Setelah Han Xiao menyimpan informasi yang baru didapatkannya, ia mengusung pintu dan kembali ke ruangan interogasi. Aesop, Harrison, dan Rody semua memandangnya.
u201cPengagum Black Star, aku...u201d Rody ingin bertanya dengan cemas, namun Han Xiao mengangkat tangan untuk menghentikannya.
u201cKudengar kabarmu. Untuk sementara, ikut aku. Aku akan berusaha menyelesaikan masalahmu.u201d
Han Xiao merenungkan apa yang harus dilakukannya terhadap Rody.
Rody kini hanyalah seorang yang sedang dalam proses transformasi; ia belum selesai berubah, sehingga belum bisa mengendalikan kekuatannya. Ia mungkin hanya akan menjadi seperti Destinyu2019s Child dari Organisasi Germinal setelah transformasinya selesai. Namun, setelah transformasi selesai, kepribadian Rody akan digantikan oleh kepribadian baru, jadi secara tertentu, ia bisa dianggap sudah mati.
Sebuah Foreseer yang stabil dan bisa dikendalikan jauh lebih berguna dibandingkan seorang Foreseer setengah jadi yang sesekali pingsan. Namun, karena ia telah menerima misi ini, ia tidak ingin sekadar membiarkan transformasi itu terjadi. Oleh karena itu, Han Xiao memutuskan untuk mencari cara agar mengurangi kemungkinan Rody mengalami transformasi... Dan jika tidak bisa mencegahnya, ia tidak akan keberatan mendapatkan seorang Destinyu2019s Child baru.
Dilihat dari kondisi Rody saat ini, mengontrol keberadaannya adalah suatu keharusan. Han Xiao memberi instruksi kepada Phillip untuk mengosongkan sebuah laboratorium pribadi baru di kapal luar angkasa, dan memerintahkan Harrison untuk mengantarkan Rody ke sana, memasukkannya ke dalam kabin pemulihan, serta menginjeksi obat hipnosis agar lebih mudah untuk mempelajari kondisinya. Rody tidak punya pilihan selain mengikatkan harapannya pada satu-satunya jalan yang tersisa dan bekerja sama sepenuhnya.
Setelah mereka berdua pergi, tersisa hanya Han Xiao dan Aesop di ruangan itu. Mereka saling memandang.
u201cAku melihat kamu pergi beberapa saat tadi. Apakah kamu sudah menemukan sesuatu?u201d bertanya Aesop dengan penasaran.
u201cSumber mutasi si ini mungkin disebabkan oleh pengaruh Primal Esper Ability khusus tertentu...u201d Han Xiao sekilas memberi tahu informasi tentang Destinyu2019s Child dan pengalaman lamanya di Organisasi Germinal.
u201cDestinyu2019s Child... belum pernah dengar.u201d Aesop bergumam.
u201cItulah sebabnya tidak aneh. Aku pun tidak tahu banyak tentangnya.u201d
Aesop terkikat dan berkata, u201cAku tidak tahu banyak tentang pengalaman lamamu, tapi mengasumsikan Destinyu2019s Child yang kamu temui sebelumnya juga merupakan produk acak dari Entitas Primal Esper Ability seperti Rody, mengapa dua badan bagi muncul di Planet Aquamarine? Jika memang benar-benar kebetulan di seluruh alam semesta, apa menurutmu ini benar-benar tidak ada kemungkinan?u201d
Itu memang wajar. Aku pernah melihat hal-hal yang lebih mengerikan...
Pikiran itu muncul di pikiran Han Xiao, namun ia tidak menampilkannya di wajahnya dan setuju. u201cIya memang sangat tidak mungkin.u201d
u201cJika kita mengikuti logika ini, jika mutasi terjadi di tingkat informasi, kudenda Planet Aquamarine mungkin istimewa dalam suatu cara. Mungkin memiliki benang nasib khusus atau sesuatu... Aku tidak bilang ini sembarangan. Aku pernah melihat banyak orang yang lahir dengan benang nasib yang berbeda dari yang lain...u201d
Tiba-tiba, Aesop berhenti, memandang Han Xiao tegas, lalu berkata, u201cu2016 Benar, seseorang sepertimu lahir dari Planet Aquamarine, begitu pula Hila, Beyond Grade A lainnya. Kebangkitan kalian berdua membuat planet indukmu menjadi istimewa. Mungkin inilah sebabnya.u201d
Han Xiao ingin berkata sesuatu, namun akhirnya tidak berkata apa-apa, hanya mengusap bahunya.
