Chapter 1161
Angel “Eivass”
The voice of the pure white humanoid was closer to Eivass than the youth Jacob, but more delicate and higher-pitched. The emotional components were also shallower and vaguer, and more “standard,” like an AI-generated voice.
“Are you Yiva?”
Hearing this, Eivass laughed, “Then who am I?”
[You are Eivass Moriarty, grandson of Jacob Alexander, son of Giulio Alexander. Adopted son of James Moriarty. Former Eternal Pope. Prince of Avalon. Chief Advisor of the New Hrasal Empire. “Snake Tail” of the Ring Heavenly Envoy. Fragment of the Samsara Heavenly Envoy. Sacred Entity. Son of Father Snake. My Prototype. Transmigrator.]
The Angel “Eivass” spoke a long string of words, like a chant, without hesitation.
Upon hearing this, the smile on Eivass’s face gradually faded and then disappeared. He stared intently at the “angel” behind the smiling youth and asked again, “Then who are you?”
[I am just “Eivass.”]
“Eivass” replied.
“This is Eivass, your other half.” Jacob looked at Eivass and said in a low voice, “He is also Eivass. He was born into this world even earlier than you. From this perspective, he can also be considered your elder brother.”
Eivass did not respond, nor did he question it. He merely gazed quietly at Jacob, giving the impression of a cold, slithering snake.
Jacob chuckled, pushed up his monocle, and spread his hands openly. “The Ring Heavenly Envoy gave me the snake tail they cut off to create a new ‘Ai’. Each generation of snake tail is called ‘Ai’—just as I named you ‘Eivass.’ ”
“To be honest, I have waited for this moment for far too long.”
“…’Soul Mirror Image Ritual’.” Eivass said in a low voice.
It was not a question but an affirmation. This was the secret that Annie had told Eivass—the true name of the so-called “Swamp Dweller” ritual. It involved replicating a soul perfectly through a mirror and then using his artificial human technology to create an identical body. This was Jacob’s purpose in creating this ritual!
“That’s right,” Jacob said frankly. “This technology was perfected for you.”
“Did you betray the Ring Heavenly Envoy?”
“How could I… rather, it is precisely because I invented this technology that I was able to become an apostle of the Ring Heavenly Envoy.” Jacob smiled and said casually, “I merely split the snake tail in two.”
“Have you ever grafted trees? Probably not. There’s a technique called grafting… it’s the technique of attaching a bud or branch from one plant to another, allowing the two parts to grow into a new individual.”
“The ‘Soul Mirror Image Ritual’ can replicate souls, but it cannot replicate power. So, I divided the ‘Sacred Entity’ given to me by the Ring Heavenly Envoy in half and used the soul of the complete replica to create ‘Eivass.’ Because you were missing half of your essence, you couldn’t ‘awaken past life memories’ from birth.”
“But you can imagine… a soul with only half its essence cannot become a perfect snake tail. So, I added some new divine essence to you…”
“…For example, fragments of the Butterfly Heavenly Envoy.”
Butterfly Heavenly Envoy… A phrase suddenly appeared in Eivass’s mind. It was something Grey had told him when she was still a Saintess—
“—His Majesty the Pope said. You might be a descendant of the Butterfly Heavenly Envoy.”
“The Butterfly Heavenly Envoy possesses the power of molting, leaving behind their power and body while reincarnating their soul as a mortal devoid of all power. After living a mundane life, they would return to the Dream Realm and use their power to molt into a new form… using the memories from each lifetime to practice Their [Path of Beauty].”
Jacob continued, “The Butterfly Heavenly Envoy was undergoing reincarnation at the time, leaving behind a shell in the Dream Realm. The Ring Heavenly Envoy and the Butterfly Heavenly Envoy had a good relationship, so I was able to steal the shell left behind and fill it into your body. After all, when They return to the Dream Realm, They will need to condense a new shell… This can only be considered a rare material, not fatal.”
