The Sorcerer's Handbook

Burn the Heaven of Omniscience to the ground and burn away the entire web of fate?

Ashe's words could only be described as arrogant, yet no one felt contempt or disdain toward him after hearing them. They did not sound like empty boasts or words spoken without thought. Instead, everyone could hear the deep resolve hidden within his voice.

Dia looked at Ashe inside the vine fortress, tears filling her eyes. "No. I don't want to wait until later... I'll burn the web right now and make a wish to keep you here!"

"Did you forget? Once we leave that place, you won't be able to choose anymore," Ashe snorted softly as he spoke. "If the divine summoning had happened first and the wishing ceremony came afterward, perhaps everything would have turned out differently... But the Omniscient Weaver's dictionary doesn't contain the word 'if.' Every one of her schemes was flawless. Those spiders didn't leave us a single opening. Still, we didn't lose everything. At least you've become the true Gospel Empress."

Ashe blinked at her. "When you find me, or if I find a chance to return, we'll bankrupt the Omniscient Weaver together, then storm Heaven and take her position. How about that?"

"You're all lying to me..." Dia broke down. She bit her lower lip tightly as large tears rolled down her cheeks, her voice trembling with sobs. "Everyone is bullying me! The Empress is like this, the Gospel is like this, the Angels are like this, the Weaver is like this... even you are like this!

"You said we were going to become a family. You were the one who said it! I never forced you. How can you go back on your word? How can you..."

She swung her tiny fists against the vine fortress. "...not want me..."

Ashe smiled. "We're already family. When I know that no matter where I go, there is someone thinking about me, then I know I still have somewhere I can return to. No matter what happens, I won't become a stray dog. My heart will always be filled with the happiness of having a home."

"No, we can still stay together," Dia gritted her teeth. I can make it discover that I'm also the Gospel's First. Even if it refuses to release you, it will at least take me away as well. Then we can get summoned together!"

"Sure, you can," Ashe replied calmly. "But when you were in Heaven just now, why didn't you choose to burn the web and make a wish? Why didn't you refuse to inherit the legacy of the web? Instead, you chose to inherit it, took hold of the unfinished threads, and continued weaving the future of the Gospel."

Dia froze.

"If you chose to leave with me, it would be no different from burning the web away. It would mean directly ripping out the foundation of the Gospel Kingdom's civilization. After that, civilization would inevitably collapse," Ashe looked at her. "Do you think you could accept those consequences?"

"Why the hell should she care about that?" Harvey interrupted. "People only need to take responsibility for themselves. If you tried to save the world out of kindness but failed in the end, does that mean the world's suffering should be blamed on you?"

"Harvey, that's the difference between a good and a bad child," Ashe smiled. "There will always be people who feel joy in the happiness of others, grieve at their suffering, celebrate another's triumphs, and burn with anger at another's misfortunes... don't think Lys needs to carry the future of the Gospel on her shoulders either. I only want to know why she was willing to shoulder that responsibility."

Dia shouted, "I don't want to be a good child! What do the people of the Gospel have to do with me? I don't care if they all die, die, die!"

"Then why did you choose to continue weaving the future of the Gospel?"

Dia sniffed hard. "I just thought it looked cooler that way... and I felt like you would praise me! I don't care about the Gospel at all. I don't need praise from strangers I don't even know. I only need... I only want..."

"Alright," Ashe's voice softened. "Then come with me."

Quinna, Evelyn, and the others stared in disbelief. Even Dia was stunned. She wiped away her tears and asked, "Are you willing to let me follow you?"

Ashe smiled. "Why wouldn't I be? With a family member by my side who possesses the power of a Divine Spirit, what reason would I have to refuse?"

Dia remembered the apocalyptic images she had seen on the Art and other rankings. She hesitated. "But if I do that, the Gospel will be destroyed. Will you blame me?"

Ashe looked at her. "I don't think that label is entirely accurate, but my hometown is technically the Blood Moon Kingdom. If the Gospel Kingdom suffers a disaster, I will sympathize with them. But I will never resent you for it.

"Whatever you choose, be it the path of the Empress, an ordinary life, or even bringing chaos, I will walk beside you. I hope you won't regret your choice, but humans inevitably experience regret. Those who never regret anything are either saints or demons. Sometimes, after arguing with Iger, I even regret not coming up with a cleverer insult."

Iger snorted coldly.

Ashe went on, "So I hope you choose a path where, even if you regret it someday, you can share that regret with me. As long as you don't hide somewhere alone and drown in regret, I will always pull you back up."

