Chapter 8: God!

Should the Arcavis Sword Master even exist? Taylor Yale genuinely froze. He had not expected the woman in front of him to ask something like that. The Arcavis Sword Master… who was that? The creator of the Arcavis Universe. The faith of countless beings. The God enshrined in countless hearts. The question itself felt like blasphemy. Taylor glanced at her, suspicion prickling at the back of his neck. *Is this senior trying to bait me into saying something treasonous?* The woman seemed to read his mind and chuckled. "Afraid I'm setting a trap for you?" Taylor shook his head. "With my strength, I'm not even worth you setting a trap." She laughed softly. "I'm just curious," Taylor said. "Why would you ask that?" She picked up a cucumber and took a bite. "It's a simple question. Tell me what you truly think." Taylor hesitated. "This question is the test for this stage?" She nodded. "Yes." "And the answer…" he began. "There's no standard answer," she said. "If I like what you say, you pass." Taylor nodded once. "I understand." He lifted the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and fell into thought. She watched him with an easy smile. Taylor stayed silent for nearly a quarter of an hour. She did not interrupt. When he finished the tea, she refilled it for him as if they were old acquaintances. Even Little Tower waited, eager to see how Taylor would answer. At last, Taylor looked up. "Why do all beings worship the Arcavis Sword Master? Because the Arcavis Sword Master once said, 'Let the young have hope. Let the weak live with dignity. Let this universe become better.' People don't worship the Arcavis Sword Master so much as they worship the ideals behind him. But to make those ideals real… that's not something one person can accomplish." She studied him, smiling. "Why can't one person do it?" Taylor met her gaze. "Because that's human nature. A sage once said that people are born into the world with original sin. Crime, greed, desire, evil… those things are universal to the human condition. The root cause is that evil is embedded in our nature. Any system, any civilization in any universe will still have evil, crime, greed, desire." As he spoke, he rose slowly to his feet. "Look at our world. Everyone below hates privilege, but if that privilege lands on them, they accept it with a clear conscience and enjoy it. So people don't hate privilege itself. They hate other people having it. Or this: below me, strict hierarchies; above me, everyone is equal. That's human nature. Even if the Arcavis Sword Master is unimaginably strong, he can't change that." The woman stared at him. She lifted another cucumber and offered it across the table. "Thank you," Taylor said, taking it. He bit into it, chewed thoughtfully, then continued. "I think… the Arcavis Sword Master shouldn't exist." She laughed. "The reasons you gave still don't feel like enough." Taylor looked at her. "This world doesn't need a living savior. Any living savior is still just one person, and a person's power has limits. Nothing can compare to a real, enduring belief. So the savior should only be an ideal living in people's hearts, not a flesh-and-blood man. Only if more people believe in that ideal and follow it can this universe possibly reach the world the Arcavis Sword Master envisioned. But if the Arcavis Sword Master appears in the world, everyone will pin all their hope on him alone, and one person can never do it. So he should disappear…" "Good, good!" Little Tower burst out, practically vibrating. "That's my student!" Taylor: "…" The smile vanished from the woman's face. She simply looked at Taylor. He had spoken with rising heat, but the moment he finished, unease crept in. His words were far too rebellious. In the Arcavis Universe, the Arcavis Sword Master was God. No one questioned him. *I'm still too weak.* Taylor drew a deep breath, hating the feeling of his fate resting in someone else's hands. Then the woman's expression softened into a bright, sudden smile. "Last question. Do you think those ideals of the Arcavis Sword Master can be realized?" Taylor fell silent for a long time before he answered. "Faith is sometimes a lie. But if it's a beautiful lie, I think it can be accepted. Still, we have to stay clear-headed. Reality is cruel. And you can't let anyone use 'faith' to enslave you." She laughed. "You little thing… you're rare." Taylor finally loosened the breath he had been holding. This stage should be fine. The woman stood. "I'm going to cook. Stay and eat before you go." Taylor shot up. "Senior, I still have the next stage." He was honestly stunned. *She wants me to stay for dinner? What is she thinking?* She glanced at him and smiled. "The third stage, the heart-questioning, will be tested by me as well." Taylor blinked. "That… is allowed?" "It is." She nodded and headed off to cook as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Taylor found her impossible to read. He looked around again. This world felt real, solid underfoot, and it might no longer be Azurehold… The shock still lingered in his chest. To forcibly send someone from one world to another, just like that. What kind of terrifying method was that? *I've seen far too little.