“But how could a person, a living being, possibly possess the capacity to thoroughly decipher the world?”

Flamelle tapped his head, “That’s not just any transcendence or power, but a truly incomprehensible perspective from a higher plane, one that cannot be articulated, to analyze the very nature of the world.”

“Imagine, a deluge of information, countless enigmatic secrets, ceaselessly assaulting and permeating your soul and will—the things you simply cannot understand, recognize, feel, or even describe, eroding your soul incessantly like that sphere of water, until it completely collapses.”

Slightly trembling, Seraphina looked at Ansel before her, “Can’t… can’t this process stop?”

Ansel’s hand reached back, taking hold of Seraphina’s, offering comfort without comforting words.

“The Abyss is so named because once tainted, there is no turning back.”

“From the moment your soul engages with the essence unreservedly, you will yearn to comprehend more mysteries, to achieve the leap of life. Even if you are subjectively unwilling, your soul will pursue it.

The more powerful the extraordinary being becomes, the more they perceive, until they can no longer bear the increasingly complex, profound mysteries, ultimately shattering in the face of the unknowable and incomprehensible, succumbing to madness and death.”

“However, the Heavenly Road is devoid of this peril. In its first and second stages, it uses transcendental elements to elevate the body, allowing the soul to first transform its vessel, the body. Thus, as both soul and body are exalted, they gain a sturdy shell, enabling a selective acceptance of the essence, rather than a passive immersion.”

Flamelle then materialized a stone and cast it into the sphere of water: “Those who achieve transcendence through the Heavenly Road are like this stone, permeated by the power of transcendence, but not eroded by the root of the world to the point of being riddled with holes. As for the cost…”

“Since it cannot be fully saturated like ‘paper,’ its understanding and perception of the world’s essence are naturally less comprehensive. Therefore, the sixth stage of the Heavenly Road is merely a theoretical concept. Since its inception, no person or creature has reached the sixth stage.”

No being has ever reached the sixth tier through the Heavenly Road, which means…

“All divine beings,” Ansel whispered, caressing Seraphina’s palm, “are doomed to succumb to madness under the relentless erosion of the world’s essence, ultimately perishing.”

The more formidable one becomes, the deeper one can delve into the essences and information that represent the root of the world.

Yet, the limitations of stages prevent these powerful beings from the abyss from comprehending and understanding these essences and information.

This inability to comprehend drives them to pursue the ascension of life levels with increasing fervor.

And to ascend… one must become stronger, continue to dissect from the root of the world, the elements and information that one still cannot understand, cannot comprehend.

This is an unsolvable, despairing cycle.

A curse from the world that lingers over every divine being.

After becoming the pact head of Ansel, Seraphina instinctively understood her duty — to share the chaos and madness that erodes Hydral.

But Seraphina didn’t really understand what this so-called “chaos” and “madness” were. She thought it was just a problem inherent to Hydral, a creature symbolizing the abyss.

“Among all the divine beings, Hydral should be the most unfortunate one.”

Ansel couldn’t help but smile, not knowing whether he was laughing at the so-called divine beings destined to be mad, or at his own… such absurd fate.

“Because of the complexity and breadth of power, the erosion of information we suffer is the most severe, so severe that among the four divine beings, we are the only ones who cannot even possess wisdom. It is precisely because of the breadth of power that we are regarded as the embodiment of the abyss.”

At this point, Ansel had completely revealed the nature of Hydral to Seraphina.

The blood of madness flowing in this terminal creature is actually due to the powerfulness that is almost completely soaked in the abyss, attracting endless information erosion, even wisdom is torn, making them become empty powerful, pursuit of power mad beasts, until destruction, until death.

Seraphina clenched Ansel’s hand, she now knew why Ansel was reluctant to tell her about Hydral, even his own memories at that time did not reveal too much to her, just those tragic experiences.

Because this fact… this destined destruction, the ending destined to be destroyed in the most tragic way, Seraphina could not accept.

“What are you upset about.” Ansel chuckled, “Becoming my pact head means you are destined to sink into the abyss with me.”

“I’m not alone, Seraphina, neither are you.”

“Ansel…” Seraphina’s voice was a bit hoarse: “Is there really no solution? I don’t believe… can’t the empress help you?”

“That’s just a delay, not a solution.”

Ansel shook his head: “Every divine being is fighting this erosion in their own way… do you think the empress is helping Hydral burn that madness just because of the need to establish an empire?”

“No, it’s because Flamefeast Royal can understand the root of the world more clearly from burning Hydral’s madness. They all want to use this… to reach the seventh stage that no one knows whether it exists, and at the same time anchor their humanity with the empire. This is their way of fighting erosion.”

As the only one born with the power of the sixth stage as a human, Flamefeast Royal… has a mad ambition beyond the other three divine beings.

They do not choose to wear down, to escape, but to seek that slim chance of ascension in endless madness, to completely break free from this mad bondage.

It’s just that the erosion that Hydral initially suffered was too terrifying, the benefits and risks of taking on and burning this madness for Hydral were not proportional, so the founding emperor of the empire let Hydral cut off eight of his own heads, leaving only the most important original brain.

“Therefore, I will not let Ephesande escape so easily,” Flamelle declared with a chuckle. “If her daughter does not inherit the power of the sixth order, she will not be able to help Ans burn away the corrosion from the world. How could I possibly let her… leave such a mess behind?”

Ansel turned to look at the distraught Seraphina, and said with a hint of helplessness, “I knew you would end up like this, always with a thorn in your heart, unable to find happiness. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“But this is so important—”

—>