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Heir of the White Lotus (Web Novel) - Chapter 2144: To the Stars
Chapter 2144: To the Stars
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
"Do you know the Old Tongue?"Luca asked Adam as the pair emerged from Fortune’s End and made their way back to Winterdale.
Adam nodded solemnly.
"Sic itur ad astra," he murmured. "Thus one goes to the stars."
"Then you know what that man meant," Luca said. His expression was grim.
Adam fell silent. He had an idea about what Morgan meant. But he wasn’t sure.
Luca continued, "It is a phrase soldiers utter when marching toward a battle they know they will not return from."
"An acceptance of fate," Adam whispered.
Luca nodded.
"For the soldiers of the Imperium, to speak those words is to acknowledge that their lives might end on the battlefield, but their duty would endure beyond them. They would march forward regardless, knowing that the path before them led only to death.
"And so, when faced with an inevitable battle, they would exchange a final salute with their comrades and utter those words in the Old Tongue of man. Sic itur ad astra. Thus, one journeys to the stars."
Adam paused, his boots crunching against the ice. He turned around and glanced at the black building in the distance.
"He’s not expecting to make it back to Davos, is he?" he murmured to himself.
Luca remained silent. He observed Adam for a few long moments before asking, "Tell me honestly. Did you come here for that item that the Night Guild is looking for?"
Adam tore his gaze away from the prison and continued walking. He shook his head. "No."
He explained how he had met up with Esmond and Sandra again to accept missions. Luca frowned at that, almost disgusted that Adam would even work with a thieves’ guild.
"I took missions to clear hidden camps and safehouses belonging to the Iron Covenant in the vicinity of Davos," Adam explained. "I didn’t wish to accept the mission to retrieve this... item, whatever it is."
"So it was purely because you believed it was related to Valerian’s kidnapping?" Luca asked, his eyes scrutinizing Adam.
Adam felt a little annoyed by the Paladin’s constant probes. It was as if he never stopped testing him.
"Yes," he said succinctly.
Luca asked, "What made you connect the dots between the two? What you said about coincidences... was that the truth?"
"Of course, it was." Adam snorted. "Or did you think I could manipulate a Magus as powerful as Leto Morgan with words coming out of my ass?"
Luca’s eyes narrowed slightly. "But what made you suspect coincidences in the first place? The very nature of coincidences is that people aren’t supposed to notice them."
Adam turned to look at the Paladin. He was now more than a bit annoyed by the constant questions. "You really don’t trust me, do you, Luca?"
"Can you blame me for suspecting that you only brought me along so you could be granted expedited passage to the most secure prison on the West Coast? Not to mention, you ended up taking missions for a vile organization even after you told me you’d steer clear of them."
Luca was a descendant of the God Emperor. He had grown up learning to be wary of people who might try to exploit him or take advantage of his status. It was only natural for him to be suspicious of others, especially when their intentions were unclear.
After all, not everyone who approached him did so with genuine friendship in mind.
"That is not why I asked you to come with me!" Adam protested. "As for the other matter..."
He paused before looking away. "My moral compass is more flexible, Luca. I accepted those missions because I wanted to test my blade in real battle. And that is the truth."
Luca shook his head and sighed. He knew not everyone treated honor with the same reverence he did. Some people had their own principles, while others were willing to bend them whenever circumstances demanded it.
He didn’t particularly approve of Adam’s rather flexible approach to morality, but neither did he believe it was his place to judge his friend.
After all, morality was rarely as simple as distinguishing right from wrong. What one person considered a necessary compromise, another might regard as an unforgivable transgression. What one person saw as an act of honor, another might dismiss as pointless stubbornness.
Ultimately, everyone had their own standards to live by.
Luca had chosen his. Adam had chosen his own. It was a product of their upbringings. And while the two of them might disagree on many things, Luca had no intention of forcing his principles upon a friend whom he considered a brother.
"I have experienced the magic of coincidences before," Adam said suddenly. "I’ve been a target of things just happening to magically align themselves so I could benefit from them. It was in my homeworld."
"...How?" Luca was taken aback. "The magic of coincidences is ridiculously esoteric. And you are claiming to have experienced it in the Outerverse?"
"World Will," Adam said. "My homeworld gained sentience. Don’t ask how. I was its champion. It helped me defeat an enemy who sought to summon an army of devils to the world and destroy it, all through a series of coincidences."
Luca was struck dumb. A world in the Outer Universe gaining sentience? That was the most ridiculous thing he had heard. But for some reason, it did not seem like Adam was lying.
Adam turned to him and said solemnly, "That’s why I’m so sensitive to coincidences. If not for my experiences in Tron, I would have remained ignorant here."
When he saw Luca was about to press for more answers, he waved a hand and said, "Don’t ask me about my world gaining sentience. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
Luca swallowed the words in his mouth. "Damn you," he whispered.
"Anyway." Adam changed the subject. "Morgan’s departing words don’t seem so optimistic. He fears the Night Guild’s attack. Or..."
Luca finished the words for him. "Fortune’s End."
Adam and Morgan’s conversation had not been a secret.
As Luca had once said: humans would die for coin, just as birds would die for food.
Would the people in the prison who heard Adam’s conversation with Morgan really stay put, especially when millions of gold coins were at stake?
Adam wrapped the furs tighter around him.
"Let’s get away from these defensive barriers. I need to send a letter to Hannibal as soon as possible."
