Chapter 69

Listen to the soul.

The soul is a mysterious existence, the most satisfactory masterpiece of the Father God, containing infinite secrets. All the information of any living being, from birth to death, is stored in a certain domain of the soul.

Due to a self-protection mechanism, to prevent the organ responsible for storing and retrieving memories from being overwhelmed by too much useless information, this domain is usually locked. The vast majority of living beings in the world cannot unlock it throughout their lives. Only those who have a sufficient understanding of matter and spirit, whose souls have transcended the mundane, and who have entered a new realm can unlock the memory lock and trace every detail of their life's memories.

In Nolun, such beings are called "Holy Domain," and in other worlds, there are similar classifications.

Athena is the pride of Heaven, having achieved the rank of Power Angel at a young age due to her outstanding talent and the Father God's favor. She was even recognized by the Azure Wrath, becoming the undisputed leader and role model of the new generation of angels.

She had once traced back to her childhood memories. Most of the angels on Mount Heaven today are born from the union of their parents, but she was different. She was born from the Sacred Flame. Such angels are called First Generation Angels, considered direct creations of the Father God. They possess the purest bloodline and the purest soul, making it easier for them to gain greater power, and thus, they bear more responsibility.

The derived angels regard the First Generation Angels as natural leaders, and the First Generation Angels do not shirk their responsibility to protect. They become warriors, scientists, and governors, guarding Mount Heaven in their respective fields. Athena is even more so. As the Saint Sword Wielder, she firmly believes that she will undoubtedly break through to the Holy Domain, achieve the rank of Seraphim, and enter the highest governing body of Mount Heaven, becoming a legendary commander of the Light's Children's combat sequence. She has been striving for this goal all her life, fighting bravely, honing her combat skills, learning all the knowledge she needs, and growing like a leader. She believes that her mission in life is to protect Mount Heaven and the angel race, and she is willing to pay everything for it.

However, it was only today that she suddenly discovered that all of this was false.

The sacred body generated by the Sacred Flame actually awakened the power she most despised.

The angel's holy light, which was originally brilliant, was tainted with darkness. This new energy, which lost the purifying and orderly nature of the holy light, gained new, mysterious characteristics. They are called Dark Energy.

Athena clearly felt that Dark Energy was surging within her body, not a degeneration of the existing holy light, but emerging from within her body as if this Dark Energy had been dormant within her all along, and today, it awakened in one go under external stimuli—how could this be? Before she could be stunned by this, the unfamiliar memories deep within her soul had already surged forth.

The memories born from the Sacred Flame were false. She was not a First Generation Angel. Her memories were fabricated by the Judgment Angel Teris, who taught her. Now, the memory lock deep within her soul, loosened by the conflict between holy light and Dark Energy, unleashed a flood of unfamiliar memories. She read the truth: her memory contained a bloody past. Her father was the legendary commander of Heaven, the war angel Paris, who had died heroically in battle. Her mother, however, was a fallen angel who had abandoned glory and betrayed the holy light, the one she most despised and considered her lifelong enemy...

"What am I? My father is a sacred war angel, a hero who died for the protection of Heaven, and my mother is a fallen one who betrayed Heaven and the holy light, disgracing the Father God's favor! What am I! What am I!"

The surging memories were not false, nor was the Dark Energy coexisting with the holy light. The only thing that was false was the belief she had held as the truth for so many years. These things she had once been proud of and considered the meaning of her life now seemed so ridiculous. She had viewed the fallen angels as her lifelong enemies, dreaming of the day when she would lead the brave angel army to annihilate all the traitors. But... but...

"What a joke... What a joke..." Despair boiled to the extreme, and Athena actually laughed. "So, the wielder of the Azure Wrath, the future Seraphim and guardian of Mount Heaven, the Power Angel Athena, who was entrusted with great hopes by the Holy Domain commanders, is actually a mongrel with a forbidden bloodline!"

Everything made sense now. No wonder the Chief Judge was furious when I went to confront the fallen angels on my own, stripped me of my power and rank, and exiled me to the human world. No wonder the Azure Wrath no longer recognized me. It seems my mentor had long suspected me, fearing that I would discover the secrets of my bloodline and the past in my memories, and then turn against Mount Heaven!

My mentor and adoptive father! The great and just Chief Judge, the Seraphim Teris! I grew up on Mount Heaven, swearing to fight for the holy light and justice all my life. I regarded the protection of the angel race as my lifelong creed and mission. How many times have I fought bloody battles, how many merits have I earned, and how much blood have I shed for Mount Heaven? In the end, just because of a negligible possibility, you would abandon me without hesitation?

