Chapter 487 16: I'm Not Here for Romance
Gazing at the delicate hand extended by the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven, Westheid felt a wave of dizziness.
Ascending to godhood was, without a doubt, the dream he coveted most. He had set his mind on this long ago. To hesitate for even a second would be an insult to the very concept of a hardcore power-gamer. Westheid was willing to pay any price to attain the rank of a Celestial God.
And with his sweat and *effort* (ahem), he had already made great strides on the Ascension Ladder. Westheid never doubted that he would eventually reach that realm, but he knew the required time and energy would be immense... 'Wait a minute. Do these past hundred or so years count as a Trial?'
'For my meritorious service in numerous battles, I deserve this reward!'
Westheid licked his lips, walked up the steps, and took the olive branch offered by the Celestial God.
And so, the girl with greyish-white hair before him smiled. Her figure began to dissolve into feathers of light and vanish, while boundless, limitless knowledge and power surged into his body and mind.
Westheid's mind instantly went blank... No, rather, it was as if his brain had short-circuited from the massive influx of esoteric knowledge. His eyes widened, and for a long moment, he couldn't regain his senses.
"Then, please accept this gift, my love. You undoubtedly possess the aptitude and Destiny to ascend to the heavens. Please complete the final ritual, and then, we shall meet again."
The Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven's face grew increasingly blurry, but the warmth of her smile and her joy reached Westheid unimpeded.
"Don't..."
Just then, Wan Qi spoke. Perhaps because the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven was gradually transferring her power to Westheid, the pressure suppressing Wan Qi had weakened. The Demon Maiden shook her head and said:
"Don't ascend to the heavens. The Celestial God... is no longer Wan Qi. If you undergo Ascension, you... will no longer be you."
Westheid turned, let out a long breath, and looked at the Celestial God's Shadow. His eyes slightly downcast, he said:
"I know. Of course, I know."
After spending so much time with the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven and getting to know her, Westheid had come to understand the essence of this most ancient Celestial God.
She was Wan Qi, and yet she was not.
After her Ascension to a Celestial God, Wan Qi had become a higher-dimensional being. And yet, like a love-struck girl, she had spared no expense to leave a part of her essence in the Crimson Throne and had bestowed the great gift of Ascension upon her lover.
But she was, after all, no longer mortal. The love of the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven was a fixation, a trait, an essence.
It was anything but the simple love a human feels for their partner.
Other Celestial Gods might be quite emotional. For example, the Radiant Holy Tree wished for its descendants to flourish and prosper, and the Yonglan Riding God's love for Heroes and Warriors was unparalleled. But the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven could not be the same.
She was a being constructed of pure Divinity—and while all Celestial Gods are divine in nature, here, 'Divinity' referred specifically to her emotional state.
Wan Qi was purely good. The instant she underwent Ascension and became a Celestial God, a divine separation—a reshaping, even—had occurred. The Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven, who ascended to the heavens, embodied her responsibilities and burdens, while her humanity was excised as an "impurity."
'Because she had always been a fool who never wanted to ascend to the heavens.'
If one was truly unwilling to ascend to the heavens, the only alternative was to fall. In other words, if one only wanted to find the "Wan Qi" from before her Ascension, then the Master of Extinction—who had now recovered her past memories and was becoming whole—was the lover who had spent centuries upon centuries with Westheid.
In a typical story, this would be the moment Westheid would joyfully embrace Wan Qi, celebrating her final liberation from her cage. Unfortunately...
'I'm not here for romance,' Westheid thought. He didn't care what state the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven was in. With his grand ambition and the Great Path on the verge of completion, getting bogged down in romance felt so... sentimental!
Westheid's goal from the very beginning had been to ascend to godhood. He had eyes only for this objective. With the opportunity now within his grasp, he would not hesitate.
He could only look at Wan Qi with an apologetic expression and say:
"The Mortal World needs an Ascender. Otherwise, this conflict and turmoil will never end. This is my mission."
He first cloaked his personal desires in a grandiose yet irrefutable justification, then sighed.
"I have also fulfilled my promise to free you from your seal. Everything that happened in this Secret Realm was undeniably real... After this, please tell the others that I am going to do what I believe is right. To walk... the path I believe is just!"
'Ascension! This is the ultimate goal in Poem of Destiny, the *only* goal!'
'Destiny has called, and I shall not be the one to refuse!'
"Besides, once I complete my Ascension, as my Apostle, we might not have to be separated..."
"My love..."
Wan Qi's expression suddenly turned deeply melancholic and sorrowful, returning to the look she had when they first met—one that was utterly heartbreaking.
"Love cannot exist between a Celestial God and a mortal. That is no substitute."
"Don't break my heart again. Don't go so far away from me again. Stay close to my heart, hold my hand..."
"!!!"
'Could he really withstand the weight of these centuries, these millennia of memories and bonds?!'
Man is not made of wood or stone; who can be without feelings?
Many said that Duke Qinghui was appallingly vile, but to be honest, Westheid had no dark past he was unwilling to face. He had a clear conscience about everything he had done.
But now... he was afraid he was about to create a true shadow on his past.
Westheid had always acknowledged and respected the lovers who shared their Tier T0 Talents with him. However, romance and the like were ultimately not as important as his own dream.
Though he couldn't bear it, Westheid endured the heart-wrenching anguish and forced himself not to look into Wan Qi's eyes, as if he could escape all his guilt by doing so.
"I'm sorry... Let's leave it at that. We can discuss this in detail after my Ascension."
With a wave of his hand, Westheid, who had just received authority over the Crimson Throne's Domain from the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven, easily banished Wan Qi from the realm.
Then, Westheid sat upon the throne at the apex of the Crimson Throne and, following the knowledge left behind by the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven, began to pave the way for his own Ascension.
The prerequisites for ascending to godhood were reaching the Demigod Realm and possessing the Destiny to become a god. Westheid had already accomplished this. There was no qualification more convincing than one personally certified by the most ancient Celestial God.
Next were the three great elements of Ascension.
[A Supreme Great Enterprise that Transcends All of History]
[A Fanatic Realm Anchored to the Mortal World]
[A Groundbreaking, Brand-New Legacy]
Of these, the Supreme Great Enterprise was nearly complete. What Westheid had accomplished in the era of conflict was no less than that of the Celestial Gods of the past—in fact, it was more. It would not be an exaggeration to call him a savior.
The Fanatic Realm was flourishing, and the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven had already made up for any remaining deficiencies.
The greatest deficiency was the path of his legacy... The Qinghui Path was not yet powerful enough, but it was already quite mature. With the gift from the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven, he could accelerate the path's formation. This was undoubtedly like pulling up a sprout to help it grow, but this metaphysical world didn't place much stock in gradual, logical progression. As long as the will was there, it was enough.
Westheid let out a long breath, flames seeming to ignite within his deep violet eyes.
"Then... let it begin. To ascend to the heavens!"