Chapter 1360 Just One Second
A year pa.s.sed since their first lesson. Arthur became accustomed to the quiet man"s demeanor, and began appreciating the wisdom he imparted. However, a question nagged him, and Arthur made it known.
"When am I going to leave this place?"
"As I have told you before, leaving the prison of patience is something that I have achieved after countless time. It was one of the weapons used against me in the final battle against Devaheim."
Ragnar answered him for the umpteenth time. He did not seem bothered or annoyed by his constant questions. If anything, Ragnar answered each of them more than Arthur felt he deserved. If he was instead of the man, he would have flipped a table or two out of pure rage.
Arthur could not be blamed for his impatience, either. He was still fighting Deluge who was attempting to sacrifice Kera. Even though Ragnar a.s.sured him that time flowed differently here, Arthur could not rest easy.
After being given a year to reflect on this matter, Arthur stopped blaming himself. Deluge and Kar has somehow obtained an ancient weapon and used it against him. Even if he knew, stopping them would have been difficult.
"It has been a while since you told me about your life," asked Arthur while sitting beside the pond. There was nowhere else to go inside this empty s.p.a.ce. He did not feel hungry or sleepy, too. It was just endless boredom.
"Ah, where were we?" asked Ragnar with a smile as he remembered the past. "Did I tell you about the time I had to kill an innocent family?"
"…no," answered Arthur with a frown. Ragnar was different than he imagined. According to the legends, Ragnar Netherborne was a saint. But after meeting him, Arthur realized that to be complete bulls.h.i.t.
During his life before he obtained wrath, Ragnar was considered a demon wearing human skin. He rose from nothing, killing and robbing anyone standing in his path. In his stories, Arthur found it hard to believe that someone could be this cruel.
Ragnar never tried to justify his actions. He owned them and told Arthur about them without a shred of guilt. As he began telling his story this time as well, Arthur felt his heart aching for the poor family.
"And I could not let anyone become a witness, so I had to kill the entire family," said Ragnar without any emotions in his voice. "I a.s.sa.s.sinated the king, and it caused a revolution where thousands of people died. I spent that time enjoying the handful of gold that I have obtained."
Arthur was silent as he listened to the cruel story. He began to understand that Ragnar was a demon as a human. He committed countless atrocities and never shied away from revealing them.
"You were an a.s.sa.s.sin back then, right? Did you have another choice?"
"Of course, I did. It was my own choice to commit those deeds. I"m not proud about them, but I"m not ashamed either. I cannot afford to be ashamed of the wrong I did. Who am I to enjoy such a privilege?"
Arthur did not answer him, but understood what kind of man Ragnar was. The reason that people followed him wasn"t because of his powers, but his character. He was far from perfect, but he confronted his sins. Ragnar was no saint, just an honest man who repented.
A year has pa.s.sed since Arthur entered this place, and he has yet to master wrath. It still boiled and churned like lava, but Ragnar wanted him to control it like a stream. In his own words, Arthur needed to let wrath flow like a river, and kindness be the path directing it.
Arthur began to wonder about the real nature of wrath. It was not tangible, but it destroyed everything that was. It required no mana, but devoured all mana it touched.
"What is wrath?" he once asked Ragnar.
Ragnar smiled at the question, as though he had been waiting for it all along. His eyes gleamed with understanding as he placed his hand on the surface of the pond, watching the ripples spread outward.
"Wrath is the fire that consumes all it touches," he said softly. "But unlike fire, it is not born from chaos or mindless rage. Wrath is a tool—one that can either burn uncontrollably or be harnessed to bring light in darkness. It is neither good nor evil, but how you wield it defines its nature."
Arthur listened, intrigued but unconvinced. "So, you"re saying it"s neutral? That doesn"t explain how it destroys everything."
Ragnar"s gaze turned serious. "Because wrath doesn"t destroy. It transforms. It breaks down what is in its way, yes, but only to rebuild something else. Wrath is not the absence of control—it is the ultimate control. The question isn"t what wrath is, but what you want it to be. What will you transform with your wrath?"
Arthur remained silent, thinking about the path before him. What would he choose to change with his wrath?
Another year pa.s.sed while Arthur attempted to understand his powers. Ragnar provided no answers, only a way to find them. In his opinion, the mastery over wrath begins with understanding kindness.
The two emotions were opposite, in Arthur"s opinion. He could sit here for countless years, but never be able to solve the puzzle. Kindness was the opposite of wrath, so how could it be the key to its control?
If wrath was a fire, then kindness was water that extinguishes it. Arthur tried to understand kindness, but it was different than forgiving than his enemies. His wrath would disappear the moment he forgives them, because every wrathful soul demanded justice.
"How much time has pa.s.sed outside?" asked Arthur after losing track of time. Ragnar smile and raised on finger. "Just one second?"
Arthur found it hard to believe. He began to forget a lot of things that happened before he entered this s.p.a.ce. The Virtue of Patience was a dull, bothersome weapon. It turned him into a mindless puppet that experienced infinite years in a single second.
Ragnar was the sole reason that he was not insane yet. His existence in this place told Arthur that he could somehow benefit from this ordeal instead of being tormented by it. And along the way, he would also begin to understand what it means to be the king of wrath.