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“The Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital was caused by a leak of the Savior’s mana. We still don’t know how it happened, but the calamity quickly spread across the Ancient Austine Empire, with the capital taking the brunt of the impact.

“It was complete chaos in the capital. Over half of the normal humans and high transcendents were reduced to monsters or succumbed to madness. Overnight, the city that had signified humankind’s prosperity for thousands of years transformed into a living hell, causing the Ancient Austine Empire to fall to a standstill.

“Charles tried to open the passage to save Carolyn, but the pandemonium had spread too fast. Half of the high transcendents involved in the ritual fell into depravity, causing him to lose control over the Capital Cathedral. To make things worse, he struggled to mobilize manpower to save Carolyn because most people believed that she was already dead.”

“What?” Roel was taken aback.

“Carolyn should have been suppressing the Savior’s mana and preventing it from leaking out if things had gone according to plan. Yet, the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital happened. That led many to think that the final plan had failed, and she was dead,” Astrid explained.

“…” Roel fell silent.

He stared at Carolyn for a long while before finally heaving a sigh.

Just as Astrid had said, the outbreak of such a huge calamity could be taken as proof that the final plan had failed, and Carolyn was dead. Building on that, the gush of the Savior’s mana from the Abyss during the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital could have been the mana Carolyn had collected thus far.

Even Roel would have been inclined to believe that Carolyn was dead when presented with such evidence. Charles only refused to accept it due to his feelings for her.

Unfortunately, there was no way for Charles to open the seal anymore. He had lost control over the Capital Cathedral during the pandemonium, and many of the high transcendents channeling the ritual lost their lives in the crisis.

Charles had no choice but to make a decision that changed the trajectory of humankind’s fate for good—the mass migration to the west. He led those who still retained their sanity westward in search of a safe haven, hoping to unite humankind there and rise once more.

However, the calamity appeared to be sentient, as it continued expanding and following the footsteps of the migrators. It only subsided following Charles’ death.

And this was the tragedy that happened at the end of the Second Epoch, the true story behind the mass migration westward.

Roel frowned after hearing the story, as he finally understood why Astrid claimed that the Savior had regained his sanity.

“Yes, the timing is too much of a coincidence,” Roel murmured as doubts filled his mind.

First and foremost, it was weird how the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital happened in the tenth year into the final plan, the year Carolyn was set to leave the Abyss with the Savior’s powers to nurture a divine child. What were the chances of such a coincidence?

The hibernating Savior should have been at His strongest in the first year of the final plan, before Carolyn absorbed any mana from Him. As long as she withstood the initial stress, she should gradually grow stronger in the following years and gain the upper hand over the Savior.

By this logic, the tenth year of the final plan should have been the most peaceful one. Yet, the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital happened.

This didn’t make sense at all.

However, it would all make sense if the Savior was pulling the strings here, as this would have been His final chance to make a comeback. He would be a goner once Carolyn left the Abyss with His powers to nurture a divine child.

It was also possible that Carolyn had simply let her guard down, but the chances of that were extremely slim. Furthermore, the madness propagated in a way that looked as if it was chasing after Charles, and this could have only been pulled off by a sentient being.

Roel deduced that Charles refused to give up on Carolyn even after the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital. He wanted to rally humankind’s forces together and march back to the capital, but the series of events that happened afterward forced him to give up on his plan.

“With the prestige the Ackermanns had built up from ruling over humankind for thousands of years, Charles still wielded great influence over the empire in spite of the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital. However, his influence was undermined by the madness and rumors that spread like wildfire within the empire.”

“Rumors?”

“There were rumors that Charles Ackermann was an inauspicious individual cursed by Sia. Even in the Twilight Sages Assembly, some attributed the incident to the final plan. They believed that Charles and Carolyn were the ones behind the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital. What reinforced the rumors was how the madness stopped spreading once Charles passed away.”

“…They are really trying to ruin his reputation.” Roel nodded in agreement.

