Chapter 508: Only Those Making No Wishes Can Have Their Wish Come True

The Bell-Attuned Angel! A Five-Winged Pseudo God... An entity dwelling just below the absolute realm of the Divine Lords themselves! Calling her a creature out of ancient myths didn't even do her justice. She was a non-human existence capable of casually reshaping the fate of millions without breaking a sweat!

On the surface, she seemed only two virtual wings ahead of him. But Ashe knew better. As a sorcerer, he knew that virtual wings progressed from Silver, to Gold, Rainbow, and finally Colorless. As for what came after that? He had no idea. He didn't even know what an Angel's wings were called!

An existence of this absolute caliber... Setting aside the unthinkable idea of ever making an enemy out of her, they had never even dreamed of standing in her presence! Even Legendary sorcerers would never dare hope to glimpse the back of an Angel!

Yet, compared to the sheer shock of meeting the Angel herself, the pair cared far more about her words.

Ashe looked down at his hands. "So this is Heaven? Am I dead?"

"Not yet," Rin answered calmly. "The dead are not the only ones able to enter Heaven. The Gospel pulled you here."

She looked at them both, with the bells dangling from her ears ringing softly. "This is the final stage of inheriting the Gospel. Visiting this place once is a tradition for the Gospel's First in every generation. How fascinating. To think this generation's Gospel's First comes in two. Even more fascinating is that you both possess the Incarnation of Secrets."

Facing the Angel, neither Ashe nor Dia dared act recklessly.

Dia opened her mouth to speak, but Ashe immediately pulled her into his arms. Choosing his words with extreme care, Ashe asked cautiously, "How can she inherit the Gospel? What happens if she refuses?"

Rin walked toward them. "Refusing the inheritance is itself a form of inheritance."

This time, the bells attached to her headphones did not chime. Yet, as the distance between them shrank to fewer than five steps, Ashe and Dia suddenly felt invisible vibrations pierce their bodies.

Her gaze seemed infused with sonic waves, as if the sound of her bells alone could tear them apart into microscopic particles.

It was not direct intimidation born of a higher rank, such as the Sacred Realm, raw mana, or spirits, nor was it an indirect manifestation of a Miracle. Rather, the sheer volume of knowledge contained within her gaze felt heavy enough to crush them effortlessly. Was this the true nature of higher-tier sorcery? Once a path surpassed the Legendary level, could pure knowledge alone be enough to shake the foundations of reality?

"The spider webs beneath your feet are the inheritance left behind by the previous Gospel's First," Rin paused before continuing. "They are also the Divine Lord's wish that you have been awaiting."

Only then did Dia recall the matter. The Divine Lord's wish!

Excited, she moved to lean down and touch the web, but Ashe stopped her with a gentle press to her shoulder.

After calming her nerves, she carefully touched a single strand of spider silk.

In a momentary daze, a vivid vision of a Goblin technician's life unfolded before her. Fate. Arrangement. Plan.

He was born in Montphera. As was customary, during his youth, he borrowed money from the Belldet family and spent it freely.

At twenty, he married and entered the workforce. His technical expertise steadily improved over his career. At thirty-three, he became a Silver Rank sorcerer proficient in the Alchemy Class. At fifty, he resigned to travel across the Gospel Kingdom alongside his wife, exploring the Abyss.

Dia witnessed the deep influence the Gospel held over the technician's life.

From childhood, it guided him toward friends with similar personalities and nurtured his natural talent for alchemical machinery. As he grew older, it arranged opportunities for him to meet his future wife.

When he embarked on his career, it provided suitable courses to enhance his magical understanding. Throughout his entire existence, he had lived precisely according to the Gospel's arrangements.

He possessed neither vast wealth nor extraordinary glory, yet he enjoyed an easy, comfortable life.

He had friends, a family, a stable career, and fulfilling hobbies. Because he resided in Montphera, a city dominated by consumerist ideology, his life was spent creating value, enjoying value, and realizing value.

Aside from occasional family disagreements, he rarely experienced the cruelty of society.

Every day, he went to work with a smile. This was neither a distant past nor a fixed future. The Goblin worker had only just married and begun working, yet the Gospel had already written Volume Two of his life story and was drafting the outline for Volume Three.

Dia touched the spider thread, glancing around at the endless web stretching endlessly all around them. "This is the fate of the people of the Gospel, as well as the fate of the entire Gospel Kingdom."

Rin corrected her. "No. It is merely their most probable course of destiny. It holds neither the luck that disrupts variables nor the absolute fate that sets everything in stone forever.

"It is simply a comprehensive plan calculating every variable, striving to allow everyone to live a relatively happy life overall. This is the final inheritance you must receive."

Rin pointed toward the distant center of the web. "Do you see the strand remaining unconnected? Pinching that strand with your fingers signifies your willingness to accept this legacy, choosing to continue weaving the future of the Gospel."

Ashe asked, "What happens if she does not inherit it?"