Dia stared at him foolishly through the gaps between the vines. Tears trembled in her eyes as she sniffed. "You're cheating again..."

She bit her lip. "You're bullying me. You know I won't just leave with you, so that's why you're saying all these beautiful things!"

"That's right," Ashe smiled. "Because Lys is a kind and good child. And besides... The amnesiac princess had already returned home. The wandering knight should also know when to let go."

Whoosh!

Suddenly, with a muffled sound, Harvey was wrapped up by the vines and dragged into the vine fortress, landing right beside Ashe.

Ashe was stunned. "How did you get caught?"

Harvey answered briefly, "I was too tired. I was listening to you two talk and didn't notice."

He paused. "My original intention was to go with you anyway."

"Why would you follow me?"

The necromancer countered, "Why wouldn't I follow you? Right now, Alice is inside Pankey's card, and the card is in my bag... I have nothing left in the Gospel."

Ashe understood what he meant. There was nothing left in the Gospel for Harvey to hold onto.

He shook his head helplessly. Then, as if sensing something, he turned around and met the gaze of the Purple Moth.

Annan was holding baby Pankey in her arms, her eyes filled with hesitation and pain.

"These vines may be easy enough to avoid, but they will still become dangerous if this drags on. You should leave first."

Annan took a deep breath. "Ashe, I..."

"Annan," Quinna called out, "don't forget that you still have a contract with me. You are now a member of the Senheiser family, which means you must return to Vanmura and live there."

"Then dissolve the contract!" Annan retorted. "I have the Tongue of Liberation. As long as we are both in agreement, the contract can be voided right h—"

Quinna's voice remained calm. "I refuse."

"On what grounds can you refuse?"

"On the grounds that I am your mother."

"You..."

"Annan!" Ashe suddenly shouted.

Annan instantly sensed the vines lunging toward her. She instinctively dodged, leaping to a safe position.

At that moment, she saw Ashe wink mischievously at her.

"Miss, stop sitting on the fence," Ashe smiled. "You dodged just now, which means you've already made your decision. While I'm gone, help me take care of Lys. Also, the way you're holding Pankey must be uncomfortable for him. Use the same carry I used earlier, the airplane hold[1]."

Annan looked somewhat lost, yet she let out a relieved sigh, smiling helplessly. "If only you had lifted the blanket that night..."

Ashe looked confused. "Huh?"

Before long, his attention was drawn to someone else. Iger.

The fraudster was dodging vines while looking at the ground, his expression calm as if he had not heard their conversation at all. As if sensing the cult leader's gaze, he raised his head and asked teasingly, "What? Do you think I'll foolishly follow you into some unknown place of danger like Harvey?"

Ashe said nothing.

The fraudster smiled. "Even with you owing me a wish, following you just for that would be incredibly foolish. Rejoice. You are the only person to successfully escape despite owing me a debt."

Ashe remained silent.

"Besides, I doubt there is anywhere else more suitable for displaying my talents than the Gospel Kingdom. Even if Lys doesn't favor me, as long as she doesn't target me, I am confident I can build something great in the Gospel Kingdom. Oh, right. I'm already a Three-Winged Sacred Realm. Even establishing a family conglomerate would be well within my qualifications."

Ashe shrugged.

"Also..." The fraudster suddenly approached Anphel. Under her surprised gaze, he wrapped an arm around her slender waist. "Just as you wished, I can still join the Belldet Family and directly inherit centuries of accumulated wealth from a household with Angel inheritance. Society, connections, even fate itself are all on my side. I have no reason to leave the Gospel Kingdom."

Ashe looked at Iger. After a brief silence, he spoke, "Iger. Even after all that we have been through, I still don't quite understand you. I don't know whether you're angry, happy, excited, anxious, or something else... You always hide yourself too well. I can't figure you out, and I don't know what I should say to you."

A smile broke across his face. "But I'm glad... I'm glad that the first person I met back in Shattered Lake was you. I have been really fortunate to have met you, Iger."

The smile on the fraudster's face disappeared. He looked at the cult leader with a strange expression.

By now, the vine fortress was almost completely woven.

The vines that had been chasing the Echoers outside suddenly split apart, accelerated, and surged forward, as if their previous slow movements had only been preparation for this final burst.

The sudden speed caught everyone off guard. However, almost everyone here was a sorcerer. The vines might be near-invincible, but the floor, pillars, and walls were not. They had countless ways to reposition themselves.

