Chapter 457
Baseline Worldline (7000 words, merged)
As the camera gradually zoomed in, enlarged, and finally froze on Queen Sophia’s half-open, ashen, unmoving pupils, Eivass thought the CG had ended.
The screen did indeed go black.
—But immediately, another cutscene began.
Eivass, clad in a bishop’s red robe, paced in the study of Moriarty Manor, appearing somewhat anxious.
Restlessly, he pulled a book from the bookshelf, seemingly intending to read.
But before he could, he suddenly heard the sound of thunder from outside.
Eivass immediately walked to the window and saw the sky darkening at a visible speed.
White griffins took flight in large numbers in the distance, the pure white sky seeming to be dyed with ink, spreading outwards from the Silver and Tin Hall. Thunder roared, and a howling storm swept through the streets, instantly blowing away the fallen leaves on both sides of the street in the autumn season.
In an instant, countless withered leaves danced in the air. A visible storm swept in.
As the camera paused here, the wind blew a fallen leaf onto Eivass’s face.
Eivass froze for a moment before realizing that the CG had ended and he could move again.
“Seamless transition?”
As he realized this, a sharp, unpleasant, hoarse voice, like nails scraping a blackboard, suddenly rang in his mind:
“You are Eivass Moriarty. A bishop recognized by the Church of the Nine Pillar Gods at the young age of nineteen, and the youngest bishop in Avalon.
Your sister, Yulia Moriarty, is a Phantom Demon Egg, but fortunately, thanks to your foster father, James, her condition has been well-controlled. With your treatment, her condition is even improving.
But shortly after your promotion to bishop, Yulia was suddenly abducted by a group of people. When you found Yulia, she had already lost control and transformed into a Phantom Demon.
You suspect a conspiracy behind this, investigating in secret and planning revenge. Just recently, with the help of the famous detective Sherlock Hermes, you finally discovered that the mastermind was Minister Dross, a spy for the Star Antimony people.
Concurrently, you also uncovered another plot—the Star Antimony and Avalon are recently organizing a marriage alliance, but there are abnormal troop movements on the Star Antimony border.
With only one day left until the engagement banquet, it’s impossible to stop, so you decide to split into two groups—you will report to the Grand Guardian stationed at the border, while Detective Sherlock will personally go to the Silver and Tin Hall to report to Queen Sophia. At the same time, as you had met Princess Isabel during an Ascension Ritual, you carefully sent her a warning letter as well.
A day has passed now, and the princess has not replied, nor has Sherlock returned to find you. You realize that something bad seems to have happened…”
The next moment, a few lines of text popped up before Eivass’s eyes.
[Necessary Mission—]
[Continue to play Eivass Moriarty, without being seen through and exposed by anyone other than your teammates (Points: 100)]
[Safely evacuate Princess “Isabel Du Lac” to the Eternal Holy Kingdom (Points: 500)]
[Bonus Missions—]
[The Heart is the Sanctuary: Do not choose to hide in Moriarty Manor; proactively go to the Silver and Tin Hall (Points: 100)]
[Trial—Will of the Candlelight: Lose more than your total life force through treating others (Points: 100)]
[My Unforgotten Nature: Effectively treat others and ensure their survival (Points: 10 per person, up to 500)]
[Heart of Preservation: Safely escort as many family members and friends as possible out of Avalon (Points: up to 500)]
[Trial—Guardian of Life: Provide as much effective healing as possible (Points: up to 500)]
[Save Detective Sherlock: Ensure Sherlock Hermes’ survival (Points: 500)]
[Vow of Love and Hatred: Kill Charles Dross (Points: 500)]
[The Day of Ruin Approaches: Do not evacuate or leave Glass Island, survive to the end (Points: 500)]
[Trial—Beacon of Hope: Save those who are certain to die (Points: up to 1000)]
[Only I Can Do It: Stop the Star Antimony’s plot (Points: 1000)]
[????: Complete ????? and ensure the survival rate of Glass Island civilians exceeds 70% (Points: 1000)]
Two necessary missions, eleven bonus missions.
Even excluding the three trial missions required for job change, there were eight bonus missions.
Undoubtedly, this was the most missions Eivass had received during an Ascension Ritual.
Based on Eivass’s experience from previous Ascension Rituals, the tasks given by the Serpent Father were full of impossible, ultra-difficult missions, while the tasks given by the Twin Mirror were full of the spirit of a troll, with exorbitant points thrown around as if encouraging mischief.