Rin answered as if stating the obvious. "If she does not inherit it, she will naturally not continue weaving. Once this web is exhausted, the Gospel system will automatically collapse, becoming nothing more than a passive machine capable only of basic responses.

"However, even if you do not wish to weave, abandoning the inheritance is unnecessary. You may accept the legacy, gather the web together, and burn it. Then, facing a flame nearly equivalent to fate itself, you may make your wish."

Ashe and Dia froze. "Make a wish?"

"Yes," Rin tilted her head slightly. "How strange. Did you assume the Divine Lord's wish meant Lord Omniscient Weaver would listen to your desires directly and use Divine Miracles to grant them?"

They remained silent, as that was precisely what they had assumed.

Rin raised her eyebrows. "The Woven Festival occurs once every fifty years, accompanied by the passing of the title of Gospel's First. If Lord Omniscient Weaver had to personally grant your wishes, she would need to set aside time specifically for you every half-century."

The two bells chimed softly. "How strange. In your eyes, is Lord Omniscient Weaver truly such a leisurely and benevolent entity? Every Gospel's First arriving here automatically takes up the spider thread to complete the ritual quickly. Only because of your unique nature did I personally come out to welcome you and explain the situation."

Ashe stood stunned. "So, even if the Divine Lord's wish exists... no one has ever used it?"

The Bell-Attuned Angel let out a soft laugh, causing her two bells to produce a crisp chime. Despite the beauty of the sound, Ashe and Dia felt as if invisible waves pierced their bodies millions of times, leaving them feeling on the verge of collapsing.

Rin smiled. "This is a Divine Miracle Lord Omniscient Weaver specifically crafted for the Gospel. The Gospel selects only inheritors matching its intrinsic nature. Even if an individual does not match, it will reshape them until they do. Burning this web creates a flame of fate nearly equivalent to a Divine Miracle, the so-called Divine Lord's wish..."

She paused briefly before concluding, "Yet anyone bold enough to burn this web was never an individual the Gospel would select in the first place."

The phrase "Only those making no wishes can have their wish come true" sounded so absurd that it reminded Ashe of the ridiculous feeling of accompanying a friend to a job interview, only to be hired himself.

In his mind, he had already envisioned a conversation.

"I want to make a wish."

"If you make a wish, you cannot obtain the Divine Lord's wish."

"Why would I need the Divine Lord's wish if I don't want to make a wish?"

"Only when you don't want to make a wish will I give you the Divine Lord's wish."

"I need the Divine Lord's Wish precisely because I want to make a wish!"

"Then you must avoid making a wish to obtain the Divine Lord's wish!"

In other words, Annan's plan was impossible from the start. The spider web was the Gospel's First's final step toward inheritance. As long as one failed to become the Gospel's First, there was no chance of obtaining the Divine Lord's wish...

Wait. A sudden realization struck Ashe. Does this mean Annan actually almost succeeded this time?

While Ashe remained lost in thought, Dia was already asking, "If I burn the spider web, what will happen?"

"The Gospel system will completely collapse and disappear, unable to answer questions anymore," Rin answered honestly. "The spider web here allows the Gospel's power to reach every person within the Gospel Kingdom.

"If you simply stop weaving, the Gospel merely loses its ability to adjust the fate of all living beings. The spider web itself will continue functioning.

"However, if you burn the web, the Gospel can no longer reach anyone else. Eventually, you will remain the sole person able to use its power."

Ashe and Dia exchanged glances. They had already figured out what was actually going on with the timeline under Aine's rule. Annan would undoubtedly order Aine to burn the spider web completely, then use the wish to allow Aine and Ashe to coexist.

That explained why the future revealed by the Woven Festival turned out so bizarre. The entire chain of events was now clear, yet Ashe still dared not relax. "Then, what choice does Lord Omniscient Weaver hope the Gospel's First will make?"

After being brought directly to the Divine Lord's Heaven, Ashe never believed they possessed any capacity to resist. This so-called choice felt like a corporate boss saying, "Everyone, feel free to share your opinions! We are a young, dynamic team, and we value every member's input. Suggestions are welcome!"

And raised hands would only make the speakers look foolish.

Rin answered, "Lord Omniscient Weaver holds no expectations of you. There is no need to worry. If Lord Omniscient Weaver truly wanted total control over the Gospel Kingdom through the Gospel, do you think the Incarnation of Secrets alone could protect your self-awareness?"

Ashe could not help asking, "You really don't hold an opinion?"

"How strange. Why would we care? Lord Omniscient Weaver and I do not care about several decades, nor do we care about the fate of a few generations. To you, the possibility of coexisting with the Gospel is a world-shattering event capable of overturning history. To us, it is merely a minor episode in the long flow of time, a ripple in the River of Flowing Gold that will soon return to normal. We do not care what you choose to do.

"Run away, accept it, or use it. No matter how large a ripple you create, the passage of time will eventually smooth everything out. Creating something interesting is all the better. I am merely guiding you toward a choice. Whatever choice you make, I am too lazy to watch. So... do as you please."

