Shard did not hide his thoughts. He asked his question, and the deity finally looked at him:

"Why tell him? He didn’t ask, and the transaction he made was merely to, years later, greet Sarah Miles with a smile as she closed her eyes, and take her hand to walk towards death together. In the stories of mortals, isn’t that romantic?"

Meeting the deity’s gaze, Shard merely held out for less than three seconds before feeling extreme discomfort, but he still forced himself to endure it.

The deity had done nothing wrong. He had given the knight the opportunity to achieve a miracle, allowing him not only to become a hero who saves everything but also to have the chance to see his lover again at the end of his duties.

Thinking this way, it explains why Mrs. Miles and that Witch Empress were always unable to find the knight’s whereabouts, or even summon his spirit with a relic. The crack opened by the witches’ battle years ago, summoning demon flames, likely had a more severe impact than Shard initially thought.

That deity of wealth and trade seemed to appear at the most suitable time, in the most suitable place, making a deal with a dying spirit. He could even be considered merciful for this... But now, it is meaningless to say these things anymore. What is past cannot be changed; the present is what matters most.

"Deity, since you have now revealed yourself, where might that gentleman’s soul be?"

"The transaction is not over. His responsibility will only be completed after Sarah Miles dies. As for now, he is still in the flames."

The deity raised his right hand, the sleeve of his robe slipping down, leaving a man-high crack in the air. The crack quickly opened, and from behind it came endless black flames, the smell of sulfur, countless screams, and a terrifying heat that seemed capable of melting everything.

Even having hunted many demons before, Shard instinctively stepped back. The demon power contained in that space beyond the crack was truly astonishing.

The swirling black flames appeared to be burning on a scorched plain. The young man who had appeared in the old lady’s memory was now spreading his arms, lying above a crack in the ground, striving to use his transparent body to resist those flames. He wasn’t entirely successful; otherwise, there would be no flames on the scorched plain. He had reached some form of balance with the flames; they wouldn’t spread, but he couldn’t leave either.

"Madam!"

The old woman took the relic dagger left behind after the boy’s death from the witch’s bag, intending to stab it into her own chest, but was stopped by the young witch behind Shard.

She was still afraid of the divine presence but also remembered her responsibility:

"Madam, what are you doing!?"

"If I die, he can be free."

The silver-haired elderly lady said, and after the dagger was taken away by the witch, she attempted to leap toward the crack but was blocked again by Miss Higgins.

She was truly too old.

Shard then asked the crucial question:

"Deity, since we are still in this camp, are you willing to make another deal, allowing Mr. Richard Jackman to regain his freedom early and spend the remaining time with Mrs. Miles?"

The deity still did not speak, but a resounding voice thundered:

"What would Sarah Miles offer to make this deal? I do not need mortal wealth, and I am equally uninterested in her soul and her faith. Why not patiently wait? In 365 days, she will face death, and then he will wait for her with a smile."

"I am willing, I am willing to use my..."

"Madam!"

"Use my soul to exchange for his soul! Let me take his place, let him live again, let him see the world once more!"

Disregarding Miss Higgins’ obstruction, the tearful elderly lady spoke these words, but the deity shook his head:

"Such an exchange cannot be established; your soul is too weak, and your souls are not equivalent."

"Then, then let me go too! Let me go there, accompany him for the last 365 days, let me stay with him there!"

Originally intent on stopping her, Miss Higgins inexplicably closed her mouth. With a sigh, she shook her head, deciding not to interfere further.

The deity asked the elderly woman:

"What difference would it make? One person sealing the crack, or two sealing it, will make no difference."

"No, we were supposed to spend this life together. I waited for him all my life, and now I know he didn’t break his promise, he truly would come to see me, so now it should be my turn to seek him out, to spend the life that was meant to be his!"

Even though she was physically frail and mentally weak, she refused Miss Higgins and forced herself to stand up, looking directly at the deity as she made her plea.

This was not any miracle achieved by the power of a mortal soul, but the deity allowing her to do so.

"If this transaction requires an offering, take my life. Let my soul accompany him, accompany him through his final days!"

