Chapter 595: Chapter 594 Oedipus_1
"Hmm?" The Fantasist looked somewhat surprised, "This assessment, it seems higher than I had imagined."
"Did you expect me to curse at you?" Aiden said.
"Even if you did, I wouldnât find it strange," the Fantasist replied.
"My critique is solely for the plot of the story you wrote," Aiden picked up the magazine and waved it, "An Oedipus-style tragedy, although itâs a clichĂ© and doesnât align with my personal taste, objectively speaking, itâs decent as a story."
"Oedipus? Is it a story from another world in your memory?" the Fantasist asked with keen interest.
"Yes."
"Another classic tragedy? Would you submit it to âChildhood Dreamsâ? Iâm really looking forward to it," the Fantasist said genuinely, his eager expression and shining eyes taking Aiden by surprise.
"I wonât submit it, the story is a bit inappropriate for children," Aiden responded.
"That makes me even more interested," the Fantasist said earnestly.
"A myth, a king, cursed for a sin he committed in his youth, his kingdom plagued by a sphinx sent by the gods, and he was prophesied to die by the hand of his own son. Thus, after his son was unexpectedly born, he abandoned the child in the wilderness," Aiden began to summarize the story, "The son was found and taken in, named Oedipus, and raised by another king. Oedipus accidentally learned of a prophecy that he would kill his biological father and marry his own mother. Unaware that his current parents were not his real ones, he fled his country out of fear. On his wandering journey, he came to his fatherâs country, got into a conflict with an old man, and killed him, this old man..."
"Was his father, I see," the Fantasist nodded repeatedly.
"Oedipus discovered that the country was offering a reward: whoever could solve the sphinxâs riddle and drive away the monster would inherit the throne of the deceased king and marry the queen," Aiden said, "He solved the riddle, unknowingly fulfilled his own prophecy, and even had children with his mother."
"So what was his ultimate fate?"
"After ascending to the throne, his kingdom was struck by punishments from the gods for his unknowing incestuous acts, with plagues and famines running rampant. In searching for a cause, Oedipus learned the truth from a prophet, the queen hung herself in shame, and he, cursing himself, blinded himself and went into exile."
"Such a tragic fate," the Fantasist remarked.
"Just like the characters you create, pure fate-driven tragedies, with the characters unable to resist their own endings," Aiden said, "I personally dislike such stories, where the characterâs experiences reek of the creatorâs malice towards them, but I canât deny these kinds of tragedies have some reference value. The story youâve written, itâs passable. The characters interact, the protagonist meets someone, and then because of fate, she dies, a tragedy unfolds, just like that, nothing original, but itâs coherent, though I think some readers probably wonât accept it."
"Iâve received a letter from the editorial department, some radical readers are offering a bounty on me," the Fantasist laughed, "Since you think my story is okay, why change Deborah Awenâs ending? Your doing doesnât hold much significance."
"One thing at a time, I just said that as a reader, your âcraftedâ story is passable," Aiden threw the magazine back onto the table, "But the situation youâve set up in reality is different, Iâm merely a character in it, I can only critique everything youâve arranged from a characterâs perspective."
"And youâre the male lead," the Fantasist said.
"So which main character would like their experience to be a tragedy? As a character in the drama, I think the experience is terrible," Aiden countered, "I dislike your ending, so I changed it."
"So, your critique of this real-life story differs?"
"Yes."
"May I ask how you critique this one?" the Fantasist pressed.
"Can I be frank?" Aiden wanted confirmation again.
"Of course."
"Really?" Aiden asked once more.
"If I said you can, then you can," the Fantasist sighed.
"Then Iâll just say it..." Aiden paused for a moment, "I think youâre a son of a bitch."
"Uh..." The Fantasist maintained a smile that was both awkward and polite.
"You really are a son of a bitch," Aiden repeated.
"So you ended up cursing, after all," the Fantasist said helplessly, shaking his head.
"Youâre the one who asked for the truth," Aiden replied earnestly.
"Do you have a problem with my story?" the Fantasist asked, appearing to be very patient.
"If youâre going to spin a story, why torture people in reality with these bizarre settings?"
"Because itâs more fun that way," the Fantasist smiled as if it were obvious, "Since I have the ability to make my fictional stories play out in reality, of course, Iâd want to try it out, as material for my work."
"You should say itâs more amusement, truly fitting for the scheming goddess," Aiden raised his hands, "I donât think thereâs any point in continuing this debate over the matter; our values simply donât align."
"I can see that, youâve found a way to get along with us rulers," the Fantasist nodded.
"To be honest, I also wonder why all of you rulers are like this?"
After only a few minutes of conversation, Aiden was certain that complaining to this ruler would be futile, just like the scheming goddess, he had no sense of morality, nor any sense of shame; he lived solely for his own pleasure, and holding him accountable or criticizing him was utterly meaningless.
"It probably has to do with the nature of authority, âWisdomâ authority can replay memories, âDesireâ authority can control the scale of desire, âExistenceâ authority can directly create whatever is conceived, with these authorities, the desires of mortals can easily be fulfilled. If we donât continuously pursue new pleasures, weâll eventually become like plants, without wants or needs. We didnât seek authority in order to become plants," the Fantasist replied, "After creating things to satisfy myself, Iâve come to enjoy creation; creation is an interesting affair, I canât make something Iâm unaware of, but I can extract materials from known things and recombine them into new existences."
"From a mortalâs perspective, you truly are hedonists," Aiden shook his head.
"When you become a ruler yourself, youâll understand," the Fantasist said cryptically.