Nothing can stop an alchemist's curiosity.

Just as human ambition can never be contained, it is no different from the so-called 'hope', the so-called 'ideal' and the so-called 'desire'.

Whether they are called good or evil, there is no difference in their nature.

If the living have original sin, then this original sin is always present in life from the moment the eyes are opened.

For the alchemists of Helios, the existence of this sin was even more important.

A soul that has lost its curiosity has no value in existence, what kind of alchemist is it to be satisfied with the fruits of the status quo, and what kind of alchemist is it that no longer desires more alchemists?!

For this 'thirst for knowledge' that extends to hell, they have paid many sacrifices, including their own souls and lives, and they still refuse to stop, not knowing what to do or what to do.

In order to master the power of the gods, you need to have the right talents.

If you don't have talent, then rely on those who have talent! If you can't get talent, then create talent itself!

This is the origin of all this.

In order to be able to create the alchemist who took that step, they spent a long time, at an endless cost, gathering all the techniques they could use to overcome all the problems that stood in their way.

It's not just essentia, soulology, and creation in alchemy...... and even genetics, life sciences, eugenics, and so on and so forth!

All the technology that can be used, all must be obtained.

Everything that can be helped, then put it all into it.

Endure the grind, explore the unknown, and overcome difficulties.

In the end, what was obtained was the existence of a man-made Grand Master!

When everyone was about to despair, it came like salvation!

All the costs, it's worth it!

All sacrifices are about to be rewarded.

But until then, before the man-made Grand Master succeeds...... There are more test products, more failed products, more defective products, and unusable waste, born from the kettle of life.

It's like those ashes buried in obscurity in a cemetery.

Long before the birth of 'Publius', he had countless blood relatives dying in the darkness.

It is precisely because of this that Hedi came to this world.

He was born even before Publius.

Unfortunately, after examination, although Hedi possessed amazing talents, he still could not reach the realm of the Great Grandmaster.

There may be the possibility of improving the abilities of ordinary people, but unfortunately, before he was born, the upper limit of Hedi was already doomed...... He can only be sealed and existing as a defect in the control group when the verification is successful in the future.

From the day he was able to understand the words, he got the truth of his birth.

But Hedi has never had any resentment about this.

Not everyone is born whole, and there are babies who are born without siblings, or who are blind and deaf, right?

It's just a slight misfortune, and there are some obstacles, but it can still be overcome.

He accepted his fate, his future, and everything.

Even if they were never perfect, just like themselves, they were born crippled.

And now, he finally stood in front of the Great Grandmaster.

became his enemy.

"That's amazing, Hedi. ”

Garland opened his mouth and vomited hot blood: "I see him as an opponent, but I ignore you." ”

"The gap above the talent has long been over all this, and rightfully so. ”

Hedi calmly pulled out his dagger: "A small character like me, a clown like a courtier, you shouldn't care about me." ”

Garland stumbled to the ground, but before he could hit the ground, Hedi raised his hand, and an invisible force tugged at him, levitating him in midair.

Behind Hedi, those vague mimic spirits quickly contracted, turning into chains, pulling on Garand's limbs, forcibly shackling him.

Immediately afterward, the blockade formed by the souls of the alchemists began to spread.

A pitch-black matrix emerged from Garand's shell, multiplying and sealing off inside and out like a cage.

This is a living seal.

Unlike those rigid shackles, only the will of the alchemists can completely cut off Garand from the outside world at all times.

He was not even allowed to die.

As the scars closed, only drops of residual blood fell to the ground.

"Don't worry, brother, I won't kill you. ”

Hedi said coldly, "Just confine you here, it's enough." ”

Although some women are kind, in fact, this is the safest and most sensible thing to do.

If the enemy is a great master, you can't underestimate the other party at any time.

Now that Publius is about to succeed, who knows what kind of changes will be caused if he kills Garand, and what terrible damage can be caused by a great grandmaster who sacrifices his life?

Just imprison him.

Lockdown and detention.

Completely powerless.

Make sure that he is cut off from all contact with the outside world, and becomes a mere spectator, a powerless bystander.

Garland turned his head with difficulty, looked at the matrix around him, and couldn't help but shake his head.

"Who did you learn this from?"

"Isn't it similar to what you did to Publius?"

Hedi told him, "You gave me this inspiration - it is much easier to deal with a great master alive than dead. ”

"I just...... I hope he can figure it out, think clearly, who he is...... What exactly do you want to do? ”

Garland laughed hoarsely: "I didn't expect that the Moon Prison couldn't control him, as early as the last time I saw him, I already understood that he had escaped...... In ways I didn't think of. ”

"It's his fate, isn't it?"

"This is not 'his' fate, Hedi, shouldn't you know that clearly?"

