Chapter 563: Sought out by the Great World
His tone became full of disdain. "People like that? They’re the worst kind. The ones who wear masks even in solitude. The ones who will change their principles the moment the wind shifts. They lack conviction. They lack the spine to stand firm when everything turns against them."
He walked towards the window watching the grasses sway away gently from the drifting wind. "And though they reached the eighth floor—a place meant only for those of rare will and rare talent—I know deep down that they won’t achieve anything great. Not because they weren’t strong, but because they weren’t anchored. They’ll drift through life, making choices based on what sounds right instead of what they truly believe. They’ll falter when it matters most."
He glanced back at Max, his expression unreadable. "That’s why I said I don’t like your truth, but I respect it. You didn’t flinch. You didn’t hide. That makes you dangerous—but it also makes you real. And that’s what this trial is all about."
With those words, Max’s body began to glow in gentle blue light.
Ragnar then turned to Max, his voice low but powerful, filled with something deeper than mere warning. "This world is heading toward something it cannot yet comprehend, Max. A time of peril, of cracks spreading through the very fabric of peace and reality. In such times, the world doesn’t just need strength. It needs anchors. It needs those who will not bend in the storm."
He added. "Heroes, yes—but not just those who smile and save. It needs monsters willing to bear the weight of impossible choices. Geniuses who stand above the masses. Who can defy the natural order of things. And that’s where you and many others come in."
He stepped forward, his eyes meeting Max’s as the light grew brighter. "But know this... I hope, with everything I’ve seen and everything I’ve known, that a day never comes when the choice I gave you today becomes reality. Because if that day does come... if you are truly willing to burn the world to save what you love—then you won’t be the savior they hoped for. You won’t be the guardian of order. You’ll become the very chaos they feared."
His voice dropped into a whisper, heavy with meaning. "Be strong, Max Morgan. But above all... be wise."
The glow engulfed Max completely then, and with a final shimmer of light, he vanished from the hut, leaving behind the quiet creak of wood and the sigh of a dying fire.