When the plot-skips players into the game world

"Come out, Shadow Demon,"

Aiwass suddenly spoke, "You should be able to come out in the open, right?"

Her shadow trembled slightly, then coalesced beside her.

But the Shadow Demon didn't take on the appearance of Beyard. Instead, it first formed into a black silhouette, and then color smeared over it, transforming into the likeness of Assassin Miss Croix.

The only thing that made her look non-human was the ominous smog that swirled around her, like black tentacles. Where shadows should have been, they came to life as smog, wrapping around her body.

This made her appear less three-dimensional due to the lack of shadows, giving off a peculiar sense of incongruity.

Unlike Beyard's mature, icy, and sharp features, Croix had the beautiful and bright appearance of a young girl. She had caramel-colored short curls and a cute smile on her face, which felt warm and sweet. She wore a light, white dress, in stark contrast to Beyard's heavy black gown.

"Croix's" face even had a trace of makeup, her lips bearing a moist and translucent luster.

The only thing murky about her were the pale green pupils, which were wolf-like—black smog swirled within her pupils, making her eyes resemble green glass with black smoke billowing behind it.

Watching the Shadow Demon's form, Beyard leaned over with keen interest, "Wow, is she that sweet? Is this your type?"

"She's an assassin who once tried to kill our master."@@novelbin@@

The Shadow Demon just smiled with a voice that was tender and sickly sweet, "She tried to steal my shadow, so I stole her appearance and voice."

"Nonsense."

Beyard scoffed.

She interlaced her fingers and rested them on her chin, "This is in line with our aesthetic, don't make excuses for yourself. The face we love the most should be like mother's—gentle and charming... but we look more like father, whether it's the face or the height. Even as a child, people would often call us 'young master'."

"I still remember it well. When I grew as tall as father, I even cried out of frustration that night. I thought about asking mother if there was a potion to make me shorter... but felt it was too embarrassing, so I never mentioned it to anyone."

"In order to not look so tall and avoid being mistaken for a male, I started growing my hair out after that. I stopped wearing trousers and switched to skirts..."

In the end, Beyard sighed, "It must be nice to be able to change into someone else's appearance so effortlessly. But what you really fancy about her is those green eyes, isn't it?"

"Croix" said nothing, simply offering what appeared to be a gentle smile. Yet that smile carried a beauty that seemed to say, "Say another word and I'll kill you."

At that moment, three bowls of meat soup were served. Each bowl was brimming with chunks of beef—some pieces even piled above the surface of the liquid.

"Is this you bringing friends over for a treat, Miss Beyard?"

The man with somewhat graying hair laughed heartily, "I've added pepper to the soup; the taste might have changed a bit. Do you like this flavor? The Botanists' first batch of empire-grown peppers has hit the market in recent years, making them much cheaper..."

"Indeed, the trading company has already started planning to export pepper to Avalon,"

Beyard responded with a smile: "Speaking of which, is there anything else you'd like?"

"If there's anything to mention, it's that business is booming and we're swamped,"

The owner said with a laugh that was half boasting and half complaining: "The main problem is the shortage of workers, now that the streets are full of Transcendents..."

"I've heard the Demon Scholars chatting, saying those goblins from the south have successfully tamed a group of trolls. They can obey orders for simple labor, and as long as you feed them, they're very docile. Thick-skinned, hard-working and reliable. How about looking into importing some trolls through the trading company? If I had trolls to help with the manual labor, I could fire all those clumsy, good-for-nothing workers."

"Alright, I'll look into it when I get back,"

Beyard replied with a laugh.

After the owner left, Aiwass sighed, "Your company's operations are quite extensive; it seems to be thriving."

"No matter how extensive, it's all going to dissipate into the dust of history,"

Beyard chuckled, sipping her drink: "Nothing in this world is permanent. Pursuing eternity is akin to pursuing stagnation."

Hearing this, Aiwass and the Shadow Demon were briefly taken aback, exchanging glances.

"It's not a probe. I've indeed discovered... that I am ultimately not the real Beyard, just a soul simulated by the Pillar God."

