The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 865

Chapter 864
The Blessing of the Twin Mirrors

Star Antimony, Leipzig.
While Eivass in the Church was still choosing terms, Alistair, who had been leaning back on a soft sofa with her eyes closed, had already undergone a change. Her body rapidly lost color, gradually petrifying and turning into a grayish-white stone statue.

Lily appeared in the room almost instantly. “What happened?” she exclaimed, looking at the petrified Alistair on the sofa, her unease reaching its peak. “This… could it be…”

“—No need to worry, little maid.”
Suddenly, a deep, hoarse voice echoed. Lily turned her head and saw a jet-black crow standing quietly on the coat rack as if it were an ornament. It opened its dangerous scarlet pupils and looked at Lily. “She has merely returned to where she belongs. This is a good thing.”

“Miss Alistair… where she belongs…” Lily murmured, then suddenly realized, “Could it be… she has already—”

“That’s right. They have merged once more. This body of the Child of the Moon lacked a soul, and naturally turned into a stone statue, just like every dead Child of the Moon.”
The Night Demon Viness replied.

Upon hearing this, Lily smiled excitedly. “Finally… Young Master is going to turn back!”

To Lily, neither the separated “Pope Eivass” nor “Miss Alistair” was the “Young Master Eivass” she was familiar with. He was the one who took her to university, fulfilled her wish to study, helped her obtain Extraordinary Power… helped her ascend, and then helped her complete her revenge. Her benefactor.

If she had only been “Lily,” she could have done nothing. She might have even been killed by that man before her revenge. It was because of Eivass that she was able to survive and reach where she was today. This was not just a kindness of recognition, but a life-saving grace.

Now, Eivass didn’t need her power at all, let alone wanting to “buy” her loyalty—he had become the most powerful man in this world, yet he traveled all the way to Star Antimony to help her clear the residual consciousness of the Grey Heavenly Envoy within her body, even intervening in these troublesome matters for her. That was the person she truly wanted to serve for her entire life.

She didn’t understand the concept of “cutting off the tail to survive”—she only knew that even if a lizard was forced to break off its tail, the severed tail had no consciousness. If the lizard’s tail had a part of its own consciousness, would the lizard that had its tail cut off still be the original lizard?

Therefore, even though “Pope Eivass” looked more like the original body in appearance and personality, Lily always felt that he was not the complete Eivass. It was like a good-natured friend suddenly turning dark one day—although rationally speaking, she knew he was still her friend, just slightly changed. But the person she had known and become friends with back then was not this person now…

Because of this, she had been somewhat unhappy during this period. Now… they had finally reunited!

Hearing the commotion, the little lamb Selene, who hadn’t fallen asleep yet, also hurried over. She listened to the conversation and realized what had happened.

However, Selene raised a question: “But… what about Alistair?”
“—And what about Leviathan?”

Although Selene’s birth was closely related to Eivass, and she could even be considered Eivass’s half-daughter… the monster “Leviathan” that she created was completely unrelated to Eivass. It was a child who inherited Alistair’s blood and was only related to Alistair.

For this reason, Selene had become the one who paid the most attention to Alistair among them.

“…As a Child of the Moon, if one sheds blood should revive, right?” Selene said somewhat stubbornly. “I have plenty of blood—I can provide it.”

“What ‘Alistair’ is missing is a soul. If you don’t want a completely new consciousness, as naive as an infant, to occupy her name within her shell, you’d best not act rashly.”
The Night Demon, in the form of a crow, said chillingly, “Master has his own plans. Whose feelings for ‘Alistair’ can be deeper than Master’s?”

Viness was also quite displeased. She was the true Beast of Envy, and it was natural for her to be jealous of the birth of a new colleague. Everyone knew that “Alistair” was aiming for the position of a Beast of Sin—undoubtedly, her position should be the Beast of “Lust.” The original Alistair could still be considered a part of Eivass. The idea of a part of oneself becoming a pet of another part of oneself sounded too strange.

