Team villains except me

Chapter 547: The Broken Bowl and the Tilt of the Scales

In less than half a day, the sky suddenly turned gloomy again.

The morning's sunshine and warmth seemed to be just for Mattia. After the funeral, the temperature slowly dropped until the wind howled violently, and the branches were broken by the violent shaking, making a faint, unnoticeable sound when they fell to the ground.

Kabra is talking to Dooku.

Her attention was focused on Dooku. This was the second time she had seen his face. The first time was when he was unconscious and she had lifted the crude rag bag covering his face. She was prepared to see a bloody mess, but it was obvious that the scene was not so bloody. She only saw a crisscross of scabbed wounds.

Regardless of who did it, Dooku was severely injured. He could no longer be studied by the military, as he would be driven insane by their harsh methods. Staying in the northern continent would be a dead end for him.

Although Kabra didn't pay attention to Dooku all the time, she would ask him occasionally when she remembered. She remembered that Dooku always wore a mask.

Yet now, she saw Dooku's face again.

Although there are still red marks, it seems to be much better and it can be seen that it is healing.

Kabra looked at Dooku earnestly, but Dooku was a little dazed. He looked at the sky outside, which was as dark as the yellow sand in the river, and thought of Natalie's orange hair.

He thought of the warm yellow lights of the restaurant they had visited together when Mattia was their instructor. He remembered the first time he had eaten surimi, fried to a crispy brown.

Even longer ago, he also had memories of a murky, yellowish scene like this. But there was no sky or flowing river in the abyss.

What did he see?

He couldn't remember. Whenever he thought about it, his head would hurt, as if someone was hammering at his skull.

"...Dukku Nefarth!"

Kabra was not pleased with Dooku's erratic behavior. In her position, her time was not worth wasting like this.

If Dooku was not a member of the Abyss, she would never have had any communication with him in her life. But she was tolerant of her people, especially those who were special.

When Dooku finally focused on her, Kabra frowned, but repeated what she had just said.

"Is there anything you want to tell me? Why were you thrown into the abyss at this age? What are your living conditions like? Do you have any family members in the abyss?"

Kabra had too many questions, and she couldn't wait for Dooku to speak the words one by one.

Dooku finally just shook his head.

Kabra looked at him steadily. She knew that there were many things he hadn't said. Maybe something was threatening him, maybe he himself didn't understand what was happening, maybe... he didn't trust her.

This was truly absurd. No one in the world would want to keep him safe more than she did. Even the teammate he spent the most time with was willing to threaten her at his expense—what had the vice-captain threatened her for?

To set Dooku free.

To unlock the secrets of the abyss.

Ultimately, it's all for Dooku.

Kabra was not angry. She changed the subject.

"You don't have to tell me, but your teammates, they're worried about you, aren't they? They all gathered together today to ask me to set you free. They're very brave, Dooku. If you care about them as much as they care about you, then you should tell them.

The bond between people is very fragile. One is distance, and the other is deception. If they always make unilateral efforts for you, but you don't dare to tell them about yourself because you lack the courage, then over time, they will naturally dislike you.

"will not."

Dooku answered quickly this time.

"I won't dislike me."

This was the longest sentence Kabra had ever heard Dooku say since she met him. She was surprised to find that Dooku spoke the Common Language much better and fluently.

The corners of her mouth raised slightly.

"Really? If you can reveal the secrets of the abyss and explain why you were thrown out, I won't ask you to return to the northern continent. I've also told your teammates this. They're all working hard now. If you trust them, you should try too."

Dooku, opportunities don't always come. I'm tolerant of you because you're also a member of the Abyss. I hope you can seize the opportunity, just like your teammates did. Dooku, show some courage. It's too cunning to always let your teammates charge for you.

"...I have the courage. I don't. I can't say."

"why?"

Dooku fell silent again.

Kabra had never met anyone who gave her such a headache. She couldn't waste any more time on Dooku.

"Forget it. Your chance for freedom is in your own hands, but I must remind you that I won't let you leave after you graduate. You must work in the Northern Continent until your death. That was the original agreement. I've been dealing with the military for you, and you must repay what you owe me with your work."

Your teammates are all in the western continent, right? In the first few years, they can still take the magic circle to the northern continent to see you, but after a while, when they get married, have children, and have successful careers, will they still come to see you? Even if they remain unchanged, Dooku, don't be so selfish, think about them. Do you want to be a burden to them? Think about it yourself."

Kabra stopped looking at Dooku and simply stood up and left.

She was going to see what progress was being made with the vice-captain and Becky Cockak.

Becky was a leader in the field of Abyssal Studies, a gifted theologian she had nurtured from the slums. If that vice-captain could truly unlock the mysteries of the Abyss, then she, Kabra, would fulfill Caroline's last wish and replace her as the foremost of the Abyssal Tribe.

She hoped the lieutenant was as smart as Becky.

The tide of strange beasts appeared again, and the balance between her and the army was broken. The army became more and more powerful, but they, the Abyss Clan, had to live cautiously, for fear of becoming a breakthrough point for the people to vent their anger.

However, the Abyssal Tribe has become a very large group. If the army really points its spearhead at the Abyssal Tribe, many innocent people will die tragically.

Justice doesn't matter. In fact, truth doesn't matter either. But if the truth can free the Abyssal Tribe from the predicament of discrimination and threats, then even if the truth is fabricated, it doesn't matter.

The truth is nothing but a perfect lie.

Becky doesn't understand this, so she's a good learner. Cabra hopes Dooku's teammates understand this, because they want Dooku's freedom.

