Yet, even though the Book of Kael presented every detail to Feng, it never revealed the reason behind these actions.
In other words, all the things Feng did in both the Abyss and the Tidal World, he didn’t know why he was doing them.
Time flew by, and it wasn’t until Feng followed the Book of Kael’s guidance, starting to lay the groundwork in both worlds, that he vaguely sensed that all his actions were merely preparations. These preparations would one day, in the future, become waves of destiny, pushing someone to break the impasse, writing the final symphonic Chapter.
...
After listening to Feng’s story, Angel was taken aback for quite a while.
He always thought that the one orchestrating it all, putting him in this position, was the root of all evil—Mirafil Feng.
But unexpectedly, before the conclusion emerged, Feng was actually in the same blinded state as he was, except Feng was just blindly following while Angel was truly blind.
Feng was merely the executor; it was the Book of Kael that set it all up.
Coming to this realization, Angel reflected on his journey from the Abyss, discovering that these stacked layers of plots were terrifyingly perfect, something far beyond what Feng could have orchestrated alone.
His direction, his thoughts, every choice he made seemed to be laid bare before the mastermind.
And each of Angel’s decisions also involved the surrounding others.
In other words, this was no mere setup but rather a grand stage where countless people were pulled on to be supporting characters in this predetermined play. Angel, on the other hand, was destined to be the protagonist.
The intricacies involved were truly numerous. It’s important to note that even if Angel had a sudden flash of insight and decided not to go to the Abyss, or if he chose to take a different path when faced with a crossroads, many things would have changed.
In such a scenario where the variables were almost uncontrollable, to set up such a perfect plot was indeed beyond human capability.
Feng couldn’t do it, nor could other Prophet Wizards, even those capable of performing miracles.
Only a Mysterious Object like the Book of Kael could disregard all logical reality, effortlessly laying out such an almost impossible scheme.
Because of this realization, Angel did not doubt Feng’s account.
His slight anger toward Feng also partly dissipated. Although there remained some deep-seated discontent, after all, Feng was the instigator, which could not be denied.
However, aside from the negative perception of Feng, Angel also felt a certain gratitude toward him. The reason being, Feng’s original intention was also Angel’s – he did not wish for the Demon God’s catastrophe to descend upon the Southern Domain. Of course, Angel hadn’t realized that he himself would ultimately be the one to prevent the catastrophe.
"I have already told you everything about the Book of Kael. Do you have any more questions?" Feng gave Angel some time to ponder until Angel came back to his senses before he asked.
Angel thought for a moment, then said, "I understand the general situation, but what I don’t quite understand is, the affair with the Demon God could have been concluded in the Abyss. Why did it involve a whole lot of things with the Tidal World afterward?"
In Angel’s view, starting from when Odeclass gave him the ornate Pattern Key, to the subsequent journey to the Tidal World, it all seemed of little importance.
This had little to do with the original intention of the scheme—to prevent the Demon God’s catastrophe from descending upon the Southern Domain.
So, why was there a need to set up a Tidal World scheme afterward?
Feng chuckled lightly, "In novels, when a hero defeats an evil dragon, they often find the dragon’s hidden Gold Coin or a beautiful princess taken captive, rewards arranged by the author for the hero’s victory over the dragon."
"Although the Book of Kael is not a novel, it follows a similar principle that you reap what you sow."
In other words, the scheme in the Abyss is the battle checkpoint, while the scheme in the Tidal World is the reward checkpoint. Angel’s previous speculation was indeed correct.
"Is the treasure the reward?" Angel paused for a moment: "You provided this reward?"
Feng nodded: "That’s right, since it’s my request to the Book of Kael, naturally, I must bear the cost."
"What if you don’t pay? After all, your request is already completed, you could completely disregard the rules of the Book of Kael."
"I wish I could," Feng shrugged, "but it’s not allowed."
"Why not?"
Feng: "Whether it is the Tidal World or the Abyss, they both belong to a single scheme. Remember, it’s ’a’ scheme, not ’two’ separate schemes. If it were two schemes, they could be split apart, but for a single scheme, if I don’t pay the price, the scheme cannot be considered complete."
"If I really pocket this reward, I assure you, unexpected incidents will arise in this scheme. Perhaps the Lord of the Flameless will soon find new opportunities, quickly gaining a new True Spirit, once again descending upon the Southern Domain; or another Demon God might suddenly become interested in visiting the Southern Domain..."
"Therefore, this scheme must be complete. The Tidal World is also an indispensable part of this scheme."
"The keeper of the Book of Kael once told me a saying: fate will not easily let speculators go."
"Here, ’fate’ refers to the fate written by the Book of Kael. If not completed, being targeted by the Book of Kael would indeed be troublesome."
For this reason, even if Feng felt heartbroken over the treasure, he dared not break the rules.
Angel noticed that when Feng mentioned "paying the price" and "treasure," a touch of heartache always flashed in his eyes. This reminded him of what Frost Iser and Nami Midori had mentioned. Feng, while setting the treasure, looked reluctant and pained, much like the current situation.
Angel was very curious about what exactly this treasure was that made Feng... even his painted consciousness felt heartbroken.
Angel voiced the doubts in his mind.
It seemed Feng had expected Angel to ask this question, he sighed deeply, and from the starry cloak, slowly took out a small metal box.
With a look of reluctance, Feng placed the box down, but ultimately pushed it towards Angel.
"This is the greatest treasure Feng left behind."
Angel looked at the metal box displayed on the table. It was a box no larger than a palm, about the size of a child’s pocket watch, with a similar thickness, not seeming to hold much.
Yet, just this small box held Feng’s deeply pained gaze, which couldn’t help but spark Angel’s intense curiosity.