Chapter 1045
Deities of Coincidence and Illusion
Strangely enough, Eivass also felt the same—
He nodded, confirming, “That’s right, it can only be the Harik family.
“They must not have imagined that we realized the Box of Nothingness was in their manor in advance. If we launch a surprise attack tonight, we’ll catch them completely off guard…”
“—No.”
Sherlock was silent for a long time, then uttered a cold, negative word: “We cannot go.”
The old Duke immediately showed displeasure.
But before he could react, Eivass asked, “Why?”
He knew Sherlock wouldn’t say such a thing without reason; there must be a reason behind it.
Eivass also trusted Sherlock’s wisdom and judgment—he knew he had cheated and therefore humbly accepted Sherlock’s correction.
“I actually also feel it should be the Harik family…”
However, Sherlock’s first sentence left them all confused: “I can find many reasons—for example, the Harik family is the oldest Count’s family with the Iris Flower, for example, Count Harik has also experienced the Third Rebellion, for example, the Harik family is usually low-key, and their Children of the Moon rarely go out…”
“Then…”
—Then why refuse?
Arsène originally wanted to ask.
But he suddenly had a stir in his heart, realized something, and abruptly stopped speaking.
Eivass’s face also changed—
He exchanged a glance with Arsène, knowing the other person had also understood.
As expected.
Sherlock continued, “But these things are not evidence at all. At best, they can only be considered ‘pseudo-logic,’ like a paranoid monarch looking for fault and picking holes, searching for ‘evidence of treason.’ It’s finding the reason after the answer is already decided; it’s not deriving the result from the phenomenon.
“…But why am I also convinced that ‘it’s the Harik family’?”
Sherlock said this, scanning the people in the room: “Everyone, I believe you can all understand this matter.”
In an instant, a terrifying silence fell upon the room.
The atmosphere was as cold as ice, and Annie hadn’t even understood Sherlock’s words. She looked around nervously, afraid that everyone would suddenly start fighting.
Eivass, for the first time, reached out and placed his hand on Annie’s. He signaled her to calm down and not be afraid.
Although Eivass still didn’t look at Annie, his gaze was fixed on Sherlock… Annie, however, looked at Eivass’s profile in astonishment.
She suddenly broke into a brilliant smile, looking like she had aged more than a decade.
“…Hmph.”
The old man snorted coldly and slowly sat down.
He fully opened his wolf-green pupils, which appeared so cold and ferocious. Calm as water, without any fluctuation. Burning with quiet anger in an overwhelming ruthlessness, like crimson fire ignited on colorless oil.
“—How bold.”
The old Duke murmured slowly, it was unclear who he was speaking to.
Eivass closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa: “I understand…”
Undoubtedly, there was only one answer.
Reality—or rather, the future—had been twisted.
That Child of the Moon Count had clearly set up a defensive “fate.” If anyone realized this, they would subconsciously seek trouble with the “Harik family.”
This Harik family might be his ally, or his enemy… But regardless, if the normally reclusive and inoffensive Harik family suddenly had trouble, it would likely mean he had been discovered.
This was like a note tucked into the crack of a door when leaving home; or a strand of hair tucked into a drawer, or an empty soda can placed at the entrance.
It could serve as a sensitive enough “omen machine” to detect one’s situation in real-time.
To this day, Eivass even suspected his memory might be wrong. Perhaps the Holder of the Box of Nothingness was not a Child of the Moon after all.
Fortunately, Sherlock had a kind of “logical OCD”—no matter what it was, if the logic couldn’t be self-consistent, he would be suspicious and feel that something was wrong. Before, this habit was purely a hindrance, and even Sherlock himself had tried to correct it… But now, it was precisely this habit that made them realize something was wrong in advance.
“…The ability to alter fate is indeed troublesome.”
Arsène quipped.
He looked at Eivass and asked seriously, “That… ‘Empty Box,’ to what extent can it alter reality? Can it turn back time? Or can people suddenly die?”
“It definitely can’t.”
Eivass said with great certainty, “No power can turn back time.”
—Because that was the power of the Samsara Heavenly Envoy.
The power system of this world has a basic principle: “occupancy.” The Material Realm has an energy level cap because the Heavenly Envoys, and future Heavenly Envoys, occupy “vacant slots of power.” Even if these Heavenly Envoys have not yet been born, this portion of power will not be allocated to the Material Realm.
Each Path should have a maximum of five or six Heavenly Envoys, as there have never been more than that number of Heavenly Envoys appearing simultaneously. Even the Ouroboros Ring Ritual, which falls like dumplings, always has one coming down as another goes up; of course, it’s possible the opposite is true, that if the number of Heavenly Envoys exceeds the limit, they might, in turn, occupy the Material Realm’s power.
Similarly, the same Heavenly Envoy Authority also needs to be occupied.
For example, because of the existence of the “Heavenly Envoy of Drama,” the Swan King could not have ascended to the position of “Heavenly Envoy of Drama” on the Path of Beauty, as the authority of “drama” was taken by the Heavenly Envoy of Drama, and the authority of “opera” was already taken by the Heavenly Envoy of Opera. His greater possibility would be to become a “Heavenly Envoy of Rebellion” or a “Heavenly Envoy of Vengeance” on the Transcendent Path. If he were to forcefully enter the Path of Beauty, what might belong to him would only be an abstract fringe position like “Heavenly Envoy of Dreams.”
But the Heavenly Envoy of Vengeance had not yet been born at that time.
Now that the Heavenly Envoy of Vengeance, as the “Heavenly Envoy of Righteousness, Heavenly Envoy of Vengeance,” has been born, the Swan King has lost most of his chances of deification.
—Conversely, the Swan King’s not-yet-condensed authority must be an ability that the existing Heavenly Envoys do not possess. And the power to return to the past clearly belongs to the Samsara Heavenly Envoy, so the Swan King cannot obtain it.
Through this process of elimination, Eivass can basically lock down what the “Box of Nothingness” can do: “Generally speaking, it should be able to change others’ thoughts, with a small probability of changing others’ memories and emotions. It might even create a small probability of ‘coincidence’—which could be seen as a kind of ‘dramaticism.’
“For example, the sudden worsening of an illness, or coincidentally not being seen by anyone while escaping, or everyone not noticing a basic flaw when discussing a plan… If this power were wielded by the Swan King himself, it would undoubtedly be immensely powerful. It’s good that the person using this power is a Child of the Moon without any aesthetic sense…”
“…He used this power to control the rebellion.”
The Grand Duke frowned, “Then how can we defeat ‘coincidence’ and ‘illusion’?”
“It’s simple.”
Sherlock put down his teacup and replied calmly yet proudly, “With ‘logic.’
“Dreams… are illogical. In dreams, people do not realize that their logic is flawed. But as soon as they wake up, they realize how ridiculous it is.
“—Then as long as one remains sober in dreams, isn’t that enough?”
(End of this chapter)
