The colossal divine avatar dissipated with a roar, transforming into two similar yet distinct clusters of light. Under the Pantheon's power, Dominicus of the Collective Will was directly split into two parts: Harmony and Order.
The two different clusters of light converged into enormous spheres, hovering above the Penacony Grand Theater.
THUD!
With the divine avatar gone, Sunday could no longer maintain his previous form. He plummeted from the sky, crashing to the ground.
"I've lost."
Feeling the last vestiges of power within him, looking at the formidable crowd before him, Sunday struggled to his feet. There was no need for excuses, no thought of escape. He directly admitted his defeat.
"From the very beginning, your idea was never possible," Su Mo said, only now speaking as he looked at Sunday, who was now as bedraggled as a drowned rat, yet completely calm. "If you believe reality is too cruel to accommodate the beautiful dreams of mortals, then on what grounds did you believe you could build a paradise in this cruel reality?"
"..."
Hearing this, Sunday froze for a moment, then nodded silently. "You're right."
In his previous state, he might not have deeply considered Su Mo's words. But after his defeat, he was much calmer and could finally realize that his logic had a fatal flaw from the start.
If he succeeded, it would prove that reality could accommodate beautiful dreams. In which case, his success would prove his own goal meaningless.
If reality was truly as cruel as he claimed, then his ideal was bound to fail.
So, no matter what he did, failure was the only path.
"I was too extreme before. If I had sought your advice earlier, perhaps I wouldn't have attempted such an immature idea." Reflecting on this, Sunday lowered his head. He was filled with genuine regret. If he had known Su Mo could answer his questions, he wouldn't have deliberately kept his distance just because of Robin's closeness to him.
"Spending all your time in Penacony listening to confessions, it's not surprising you'd develop mental issues," Su Mo said, not surprised by Sunday's transformation. "If you had left this place earlier, if you had seen more of the real galaxy like Robin has, perhaps you wouldn't have reached this point."
"Yes..." Sunday sighed and looked up at Su Mo. He had never thought he would one day be able to speak with Su Mo so peacefully.
As expected of the man his sister admired; he finally understood what had attracted Robin to him. If only he had met Su Mo earlier, had talked with him sooner, he wouldn't have had such needless worries.
He had to admit, Robin had excellent taste. As her brother, he approved.
"It's just a shame that it's too late for all this now." Thankfully, Robin was in Su Mo's care, so he didn't have to worry too much.
As for himself, he no longer had a future. But that was fine. He didn't care; it was a price he had expected to pay.
Just as Sunday was thinking this...
"Too late?" Su Mo shook his head. "No. It's never too late. With your aptitude, you need to gain a true understanding of the galaxy's reality, not just hear about it secondhand as you have been. If you do that, you will surely undergo a fundamental transformation."
"What?" Hearing this, Sunday was taken aback, then shook his head firmly. "Lord Su Mo, I am a sinner. A sinner deserves punishment, not leniency. If not, who will guarantee the order of the world?"
At this, his eyes became incredibly firm and stubborn.
Say what you will, his affinity for Order was truly strong. Even if no one in Penacony would judge his crimes now, he would conduct the harshest self-judgment and exile himself.
When it came to self-discipline, his puritanical streak was remarkable.
And in terms of puritanism and stubbornness, Robin was no less than her brother.
"Lord Su Mo, my brother is right." Even though she loved her brother and blamed herself for not noticing his psychological state sooner, when she sensed Su Mo might pardon Sunday, she didn't show any joy.
Instead, she shook her head resolutely.
"No matter what, my brother has made a great mistake. Regardless of his aptitude or power, if someone can commit a crime and escape punishment, then who will protect the justice of the victims?"
As she said this, she and Sunday met each other's gaze, their attitudes perfectly synchronized. "Allowing my brother to escape punishment would not be a good thing, neither for him nor for the world!"
Even though she wasn't a leader, Robin understood this simple principle. A crime of principle must be severely punished.
Even though Sunday hadn't actually caused any casualties, the severity of threatening the freedom of a collective was no less serious than taking lives. No matter where you were, this was an act of terrorism.