Garland retorted indifferently, "His obsession is stronger than I thought, but where does this obsession of yours come from? In order to create gods, you do not hesitate to create hell...... When did you get to that point?"

Hedi thought for a moment and shrugged: "People change, don't they?"

"Yes, but are you really changing for yourself?"

Garland raised his eyes and stared at his face, this former friend and 'blood relative', "The Hedi in my memory should be a person who realizes his own flaws and hopes that others can be happy!"

Since when have you become like this, Hedi, after realizing the limits of your abilities, or after listening to the bewitchment of the Piper, after becoming the Chief, after inheriting the mad knowledge and contamination of the alchemists?

Did you really do it all from the original idea?"

Garland asked hoarsely, "Do you remember who you were, Hedi?"

In the long silence, Hedi did not speak.

Just quietly, staring at the sun wheel in the distance that gradually fell and fell towards the Black Tower.

After a long time, he laughed silently.

It's like hearing a ridiculous joke.

"It's just a change, isn't it?"

He turned around and asked suspiciously, "Is there any difference between being changed by the Pied Piper and being changed by other people? When you say this, don't you find that you have also been changed by the world of the Astronomical Society?" by the Stone Cauldron Society, by your students, by your friends, by everything you have encountered......

People are all subject to change, nothing more than change for the better and for the worse.

It's ridiculous that you see 'change' as a disaster—isn't the person in the world who wants to maintain himself, hates change the most, and wants to be eternal the most right in front of your eyes?"

He raised his hand and pointed to the Tower of Darkness in the distance.

That Grand Master Publius who laughed and opened his arms to embrace the Void Sun Wheel!

"Behold, I want to be immortal, I want not to be worn away by this world...... The price is to destroy the world. "It's that simple, you just don't want to understand it." ”

Garland didn't speak, or rather, didn't want to say anything more.

Any kind of counsel is useless to a madman.

"By the way, there's one more thing you might be thinking wrong. Hedi told him earnestly: "I chose my own depravity, not because of anything else—it was not the Piper who bewitched me, it was I who took the initiative to find the Piper." ”

“...... Why?"

Garland's pupils froze for a moment.

Incredulous, raised his head.

I saw Hedi's disdainful eyes.

"Not everyone can choose freedom without any responsibility like you. ”

The 'culprit' who destroyed Helios with his own hands raised his head and looked down at the 'savior' in front of him who was trying to save everything: "Isn't this what you caused?"

Didn't I ask you at the time? But you don't care what happens when you're gone, do you?

You don't care about everyone's sacrifices and expectations of you, you just think about yourself, but what can I do?

I'm just trying to do my mission in your place—is it wrong to want to be rewarded for all the sacrifices I've made?"

Garland didn't look at him again.

I just felt a burst of absurdity and mockery, but I couldn't laugh at all.

I want to be angry, but I don't even have the strength to be angry.

"You're even weirder than me. He Di asked coldly, "Since you are gone, why do you want to come back?"

yes, why do you want to come back?

Go back to the cage you once escaped from and see it as hell.

Garland raised his head, stared at the dark universe, and sighed self-deprecatingly for a long time: "Probably because of ...... I regret it. ”

Regret.

But it's too late to regret it......

Regret and run away from your fate.

Regret and ...... the only 'friend' and the only remaining 'blood relative' Push on such an ending.

Even though they are quick and happy on the road to destruction.

Maybe a little bit of hatred.

Hate Helios, hate the gods who leave secrets, and hate the insane who are obsessed...... What I hate the most is that I created all this with my own hands for the sake of freedom.

When he wanted to get his original destiny back and put everything back on track, he was already Garland. He was Grand Master Garand, no longer Publius, and had nothing to do with Helios.

When he finally made up his mind, it was too late.

Perhaps, this is his price.

"Well, at least you're back home, aren't you?" Hedi said with a 'thoughtful' relief: "After many years of wandering, you're finally back where you should have been." ”

"Home?"

Garland choked and shook his head: "There is only ambition, arrogance and sin here, Hedi, that kind of thing, it never existed......"

"No, it exists, it's always been here. ”

Hedi looked up at the shattered Helios.

Look at the tumbling steel earth, and the thick pipes exposed below, ancient equipment, huge facilities, countless workshops, and many more secrets.

"Behold, this is our home. ”

"It's a pity it's not a warm place, and it doesn't love such extravagant things, at best, it's just an assembly line." ”

"We are tools, we are parts, we are cogs who are destined for everything. We did everything we could to fulfill our mission, and in the end we were damaged and abandoned.

Now, the time for production has finally arrived—"

Hedi turned his head and smiled, as he had done many years ago, in a soft greeting:

"Welcome home, brother. ”