Athena remained in a daze, but the Dark Energy surrounding her body, fueled by anger and despair, began to boil like boiling water. Realizing her true nature, the ugliness of her existence, the taste of being abandoned, and the sweetness of despair, she wanted to share this heart-wrenching despair with more people!

"Athena! Athena!" The shouts seemed distant and close, like an illusion. Who was calling me?

How could it be? If the news that "Athena is a forbidden life born from an angel and a fallen angel" were to reach Mount Heaven, everyone would probably cut ties with me. I have been abandoned by the world. Mount Heaven will not accept me, the fallen angels will not accept me, and even the Father God would detest this forbidden hybrid... I have nowhere to go...

Suddenly, she felt a tight grip on her right wrist.

Her unfocused eyes slowly returned to normal. She turned her head woodenly and found that Sigma had grabbed her hand.

The necromancer's hand burned with a pale blue light, struggling to resist the surging Dark Energy from Athena. Noticing her gaze, Sigma managed a weak smile: "I don't know what happened, but it seems I caused this trouble. I'm sorry for making you like this. Killing me won't help, but since the holy light can degenerate into Dark Energy, the process must be reversible! I don't know what you're thinking, but despairing won't do any good! We can find a way to restore you! Nolun is vast, whether it's the Church, the Empire, or the Mage Federation, there must be a way!"

"You don't understand... You don't understand!" Athena's expression gradually became more vivid. Looking at Sigma, she recalled the direct cause of her transformation. Her expression became more and more grotesque, as if she needed an outlet to vent all her anger and despair. "It's all because of you! It's all because of you! It's all because of you that I became like this!"

Sigma smiled bitterly. He did not know the truth and believed he was the culprit, so he did not argue. His silence only fueled Athena's malevolent thoughts. Negative emotions were gradually consuming the angel's reason, causing her to raise her left hand, gathering Dark Energy of Holy Domain strength, and strike Sigma's chest with all her might!

Then, a finger touched her wrist.

A towering figure pulled Sigma backward.

The Dark King, Sargeras.

He looked at Athena and said solemnly, "It's not Sigma's fault. You know it, and I know it."

"It is his fault! If it weren't for him, this wouldn't have happened today!"

"But perhaps tomorrow, you would have become like this anyway," Sargeras said calmly. "You are just venting your anger. You are still avoiding the truth. You were not prepared, and when you encountered a setback, you lost your composure and acted like a child, lashing out in anger. Do you think you are fit to be a leader of Heaven? Am I wrong, Miss Chocolate—oh, that's not appropriate. After all, both dark chocolate and white chocolate are good chocolates, but what is a chocolate that is neither dark nor white? A mongrel?"

The indifferent sarcasm ignited all of Athena's anger. She spread her wings and soared into the sky, her Dark Energy surging to its peak. The angel, like a black sun, turned in mid-air, carrying all her despair, pain, anger, and murderous intent, and plummeted toward Sargeras and Sigma!

Then, she met Sargeras' gaze.

A strange light appeared in the Dark King's eyes. In an instant, it seemed as if the world was twisted by an invisible hand. The Dark Energy surrounding Athena exploded layer by layer, melting like snow in the sun. In less than three seconds, the surging Dark Energy of the Holy Domain was completely extinguished under Sargeras' gaze, leaving not a trace.

Sargeras kicked the falling Athena, sending her flying dozens of meters and crashing through a wall.

He turned around and said indifferently, "See? When you're with a woman, you need to be prepared with both sweet words and a whip."

Sigma ignored her and quickly ran over, digging Athena out from the rubble. At this moment, the angel's holy light and Dark Energy had been dispersed by Sargeras' gaze, leaving her both mentally and physically weak. Seeing Sigma, her gradually recovering reason realized that she had almost made a grave mistake—her Holy Domain-strength strike, fueled by anger, would have been impossible for the mid-level necromancer to resist.

Her eyes were filled with weakness and regret as she whispered, "I'm sorry..."

Sigma shook his head and gently embraced her, "It's okay. I said I would help you..."

The angel finally burst into tears, hugging Sigma and sobbing, "I can't go back, I can't go back! They all don't want me anymore!"

***

PS1: Another 3,000+ words. I've updated 6,000-7,000 today, which is enough for three chapters. That's a lot, right? (Pushing glasses) Yes, I feel confident asking for votes now. (Raising hand)

PS2: As usual, I'm asking for support... Yes, I'm still not confident because I haven't gained an absolute advantage. (Nodding)