Original God's Dark Priest

Chapter 904 The Reason for Betrayal

"Hey, why are you looking at the vegetables again? They'll rot if you water them too much, you know?"

Suddenly, a man's voice rang out.

“Ifa?” Orloren came to his senses. Yes, it was only natural to recall his best friend on his deathbed.

In his memory, the Orloren of that time had already answered the question: "I was watching honey worms."

"Have you figured anything out?" The dark-skinned man stayed inside, seemingly busy with something.

The answer he received was from the Orlan he remembered: "Some honey bugs fell down this morning. They probably couldn't withstand the sharp drop in temperature yesterday."

"That's a pity. There will be less honey this year." Ifa felt a little regretful. Honeyworms are a precious source of honey for Nata. For the Nata people who have suffered the pain of fighting the abyss, this little bit of sweetness from their lives is especially precious.

Orloren nodded slowly, then asked, "Ifa, do you think being a veterinarian is interesting?"

"How interesting can it be? I'd like to ask you the same thing, is growing vegetables interesting?" Ifa didn't answer directly, but instead asked a question in return.

The meaning behind this is quite clear: Ifa became a veterinarian not because it was interesting, or rather, it wasn't just because it was interesting.

Orlan nodded thoughtfully, then replied, "It's alright, but there's nothing else that absolutely needs to be done."

“That’s more like it. Most people live in a daze, and only a few are truly compelled to do something. That’s just how the world is.” Ifa seemed to have seen through everything, and her words even carried a hint of Zen.

But before he could finish speaking, a noise came from inside the house—the sound of something being knocked to the ground.

Immediately afterward, Ifa exclaimed, "Ah! This guy is thrashing around again! Dude, I'm begging you, come inside and lend a hand!"

"Didn't you say you didn't find being a veterinarian interesting?" Orlan crossed his arms, showing no intention of helping.

Ifa wasn't annoyed by this; the sounds of fighting came from inside the house: "The most interesting part is outsmarting these things! Hey, hurry up!"

He pressed down on the other party while urging Ororen on.

This memory should probably end here, and Orlan felt negative emotions starting to grow in his heart again.

Various inexplicable thoughts began to flash and swirl in my mind.

"My soul is very unstable; it's only because everyone has helped me maintain it that I've been able to live safely until today. I was never truly complete, which is why the wandering spirit occupying that gap in my soul said I wasn't far from death. But..."

Orlan closed his eyes, then slowly opened them. In the darkness before him, the figure of a strange man appeared.

He said, "Why struggle? It's a miracle that someone like you was even born. Just close your eyes and wait for death."

“You’re the one who suddenly appeared.” Upon seeing this man, Orlan showed no surprise whatsoever, as if he had known all along that the other party would appear.

The man shook his head and appeared behind Orlan in a flash: "You're wrong. I'm a warrior too. Completely different from a coward like you."

“I’m not cowardly, I just have limited abilities,” Orloran denied.

To everyone's surprise, the man nodded in agreement: "You're right, so your fantasy is a joke. How can the world be saved by incompetent people?"

“An incompetent man…” Euron was stunned. He didn’t like this assessment; he disliked it from the bottom of his heart.

His negative emotions began to surge once again.

In the ruins, Saphir placed his right hand on Ororon's head, his left hand forming a mudra, his eyes slightly closed, and remained silent.

"How did it go?" The captain waited patiently by the side, anticipating the result.

Saffir frowned slightly: "That person... is trying to stir up his negative emotions... Hiss... Are the people of the Smoke Master protecting him too well?"

His memories are filled with being cared for and protected... Didn't you let him ever set foot on the battlefield?

Mavica turned her face away, unwilling to answer, but unable to avoid Saffir's gaze, she could only cough dryly: "You can't just ask me about this, it's the Lord of Smoke's decision..."

"A qualified warrior must experience battle. Now I understand why he was willing to stay in Yuanxia Palace. Because there, no one would treat him as a piece of trash."

He could pick up a weapon himself and fight a thrilling battle for a certain goal, even though it was meaningless. But what he wanted was the feeling of self-affirmation in battle…” Saffir finally understood Orloren’s thoughts.

