Strongest Hammer God

Chapter 1133: Relativizing

Now, only Kyle, Sebastian, and Melanie were left.

Melanie had heard a lot about Kyle from Sebastian. She had heard a lot about his incredible power and talent, but most of all, she had heard about Kyle's personality and why Sebastian liked him.

Carefree, casual, and courageous.

Yet, the Kyle she had met today didn't seem like any of these things. Instead, he seemed annoyed and frustrated. She could understand his frustration, though. After all, the two people who had caused him so much grief were still alive.

She knew that Sebastian and Kyle hadn't seen each other in a long time, and in a way, they had parted on bad terms. Because of that, she decided to keep herself out of their reunion.

Kyle looked at Sebastian with a complicated expression, while Sebastian looked at Kyle with an ashamed and hurt expression. Sebastian had been part of the plot that ended Kyle's life, and he knew it.

When Kyle saw Sebastian's expression, he just groaned. "Forget it," he said. "Yes, yes, I know. You didn't want to do it, but you didn't see any other way out. Was it a betrayal? Yes, but seriously, it's not like I haven't done that before. I've betrayed Swamp Dragon two times or something like that, and I still wanted him to forgive me back then."

Kyle chuckled a bit. "Things have worked out in the end. We might not have gotten everything we've wanted, but we got like 90%. All in all, that could be considered a good outcome. Wouldn't you agree?"

Sebastian smiled weakly. "I guess everything turned out well in the end, but still..."

Sebastian frowned. "I'm sorry that I couldn't kill Fox or Swamp Dragon. I've tried my best during the vote, but I didn't succeed. I wanted them to pay for what they've done to you, but I've failed."

"I know," Kyle answered. "I could see your intentions in your votes, and I appreciate them. Really, I do. Sebastian, you don't need to feel sorry about what you've done. Yes, I got the short end of the stick, but in retrospect, I believe I had to get the short end of the stick. Without the Major Law of Death or Fierce Breaker's additional Energy, I wouldn't have won my battle."

"You've coerced me into making a choice I didn't want to make, but it was a choice that I had to make. As far as I can see, your intention was to help me, and your actions have helped me."

"Did they, though?" Sebastian asked with a sigh. "I've killed Kyle. I've killed my only friend."

"I have no idea," Kyle answered. "Perception, life, and existence are such abstract concepts. Like, did I actually die? Does it matter? I'm here, am I not? The Aspects of my Elemental had my memories and mind. Its Spirit had been connected to my existence for a long time. My Elemental had essentially become a part of myself."

"Like, imagine you live in a house. At some point, you expand your house until it is twice the size. For a while, you live in both halves of the house. Then, the first half burns down, leaving you in the second half. How would you answer the question of when you had moved to this house?"

"Was it when you moved to the initial one? Was it when you built the second half? Was it when you lost the first half?" Kyle asked.

"You're talking about the Ship of Theseus," Sebastian answered with a light chuckle.

"What's a Seus?" Kyle asked.

Sebastian blinked. "Not the Seus, Theseus. Theseus was-"

Sebastian noticed a grin appearing on Kyle's face, and he realized what had happened.

"Fuck you," Sebastian said with a laugh as Kyle's grin widened.

"No, but seriously," Kyle answered, "I don't know about this Theseus guy. I assume this is some kind of philosophical thing from Earth?"

"Yes," Sebastian answered, "Theseus had a ship, and he traveled from one port to another. Parts of his ship broke and had to be replaced. By the time he returned home, every part of his ship had been replaced at least once. Is the ship he left the port with the same ship with which he returned? That's the thought experiment."

"Yeah, that does sound similar," Kyle answered, "but it also doesn't really fit."

"Yes, because life is more complex," Sebastian said. "Like, what is life? What is your existence? Is it your perception? When you entered the Gate of Death, did your existence lose its perception, or did it simply pause and transfer to your hammer? If it's the same perception, does it matter who uses it?"

"We also have a similar case but with opposite attributes, namely Fierce Breaker. Did he die? He simply changed so much that he has turned into you. His life never ended, and his perception never vanished. The only things that have vanished were his memories. Does that mean he died?"

"I hate this," Kyle answered with some annoyance.

"Hate what?" Sebastian asked with a raised brow.

"The muddiness of this entire thing," Kyle replied. "I don't like abstract things. I like concrete things that I can clearly define. The definitions of life, existence, consciousness, and perception are open for interpretation, and if something can't be clearly defined, you can't use it. There is no way we will find a clear answer to any of these things, which makes any further investment of time and energy a waste. By definition, there won't be a solution or payoff."

"Kyle, it's not always about the result," Sebastian said. "Back in my home country, we had a saying. The journey is the reward."

"Jerking without coming," Kyle answered.

Sebastian blinked a couple of times. "That's... I mean..."

"We said the same thing," Kyle added. "In both cases, we're talking about a goal and a means to achieve the goal. You used words that represent this argument in favor of your standpoint. I did the same thing but in favor of my argument."

Sebastian didn't feel like Kyle's argument was completely without flaw, but he could see where he was coming from.

"Fine, I can see what you mean," Sebastian said.

"So," Kyle said after a while, "have we relativized my past death enough to turn it into a nothing-burger? Have we achieved enlightenment yet?"

Sebastian sighed when Kyle brought up his death again. While it didn't seem like a big deal to Kyle, Sebastian still didn't like thinking about it. "I still want to say that I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Kyle answered with a roll of his eyes. "Seriously, it's completely fine. Anyway, don't you want to introduce us? Your wife, girlfriend, situationship, or whatever has been standing there awkwardly for long enough."

"Wife, yes," Melanie said as she came closer. "We've made the oath."

"To think that Sebastian would find love again," Kyle answered. "Back when I met him, he still seemed to be sentimental about losing his past family, and then he turned into a casual guy who didn't give a lot of shits about basically anything."

"The fear of losing someone seemed greater than the reward of gaining someone," Sebastian interjected. "I told myself that I was happy enough to grow stronger. Finding someone would improve my happiness marginally, while losing them would cause great harm to me."

"But that changed," Sebastian said as he put his right arm around Melanie's shoulders. "It changed when I felt the guilt of killing my best friend."

"Is it still worth it?" Kyle asked. "You won't be here for much longer."

Melanie frowned. That was quite a direct question.

Sebastian looked at Melanie.

"Yes, it still is."

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