Chapter 491 - 105: New Testament Exegesis
"You think he’s making such a show of all this just to uncover talent and explore the world?" Ambrosius shook his head. "No, Adrian. He’s trying to save himself. He believes that by unifying the Wizards’ body of knowledge under the name of ’Priest’ and breaking down the School Barriers, he can find a Path to anchor himself and avoid being completely lost in the tide of Elementalization."
"Hah. If fusing knowledge and breaking down barriers could solve the ultimate problem of Elementalization, then why didn’t the ancient Wizards before the Dawn—those who possessed far more complete legacies and broader networks of exchange than we do today—find a solution? Were their libraries not vast enough? Was their communication not frequent enough? Were their power and knowledge not immense enough?"
He stood up and paced to the window, his back to Adrian, gazing out at the squares of the Holy City where the new doctrine was being preached.
"So, Adrian, rein in your anger. Swallow your hatred. What we must do now is not directly oppose this seemingly mad tide. On the contrary, we must... help him."
"Help him!" Adrian whipped his head around, staring at Ambrosius’s back in disbelief.
"Yes, help him," Ambrosius affirmed. "We will use our remaining influence within the College of Cardinals, use the moderates who are equally terrified but dare not speak out, and even use the opportunists tempted by new gains... We will push for the swift construction of the Tower of Revelation, facilitate the wider distribution of the ’Priest’ textbooks, and encourage more ’talented’ young people to throw themselves into this cause. Let him believe his plan is proceeding smoothly, that his ’new Path’ is being accepted."
He slowly turned, the cold smile on his face widening slightly. "Let him build his tower to his heart’s content, let him weave his beautiful dream. Let him pin all his hopes on this system that is doomed to fail at solving the fundamental problem. Let him walk further and further down this path, sink deeper and deeper, and invest more and more of his effort and hope..."
Ambrosius paused, then said, word by word, "And then, when he is standing at the top of the seemingly magnificent tower he built with his own hands, believing he has finally found the solution... we will activate the contingency left behind by the Balance Keepers and push that ’catalyzing’ force to its absolute limit."
"We will make him face the complete, uncontrolled loss of his Elementalization process and ultimate despair at the very moment he is most triumphant, when he believes he has finally seen a glimmer of hope. The shock of plummeting from the heavens into the abyss... that will be the final straw that shatters his consciousness, forcing him to complete that final ’transformation’ as quickly as possible, and then... ’depart’."
Adrian listened to Ambrosius’s calm explanation, his voice still trembling with indignation.
"I... I understand what you mean, Ambrosius. But... I hate it! To watch these blasphemies be treated as gospel, to see Oriane so desecrated and twisted... every moment feels like I’m being roasted alive!"
Ambrosius walked back to him and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, his aged eyes staring directly into the eyes behind Adrian’s lenses.
"I hate it too, Adrian. More than anyone." A trace of irrepressible, bone-deep hatred finally leaked into Ambrosius’s voice. "But we must endure. A moment of impatience can ruin a grand design. Remember, all the filth and distortion they inflict upon Oriane today... one day, after that Demon ’departs,’ when we set things right and restore order... it will all be cleansed and repaid a hundred, a thousand times over! Only then will the humiliation of today reveal its true worth."
Adrian and Ambrosius looked at each other, and silence fell over the study.
The only sound was the faint preaching about the "Priest" and the "Breath of Oriel" drifting in from outside the window, distant and indistinct, like the laughable clamor of another world.
After a long moment, Adrian took a deep breath. A measure of his usual composure returned to his face, but the gaze behind his lenses had become as still as deep water.
"I understand," he said in a low voice. He bent down and picked up the copy of *Breath of Oriel* he had slammed on the table, gently brushing non-existent dust from its cover as if it were a precious, fragile object.
"For... the day we set things right."