Chapter 33 – A Cat’s Melancholy (Part 1)
“Mortals can become gods, but the path should start by an awakening of the power of two sides. I think the gods have plotted together to hide this secret from the mortals. They divided the path to immortality into two, the well-known routes of magic and body arts. By neither of these two paths can one reach immortality.”
“Some great warriors managed to have a second awakening of power, which allowed them to practice some magic, making them more powerful. I’ve put most of my effort on studying the legends and records about these great warriors. The research has been complicated, I’ve been through a lot of hardships. Combined with my teacher’s results from throughout nearly a century’s meditation, and many others’ bitter experiences, I arrived at a final conclusion. ”
“Along with the awakening of the power of two sides comes the desire from two sides. By passing this test can one practice the first-level magic and body arts.”
“The third test will be ‘faith’s confirmation’, which is considered to be a test for the mages. By passing this test can one practice the third-level mage, but he then needs to practice body arts and become a third-level warrior.”
“The fifth test will be ‘devil’s temptation’, which is considered to be a test for the mages. By passing this test can one practice the fifth-level mage, but he then needs to practice body arts and become a fifth-level warrior.”
“My exploration of the true path ends here. I myself was merely a ninth-level mage and sixth-level warrior. The above is all that I can verify myself.”
“I have to note that from what I know and have verified, this path is much more difficult than the path of magic or body arts. The higher tier you achieve, the harder it will be. There might be some key points that I don’t know. It is also possible that this path can’t lead to eternity at all. Anyway, very few can even take on this path. Whether a practitioner could reach the end of this path and find out the secret of the gods may depend not only on his courage and wisdom, but also on this world’s willingness to accomplish this transcendency.”
The message recorded in the Gods’ Tear ended. When Bair described the tests, he had also added many sidenotes in smaller characters. Amon forced himself to fully concentrate on the message. He was so enthralled by the message that he couldn’t notice that Schrodinger had already closed its eyes and begun to take a nap. The cat was excited to come to this place, but after discovering the whole truth, it appeared to be deeply disappointed and lost.
Bair had made a detailed summary on the steps to practice of the power of two sides, which he obviously had confirmed himself. A ninth-level supreme mage and a sixth-level warrior at the same time. Amon had never heard of that.
Though they had never met each other, across the decades, they achieved the same understanding. From Bair’s message, Amon confirmed his own knowledge about practicing.
The path was now clear for Amon. First, awaken of the power of two sides, then pass the tests of “desire’s awakening” — “body’s purification” — “faith’s confirmation” — “bloodline purification” — “devil’s temptation” —”limit breaking”.
Although Bair had left many notes, some details remained unclear. For example, he didn’t mention too much about the awakening of the power of two sides. One who hadn’t experienced it wouldn’t be able to fully understand it, perhaps except Crazy’Ole.
It was reasonable to save one’s energy from mastering both magic and martial arts skills, since the path itself was difficult enough, demanding too much time to accomplish.
All Amon knew was that Osiris was the father of Horus. He had seen the statue of Isis and Osiris in the shrine of Horus in Duc. As for the rib, Amon had no idea how it was related to that god. Holding it in his hand, Amon felt so unreal. But the touch couldn’t be more real.
Amon threw a glimpse at this cat on his shoulder, only to find that it was sleeping again. He found it impossible to associate this limp lazy animal to a deity by any means.
Forget it. Schrodinger will tell me if it wants to. If even Crazy’Ole couldn’t know that this cat could write hieroglyph in thirty years, nor would Amon likely find out its secret in a short time. It was this cat who had guided him to find Bair and all this knowledge. What he should do was simply to thank Schrodinger.
For safety, Amon first experimented with some other objects dropped on the ground. A good spatial artifact could contain more than one object. Carrying one was like carrying a walking depot. Amon already had two of this kind of curiosity that most mages could only dream of — the Ventussalte, and this rib.
On the ground were various weapons, armors, staffs, accessories and unused scrolls. They were the best ones that had stood the test of time. Even the fragments were good materials. Metatro was making his living by smuggling Damasc iron ingots to Bablon City. Now Amon had forged Damasc iron scattered in front of him. Wasting was a crime. Even if he couldn’t use them, he could sell them later.