People from the Fantasy Supervision are coming, and Renji naturally wouldn’t refuse. Taking advantage of a break in the conversation, William started to chat with Renji again.
“Just now, I heard from an employee that Dr. Renji and Professor Einstein had a very enjoyable conversation, discussing many topics about the great emperor. Being able to have such in-depth exchanges with an authority in the academic world, Dr. Renji’s scholarly foundation is truly admirable.”
“It wasn’t as enjoyable as you say. Rather, it was Professor Einstein who pointed out and corrected many of my mistakes.”
“Ha, Dr. Renji is being modest. Speaking of which, I’ve always had a question about the emperor that I wanted to ask. Now that we have this spare moment, I’m very curious. How do you view ‘The Ashen Emperor’ as a legendary figure?”
William appeared to be listening intently to this question, and Renji quickly followed up after giving it some thought by saying:
“In my view, Emperor Ashen is more like a symbol of an era than a person.”
“A symbol of an era?” William obviously didn’t understand.
“Yes, I believe that even if there was no Emperor Ashen, there would be a next one, be it the Remnant Emperor, the Dark Emperor, the Fear Emperor. The era of the Eclipse is bound to end, the world will surely welcome salvation. The emperor is a symbol of salvation; anyone could become the emperor, it just so happened that this time it was someone named ‘Ashen’ who took it, nothing more.”
It was evident that Renji’s words completely exceeded William’s expectations, making the supervisor open his mouth as if it took him a long while to recover.
Afterward, William said with a bit of admiration: “Should I say Dr. Renji’s perspective is novel, or bold? I’ve never heard any scholar dare to evaluate the emperor like this. You are the first. Indeed, there’s a reason Professor Einstein would chat with you.”
“However,” William’s tone changed.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Renji, but my view is exactly opposite to yours. You think the era makes the man, but I believe it’s a man that makes the era.”
“It’s not that the world would necessarily have an emperor, but rather, because of Ashen, the world was saved, and we can sit here chatting.”
“Speaking of which, have you ever heard of the Old Alliance?”
Before Renji could answer, William continued as if talking to himself: “I only became aware of this organization a few years ago. Legend has it, the members of this organization call themselves ‘the Forgotten Ones’ because their ancestors were all from those who were abandoned and forsaken by the emperor.”
“For this reason, I conducted in-depth investigations and discovered many more ancient secrets of the old era, like human alchemy. It’s said that the emperor would select Eclipse with similar abilities, strip them of all their powers, and then gather them into one person.”
“In addition, the emperor would also specifically breed, like livestock, certain races with special abilities, referred to as ‘special types’ in the rear, continuously expanding their population. This way, when a certain type of special is needed on the battlefield, they could be immediately used up like bullets.”
“Another example is that the emperor would deliberately put some of his subordinates, even those trusted Eclipse, into dangerous situations, just to force out their potential.”
William gave Renji many examples, using the Old Alliance as a clue to investigate the emperor’s various cruel actions, but afterward, he showed Renji a look of “yearning.”
“Dr. Renji, don’t misunderstand, I’m not criticizing the emperor by saying these things. On the contrary, I really admire Emperor Ashen because of these actions. If it were me, I really couldn’t keep a straight face, to be so heartless, rational, cruel, cold-blooded. Everything, everything is for the sake of victory, to fight against the Tainted Miasma.”
“Dr. Renji, I believe you feel the same, because we are all human, and humans have emotions. Yet, to some extent, emotions are exactly what hold us back from progressing, aren’t they?”
“If in the cruel old world, one couldn’t abandon humanity, abandon everything, the world’s end would likely only welcome destruction.”
“That’s why I think, not everyone can become the emperor. Looking back over five hundred years of history, only Ashen truly managed to abandon emotions, willing to sacrifice his own humanity for the world’s salvation. The sin and psychological pressure, just thinking about it makes me shiver. I’m sure no one, there will never be a second Emperor Ashen in this world.”
Having said this, William took a long breath, leaning slightly back in his chair. He lifted his head to gaze at the ceiling, as if talking to Renji, yet also as if muttering to himself.
“It’s a pity I wasn’t born in that era, or else I would’ve joined Ashen, even at the risk of my life, wanting to have a chat with that emperor.”
From the current William, Renji caught a hint of excitement and agitation.
The previously appeared “yearning” indicated that William saw the emperor as a goal, someone he wanted to become.
And now the excited trembling seemed to say, William felt he was advancing on this path, chasing after the emperor’s silhouette. To some extent, he saw himself as the successor to the Emperor, no, should it be said as the successor to the emperor’s spirit?
And what he called the emperor’s spirit is
Sacrifice.
The spirit of abandoning everything, even humanity, for the sake of a grand purpose.
‘As for the equally great goal that William now sees as leading humanity towards progress and prosperity, perhaps it is…’
Suddenly, a screen popped up on the AI on the desk in the office, indicating a visitor alert. Through the AI’s surveillance feed, one could see a mother and son anxiously waiting outside William’s office.
William gestured at the AI screen to grant access, and the office door immediately opened, letting the mother and son in.
Renji glanced around; these must be the people from the Fantasy Supervision that William mentioned, only their appearance differed somewhat from what Renji had imagined.
The Fantasy Supervision As a government department, in front of William, a company supervisor, appeared very nervous and restrained, even the mother holding her son’s hand was trembling slightly.
As for the little boy the mother was holding, perhaps due to his young age, he seemed much more relaxed than his mother, just using his big, curious, and excited eyes to look around the office.
A formal meeting certainly wouldn’t involve bringing relatives; this must be something informal.
“Mr. William,” the mother glanced at Renji sitting by the sofa, then quickly shifted her gaze to the supervisor in front of the desk.
“There’s no need for that, Mrs. Geront, just call me William. Are you here about your husband’s matter this time?”
“Yes, Mr. William, the day after tomorrow is David’s birthday, could you please give my husband a day off, just, just one day. No, half a day would do!” .
Faced with Mrs. Geront’s plea, William, with a face full of regret, still asked the lady to sit down and made her a cup of tea before speaking with a tone of regret:
“I’m sorry madam, your husband is currently on an important mission for the company, and even I don’t have the authority to contact him. It’s very likely he won’t be able to reunite with his family during this time. I am very sorry about this.”
“Important mission… Mr. William, tell me the truth, is my husband, is he inside Dream Zero?” The mother seemed to lose control of her emotions suddenly, covering her mouth and trembling all over, her voice choking up.
Seeing this, the little boy beside the mother became anxious and confused, asking in a childish voice, “Mom, don’t cry! Stop crying! I, I’m okay, it’s okay if dad can’t come to my birthday, I’m fine!”
“You don’t understand, David, you just don’t understand.”
The mother hugged the little boy tightly, and after a while, when she had calmed down a bit, William spoke to comfort her: “Madam, I am really sorry, but this path was your husband’s own choice, he signed a contract with the company. What I can do is to inform you as soon as I get any news.”
“I understand, thank you, Mr. William.”
The mother was about to leave with her son in a daze, when William introduced her to Renji.
When she heard that Renji was an expert in ancient studies and had done a lot of research on the old world, the mother immediately thought that if her husband came out, learning some ancient knowledge from a great scholar like Renji could be lifesaving for her husband’s current job!
Therefore, the mother immediately showed great respect to Renji, and when Renji expressed interest in learning about Fantasy Supervision, she agreed right away to meet him at a coffee shop this afternoon, after she had settled David at home.
This content is taken from 𝘳𝑎.𝗇t