Chapter 110: True Selflessness

Passing through the thick rock walls, what came into Ryan's view was a scene of devastation. Countless gnolls had been burned to ash and evaporated, and their remains, along with their various collections, were displayed within this secret chamber.

The chamber wasn't large, about fifty square meters, decorated like a junkyard due to the gnolls' poor sense of art. Colorful strips of cloth and paper were piled haphazardly, along with various weapons they had seized.

At the center of the chamber stood an ancient holy altar, next to which the Emperor, glowing with golden light, stood as ever. The ruler of humanity had a very cold expression, but his aura was now countless times stronger than when Ryan first saw him, proving his soul had revived and healed.

Casually picking up a piece of gnoll gold, Ryan admired the pure gold content and casually said to his father, "I always thought I'd have to cross mountains and seas, break through the world's summit, and traverse every corner of the continent to find an ancient holy altar... Yet, things turned out to be unexpectedly smooth."

"Luck is also a form of strength. That you found another ancient holy altar so quickly far exceeds my plans," the Emperor responded indifferently.

"So... was it you, Father, acting like a loudspeaker here, driving so many miners mad?" Ryan asked curiously while pocketing all the gnoll gold treasured in the chamber.

"No, it was a foolish individual who attempted to activate this altar." The Emperor's voice was as cold as winter: "Despite his considerable strength, he died here, and you've already seen his bones outside."

"It's ironic that the renowned former Grandmaster of the White Wolf Knights died in such a manner," Ryan said as he approached his father. "How did you find this place, Father?"

"As soon as you entered here, I detected the ancient holy altar and have been waiting for your arrival since then." The Emperor, surrounded by a golden aura in the cramped space, radiated supreme power, filling the small chamber: "You have now attracted the attention of the dark gods. Be cautious with every step."

Ryan nodded, using his psychic abilities to awaken the ancient holy altar. The Emperor stood by, watching Ryan's actions with a cold gaze, father and son remaining silent.

Breaking the silence, Ryan asked, "Father, it seems I am... different from my brothers?"

"You are different in many ways, Ryan. You are you, and they are they. You are not like them; you are my son, they are my excellent creations," the Emperor answered. His face, unmasked and crowned with a golden laurel, radiated all the world's wonders and brightness, compelling anyone who saw it to pledge eternal loyalty.

No longer obscured by golden light or vaguely visible as before, Ryan knew his father had fully absorbed the ancient power, his soul healed. The ruler of humanity was on the verge of returning; he only needed a powerful enough body to walk the world again.

"Father... have you ever loved a woman?" Ryan suddenly asked, continuing his work without pause.

"Yes, when I was young and unaware of my true nature, I, like you, had loved a woman," the Emperor answered calmly, his tone devoid of emotion, sounding almost like a lie.

"Alright." Ryan dropped the topic, but seeing his father wasn't angry, he remained silent for a long while before speaking again, "Father, may I ask you a serious question? Very seriously."

"Why do you still love us?"

"After experiencing so much sorrow and pain, watching your creation, the Empire, crumble, seeing civilization and enlightenment replaced by ignorance and superstition, humanity not only facing numerous enemies but also internal rebellion and decay, politicians playing with power in your name, regions falling into darkness, technology regressing daily..."

"Horus's rebellion doomed humanity. You fought demons from the sub-space for over eleven thousand years. You know chaos cannot be eradicated; as long as life exists, it will always regenerate in the sub-space, always returning, endless wars and sacrifices only delaying the inevitable."

"Yet you still love us, still use all your strength to help us, still try to revive this decaying and declining race. Why?"

The Emperor's gaze finally shifted, he touched Ryan's head gently, his tone carrying emotion for the first time, a sense of pride: "Because of love."

"Because of love?" Ryan asked curiously.

"My existence originated from a mad sacrifice, tens of thousands of years ago, when humans were still primitive. Although the sub-space wasn't as chaotic and filthy as today, it was already dangerous."

"Back then, humanity was led through the darkness by sub-space spellcasters, called shamans. A small part of humanity had the ability to harness sub-space energy for spells. They led humanity forward for their welfare."

"But this didn't last long. When humanity was still weak, they didn't attract chaos's attention. However, as the number of shamans grew and humanity's power expanded, they eventually attracted chaos demons, as shamanic spells essentially used sub-space energy. Their spells would tear open rifts in the sub-space, letting demons tear them apart."

"With the mass death of shamans, the remaining shamans knew their days were numbered. They made a shocking decision for humanity's future. They committed mass suicide, their souls, power, knowledge, and love for humanity merging into one through a special sacrificial secret technique, forming a giant soul."

"That is me, the ruler of humanity. My love for humanity needs no reason."

"Father... I'm endlessly grateful for the sacrifices and struggles you've made for us." Ryan felt moved, realizing the extent of his father's sacrifices. He felt guilty for his previous resentments and suspicions.

It was his father's selflessness towards humanity that led to his sparing treatment of Ryan.

At that moment, the son understood the difficulties and hardships of his father.

Tears welled up in the genetic prototype.

"Thank you, but I've heard enough praises." The Emperor's tone remained cold, as if the previous moment was an illusion.

"I always feel like I'm growing too slowly," Ryan changed the subject.

"That is the correct path of growth." Contrary to Ryan's view, the Emperor slightly shook his head, "My son, just do your part, that's enough. Your brothers still need your salvation."

