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She is already tall enough now; any taller would be too much! And all those muscles... they are hideous!

"I was organizing a game for Her Majesty, Father, as you probably know," Ansel said with a smile, taking a sip of the wine poured by Saville.

"Oh... Ephesande is causing trouble again, I see," Flamelle nodded, "Did any of that mess affect you?"

"No, I\'m fine," Ansel replied calmly.

"That\'s good," the mature Hydral laughed heartily, "Otherwise, the City of Celestia wouldn\'t be enough for me to tear down, hahaha—"

One was calm and polite, the other was quite enthusiastic. The atmosphere between father and son was indeed strange, but seeing that the other pact heads seemed unfazed, Seraphina chose to remain silent.

From the memories that Ansel had shared with her, even a fool like Seraphina could piece together some factors. Recalling the experiences Ansel had been through, her heart involuntarily ached.

"Ephesande won\'t last much longer. At the slowest, two years; at the fastest, half a year, and she\'ll have to embrace the Source Flame," Flamelle sighed, "But she doesn\'t seem like the type to wait for death. I\'m worried she might resort to any means necessary to cling to life. The path of the Dragon Clan is only for the Dragon Clan. If she truly reaches a dead end...

she might very well throw herself into the Lost Sea in search of a glimmer of hope."

"But before that—"

The man said with a smile, "I\'ll help you kill her, Ansel. Don\'t worry."

Seraphina was taken aback, unable to react in time.

Flamelle noticed Seraphina\'s expression and turned his slightly surprised gaze to Ansel, "Ans, haven\'t you told our little Seraphina anything?"

"...I\'ve told her some things," Ansel\'s eyes were slightly downcast, "Seraphina doesn\'t need to know too much right now. As long as she remains pure, she doesn\'t need to worry about meaningless things."

"Ans, Ans... A pact head is there to help us bear our burdens, not the other way around."

The man gently swirled his teacup, speaking with a half-smile, "Why does it seem like you, who took little Seraphina as your pact head, are the one protecting her?"

The young Hydral lifted his head slightly, his tone indifferent, "This is not protection, it\'s a rational choice."

"Didn\'t you ask for her opinion?"

"I don\'t need to ask for her opinion."

"Really?"

"..."

Ansel was silent for a moment, then sighed and said,

"Seraphina, the responsibilities and demands of a pact head should have been clear to you the moment you formed a pact with me. But I haven\'t told you about the Hydral and the Flamefeast, or about the four divine races, because I don\'t think you need to worry about such distant matters right now."

"But my father is right," he turned his head slightly, looking into Seraphina\'s dark red eyes, "I should know what you think. Do you want to know? About those secrets."

"I..."

When she met those captivating sea-blue eyes, Seraphina gritted her teeth and said with unwavering determination,

"I want to know... because I am Ansel\'s pact head. Mr. Flamelle is right, I am here to share Ansel\'s burdens, not to be protected by him."

She mustered her courage, and under the gaze of Flamelle and the four pact heads, she placed her hand on Ansel\'s shoulder, her voice ringing out strong and clear, "Ansel, I will definitely be your strongest pact head, right?"

"...I really can\'t handle you."

Ansel shook his head with a smile, gently patting Seraphina\'s hand, "If you say so, what else can I do?"

"Let us begin with the most fundamental principles," suggested the young Hydral, sipping his wine.

"There are two distinct paths to transcendence in this world, a fact you are surely aware of, Seraphina."

"Yes, the Heavenly Road and... the Abyss."

"Do you comprehend the difference between the Heavenly Road and the Abyss?" he inquired.

The young girl shook her head awkwardly in embarrassment.

"The distinction lies in the fact that..." Ansel raised his glass, peering through the crystalline walls and the shimmering liquid within, as if gazing into an entirely different realm, "on the Heavenly Road, one must first elevate the spirit and flesh in unison through the first and second stages before beginning to engage with the essence.

However, those who embark on the path of the Abyss touch upon the essence from the very outset with their souls."

"... Ah?" Seraphina, befuddled, questioned, "Doesn\'t that make those who traverse the Abyss stronger?"

"Undoubtedly," Ansel\'s fingertips began to emit a faint black mist. Lawrence, perched upon Saville\'s shoulder, shuddered and quickly sought refuge on the other shoulder. Tyrus\'s expression shifted subtly, while Toradon, in contrast, displayed an obsessed and yearning look.

Ansel, fixated on his fingertips, murmured softly, "But the issue is that the Abyss, in granting you power, always exacts a price from you."

"This is a blank sheet of paper."

Flamelle conjured a sheet of paper out of thin air, shook it, and explained to Seraphina, "Consider it akin to a person\'s soul, and then..."

With his other hand, he formed a sphere of water: "This symbolizes transcendence."

"To step onto the path of the Abyss is to submerge this blank sheet directly into the water," He elucidated.

"As you absorb transcendence, it also invades and transforms your soul, and should you reach a certain threshold..."

The paper, now thoroughly soaked and fragile, disintegrated into pieces under Flamelle\'s gentle tug.

Flamelle, having vividly illustrated the point to Seraphina, shrugged: "Transcendence will utterly destroy your very being."

"But... why does this happen?" Seraphina asked incredulously, "Transcendence... destroys the extraordinary beings? How is that possible? I\'ve never felt anything like that."

"Because transcendence is, at root, an ascension—a brutally forceful ascension," Ansel spoke in a low voice. "It is achieved through understanding the world, thereby realizing one\'s own elevation."

Extraordinary beings achieve ascension through comprehending the essence, which is the very fabric of the world.

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