Hmm… besides, you don’t have much say in choosing the extraordinary path anyway."
Divoman couldn’t fully understand the specialized terms in her words, but he could roughly infer their meaning.
After a few seconds of silence, he asked:
"Your Grace, if I choose to wait for the safe extraordinary path, will my standing with you decrease?"
"As expected—clear-headed and direct."
Sylvia once again gave an evaluation:
"Rest assured on that point. When I first considered recruiting you, I didn’t intend for you to be a guinea pig… hmm, a test subject."
"At the time, I just thought I needed a spokesperson in the Brick District."
"But if you willingly become a guinea pig, your importance to me might rise somewhat."
At this moment, Lakdevo, who had been crouched silently on Sylvia’s shoulder, suddenly spoke:
"Caw!"
"This world is far more complicated than you think, and the being before you is far greater than you can imagine!"
"Enough."
Sylvia waved her hand, cutting off whatever else Lakdevo wanted to say.
Her palm lifted casually, stroking his increasingly glossy feathers.
“Caw?”
The fat crow stiffened, as if wanting to react, but in the end, it dared not resist.
Hearing these words, Divoman no longer hesitated:
"I’m willing, Your Grace."
"In my eyes, this feels a lot like what I’ve been through before—staking everything I have to gamble on my future."
"In those past high-stakes gambles, I was the winner. I believe I will be again this time."
Sylvia nodded in satisfaction at his words.
"Very well."
"Hmm… it will take me a few more days to complete the weaving of this new extraordinary path. Let’s do this—I'll come find you in three days to perform the initial ceremony."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Divoman bowed respectfully.
Seeing there was nothing more to discuss, Sylvia clapped her hands again.
"Excellent. I hope our next meeting comes before those three days are up."
With that, she rose and exited the room, leaving Divoman standing alone in thoughtful silence.
Is Her Grace urging me to complete the task she assigned as soon as possible?
…
By the time Sylvia left the Rose Bar, it was already seven in the evening.
In the Kingdom of Savia’s winter, there were rarely pedestrians on the streets at this hour.
"Hmm… I won’t return to St. Ruls Cathedral tonight."
Gazing at the pale carriage reappearing from the void, Sylvia gave instructions to Lakdevo.
"Yes, Mistress."
With a caw, the carriage set off toward the Eplington District in the northern part of the City of Alova.
A dozen or so minutes later, the carriage left the Brick District and turned into the Stadcon District.
Under the still-bright moonlight, a vast silhouette of connected factories loomed in the distance, their massive forms pressing down over the entire city.
They fed more than half of Alova’s population—they were the lifeblood of the city.
In this era, even if reluctant, the Church of Radiance had to admit the growing influence of the Church of Industry and Machinery.
In the past, the entire Western Nations Alliance was dominated entirely by the Church of Radiance, where clerical authority stood above royal power.
While this was still largely the case, the "lofty" clerical authority was no longer monopolized by the Church of Radiance alone. The once-weak Church of Machinery now showed signs of becoming its equal.
As the carriage rolled forward, a towering clock tower came into view in the distance.
The Clock of Progress—the "soul" of Stadcon District.
Since the Church of Machinery built it over a century ago, it had quietly watched over the city to this day.
Suddenly, Sylvia’s spirituality was stirred. Her gaze instinctively turned upward.
At that moment, in her left eye, a bright full moon hung in the sky—
A projection of the God of Spirituality in the physical world.
In this world, the moon in people’s eyes never waxed or waned; it was always radiant, always full.
But in her right eye, that same moon appeared shattered and fragmented—
That was the moon’s true form.
Yet that wasn’t the main focus now.
Bathed in moonlight, a shadowy figure stood silently atop the pitch-black and towering clock tower.
From her angle, the person appeared as if bearing the radiant yet broken moon on their back!
And that figure seemed to sense the gaze upon them. They turned slightly in the direction of the pale carriage.
The next second, a voice suddenly echoed in Sylvia’s ear:
"So you really are here."
"I—"
"I found you."