“I see,” Annan murmured in a low voice.
His gaze met Henry VIII’s eyes. Those ice blue eyes were as pure as jade and crystal clear as mirrors. Yet, at the same time, the king stared at him with a false gentle smile that seemed indifferent.
In other words, Henry VIII watched what unfolded in front of him on an equal footing.
Even though their eyes met, Annan still felt like Henry VIII was not looking at him.
Those eyes were like Kafni’s eyes when she first saw Annan.
It appeared like what entered the king’s eyes was not “Annan”, but a painting called “Annan”. Or perhaps he was staring at something behind Annan.
Kafni’s supernatural vision ability could be directly inherited from Henry VIII.
Henry VIII’s ability to “know everything” was probably born from this supernatural vision.
By now, the answer was already obvious.
Why was Henry VIII so indifferent to his children but fervent to himself? He did not care about his own life or death, nor the kingdom’s existence, so why should he express kindness to Annan?
He was not afraid of Old Grandmother.
But because he was interested in Annan.
Annan and Henry VIII were similar but the opposite of one another.
The contrast was like the inside and outside of a mirror.
The unreversed [Winter Heart] and the Child in the Cup identity the king was born with. They were unable to feel the “love” from their parents since childhood, and they were the only heir to the kingdom. However, they took opposite paths in the end.
“You should probably talk to my eldest brother beforehand.” Annan was silent for a long time before replying in a low voice, “I may not be able to give you the answer you want now.”
After all, his [Winter Heart] was reversed.
His previous memory might also have been completely wiped.
Perhaps the former Annan could echo Henry VIII to a certain degree before the amnesia. However, he was now completely different from a few years ago.
Without the memory of that period, the personality attached to it was no longer there.
However, what happened at this moment was quite odd.
In Annan’s typical behavior, he would not have spoken so much.
Instead, he would listen to Henry VIII’s words and try to earn rapport from the king to snatch some benefits from the encounter.
But somehow, Annan did not want to lie, which would be only limited to Henry VIII and this topic.
Annan’s instinct instigated him to participate in the topic and value Henry VIII highly — just as Henry VIII valued Annan.
However, facing Annan’s statement, Henry VIII just nodded gently.
“—I know. I see what you mean.
“But it doesn’t matter if you remember the past or not. That’s not a ‘mirror’ about me.”
“Mirror?” The strange word startled Annan.
He knew that Henry VIII was neither a transcender nor a ritualist.
He might have learned some occult knowledge but would not go too deep into it. Some of that knowledge would bring a burden to the soul. Without embarking on the Transcendence path, souls might go crazy after learning the knowledge.
No matter how Annan looked at it, the “mirror” had nothing to do with the current topic.
Unless…
“Your guess is right.” Henry VIII nodded and said in a flat and dignified tone. “Not long ago, Pope Benjamin came to see me once.”
He was like a Soul Snatch Wizard who was proficient in wizardry involving reading minds, saying precisely what Annan was thinking.
However, Annan did not feel any trace of the spell at all.
Benjamin?
How could he have anything to do with this?
However, it might be related to the “Man in the Mirror” since “mirror” is mentioned.
Annan frowned slightly and blurted, “If I make up a ‘mirror’ composition with you and I’m a ‘mirror’ with a person, could it be that I am the center of the ritual?”
“Yes.” Henry VIII answered.
“And you’re just a part of the ritual?” Annan asked again.
Seeing that Annan could understand the situation to this depth the moment he heard “Benjamin”, Henry VIII could not help but smile in gratification.
He just said calmly, “That’s natural, Your Majesty Annan.
“[The deities are born from the Light Realm, and they know that the radiance is born in the mirror and falls into the void.] [The Rays of Seven Luminaries have never fallen into the mortal world], [The ‘mirror’ without equal weight becomes the hatching egg, and the true light will not descend from the Light Realm].”
Henry VIII spoke in an intricate rhythm.
Annan felt a weight burdening his soul upon hearing it. It was like putting a stubborn rock in a half-full water bag, which made the water bag heavy. But, at the same time, it made the water level called “consciousness” rise until it overflowed.
Still, Annan was familiar with this feeling.
It is the mysterious “weight”.
He accepted this weight, which meant that Henry VIII had taught him this occult knowledge.
But if it is the knowledge of [Light] and [Mirror]…
Annan realized something.
“Then, Your Majesty… If you know it, and if you can tell me.” Annan frowned slightly and asked earnestly, “What is [Me]?”
“You are the [Divine Transporter].”
Faced with the philosophical question, Henry VIII answered without hesitation, “The great thing summoned by the ‘ascendancy ritual’ is the last light that transcender sees, and the first light that deities see.
“You may be the hand of the Divine Transporter, or you may be the Divine Transporter itself, or even just a ray of light. But what you are does not depend on the past but the future.”
As expected.
Like his granddaughter, Kafni, Henry VIII was a mystical person. From this point of view, Kafni was the only one who perfectly inherited Henry VIII’s talent.
Henry VIII’s supernatural vision was even far sharper than Kafni.
What Kafni saw was the essence of Annan’s soul. In comparison, what the king saw was the existence of a real image in Salvatore’s mirror.
But what Henry VIII saw was not a person, not even a thing, but a concept.
He could even see Annan’s Book of Divine Transporter.
However, the “hatching light”?
Is he trying to help me?
But that doesn’t make much sense for Henry VIII.
In other words, all this means nothing to him.
Is it because of what Benjamin said to him?
Thinking of this, Annan was silent for a while.
He turned to ask, “Then, Your Majesty, do you need anything from me?”
“Yes.” Henry VIII nodded and immediately turned serious.
He replied firmly, unlike the kindness he had portrayed previously, “Remember, you must come to my funeral and come as the ‘Austere-Winter’s Grand Duke’. You should tell Nolan about it.
“I’m going to die in four days, and the funeral is next Sunday. It’s important, and you must come.”
“Alright.” Annan did not ask why but just nodded.
This was bound to cause a lot of trouble for him. It might turn many people into his enemies, revealing his location and letting his enemies track his whereabouts.
But, so what?
Annan knew he wanted to be there as well.
So, it had been decided.
Afterward, Annan did not even bid farewell to the king but silently pulled Kafni, who was still a little dazed and overwhelmed, and left.
Behind them, Henry VIII smiled and looked at them calmly.
As Kafni was pulled away by Annan, she looked back subconsciously as she was about to leave the door.
She was not sure if it was an illusion.
Kafni always felt that the king’s smile was similar to the smile when she first met Annan a few years ago.
But, it was by no means the same smile.
Kafni suddenly remembered that Annan had read a poem to her.
It was a poem written by a poet in Austere-Winter that Kafni did not understand at that time.
But she memorized the poem in her mind.
The poem went like this:
“I will fall into the abyss one day.
“My body is burned to the ground, my teeth have rotted, and my flesh has decomposed.
“But until then, I will walk with the light.”
I see.
He is not reading the poem to me and not to the king either, but to the future Annan through me.
Kafni finally realized that Annan was decisively different from Henry VIII.
In the eyes of Henry VIII, no one ever existed.
On the contrary, there was always someone else in Annan’s eyes, no matter the past or the present.
It seemed the light of hope always shone in Annan’s eyes.