When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 386: Chapter 294: Hayna’s Future (3rd Update) Chapter 386: Chapter 294: Hayna’s Future (3rd Update) The old priest who had personally witnessed my grandfather’s death over a decade ago had long since passed away.

His son also looked to be in his forties or fifties now—as a priest who mastered the Fire Rite Skill, such an aged appearance indicated that his real age was certainly not on the low side.

Perhaps he had been in Eagle Cape Village for quite some time.@@novelbin@@

Yet, Mr.

Priest was unable to provide Aiwass with much useful information.

Because he hadn’t been in his father’s position for very long, many things were still out of reach for him.

It was possible that he knew even less than Aiwass did now.

The only piece of information he could give was probably about the village’s burial traditions.

“Our village doesn’t have a graveyard.”

As the priest distributed pastries to Aiwass and Lily, he softly replied, “All the remains are thrown into the swamp, no unified worship thereafter.

“That’s because remembrance and worship are acts of the Path of Dusk, and we’re just a bunch of Anonymous people who sold their souls—unanticipated in life, unforgotten in death.

People without names don’t get tombstones.”

“Then why do those children have names?”

Aiwass asked a question that had puzzled him for a long time.

But the priest just smiled, “We are but nameless wraiths trapped here, remnants forgotten by the hourglass…

but they’re different.

They’re all healthy children.”

“…Just what, exactly, made you sell your souls?”

Aiwass asked, “And why would Amber demand such a price?”

For ordinary Phantom Demons, human souls might be a scarce commodity.

Demons would even make contracts and serve humans to obtain souls.

But for a Pillar God, it’s hardly significant.

After death, souls would naturally flow into one of those nine rivers.

This resource is as natural as breathing air for humans, who wouldn’t pay anything special to breathe such ordinary air.

Unless this “air” itself held some special significance.

—What puzzled Aiwass most is why Amber would agree to such a trade?

Looking at the Dusk Power that filled the village to this day, the transaction even now was not yet complete.

Amber continued to provide a continuous stream of power, enough to affect everyone’s sense of time here.

But the priest only shook his head.

He raised a finger to his lips.

Silence.

No answer.

Or perhaps he was unable to answer.

So Aiwass had to switch the topic, beating around the bush, “What about Hayna, then?

What do you know about her?”

At last, Mr.

Priest spoke, “Among the newborns in our village, Hayna is the most special.

Without a doubt.”

Indeed, Aiwass thought.

In your village filled with the power of dusk, where both her biological father and foster father had the adaptability for the Path of Devotion, she ended up half Authority and half Transcendence…

Neither devoted nor dusk.

“I thought she’d become a priest, or a blacksmith.”

Aiwass resignedly dropped his shoulders, picked up a pastry, and popped it into his mouth without care, mumbling unclearly, “But she seems to lack the adaptability for the Path of Devotion.”

“Yes, which is why Hayna received education in authority as a child.

This also came from Jacob’s suggestion—it was he who told Hayna’s mother that young Hayna had an affinity for the Path of Authority.

“Since then, Hayna’s mother started deliberately cultivating Hayna’s heart of authority.

One could say that Jacob’s contribution to her becoming an Inspector is indispensable.”

Mr.

Priest sighed, “And now, Jacob’s grandson has become her friend and has been invited here…

It’s probably destiny.

Destiny is the blood of dusk, and the future has been preordained by Amber, inscribed in the Tree of Amber.

Everything is interconnected.”

“Authority education…”

Aiwass was somewhat puzzled.

But he paused, and suddenly remembered—

It was their second encounter when Hayna pushed him to visit the Pelican Bar, they had a conversation en route.

“—Yes, my family is poor.

But my parents told me from a young age to be a person of integrity.

To abide by the law, to be loyal to the queen, to be truthful to my teachers.

I may not have money, but I’ve never committed even the slightest theft or wrong.”

“—I won’t demand others to do the same, for not everyone agrees with the path of authority.

But I will constrain my own behavior as much as possible.

Not because of coercion, but out of my own volition.

“—Now, I am wholeheartedly obedient to my superiors, carrying out every order within the rules they give; but if one day I surpass them, they will have to obey me in the same way.”

Hayna’s youthful but confident voice echoed in Aiwass’ mind.

He took a deep breath, slowly coming to a realization.

“…How did I not realize it at the time.”

This was the epitome of authority education.

The adaptability for Transcendent paths is not fixed after birth but continues to change.

Just like Yanis, and like Meg in the past, now Ligeia.

Family education is the simplest way to switch path adaptability.

Although it isn’t effective for everyone, and one cannot deviate too far…

for instance, Isabel really isn’t suited for the path of authority, but if she wished to be educated into the Path of Love, it would still be possible; similarly, Yulia is of the Path of Balance, but she is equally suited for Wisdom and Transcendence.

With proper guidance, it is often easy to lead children onto the designated path while they are still young.

Transitioning from the Path of Dusk to the Path of Authority is somewhat difficult.

But the Path of Transcendence was feasible.