The best missions were those from the Hourglass… His missions themselves were a form of guidance and suggestion. Even if the Great Philosopher messed around in the Ascension Ritual, the Hourglass tried to organize the thoughts of the ascenders.
As for the missions given by the Lord of Scales and Feathers, the add-on points were conservative, with only one or two extremely difficult “bonus questions” receiving high scores. The rest were missions that were visibly achievable… as long as one worked diligently, they could be completed.
This was true for Eivass, and it should be true for others as well.
Because of this, it was likely not easy to create a gap in the Lord of Scales and Feathers’ script. Missions that could be completed had to be completed.
Eivass gazed at the spreading dark clouds outside the window, silently analyzing these missions.
The three trial missions were all required for job change—among them, [Beacon of Hope] was a necessary trial mission for advancing to Illuminator and Temple Guardian Monk, requiring at least one-third completion.
The mission [The Day of Ruin Approaches] clearly conflicted with a necessary mission.
This was likely a common mission prepared for ascenders who did not intend to help Isabel evacuate, a mission available for all paths.
Since necessary missions had to be completed, they generally did not award points. Earning the extra five hundred points by helping Isabel escape required making up for it with other missions—and clearly, with the impending Avalon disaster, evacuating to other countries was the safest option. Secondly, it was to leave Glass Island and hide in small towns.
Eivass did not know the size of the map for this Ascension Ritual, but judging from this mission, it was at least larger than the entire Glass Island.
Slightly consolidating the mission requirements, it meant sending Isabel to the Holy Kingdom. In the process, rescue as many people as possible and send them to safe places.
Sherlock needed to be rescued quickly. He might have been captured while delivering the message; it was hard to say where he was being held.
Then there was… Eivass had to kill Minister Dross again.
—Not to mention, this was Eivass’s most satisfying mission.
The last opportunity was given to Lily; this time, he could finally do it himself.
Previously, although Eivass knew that Dross had murdered Queen Sophia, he had never understood how he did it…
Because the Shadow of Avalon ritual was only one person short of completion… yet after Queen Sophia was assassinated, the ritual did not activate.
This indicated that Queen Sophia’s head was not counted for the ritual for some reason. Eivass had already been confused when the Queen explained the Shadow of Avalon ritual to him.
Before that, he had always thought that two heads were missing. The Queen filled the second to last spot, and the last one came two years later, with the descent of the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, the fragmentation of Star Antimony, and the puppet Isabel, who awakened human emotions, sacrificing her younger brother John, using the child’s life to complete the ritual in an attempt to summon Lancelot.
But the Queen said only one head was missing.
Now, after seeing the complete CG, Eivass finally understood what had happened at the time.
The Queen had said that besides herself, only three other people knew of this counter-attack ritual. Meg and Arius, as civilians, knew nothing of the ritual.
Since even the civilian “Great” generation of Avalon didn’t know, and even Meg, Queen Sophia’s most trusted person, didn’t know, it was unlikely that Sophia would tell the foreigner Janis. On the other hand, Isabel obviously didn’t know either.
Besides George and Shafiya, the last person who knew of the ritual might have been Isabel’s father, Prince Albert. It could also have been Sherlock’s father or brother, or perhaps the Privy Council Minister Camelot.
George died in that well-known charge, and Shafiya was the one who escaped with Isabel. But in the end, when Isabel went to the Holy Kingdom, Shafiya was no longer by her side and likely died at that time.
This ritual required twenty-one Du Lac bloodlines who died by murder.
The key was “blood.”
The Du Lacs who were previously cursed and poisoned were clearly counted. This meant that as long as the blood could be obtained… but at the time, no one knew they needed to extract blood from the Queen’s corpse to activate the Shadow of Avalon ritual.
Perhaps Shafiya knew, so she might have tried to return to snatch the Queen’s corpse… but ultimately failed. This could also explain why she died silently, while the puppet Isabel obtained relevant information.
Moreover, this Ascension Ritual saw an invisible, censored mission for the first time.
However, although this mission was censored, Eivass felt that the blurred field’s length should be “Shadow of Avalon.”
—This could explain why “Glass Island civilian survival rate exceeds 70%” was required.
