Hate me, Miss Witch!-Chapter 530 - 246: Even the Sea of Stars Has an End, but Ambition Knows No Bounds

However, such great power naturally comes with a price.

Each time the "Secret Fire of the Magic Goddess" is unleashed, it consumes the very essence of Hathaway's soul.

The recent use has already caused a fracture in her soul.

Yet, as an elf who personally experienced The Age of Gods and understands the nature of those so-called deities, Hathaway knows very well.

Those who have hidden within the Astral Realm, survivors not fallen in the recent "Divine Evasion," surely will not let matters rest.

Thus, once those restless surviving deities in the Astral Realm erupt and plot against Shiayar.

What will greet them is the fury of the Goddess of Magic.

Even though this will inevitably make Hathaway's soul, already fractured and depleted, even more beleaguered.

...

In that convergence of countless gazes condensed to the point of suffocating coldness.

Shiayar slowly raised the resplendent Stars Chalice.

"Awaken the memories that belong to another in this cycle of restarts."

"Receive the gift from destiny?"

"What a truly enticing proposition."

"But—"

Shiayar's words paused slightly.

He knows the soul imprint was not deceiving him.

That indeed is the "Origin" of this body, this soul.

And once he absorbs the Stars Chalice, he truly can reclaim that past power and receive that gift.

To encapsulate the world's laws and transform them into his own strength.

Then transcend the Sun God and ascend to the supreme Throne of Heaven.

But after recovering those memories, will he still be Shiayar Egutt?

The life of Shiayar wasn't much, merely a fleeting few decades.

Compared to those who marked their historical glory across one era after another during these reboots, whose lives spanned hundreds or thousands of years, Shiayar's decades are just the tip of the iceberg.

At that time, he will be the creator of the Glorious Era, the Sun God.

Will be the one who ended the chaos at the End of the Third Era, establishing the Dawn Church and the "Golden King" Rhine of the Holy Calendar.

Yet, he might no longer be Shiayar Egutt.

Of course, if that's the case, there is still a solution.

Shiayar possesses his own confidence... even if colossal memories spanning thousands, tens of thousands of years flood his mind like tidal waves, he is confident in maintaining his identity.

Then he devises a way to segment the parts of memories that do not belong to him, as if watching a film to separate them, without allowing them to interfere with the independence of his personality.

Just like the previous five hundred years of slumber in the Abyss, the remnant soul could not successfully devour Shiayar's self, instead, it was him who counter-killed.

Of course, if not for Su Lun's efforts allowing the Golden Dawn's descent ritual to truly complete, and enable the memories from these cycles of restart to awaken within his spirit...

Then Shiayar may not avoid falling into another sleep in the Abyss, spending long periods consolidating his Spiritual World and fortifying his self.

To exchange the price of sleeping for hundreds or thousands of years, for the permanent power to ascend the Throne of Heaven, this seems a rather profitable deal.

But—

Shiayar slowly glanced around.

His gaze was profound; it seemed to fixate on the brilliant, crystal clear chalice in his hand, yet seemingly falling onto a farther realm, within the Abyss of Stars... the hidden abode of those deities.

These deities, they too were once flesh-bound beings of their races, chosen as dazzling existences.

They perhaps even pledged oaths of protection to their kin, their friends...

In choosing to walk the path to godhood, maybe they cherished some grand ideals, borne with a sincere heart.

Their original intent for gaining power might simply have been to protect their kin, ensuring the prosperity and safety of their tribes, free from external threats.

Only.

In that long span of life, they stepped by step forgotten their true selves, forsaking the emotions of beings of flesh and blood.

Forgotten those once radiant ideals, the sincere vows.

Only that obsession with advancing further, achieving eternity, ascending the Throne of Heaven remained—the sole driving force behind their actions.

Beyond that, there is nothing left.

Such methodical pursuit, how pathological, how twisted it is.

What difference does such a hollow shell of a living corpse have?

If one forgets their own heart, even if becoming a notable figure of the Multiverse, truly eternal—

What meaning would there be?

Shiayar turned around, gazing at a nearby place, where the golden elf's eyes flickered with Silverfire.

"My most respected teacher, also my most beloved Master, once said to me during my Arcane Enlightenment."

"Ambition drives the Wizard continuously forward."

"I wholeheartedly agree with this."

"From the first humble mortal raising their head in the wilderness, looking up at that starry heavens."

"Because of that ambition for unknown territories, that thirst for worldly truth..."

"Thus came those who regard 'exploring the truth within the depths of stars' as dogma."

"Thus people could overcome thorns, pioneering their way forward."

"From tundras to deserts, the most perilous mountains to unending abyssal seas, even the universe's Abyss of Stars bore humanity's footprints."

"I am also mortal, with my own desires and ambitions—"

"If not for that, I would not have been chosen by Master, nor would I have encountered such diverse people afterward, unforgettable events."

"Upon the Black Tower Plaza back then, to encounter the golden elf, become her sole disciple."

"This perhaps remains one of the luckiest moments of my life."

"Only—"

The starlight flickering in Shiayar's eyes gradually settled, coming to Hathaway's side.

Then, in her somewhat surprised gaze, he took her hand.

The golden elf's hand was icy, soft and delicate.

Shiayar chuckled lightly.

Thus he gazed into the golden elf's eyes, speaking word by word.

"The Sea of Stars has an end."

"Yet ambition knows no bounds."

"I will conquer the boundless Sea of Stars, seek the deepest mysteries and truths of the cosmos in my own way."

"But what I care more for—"

"Is the mood in which I view the scenery during the journey."

"And, the one who accompanies me to see the scenery..."

Shiayar's long fingers slightly twitched.

In the next instant.

Crack.

At the intersection of countless gazes.

The Stars Chalice which bears the lifetime wishes of countless deities, yearned by all beings, representing the chance to ascend in one step.

Thus cracked with a clearly visible fracture.

Then, within a fraction of a second.

The fracture rapidly expanded.

The all-powerful Wishing Machine, key to the Throne of Heaven—

The "Stars Chalice" shattered.

Thus it transformed into myriad sparkling fragments.

Like springtime cherry blossom rain falling towards the dark Astral Realm.

.........

PS: One more chapter remaining