Orang-orang cerdas emang gampang ditipu. Kamu meyakinkan dirimu sebelum aku mengatakan apa pun.
u201cTerima kasih. Tanpa ramalanmu, aku tidak akan menyadari hal ini.u201d
Biarpun bercanda, Han Xiao cukup menghargai peringatan Aesop.
u201cKamu tidak perlu berterima kasih. Floating Dragon dan Planet Aquamarine kini bertetangga. Aku hanya ingin memastikan keamanan lingkungan sekitarnya. Selain itu, di antara orang-orang yang kudengar, ramalanku paling besar dampaknya jatuh di tanganmu. Aku percaya pada kemampuan dan moralitasmu.u201d Aesop melambangkan tangannya.
Mendengar ini, Han Xiao tidak bisa tidak merenungkan betapa jauhnya hal-hal telah berubah.
Dahulu, Han Xiao benar-benar iri pada koneksi kuat Aesop. Namun, seiring waktu ia terus naik, tanpa sadar, ia kini menduduki posisi tertinggi di antara semua orang yang dikenal Aesop.
Aesop rela membahas segala hal dengan ia. Ia telah menjadi orang yang dapat dipercaya di matanya.
Aesop menghela napas dan berkata, u201cAku sudah hidup begitu lama, dan menganggap diriku cerdas. Namun, kamu tetap orang paling mengejutkan yang pernah kudengar seumur hidupku. Aku belum pernah bertemu siapa pun yang begitu ajaib sepertimu. Pertama kaliaku melihatmu, meskipun merasa kamu memiliki masa depan yang cerah, aku tidak pernah bayangkan kamu akan mencapai ketinggian yang tidak pernah tercapai oleh beribu-ribu orang dalam beberapa dekade. Sejarah mungkin akan melupakan diriku, namun ia tak akan pernah melupakanmu.u201d
u201cu2026Apa ini berarti kamu sedang memuji-ku? Kamu sedang membelikaniku.u201d Han Xiao bercanda, namun wajahnya menunjukkan ekspresi yang berkata u201cJangan berhenti.u201d
u201cMungkin karena aku semakin tua, jadi semakin suka mengatakan hal-hal seperti ini.u201d Aesop menghela napas dan dengan serius berkata, u201cTerima kasih sudah membantu Floating Dragon selama ini.u201d Melihat ini, Han Xiao menghapus senyum di wajibnya dan perlahan berkata, u201cPencapaianku tidak bisa dipisahkan dari bantuan Floating Dragon. Tanpa perlindungan Ames di masa lalu, segala sesuatunya tidak akan berjalan lancar. Oleh karena itu, kamu tidak perlu berterima kasih. Segala sesuatu yang kudlaaatkan untuk Floating Dragon adalah karena aku berhutang budi.u201d
Seperti membangun bisnis, memiliki sponsor jauh lebih mudah dibandingkan memulai dari tidak ada. Saat ia lemah, Floating Dragon telah membantu banyak hal. Oleh karena itu, meskipun posisinya di alam semesta jauh lebih tinggi dari Floating Dragon, ia tetap menghormati orang-orang Floating Dragon dan tidak pernah merasa dirinya lebih baik saat berbicara dengan mereka. Terlebih, ia tidak pernah berhenti membantu mereka.
