Chapter 671
Lily’s Free Will
March 2nd, Morning.
It was the second day after the meeting of the Cardinals. Eivass was performing his usual morning prayer after waking up.
The biggest difference after signing a contract with the Lord of Scales and Feathers was probably the addition of an extra step to the daily prayer—after finishing his prayer to the Candlemaster, he had to offer another round of prayer to his contractor, the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
Of course, it didn’t require much reverence, nor was it particularly troublesome.
In essence, it was just a daily report to the Lord of Scales and Feathers every morning, stating his itinerary, checking when the boss’s power might be needed, and making a reservation; then, a brief summary in the evening. If he had used the Lord of Scales and Feathers’ power, he would reimburse it, recharge his Path Crystallization, and finally end with a polite compliment.
In a sense, it felt much more “tangible” than praying to the Candlemaster.
Priests never received a reply from the Candlemaster during their daily prayers. In essence, it was no different from clocking in and out of work; the usual scenario was for the punch clock to respond normally after being pressed.
—You couldn’t expect a punch clock to suddenly become sentient and greet you with a booming voice, “Good morning, Night City!”
But you could somewhat expect a reaction from the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
“Good morning, Night City!”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers shouted energetically in Eivass’s mind.
“What is ‘Night City’ anyway…”
Eivass thought, closing his eyes and mentally complaining.
“Tsk.”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers clicked his tongue. “When you finally go and take down the Ring Heavenly Envoy, you’ll understand my joke.”
“Was I always this strange?”
Eivass muttered. “I feel like the Ring Heavenly Envoy’s mysterious halo is gradually shattering…”
“Oh, right, Eivass.”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers suddenly said, “By the way, if you need to use the [Twin Polarity Chasm], it’s best to inform the Hourglass a day or two in advance.”
“Why?”
“You’ve already seen Lily divided; you should know that it’s quite damaging to the body. It completely separates the essence of the soul. A day or two of rest is already considering your situation of possessing [Dissolving Soul].”
“Alright…”
Eivass casually replied, “I’ve noted it.”
Not to mention anything else, but after mastering High-Tier Divine Arts, Eivass felt that his mental state had stabilized a bit—sometimes, having a “friend” to complain to at any time was much more comfortable than being alone in thought.
Of course, it might also be because his Path had returned to a balanced state.
At this moment, the door to Eivass’s room was gently knocked upon.
As Eivass opened his eyes, exiting his prayer state, the chilling sensation, like wearing slightly damp, single-layered clothes under a cooling air conditioner, receded from him.
The Flame Butterfly, which had been perched on the fiercely burning candle, shook off its flames again and flew back to Eivass’s shoulder.
“What is it, Lily?”
Eivass asked directly without turning around.
He hadn’t heard any footsteps at all.
If it wasn’t a ghost knocking, then it could only be Lily.
Upon returning yesterday, Eivass had pondered for a long time—whether or not to tell Lily about the fate she carried.
From a controllability perspective, it was definitely better not to say anything. Once Lily started overthinking, things might become unpredictable.
However, Eivass still decided to respect Lily more.
Setting aside Selene, the “little lamb without human intellect,” Eivass didn’t just see Lily as his personal maid… Honestly, given Eivass’s identity, he no longer needed the service and protection of a personal maid. He still kept Lily with him simply because Lily stubbornly acknowledged that identity and was unwilling to leave Eivass’s side.
To him, Lily was a close friend, almost family, almost an elder—although a part of Eivass’s memory was jumbled, attributing Freya’s actions to Lily… even so, Lily remained someone Eivass trusted greatly.
Trusting her to the same extent as Yulia and Edward.
Therefore, Eivass decided not to make decisions for Lily, not to make choices for her… but to directly tell her the whole truth.
Including her identity as the Son of the Beast, her beastly instincts, and the crisis of the Grey Heavenly Envoy potentially possessing her at any moment. Eivass also told her that he had obtained a letter of introduction and was preparing to go to Star Antinomy to help her solve the problem.
And Lily was much calmer than Eivass had anticipated.
Because Lily was very intelligent.
As a personal maid, simply using the knowledge gained from reading in her spare time allowed her to seamlessly transition into university-level studies without falling behind… This was enough to demonstrate her intelligence and excellence.
When Cardinal Cyril had sent her and Selene away from Eivass, Lily had already guessed about ninety percent of it.
—And the outcome was actually even better than she had imagined.
At least Eivass wouldn’t abandon her, nor would he have her undergo sealing or “treatment.”
Lily had already prepared herself to give up her powers… but if possible, she still hoped to retain her Extraordinary Abilities.
In the beginning, she hoped to gain Extraordinary Power to help and protect Eivass. She wanted to be useful to Eivass… At that time, she was so extreme as to see herself as a tool without feelings.
Now, she wanted to continue retaining her Extraordinary Abilities… largely because she herself wanted to. Just as she had yearned to read back then, Lily now wanted to grasp her own fate—upon learning that she had been chosen by the Grey Heavenly Envoy, Lily felt a strong sense of being bound by destiny.
Only by possessing her own power could she determine her own fate.
She was unwilling to give up. Instead, she intended to cooperate with Eivass’s plan and continue moving forward, to see what would happen.
Honesty and respect led to a sigh of relief for both of them—knowing the specific source of the calamity, Lily became much more resolute.
—As for her nature as a killer, Lily calmly accepted and acknowledged it.
It was evident that long before Eivass mentioned it, Lily had already sensed something was amiss with herself. She not only realized her bestial consciousness but had even independently developed a technique to suppress her instincts using Path Adaptation.
Now that Lily was separated into two beings, she no longer possessed such intense killing intent. But this destructive desire and killing intent had not disappeared; it had been completely transferred to Selene.
Selene’s sheep-like eyes were her proof as the Son of the Beast.
Upon learning of Lily’s resolute personal will to confront the Grey Heavenly Envoy to the very end, Eivass was also very gratified.
What he feared most was Lily giving up on herself, coming up with some strange ideas, or falling into self-abandonment through overthinking. Just like elderly people in long-term care, thinking “not to trouble their children,” they might start doing reckless things that could actually bring about greater trouble.
Now that Lily had a firm will to live and was willing to fully cooperate with Eivass’s plan according to her own will—that was enough.
In a sense, Lily at this moment had finally become Eivass’s companion, no longer his servant, his little maid.
(End of Chapter)