Ryan nodded, no longer dwelling on the matter.

As the ancient holy altar was activated by Ryan, the Emperor began absorbing the ancient energy. Ryan, acting like a bandit, looted the so-called sacred ground of the gnolls, taking all valuables. The chamber should have been dark, but the father's golden glow was too bright. Ryan had to sit sideways, "Father, do the ancients still exist?"

"If speaking in terms of race, the ancients no longer exist. They perished completely in the war in heaven, but if speaking of individuals, a few ancients still survive in the world." The Emperor absorbed the pure ancient energy, gaining knowledge unique to the ancients while multitasking to answer Ryan's questions, "Ancients are immortal beings, having transcended physical forms. As long as they wish to hide, a very few can still survive... One ancient, disguising as a human, walked the earth on your original planet."

Ryan immediately knew who that ancient was. Recalling his youthful actions, he broke into a sweat, then asked, "Are the rumored magic toads on this planet ancients?"

"No, they are servants created by the ancients in their own image. As I said, ancients have transcended physical forms; they are pure energy beings."

"What about the gods of this world? Are they also energy beings?"

"This world is enveloped by an eternal giant sub-space storm, isolating it from the outside. The existence of gods here is due to absorbing positive emotions from the sub-space, eventually becoming gods... Their essence is no different from chaos gods."

"Are the chaos gods of this world the same as those in the universe?"

"Yes and no. Although the sub-space of this world is connected to the outside, it is not one and the same."

Time passed as father and son conversed.

Three hours later, another ancient holy altar turned to ruins.

"Interesting, this altar contains some of the ancients' knowledge on how to isolate sub-space influence for technological development. I think the Mechanicus on Mars would like this... and how to create devices to seal fragments of star gods. This might come in handy in the future..." the Emperor mused to himself.

"Is that enough, Father?"

"Enough." The Emperor, with golden flames burning around him, his eyes shining brightly, looked at his son sitting beside him, his low voice carrying divine authority, "I am about to revive."

"Ryan, my son, continue to stay in this world. Your existence must remain a secret, and stopping the end of times remains your primary task." The Emperor turned, extending his hand towards Ryan.

Gathering unimaginable psychic energy, a violent light burst forth from the ruler of humanity's body, forcing Ryan to shield his eyes against the bright light. The power of life and death was held in the hands of the supreme lord—power enough to completely erase any form of life from all dimensions.

The Emperor, the great ruler of humanity, was about to give his beloved son a small gift.

A white orb emerged from the father's hand, shooting directly into Ryan's forehead. Vast knowledge and supreme methods of utilizing psychic energy were imprinted into Ryan's mind. This was the Emperor's gift, his favoritism towards his son.

Ryan knew the value of this knowledge, which many genetic prototypes desperately sought but could not obtain, now easily given to him. Unsure of what to say, he whispered, "Father, I..."

"The Imperial Guard coming to support you is already on the way," the Emperor said solemnly. "Due to the limitations of the Webway Gates and the need to keep your identity absolutely secret, I've only sent four Imperial Guard Terminators. They will arrive here soon."

"I am your sword, Father. Use me as you wish!" Ryan stood up. Though he was much shorter than the Emperor, the son's determination was no less than his father's.

The fists of the Grey Knight prototype and the ruler of humanity collided: "Let's face it together."

...

When Ryan emerged from the mine the next morning, Alfred sighed in relief, "Ryan, you're finally out. Estel and I were discussing, if you didn't come out by noon, we'd go down to look for you!"

Ryan shook his head without speaking, and everyone noticed he was carrying a skeleton.

"This is..." Estel stood up, the keen-eyed half-elf recognizing what Ryan was carrying.

"Everyone, leave. I must offer the final praise for the White Wolf Holy Knight, Logan-Flints," Ryan said, placing the skeleton down and signaling everyone to leave.

Though now chosen by the Lady of the Lake, Ryan was technically still a White Wolf Knight. His actions were fitting for his status, and Alfred and Estel sighed, leaving the room.

Alone, Ryan began by applying White Wolf holy oil to the skeleton, then took out wolf skin and teeth, offering a final hymn to the fate-stricken White Wolf Holy Knight.

Using a secret technique left by his father, he awakened a fragment of Logan-Flints' soul within the bones, revealing the White Wolf Holy Knight's memories to Ryan.

From his baptism at seven, becoming a ranger knight at fifteen, a White Wolf Knight at twenty-six, and a White Wolf Holy Knight at forty-five, to his solitary journey across half the continent after the Great Holy War, reaching the southern wastelands and the eastern dark realms.

Finally, fifty years ago, Logan-Flints arrived at Marinburg. By chance, he discovered this ancient holy altar but attempted to forcibly activate it with brute force. Defeated by the ancient's defensive mechanisms and severely injured, he was besieged by a gnoll tribe and died in battle.

Wait! After reviewing Logan's memories, Ryan suddenly felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint it.

What was wrong?

After pondering, Ryan realized the discrepancy.

It was the timing! The timing was wrong!

He had seen a mysterious White Wolf Knight rescuing the fortress garrison at Nordscavell Mountain, which was sixteen or seventeen years ago!

But Logan-Flints had died fifty years ago!

The mysterious White Wolf Knight wasn't Logan-Flints!

Then who was he?!

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