In the original “Cruel Autumn” incident, although Glass Island was overrun by the Gargoyle Legion, the Colossi and the army never advanced. The main casualties were Extraordinary individuals who tried to resist; Star Antimony did not directly attack civilians.
From the perspective of civilians, the story was that an assassin disguised as Isabel poisoned Queen Sophia. Subsequently, Star Antimony took the opportunity to invade, eliminate Avalon’s Griffin Legion, and exterminate all Fifth Tier Extraordinary individuals, instilling fear in the people of Avalon.
At this point, Princess Isabel ascended the throne, ceded a large amount of benefits, and continued the marriage alliance with Star Antimony. Thus, Star Antimony smoothly retreated… Throughout the entire process, although civilians were severely frightened and many cities suffered extensive damage, there were not many civilian casualties at this time.
They did not know that the Minister Dross was the one who poisoned the Queen, that the real Isabel had escaped, nor that the knights of the Round Table Hall were fighting each other, leaving only those from Star Antimony.
After all, at least half of the founding families were intact, and the Round Table Hall and the entire Avalon government were still operating normally. They would only assume that the remaining people died in that invasion, unaware that the entire upper echelon had been replaced.
From the perspective of the Holy Kingdom, Minister Dross was the one who poisoned the Queen, and the rebellion in Avalon was instigated by ministers from within. Although Star Antimony was secretly instigating, they did not have Extraordinary individuals directly attack the Queen or hunt Isabel, thus not crossing the Holy Kingdom’s bottom line.
Moreover, the people of Avalon at that time greatly approved of the puppet Queen Isabel because she brought “peace”—after the people of Avalon realized the power and brutality of Star Antimony, peace, once hard-won, could be cherished even more, and even if the puppet Isabel continuously supplied various benefits to Star Antimony, causing dissatisfaction, no one dared to oppose it.
—After all, they were truly terrified by the Star Antimony people.
Even with the signing of one unequal treaty after another, and the constant siphoning of resources from Avalon, no one dared to resist Star Antimony. Because Avalon had been disarmed, resistance was impossible.
Once the Holy Kingdom recovered, they could not directly interfere with Star Antimony’s puppet rule. Because that would mean eradicating all the rulers of Avalon’s upper echelon—including most of the founding families.
This was fundamentally impossible.
Because Avalon was essentially jointly ruled by the founding families, the Du Lac family serving as monarchs was merely compensation for Lancelot not becoming an Apostle immediately and remaining in the human world to rule Avalon for the Silver Crown Dragon.
But in principle, the ruling power of Avalon was equally divided among the founding families.
It wasn’t until the descent of the Fallen Heavenly Envoy that Isabel, with the support and help of the Holy Kingdom, defeated the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, and the people of Avalon began to doubt their puppet queen. And the puppet Isabel, after breaking free from control, gradually gained self-awareness.
Precisely because the puppet Isabel tried to summon Lancelot to save Avalon, Avalon was truly destroyed—
Because the Shadow Heavenly Envoy impartially destroyed everything.
Be it the Round Table Hall or the Silver and Tin Hall, or the knights and founders of the old era… regardless of whether they leaned towards Star Antimony or Avalon, they were all impartially destroyed.
Completing the Shadow of Avalon ritual, and yet not causing civilian deaths? Was this even possible?
Eivass fell into thought, but soon realized a way through the dilemma.
“…It seems it is truly possible.”
Eivass murmured.
The key point lay in time.
Because when [Necessary Mission Two] was completed, the Ascension Ritual would immediately end and be settled.
That meant that at that instant, no matter what the situation, Eivass could immediately return.
Because the requirement for [Necessary Mission Two] was to “make” Isabel evacuate, not “evacuate with” Isabel.
This meant that he himself could choose not to evacuate together.
Eivass had to complete the Shadow of Avalon ritual just before Isabel evacuated to complete this mission!
And as soon as the Shadow Heavenly Envoy descended, both the two Fifth Tier powerhouses and the Gargoyle Legion would be consumed. The mission [Only I Can Do It] would also be accomplished incidentally.
…The only problem was, Eivass would most likely die there as well.
This necessary mission did not require survival, meaning… even death could be settled.
However, the difficulty of this ritual was very high. If he died, he might also die in reality, and his soul would definitely be damaged—once the soul was damaged, it would increase the difficulty of subsequent ascensions.
No, this was too risky.
