Chapter 109: Another Divine Revelation

Chapter 109: Another Divine Revelation

Count Recar climbed out of his grave once again, his movements this time exceedingly gentle, devoid of the initial recklessness. Perhaps on the first occasion, he felt as though he were merely checking out of a hotel, but by the second, he understood clearly that this place was his eternal home, and so his level of care was bound to be different.

"Just now, while down below, I was pondering which posture to adopt for my final repose; strangely enough, when I died the first time, the thought never even crossed my mind."

Karen did not waste any words on trivialities with the Count, asking directly:

"My Lord Count, can you use your own power to freeze this body of yours?"

"Uh... mhm... wait?"

Although Count Recar loved to overthink—and had previously overthought in entirely the wrong direction—it was undeniable that he was a well-traveled and highly intelligent entity. After all, a mere brute could never have become the Pirate King; the great sea was certainly no soil for brutes to survive.

At "Uh...", Count Recar was merely bewildered as to why this young master would summon him out again just to ask such a question.

At "Mhm...", thinking along the lines of this query, the Count actually discovered that it was truly feasible. Since his water-attribute path had already reached its absolute pinnacle, capable of freezing death... even if understood in the purely literal sense, wasn't that precisely freezing "death" itself?

At "Wait...", what Count Recar thought of was that if he could pause his body from the irreversible state of continuously dissipating spiritual power, then the purpose, naturally, would be to wait. And what would be the result of that waiting?

A person who has experienced death once, when facing death again, is highly unlikely to look upon it with indifference; rather, they would cherish the opportunity to survive even more.

Take Karen, for instance... and of course, Count Recar was no exception.

At this very moment,

The Pirate King did not wait for Karen to speak another word,

But dropped directly to one knee before Karen once more:

"I am willing to obey your will and subject myself to the frost!"

Even as he agreed, he lowered his posture even further, achieving the perfect stance in a single fluid motion.

Having learned of the extraordinary nature of the young man before him from Purr, and having personally experienced being awakened by him in his capacity as a divine servant, Count Recar was bound to anticipate much more from the future.

"Good, give it a try."

"Understood."

Standing beside his own burial chamber, Count Recar spread both hands, and a majestic, icy mist began to swirl above his palms.

His gaze locked directly onto Karen,

And he spoke with utmost gravity:

"If this succeeds, the day of my revival shall be the moment I offer you my absolute loyalty!"

With those words,

Count Recar slammed both palms directly onto his chest. His chest began to freeze, the ice spreading rapidly outward, and in an instant, it encased his entire being, turning him into a human-shaped ice sculpture.

Karen stepped forward, began to observe closely, and subconsciously extended his hand.

"Young master..." Alfred hurried forward to warn his young master to be careful of frostbite.

Karen shook his head, signaling that it was fine; his palm did not make direct contact with Count Recar's frozen body, but hovered closely along the perimeter, feeling through the empty air.

Alfred blinked, activated his own Incubus Eyes, and began to inspect the ice sculpture.

Purr pressed closer, also beginning a meticulous examination;

The left-out Golden Retriever, determined not to seem out of place, also ran over, sniffing carefully around the ice sculpture with its nose.

This scene resembled the scrutiny of a dish covered in plastic wrap and placed in a refrigerator, trying to discern whether its flavor had turned.

"It seems to be sealed," Karen said. "What do you all think?"

"Young master, I cannot see it clearly."

"I cannot perceive it either."

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

The Golden Retriever barked thrice in succession, then used its paw to draw two lines on the ground. One was drawn with its pad, and the other with its claw; the first was quite thick, while the second was extremely thin.

Seeing this, Karen said thoughtfully, "In truth, there is still a loss of spiritual power, but compared to the very beginning, it is already negligible."

The Golden Retriever nodded.

In this world, after all, there was no such thing as an absolute seal, just as putting food into a freezer only delayed its spoilage, while in reality, the food was still continuing its process of decay.

Count Recar was an excellent test subject; in fact, one could not find a second, because only Count Recar could utilize this capability of absolute freezing. Thus, the observation of him became particularly crucial.

Alfred spoke up: "We could have a trustworthy person come here at regular intervals to infuse this ice with water-attribute power, much like maintaining a magical array."

