I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 515, page 2.1-30: The Crown: The Treasure of a Lost Dynasty
Gafar stood below the altar, looking up as Bertias casually tossed the torch in his hand, as if it were no different from stepping on an ant, not worth mentioning.

He suddenly chuckled, his tone neither warm nor cold, but containing a hint of admiration, "I underestimated these crown princes. I always thought they were just a bunch of clowns. It wasn't until I saw the hint of madness hidden beneath his calm expression that I realized he's no different from us. I was too narrow-minded before. He is indeed a worthy partner."

"Is this the perspective of a madman? Or is it simply that like attracts like?" Mu Yegui glanced at him and asked in return.

So-called madmen all have something in common, and the people she knew, in addition to being mad, should be described with two more words—rationality.

Madness and rationality coexist, even hovering on the edge of the two, constantly testing one's bottom line, to the point that recently even one can no longer distinguish what kind of person one really is.

Fish was one, as was Water Spirit, Jealousy, Bertias, and Sloth, but there are differences between these five people.

Fish truly had a perfect balance between reason and madness. Even though he seemed to be going crazy at all times, he still maintained a degree of clarity. Rather than a rational person deliberately going mad, it would be more accurate to say that a madman possessed reason.

Shui Qi was shot in the forehead by Daolin during the September dungeon, which damaged the prefrontal lobe of her brain.

From that moment on, he, who should have been a cunning schemer with a twisted sense of humor, transformed into a madman who couldn't even properly control his emotions. Shui Qi, on the other hand, only appeared normal; in reality, his actions were already driven by his emotions.

What he called rationality was merely that he hadn't forgotten his initial instincts; at least he still remembered his purpose.

Aside from that, all that remains is irrationality.

Jealousy is an eccentric emotion, capable of indulging in its own joys and sorrows. Among the seven sins, it is the most complex and difficult to understand. When emotions become extremely complicated, they become a tangled mess, incomprehensible even to oneself, ultimately leading to reckless behavior and self-destruction.

To outsiders, jealousy stems from his arrogance in wearing revealing clothes and showing off his body without reservation, but it actually just comes from his lack of self-confidence.

Because he was jealous; he was jealous of everyone who was better than him.

Showing off his perfect physique is a way of telling others that he is excellent and no less capable than anyone else, and it's also a way of masking his inner vulnerability. His inferiority complex breeds jealousy. He craves everything that doesn't belong to him, and he's willing to pay any price for it—this is precisely his only weakness.

He acts recklessly and arbitrarily, and in some ways he is no different from a madman. Occasionally he is in a normal mood, but more often he will immediately turn his back on people and act crazy and unlike a normal person.

I can't understand it, I can't figure it out...

Bertias was once a fugitive, and in some ways he was the only one who had ever seen hell. You could even say that he came from hell, coldly observing the joys and sorrows of the world, yet he was not moved in the slightest, because his heart had stopped beating the moment he fell into the abyss.

Growing up amidst the trampling of others, his mind had long since hardened. Indifference had built a high wall around his heart, isolating him from all prying eyes. A mask concealed all his emotions; from then on, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness became irrelevant to him.

He's a madman, not in terms of behavior, personality, or emotions, but simply a madman teetering on the edge of evil and good, devoid of any superfluous emotions, perhaps even with a heart that has already stopped. Don't expect someone without a 'heart' to be normal.

However, I still can't help but want to praise him with a poem.
-
A lost flower blooming amidst illusion,
In its early stages, it was blue.
It represents both strength and inexperience;
Then came light green.
Like a fragile piece of jade.

Gradually, it began to transform.

That dreamy pink
Like a calm surface of water instantly returning to stillness after a ripple. You are fickle, stubborn, and ruthless.

What is being craved is ultimately an illusion...

Or is it a lie?

But for me,
Your existence is the most beautiful praise.
-
Bertias possessed a very beautiful face, more of a beauty that transcended gender than a feminine one, but unfortunately he never genuinely smiled.

If he could smile, he would surely be the most beautiful of all miracles. For it represents the first ray of dawn after darkness, warm and something to yearn for. No matter how sorrowful, hope will always come.

If Bertheias represents the light yet to come, which is still in darkness, then sloth is the darkness that gradually obscures the light, leaving only despair and sorrow in the end.

A madman who voluntarily imprisoned in darkness.

No one knows how he was born, only that he has always been a symbol of light, and no one is more suited to the color white than him. It's just a pity that this guy's heart was never pure white. Just as white is the opposite of black, where there is light, there will inevitably be shadows.

Laziness is more like a messenger of darkness than an embodiment of light. His madness is an innate nature, an uncontrollable consequence of unrestrained indulgence. He challenges the bottom line of everyone and even the rules; he doesn't care about life or anyone else, he just wants to go against the grain.

Calling him a madman would be a compliment, because this guy doesn't possess any rationality.

Besides those mentioned above, there's also Zhu Yan. However, those are all guys who like to use their brains, while Zhu Yan simply has bipolar disorder and is mentally ill. He's a behavioral madman rather than an emotional one.

“The same kind?” Jafar lowered his eyes and whispered, “Not the same kind…”

He didn't explain the reason, but just muttered this inexplicable sentence.

The fire was extinguished before it completely burned the person. Noyce looked at the person who had been burned so badly and whispered an apology. Then he looked towards the direction of the palace.

“Your Majesty, there are no people here who deserve to die; they are still useful,” Noyce said coldly.

A few seconds, which felt like an eternity, passed before Wang's low, melodious voice came from the air: "Come back."

"Go find Daolin's location first, then report back to me. I'll be waiting for you at the palace." Mu Yegui was pondering what major events had occurred during her three-month disappearance; she had to test the waters.

But before that, let's deal with Wang first.

I'm not very good at writing poetry, so please just take a look. I tried my best.

However, Bertheas holds a very high place in my heart; otherwise, I wouldn't have specially written a hymn of praise for him. The theme of the hymn is the 'blue water chrysanthemum,' which is also his representative flower.

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(End of this chapter)