Such defamation wouldn’t have worked without thorough planning.

If the madness had spread faster than the rumors, humankind would fall into an utter panic. Without any time to discuss things through, their first instinct would have been to rely on the Ackermanns, who had ruled over them for thousands of years now. This was similar to how the people in Roel’s previous life stood behind their nation’s leaders during wartime.

Not only would Charles’ influence not be diminished by the event, but it would have become stronger than ever.

If the madness spread too slowly, humankind would have sufficient time to regain their footing. There would be rumors about Charles floating around, but there would be fewer extremists since the effects weren’t as pronounced. With the resources Charles had at his disposal, he should have been able to easily deal with this crisis.

It would take careful calculation to destroy the prestige Charles had built up over many years, thus burying the final plan for good.

As soon as Charles Ackermann died, the succeeding emperor overthrew all of his policies and plans, while putting out an arrest warrant on the Ascarts.

The Ascarts tried their best to hide in the migration army, but they were rooted out numerous times, and that nearly led to their extinction. It was when the Ascarts came under the protection of the Xeclydes during the inception of the Third Epoch, when the Genesis Goddess Church rose to prominence, that their plight finally improved.

But by then, the Ascarts had already lost their heritage.

Looking at it now, the situation was clear. The Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital and everything that happened after it was premeditated to put a halt to the final plan, and the mastermind…

“It’s probably the Savior himself, or someone who possesses the power to mobilize the Savior’s influence…” Roel deduced.

Astrid and Antonio nodded in agreement.

However, this was just conjecture on their part. Too many years had passed for them to find evidence to prove their theory.

Roel suddenly remembered something and raised a question: “What happened to Paul? You say that he’s Charles, but a dead man can’t just come back to life, right?”

“That’s indeed so. But what if his soul is preserved, and the original body is used as a sample to recreate a second physical body?”

“That might be possible theoretically, but how can…”

“Simple. I kept a sample of myself inside a Life Tree.” It was Paul who answered the question.

“!”

Roel quickly turned around and saw Paul and Carolyn staggering over with each other’s support. He stared intently at Paul, as if trying to see through the latter’s existence.

Paul’s expression turned grim as he earnestly met Roel’s eyes.

“…”

“…”

The two men stared at each other for so long that the atmosphere became heavy.

In the end, Roel was the one who broke the silence, asking, “So, who are you right now?”

“I am Charles Ackermann, but I am also Paul Ackermann. Big brother Roel, I know what you’re worried about, but I’d like to assure you that I have not been possessed. I merely remembered my past,” Paul replied with a bitter smile.

Roel thought about it for a long while before finally nodding.

As Paul’s friend, he had to confirm that Paul was in a normal state. If Charles had possessed Paul’s body in hopes of living a second life, he wouldn’t hesitate to summon Edavia to kill him, so as to avenge Paul.

That might anger Carolyn, and he would lose important information about the Second Epoch, but that was the least he could do for someone he cared about. These were the principles he had sworn to stand by.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the worst-case situation.

Paul had retained his sense of self, just that he had remembered his past memories. In a way, he was similar to Roel, just that the memories Roel had remembered were from his past life.

The tense atmosphere finally faded, and the silent trio heaved a sigh of relief. Carolyn took this opportunity to apologize.

“I’m sorry, Roel. Charles has explained your circumstances to me. I have misunderstood you as one of the Mother Goddess’ believers.”

“It’s fine. You were under the influence of the Savior’s madness, so I understand that you might have been more obstinate. However, I hope that you won’t try to harm Alicia anymore.”

“I have already given up. I might not have been defeated, but neither have I won,” Carolyn replied with a bitter smile.

Her earlier wariness and hostility were nowhere to be seen, and her expression looked much gentler than before.

Roel made use of this opportunity. “Lord Ancestor, may I ask a question?”

“What is it?”

“…Were you the one who triggered the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital a thousand years ago?”