"Borg alone might not suffice," Purr said immediately. "I suggest adding one more person. Judia was actually brought along in a box by the Queen, intended as a supplementary sacrifice, but now she's been saved by Recar and is fast asleep. Her talent is quite high, she's a 'daughter' personally certified by Recar.

She certainly cannot return to the Gloria family, and the official announcement to the outside world will undoubtedly be that she has perished as well. Therefore, I suggest she stay at the Allen Manor, where she and Borg can jointly maintain this ice sculpture of Recar. Her power is very compatible with Recar's, and she will deeply cherish and protect her father, so the work will surely be done with meticulous care."

Alfred, who had intended to place another thorn in Borg's side, was somewhat surprised, but after listening to Purr's explanation, he understood—Purr was actually setting a thorn of her own!

Good, very good; in any case, regarding the core personnel remaining by the young master's side in the future, if one could plant a stake, one should do so; the struggle for a place on the mural was eternally ruthless.

Karen, however, truly failed to notice the petty workplace maneuvering between Alfred and Purr, because even now, he lacked the self-awareness of being a "boss." Although the cats, dogs, and the radio around him already regarded him as the boss, in his own heart, he still considered himself more of a "frontline researcher."

"Very well, we shall do as you say."

...

Mr. Bede helped up his second brother, Mike, who had also been thrown out, and located his wheelchair; the wheelchair was somewhat damaged and bent, but barely usable.

Seated in the wheelchair, Mike felt somewhat dejected and said, "It is because we, the descendants, are truly too disappointing; the Ancestor was so displeased with us that he even revoked our right to kowtow."

"I rather think it might be that the Ancestor did not want us to see him kowtow..."

Mr. Bede paused for a moment, then continued:

"It is that the Ancestor did not have much time left, so he dispensed with these formalities."

"Yes, that must be it." Mike accepted his younger brother's explanation.

The two of them waited at a distance for a long time, only daring to peek cautiously toward the cemetery a few times, not daring to draw a single step closer.

Finally, they at last saw someone coming over... to be precise, they saw a cat, and this cat was riding on the back of a dog.

Upon seeing this cat, both Bede and Mike instinctively lowered their heads in reverence.

Previously, the two of them along with their father, Anderson, had instantly believed that an ancestor of the family would awaken tonight to resolve the family crisis, precisely because another ancestor had already awakened and appeared before them;

With Purr donning the hat of yesteryear, wearing the jewelry of yesteryear, striking the posture of yesteryear, and evoking the aura of yesteryear,

Most importantly, the moment it spoke,

No matter how absurd the matter, the father and his two sons could accept it with utter composure.

"Count Recar's tomb needs someone to repair it; Mike, you shall be responsible for this."

"Yes, Ancestor," Mike complied immediately with deep respect.

Then,

Purr looked toward Bede,

And said with grave solemnity:

"The Queen is dead all over the place."

Bede froze for a moment, digesting Purr's description that combined a verb and an adjective.

"So, going forward, what do you believe the family should do?"

"I... I do not know," Mr. Bede replied, as was his habit.

"Master Karen's meaning is that he is weary; he no longer wishes to deal with these trivialities, and so he hopes that you, the artist, might bear the burden."

Mr. Bede offered a somewhat awkward smile and replied:

"Has the Queen been dismembered?"

"Thoroughly parted," Purr answered.

"Then find a chest, place the Queen entirely within, and send her directly back to the palace. The Gloria royal family has likely already drafted a press release regarding the mutual tragedy suffered by the Queen and our Allen Manor; this timing will serve them well."

"Is that appropriate?" Purr tilted its head. "Count Rekaer can no longer awaken."

"We can act as though Count Rekaer remains awake. The Gloria royal family can only be more faint-hearted than we; the premise is that our confidence must be absolute."

"Very well. Who shall deliver her?"

"Since Master Karen is unavailable, I shall deliver her in person. I will go to warn the Gloria royal family of the immense price they will inevitably pay should they dare cross the line again."

"Good, these matters are left to you. Furthermore, your father is currently unconscious beneath the dining room table, while three others lie atop it."

