Chapter 948
Birth of the Envoy of Mist
Dreamy, tipsy…
“…A Water Attribute Heavenly Envoy?”
Eivass murmured to himself, his brow furrowed slightly. “To ascend at such a crucial juncture…”
Just in case, he closed his eyes, intending to enter a state of prayer and inquire from the Nine Pillar Gods which path had produced the new Heavenly Envoy.
But before he could enter the prayer state, the voice of the Lord of Scales and Feathers echoed in his ear, “No need to ask them, I’ll tell you directly.”
—Boss, you’re here?
Since Eivass returned to Avalon, the Lord of Scales and Feathers had been unusually quiet. Eivass had assumed he’d found new entertainment…
“Mm, I was a bit busy before. Doing a small job…”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers chuckled at this point, “You’ll know in a while.”
“…What kind of job did you do this time?”
“Oh, it’s a good thing—this Heavenly Envoy is actually someone you know. She even held you when you were little.”
…Held me?
It couldn’t be Jacob, could it?
Hearing this description, Eivass paused, then realized, “Sister Sasha?”
Eivass wasn’t too surprised. That tipsy feeling was clearly related to the Banquet Master. Combined with the anomaly being related to the moon, it was highly likely to be the Path of Love.
“That’s right.”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers replied with a hearty laugh, “Didn’t expect it, right? She was just an ‘Apostle’s Apostle’ without a proper title a year ago, and now she’s become a Heavenly Envoy.”
“…Because of the surge in the Power of Transcendence?”
Eivass immediately understood.
As the day the Father Snake broke through the Amber Wall drew nearer, the Power of Transcendence in the Material Realm became increasingly active.
It was said that the difficulty of Ascension Rituals had begun to decrease, and the improvement of Extraordinary Power had also started to accelerate.
In other worlds, this might be an era of “Aether Burst” or “Mana Tide”… However, in this world, all of this was merely residual energy from the Father Snake’s act of “Final Transcendence.”
“Indeed.”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers confirmed, “And this is just the beginning—starting now, over the next three months, the number of Heavenly Envoys and Apostles born will likely be equivalent to the past several millennia.
The next three months are the most likely period to change fate… provided you can hold on and not be dragged down by the Ouroboros Ring.”
“…Do you already know about the Ouroboros Ring? And that the Ouroboros Ring ritual would spread?”
“Of course.”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers was not surprised, “Without the support and tacit approval of the Pillar Gods, that guy couldn’t have caused such a large-scale event.
The original definition of a Heavenly Envoy was simply a ‘Pillar God Candidate.’ But as the Heavenly Envoys increased, they became deities independent of the Pillar Gods’ paths. If there were too many new Heavenly Envoys, the Dream Realm would eventually evolve into Heavenly Envoy wars… Heavenly Envoys of the same path could devour each other’s power, and even the position of Pillar God would become unstable… just like what the former Crown Heavenly Envoy did.
Generally, Pillar Gods strictly control the number of Heavenly Envoys of the same path—through suppression and killing. But not all Pillar Gods have that ability… for example, Amber.
The Sublimation of the Winter Envoy is not a good thing for Amber. If the Amber Heavenly Envoy devours the Winter Envoy, and then consumes the Rock Heavenly Envoy, she could threaten Amber’s position. From this perspective, using the Ouroboros Ring to release Heavenly Envoys into the Material Realm can prevent them from being devoured by other Heavenly Envoys in the Dream Realm.”
Seeing that the Ouroboros Ring ritual was in motion, the Lord of Scales and Feathers finally stopped speaking in riddles and revealed the truth: “From this perspective, the turmoil in the Material Realm is for greater peace. You have also understood and witnessed several major events of Pillar God succession… Compared to the succession of Pillar Gods, the descent of Heavenly Envoys is a relatively better choice.
It’s precisely because no Pillar God objected, and some even willing supported him, that this large-scale ‘Heavenly Envoy Hunting Ritual’ could succeed.”
“…I see.”
Upon hearing this, Eivass understood, “So, the Ring Heavenly Envoy actually provided… a relatively satisfactory answer for everyone?”
No one would fully support him, as everyone’s interests would be harmed; but from another perspective, it was ultimately not “the worst choice.”
—A compromise.
This was similar to Eivass’s modus operandi, yet different.
Eivass tended to satisfy everyone, which was why he had so many friends.
The Ring Heavenly Envoy, however, took a few steps back, becoming “at least ensuring that most people wouldn’t explicitly object.” He endured criticism while getting things done. Although he “fired” many people, he ultimately saved “the company.” Compared to Eivass’s idealism, this was much more realistic and lacked his passion and fervor.
Recalling now…
The Heavenly Envoys he chose to descend were all troublemakers or misfits.