Evelyn, however, felt her heart sink. She could save herself, but her younger sister, Anphel, was not a sorcerer. Against a vine assault of this scale, an ordinary person had no chance of dodging.

It's over! thought Evelyn. While retreating, she shouted urgently, "Anphel, dodge!"

"Ah!"

Hearing her sister's scream, Evelyn whipped her head around. The sight that met her eyes knocked the breath right out of her.

Anphel had been forced into a corner with nowhere left to run. Just as the vines were about to grab her, a golden-haired young man stepped forward, blocking every single vine in front of her.

Iger sighed. "I told you to be careful and not drag others down with you..."

The fraudster stopped resisting, allowing the vines to bind him and drag him into the fortress.

Watching this, Anphel suddenly felt courage rising within her for reasons unknown. She rushed forward and hugged him. Under the fraudster's stunned gaze, she leaned closer and gave him a light kiss.

With his entire being immobilized, left without the slightest ability to struggle, the red-haired maiden succeeded. Anphel looked at him with sparkling eyes. "I'll consider myself already married to you. Remember to come back soon and give me a home."

As Iger was dragged into the fortress, the green vines suddenly began glowing with a faint emerald light.

Space started distorting. Ashe looked around and called out, "Miss Evelyn, Miss Anphel, Lady Quinna, Lady Nona, Miss Annan, Pankey..."

Eventually, his gaze settled on Lys.

Dia gave the final moment of farewell to Little Witch. Lys sniffled and waved at him with all her strength. She shouted, "Daddy! I'll definitely find you!"

"Good. We'll definitely come back," replied Ashe.

The next second, the vine fortress converged into a singular dot and vanished from the Gospel Kingdom.

***

"Unto Ashe Heath, First of the Omniscient and Almighty Gospel! Let Thy divine grace descend, that all creatures of the Oasis may find salvation under Thy mantle!"

Perhaps because this was not a prayer of the Four Pillars Cult, Ashe found it surprisingly pleasant to hear.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself inside a magnificent palace.

He was sitting upon a stone throne, with Iger and Harvey kneeling on either side of him. Judging from their positions, the vines had probably helped hold them in place.

Ashe lifted his head.

Sunlight passed through the stained glass windows in the ceiling, scattering throughout the palace. Combined with the exquisite and sacred torch stands, there was almost no darkness anywhere inside.

The entire palace was bright and radiant, making one feel refreshed just looking at it.

The worshippers kneeling before them were not wearing black robes either. Instead, they wore proper red priest robes. At the front stood several white-bearded old men who looked dignified and respected.

Looking at this scene, Ashe inevitably felt a little moved. Not a prayer of the Four Pillars Cult. Not an underground hall. Not people in black robes.

At that moment, a red-robed priest stepped forward and respectfully knelt before them. "We bid Thee welcome, O Gospel's First!"

Ashe exchanged a glance with Iger and Harvey, giving a brief, "Mm."

They instantly reached the same consensus. Keep your image as the Gospel's First for now. We'll figure out what to do next.

Ashe replied, "I have arrived."

"Magnificent! Truly magnificent!" While speaking, the red-robed priest suddenly broke into tears. "Gospel's First, you arrived at the perfect time!"

A bad premonition rose within Ashe almost instantly. However, he was now the omniscient and almighty Gospel's First. Asking questions too directly would arouse suspicion, so he could only continue with the conversation. "Now that I have descended, the threads of fate must yield."

"Verily! With the Gospel's First among us, the destiny of the Oasis shall be forged anew! The hour of the wicked is at hand, and the majesty of the Calamity Flame shall endure unto eternity!"

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Just as the red-robed priests filled with excitement, the palace doors suddenly burst open.

A young red-robed priest rushed inside and shouted, "Something terrible has happened—"

"Silence!" The old red-robed priest reprimanded him. "The Gospel's First has descended! The Calamity Flame shall never be extinguished! Leith, how dare you lose your composure before the Gospel's First? According to the teachings—"

"Wait," Ashe quickly interrupted. "Do you have some news to report?"

The young red-robed priest took several heavy breaths. He bowed respectfully toward Ashe before speaking. "The Four Pillars Cult... The Four Pillars Cult has launched an attack!"

1. An airplane hold means carrying a baby face-down along your forearm like a flying airplane. The baby's chest rests against your arm while their arms and legs dangle comfortably, which puts gentle pressure on their tummy to soothe gas and lets you carry them securely with one hand. ☜