Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 3056: Asong’s Delusion?

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Five Regions, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Tower, Guild Meeting Hall

It was obvious to everyone in the meeting hall that the first part of Aurelia’s outburst wasn’t actually directed at Laura. It was meant for Anna. Laura simply happened to be taking the heat.

The entire room erupted into a silent storm of thoughts. No one dared to interrupt. No one even dared to breathe too loudly. Among them all, however, Aba was the most conflicted.

Everything Asong had just said about Wyatt and the New Empire. She had heard it countless times before. Asong had voiced those same arguments to her in private, often in even harsher terms. Yet Aba had never cared. She didn’t care then. She didn’t care now. The reason was simple. Her father, Demigod Windsor, had taught her something when she was still young:

‘Only those who truly wish to live without regrets understand this: there are no absolute source rules for freedom. Right and wrong. Good and evil. They are all illusions created by sentient minds.’

‘So don’t let yourself be trapped by those human constructs. Simply do what brings you joy.’

Aba had carried those words with her ever since. Being with Wyatt brought her joy. Using the countless innovations he had created brought her joy. Watching the impossible become reality under his leadership brought her joy. As for whether he was a benevolent ruler or a manipulative one, she genuinely couldn’t bring herself to care.

That was why, no matter how passionately Asong argued, Aba had never been able to take her words seriously.

“You delusional bitch,” Aurelia shot back at Asong. “Tell me, what part of civilization isn’t built on manipulation?”

She swept her gaze across the meeting hall before continuing. “The very idea of civilization exists to persuade, pressure, and shape individuals into living together as a community. Everyone contributes to something larger than themselves so that they can survive together… even though, in the end, each of us dies alone.”

“Civilization itself thrives by drawing upon the efforts of the very individuals who created it.”

“If you want people to live together, they need something that binds them. Something that makes them tolerate one another. Because as much as we’re social creatures, we’re also solitary ones. Without a common purpose, people drift apart.”

“Throughout history, that glue has almost always been survival. People came to the Five Regions because they believed that, by supporting the descendants of the First Heroes, those descendants would protect them in return.”

She pointed toward the floor beneath her feet adding, “But under His Highness, it isn’t just about survival anymore. We have opportunities our ancestors couldn’t even dream of. We have choices. We have freedoms that didn’t exist before the New Empire.”

Her eyes locked onto Asong’s. “And yet you stand there claiming we’ve traded all of that away in exchange for serving him?”

Aurelia slowly turned to face the rest of the hall. “Who here disagrees with me?”

Her gaze swept across the meeting hall before finally returning to Asong, and asked, “Have you forgotten the days when we lived in constant fear of a second demonic invasion?”

“Have you forgotten the days when we looked up at the sky, wondering what lay beyond it, knowing we’d probably never find out?”

“Have you forgotten the days when we could envision a future because surviving until tomorrow was all that mattered?”

“Have you forgotten the days when proper healing was a privilege reserved for the rich and the nobility because only they could afford it?”

Her voice turned stern as dug into Asong’s past. “Or have you forgotten how your own sickly body made it difficult just to live… let alone cultivate your Active Soul Control?”

Without waiting for an answer, Aurelia continued, “It was His Highness who explained how demonic invasions actually occur from the perspective of the Dark Realm.”

“It was His Highness who pioneered a safe way for us to explore beyond the Card World. Enter the Myriad realms safely. Be represented in the Myriad realms.”

“It was His Highness who gave us a future we could all see with our own eyes instead of barely being able to dream or picture it.”

“It was His Highness who cured your ailments. Just like how His Highness is planning on introducing medical machines built through Mortal Alchemy, making healthcare accessible to ordinary people instead of only the wealthy.”

She took another step toward Asong.

“Alright, let us assume, for the sake of argument, that you’re right. Let’s assume every one of those or all of those changes came at the cost of our freedom and choices.”

Aurelia slowly turned to face the rest of the hall.

“Then I have a question for everyone here.”

Her voice echoed through the silent chamber. “Before the New Empire existed, who among you wouldn’t have willingly traded a portion of your freedom and choices for everything His Highness gave us without any of us ever asking for it because we never knew we needed it.”

Clap, Clap, Clap

Asong slowly clapped to Aurelia’s words, and asked, “I agree Wyatt did show many things that we didn’t even know to dream.”

“I can see why you think Civilization is an ongoing exchange, not absolute freedom. Every society shapes individual behavior. According to you, the only meaningful question is whether what society gives back is worth what it asks in return. You say, a civilization that provides security, health, opportunity, and a future offers more real freedom than one that merely promises liberty while leaving people powerless.”

“All in all, you’re arguing that manipulation is morally neutral and should be judged by the value it creates rather than by its mere existence,” Asong said. “I disagree. A system shouldn’t be judged solely by what it achieves under a good ruler, but also by what it enables under a bad one.”

She held Aurelia’s gaze and continued,

“You assume your ruler will always remain benevolent. You place too little importance on institutional safeguards against abuse. You dismiss the dangers of concentrating power simply because the current results are favorable. In doing so, you equate beneficial manipulation with legitimate authority, overlooking how dangerous that same authority could become if a future ruler proves less virtuous.”

“Future rulers?” Aurelia repeated, as though the very notion were absurd.

A faint smile spread across her face.

“There won’t be any future rulers.”

Her voice carried unwavering certainty.

“There has only ever been, and there will only ever be, one ruler across the past, present, and future.”

She met Asong’s eyes without the slightest hint of doubt.

“His Highness, Dalton V. Wyatt.”

“Fine, forget future rulers,” Asong said, her tone turning sharper. “I’ll be direct. What guarantee do you have that Wyatt will continue to be a good ruler?”

She let the question linger for a moment before continuing. “When you’re centering your entire empire, its institutions, and its future around a single individual, that’s the first question you should be asking yourself.”

“What happens if he changes? What happens if absolute power changes him? What happens if the ideals he upholds today are no longer the ones he believes in tomorrow?”

Asong held Aurelia’s gaze, her voice calm but unwavering. “You’re placing the fate of an entire dynasty in the hands of one man. So tell me, what guarantee do you have that he will always remain worthy of that trust?”