[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage":3,"chapter-re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-chapter-596":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},148401,246,"Chapter 595: The Final Trial; One Heaven Sorcerer!","re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-chapter-596",596,"\u003Cp>CH595 The Final Trial; One Heaven Sorcerer!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Captain found himself within a vast, white void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, an unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar, old man mysteriously appeared before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man pointed at the Captain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next instant, the man’s form shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Captain was no longer the Captain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was Alex Fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His memories surged back into his mind like a broken dam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why did you arrange things so that you were the only one who survived?\" the mysterious old man asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because I understand people better than they did,\" Alex replied calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They died believing their names would be remembered as heroes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But as the sole survivor... I alone know the true face of the people they saved.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heroes are only valued during times of crisis.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Once the crisis ends, those same heroes are often the first to be cast aside— because they serve as reminders of a past people would rather forget.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused briefly before continuing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And I did what I did because someone had to carry the sin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What we did was necessary to save the world. But it would fall upon the survivor to bear the burden of how they survived.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"None of them could carry that weight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only I could.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The young man who knew nothing had to go first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then the kind-hearted man who hid a soft heart beneath a hardened exterior.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then the two soldiers, through and through...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And finally, the disillusioned man who wore the mask of a dark joker.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex’s voice remained steady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Compared to them... I was the only one who could bear the sin and retain my sanity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And more importantly...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was the only one who could face the betrayal waiting at home— the betrayal I expected... no, the betrayal I knew would come.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mysterious old man did not comment on his answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he asked another question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You had the power to eliminate all your accusers and conquer the world. Why didn’t you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a brief moment, a memory from his past life surfaced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A time when he had worked alongside Special Operations personnel from his country’s military, testing one of his company’s products.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During that discussion, he had asked the soldiers whether they had ever done something they regretted in the name of service.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They all answered yes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But none of them were willing to reveal exactly what they had done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then asked if they would choose differently... if time could be reversed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they were returned to that exact moment —the moment of the act they were not proud of— would they stop themselves?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their answer was the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They would do it again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he asked why, every one of them gave the same response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because I was a soldier,\" Alex said to the old man, echoing the words from his memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was a soldier, and I carried out my duties to the best of my ability,\" he continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"On one hand, I do not believe they were entirely wrong. You indeed could call me a monster... a butcher... a cannibal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even if I did it to save the world, what I did was still a grave crime. And punishment... was due.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Which is exactly what happened.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused briefly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"On the other hand... if I had denied their accusations, and then wiped out everyone who opposed me...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I would have proven their claims true.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I would have become the very monster they accused me of being.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In essence, the best choice available to me was to fall back on my duty... and accept the reality of the situation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There is a saying from my home world, from the military...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"’This is no place for heroes. This is no place for a better man. If you are looking to be a hero... go home’.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex’s gaze remained steady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was never looking to be a hero.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So whether the world sees me as a hero... or a villain... It does not matter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What matters is that I fulfilled my mission.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That I saved the world.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because of that... they now have the luxury to either praise me... or condemn me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, because of your duty as a soldier, you chose to accept the accusations, the burden, and the condemnation that came with your actions?\" the old man asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That... and the fact that a leader cannot —and should not —escape the consequences of even a victory.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He must bear them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex sighed and shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The final trial had been a sombre one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By sealing away his memories and allowing only his most instinctive nature to surface, Alex had been forced to make decisions he would truly —inherently— make in such a dark situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was often said that one could not truly claim to be a good person until confronted with a dire circumstance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In such a moment... would one act solely for oneself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or choose a higher calling, placing others above all else?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But beyond the question of what choice Alex would make, the trial had revealed something deeper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It exposed the lens through which he viewed the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And how little faith he placed in the integrity of many others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even without returning home, he had already made the decision for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had taken that choice out of their hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could argue that he had prepared for the worst while hoping for the best...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But was that truly the case?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or was there something darker beneath that reasoning?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mysterious old man studied the youth in silence for a long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Divergent Trial of Heavenly Secrets had been designed to reveal the true nature of a potential Legatee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battle ahead was not one that a weak-willed individual could endure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet at the same time, it was not something an overly cold or dispassionate person could be entrusted with either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’At the very least... it can be confirmed that he will stand until the very end,’ the old man thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shatter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a wave of his hand, the world around them fractured and collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next moment, they found themselves once again before the stele.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air between them was heavy... solemn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man gestured towards a small courtyard pavilion to the right of the stele.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two sat opposite each other beneath the pavilion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will now answer the questions you wish to ask,\" the old man said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex nodded, his expression calm yet serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First, allow me to introduce myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For most of my life, I stood at the pinnacle of my realm. I was the One beneath the Heavens.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then, shortly before my death, I broke through to the Eighth Circle... And became the One who transcended the Heavens.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man’s gaze deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You may address me as...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The One Heaven Sorcerer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>",1147,"2026-05-29T03:49:40.181Z","2026-06-01T04:29:07.188Z",1,"novelbin.me","4b24b8b56ab142911612c19f7dbda36bad0c6f71eeda00c4bb6c1db8ed63aef1","re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-chapter-597","re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-chapter-595",692,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fre-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-cover.jpg"]