After Margaret's death, Gareth revealed to him six truths of the world.
First, centuries ago, when the first mystical disaster occurred, it was not just an ordinary mystical disaster but a bell for mystical beings to enter the world.
The second truth is that mystical powers began to emerge in the world and were utilized by those who discovered them. These people were called "Anomalies."
The third truth is that the God worshipped by the entire empire of Gorgon, the All-seeing Eye, is a high entity originating from the mystical world, holding the pinnacle of the eight paths.
The fourth truth is that the high-ranking officials in churches, people in power, nobles, the police, and even the navy are not free from "Anomalies." These "Anomalies" are among them and control the underworld.
The fifth truth, related to the fourth, is that organizations began to form worldwide, some with a clear vision to maintain world peace by dealing with problems created by the "Anomalies," while evil organizations mostly aimed to destroy the current peaceful world by engaging in crime.
The final truth is that during the mystical disaster centuries ago, mystical beings were not the only ones who entered the world. The influence of evil entities also entered this world. Among them is Ralph, affected by the influence of an evil entity, his fate tainted and preventing him from finding a peaceful life.
These six truths interconnected in Ralph's mind, forming a new world view. Faced with the corruption of his fate and his wife's death, Gareth gave him three choices.
The first choice was to ignore these six truths and continue his act of burning the church, which would ultimately lead him to a path of destruction. The second choice was to rebuild his life, considering he still had a daughter who needed a father figure. The third choice was to fight to destroy the corrupted fate attached to him.
And his choice was clear.
"You can reconsider," Gareth emphasized.
Ralph smiled bitterly, "There's no turning back; this is the only path I have."
Hearing that, Gareth sighed, then reached into the air, producing an ancient syringe twice the size of a thumb.
"You can begin," Gareth said, handing the syringe to Ralph.
Ralph accepted it without hesitation. He had already received much information from Gareth about how to gain mystical powers. Without doubt, he seriously transferred the liquid from the glass bottle into the syringe.
Rolling up his sleeve, he pressed the needle to his vein. Gently, he inserted the needle and pushed the injection. The cold sensation of the green liquid entering his bloodstream made him shiver. Moments later, his surroundings blurred.
"Remember, there's only one path, to accept the truth," Gareth's voice was barely audible, as if it were very far away.
A few seconds later, Ralph's figure in front of Gareth dissolved into ashes. Gareth watched it all with a serious gaze, "Good luck." He sat in a chair, waiting for the result.
...
In a large hall, Ralph opened his eyes. Simultaneously, eight heavy and large doors opened. Each door bore unique symbols.
Ralph wore the same clothes as before he was transported, with a long coat and a half-top hat in brown, a white shirt underneath, and black trousers and leather shoes.
In order, starting from the door in front of him, Ralph saw a symbol of a circular chain representing binding and control, fitting the Sealer path. Then to his left, the door bore an inverted triangle with a swirling wind in the center, symbolizing mastery over the spiritual world and energy, fitting the Sorcerer path. Next was a symbol of a cross inside a shield, representing protection, purity, and loyalty, fitting the Knight path. Another door bore a symbol of a brain inside a circle, connected with a complex nervous system, fitting the Mentalist path. Behind him, another door had a symbol of a spiked gear paired with a human skull in the center, fitting the Assassin path. Continuing to a door with a circle filled with complex and dense symbols, fitting the Alchemist path. Then a door with a symbol of a divided circle, with one part appearing shattered, representing the duality of human nature, fitting the Sinner path. And finally, a door with a symbol of an open eye with a vertical line through the center, fitting the Imaginer path.
This had been explained by Gareth before. From here, he had to align his direction with the mystical Virus he used to get to this place. So, he promptly walked toward the door with the open eye symbol with a vertical line, the door fitting the Imaginer path.
As he stepped through the door, his foot touched green grass, and the sky suddenly became clear, with creatures he could only imagine as a child, like unicorns, dragons, even terrifying figures like three-headed dogs, roaming the vast meadow.
Manifestations of human imagination...
Moments later, a card fell in front of him. The card was smaller than a palm, with an image of a smiling clown on it, a joker card.
This place was a symbolic world. Everything here was symbolic, and Ralph understood that the card in front of him might be the key to gaining the mystical power of Clown. So he took it.
As his hand touched the card, his surroundings changed again. Now, he was on a stage, given cheers by illusory people. Applause and randomness. The joker card in his hand suddenly widened its smile.
As he blinked again, he appeared in front of a burning building.
His jaw dropped as his gaze fell on a figure hard to recognize, burnt beyond recognition, walking out of the house. "This is your fault! If I hadn't married you, maybe I wouldn't have suffered this torment!" The voice was familiar, making Ralph consciously shed tears.
Gripping the joker card in his hand, he fell to his knees. "I'm sorry..." he said, his lips trembling.
On the joker card, the clown turned its back on the world.
Ralph's vision was bathed in light, and then he realized he was inside a church, holding a two-month-old baby. His memory processed, and suddenly he pleaded, "Please, save my daughter..." The trace of despair gradually grew on his face.
A priest, whose face was covered in light, stood at the podium, casually waving his hand. Around him, several other priests began pushing him out of the church.
"Please! I beg you! Save my daughter!" He continued to scream. As his tears filled his face, still shouting, he found himself in the middle of a cemetery.
The daughter he had held earlier had disappeared, and the feeling of regret crawled into his heart. At that moment, rotten hands began to emerge from the cemetery's surface, one by one decaying corpses crawling toward Ralph.
"Do you remember me? We used to play together..."
"Oh, little Ralph, look at you, all grown up now."
"Ralph, come with us. You must be tired of suffering. If you join us, all your pain will disappear."
One by one, the corpses spoke to Ralph. He clearly recognized them, it had been very long, but he vividly remembered the pleasant experiences of his childhood in the orphanage. Because of that, he immediately filled his mind with the image of his daughter, Eloise, who was now the only important thing in his life. He realized, this was all a form of his regret.
It's true, maybe if I followed them, my suffering would end. But it won't change the fact that you all died because of me. I'll accept that, I'll punish myself for the fate you all suffered. But before that, I have to make sure my daughter has a much better life, with that, maybe my regret will be healed... no, this isn't about regret, it's the deep-seated desire in my heart, to see the life my daughter will live in the future, as a father, seeing her happy is my greatest hope. Besides, I'm not done with this world, those vile creatures still have to pay for their actions, I won't die until my business in this world is finished...