When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 743: Chapter 128: I am the Answer, but What is the Question?@@novelbin@@

Chapter 743: Chapter 128: I am the Answer, but What is the Question?

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“The remnants of the Reincarnation Celestial Marshal…”

Aiwass murmured softly.

No wonder those people always believed they were Holy Entities, shards of the Serpent Celestial Marshal…

When the Serpent Celestial Marshal hadn’t died, how could there be any shards?

All of this now made sense.

—The words spoken by the Lord of Scalefeather must be true.

Because even now, he still harbors hesitation and unfamiliarity towards the name of his past life, and indeed, it is only now that he realizes how many details his memory has lost.

He not only forgets the names of those who were most important to his former self…

But now that he thinks about it carefully, his memory loss has always been present.

He remembers the names Dionysus and Selene, knowing that they are deities from “Greek mythology.” However, in his memory, much more is missing—he can’t recall why they are called “Greek mythology,” nor does he know which other deities are included.

Perhaps he remembers a few, like “Uranus,” like “Gaia,” like “Hades”…

But the rest is almost entirely forgotten, with only fragments of those details remembered.

…Is that because Serpent Celestial Marshal considered them valuable memories, and therefore didn’t leave them to me when splitting his self?

An image of the “Calamity Demon Dragon” suddenly emerged in Aiwass’s mind.

As the dark self that the Silver-Crowned Dragon had divided, it should be the remnants of “Authority” that couldn’t be entirely transformed, along with a trace of “Strength” and the crystallization of the power of “Transcendence.” That entity is similar to himself.

But the difference is that the Calamity Demon Dragon was sealed by the Silver-Crowned Dragon at the bottom of the snow mountain, while Aiwass was thrown into the Material Realm by Serpent Celestial Marshal.

Yet another question arose in Aiwass’s heart:

He remembered that Reincarnation Celestial Marshal came from the Path of Balance…

This was the forbidden knowledge taught by Moriarty.

If he was a shard separated by Serpent Celestial Marshal, then he should be of the Path of Balance…

“You are overthinking it.”

Lord of Scalefeather laughed with a chuckle.

Without waiting for Aiwass to ask, he answered, “But it’s not surprising, seeing that you are missing critical information.”

“…What?”

Aiwass murmured.

“To this day, Serpent Celestial Marshal still possesses the power of the Path of Balance; not only that, but His power of Balance is infinitely close to His power of Transcendence.

What He gave up to you was not the power of the Path of Balance…

Because after that event, He had already lost Balance.

What you received was the overflow of His power of Transcendence.”

As Lord of Scalefeather spoke, he led Aiwass forward.

He raised his hand, pointing towards a shattered piece of the sky: “Take a look over there.”

Aiwass lifted his gaze and looked over.

Even though it was just a vague gesture, he happened to see the very shard that Lord of Scalefeather was pointing to.

In the next moment, the world around him once again changed in color and form—

The pupils of Aiwass’s eyes sharply constricted.

Because he saw “himself.”

…But it wasn’t himself.

He saw himself bare-chested, walking above the sky.

His platinum blonde hair trailed down to his knees, and that harder, more angular handsome face looked roughly thirty years older than the current Aiwass.

He seemed leaner and more muscular than the present Aiwass.

His body featured serpent-like streamlined muscles, his chest adorned with a shining violet ∞ symbol.

And his abdomen was covered with various complex and ancient runes, extending to his back.

Behind his head, in the void of space, there was a sun ring crafted from a stream of flame.

The higher it rose, the more golden-red it became, progressively becoming more purple-red as it approached the lower back of Aiwass.

That ring was continuously spinning…

gold gradually turning to violet, violet gradually turning to gold, in an endless cycle.

And “Aiwass” was pointing one hand towards the sky and the other towards the ground.

In an instant, the sky cracked open.

One half became golden-red, the other half purple-red.

Subsequently, the sky began to shift and warp into a massive Taiji symbol, with the vortex’s center right above “Aiwass’s” fingertip pointing towards the sky.

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The world’s time was being gradually accelerated.

Dawn turned to dusk, dusk turned to dawn, and time sped up rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, eight days of cycles had passed—

“Alright, that’s enough to see for now,”

And at that moment, the Lord of Scalefeather waved his hand and the entire world collapsed into pieces.