Since she is an important teammate, then try your best and do everything possible to give her a satisfactory answer.

-

Kabra was destined not to get the answer she wanted.

Because Nolvia was determined to destroy the Abyss and learn the truth. She cared about Dooku. She would never again let Dooku be alone in the Abyss, facing his "grandfather" who had hurt him, helplessly shouting their names over and over into his homemade communicator.

Cabra gave her Becky Cockak's contact information and arranged a meeting with her for the evening.

Originally, Huett and the others also wanted to stay, but Becky did not accept meetings with multiple people.

There was more than one way to free Dooku; Hugh and the others had many options to try. They agreed to meet at Teacher Garcia's house that evening, and then left Abesgar.

As Norvia expanded the video on the communicator, she heard the sound of cold wind splashing against the window. That icy feeling didn't belong to the western continent.

The sound of falling snow is like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon.

The enlarged image shook, and a voice complained wearily.

"This snow keeps falling, it's like a plague."

After a moment, the picture remained steady, and a face appeared in the square viewfinder.

Strong eyebrows, a pair of lifeless dark green eyes, and a nose as strong as a towering snow mountain.

Becky Cocker, a theologian who looks like a dark magician.

Nolvia greeted Becky politely.

Becky put on a pair of glasses that made her look a bit old. She stared at Nolvia and after a while, she sighed.

"You look so cold. I feel like you'll catch a cold breeze. When you spend too much time in the northern continent, you start to like tacky, hot colors. Your hair is a turn-off, but your eyes make up for it quite well.

There's no sea here. When I was little, I really wanted to see the sea, but after seeing it, it was just so-so. But I still love the ocean. Not the real one, but the one in books, the mysterious, deep one that I imagine is perfect.

Becky's eyes were blurry. After a while, her vision returned to normal and she asked Nolvia.

"Now that you know something about me, please tell me something about yourself. This is my habit when I talk to people. Talking about my profession is like exposing my private life to others. I must understand you before I can trust you. Show me your neck."

Nolvia: ...Neck?

Nolvia didn't understand but chose to do as she was told. She put her hair up to expose her neck, but Becky stopped her.

"It's troublesome to talk to someone you don't know well. Everyone has a neck, and if the neck is broken, you will die, so the neck is a very private place. I said I want to see your neck because I want to know your secrets. What do you care about most, and what are you most afraid of?"

Nolvia seemed to have no temper. She thought for a moment and spoke in a calm tone.

"I care about my family the most. I'm most afraid that my family will die in front of me."

Becky hummed.

"I can see that. Dean Kabra spoke to me briefly."

Becky's dark green eyes rolled, making her look demonic, and she scratched her hair.

"You're quite understanding. I like talking to people who have something to ask of me, so I don't have to guess. Guessing what the gods mean is already troublesome enough, and people who are not as powerful as the gods are not worth my guessing. I almost understand you now. Kabra said you want to know about the abyss, which is difficult to explain. Do you have a theological foundation?"

Norvia nodded.

She had already read all the information that Alita had sent to Teacher Valerio.

Becky didn't believe it.

"I'm not talking about theological foundations like those seemingly useless things like the ones in college where they ask you how many gods there are in the world and what their names are. So, what do you think the world is like? What are the equivalents of gods and non-god life forms?"

Nolvia thought about it, and her words were a little hesitant.

"I think of this world as a house. The gods are the frame, and the non-god life forms are the bricks and cement."

Becky shook her head.

"That's pretty close. My perspective is that the world is a closed container. To make it easier to imagine, you can think of the gods as a bowl, and non-human life forms as the water in the bowl.

Each god is a fragment of a bowl, but if the bowl existed alone, it would fall over at the slightest gust of wind. For a world to function permanently, its natural laws must be circular—that is, there must be a cycle of birth and death, of existence and disappearance. But the gods are powerful, immortal. With only gods, the world would collapse.

So the bowl needs water. But if there is too much water, the bowl will fall over.

Many predecessors have said that the sum of fortune and misfortune in this world is generally balanced. I believe that there is another thing that is also balanced: the total number of souls. People are born and die every moment in this world, but the soul is immortal, allowing people to reincarnate continuously. In this way, no new souls are added.

"The balance just didn't tip."

Nolvia said softly.

Becky nodded.

"Have you read Sfinryuk's work? I agree with her theory. If there are too many new souls, the water will overflow, and as you said, the balance will tilt. This world will also collapse due to insufficient capacity.

So, some people are born to die, some will awaken magic, some will not, and some will never have children in this life. These are certain.

This is how the laws of nature work. There's no way humans can violate them. But pay attention, I'm getting to the point.

The abyss is special. It wasn't formed later. It existed from the beginning. It's a chip in the bowl. The abyss is the world's garbage dump. Many believe it's the gateway to the outside world. This outside world refers to a space without divine control and without natural laws.

Many people, dissatisfied with their fate, wanted children, fame, and eternal life, so they jumped into the abyss. They never returned. I think they were right, because the number of souls is constant, but those born in the abyss have new souls.

This isn't just my imagination. There are many geniuses among those who have entered the abyss. They cast their children out, passing on their identities through various means. I've discovered who they are. They're a manufacturing couple, decreed by the gods to be childless. I suppose there's nothing wrong with adoption, but they're determined to pass on their exceptional bloodline.

The thing is, they actually did it. The child thrown up was truly their offspring. Therefore, the Abyss is unconstrained. There may be other constraints, but the Abyss is definitely not bound by the constraints of this world.

Then, obviously, there are other worlds in the Abyss."