Chapter 851
One Day Left Until Doomsday
This time, the number of people who could make a choice clearly increased.
Besides “Sour Wine” in a soul state and the Crown Princess who had passed through the first painting, Eivass and the old mage, also in soul states, suddenly appeared, along with the still-alive Alistair and that loyal “old dog,” Laro.
The number of people who could vote had risen to six. Half of them were soul entities.
This time, five points were directly added, one of which was twinkling. The steel door finally changed as well—a deep groove appeared on its surface, feeling like calloused skin when touched.
The groove was dark gold, resembling an animal’s claw marks or the scabs of damaged human skin.
“The plot of this painting is finally moving forward…”
Eivass breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s fortunate they weren’t too familiar with the rules of modern society, which prevented us from missing too much information…”
Counting carefully, the number of living people had quietly dwindled to just four—or five.
Since the first painting could no longer be entered or exited, it was unclear whether the Child of the Moon, still petrified within, was considered alive or permanently sealed.
If she didn’t occupy a living slot but her soul couldn’t come out to vote… then only four people remained alive.
The Crown Princess, Laro, Alistair, and the warrior who had been captured. If one more person died, the Special Victory Condition, “Choose One of Three,” would be triggered.
…It was absurd.
Upon closer inspection, two of the top three in strength were already dead.
Conversely, the Crown Princess’s faction, initially not favored, had both members reach the finals.
“I wonder if there’s still a chance for resurrection…”
Eivass felt a sense of helplessness.
…Because according to his calculations, there was a smaller chance he might not be able to be resurrected this time.
Resurrection under [Bound by Sin] was only possible if the killer was slain within the three minutes after receiving the curse.
For Alistair to revive Eivass, she would have to kill the Crown Princess precisely.
But Laro, with his death wish, might actively take the blow—if Alistair killed the wrong person, the curse’s time limit could easily be exceeded.
Furthermore, as a Sin Scholar of the Path of Wisdom, the old mage had fully understood the game rules of the Ascension Ritual. Although Eivass couldn’t be resurrected unless killed during the curse period… the old mage could very well curse Alistair simultaneously to weaken her and prevent Eivass’s revival.
Eivass was already powerful, and also a support profession in the Path of Devotion. Once he was resurrected with the information gathered from his soul state, he and Alistair would undoubtedly take the top two spots.
—To prevent this, the old mage would constantly obstruct Alistair.
Because he knew his points would most likely not be higher than Eivass’s.
Eivass could meet the condition for [Holy Resurrection], but he had to kill Alistair to be resurrected; otherwise, he would surely die… He wouldn’t even have a chance to surrender or forfeit. But he wouldn’t let Alistair realize this.
If Alistair forfeited, or adopted a conservative strategy of simply surviving until the end and avoiding conflict, thus abandoning Eivass’s resurrection, then Pelican would never be able to revive. That’s why he never cursed Alistair, to avoid her discovering it… He had been lurking in the shadows, waiting for that opportunity.
But even if the points weren’t the highest… Eivass wasn’t too afraid of genuinely dying.
—Because he still had one resurrection coin.
It was a gift from the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
Although he originally intended to save this resurrection opportunity for the Fallen Heavenly Envoy… it didn’t matter if it was used early.
Even dying wouldn’t be a loss—he could leave this resurrection chance for Alistair.
Alistair possessed the exact same memories as Eivass, so Alistair could also take care of Eivass’s family and friends. As for the future world-ending crisis… the profession of Sin Scholar was bound to the Transcendent Path anyway, it would just be without High-Tier Divine Art.
If he could survive, everything would be wonderful; but if one of them, either the one on the Path of Devotion or the one on the Transcendent Path, had to die, Eivass hoped it would be himself.
For Alistair, he was willing to die; and for this World, Alistair must live.
“…I hope the resurrection match goes smoothly.”
Eivass sighed, but he had prepared for the worst.
After all, everyone here… well, except for that warrior whom he didn’t know well, everyone else had reasons they couldn’t afford to die.
And Eivass, confined in the Church, would feel envy and confusion watching Alistair’s active role in Star Antimony… He envied Alistair for being able to do so many things he wanted to do, and felt confused because… Eivass didn’t know if there was anything now that only he could do.