But now, Alistair was merely a consciousness created by Eivass, entirely belonging to him. She was no longer a part of Eivass. However, she possessed all of Eivass’s memories, and her personality was entirely born from Eivass’s memories and a portion of his impulses along his path. She was refined using Eivass’s flesh and blood and soul as materials—she was a newly cultivated Phantom Demon, much like a spirit guard created by a Necromancer.

It was just that while Necromancers used “other people’s souls,” Eivass used his own soul. In a sense, this act itself should also be considered a “cutting off the tail to survive” method. However, after Ai Shiping and Eivass separated, Eivass disliked Ai Shiping solely based on his own will, while Alistair fell in love with Eivass based on her personal choice.

Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, soul of my soul… while possessing strong desires, she frankly accepted her new existence, unbound by ethical constraints. Nothing was more fitting for the Great Sin of “Lust” than this. After all, she had committed that great sin herself.

If the other Marks of Sin came from the conspiracies or behind-the-scenes manipulations of the Fallen Heavenly Envoys, then only the “Envy” and “Lust” marks were deserved by Alistair.
—It was precisely because of this that Viness found her somewhat displeasing. She was originally a part of Eivass, but what was she now?

Lily also keenly sensed Viness’s displeasure. Therefore, she did not continue to inquire but instead asked directly, “What should we do then?”

“Shatter the stone statue, box it up, and take it away.” The Night Demon replied, “Take it to the Daffodil Duchy—Master will go there later. For now, let the Star Antimony people handle their own affairs in Star Antimony…”

“…Can Young Master leave the Church?” Lily frowned and questioned.

“Soon. Very soon.” The crow cawed and dissipated into black smoke. “The day of liberation is approaching…”

At this moment, Eivass had already woken up, and the Night Demon was instantly recalled.

On the other side, in a port city far from the royal capital of Star Antimony, Laro suddenly opened his eyes. He had obtained the Blessing of the Twin Mirrors, and this blessing made him somewhat incredulous… this Twin Mirror was surely a prankster, wasn’t it?

Laro, dressed in rags, had just completed his Ascension Ritual and received power from the Dream Realm. Before he could test it, he rushed to the next room. He saw the dying Crown Princess lying on the bed like a corpse. The cracked skin on her body was already healing. However, her body was covered in blood, and a blood-stained human shape had soaked into the bed, looking particularly terrifying.

The Crown Princess Noel, unable to move at this moment, saw Laro and a genuine smile appeared on her face. “You succeeded, Laro…”

“Your Highness, are you alright!” Laro did not hesitate to place his hand on the Crown Princess’s neck, then on her forehead, chest, and abdomen. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Fortunately, the Candlemaster is merciful… her soul is only slightly torn. I can heal this degree of injury, and it will not affect your future Ascension prospects. However, you… you won’t be able to use Extraordinary Power for the next two weeks.”

“That doesn’t matter, Laro.” The Crown Princess blinked slightly indifferently, her pupils moving. Her lips did not move, and she said somewhat vaguely, “I have already gained courage.”
“More importantly… let me see, what power did you gain from the Dream Realm? This was a ritual performed by the Twin Mirrors… and, what happened after I withdrew?”

“Well…” Laro hesitated, but still agreed. For some reason, he no longer sounded like his usual self, like a clown chanting exaggerated poems. “Please wait a moment.” He said politely and walked towards a floor-length mirror beside him, chanting in a low voice, “I beseech the Twin Mirrors! The Sacred Number is the God of Two, the God without eyes and self, the God of pure beauty and flawlessness—”

“I am you…” As the mirror surface glowed, the reflection in the mirror changed. Another female voice, overlapping with the old Laro’s, echoed, “You are me—” As the old Laro stepped towards the mirror surface, another “her” emerged from the mirror.

Crown Princess Noel’s eyes widened slightly in disbelief. Because, the old Laro at this moment… had turned into herself.
—Turned into “Crown Princess Noel”!

“This is the power I obtained.” “Noel” bowed slightly to Noel on the bed, her expression complex. “I can now transform into your appearance, and it is undetectable. Or rather, I can transform into the appearance of the ‘Master’ I choose… becoming that person’s mirror substitute.”
“…This is the Twin Mirror’s… Blessing.”
(End of Chapter)