Chapter 529: Always The Winner (2/2)
”My queen, I can see where princess Heidi is coming from. However, as the prophet, I know what I saw in my dreams. Unlike humans, who have two options to choose, we only have one.” The head priestess announced; her soft voice held an unswerving conviction.
”Venerable mother, I did not mean to doubt your vision. I just thought that we should work more closely with the Divine Mastery Sect instead of this... God knows who he is... The Sect is our strongest ally. ” Princess Heidi insisted on her position.
”You are right, princess. However, you can't see far enough. The nature of this war has changed… It is no longer about eliminating the Zergs, if you get what I am saying. ” The head priestess stood up and spoke in a more assertive tone.
”I don't understand… Please do tell,” Heidi replied.
”The twin stars had foretold the forked paths that humanity is facing right now, but it didn't show me the path we should embark.” Generations of memories rushed back to the head priestess as she spoke the words. She remembered the time when Zergs drove them out of their home and forced them to live with the Humans. The light in her eyes dimmed as the faces of her friends who died in the war appeared in her mind. The Kaedeian culture had been severely eroded along with the deceased; the race was dying slowly under her watch.
”The twin stars? Who is the star other than the savior?”
”Patroclus.” The head priestess announced. The words hit Heidi's mind like a hammer.
”...Patroclus? Isn't he the traitor?”
”Hehe… My princess, he is not a traitor by a long chalk. If there had been a person such as him among Kaedeians, we wouldn't have ended up here, struggling on Mars.” The head priestess seemed to admire the culprit of their suffering, the enemy of all humans, Patroclus.
”Why…?”
”I am sorry if I have offended you, princess. But, have you thought that after Patroclus merged with the Zerg and created the Immortals, the Zergs will never be able to eliminate the humans?”
”Yes, because they have all turned into monsters!” Heidi rose to the question. The thought of the vile thing buried deep inside the humans' chest made her stomach churn.
”My princess, if you were a Homo erectus who lived eons ago, covered in fur and walking with bent hind legs, you would think the modern humans looked alien as well. What I am trying to say is that after the merger, the humans didn't lose their humanity. In other words, they are still who they are, if not more.”
”But, this is not natural! They were forced. and they will forever be the Zergs' slave.”
”Is that so? Patroclus has already annexed powers of two of the most influential Zerg lords, and his power is still growing. He controls both Earth and the Moon, while the real Zerg Lord, Moye, has to watch his influence dwindling while hiding on Mars.”
”You mean Patroclus has already hijacked the Zergs from the inside, and he already has the ability to carry out his own agenda?” A Kaedeian general asked.
”Exactly! Although he has become the public enemy for the crime he had committed, he was simply doing the necessary evil in order to reach immortality for the entire human race. What do you think is the difference between the Immortals and Humans other than their names?”
Silence fell into the palace as everyone was deep in their thoughts.
”If you are right, why don't we just surrender to Patroclus?” Heidi asked with an edge in her voice.
The head priestess heaved a sigh and then said, ”As I said, I saw two paths for humans, but for us, we have only one choice: support the savior.”
The head priestess' words reminded everyone the fact that the Kaedeians could not be assimilated by the Zergs.
There and then, Heidi finally saw the big picture of what was going on. From the perspective of a human sub-race, both Patroclus and Wang Tong could lead the humans to their salvation. However, the Kaedeians only had one option from the get-go.
As for the Zergs, they had already lost the war the moment Moye decided to transform Patroclus into a hybrid. It gave the Ivantian prince an opportunity to dismantle the threat of the Zergs from within.
Wang Tong knew Patroclus' plan from the very beginning, and he immediately knew that the path was not meant for him. In his opinion, the humans would overcome difficulties with a powerful will instead of physical superiority.
Having relied so much on their physical abilities, would the mortals appreciate the meaning of bravery, unity, generosity, and fairness? Although the immortals had gained amazing physical capabilities, their minds had inevitably weakened.
If there were no noble human values remaining inside the immortals, could they still be called humans?
When the test for humanity came, there would be tears, fear, and betrayal. And that was how humans became stronger as a race.
Patroclus had been fixated on the dark side of human nature, and therefore, his approach to humanity's ultimate salvation was to forsake the human qualities altogether. He had helped his followers adopt a new form which, except for the appearance, lacked all human traits.
On the other hand, Wang Tong believed in the good and bright side of the human nature; he had dedicated his life to encourage others to draw strength from their hearts and fight for a noble cause.
Wang Tong and Patroclus had embarked on two drastically different paths, as the Kaedeian prophet had foretold, and only time would tell which path would lead to the ultimate salvation of the human race.