The Innkeeper

Chapter 1991: You simply can’t

Lex did not mention to Serene or Leon that Liz had fused with a Sovereign, or that Moon was fusing with a realm. It did not seem to matter, since they were trying to distance themselves from the kids anyway. Moreover, since Serene wanted to protect Moon by keeping her secret, then Lex should do the same.

It seemed that... they had more or less run out of things to talk about. Serene and Leon had shared their side of the story. Perhaps they were hoping that after sharing it, the connection between them could be rekindled. Unfortunately, Lex had moved on a long time ago. Sure, there had been some lingering resentment, but that was all.

Now that resentment may have faded, but it was not replaced by fondness or closeness. They had their mission, their goal to save humanity, and Lex, quite frankly, couldn’t be bothered to care about humanity too much.

The silence between them lasted for a few seconds, and just as Lex was about to get up, Serene sighed.

"Lex, won’t you ask for anything? Even if only for your own good. I told you about the Dao body, and I’m sure I could help you out with so many other things. If you ask, I can answer. I can see that your body is quite mixed with a bunch of random things. I won’t pry, but if you have any questions at all, I will do my best to answer them."

Lex looked at his two parents, and then shook his head. Yes, there were many things he did not know, and many things he could ask them. But... he needed no guidance on cultivation. He would walk his own path, discover his own way.

"You have shared your story, now listen to mine," said Lex, and held out his hand. A vision appeared, a vision of a world through the eyes of a small bird, flitting through the air.

The sight gave Serene pause, for she recognized what the vision showed better than Lex expected. It was a Primordial landscape, so naturally the vision was from the Primordial Garden.

The small bird flew through the air, seemingly unaffected by the surroundings, because the bird was, in fact, traveling through a string of karma connecting Lex and one other. Though they knew him by name, when the vision showed Cornelius, Serene and Leon naturally did not recognize him.

Yet that was never the focus. The vision changed, showing the small bird appearing before Cornelius, before dissolving into his body, turning into information. Since the vision was meant to be enlightening, Lex deigned to share a hint of the knowledge the bird shared, causing Serene to gasp.

All of the information that Lex had on the path of Paladins, his own research into it, his own thoughts on how the method could be reproduced for the masses, as well as his research on how it could be fused with traditional cultivation. It was an entirely new path, and one that might lead humanity to a new horizon, instead of the old one they chased.

Of course, Lex could not be bothered to be mankind’s messiah, so he passed on that knowledge to others who actually sought such a role.

"I am Lex William, a human, a dragon, a saint," he said, as the vision changed from the Primordial Garden to the earth, when things began to deteriorate and the AI attacked.

"From humble beginnings I have walked my path and carved it out myself, earning my place on the universal stage."

The vision changed, showing glimpses of Lex’s adventures. It started from when he was started in the Crystal realm, and quickly transitioned to the terrorist attack on Polebitvy, and corrosive liquid that he survived. It showed the corpse of Pelvailain that Lex climbed, and the ancient curse that corroded Lex’s skin off!

"No Deity nor Dragon has made me bow, no indignity halted my steps."

It showed the Temple of Frozen Dawn, it showed the Void, it showed the collapsing space of the Origin realm. The vision showed scenes from his battle when he ascended the Earth Immortal realm, to his confrontation against Sekhmet.

"You ask me to seek guidance from you. But how can those content to mirror the achievements of predecessors be fit to guide one walking a path others deem impossible?"

The vision showed Abaddon, in all its horrific glory, and it showed the unimaginable trials that he had surpassed. Then it showed his next tribulation, slowly coming back till it showed the garden again.

"You want to guide my steps, but though your knowledge is vast, your vision is narrow. You cannot teach me to overcome adversity, because I have overcome more than you. You cannot teach me to face great enemies, because I have faced more of them than you. Heck, you cannot even teach me how to save humanity, for my very existence, my very path, my every step causes humanity to grow."

The vision showed the obelisk, and how it yearned to be rescued, just as it saved Lex himself.

"Cornelius says humanity cannot rely on heroes, it must rely on its masses to grow. You both have your own path, and hope through it humanity will rise. I don’t care, nor can I be bothered to save humanity, yet it is my burden that as I grow stronger, I must drag up humanity. Look at me clearly."

The vision faded, leaving behind only Lex, a pure blooded Fenrir laying by his feet, an Abyssal Goldfish floating near him, exuding an aura of... of not just Domination, fueled by Dragons Might and Dao, but one of Supremacy, fueled by Lex’s uncrushable will.

This was not the will of a visionary, or a philosopher with great ideals. It was simply a will that had been tested again, and again, and again, yet had never faded.

"I am not your little boy, I am not a child in need of protection and guidance. Do not think I am being willful, or petty, when I refuse your offer of guidance. You simply are not qualified. Sure, I can probably benefit a lot from the knowledge you gained from your heritage. If you want to pass some of that along, whatever you deem safe, I’ll take it. But as someone with so little ambition and self confidence that you cannot do anything without your heritage, you simply cannot comprehend the path that I’m on."