She said that she had forcibly abducted O'Loren the day before, and the next day this guy was so cooperative, and even genuinely cared about her. He must have found his self-worth.

Saffir felt conflicted, shook his head, and continued reading.

“We will all disappear, but you will die before me, because you were a cripple from the beginning,” the Kanria warrior named Gutherred said with certainty. “After your soul shatters and disappears, I will briefly take over this body. I will do my last bit for my commander.”

He was extremely arrogant and believed he had the ability. In Euron's eyes, he transformed into the exact same posture as himself in the blink of an eye. He was so casual, as if he were toying with a helpless clown.

Orlan frowned, unwilling to accept it. He shook his head vigorously, trying to deny it: "No. No, no! This is too humiliating. I haven't done anything meaningful yet!"

How could I just... die such a pathetic death...?

"I won't disappear before you, and I won't accept my fate. Because I shouldn't die at a time like this, no, I shouldn't even be..."

"I don't want to die at all!"

“Yes, Ororen, you’re right, say more, say more! Deny him, deny this arrogant guy, deny everything he said!” Saffir’s voice rang out once again in Ororen’s consciousness space.

This time, her voice was neither indistinct nor distant; it was as if she were standing right beside Orloren, whispering in his ear.

“I am Orlan. I have my friends, my family, and things I want to do. I am not some worthless piece of trash. People protect me and take care of me, not look down on me! What you are saying is completely wrong!”

I am definitely not a pathetic wretch who is looked down upon. I have my own pride, and this is definitely not where I will die.

Call it fantasy or wishful thinking, I want to be a hero because I yearn to help everyone. I want to save Nata. This isn't just my wishful thinking; it's the dream of everyone in Nata!

With each word Orlan spoke, the fog in his consciousness space thinned a little, and gradually he felt himself becoming clearer and clearer, while the person in front of him became increasingly blurry.

He smiled, looking at the semi-transparent figure, and slowly said, "Becoming a hero has never been a ridiculous fantasy; it is the dream of all of us in Nata."

“Ororen! Control your mind, believe that you are standing firmly on the ground! You will be alright.” After Ororen completely broke free from Gutherred’s control, Mavica’s voice rang in his ears.

The call of the Vulcan was like a beam of light piercing through the darkness, illuminating his dark consciousness. Ororen subconsciously ran wildly in the direction from which the light was projected, stretching out his hand with all his might, trying to touch the light.

The next second, he felt his outstretched right hand being suddenly grabbed, his drowsy consciousness instantly cleared, and everything in front of him came into view.

The person gripping Orloren's right wrist was none other than Saffir.

“You suddenly reached out to me; I thought you were planning to attack me.” Saffir slowly released Orloren’s hand.

Only then did Orlan belatedly withdraw his hand, looking around somewhat blankly.

Paimon's worried expression hadn't faded yet: "He's finally awake! Orloren isn't dead!"

"Very good, you did it. You accomplished what was originally impossible." Mavica also breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, it was really dangerous just now. If Saffir hadn't said that the kid was lucky to be alive, she would have been tempted to do something herself.

Orlan was somewhat confused, feeling a void in his body, especially in his chest, which felt as if he had been kicked (by the captain), and was in excruciating pain.

He clutched his chest and knelt on the ground: "What is meant by 'originally impossible'..."

"Don't speak or move. Focus on yourself. You're lucky, O'Loren. Aurora is a leader in the medical field in every aspect. With her here, you don't need to worry," the captain reassured him.

Orloren nodded, then looked at Saffir, who had been examining his body from the beginning. Before he could say anything, Saffir spoke: "Your soul was incomplete to begin with, and now that you have suffered this calamity, you will feel weak for some time to come."

"Uh...isn't her tone a little strange? Could it be that Sapphire has also been possessed?" Paimon shrank closer to Ying.

Ying was stunned. She felt like she had seen this kind of Safiel somewhere before... Then she remembered that when she was talking to the immortals in Liyue, it seemed to be just like this.

Saffir rolled his eyes: "You two don't know anything. Things involving the soul naturally require the use of magic. Every time I use this thing, I can't help but imitate Old Deng's way of speaking. I can't help it, okay?"

