Chapter 509
Morgan’s Gift
February 16th.
At 8 AM, Sherlock hurried to the Silver and Tin Hall.
When the great detective, who had been missing for months, reappeared, he immediately drew attention. Before he even set foot on the steps of the Silver and Tin Hall, the news had already reached the newspaper offices.
As he approached the Queen’s study, he saw Eivass leisurely seated on the Queen’s throne.
He had his legs crossed, leaning back against the chair, and was humming a light opera tune with a cheerful air.
“Yo, you’ve arrived.”
Eivass said with a smile, “Long time no see, great detective.”
“I knew it was you who called me,”
Sherlock replied exasperatedly, “What do you need me for, respected Minister Moriarty?”
“Nothing much, I just wanted to see if you were dead. It seems everything is going smoothly. That’s truly wonderful.”
Eivass’s lips curved upwards into a cunning smile.
— *I’m hard, my fists are hard.*
Sherlock gritted his teeth.
However, he could still discern the “rotten fox’s” concern for him, so he didn’t say anything and instead sat down elegantly and silently in the opposite seat.
At the time, during the Ascension Ritual, his heart had sunk when he hadn’t seen Eivass and Isabel.
It wasn’t that he was worried about himself.
With Sherlock’s pride, even in his feeble child-like form, he would never have faltered in such a place. He was mainly worried about Isabel… Although the Queen had grown up, the Rank 3 to Rank 4 Ascension Ritual was too dangerous. If she died during it, she would most likely die in reality as well.
If Her Majesty the Queen were to meet with misfortune, Avalon would be in trouble.
Even during a Full Moon Ritual, the Extraordinary individuals were certainly not going to be friendly. Not to mention that there were at least three failing slots, each Extraordinary individual had different identities and standpoints, and they still had to find a way to eliminate their own rejected paths.
Otherwise, they might accidentally lose points by unconsciously helping others complete their missions.
“Now that you see me, alive and well. Can I go? I still have some pending cases.”
“By the way, is Director Kent on your side? I heard he failed his Ascension today, sustaining four fatal injuries that caused him to explode, and he was hacked to pieces, bleeding all over. Three Bishops worked non-stop for two hours to barely keep him alive. He’ll likely need one to two years to recover.”
Sherlock scoffed at this point, “Oh, that’s not right. I guess it’s more than just that… Since you, you rotten fox, specifically called me over, there’s likely some trouble involved.”
“Perhaps… not?”
Eivass said with a smile, clearly in good spirits, “Just a heart-to-heart— is that not allowed?”
Sherlock paused slightly, his expression subtle. “Just say what you want to say directly.”
“Do you know anything… about the Ring Heavenly Envoy?” Eivass asked.
“I’ve heard a little,”
Sherlock nodded. “Son of Father Snake, right? The Heavenly Envoy of Ouroboros, the Heavenly Envoy of Infinity… The ritual where Lady Lixia was reincarnated should be the power of the Ring Heavenly Envoy. Is there something up?”
“I obtained new information from this Ascension Ritual.”
Eivass clasped his hands together in front of him, put his crossed legs down, leaned forward slightly, and asked seriously, “I heard that the Ring Heavenly Envoy had another name in the past, which was the Samsara Heavenly Envoy.
Before the Cicada Molting Incident, Ouroboros was the Heavenly Envoy of Self-Destruction and the Heavenly Envoy of Restart and Rebirth, belonging to the Path of Balance. It was only after the Cicada Molting Incident that He obtained the Endless Knot and became the Heavenly Envoy of the Transcendent Path.”
“…I’ve certainly never heard of that theory.”
Sherlock pondered, searching his memory carefully. “Indeed, I haven’t.”
“What about the theory of ‘history being fragmented’? Have you heard of that?”
“—’The Theory of Multiple Histories’?”
Sherlock countered.
“That’s right,” Eivass nodded. “It is said that after the Cicada Molting Incident, history became fragmented and could never return to what it was before the Cicada Molting Incident. What we are in is just one layer of history, and more histories are branching out.”
“This is the theory of multiple histories.”
Sherlock nodded and explained, “This is one of the two explanations given by scholars to explain why events from the past and future appear in the Dream Realm. Scholars of the multiple histories theory believe that history is not singular. We are not at the very beginning, nor at the very end.
Multiple histories are divergent. The Nine Pillar Gods, through the Ascension Ritual, continuously deduce the ‘best possible past’ and solidify it into a single timeline; while I believe that the Ascension Ritual, rather than anchoring the past, deduces the future… But from what you’re saying, it seems you’ve gained something new?”
“Yes,” Eivass nodded. “According to the information I’ve obtained, it seems that both the future and the past are uncertain. Neither of these theories is entirely correct, but both are somewhat correct.”
“…That’s quite interesting.”
Sherlock thought for a while.
He suddenly spoke, “You’re asking me this because you want to know if… this can be told to Eivass?