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy was a given; the Shadow Heavenly Envoy was a Heavenly Envoy of revenge, but she rarely did any work, spending her days at home hosting parties; the Blood Heavenly Envoy was too disruptive, clearly trying to bypass the Wall of Balance and continuously interfere in the affairs of the Material Realm; the Amber Heavenly Envoy was clearly ill-intentioned towards Amber and was hoarding souls; the Abyss Heavenly Envoy was considered “remnants of the previous dynasty,” and the Grey Heavenly Envoy was a great deceiver whom everyone disliked; the Butterfly Heavenly Envoy, that face-connoisseur, was also narcissistic and arrogant, with no friends…
Except for the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy who descended voluntarily, the other Heavenly Envoys who were pulled down clearly did not have good interpersonal relationships.
Not a single Heavenly Envoy had a friend who “was willing to seek revenge on the Ring Heavenly Envoy for his death!”
Although these Heavenly Envoys descended due to summons from the Material Realm… it was evident that the Ring Heavenly Envoy’s manipulation was behind the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s descent. The Heavenly Envoys the Ring Heavenly Envoy “fired” were those for whom no other Heavenly Envoy would speak up—which was why he, as a Heavenly Envoy, could calmly preside over the ritual of hunting other Heavenly Envoys in the Dream Realm.
How to put it…
…Compared to the youthful Eivass, the Ring Heavenly Envoy clearly had more of a “corporate drone” aura and was much more ruthless.
Sometimes Eivass felt… compared to himself, the Ring Heavenly Envoy was more like the true HR Manager.
However, the changes Eivass had made were now beginning to cause increasingly obvious shifts in the world—
It was precisely because Alistair was branded with the Mark of Sin by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy that she diligently handled the ritual at the White Dove Opera House, leading her to find Count Dawn and kill him, obtaining the sealed, unconsumed liver in time. Because of this, the Banquet Master had the opportunity to complete himself and sublimate into the Banquet Heavenly Envoy.
And it was because of the Banquet Master’s sublimation that Sister Sasha was able to become a true Apostle of a Heavenly Envoy, thus gaining the qualification to sublimate into a Heavenly Envoy.
No wonder in the previous timeline, no new Heavenly Envoy was born at this time!
—It could be said that this Heavenly Envoy was personally incubated by Eivass!
“What is her proper title?”
Eivass asked curiously.
The Lord of Scales and Feathers replied, “Path of Love, Envoy of Mist. She also has the ability of the Path of Devotion. The Banquet Master had already put in a good word for her with Old Deer.”
“…Envoy of Mist? Why mist?”
However, the proper title Sister Sasha chose left Eivass a bit bewildered.
Was it illusionary or because mist was something hazy? What did this have to do with the Banquet Master?
“Regarding this… I did see some fragments of the future. When she ascended, the future changed slightly… I sensed this scene and came to talk to you.”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers said proudly, “Want to hear it?”
“Yes!”
Eivass immediately clamored, giving plenty of emotional value, “Tell me, tell me!”
“Mist is the veil of the moon, the wind of blindness. This Heavenly Envoy’s ascension… is to compete for business with the Blood Heavenly Envoy.”
The voice of the Lord of Scales and Feathers echoed in Eivass’s mind, “She can transform the Child of the Moon into ‘Mist Demons.’ Specifically, it means the Child of the Moon can no longer transform into bats but into white mist. At the same time, they will lose their craving and obsession for blood, transforming into a new form similar to a soul body… no longer belonging to the Child of the Moon, but to ‘ yokai’.”
“…Can Hengwo agree to this?”
Eivass was shocked, “Aren’t the Children of the Moon experimental lives for Hengwo to verify the method of the Perfect Being?”
If the Children of the Moon were all transformed, how would the Perfect Being be born?
If the Children of the Moon could not be mass-transformed into Perfect Beings… wouldn’t that mean the Path struggle of “Love Conquers the Beast” had lost?
“That is indeed the case. But your understanding of Pillar Gods is not deep enough, Eivass.”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers said meaningfully, “Most Pillar Gods have no ‘humanity.’ Although Hengwo wants to reach enlightenment through ‘Perfect Beings’ to suppress the Beast Lord’s suppression of her, even if she fails… she won’t obsess or go mad like mortals. Because for her, nothing matters, only ‘Love’ fills her heart. By loving herself, and then loving the Beast Lord, and loving the world.
Just as Amber doesn’t want to kill Amber to protect herself, Hengwo is a god of emptiness where ‘nothing exists except myself.’ The reason the former Beast Lord was controlled by Hengwo was also for this reason—how could a mortal with distracting thoughts and rationality be controlled so easily? Similarly, for Hengwo, all of this is irrelevant. Even if the ‘Love’ she represents is suppressed, destroyed, and devoured by ‘the Beast,’ it doesn’t matter… If she cared about these things, she wouldn’t be Hengwo.
Only Heavenly Envoys possess distinct human-like qualities, while Pillar Gods… are merely prisoners of the world. They are all leaders of their paths… but I believe they are closer to ‘Spokespersons of their paths.’ Not to mention far away… the former Crown Heavenly Envoy and the current Crown Lord are two completely different people.”
“…Then, then what about you?”
Eivass hesitated.
The Lord of Scales and Feathers chuckled, “I’m a special case—a unique one.”
(End of this chapter)