* Little Tower suddenly asked, "Do you know why she's keeping you for a meal?" Taylor's curiosity flared. "Why?" Little Tower chuckled. "Isn't it obviously because of your Tower Grandpa's reputation?" Taylor's eyes widened. Before long, the woman finished cooking. It was simple: three dishes and a soup, served on the same table as before. She filled a bowl of rice for Taylor and smiled. "Don't overthink it. It's just mealtime, so we're eating. There's no special meaning." Taylor looked at her and nodded. "Alright." He took the bowl and started eating without hesitation. In front of someone at her level, there was no point guessing. If she told him to eat, he ate. Besides, he was hungry. From Azurehold to the Academy, he had lived on steamed buns the whole way. He had not eaten a proper meal once. The food on the table looked, frankly, excellent. *Forget it. Even if I die, I'll die full.* Seeing him devour the food, the woman laughed and began eating too. When Taylor finished his first bowl, she smiled. "Let me get you more." Taylor hurriedly shook his head. "I-I can do it my-" His bowl was already in her hand. "You're a guest," she said, rising to fill it to the brim. When Taylor accepted the bowl back, he said quickly, "Thank you." She spoke as casually as if discussing the weather. "What do you think about how the Arcavis Universe is full of sects and great clans these days?" Taylor shoveled in two mouthfuls of rice before answering. "Senior… is this the third stage?" She smiled. "It counts." Taylor fell quiet for a long time. Then he said, "It's the inevitable course of history. In any civilization, there will be a group that holds special privilege and prestige, and their privilege and prestige rely on…" He looked at her and did not continue. She smiled gently. "Go on. Say it." Taylor still stayed silent. The woman chuckled. "You can ask your Spireprimus. I won't hurt you." Taylor jolted. "Senior, you really know my Spireprimus? I always thought it was just bragging." Little Tower: "…" The woman blinked. "I know a little. Your Spireprimus used to be… a very remarkable scholar. A great scholar." Little Tower: "…" Taylor could not tell if she was humoring him. He thought it over, then said, "That group with special privilege and prestige… their privilege and prestige rely on the Yare family…" The woman stared at him, still smiling. "Continue." Taylor stopped holding back. If it came to it, he only had one life to lose. "When the Arcavis Sword Master established order back then, he had countless followers. Once that order was in place, those followers naturally became the greatest privileged faction in the universe. Their descendants would, of course, take control of the resources of this world, and for the people below to rise up… it would be nearly impossible." He continued, voice turning heavier. "I've read the records. In our Arcavis Universe, over the past thousand years, there have been almost no new first-tier families. Even second-tier families are rare…" He sighed under his breath. "The real path upward is practically gone. An ordinary person can fight and struggle for a lifetime to earn a million Spirit Crystal, but for those privileged groups, a single sentence can earn them hundreds of millions of Spirit Crystal, even more…" The woman set down her chopsticks and looked at him. "Then in your view, how should this be solved?" Taylor shook his head. "Senior, I can't answer that. First, I'm not in that position, so it isn't my place to govern. These aren't things someone of my status and ability should be deciding. Second, I only want to cultivate hard and let my family, the Yale family, live better." She looked at him as if she could see straight through him. "If there were reforms, do you think the problem could be eliminated?" Taylor's heart lurched. It felt like she had peeled his thoughts open. Reform was exactly what he had been thinking, yet he had not said it. And she still asked… He felt a flicker of panic, then forced himself to calm down. If she wanted to harm him, he had no escape anyway. Taylor gathered his thoughts and said, "Reform is a path, but you can't rely on it completely. Even a successful reform might change the traits of existing unequal systems, but to expect it to erase inequality between groups and the privileges that exist… that's naïve." He had debated those questions with Roland Ades in the Prime Library countless times. Every time, the two of them ended up both furious and helpless. The woman seemed about to say more, but she suddenly looked into the distance. A woman in a purple dress hurried toward them from afar. The woman rose and looked at Taylor with a smile. "Little one, our chat ends here. I enjoyed talking with you." Taylor stood up quickly. "Senior, I… did I pass?" "Of course," she said. Taylor broke into a grin. Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "Senior, I heard someone once challenged the Arcavis Path before…" She smiled. "The examiner back then wasn't me, but I've heard of that boy. In some ways, he was a lot like you, yet the road he chose was completely different from yours… You're both outstanding." She opened her palm. A golden seal drifted slowly toward Taylor. "This little thing is for you. You'll need it in the future." Taylor stared at the golden seal. Two large characters were carved into it: "God." Curiosity stirred in him, but at that moment, the woman in the purple dress stepped into the courtyard. She glanced at Taylor, then giggled. "Liliana Sandah, you've got a guest?"