That feeling was so familiar…
Like when he was very young, before the earthquake that destroyed his childhood occurred… after school, he would watch his playmates laugh and play, while he could only stay home to read and study.
Although his family was very open-minded, after he finished his homework, his father would play video games with him using pirated cartridges, and his grandfather would tell him stories after fishing. But the feeling of playing with family was completely different from playing with friends.
He might not have wanted to play silly chasing games or role-playing with those people. He just wanted to “be with them.”
Or rather, he feared being left behind by his friends… it didn’t matter what they played.
Eivass just hoped they wouldn’t forget him.
He feared being forgotten so much that he was willing to help others free of charge—even if it meant being a useful tool, as long as someone remembered Eivass when using him, and still missed him when Eivass wasn’t around, he would be satisfied.
—Besides acting as the interim Pope here, powering the elves until the Pure White Saintess had completely purified the traces of Amber, Eivass couldn’t think of anything that only he could do.
Perhaps… compared to himself, the Crown Princess was more valuable to this era. She might be able to change all of Star Antimony… and Laro, with his death wish, was also a true man, a resolute Star Antimony person.
Besides the Shepherd’s Method… besides becoming a “Shepherd,” what other value did he have as a devotee?
Caressing the door, Eivass, lost in thought, murmured, “Please give me some revelation, Candlemaster…”
Having made up his mind, Eivass pushed the door open.
—Then, his eyes widened suddenly.
Above the originally azure sky, half of it had now turned deep red and half deep purple.
A beautiful scenery resembling the afterglow of a sunset was reflected in the sky.
This prosperous city—the royal capital of Camelot, had now, at some unknown time, turned into ruins, as if bombarded by some power!
But there were no enemies to be seen on the streets; instead, many people were working hard to rebuild their homes.
And the immensely chaotic Power of Transcendence… or rather, the Power of Metamorphosis, formed elemental turbulence, causing various anomalies in the surroundings.
The leaves on these trees were covered in frost, while that patch of bushes was scorched black—
The large screens that originally showed GG on the streets had all dimmed.
They were covered with hand-written cloth banners using the most primitive method.
[If you discover traces of Demon Cultists, Doomsday Cultists, etc., please report to the Inspection Bureau promptly!]
[Disaster Relief Emergency Contact Center: XXX…]
[The third phase of the shelter is under construction and is expected to be usable in “3” days!]
…
And finally, Eivass found the information he most desired from one of the banners.
That is, the specific time at this moment—
[December 30, 1999, Thursday]
One day left until Doomsday.
“…What’s going on?!”
Eivass’s eyes widened abruptly.
That was undoubtedly the power of the Ring Heavenly Envoy—or rather, the Endless Knot!
He should have chosen the Fallen Heavenly Envoy—
Because from the moment that question was asked, Eivass had basically understood what two of the endings signified.
According to previous deductions, the rules of the third painting should be to “add something based on the choice,” to give this painting a chance to align with the final choice.
Although “Goodbye” was vague and its referent unknown.
But [Ouroboros Ring] clearly referred to the world restarting at the Amber Year One at the end of 1999, when Doomsday arrived. The cycle began anew… this was undoubtedly a cyclical ending.
As for “A Thousand Years Later,” it should be the good ending. To reach this ending, one must break through “Doomsday” and shatter the cycle… which would likely involve facing the Endless Knot as an enemy.
For the 1899 they were in, 1999 was a hundred years later. If they could reach a thousand years later, arriving at 2899… it would mean the doomsday crisis had been resolved.
If this were a game, Eivass would definitely go for the most difficult ending.
But this was reality, and every move he made involved the lives of others and himself.
The simplest ending should be triggered by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy Descends.
It was only necessary to trigger the cyclical ending. Anyway, this was just a rehearsal… letting more people survive was the best choice…
“Letting more people survive is the best choice… right?”
A voice suddenly sounded from behind Eivass.
Eivass was startled and turned back.
—He saw…
Another himself.
Although their appearances and demeanor were remarkably similar, this other self was more masculine and resolute.
He was enveloped in elemental power, wearing a pure white crown inlaid with four-colored jewels on his head.
“Yes,” the other “Eivass” sighed, “that’s what I thought too.”
(End of Chapter)