Moreover, since the Path of Transcendence is illegal in Avalon, if Hayna was born with a strong affinity for the Path of Transcendence and her parents had decided from the very beginning to let her leave Eagle Cape Village, they could only use various means to convert her affinity for the Path of Transcendence into that for the Path of Authority…

Therefore, she had to endure such strict education in the Path of Authority.

Along with this, Aiwass recalled the stories told to the young Hayna by her grandfather Jacob…

—The red Ursa Major and the carnivores led by the golden lion ruled the world, while the herbivorous white horses and green deer engaged in a battle of wits and bravery, eventually overcoming the Ursa Major to become the new King.

And the golden lion, after swallowing the black mole, was dug out from its belly by the mole.

This story of the “White Horse King” metaphorically represents the deeds of Arthur defeating the Supreme Heaven to become the Silver-Crowned Dragon.

The story itself is filled with traces of “Transcendence,” and merely recording it hints at rebellion.

And among the many tales Jacob told, Hayna remembered this particular one the most vividly.

This indicated that Hayna’s primary affinity was indeed for the Path of Transcendence!

So, then, Hayna’s biological father…

did he also have an affinity for the Path of Transcendence?

If that were the case, perhaps Hayna’s impulse for the Path came from her father’s inheritance!

Perhaps, his disappearance was inextricably linked to either Jacob or the Noble Red…

And their commonality lay in their ability to stay away from Eagle Cape Village for extended periods.

If his departure wasn’t an act of irresponsibility, but rather an exploration that only he could undertake…

Could it be that only with a strong “Transcendence” power could one break the stagnation and seal of the dusk power in their bloodlines, thereby living normally in the outside world?

Instantly, Aiwass understood why he had never seen Hayna in the original game.

—Because Hayna would only stay as an apprentice Inspector for half a year.

After she graduated, she would return to Eagle Cape Village, just like now.

From that point on, she would never return to Glass Island again—because she could not.

Either she would awaken an affinity for the Path of Dusk, or she would awaken her true Transcendent nature.

Either possibility would change her temperament drastically, and she would no longer enjoy the work of the Supervisory Bureau.

Then, were there any similar bosses or forces in the game?

—There indeed were.

And this time it wasn’t a boss.

In version 2.X, in Avalon, there was a rebel army of Demons named the “Hyena Gang” that controlled their territory, resisting the colonial rule of the Antimony Kingdom.

They were former Inspectors who had become Demons, leading a large pack of Undead Hunting Dogs on raids, attacking mines, bridges, and railways controlled by the Antimony people, robbing caravans, and assassinating the “new nobles” who had sided with the Antimony people.

They turned the people they killed into Undead.

Avalon, under Antimony control, had lost command over the Gryphon Squadron and the Eye of Avalon, impairing their ability to precisely monitor local intelligence like Avalon does now.

The Hyena Gang, hidden in the most desolate places and concealed by the people of Avalon, managed to evade destruction despite repeated attacks.

And the leader of the Hyena Gang was a tall and beautiful woman, “Anonymous.”

She was spirited, confident in her speech and demeanor, but covered in scars—not from a lack of prompt treatment following battles.

Scars, as reminders of injuries, were powerful symbols of Dusk.

“Anonymous” had her hair tied in a waist-length high ponytail, with dull yellow pupils.

Her tattered clothes exposed her arms and a leg, and her smile was bright and dashing.

She possessed the powers of Authority, Transcendence, and Dusk Path, and was highly popular among both players and Avalon citizens.

They were considered a quasi-ally faction.

Because you could gain “faction favor” with the Hyena Gang, and the Hyena set purchasable from the faction store was the top-tier set for Demon and Necromancer players.

It wasn’t until the establishment of Camelot that Anonymous fell as a vanguard in the strategy against the Shadowy Celestial Marshal, killed by a direct attack from the Marshal.

The Hyena Gang ultimately fell apart, with some familiar NPCs becoming part of Camelot’s police force.

…Reflecting now, she must be Hayna from another world line.

It wasn’t Aiwass’s fault for not recognizing her—the name, hairstyle, eye color, temperament, occupation, there was nothing the same except for her figure…

how could I have recognized her!

And perhaps Hayna, due to her great figure, always felt somewhat self-conscious as people often stared; she tended to slouch a bit.

That big, straightforward, cool, and aggressive sister had almost nothing in common with her—

Aiwass shook his head, scattering the hindsight musings.

Her father’s matter…

he needed to speak with Hayna about it first.

Thinking this, he bid farewell to Priest.

But when Aiwass stepped outside, he found that it had turned to dusk without him noticing.

As soon as he stepped out, his expression changed—

—Should he retreat first?

But at that moment, Aiwass paused in his steps.

The priest’s house was located near the entrance of the village to welcome outsiders, quite close to the path leading into the village.

And now, from the direction of the village entrance, Aiwass heard a boisterous and rowdy group approaching.

He frowned slightly and, holding Lily back, retreated half a step into the priest’s house.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long.

A group of people in red robes stormed in—