Fate/Ultimate Antagonist

[125] To Ashes

"A perfect person is selfless, a spiritual person is selfless, a sage is nameless. My power and disposition are inferior to yours, Zhang Jue."

Those who attain true freedom understand the heart of the ultimate being.

Compared to this ten-year-old boy, the once carefree old man suddenly felt that his own freedom was not so significant.

Pursuing freedom is also a form of bondage...

The old man smiled bitterly. Even without further divination, he could foresee the dangers awaiting this young one in the future, yet he could only sigh in regret without finding the words to express it.

To hold up the sky...

How could it be so easy to hold up the sky?

Why did the gods and the immortals retreat to the inner sea of the planet, never to reappear in the mortal realm?

Because... faced with the extramundane plague that could erode even the soul, resulting in a corrupt and festering disease that leaves one begging for death yet unable to die.

They were... afraid.

Like defeated commanders retreating to their island, they dared not glance across the shore, deceiving themselves into a sense of security by covering their eyes, thus gaining a fleeting period of peace.

With a way out, they dared not fight. When the sky falls, everyone expects someone taller to hold it up.

Immortals, after all, are human first.

These immortals... have decayed.

"No need for any formal ceremonies. From now on, this mountain is your home. Rest here as long as you need, after your weary travels."

The old man's lips moved slightly, but he only managed to utter a few sentences.

Such character, such talent... what a pity.

With this old body, he would do whatever he could to help.

"Thank you, old man."

Understanding the old man's sentiment, Reinhard respectfully bowed.

In front of the bronze mirror in the temple, the slender young man donned the robes. After some thought, Reinhard chose a yellow robe.

Yellow is the color of the earth, the color of emperors.

It also symbolizes the pure and simple hearts of countless laborers in the fields.

To change this azure sky to a yellow one.

To ask the vast earth, who will dictate its fate?

The black-haired woman stood behind the young man, tying his long black hair into a neat topknot.

As twilight descended, Yu Mei-ren stood in a daze, staring at Reinhard's handsome reflection in the mirror.

"Junior brother, did you know?" She teased, "You are actually much better looking than Sima Yi."

Reinhard chuckled softly at her words and shook his head.

"Senior sister, are you trying to get me to dress as a woman?"

Good heavens, gender reversal... now it was his turn?

"With this face... if you wore fine silk and satin, you'd look very easy to bully, with a beauty that rivals the sun and moon."

Yu Mei-ren's face blushed slightly. Just the thought of her junior brother in elegant female attire, wielding a long whip and acting dominantly, made her react uncontrollably...