The old man said in a hoarse voice.

A smile appeared on the face of the God. He pointed at the black scales placed by the fire, and they flew above the bonfire. The scales balanced, and all three of them knew what this represented.

"Exchange your remaining 365 days of life to send your soul into the demon’s flames, to accompany Richard Jackman for 365 days—this is a very fair trade."

Even so, the God did not immediately agree, instead, He turned to Shard:

"Foreign visitor, do you think I should accept this deal?"

Mrs. Miles looked at Shard with hopeful eyes, while Miss Higgins kept shaking her head at Shard, afraid to make any larger movements.

Having thought it through, Shard spoke:

"For Mrs. Miles, this seems like the best option. But I know, God, you have better methods that we cannot imagine, only she can’t afford the cost."

"Yes."

"So, from the beginning, you were waiting for me to pay the price for her. Just like last time in the depths of the camp, you tried to make me realize through the [Fate’s Pedestal] that there were more valuable trades for me in this camp."

The middle-aged man in a golden robe winked at Shard:

"I’m pleased, you truly are a clever person."

The pitch-black scales tilted once again, symbolizing another trade beginning:

"You pay the price, and I can annul Richard Jackman’s deal with me, freeing his soul now."

"The price..."

Miss Higgins shook her head at Shard even faster, while Mrs. Miles was shocked listening to their conversation, and spoke hurriedly before Shard could respond:

"Young man, I don’t need you to do that. If I let someone else make a sacrifice just to meet him, how could I face him?"

Shard did not heed his two companions:

"God, I’m very curious, what exactly do you want me to pay? I assume I possess nothing that you would value."

He had no interactions with this deity, nor any influence at this point in time, and it seemed impossible for any past deity to interfere with the Sixth Era through Shard.

The Old God - [Golden Sovereign] answered:

"Don’t worry, I won’t ask you for anything. You only need to answer one question, a simple question:

I have seen your fascinating soul, with seeds of both great sin and virtue taking root and sprouting within. The great sin is not the base qualities of mortals, but rather the dark glimmer of six sins stemming from ancient, true misdeeds. At the same time, you have compassion, a dedication to fair morality, possessing a higher, gold-like spirit than most. My question is, such as you are, do you not feel disgusted using the power of sin?"

Shard indeed did not anticipate that using a relic of [Fate’s Pedestal]’s level to allure him was only to ask such an odd question.

He let the chains clatter to the ground from his sleeve, looking at what they symbolized, his own steps verifying the sins within himself.

"Humans inherently have both sides, there are no complete saints, nor complete villains.....at least that’s what I believe, otherwise, would the other party still be considered a wise being? Someone once said, sin is also power...I’d rather not quote her words."

The face of a mermaid gradually sinking into the water flashed through Shard’s mind. He looked again at the pattern of the golden scales on the deity’s garment, and Iluna’s face seemed to appear before him:

"Balance. The most important thing is balance. Not everyone has the capacity for a balance of good and evil, but rather the whole of civilization develops in a spiral through the balance of good and evil. And as for me personally..."

He pointed to himself:

"Sin is also me, a part of being Shard Hamilton. There is nothing wrong with this; it constitutes part of my existence. I am willing to help those in need, but I also greedily attempt to hold onto the hands of everyone."

Having come to the Black Mist Camp for the third time, ascending step by step to the top of the tower:

"I know this greed is wrong, but that’s exactly what I will do. Is letting go the right thing? No, no, it doesn’t matter at all. I once told a friend of mine, absolute balance does not exist. The power of sin is also power...why have I circled back to this sentence?"

"That sentence is very correct, and I hope you can remember it. That’s enough, the answer is quite satisfactory." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The Old God said softly, looking at Shard with eyes full of meaning. As for the pitch-black scales above the flame, at some unknown point, they had returned to a balanced position.

Shard still found all this puzzling, though he could guess that the divine power before him was likely related to the Ancient God - [The Upside-Down Judge] associated with balance. But even if this guess was correct, there seemed to be no necessity in asking his view of the power of great sin. If it were Iluna standing here, it would make more sense.