"My damaged soul and declining strength, and the even worse condition of Nurvyn, who now stands at death's door, should be enough to back my word, but I can even take a law oath to confirm that what I said is true,"
"However, I do not have any means to dispel your doubts about what the purpose of a Ruler is, and even Lady Enigma can't do it, at least not until your Ruler authority has reached Sixth Rank,"
"If you have any questions, I am happy to answer them," Elder Ezekiel said, his voice returning to its previous calm.
'Elder Ezekiel's explanation answers many of my questions, but it also raises some new ones,' Alex thought as he took a moment to process newfound information.
"Ahrimon should know that his lies would be caught, and other than putting a seed of doubt in my mind, he achieved nothing else, but there should be some goal he wanted to achieve as he took such measure to meet me," Alex said, as that was the question bugging him the most.
"Let me ask you some questions and answer them truthfully because it wouldn't change the way you are treated or seen by any of us,"
"Do you trust Lady Enigma? Do you question what price you would need to pay for being a Ruler? What is your purpose as a Ruler? Will you trust the people around you without questioning the influence it would have on you the same way you did a few days ago?" Elder Ezekiel said, his calm eyes still set on the calm surface of the lake.
'He is right.'
'Before, even though I knew that the ancient world was not just a virtual world and being a domain Ruler and being given access to such wild benefits would have a price to pay,'
'But as I was not being told or forced into doing something morally wrong, I thought the price would be some form of responsibility, and I was being prepared for that as a Ruler, and that I was willing to take,'
'But after meeting Ahrimon, even if all he said were lies, I still can't just see things the same and not consider the worst of the worst,' Alex thought and kept silent for the next few minutes as he reevaluated his thinking as much had changed in a short time.
Alex was a carefree person as he knew that now he was capable enough to tackle any issue he could face, but after meeting with Ahrimon, he realized now he was walking at the apex of what the world had to offer, and it came with problems that could disrupt not just his game life but even his real life.
Alex was like any common man who wanted comfort and peace for himself and his family, and he had seen years of hardship, which was the reason why, with a second chance at life, he didn't take the route that most people wanted.
Most hot-blooded individuals wanted the limelight, to be famous, to have influence and recognition, but all that came with problems that Alex didn't want in his life, which was the reason he was building an organization that stayed hidden but held the strength to topple even the mightiest of powers.
"Yes, I don't trust that unknown entity as I don't know her motives for choosing me as a Ruler, and yes, I question the purpose of a Ruler, the purpose of the guardians, and no, now I would never see things as I did a few days ago,"
"But, yes, I trust the people around me. I believe they are good individuals as they are taking care of me, willing to go to great lengths for me just in the hopes that I could cure the people of Malefis Domain," Alex said, and then he looked back at the three individuals standing in the distance.
"I can't tell you about what is the purpose of a Domain Ruler, but I can tell you briefly about the Domain Guardians,"
"The Domain guardians are individuals who are great talents, but they failed to reach the standards of a Ruler, and their purpose is not only to watch over the domain in the absence of a Ruler and be the guardian of the Ruler but even put their life on the line in case the world is experiencing a big threat,"
"After we reach a state where we can ascend from this world, we are told about the wider cosmos out there and told about our new purpose."
"I can't tell you things in detail, but what I can say is that the new purpose was not fixed, but a multitude of choices that I was free to choose and even change if I so desired is the future,"
"They were grand, dangerous, thrilling, but most importantly, everything I could do was Noble,"
"I don't know if your purpose would be similar yet greater than mine, but I can firmly say that it would be Noble," Elder Ezekiel said with a small smile on his face.
'This is relieving, but this also makes me wonder if I want such great responsibilities,'
'I joined the ancient first to make a living and again to provide happiness and comfort to family and people around me, but the wider cosmos is not a game,'
'Well, there are still years before I would see that day when I need to make a decision, and by then, who knows how much of a changed man I would have become,' Alex thought as he looked at the old man next to him, knowing how much of a sacrifice he had made.
Alex realized that Elder Ezekiel was ready to leave this world and wander the wider cosmos, but he stayed, most probably because of Ahrimon, and even though he failed to stop a threat, his presence probably prevented a much greater disaster.
Alex felt a plethora of emotions with these realizations, as he was seeing a man who once stood at the pinnacle of the world and was now a husk of his former self inching closer to death, which was much worse than death just because of his responsibility.
"Fighting the Monster that you taught sounds like a Noble purpose, but I would rather not deal with it if I had a choice," Alex said with a chuckle to lighten the mood, his anxiety at this having mostly melted away.
"It is a noble purpose and an extremely dangerous one, but you would be fine," Elder Ezekiel said, his face carrying a smile.
"I, Ezekiel Achillrius Magrarius, with the Cosmic Laws as my witness, take the oath that I would get punished with Instant Death with my soul obliterated if I have lied in the last few minutes." Elder Ezekiel said.
As Alex was about to say that there was no need to take an oath to prove his words, he heard a thunderclap so loud he was shaken to his core as he subconsciously looked above from where the sound came from.
"I took the oath with the cosmos as my witness, which is an exclusive oath that those who had surpassed the Ninth Rank and stepped into the Rank of half transcendent could take, and the thunderclap you heard was the recognition by the laws that the oath was completed," Elder Ezekiel said, clearing Alex confusion.
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