u201cPunya kesempatan untuk membantu seseorang sepertimu mungkin hanya keberuntungan Floating Dragon.u201d Aesop menatapnya dengan ekspresi yang rumit. Dengan suara rendah, ia berkata, u201cAmes seperti anakku, namun seperti yang kamu ketahui, satu-satunya hal yang bisa kudayai adalah ramalan. Aku tidak sekuat sepertimu; kamu bisa melindunginya lebih baik daripada diriku sekarang... Aku sudah hidup begitu lama, dan belum pernah meminta sesuatu dari siapa pun, namun hari ini aku memintamu, lindungi Ames. Aku meninggalkannya untukmu. Aku berharap bahkan setelah ratusan dan ribuan tahun, kamu masih akan mengingat apa yang kukatakan hari ini.u201d
Kemudian, ia memberi Han Xiao pandangan yang penuh makna, membuka pintu, dan keluar dari ruangan. Punggung yang agak condong itu pun menghilang di ujung koridor.
u201cPak tua...u201d
Han Xiao memandangnya keluar dan menghela napas sekelihatan. Ia memahami apa yang dimaksud Aesop.
Meskipun Aesop adalah seorang Eternal, ia sudah tua, dan hampir tidak memiliki kemampuan bertarung. Meskipun ia bisa melihat masa depan, hal yang bisa ia lakukan terbatas. Ia jauh dari makna.
Ia melihat badai yang mungkin terjadi di masa depan, dan bencana yang melihatnya membuatnya cenderung gelisah—sesuatu yang lama tidak terjadi. Ia takut tidak mampu melindungi Ames, sehingga ia merencanakan dengan antara, dan rela meletakkan harga dirinya dengan secara pribadi meminta Black Star agar selalu menjadi pelindung Floating Dragon. Ini adalah bentuk asuransi. Di mata Aesop, Black Star adalah satu-satunya orang yang memiliki kemampuan dan motivasi untuk melindungi Ames, sehingga ia adalah kandidat terbaik yang bisa ia temukan.
Ames tentu saja tidak akan pernah mengatakan hal-hal seperti ini, jadi Ames tidak tahu. Hanya ia yang bisa mengatakannya, dan ia harus mengatakannya. Inilah sebabnya mengapa orang tua itu datang kepadanya terlebih dahulu, berbeda dari sebelumnya—ia takut pada ramalannya sendiri. u201cOrang tua itu menahan sifatnya untuk mencari sensasi dan tinggal puluhan tahun di tempat yang bosan ini, Floating Dragon. Meskipun secara resmi terikat dengan Ames, jika ia ingin pergi, ia pasti bisa. Dan kini, karena ia khawatir akan masa depan Ames, ia meletakkan harga dirinya dan datang memintuku...u201d
Han Xiao tersenyum.
Di kehidupan sebelumnya, Ames menyebabkan kehancuran Floating Dragon untuk balasan dendam. Dilihat dari sudut pandang ini, Aesop memang layak.
Namun, kali ini, aku berada di sini. Aku tidak akan membiarkan hal yang sama terjadi pada Floating Dragon lagi.
Setelah menyelesaikan perasaannya, Han Xiao kembali ke kantor dan memanggil Phillip.
Ia mas masih ingat mencari tahu keberadaan Soul Flame. Dengan otoritas, ia menemukan informasi mengenai Primordial One bernama u2018Soul Emperoru2019 dan dengan cepat menelusuri dokumennya.
Nama sebenarnya Soul Emperor adalah Rovell Sissock. Ia juga memiliki banyakjulukan seperti Raja Jiwa dan Master Rahasia. Ia adalah seorang Primordial One. Sebelum menjadi master Soul Flame, ia sudah merupakan seorang spiritual Esper Beyond Grade A yang sangat kuat.
Orang ini dilahirkan di sebuah peradaban maju yang sudah kuat pada era eksplorasi.