"Did she just curse Zhongli Laodeng?" Paimon noticed the blind spot.

Mavica whispered a reminder: "Don't say things like that out loud. When you get punished, no one will speak up for you."

“Oh right…” Paimon shrank back.

Saffir didn't bother with this clown. With a flick of her finger, she created a miniature array to calm the mind and stabilize the soul. All she could do now was help Euron stabilize his soul.

His soul was congenitally damaged, and now it has suffered a severe blow. Even Saffir would have difficulty repairing it. There are always things in this world that are beyond human reach. Perhaps only Naberius or Rheindorf could solve Euron's situation.

But how could this person possibly get involved in such a trivial matter?

"That's fine. As long as you don't fight the abyss monsters for three days and three nights, you should be fine," Sapphire said, patting non-existent dust off his hands.

Paimon immediately retorted, "Anyone would have problems with that kind of thing, right?"

Euron felt much better after all. He stood up and let out a long sigh of relief: "I'm much better now. I'm so sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"That's something to discuss later," Mavica said casually. Since she had already stopped the captain, the situation was in her favor.

Orlan turned to look at the captain: "Our...plan has failed, hasn't it?"

The captain glanced at the innocent-looking Saffir, but said nothing.

Euron felt a pang of self-reproach: "What a pity, we almost succeeded."

"Don't blame yourself. Even without this incident, we wouldn't have succeeded." Today's events were all a setup. Everyone present has been played around with these past few days. The captain won't say who the mastermind is.

Saffir seemed not to hear, looked up at the sky, and whistled.

The captain continued to stare at her, but Saffir turned around and put his back to the captain.

Finally, the captain couldn't take it anymore and spoke up: "Aurora, now we need to have a serious talk. I don't know what your reasons are for doing this, and I hope you can give me an explanation."

The captain was very unhappy to be betrayed by his own people for no reason, so he naturally questioned Saffir.

Saffir knew that what was coming had finally arrived. She slowly turned around and looked at the captain, saying, "I have said what I needed to say. You have already admitted that this operation was driven by your own selfish motives. So, I also have my own selfish motives."

"I don't agree with your approach, and Euron, you think you can pull off your self-destructive redemption by keeping it from me? Don't even think about it."

"Doing this won't do you any good..." The captain found it somewhat ridiculous. What did Nata's situation have to do with her? Could it be that she had formed a deep friendship with the people here after only being here for two days?

Besides, I'm trying to find a way to save Nata, so why can't I?

Saffir patted Orloren on the shoulder: "I promised Sitellaly that I would bring this kid back safe and sound."

Captain, you might not know this, but he lied not only to me, he lied to you too.

"What?" The captain was taken aback. He knew about the Secret Source Agency. The theory behind that plan was indeed valid, and Ororen did seem to want to save Nata. He was confident that he hadn't misjudged him.

Saffir seemed to know what the captain was thinking and chuckled: "You were right about him, but his deception of you wasn't in that aspect. It was that he didn't tell you the real price of activating the Secret Source Mechanism."

I've also studied the mechanisms for reconstructing the earth's veins, and even participated in their design and some experiments, so I know very well that such things require sacrifices.

Mature specialized technologies and mechanisms all require this; forcing the operation of the Secret Source Mechanism, something fundamentally incompatible from the start, will only require greater sacrifices.

"I...that's impossible! I never intended to sacrifice anyone else!" Upon hearing this, Orloren panicked and immediately retorted.

To his surprise, as soon as he said that, everyone's eyes turned to him.

Saffir shrugged, somewhat helplessly: "See? This kid came here from the very beginning with the idea of ​​sacrificing himself. Do you think I can just stand by and watch Sitrali's precious grandson die at your hands?"

"If this really goes through, then there will truly be no possibility of cooperation between us Fatui and Nata, Captain."

After Saffir finished explaining, all of the captain's resentment dissipated. He stared blankly at Orloren, his Adam's apple bobbing: "You..."

After a long while, he sighed deeply, as if he had aged instantly: "Fine, you did the right thing, Aurora. It's good that you stopped me. I was too presumptuous and too hasty."