"I will handle it," Mac said. "Bede shall manage the matters regarding the Gloria royal family, while the affairs of the household fall to me. Additionally, please be assured that the servants and guards brought by the Queen's retinue will pose no issue; I will mobilize the clansmen and bodyguards within the manor to watch over them first, awaiting the palace's commands to recall them."

"Acceptable." Purr cast a meaningful gaze at Bede. "Master Karen once spoke a phrase that I found most reasonable. I wish to bestow that phrase upon you, for our mutual encouragement."

"May the ancestor grant the teaching."

"Karen said that an artist not only requires a supreme aesthetic pursuit, but most importantly, he needs to catch the breath rising from the earth."

"The breath of the earth?"

"Oh, it is not an instruction to faith in the Earth Religion, but purely the literal breath of the earth."

"But what if the gods never grant me a second revelation? What am I to do then?"

Leaning against the headboard, Karen held his pen, suddenly plunging into a deep, fathomless contemplation.

Alfred, who had been standing quietly at a distance, felt a sudden swell of tempestuous emotion rising within his chest; every time he witnessed his young master pick up the notebook to write, he was seized by the overwhelming sensation that he was bearing witness to history itself.

For he believed with absolute certainty that the words his young master was penning now would inevitably become a monumental work like "The Light of Order" or "The Era of Light"—a scripture destined to be passed down through thousands of years, no, through countless epochs, read, studied, and revered by innumerable souls.

Hm? Why had the young master suddenly frozen there, completely motionless?

Ah, the young master must have fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion.

Alfred tiptoed to the bedside, intending to help settle his young master so he could sleep more comfortably, but upon drawing closer, he abruptly halted his steps, sensing an aura of profound "piety" and "philosophical contemplation" emanating from the young master's body.

This exact same aura was one he had witnessed only recently, back when his young master had been sitting on the stone steps.

Alfred's mouth parted slightly in a silent gasp,

Though his heart was already filled to the brim with adoration and praise for his young master,

Beholding the scene before him now, he was nonetheless struck by a profound wave of shock:

Could it be that the young master was... experiencing another divine revelation?

What defines a truly magnificent being? This, right here, was the very definition of greatness!

He had just claimed to be exhausted, claiming he was so weary he could fall asleep right by the roadside, yet out of sheer habit he wished to write a little something before bed, and in the end, as he wrote, just as he was finally preparing to set down his pen and notebook to sleep,

He had somehow found the time to summon yet another divine revelation?

At this moment, the clamor of renovation from the master bedroom next door persisted, and the cacophony from the open grounds outside continued to drift in; Alfred felt a desperate urge to bellow at the top of his lungs to demand silence from the entire world, yet he simply could not do so.

"Whew..."

To Alfred’s absolute astonishment, however, he watched as his young master opened his eyes once more and raised the pen again.

Eh? The young master's divine revelation this time was incredibly brief!

Karen remained entirely unaware that he was currently in a state of divine revelation; the only reason he had been able to perceive it so clearly the previous time was not merely due to that monochrome perception of the world, but because his heart inherently harbored a sense of rejection and skepticism toward the very definition of a "god."

But this time, he was engaged in a process of pure, autonomous self-reflection.

The tip of the pen descended upon the paper once more.

Karen first inscribed a single question:

"Why must we sit by so expectantly, waiting for a god to bestow a revelation upon us?

If there are no gods, or if the gods are preoccupied, are we then incapable of attaining the truth?

Grandfather once said that faith came first, and only then were the gods born.

Before the God of Light appeared, was there no light in the world?

Before the God of Order appeared, did order not exist in the world?

Before the God of Earth appeared, did the earth not exist?

Therefore,

Must it only be a truth if it is bestowed by a god, or spoken by a god?

Why can we not go forth and seek revelations ourselves, to verify the truth?"

As for the final sentence that followed,

Karen, while writing it down, was completely oblivious to his own actions, or rather, he did not even realize he was writing at all; the act of writing was merely an incidental motion, so utterly absorbed was he in his own internal contemplation and searching for answers;

Yet Alfred, standing right beside the bed, clearly saw that the fountain pen in his young master's hand, though filled with black ink, was now inscribing characters of pure, shimmering gold!

That brief passage written in golden script read:

"Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth."