Chapter 831: One-third of Three Paintings
Something felt strange.
“Why wasn’t a specific time given at the start of this ritual?”
This was Eivass’s last thought before his consciousness was stripped away.
But he quickly regained consciousness.
However, when Eivass opened his eyes again, he immediately felt an extremely bizarre sense of incongruity.
Everything around him seemed too bright and vibrant…
“Is it because its ‘picture quality’ is too high that it appears somewhat unrealistic?”
At this moment, Eivass was attending a grand banquet, dressed in a brown suit and holding a glass of wine that was only one-third full.
Beneath their feet was a deep red carpet, like raspberry jam, and below the carpet was a three-tiered circular platform as white as a cream cake. The surrounding walls were draped with dark curtains, and chandeliers hung above.
Men and women around them were chatting and laughing, the boisterous sounds echoing in the center of the dance floor, occasionally punctuated by cheerful or loud laughter. In the corner, a band played a melancholic blues tune, completely opposite to the joyful atmosphere.
As Eivass walked forward with his wine glass, the crowded dance floor parted automatically to the sides, as if parting the sea. They didn’t talk to Eivass, nor did they even look at him; their bodies moved on their own.
Suddenly, Eivass realized what was wrong.
Everyone had a smile on their faces, yet not a single person “stopped smiling”!
Eivass abruptly raised his head and looked at the pure white wall directly in front of him.
It was a huge deer head statue.
It looked like a Candlemaster, but it wasn’t a red deer; instead, it was pure white, blending into the wall. It was as white as cream or frosting on a cake, and its antlers, which branched out from its head, were also shaped like candlesticks, lit with many candles.
Another strange thing was that this “white Candlemaster” also wore a strikingly clear smile, exactly like all the guests.
A deer, smiling…
Eivass realized something and took two steps back.
As a result, the crowd still parted—or rather, people weren’t actively making way for him; no one was willing to approach within two or three meters of Eivass.
Eivass observed the smiles on the surrounding people’s faces and gestured on his own face.
Slowly… he also put on a similar smile.
When his smile adjusted to a certain degree, the surrounding crowd instantly surged towards him. They no longer avoided Eivass but danced with him in the ballroom.
A blonde girl with a similar smile walked over from the side and stood motionlessly in front of Eivass. At this distance, the oil painting-like texture on her face became even more apparent—
Eivass was gradually beginning to understand the mechanism of this ritual.
This was indeed the interior of an oil painting.
Thanks to his past knowledge of Janis’s abilities when using a Heavenly Envoy Fragment and losing control… he was able to react immediately.
Eivass extended his hand to her in an invitation gesture, and the girl placed her hand on Eivass’s.
Eivass had never learned this kind of dance. But it wasn’t difficult, and the rhythm was slow; he grasped the basics after watching for a while.
As the two began to dance slowly, Eivass paid attention to everything around him.
The front of the ballroom featured the bizarrely shaped Candlemaster bust—while the other side had two spiral staircases, one leading up and one leading down. Both places were pitch black, and the music seemed to loop infinitely, as if people’s dances could continue here endlessly, until eternity.
Suddenly, Eivass finally heard the childlike voice of Fiery Wings of Life:
“You’ve woken up, but you don’t know who you are or why you’re here. You’ve even forgotten which era this is.
‘You’re determined to find the truth and escape from it.'”
A brief introductory plot, essentially saying nothing.
However, it confirmed one thing—those deliberately hidden pieces of information might themselves be important clues!
The mission that followed confirmed this.
【Necessary Mission—】
【Complete a painting (Points: None)】
【Escape from the world within the painting (Points: None)】
【Bonus Missions—】
【”Joyful Friends”: Complete “Tower of Feasting”】
【”Friends Who No Longer Laugh”: Complete “Tower of Feasting” in another way】
【”Endless Feast”: Complete “Tower of Feasting” in another way】
【Total points for “Tower of Feasting” is 3000, allocated based on contribution upon completion】
【”Mole Day”: Complete “The White”】
【”Snow Queen”: Complete “The White” in another way】
【”Animal World”: Complete “The White” in another way】
【Total points for “The White” is 4500, allocated based on contribution upon completion】
【”Ouroboros Ring”: Complete “Be With Me”】
【”A Thousand Years Later”: Complete “Be With Me” in another way】
【”Goodbye”: Complete “Be With Me” in another way】
【Total points for “Be With Me” is 6000, allocated based on contribution upon completion】
…Eivass had never seen a mission style like this before.