“And this material is an excellent neutral catalyst. Because it only used divine essence without taking the power within, there are no remnants of the Path of Beauty in your body.”
“Butterfly Heavenly Envoy… could it be…” Eivass suddenly realized something. He blurted out, “Butterfly of Paradoxical Flames?”
Jacob nodded and smiled, “Indeed, we didn’t use it all on you back then. It was a shame to waste it, so I caught some Flame Butterflies and spent some time turning it into a brand new Phantom Demon.”
“At that time, I was creating Hercules’s Swamp Dweller to open the Hrasal Secret Treasury, so I just stuffed it into her body—oh, by the way, the name ‘Swamp Dweller’ was given by the Ring Heavenly Envoy. The inspiration for this technology also came from Them.”
“…Yulia?” Eivass murmured.
Jacob nodded, confirming it. Eivass felt the marvel of fate—in a sense, were he and Yulia truly siblings? Even closer than blood relatives. Eivass and the Butterfly of Paradoxical Flames shared half of their divine essence! In a sense, they could even be considered two halves of the same whole! No wonder Yulia had been fond of Eivass since she was young, and Eivass had trusted Yulia since he was young… They were truly family!
—They were both souls crafted by Jacob!
“…Alright, I have no other questions.” Eivass took a deep breath and said frankly, “You asked me to come, what is it about?”
“It’s nothing major, I just wanted to see you,” Jacob said gently. “After all, you are my biological grandson, my best creation, and the other half of the Master I serve.”
“Now that the Ouroboros Ring has descended and fate has converged, even if I contact you, it won’t cause any unexpected disturbances… By the way, I was present at your wedding with that child. You just didn’t see me.”
Jacob paused here. “Oh, and by the way… if you really want to see ‘Anxi’, it’s best not to drive there. If you do, you won’t see anything.”
“…Mm, I know.” Eivass nodded, surprised and awkward at Jacob’s unexpectedly kind attitude. Eivass had initially thought he might have to fight. But it turned out only “Eivass” had a subtle hostility towards him, while Jacob’s affection was genuine. This made Eivass somewhat silent. As Isabel had once said, he was indeed not good at dealing with other people’s love.
Eivass said softly, “It’s probably like when the leader gives advance notice before an inspection… In that case, they won’t find anything.”
“That’s right,” Jacob cautioned. “Be careful, Eivass. There are already more than one or two Ritualists who have ascended to the Sixth Tier in Anxi… You should know that Ritualists are professions that excel at defeating stronger opponents. Their power is immense. Even you could be in danger if you are too careless.”
“However, saying this might not make sense to you… but you will understand soon.”
After Jacob finished speaking, he left. At that time, Eivass thought it was part of the riddle-master’s game, that his grandfather could no longer bear to suppress his riddle-master nature and had to leave with a riddle… But Eivass soon learned how “soon” was. Less than ten seconds after Jacob left, Priestess Dong Ya spoke.
“Sir,” Dong Ya knelt respectfully, her tail stretched out, “Please save Rock Cell City.”
“…Excuse me, what happened to Rock Cell City?” The guide, Anar, broke the dead silence nervously. This desert wanderer, who only had a vague understanding of extraordinary common sense, was now the only one besides Eivass and Dong Ya who dared to speak. Because her cultural knowledge was the poorest, she was the only one present who hadn’t understood a word Jacob had said. All the gibberish, she understood none of it. Except for the word “Ring Heavenly Envoy,” which she could barely grasp, she didn’t understand the meaning of many words. To her, the Lord was the most terrifying existence, followed by the Crow Guards who guarded the water sources and collected water taxes. And the Snake Person Priestess before her was probably on the level of the Crow Guards.
The Snake Person Priestess didn’t even look at her. The scales on her body retained grayish-white traces. As she prostrated herself, a piece of scale near her waist cracked, revealing not flesh and blood, but stony textures within. She merely gazed at Eivass and spoke words that sent Anar plunging into an icy abyss:
“—The entire Rock Cell City has been petrified.”
(End of Chapter)