Ashe and Dia looked at each other. Dia asked, "Can I wish for someone else to inherit the Gospel?"

Rin shook her head. "No. It is very picky. It selects only the best inheritor among the available candidates."

Having lived in a large, quiet, comfortable house, one would naturally dislike moving back into a cramped old house with constantly renovating neighbors. Ashe complained internally, The funny part is... I understand why it feels this way. He glanced at Dia, then took a step back.

"Hmm?"

"I won't interfere," Ashe said. "Lys, this is a decision you must make yourself."

Dia glanced toward the center of the web. "Will anything different happen to me based on my choice?"

Rin pondered. "If you do not inherit it, yet the spider web remains, your true body can never leave the Gospel Kingdom, as the Gospel itself does not wish to leave. If you inherit it and burn the spider web, you can act freely and even leave the Gospel Kingdom. Choosing to continue weaving requires you to reside in the central region of the Gospel Kingdom, remaining within range to continue weaving the future."

Dia froze. "The benefits of burning the spider web are far too good. You gain a wish as well as freedom."

Rin smiled. "This is your one opportunity to choose. Once you leave Heaven, you will not be able to change your decision, unless you return here again."

Dia nodded. She walked to the center of the web and crouched down, picking up the unconnected strand.

For a moment, Ashe held his breath, and the Bell-Attuned Angel remained silent. Both knew that Dia's next thought would determine the fate of countless lives.

Suddenly, Dia asked, "Ashe, do you have any wishes?"

Ashe was stunned. He answered, "Cancel the Unattached Rankings."

Dia suddenly snapped back to reality. "Right, the Unattached Rankings."

She had almost forgotten. "I still haven't saved Nina..."

The bells rang again. Rin asked curiously, "Save? You want to save an Unattached?"

"That's right." Hearing the implication behind Rin's words, Dia hurriedly asked, "Could the Unattached actually be alive?"

Rin smiled. "Not only are they alive, but they are also living wonderfully. All the Unattached spend their lives happily in Heaven."

Ashe and Dia were both stunned. "Huh?"

"How strange. Still, your ignorance is normal," Rin explained. "For certain reasons, Heaven must accept a few mortals and grant them lives filled with happiness and joy. The conditions for acceptance differ between individual Heavens.

"Some Divine Lords select based on faith. Some choose based on bonds of fate, while others specifically select individuals on the verge of death. The condition for Lord Omniscient Weaver's Heaven is the Unattached Rankings.

"An Unattached refers to an individual lacking connections with society, someone unable to adapt, voted out by society through the actions of its members.

"Individuals absent from the Unattached Rankings possess the ability to find happiness within society. Those listed on the rankings are granted happiness directly by Lord Omniscient Weaver."

Rin smiled. "Fair, isn't it?"

The bells rang softly. "There will always be people receiving Lord Omniscient Weaver's blessing. Let society itself choose those most deserving of happiness."

Having experienced the logic of "Only those making no wishes can obtain wishes," Ashe no longer cared to criticize the Omniscient Weaver's philosophical sense of humor upon hearing "Only the most unfortunate individuals can obtain happiness."

Dia felt the paradox even more deeply, as she was the victim of "only those wishing to reveal a secret must keep it hidden."

Everything related to Lord Omniscient Weaver was filled with contradictions, as if she enjoyed using these ridiculous trials to test human nature.

Rin looked at Dia. "So you have no reason to save the Unattached. Of course, bringing her back to reality is also fine. As for the Unattached Rankings... do whatever you wish."

Hearing this answer, Dia felt somewhat lost. She stared at the unconnected strand for a long time. Her hand loosened, tightened, and loosened again.

Unable to decide, she turned around, looking at Ashe with pleading eyes.

Ashe shrugged. Walking over, he crouched beside her and gently rubbed her head.

He didn't say a word, but that simple gesture gave Dia sufficient courage. She tightened her grip on the spider thread until the opposite end connected with her palm.

"Do you want to set it on fire?" Rin kindly asked.

Dia shook her head. "No."

With one hand holding the spider thread and the other gripping Ashe's sleeve, she stood up. "Let's go back."

Rin frowned, her bells ringing. "How strange. As expected of an individual chosen by the Gospel. In the end, you still chose to continue weaving. Are you truly unwilling to reconsider? That is practically an omnipotent wishing machine.

"Becoming an Angel may be difficult, but becoming an immortal Legendary sorcerer remains well within possibility. Even setting yourself aside, the person beside you—"

Ashe interrupted. "That's enough. If you have time in the future, join us for some Lala Fat. For now, just send us back. People are waiting for us."

A piercing voice, seemingly capable of stabbing directly into their souls, tore through the air toward them. "How dare you interrupt an Angel's speech?"

Ashe and Dia immediately hugged each other, trembling.

In the next moment, Rin returned to her calm tone. "How strange. You two really are very strange people. Since you do not want the Divine Lord's wish... I shall give you an Angel's wish instead."