The tragedian standing by could no longer restrain himself, starting to clap powerfully, one clap after another.
His eyes seemed to sparkle with light, his voice was close to choking, so moved that his body was trembling slightly.
He was applauding loudly for this drama.
Vladimir was indeed a Worm Cultist.
But his relationship with The Worm was not like that of a king and his subservient subjects... rather, he was a new Magus King who had inherited the thoughts of the previous demonic rulers.
The one who wanted to kill The Worm the most, the one who hoped The Worm would not escape its confinement... was this "excellent student" of The Worm’s.
Because Vladimir believed wholeheartedly in The Worm’s ideology, he would never let The Worm out.
He was not a dull person.
He was not one of those empty-living, Twisted and desperate zealots, who would aid in the Worm’s destruction of the world... he was a true wakeful being.
As Vladimir’s understanding of The Worm deepened, he gradually realized that this world had almost no effective strategies against The Worm—the only hope was the newborn Book of the Celestial Chariot.
And it was just hope.
For even the True Gods did not know how the Book of the Celestial Chariot should restrain The Worm. They merely assumed so because The Worm was born from the carcass of the previous Charioteer—so it was a reasonable deduction. If the assumption was wrong, there was no need for panic, after all, the Celestial Chariot was indeed a precious artifact.
"Rather than gaining recognition from the Book of Truth and ascending to godhood, you aim to go even further—not to become a god, but to become The Worm."
Annan confirmed this confidently.
He intended to devour the entire world like The Worm, and make it his own.
Just as Jacob had told Annan before...
—The essence of The Sixth Daylight was "all things come to an end, all begin from one."
Between "individual" humans and "collective," "civilized" humans, there inherently exists a relationship of "fragmentation and union."
No one can grow entirely without relying on a group—whether through reading books left by ancestors, learning from others, or through social interactions, everyone draws nourishment from the group... and ultimately must rejoin the group, an improved self.
At its core, whether it’s traits such as "leadership," "affability," or concepts like "war," "trade," these all hold significance only within a group.
Without "passengers," the Celestial Chariot could hardly be considered a "chariot" at all.
The light of The Sixth Daylight is the light of civilization.
As the mirror that incubated The Sixth Daylight, Vladimir’s essence was "anti-civilization"!
Just as he had said to Victor before.
He wasn’t intending to destroy the world, nor was he planning to offer them to The Worm as sustenance... he simply aimed to accelerate the world’s self-destruction to its extreme.
Just like when the Charioteer perished long ago, and The Worm hatched and was born from her remnants.
He hoped that Annan, as he had proclaimed, would use the "Third Siren" to shatter himself. Then Annan could gather the final page of the Book of the Celestial Chariot from within him, to become the true Celestial Chariot.
And he himself would take advantage of the power of "Black Mammoni" to lurk within Annan—even seizing Annan and becoming the new Celestial Chariot was something he could accomplish.
But he did not plan to do so.
Instead, at the moment Annan ascended to become the Celestial Chariot—he would burst forth from the womb!
"That will be my most vulnerable moment as the Charioteer," Annan said.
It would be just like when Elle had ascended to become a Sin Eater.
She had no followers yet, no proficient mastery over the authority of a deity. Indeed, she was several times stronger than when she was "The Betraying Angel", but for a deity, it was a childish immaturity.
Not until the temple was completed, the Pope crowned, and the code of law promulgated.
Only then would the foundation of a deity firmly take root in the world.
"And this plan is undoubtedly a form of sympathetic magic."
Annan said as he looked towards the Tragedian.
No one could guarantee that, just as The Worm was born from the corpse of a past Charioteer, a new Worm would certainly be born from the corpse of the Charioteer.
Using the original ritual of sympathetic magic, to repeat what happened when The Worm was born... there was a high probability that a new Worm could emerge from Annan’s corpse.
As long as Vladimir became The Worm, all the desperate situations he was currently facing could be turned around—The side effects of Black Mammoni would allow him to stand on invincible ground; his act of betraying The Worm as a Worm Cultist would no longer be pursued by The Worm.
It would be an even wiser, more powerful Worm than before... one that could not be defeated or sealed!
Repeating what has been done before, to recreate what was already there.
Such is the essence of sympathetic magic.
And the Tragedian was the founder of this rule, and its most adept practitioner.
Vladimir’s plan could not possibly escape the Tragedian’s notice.
Annan even suspected that the old man who "told him his destiny" at the very beginning might be one of the Tragedian’s avatars.
It was indeed something the Tragedian could do.
He did indeed, out of his own preference, casually turn the "boring destinies" of mortals—pursuing beauty as taught by Yawen’s doctrines.
Yet, the Tragedian’s actions would awaken a heterogeneous desire lying deep within one’s soul, forever preventing them from being ordinary again, instead burning out their remaining life amidst a fate tumultuous as a storm.
He truly bore no malice towards people.
However, the Tragedian’s desire to witness "more exciting plots" often led others’ futures towards tragedy.
"Since Vladimir has seen everything right from the start, he must become the final mirror. That is why at the Duchy Mansion, he did not attack me; when I was facing others, he did not interfere... he might even be assisting me in secret.
"So that means he has already seen clearly—and decided on Prince Philip’s fate."
Annan looked at the Tragedian, narrowing his eyes slightly.
He remembered... Philip once said he had sold his future to the Tragedian, in exchange for knowledge and information.
The price was that he "would die in a grand tragedy"—a sacrifice to please the Tragedian.
Philip had even prepared for this.
Even in his most desperate moments, he had not chosen death to return to tranquility. Because he still wanted to fulfill his obligations, because he was still waiting for a grand tragedy.
But Philip would never know...
He was not the protagonist of this tragedy, not even the villain.
"You are wrong about this, Annan. Indeed, Philip was a part of Vladimir’s plan right from the start. But he is not a supporting role in this drama; he is the protagonist of another tragedy!"
The Tragedian spoke with certainty: "A grand tragedy does not require wailing, nor does it require bloodshed.
"Because this is a tragedy about tragedy—"