Levi remained expressionless as he replied, "You don't actually want to listen to me. You're just waiting for me to agree with you so you can satisfy your own beliefs."
The words were simple, yet they carried weight. There was a stark difference between truly listening to someone and merely waiting for them to confirm what you already believed, like the difference between night and day.
A silence stretched between them. Then, after a moment, Elias finally spoke. "I want your opinion."
Levi's thoughts drifted to the countless lives he had lived in the Dream Realm, the lessons etched into his very soul. After a pause, he asked, "Tell me, which species on Senthora gives birth to the most ignorant child, a true blank slate?"
"Maybe the smallest insects in the air, the ones we can't even see with the naked eye," Elias mused. "They probably lack awareness of their surroundings."
Levi shook his head. "A human child."
Elias frowned, but Levi continued before he could respond.
"Newborn humans who opens their eyes on Senthora is the most ignorant being of all. Illiterate, naive, so unaware that they don't even grasp the simple fact that they exist."
He leaned back, his voice calm but unwavering. "Sheep will follow one another, even if the leader makes a fatal mistake. If the lead sheep jumps off a cliff, the rest will follow. That's why farmers use trained sheepdogs, to control them through fear."
He let the words settle before adding another example.
"Birds fly in massive swarms, shifting direction as one. Yet, no single leader guides them. They react instinctively to those around them. Ants, elephants, countless species follow the same pattern: the majority leads, the rest obey."
He asked, "Now tell me, what does the newborn humans, who doesn't even realize they exist in their early months, do?"
Elias said nothing.
"They follow," Levi answered for him.
"They are like a blank canvas. Their journey begins with imitation, mimicking movements, learning names, inheriting a sense of justice from those around them. They define beauty, shape their desires, fulfill their needs, and chase the alchemy of happiness, all guided by borrowed standards. Each action, each choice, is a brushstroke painted with the colors of society.
But by the time the brush finally rests in their own hands, they pause and ask, Why am I doing all this?, only to realize the painting is already complete. And it is not their own. They cannot erase it, cannot change it, because even the will to disagree with themselves is shaped by the same forces that painted them. And if they were to start anew, where would the standard for their new painting come from?"
"If the people around them believe in gods, they believe in gods. If those same people deny the existence of gods, they will do the same. Now tell me, where is your free will?"
His voice like a blade cutting through illusion.
"Your desires, your habits, your daily choices, they aren't yours. They are shaped by the society you were born into. No matter how much you convince yourself that you chose something out of your own will, the very sense of right and wrong, the instinct to take action, even the belief that one thing is useful and another is harmful, all of it is given to you by your surroundings."
His expression remained unreadable as he delivered the final blow.
"Now, how easy is it to manipulate humans? A species whose only innate awareness is that they exist, while everything else is shaped by the world around them? Manipulate that world, and you turn them into living puppets, dancing to whatever tune you play."
He exhaled, his voice barely above a whisper.
"In the end, we are all just mirrors of our society. No matter how much we struggle, we can never truly escape the reflection. Even the will to resist… comes from the very world we seek to defy."
"You don't believe in gods because our family doesn't, and they don't believe because they've read a book by someone they consider rational. Don't complicate things by thinking you've uncovered the scroll of truth."
Fear and uncertainty flickered in Elias's eyes as he asked, "Then how do you know what you're saying is right? What is truth? Should I believe in gods?"
Levi's gaze remained steady. "Even now, you're asking for my opinion. Do you see how dangerous that is? Just because I spoke with logic and confidence, your mind instinctively wants to believe me. But is that because I'm right? Or because you've been conditioned to trust words that sound profound?"
Elias fell silent. The realization sank deep, wasn't this exactly what he had been arguing all along? That people simply absorb what surrounds them, whether truth or illusion?
After a long pause, Levi finally spoke again.
"In the end, it's up to you to seek your own path. If you look closely, every child is born with one simple instinct, to help, to create peace and love without expecting anything in return. But as they grow, society takes that vary thing from them, piece by piece, until selfishness becomes second nature.
But perhaps that's just the nature of existence. In the end, life is nothing more than a struggle between body and soul, desire and necessity, chasing happiness that always seems just out of reach."
Both remained silent for a while.
Elias had always been the type to jump into conversations, to steer them, to convince others of his beliefs. He prided himself on being rational, on being the smartest person in the room. He understood the power of words, the way they could shape lives, destroy them, or elevate them. From infancy, he had invested in his mind, seeking wisdom at every turn.
But today, for the first time, someone else's words had made him question his very existence.
"What he's saying is horrifying… Did I truly choose to become a Diplomatic Sorcerer? Or was I simply molded by the environment I was born into?"
"The food I love, when others dislike it, I think they're foolish. The clothes I prefer, when others don't dress like me, I assume they've been manipulated by society's standards. But am I any different? The things I love, the things I hate, the things I fear… were they ever truly mine? Or were they forced upon me by my surroundings?"
Elias had always been clear-minded, always challenging others in debate. He believed that the moment a person thought they knew everything, their path to ascension had already ended. To him, growth meant constantly reshaping his ideology, breaking and rebuilding his understanding of the world.
He took a deep breath, carefully piecing together Levi's words, analyzing them, breaking them down, then finally, he asked,
"Then… how do you escape this illusion?"
Levi's lips curled into a faint smile. This was the question he had been waiting for.
"In a pitch-black room, black and white look the same. But the moment you introduce light, black appears as black, and white as white."
"But the most terrifying thing? That light doesn't come from within us. It's not something we generate ourselves. I'm still searching for that light, the one that reveals what is truly right and what is truly wrong. What is black, and what is white."
This is human nature, born to believe and follow. Some follow blindly due to a lack of wisdom, while those who think themselves intelligent, believing everyone else to be fools, are often the most foolish of all.
In their early years, they wander from one belief to another, eventually settling on an ideology, not because their inner self compels them, but because someone presented it with logic and reasoning. But who will tell the naive that even their standard of logic and reasoning comes from the same source?
They never stopped to ask themselves a simple question, why? Why believe? Could it not be wrong, just like the first ideology they once found so logical? Aren't they merely repeating the same cycle, unwilling to face the truth? That they are nothing more than puppets, doing only what they were told to.
They spend their lives clinging to these beliefs, never challenging them. Even the most powerful among them will wage wars against those who reject their philosophies.
Yet the darkest truth remains: humans do not truly know what is absolutely right or wrong. But rational minds refuse to accept this simple truth, just as a fish in a pond will never believe in the stories of the ocean, for to it, the ocean does not exist.
All nobles believe that the knowledge of becoming an Echo should remain hidden, why? Because a certain organization holds that belief. But is the majority always right? They never stop to ask themselves: What if I had been born a commoner? Would I still think the same way?
After his conversation with Elias, Levi drifted into deep thought.
"If I truly want freedom for my people, I must first remove the youth from the stage and awaken them. But that's the hardest part… The Pain Domain could open at any moment, and I have no one at my back. If I die fighting for it, there will be no one to carry my mission forward, no one to inherit my legacy.
Anderson? No. He's too narrow-minded, his entire life revolves around imitating me. Elyra has potential, but he's not ready to step onto the battlefield. As for Elias… he has other uses."
Levi exhaled slowly, his fingers tapping against the armrest.
"Some things can't be rushed. If Brother gives me the list of failed students, then… I'll decide what must be done."