Dahulu, Beyond Grade A baru saja muncul. Dibandingkan dengan kekuatan lain, kekuatan spiritual Esper lebih sulit ditangani. Teknologi pada saat itu tidak mampu menciptakan perangkat pelindung berlapis spiritual yang dapat menghentikan Soul Emperor, sehingga ia bisa dengan mudah menerobos perisai dan armor untuk membunuh atau mengendalikan orang-orang di kapal luar angkasa. Ia dengan cepat dikenal di perang era eksplorasi. Setelah memperoleh Soul Flame, seperti seekor harimau yang tumbuh sayap, ia memenangkan beribu-ribu pertempuran untuk peradabannya dengan kekuatan individu, dan menerima banyak penghargaan serta lencana. Ia dianggap sebagai pahlawan dan pelindung seluruh peradaban.
Namun, setelah peradaban lanjutan mulai mempelajari Beyond Grade A, masa di Mana Para Primordial One tak terkalahkan dengan cepat berlalu. Pertempuran menjadi lebih sulit, dan korban Beyond Grade A mulai muncul.
Soul Emperor bukan pengecualian. Meskipun ia masih kuat bahkan di antara Beyond Grade A, dan masih merupakan salah satu kekuatan terkuat dalam perang galaksi, karena selalu menjadi sasaran saat muncul, sulit baginya berkontribi sebanyak sebelumnya. Ia tidak bisa memutuskan sebuah pertempuran sendirian.
Selain itu, peradabannya menderita banyak kekalahan dalam perang lain. Strategi keseluruhan peradaban terganggu, situasinya semakin memburuk. Karena itu, gaya bertarung Soul Emperor menjadi agresif. Terkadang, bahkan jika harus menerima luka berat, ia tetap berusaha untuk membalikkan arah perang. Meskipun tidak cukup, hal ini menunjukkan betapa ia ingin berkontribusi bagi peradabannya dan betapa setia ia. Para Primordial One pada masa itu tidak seperti Beyond Grade A sekarang. Kebanyakan dari mereka tidak memiliki pemikiran untuk menyelamatkan diri sendiri. Pada perang era eksplorasi, nasib individu hampir seluruhnya terkait dengan nasib peradaban.
Selama bertahun-tahun perang, titik balik datang dengan cepat. Peradaban yang dimiliki Soul Emperor menghadapi musuh-musuh di medan utama perang
Once Han Xiao had digested the information he had just obtained for a while, he pushed open the door and returned to the interrogation room. Aesop, Harrison, and Rody all looked over.
“Your Excellency Black Star, I...” Rody hastily wanted to ask, but Han Xiao raised his hand and stopped him.
“I already know about your situation. Come with me for the time being. I’ll try to solve your issue.”
Han Xiao pondered over what to do about Rody.
Rody was now only a work in progress; he had yet to complete transforming, so he could not control his abilities. He might only become like the Germinal Organization’s Destiny’s Child after completely transforming. However, once the transformation was complete, Rody’s personality would be taken over by a brand-new personality, so he could be considered dead by then in some senses.
A stable and controllable Foreseer would be much more useful than this half-assed Foreseer who fainted occasionally. However, since he had accepted the mission, he did not want to just let the transformation happen. Hence, Han Xiao decided to think of ways to prevent Rody’s transformation as much as he could... And if he could not prevent it, he would not mind getting a new Destiny’s Child.
Judging from Rody’s current state, controlling his whereabouts was a necessity. Han Xiao told Phillip to empty a new private lab on the spaceship and told Harrison to take Rody there, put him into a restoration cabin, and inject hypnosis drugs into him so that studying him would be easier. Rody had no choice but to hold on tight to his only hope and cooperate fully.
After the two of them left, Han Xiao and Aesop were the only ones left in the room. They looked at each other.
“I saw you left for a while earlier. Have you already discovered something?” Aesop asked with curiosity.
“The source of this guy’s mutation might be because he was affected by a certain special Primal Esper Ability...” Han Xiao briefly talked about Destiny’s Child’s information and his experience in the Germinal Organization.
“Destiny’s Child... never heard of it,” Aesop murmured.
“That’s normal. I don’t know much either.”
Aesop coughed and said, “I don’t know much about your past experience, but assuming that the Destiny’s Child you met in the past is also a random product of the Primal Esper Ability Entity like Rody, why would two sub-bodies appear on Planet Aquamarine? If it’s really random over the universe, do you think this is really coincidental?”
