Chapter 596
What, the information is fake?
As he watched the Sapphire robin fly away leisurely, Eivass merely showed a light smile.
Nowadays, Eivass was no longer as afraid of Moriarty.
—This is what information warfare is like, calm on the surface, yet perilous.
A single word choice could be torn into a massive loophole by a keen hunter; a mere information gap within a sentence could instantly reverse the power dynamic between two individuals.
Although “knowledge is poisonous”… from another perspective, cognition itself is power.
In a sense, “information” is an extremely dangerous and twisted mystical ability—on one hand, it allows one to gain the upper hand everywhere, to exploit others without leaving a trace, to see through their weaknesses, leaving them dizzy and filled with dread, unable to even find the enemy’s tracks; on the other hand, relying too much on this power can poison the mind, making one arrogant, hindering progress, gradually losing courage, and ultimately backfiring.
The moment Eivass discerned the weakness in Professor Moriarty’s information, he felt a strong premonition that “I can control and utilize him.”
“…I mustn’t become the next James.”
He muttered softly, warning himself.
Although he had been imitating his foster father since childhood, Eivass found himself becoming more and more like him as he grew older. His habits, temperament, and style were gradually leaning in that direction.
He now felt a mixture of respect, pity, and wariness towards his foster father.
While it couldn’t be called hate, the Professor was undoubtedly Eivass’s greatest enemy—if there was a button that, when pressed, could kill Professor Moriarty, Eivass would press it immediately.
—Because the Professor would indeed make a move against those close to Eivass, and since Eivass couldn’t figure out the Professor’s trump cards, he really didn’t dare to make a move against him.
Although the Night Demon was also a Sixth Tier, his combat time was limited. If the Professor didn’t die, or had the ability to revive—then, with his defenses up and his attention heightened towards Eivass, he might seriously start a guerilla war.
He couldn’t attack Eivass. But he would definitely begin to harass those close to Eivass.
For a self-righteous Savior, all verbal arguments were useless. And as a soul who had once returned to the “Cicada Molting” period, Eivass had no idea how many trump cards he possessed.
He lacked talent in The Path of Beauty, yet he could remain in the Fairy Kingdom. It was likely due to his previous life’s Extraordinary Profession, “Elementalist” or “Element Shaman,” taking effect… after all, those were professions related to Fey.
It was even possible that Queen Titania, a Heavenly Envoy-level god, was also on his side!
Therefore, Eivass chose to hide all his trump cards from Professor Moriarty.
Once he found an opportunity, figured out the Professor’s background, he would launch a surprise attack and finish him off in one go!
Against such a person, once you make a move, you must not give him a chance to escape!
However, speaking of Queen Titania…
Eivass glanced at her. Queen Titania had not yet woken up.
She was lounging languidly on her massive throne, curled up as if on a single sofa. Even so, she still maintained her elegance and beauty.
Since she was still asleep, Eivass didn’t need to rush to leave this birdcage.
He simply sat cross-legged on the ground, sorting through the information he had just obtained.
“…In other words, my foster father is indeed a ‘Savior’ and a ‘Transmigrator’ reborn from the Doomsday. But the future he knows is completely different from the one I know.”
Eivass had vaguely sensed a sense of incongruity before, but couldn’t pinpoint the problem.
Now he finally understood.
In the game, he had seen Professor Moriarty become the final BOSS in a fit of madness, which meant that the Professor had actually implemented his plan for salvation in the game. In other words, the history he knew was at least one cycle ahead of the players.
Yet, in his words, he was unaware of the “Endless Knot” ritual—he mentioned that “even an Elementalist advanced to the Sixth Tier,” implying that Sixth Tier Extraordinary individuals were rare in his understanding.
…It’s like playing a game where the Professor participated in a closed beta and encountered many setbacks while exploring due to insufficient information. Then, during the game’s alpha or open beta, he learned from his previous lessons and meticulously studied all the data from the closed beta to plan his growth.
Then he discovered that the data, mechanics, and growth paths had all been changed!
—Nani? The information is fake?
“No wonder, Professor Moriarty, despite returning to the past long ago, doesn’t have that sense of urgency…”
…That sense of urgency of eventually fighting a Heavenly Envoy.
His plans were intricate, spanning multiple countries, stretching for decades, and directly influencing and controlling targets likely exceeding a thousand people; yet he hadn’t assembled a truly top-tier team of his own, nor had he considered how to handle the battle with a Heavenly Envoy or what benefits he could reap from it… let alone the matter of Heavenly Envoy Fragment distribution, or the specific time and place of Heavenly Envoy summoning.
As a transmigrator, this was neither reasonable nor fitting.
—Unless, in the Professor’s information, none of these things existed. In his understanding, the Sixth Tier was the peak of power, so reaching the peak of the Fifth Tier, he didn’t need to improve his strength further.
Although every word Professor Moriarty spoke was true.
