I Am Unstoppable

“Death comes as easily as extinguishing a candle flame or breaking a wax seal,” Jonathan proclaimed. “In the grand scale of the universe, Earth is merely a minuscule speck of dust, and humans are nothing more than tiny particles upon it. Considering the vastness of the cosmos, who would concern themselves with the life and death of such inconsequential beings? Allow me to pose this question: does a tiny ant experience the cycle of life and death? Are humans any more significant in the universe than ants?”

Fekro was pale as he squeezed out, “Does the Heavenly World really not exist?”

“What is the purpose for the Heavenly World to exist? Where does it exist? And if it does exist, why is there no trace of its presence?” Jonathan's voice turned stern as he pressed on, “It is merely a manipulative tool used by rulers to control their subjects. Fekro, from your standpoint, don't you find the entire spectacle of Paradiso's king ruling over his subjects utterly absurd?”

Fekro replied, “Indeed, the king claims that he is ordained by the Heavenly World and is the son of the Heavenly World. It is nothing but a deceptive tactic, and only the ignorant masses would believe in it. In our eyes, the king is nothing more than a ruler!”

Jonathan responded, “Indeed, I suspect the king and those noble ministers see you all as nothing more than jesters, easily deceived by the false tales spun by the religious teachings. Yet, each and every one of you believes without a doubt. We're just pawns to the world. Why should we laugh at others?”

Fekro shook his head. “I need some time to think about these.”

Jonathan nodded. “All right. I won't speak anymore. I neither want you to pledge loyalty to me nor to deceive you. I just hope that you'll cherish your life. Once you die, you lose everything, and I believe Theos won't shed a tear for you. You're a nobody to her, so this is something you should keep in mind. Is it worth it to die for her? I'm not saying these to you because I'm kind or great, but because I know the value of life. I, too, only have one life, and that's why I'm doing my best to live it.”

“To live?” Fekro repeated under his breath.

Yeverie was impressed by Jonathan's intelligence.

Torrence was similarly moved by Jonathan's speech. All of a sudden, he asked, “If you're doing your best to live your life, why did you risk death to save me?”

At that, Fekro turned to Jonathan.

Jonathan paused for a moment before expressing, “It was a decision stemming from my personal belief. You saved Yeverie and me from danger. Although I fear death, I felt compelled to save you. Even if it meant facing death, I believed it was a sacrifice worth making.”

He took a deep breath before continuing, “Therefore, Fekro, what you must consider is whether it is worthwhile to give your life for Theos and Supreme Sect. I have shared all of this because I want you to grasp just how scary death is and the high cost that it entails. The Heavenly World is an illusion, and Theos Lynn is simply another ruler with her subjects. I want you to understand the true nature of things and then decide if it is truly worth it. If you still believe it is, I will naturally respect your choice.”

After a long look at Jonathan, Fekro said, “Thank you. Thank you for giving me the chance to choose and find out about the truth.”

Jonathan returned him a small smile. “I'm just doing it for our sakes.”

Fekro then fell silent for the rest of the night, and so did the others as they rested in the tent.

The next morning, Fekro abruptly sat up and blurted out, “I've made up my mind.”

At that, Jonathan and Torrence sat up. Jonathan asked, “And your decision is...”

Fekro answered, “I cannot die, and I don't want to die. To stay alive, I'll do my best to help you all. I haven't thought of what I should do with the rest of my life. After all, my betrayal of Supreme Sect might leave me no room to survive in this world.”

“If you're interested, I can take you to the main world. It is a much fairer place there. At the very least, you'll be at peace there. I can also give you enough money in the main world to travel all over the world,” Jonathan offered.

Fekro's eyes lit up. “Are you serious?”

“This is but an exchange. These are nothing but my gratitude toward you if I can get out of this alive,” Jonathan told him.

Fekro nodded. “All right. That's settled then.”

Jonathan turned to Torrence, “Torrence, do return Fekro his communication spell. It'll be bad if we miss out on any messages Theos sends to him.”

Torrence was hesitant, however. He asked, “Do you really believe him?”

Jonathan answered, “I do. I believe that Fekro is earnest in wanting to live his life.”

At that, Torrence fell silent.

He returned the communication spell to Fekro, and they got out of bed to have their breakfast before starting their journey again.

This time, Fekro led the way. Midway, he said, “Quinton and the others are my subordinates, but we're not that familiar with each other. So, once we bump into anyone, try to keep your heads low so that we won't run into any issues. But don't lower your heads at the same time. Ms. Yeverie and Mr. Lawson, you can adopt a more relaxed stance. They won't be able to recognize you that easily as we have women on our team too. Torrence will need to be the wariest, however.”

Torrence bobbed his head. “I know that.”

Jonathan then asked, “So from now on, I'm Black Cardinal Quinton?”

Fekro smiled and replied, “That's right.”

The journey for the following three days went well.

Jonathan's party was approaching Pollerton—they were less than three hundred kilometers away.

In other words, Lynn's range of search would be narrowing.

With Fekro's guide, Jonathan's party moved at a quicker pace. Though they had encountered several members of Supreme Sect on their way to Pollerton, they were in no danger. None of the members were suspicious of Jonathan's party, and they never searched them.

However, one day, Fekro received a message from Lynn.

“Everyone head to Nymphaea right away. Those who do not reach in two days' time will be severely punished!”

It was a strict order.

“It looks like Theos Lynn is losing her cool,” Jonathan commented.

Torrence pointed out, “Nymphaea is less than twenty-five kilometers away from Pollerton. It's a place we have to pass to get to our destination.”

Jonathan wondered out loud, “The snowy tundra is a huge place. Why do we have to pass that place? Even if there are cliffs and mountains, we can just fly over them. Even if there are lakes, I'm sure the lake is frozen over by now. Why is it a place we must pass?”

Fekro interjected, saying, “Nymphaea was once a lake, but geological transformations caused it to freeze into an ice bridge in the sky. On either side are treacherous chasms, stretching around fifteen kilometers in every direction. The reason Theos has gathered everyone there is because she knows that once you get there, and if you wish to take flight, you must rely on magic. However, she has set up a magic formation, granting her complete control over the manipulation of magic elements. Therefore, any attempt to circumvent her and employ magic for flight will be swiftly detected.”

Hearing that, both Jonathan and Torrence clicked their tongues. It was an unexpected obstacle. If they had not brought along Fekro, they would have crossed the area right into Lynn's trap.

Moreover, while Jonathan found it easy to take flight by himself, it was another story if he had to bring along two other people.

Regardless of everything, this was a huge problem they had to solve.

Fekro then asked Jonathan, “What do you plan to do?”

“If we don't cross it, we'll expose ourselves, right?”

Fekro answered, “Yes. Theos will notice something odd about the situation if she checks on it. If we don't head there, they'll still track us down soon.”

“How long will Theos' magic formation last if we don't cross it?”

“At least ten days,” Fekro told him.