Moreover, if he didn’t go with Isabel, he might not be able to ensure her safe arrival in the Holy Kingdom.
Unless “Lulu” also descended upon herself, and the two of them cooperated, there might be some hope.
“…But if I don’t complete the Shadow of Avalon ritual, how can I ‘stop Star Antimony’s plot’?”
Eivass fell into thought.
What if he found a way to kill that prince and queen?
Such a thought suddenly appeared in Eivass’s mind.
When he watched the CG earlier, Eivass found those two quite displeasing… Even though he knew that the prince was just a placeholder, and “Isabel,” who was nominally married to him, was just a ball-jointed doll, Eivass still felt deeply uncomfortable.
Whether it was possessiveness towards Isabel, or protectiveness, anger at the Queen being poisoned and Isabel being framed, sympathy for the poor Isabel… and concern from “Lulu” seeing this CG, all fueled Eivass’s hatred for those two.
—If he could kill them, perhaps the Star Antimony’s plot could be stopped.
No, that wasn’t right.
Eivass looked squarely into his own heart.
He didn’t need to deceive himself with points and missions; he could face his true heart.
To be precise, whether killing them could stop Star Antimony’s plot or not, Eivass wanted to kill them—even if they were not the targets that had to be eliminated in this Ascension Ritual, killing them carried risks and offered no points.
Eivass simply wanted to do it.
Thinking of this, Eivass began to check his status and abilities.
…But his heart sank quickly.
Besides the Butterfly and the Cleric’s four Sacred Skills, he could only use “Shepherd’s,” “Dawn Fire,” and a few simple rituals.
The good news was that the “Eivass” body he was using was undoubtedly his own body. Eivass felt no awkwardness using it; it was comfortable and smooth.
It was just that his Mana Pool was outrageous.
It contained a full 87 points of Light attribute mana, and only 29 points of Fire attribute mana!
Eivass calculated for a while and concluded that this should be the standard panel of a Level 29 Cleric, plus a Level 2 Light Container and a Level 1 Fire Container to form the Mana Pool. Since the Container attributes affected the body, they would not take effect in dreams, so this should be the attribute chosen by Eivass himself when ascending in this body… or rather, this worldline.
Or, it was the Mana Pool allocated to Eivass by the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
“This stat allocation is too strange, isn’t it?”
Eivass couldn’t help but frown, confirming one thing—that this Eivass was definitely not himself, the穿越者.
Even as a single-class Cleric, Eivass could not have stacked the Light Container to such a high level… or rather, if he didn’t have the adaptability of the Transcendent Path, and a Mana Pool required for Great Sin Cards, he might not have even chosen Container attributes.
Because Container attributes had the most obvious dilution, the higher the level, the lower the benefit.
Unless there was a special profession that could convert mana into combat power, such as the Great Sin Scholar who strictly required mana, or a Mage who could convert mana into each other, or a Blood Mage who could convert mana and life force into each other, then Container attributes would be meaningful.
Even if one of these three Container attributes was “Container of Burning and Shining,” it would still mean that he selected Container attributes in at least two Ascension Rituals. Then, by the time he reached the Third Tier, Eivass would have at most one other attribute.
Stacking so much mana… was it a complete disregard for combat power, only caring about healing others?
Wait…
“…No adaptability from the Transcendent Path?”
Eivass murmured.
He finally realized why the introductory plot felt so strange—
He subconsciously assumed it was because he was ascending the Path of Devotion, so Eivass’s mana pool from other professions within him was blocked.
But now it seemed… this was another possibility for Eivass.
This was a purely Path of Devotion Eivass!
His path impulse had not triggered, so he had focused on the path of Cleric since childhood.
Then he would not have quit school and stayed home obsessively researching Demonology, nor would he have secretly written letters to contact Noble Red, become a Demon Scholar, and even less would he have been tied up and sacrificed.
He would not have come into contact with the Pelican Bar case, nor received the letter sent by Minister Dross’s secretary. He would not have learned the details of the “Red Stone” case, and Eivass would not have been attacked and silenced at the commendation ceremony.
Because Eivass had chosen so many Container attributes, and received ample comfort and treatment from Eivass, the Butterfly, who had identical memories and a similar personality to Yulia, would not have acted out much but would have grown and developed peacefully. Thus, Yulia’s health would have improved significantly, preventing the premature failure of the seal, and she would not have lost control and become a Phantom Demon.
