Chapter 1888 Asna"s Awakening.
Suddenly, his face broke into a foolish smile as the faces of the countless people who had died flashed before his eyes.
Children, families, and entire worlds were all snuffed out while he had convinced himself it was the "necessary" thing to do.
It chewed at him, this cold, calculated decision he had made...And for the first time in a long while, Felix felt something he hadn"t allowed himself to feel, regret.
He turned, and his gaze fell on Asna. Then, he continued to speak with a voice lanced with self-reflection, "But now, I"m faced with a choice, a choice I should have seen before. I can be the bad guy who lets the universe burn to achieve a goal, or I can be the good guy who tries to protect those who need it, no matter the cost."
Asna listened quietly, her eyes never leaving his. Felix took a deep breath, his next words tinged with the bitterness of his own mistakes.
"I realized something, Asna. If I shut down my emotions, if I watch the entire universe burn just to save celestial energy…I"ll be no different than the three rulers. No," He corrected himself, his voice filled with self-loathing, "I"ll be worse. Because I provoked this ma.s.sacre while having the power to protect those weaker than me, and yet I chose not to."
"Felix..."
Lady Sphinx and his masters showed faint smiles, seemingly proud that he wasn"t taking the faster road.
He could easily turn off his emotions and none of this would matter, but he refused to do so.
It was for a simple reason...
"I don"t want to be like them. I don"t want to become a monster who sacrifices everything for a single goal. If I do, then what"s the point of any of this? What"s the point of defeating the rulers if I become as heartless and cruel as they are? What will my grandfather and Nimo think of me?" He sighed.
Asna stepped closer, her hand reaching out to gently touch his cheek.
"You"ve always had a choice. And you"re right, it"s not just about power. It"s about what you do with it. I believe the best use of it should put your heart at ease, not the opposite." She said.
Felix closed his eyes, feeling the weight of her words. He understood that his motives were always wrong and flawed, making him truly a horrible person in the eyes of outsiders.
To think he was willing to sacrifice the SGAlliance"s population for the sake of revenge and obtaining the truth.
Just the thought of committing to it made him sick in his stomach, like the lives of those below him no longer matter in the grand scheme of things.
If it was so, then he was truly no different than the three rulers...
"Why does it seem like mom is becoming holier?" Nimo wondered in curiosity.
"This is indeed peculiar." Eris knitted her eyebrows in puzzlement.
Just like the rest, she believed that Asna"s awakening would add more to her overwhelming aura, making it near impossible to stare at her in the eyes.
Instead, she was releasing a sacred, untainted aura, like she became the embodiment of purity, the purest form in the entire universe.
Yet, the shocking part had to come.
Felix and the tenants were soon left with widened eyes as her awakening progressed, causing the emergence of seven inked tattoos to materialize on her chest.
Those tattoos resembled the seven sins immensely in their positioning, but their appearence and colors were nothing alike.
There was a dove, a dog, a swan, an ant, a tortoise, an elephant, and lastly, an owl.
The tattoos glowed with a soft light, their intricate designs weaving together to form a beautiful and harmonious pattern.
"It can"t be...Are those really...They are real?" Felix mumbled to himself, containing his shock and disbelief.
"The seven virtues..." Apollo continued for him with a dazed tone, "I can"t believe there are laws for them too."
When the tenants heard this, most of them were left stunned speechless. They knew about the seven sins and could understand them being laws due to their varied effects, but the seven virtues?
"How can the seven virtues be laws?" Candace remarked with a confused tone.
"It actually makes more sense to have them than not." Lady Sphinx grinned wryly, "The cosmos has always shown us that balance is everything for it. That"s why there is a counterforce for almost everything. The moment the seven sins laws were introduced, I was always wondering about the existence of the seven virtues."
"Who would have thought, they would be locked up within Asna"s core, awaiting her awakening to emerge."
While most of the tenants nodded in understanding, Felix"s eyes were still affixed on Asna"s tattoos.
Unlike them, his mind went further ahead and made a connection that he never expected in his life.
"I see now, I see now..." Felix murmured absentmindedly, "Lilith, I understand now..."