Super Righteous Player-Chapter 1171 - 218: Punishment of the Seven Sins

This was, without doubt, an exhilarating piece of news.

As an ancient centaur sage who had lived since antiquity and the founder of the professional system, Chiron possessed considerable battle prowess. Moreover, his wisdom was no less inferior to Annan’s.

Different from Annan, who could only acquire knowledge from books and whose memory had been reset once, erasing all the hidden knowledge previously learned.

Chiron was privy to many secrets buried deep in history. These secrets might be difficult to speak of... since they might not have been secrets back in the day, but as time passed, they gradually became secrets.

The age of this centaur even predates some of the current deities. When he analyzed many issues, his perspective was broader and farther-reaching than Annan’s.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t become a deity due to a lack of capability, but merely because he lacked the opportunity... If Charioteer hadn’t perished, Chiron probably would have ascended to the realm of light and become a deity by now.

Just like this time—if it hadn’t been for Chiron’s help, Annan probably wouldn’t have been able to return. Even Annan himself didn’t know how long he could have lasted under such absolute despair.

"But fortunately, you’ve come out,"

Paper Princess sighed, "If you hadn’t escaped, I think I would have regretted it for the rest of my life."

"Escape isn’t quite the right word."

Annan shook his head: "Undoubtedly, that was a trial. Only by completing this trial, by fighting the despair within one’s own heart, can one leave that nightmare with head held high."

"Before, they were together, and I didn’t feel it appropriate to say... but I’m actually very glad that I entered such a nightmare at this time.

"It exposed the true fear deep within me, allowing me to see the places where I’m powerless. I’m extremely scared of the situation where ’I can’t do anything’ happening..."

At this point, Annan paused slightly.

A thought suddenly struck him:

Could there be such a possibility...

If The Worm is the enemy of the Charioteer, the existential enemy destined for Annan. Then, when facing the intangible and insubstantial concept of "The Worm," would he also feel this powerlessness?

——If so, then could it be that "Black Annan," who was even more cunning than Annan is now, had already considered this possibility?

Although The Worm became cunning after gaining Annan’s wisdom and even began to take the initiative to strike and scheme against Annan, its thought process indeed had direction, and it possessed a physical body that could potentially be killed.

But what if...

This was the result led by Annan— or rather Black Annan?

The current "White Annan," in terms of the entire span of history, is just one half of the entity "Annan," one aspect of himself.

Annan himself didn’t know what Black Annan had done—he couldn’t access the memories belonging to Black Annan, let alone understand his personality and grasp his capabilities.

However, The Worm, as Annan’s "mirror image"... What It desired, of course, was not just the capabilities of this "half Annan."

Annan still remembered, the instant he saw The Worm, his Winter’s Heart seemed to have ceased to function.

——It was a disruption, not a reversal. Just like the situation Annan experienced in that otherworldly nightmare... This familiar disruption was indeed the doing of The Worm.

And this meant that the current "The Worm" also possesses the capabilities and characteristics of Black Annan...

Could it be described that... Dark Annan could influence The Worm’s decision-making by shaping his own personality into a certain form in a domain that Annan was unaware of and had never touched, designing some traps there?

Annan did not continue to think in this direction.

After all, he had no evidence.

This possibility could only be kept for reference. If it were taken for granted, many subsequent inferences might be biased by the preconception that "this inference is a fact".

So Annan continued:

"It was then that I finally realized... No matter how talented or diligent I am, there will always be things that can’t be done, people that can’t be saved.

"It’s impossible to save the world on one’s own. The world is made up of civilizations, and civilizations are made up of countless people... Each person is just a cog in the world. Some cogs may be larger and more powerful, but they inevitably have corners they cannot reach.

"I need companions, I need helpers. I need true friends.

"If I rely only on myself, I will eventually encounter something real, some situation where I can do nothing on my own. It is at these times that I will depend on my friends.

"Climbing out from the bottom of the abyss, struggling through countless failures, seeking the only possible miracle—this is indeed a possibility, definitely with a romantic feel of despair."

"But on the other hand... If each of my friends and relatives, every person I helped, and every person who wants to help me reaches out a hand to me when I’m in trouble—then it wouldn’t be any abyss of despair at all. It would just be a stumble."

As Annan spoke, he looked towards Isaac and Ofelia.

They both nodded at Annan, agreeing deeply.

They also obviously believed that their ability to leave or get out was largely thanks to Annan’s rescue... although that was indeed part of it.

...However, in truth, their ability to leave was also closely related to their own efforts.

Rather than being saved by Annan, they actually saved themselves in their own ways.

It was precisely because they changed their greatest flaws that they were able to escape from despair.

Annan’s punishment of "Pity" corresponds to the "Pride" deep in his heart. The arrival of reinforcements made Annan truly realize that there indeed were things that could not be accomplished alone, dissolving that pride.

"Pride, huh..."

Annan pondered.

...Thinking about it this way, the other six copies seem to correspond to the seven deadly sins.

Isaac’s punishment of "Judgement" corresponds exactly to the "Sloth" deep in his heart. Just as in history he was killed by Nicholas... When Isaac believed that the other person could inherit that power, he chose to give up and did not compete.

The essence of this action lies in Isaac’s deep-rooted laziness. The essence of the sin of Sloth lies in the avoidance of reality and responsibility, and the waste of time.

In the nightmare world of his, if Isaac was content with "defeating the enemy" and too lazy to think, he would never become conscious of the truth; the more time he wasted, the deeper he would sink into sin and the harder it would be to extricate himself, and the number of people dying would increase; if he were to avoid reality, or shirk responsibility, it would also lead to the apocalypse of the world.

He must become strong, face everything he is unwilling to confront—

——It is at this moment he would realize that he alone can save this world.