Faced with the siblings' attitude, Su Mo shook his head, slightly speechless. "When did I say I was going to pardon his crimes?"
Hearing this, Sunday and Robin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Only then did Su Mo look at Sunday and add, "I'm sending you to see the world beyond Penacony not to grant you freedom, but to sentence you to eternal hard labor."
"Only by personally experiencing reality can you truly and deeply understand what you've done wrong, and only then will you be qualified to atone with everything you have, to make up for your current crimes."
"You will be stripped of all enjoyment, lose all status, and start from zero. You will bow your body lower than everyone else, letting the masses step on you to climb higher."
"But remember, no matter how many good deeds you do, no matter how many great works you accomplish, your past crimes will remain an indelible stain on your life. The past will always exist, engraved upon your soul."
Su Mo's words were ice-cold. Compared to a death sentence or simple labor, this was true suffering.
Sunday's task would be eternal atonement, and from the very beginning, Su Mo had told him this sin could never be erased.
"Until your final days, if you have done your best and put your heart into it, you may call my name... and I, in the name of God, will grant you the most just judgment."
The moment his words fell, the halo of the Son of God flickered for an instant behind Su Mo.
The deity who held the authorities of original sin, judgment, and redemption emitted an aura that only Sunday could perceive.
No one else saw anything, only Sunday's expression of utter shock, as if he had received a divine calling.
"Yes, Lord Su Mo!" He didn't question on what authority Su Mo judged him, on what authority he issued his punishment, or on what authority he promised a just judgment.
The moment he saw the phantom of the Son of God, Sunday understood everything.
The path he had walked had already been walked by another, and that person had gone much farther than he. In that case, what was there left to doubt?
If eternal hard labor could help him atone, could help him better understand his own heart, then what did it matter if his body became the very mud for thousands to trample upon?
Others might not understand, might even think this penance was too heavy, far exceeding the crime Sunday had committed. But for Sunday, what Su Mo had given him was not just punishment, but a brightly lit path.
To him, physical pain was nothing. As long as he didn't lose his ideals, he could experience a heaven-like bliss even in the depths of hell. It had to be said, Sunday was born to be a fanatical believer.
If Su Mo had any intention of proselytizing, he could even be cultivated as a disciple like Saint Paul.
In time, Sunday could even raise a church on his own.
Unfortunately, Su Mo had no such plans.
The reason he chose this form of redemption for Sunday wasn't because he agreed with the Christian cosmology, but simply because Sunday himself needed this kind of atonement to cleanse his heart and achieve true growth.
"Thank you, Lord Su Mo!" Robin, though she didn't know Su Mo's considerations, understood that he was thinking of Sunday's well-being.
The harsh conditions of atonement weren't important.
What was important was that after receiving this punishment, Sunday's eyes were bright again, no longer lost and confused as before. It reminded her of the brother she used to know.
To be able to both take on sin and promote her brother's growth—realizing Lord Su Mo's profound intentions, Robin was so moved she felt she could never repay him.
As for Sunday's sentence, the others naturally had no objections. Even if the high-ranking members of The Family were here, they could hardly extract more value from Sunday than Su Mo.
"Don't mention it. It was something I promised before." Su Mo shook his head calmly, not taking credit.
Then, he looked up, his gaze turning to the two spheres of light in the sky—the powers of Order and Harmony. "Your matter is resolved. Now, all that's left is the matter between us."
Hearing this, Robin, who was beside Su Mo, froze for a moment. "? Us?"
The moment Su Mo's words fell, the phantoms of the Aeons of Harmony and Order appeared behind him.
Then, the two spheres of condensed Path power, as if they had found their master, plunged into their respective phantoms in the Pantheon.
Those who had witnessed similar scenes before understood that Su Mo was using the power of Dominicus of the Collective Will to enhance his mastery over the Paths of Harmony and Order.
The power of a mere Emanator-level avatar, while not enough to fully illuminate the divine phantoms like the gifts from other Aeons, could still fill a large portion of the progress.
However, just at that moment, a sudden change occurred.