Also, because he did not come into contact with this series of events, Eivass could study with peace of mind.
As a result, he reached the Third Tier one year after enrollment, passed the church’s assessment, and was promoted to bishop.
—But similarly, this worldline’s Eivass missed all opportunities to come into contact with Noble Red.
So Eivass would not know that the ones who abducted Yulia were Noble Red.
The Prince of Giants had not been timely eliminated by Eivass, and both Noble Red and the Lloyd Society were intact. Then Succubus Emma would not need to relay orders from Griffith, but could directly order her students to take Yulia’s blood.
When Yulia’s life was in danger, the not-yet-fully-developed Butterfly would break free from her body—the Prince of Giants must have drained Yulia’s blood, causing the Butterfly to hatch.
“…I understand!”
Eivass’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He had figured out the fundamental difference between these two worldlines.
Eivass’s impulse for the Transcendent Path was not entirely inherited from his grandfather. A significant portion of it was due to the “Divine Entity.” It was precisely because of the Ring Heavenly Envoy’s influence that Eivass would lose his mind and do those things.
His parents had still died, and he and Yulia had still been adopted together, indicating that at least the first half was the same. But for some reason, the Divine Entity within Eivass had never been awakened…
This meant that this was a worldline where the Ring Heavenly Envoy had not influenced Eivass!
If a “baseline” worldline existed, this should be the “cleanest” possibility!
In this worldline, there were no “Players,” no information from transmigrators, and no influence from the Ring Heavenly Envoy. Eivass had not come into contact with the influence of any other special existence.
In this worldline, Eivass and Isabel were not even very familiar, just strangers who had met once. Instead, he had become friends with Sherlock.
He didn’t know Haina at all, and Lily might have already died mysteriously. Meg had not been saved, Chloe had not been caught, and Bone Sculpture had perfectly completed all his missions.
The Lloyd Society had not been held accountable, Tommy Lloyd was still alive, Noble Red was intact, and the Prince of Giants might have even obtained the Book of Law. The Round Table Hall had been completely corrupted, and Isabel remained cowardly and powerless.
…Thinking of this, Eivass’s mood became complex.
The Ring Heavenly Envoy had done nothing, yet things had become worse… even worse than a future where there were no transmigrators and players, but Eivass was influenced by the Divine Entity.
At least in that possibility, the Lloyd Society and Noble Red would be punished, the corruption of the Round Table Hall was not as severe, and Eivass and Isabel had become friends—without the Heart of Transcendence, Eivass would not have actively contacted Isabel.
Eivass’s choice of so many Container attributes was clearly for Yulia.
Could this also be part of “Metamorphosis”?
Causing things to change, thereby creating new possibilities…
Eivass gained a deeper understanding of the Ring Heavenly Envoy. Thinking this, his mind grew somewhat disorganized.
He subconsciously reached out and clutched the necklace at his chest, seeking peace of mind.
He had long cultivated the habit of touching “Isolde’s Tear,” given to him by Isabel, when he was thinking.
But the unfamiliar touch within reach made Eivass freeze.
Eivass subconsciously tightened his grip on it. Although he held it tight, he dared not apply force… for fear of accidentally breaking it.
—Without looking down, he had already realized what it was.
Accompanied by an involuntary sadness, Eivass’s tears welled up uncontrollably.
Perhaps because the soul and body were too compatible, he directly felt the sadness pervading “Eivass”‘s body…
After watching the CG, the anger suppressed by rationality erupted instantly. His body shivered as if with cold, and his empty left hand suddenly clenched into a fist.
Eivass remained silent for a while before silently wiping away his tears and looking down intently.
He saw a ruby necklace lying in his palm, emitting warmth, like a butterfly, like a maple leaf, or like a flame.
Even held in his hand, it still emanated that familiar warmth… like someone’s body temperature.
It was so familiar, yet so strange. Eivass had only seen it in games.
“Fortunately… this is just a dream,” he whispered as if in a dream.
—It was Yulia’s remains.
Seven thousand words of update! But it’s not suitable for two chapters, so I’ve merged them~
Then, I’d like to recommend a new book by an author from Cat Station. She’s also a rare original author on Hedgehog Cat with a stable ten thousand subscriptions. I wrote a chapter recommendation for her since her book was at 4k, but I didn’t expect her to still write chapter recommendations after returning to Qidian. It’s really nostalgic…