Miss Beyard chuckled, yet she carried an air of nonchalance, "I only had some suspicions at first. So, I decided to take a stroll through the streets, to see if the number of people would be too few... When I saw so many people, I even doubted for a moment.

"But then I thought, perhaps this is the ritual of the Gemini Mirror. Only It would want to view an 'unexpected' drama, desiring to see a reflection of history. And only the Gemini Mirror could directly construct such a reflection of history, even allowing me to easily perceive that this is a dream of your creation.

"Should They wish, the Pillar Gods could prevent me from ever realizing this fact. After all, even we who are feeble Sons of the Moon can simply seal the consciousness of others, ensuring that Blood Slaves cannot harbor thoughts harmful to us.

"And now we are nothing but false fabricated souls, the Pillar Gods could effortlessly lock our thoughts... Even if they directly told me the identity of the Transcendents and the reality of the Dream Realm, the Pillar Gods could still make us turn a blind eye, deaf to recognition. Of course, generally speaking, the Pillar Gods choose to use it as a test of adaptive capability, to assess how well Transcendents integrate into society. But judging from your reactions, I guess this isn't just a ritual for the full moon, is it?"

Miss Beyard sighed, her thoughts clear and her speech fluent, "In the end, we are nothing but falsehoods. We are not real souls; this is not true history. At most, we are merely our own 'character prototypes.'

"—The fake can never become the real."

"...Miss Beyard, you're quite the free spirit, huh?"

Aiwass looked at her with interest, then turned back to the Shadow Demon.

"How should I put it..."

Miss Beyard gave a resigned smile, "Such is the way of the Sons of the Moon.

"We were born from falsehoods, why else would we so easily fall? Now we are but imitations of imitations."

The Sons of the Moon have the memories of their past lives and easily take over the identities and social ties of the living. But in the end, they are only impostors, monsters that have stolen memories, emotions, identities, talents, and social relationships.

Every Son of the Moon goes through a period of time, firmly believing that they are their old selves reborn and transformed into Sons of the Moon. It's just that their talents have undergone some changes due to the effects of death and rebirth, their personalities and behavior patterns have changed due to the Curse of the Son of the Moon.

But in their day-to-day lives, they gradually notice certain irregularities and slowly become aware... that their past and present are ultimately two different existences.

By that time, the Sons of the Moon will clearly recognize that they are monsters. They are fundamentally a different species from humans. Stay connected with My Virtual Library Empire

And then, they become corrupt, cruel—emotions and desires suppressed by human morals burst forth in an instant, and their strength rapidly grows as their desires are unleashed. This process is known as the Son of the Moon's "coming of age."

They become acutely aware of one thing: they are not human at all and have been monsters stealing others' identities from the very beginning.

And so, the monsters gain the awareness of being monsters.

Watching Aiwass heartily consuming meat and soup, Miss Beyard's eyes bore a tinge of sorrow.

"There's just one thing... I can't let go of."

She had once said she would acknowledge me as her master.

The girl's deviously charming, lovely smile, the taste of blood lingering between her lips and teeth, that dangerous but thrilling provocation.

"If only all of this were real, how wonderful that would be."

Miss Beyard murmured softly.

Her charm was so enthralling; she must have an affinity for the Path of Love.

If I were to drink her blood dry, then I could watch over her for eighty days, waiting for her to be awakened anew, to become my eternal companion, my lover.

If she became a Son of the Moon, she would certainly become just as strong as me... perhaps even stronger.

No matter what dangers the guild may face, no matter what crises befall the empire... we could flee from here. The world is vast; there would always be a place to take us in. We are both very powerful, capable of surviving well anywhere. Even without human blood, Fey from the Path of Love and Demons from the Path of Transcendence could serve as sustenance for survival.

...But would she still be the same as she is now?

I would gain an immortal companion, but would I have personally killed another?

And if I don't act, wouldn't I just be watching her be ravaged by time, aging, and dying?

If she truly encountered such a bewitching Little Succubus, she might indeed fall into a torment of bewildered pain.

"—Luckily, all of this isn't real."

With her hand propped under her chin, Miss Beyard whispered softly.