That’s nothing. I’ve seen things that are more coincidental...
This thought flashed past Han Xiao’s mind, but he did not show it on his face and agreed. “It is very coincidental indeed.”
“Following this logic, if the mutation occurs on the information level, I think that Planet Aquamarine might be special in some way. Maybe it has a special string of fate or something... I’m not saying this out of the blue. I’ve seen many people who are born with a different string of fate to others...”
Midsentence, Aesop stopped, sized Han Xiao up, and said, “... That’s right, someone like you came out of Planet Aquamarine, as well as Hila, another Beyond Grade A. The rise of the two of you caused your mother planet to be unique. Maybe that’s the reason.”
Han Xiao wanted to say something, but he did not say anything in the end, only patting Aesop’s shoulders.
Smart people are indeed easy to trick. You convinced yourself before I said anything.
“Thanks. Without your prophecy, I would have never noticed this.”
Jokes aside, Han Xiao was quite appreciative of Aesop’s warning.
“You don’t have to thank me. Floating Dragon and Planet Aquamarine are neighbors now. I’m just ensuring the safety of the surrounding residential environment. Plus, among the people I know, my prophecies will have the most impact in your hands. I believe in your abilities and morals.” Aesop waved his hand.
Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but realize how much things had changed.
In the past, Han Xiao really envied Aesop’s powerful connections. However, as he continued to rise, without him realizing, he already now had the highest position among the people Aesop knew.
Aesop was willing to discuss anything with him. He had become reliable in his eyes.
Aesop sighed and said, “I’ve lived so long, and I consider myself to be knowledgeable. Yet, you’re still the most shocking person I’ve ever met in my long life. I’ve never seen anyone as magical as you. The first time I saw you, although I felt that you had a bright future, I would never have expected you to reach heights countless people are never able to reach in just a few decades. History might forget me, but it’ll never forget you.”
“... Why the sudden compliments? You’re flattering me,” Han Xiao joked but revealed an expression that said, ‘Don’t stop.’
“Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, so I like to say these things more and more.” Aesop sighed and earnestly said, “Thank you for helping Floating Dragon all these years.” Seeing this, Han Xiao wiped off the smile on his face and slowly said, “My achievement cannot be separated from the help I’ve received from Floating Dragon. Without Ames’ protection in the past, things would not have gone so smoothly for me. Therefore, you don’t have to thank me. Anything I’ve done for Floating Dragon is what I should do as repayment.”
Just like creating a business, having sponsors would be much easier than starting with nothing. When he was weak, Floating Dragon had helped him a great lot. Therefore, even though his position in the universe was far superior to Floating Dragon, he still held respect for the people of Floating Dragon and never considered himself superior when speaking with them. Plus, he had never stopped helping them.
“Having the opportunity to help someone like you might just be Floating Dragon’s luck.” Aesop’s expression was complicated. He said with a low tone, “Ames is like my daughter, but as you know, the only thing I can do is foresee. I’m not powerful like you guys; you can protect her better than me now... “I’ve lived for many years, and I’ve never asked for anything from anyone, but I’m asking you today, protect Ames. I’m leaving her to you. I hope that even after hundreds and thousands of years, you’ll still remember what I said today.”
Then, he gave Han Xiao a meaningful look, pushed the door open, and walked out the room. His slightly bent back disappeared at the end of the corridor.
“Old man...”
Han Xiao watched him leave and exhaled slightly. He understood what Aesop meant.
Although Aesop was an Eternal, he was getting old, and he hardly had any combat capability. Even though he could see the future, what he could do was limited. He was far from being almighty.
He foresaw the storms that might occur in the future, and the disaster he saw made him feel worried, something he had not felt in a very long time. He was afraid that he was not capable of protecting Ames, so he planned ahead and was willing to put down his pride to privately ask Black Star to always be the protector of Floating Dragon. This was a form of insurance. In Aesop’s eyes, Black Star was the only one who had both the capability and motive to protect Ames, so he was the best candidate he could find.