But this did not mean he couldn’t use truth to mislead others, nor did it mean that what he knew was the ultimate truth… For example, he once told Eivass that the Ouroboros had obtained the Endless Knot at the beginning of “Cicada Molting,” and later it had also sublimated into the “Endless Knot,” commanding the six great elements.
Thus, when Eivass first chose the Demon Scholar profession, his foster father had specifically cautioned him, “Don’t use materials from your own kind.”
—This wasn’t because he was afraid Eivass couldn’t advance to Sin Scholar; rather, he was worried that Eivass would advance to Demon Avatar and disintegrate along with the Fallen Heavenly Envoy after its demise!
Speaking of which, whether Eivass advanced or not had nothing to do with him. On the contrary, whether Eivass lived or died had a lot to do with him… it was just that Eivass was terrified at the time and didn’t have the opportunity to think it through.
Only Eivass knew that the Ouroboros eventually promoted to the “Ouroboros Ring”!
In the game’s storyline, the Demon did not perish and shatter. It still existed after its promotion. There was also no new profession like Elementalist, an Alchemist who transferred across Paths, but rather the role was taken over by Demon Scholar and advanced to Sin Scholar.
In that version of the future, whether the “Divine Entity”—or rather, the “Reincarnation Fragment”—was Eivass or a player, the Ring Heavenly Envoy had not succeeded in devouring them.
And in another future shown to Eivass by the Lord of Scales and Feathers, the Ouroboros Ring devoured Eivass and returned to its perfect state. At that time, its halo was a half-red, half-purple signifying the balance achieved between Devotion and Transcendence.
This was clearly inconsistent with the six elements. Instead, it bore some resemblance to the future in the game.
In the Professor’s understanding, the Ring Heavenly Envoy was always part of the Path of Balance.
The “Elementalist” series of professions that converted the six great elements exuded a sense of balance. The power of balance on him was likely stronger than the power of transcendence.
The “Ouroboros Ring” was about the ascending eventually descending and the descending eventually ascending, like the rising and setting of the sun; while the “Endless Knot” neither ascended nor descended, but rather underwent chaotic changes within a unified field.
If the Ouroboros Ring, due to too much Transcendence within it, had to cut off Eivass.
Then, for the Endless Knot, whose inherent balance already outweighed transcendence, how could it possibly produce Eivass, who was proficient in Transcendence and Devotion, by cutting off a fragment?
Moreover, from the Professor’s words, the ability composition of the “Endless Knot” seemed to lack “Devotion” entirely.
—Currently, this appears to be the biggest difference between the “Professor’s Path” and the “Ouroboros Ring’s Path”!
“Could it be… Candlemaster was also involved?”
Eivass muttered softly.
But in this situation, if the Pillar God intervened, it would be a good thing.
It would mean that the situation known to his foster father, that the Pillar Gods turned a blind eye to the world’s end, was actually not true.
The world might indeed be facing a crisis, but he was not the only “Savior.” At least, among the Pillar Gods, there were those who knew the situation and were taking measures.
Perhaps those Pillar Gods paid attention to Eivass and offered him protection because he was a “variable”!
“But if that’s the case…”
Eivass frowned slightly: “Why did the Bear Heavenly Envoy still attack me and try to kill me?”
Although it was a Heavenly Envoy now, it was once the Pillar God “Supreme Heaven”!
Eivass’s eyes lit up, and he realized something:
—All the Pillar Gods who had shown favor to Eivass so far had survived until the end!
Whether it was the Bear Heavenly Envoy, defeated in the past, or the Snake Father, “slain” in the future, neither of them lived to see the “Doomsday” that Professor Moriarty spoke of.
After all, Eivass had very high adaptability on the Transcendent Path. Before being influenced by Queen Sophia, he had even gone out of control, completely leaning towards the Transcendent Path. And at the very beginning, Eivass had also awakened the Path Hunger for the Transcendent Path on his own. Not to mention, he might himself be a fragment of the Ouroboros, and the Ouroboros was a true descendant of the Snake Father.
Yet, not only Candlemaster of the Path of Devotion—even the Pillar Gods of the Path of Beauty, the Path of Adaptation, and the Path of Authority had approached him, but the Snake Father had never paid any attention to Eivass. Of course, this was not a problem; rather, it was the normal situation.
Instead, the Ring Heavenly Envoy came to Eivass every day for no reason, which was abnormal. And there were a bunch of Pillar Gods watching him in Paths he hadn’t even touched—this was even more abnormal!
Perhaps it wasn’t just Professor Moriarty who returned, but all the Pillar Gods at the time!
“It’s likely that the Professor’s return and rebirth were not accidental; he should also be a pawn of some existence…”
Eivass pondered.
Who was it? Candlemaster? Hourglass? My new boss, the ‘colorful black’? Or…
…What about Amber?
(End of this Chapter)