Unlike all previous Ascension Rituals, none of the missions provided clear completion objectives, nor were there missions like “no unnecessary killing” that encouraged mutual slaughter.
Based on Eivass’s experience, Lord of Scales and Feathers’ mission style was the clearest. He always clearly stated “go where,” “kill what,” and “kill how many”—more like the “missions” Eivass remembered.
Silver Crown Dragon and Father Snake tended to offer extremely difficult but rewarding missions to encourage Ascenders to take risks; Twin preferred to watch the fun, with missions that were never afraid of stirring up trouble; Great Philosopher’s missions were the most outrageous, where the missions themselves served as hints and misdirections, and unraveling the mystery of the mission itself was part of the task.
Currently, Candlemaster seemed to be the most merciful and enigmatic among them.
Although the missions themselves were somewhat cryptic, the rules for “what should I do” were extremely clear. This was very much like divine art—speaking in a complex and inaccessible way, yet clear and easy to understand in terms of specifics.
Although there were no side quests for killing people for points, the positions of the Ascenders were inherently conflicting.
It was obvious that they were in a world within a painting.
There were a total of three paintings here, and Eivass wasn’t quite sure how to switch between them.
It went without saying that these side missions were clearly in conflict with each other—meaning, each painting had three possible variations, and it would ultimately be completed as one “possibility.”
And all Ascenders who chose this possibility would receive points based on their contribution.
As for the Ascenders who chose other possibilities, they would clearly not receive points from this possibility—because they made no contribution, and not being penalized for lagging behind was considered Candlemaster’s mercy.
To achieve their desired outcome, Ascenders who chose the same painting would have conflicts. They would tend to destroy each other to steer the painting towards their chosen direction. This way, they could monopolize more points.
However, this conflict was not absolute—they could also change their chosen direction at any time. And if someone died prematurely, since souls could not be destroyed, their actions would be less restricted, and they could complete missions faster.
The weak were not without a chance of winning… these murdered souls could even unite and use their numerical advantage to steer the painting the killer was working on in another direction. If the painting was successfully diverted, the other party would also be unable to complete their mission.
But if too many people united, they would become weaker—their ranking would inevitably be low after dividing the points, meaning they were doomed to lose. But since they had already decided to lose, why not just surrender and admit defeat more freely?
If they wanted to complete the ritual, they must want to win… and the last two survivors must at least complete one painting to be considered victorious.
If both of their main missions failed entirely and were successfully diverted by others, they would not be considered winners. The ultimate victor would instead be the one who was resurrected by [Divine Resurrection]—the only person, and the deceased who received the most points.
“If I want to win…”
Eivass pondered: “There are actually only two strategies.
“Either, while ensuring the completion of the main missions—the missions to complete the painting and escape from the world within it—and successfully surviving until only three people remain, then continue to survive until the end from the ‘choose one of three’; or, obtain the highest points after death.
“Simply surviving is useless; one must complete at least one painting, otherwise, it’s better to be dead. But if after death, they still cannot complete the painting due to mutual obstruction, then they cannot get any points, and everyone gets 0 points. This ritual might even result in no one being able to ascend… and the dead are truly dead.”
In other words, fierce conflict was bound to occur among Ascenders.
But this conflict would constantly transform into cooperation and gamesmanship, and even death would not bring a complete end…
…Is the difficulty of a four-to-five ascension ritual so high?
After clarifying his thoughts, Eivass had a clear objective:
First, he needed to figure out how to complete the painting… Second, he needed to find other Ascenders, preferably Alistair.
(End of this chapter)