Ames would absolutely never say these things, so Ames knew only he could say it, and he had to say it. This was why the old man came to him first unlike before-he got scared by his own prophecy. “The old man suppressed his nature of looking for thrills and stayed for decades in such a boring place, Floating Dragon. Although he’s grounded by Ames on paper, if he wanted to leave, he definitely could. And now, because he’s worried about Ames’ future, he ignored his pride and came to ask me for something...”
Han Xiao smiled.
In his previous life, Ames caused Floating Dragon to be destroyed for the sake of revenge. Looking at it now, Aesop was certainly worth
However, this time, I’m here. I won’t let the same thing happen to Floating Dragon.
Tidying up his emotions, Han Xiao returned to the office and summoned Phillip.
He still remembered about searching for where Soul Flame ended up in. Using his authority, he found the information about the Primordial One ‘Soul Emperor’ and quickly browsed through it.
Soul Emperor’s real name was Rovell Sissock. He also had other nicknames such as the King of Souls and Master of Secrets. He was a Primordial One. Before becoming the master of Soul Flame, he was already a powerful Beyond Grade A spiritual Esper.
This person was born in an advanced civilization that was already a powerful civilization in the exploration era.
Back then, Beyond Grade As had only just appeared. Compared to other abilities, spiritual Esper Abilities were more difficult to deal with. The technology at that time could not give birth to any spiritual barrier devices that could stop Soul Emperor, so he could easily penetrate the shields and armor to kill or control the people in spaceships. He made a name for himself in the exploration era war very quickly. After obtaining Soul Flame, like a tiger growing wings, he won countless battles for his civilization in the war using his individual strength and received countless honors and medals. He was seen as the hero and protector of the entire civilization.
However, as all the advanced civilizations started to study the Beyond Grade As, the era when the Primordial Ones were invincible quickly passed. Battles became tougher, and Beyond Grade A casualties started to appear.
Soul Emperor was no exception. Although he was still powerful even among the Beyond Grade As and he was still one of the strongest forces in galactic battles, since he would be targeted every time he appeared, it became tough for him to contribute as much as he did before. He could no longer decide a battle on his own.
Plus, his civilization suffered multiple losses in other battles. The civilization’s overall strategy was heavily affected, and the situation gradually grew worse. Because of that, Soul Emperor’s fighting style became aggressive. Sometimes, even if it meant he had to suffer heavy injuries, he would still try to turn the battle around. Although it was not enough, this showed how much he wanted to contribute to his civilization and how loyal he was. The Primordial Ones back then were unlike the Beyond Grade As now. Most of them did not have the mindset of putting themselves first. In the exploration era war, the fate of individuals was almost totally tied with the fate of civilizations.
Over the long years of war, the turning point quickly came. The civilization Soul Emperor belonged to faced multiple enemies on the main battlefield, which spanned two Star Systems. The civilization dispatched a large number of military forces, and a decisive battle began.
Countless fleets fought intensely on many battlefronts. The situation changed every second. At the peak of the battle, this civilization was faced with a choice...
Soul Emperor was being targeted and surrounded. He was exhausted and needed reinforcements urgently. Meanwhile, an extremely crucial battlefront also requested immediate backup.
If the fight on this battlefront was lost, it would cause chain reactions and might cause the entire war to slip into the abyss of defeat. However, if they were able to win on this battlefront, they would obtain a huge strategic advantage and have much higher chances of winning. This was also the reason the enemies kept sending troops into this battlefield. At this point of time, this civilization had already dispatched most of its forces into the battlefield and had very few fleets that were available to be deployed. They knew that if they sent reinforcements to both sides, there might be a chance they could save Soul Emperor, but they would definitely not be able to guard the crucial battlefront.
That was where the choice lay... which side they should send their reinforcements to.
To the civilization, this choice did not seem difficult at all.
They abandoned Soul Emperor and decided to put all the reinforcements into that crucial battlefront. The results were just as they expected. They successfully won the fight on that battlefront, obtained a decisive advantage, gradually forced the enemies to retreat, and finally won this war.
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