—My answer is, I think it can. He knows more secrets than we do, so don’t hide it from him. Even if this might be a trap… It’s better to die sober than to live confused.”
Upon hearing Sherlock’s words, Eivass’s expression turned somewhat strange.
She was silent for a while, then her body shattered like foam, and she transformed back into Isabel.
“…When did you find out?”
Isabel asked with some confusion, “Did you see through the ‘Cunning Spell’?”
“No, I didn’t see through Your Majesty’s illusion at all,”
Sherlock replied calmly. “But I know that rotten fox wouldn’t be chatting heart-to-heart with me. He’s always been direct, never beating around the bush with vague statements.”
“…He did say similar things to me before.”
Isabel said with some regret, “I was hoping to see Eivass still in the room when he came in.”
Sherlock hesitated, wanting to say something, but he didn’t dare.
“…In conclusion, don’t hide things from him,”
Sherlock added. “It’s better for him to know than not to know— you can’t treat intelligent people and fools the same way. If Eivass were an idiot, I would definitely support not letting him overthink things. But he is an intelligent person. Even if this is a trap, we should trust that Eivass can find his own way out.”
“Mm, I understand,”
Isabel thanked him sincerely, “Thank you, Lord Hermes.”
“It is my honor, Your Majesty the Queen,”
Sherlock replied with a respectful bow.
On the other side, Eivass was in the courtyard of the Silver and Tin Hall.
He was basking in the warm morning sun, kneeling on the ground facing the sun.
Eivass clasped his hands together, closed his eyes in prayer, and recited in a low voice—a golden, warm radiance emanated from him, illuminating the entire grassland. Through the barrier of light, one could faintly see a transparent ring formed by thorns slowly rotating behind Eivass. It had a complex, crown-like pattern, appearing and disappearing.
Those were the Sin Thorns coiled around Candlemaster.
The Gryphon and the White Horse lay lazily on the ground, feeling the surge of warmth within their bodies.
When Eivass finished his prayer, they enthusiastically nuzzled up to him.
Eivass smiled faintly and stroked the chin and face of the White Horse that he would take away later, then suddenly looked towards the lake.
“Excuse me… is there something?”
In the next moment, a beautiful goddess holding a silvery-white staff emerged from the lake, dripping wet.
She had waist-length, damp blue-silver hair, the long pointed ears of an Elf, and eyes as clear as sapphires. She looked about six or seven parts similar to Shafiya, appearing to be around thirty years old. Her clothes were soaked to the point of being semi-transparent, and lake water dripped from her bare feet.
“…Lady Morgan?”
Eivass raised an eyebrow and asked.
Morgan was about to introduce herself, but upon hearing Eivass’s words, she looked surprised. “You know me?”
“I’ve heard a little… After all, you are also the mother of Knight Mordred,”
Eivass said with a smile.
“That child…”
Hearing this, Morgan’s lips curved slightly, and she chuckled with a hint of nostalgia.
When she looked at Eivass again, her gaze became much friendlier.
“Someone asked me to look for you… Guess who?”
“Lancelot… the First?”
“So clever. I like you more and more.”
Morgan said smilingly, “He told me it was a handsome priest, and I was thinking… that might be hard to find. But then I realized. Almost everyone on Glass Island knows you… I haven’t been back for a few years, and I didn’t expect Avalon to have such an outstanding young man like you.
Lancelot asked me to give you a gift… What do you think of me?”
“…I have a girlfriend,”
Eivass took half a step back, looking somewhat wary.
As a Phantom Demon of the Path of Love and an Apostle of the Shadow Heavenly Envoy, he wouldn’t be surprised by anything Morgan might do.
Indeed, upon hearing this, she smiled even more happily. “Doesn’t that make it more exciting?”
Seeing Eivass’s more cautious expression, she waved her hand. “So cute… Oh my, I’m just joking. Don’t be so scared, I can be considered half your ancestor to some extent.”
*I wouldn’t be so sure,* Eivass thought.
For a Phantom Demon of the Path of Love, such trivial ethical relationships might serve as a delicious seasoning.
“Don’t be scared, I’m not here on my own behalf this time. I still have to report back to Lancelot.”
Morgan said with a smile, then raised her staff and shook it at Eivass. “Alright, my gift has been delivered… I hope you like it.
See you later, handsome young priest. Oh right, a message for you— Lancelot said he likes you very much and hopes to meet you again in the future.”
…Huh?
Eivass was stunned for a moment.
What did she give me?
He didn’t sense any Path Radiance emanating, nor did he feel any power invading or changing him.
He didn’t even get any system prompts… Did she really give me something? Is she trying to trick me?
“You’ll know soon enough.”
Morgan smiled, placing a finger to her lips and giving a meaningful smile. “It won’t be long.”
But as Eivass was still pondering, Morgan swiftly retreated back into the lake, melting away like snow.
(End of this chapter)