“That is the ‘Ring of Ouroboros,’ the master of the Evolutionary Path.

‘Evolution’ represents the eternal nature of change in all things…

what rises must fall, what falls must rise, all things flow in an exchange, with the only constant being change,”

The faceless man in the suit said leisurely, “That is the future ‘if the Serpent Celestial Marshal devoured you.’ I do not wish for such a future to come.”

“…He wants my body because he intends to ascend as the ‘Ring of Ouroboros’?”

Aiwass hesitated slightly, “But as far as I know, even if He doesn’t get it…”

“Yes, it can be done without you.

But it would ultimately be incomplete.

Even if He does not consume you when He becomes a Pillar God, after He becomes the ‘Ring of Ouroboros,’ He will have to ingest you again—you are just a temporarily severed part.

Only by reuniting with you can He complete the full cycle from the past to the future.”

With that said, the Lord of Scalefeather looked at Aiwass and suddenly asked, “Do you know about Arthur?”

“…The former self of the Silver-Crowned Dragon?”

“Who provided the ritual for Arthur?”

As He spoke, it dawned on Aiwass.

Aiwass looked back at the Lord of Scalefeather, “The Silver-Crowned Dragon…

was it Serpent Celestial Marshal’s experiment?”

“Correct, but that was a failed experiment.

Arthur is the Silver-Crowned Dragon, but he is not the complete ‘Crowned Celestial Marshal.’ The descent of a Celestial Marshal influences greatly…

The Serpent Celestial Marshal’s reasoning was that it was to prevent the Supreme Heaven from awakening.

Of course, He was also right.

If the Crowned Celestial Marshal directly descended, the Supreme Heaven would have utterly annihilated him while he was still vulnerable.

“But is there a possibility that compared to ‘the White Dragon on the earth’…

that ‘Red Dragon in the sky’ is closer to the essence of the Crowned Celestial Marshal?

And now, that Red Dragon is called the Calamity Demon Dragon.”

The Lord of Scalefeather smiled, patted Aiwass on the shoulder, and said in a low voice, “Just as Candle Master was the investor for Arthur years ago…

I chose you.

“I befriended him back then because I saw this possibility in him.

And now, He’s also becoming increasingly dull…

so, I will still choose you.

“You are like a lamb fostered by the Shepherd, poor Aiwass.

All the Shepherd’s love for the lamb is ultimately for the sweet feast…

but I think that’s such a waste.

“I advise you to flee from this pen, run into the forest—brave the predation of ferocious beasts, die under their fangs instead.”

The Lord of Scalefeather’s words made it impossible for Aiwass to discern whether He was being serious or facetiously cryptic.

Escape the safety of the pen.

Run into the dark forest.

Forfeit the never-ending supply of fodder in exchange for the hunt of wild beasts…

Even if it’s to escape a certain doom, without the Shepherd’s protection, the helpless and sweet lamb is only going to face death sooner.

What difference does it make whether one is eaten by humans or wolves?

At least with the former, one could eat well every day.

Perhaps…

It might be possible to escape fate the day before being eaten.

A glint of such a thought flashed through Aiwass’s mind.

But he quickly dismissed it, becoming resolute.

“…What should I do?”

Aiwass asked the Lord of Scalefeather, “I don’t want to be fodder…

but I also don’t want to die just like that.”

The Lord of Scalefeather let out a pleasant chuckle, “Greedy fox…”

He bent down and whispered in Aiwass’s ear, “Then let me give you a hint—you are the answer yourself.”

“…Can’t you be a bit more specific?”

Aiwass was somewhat helpless, “I am the answer, so what is the question?

What I’m asking is how should I go about it?”

He had just spoken, not expecting the Lord of Scalefeather to resemble a riddler.

Turns out, this was the real riddle man—with riddles so profound that Aiwass couldn’t even understand.

“That is between you and the Serpent Celestial Marshal, I cannot intervene.

You can’t do anything now, because you’re just a lamb reeking of milk, devoid of any self-protection.

All I can do is to raise the stakes here…

and inform you of your master’s coveting.”

The Lord of Scalefeather cheerfully said, “As for your contract, I’ve already accepted it.

Just as I said—I had already provided the answer, and today you finally found the question.

When we first met, I had already granted your request for today.

“But to complete the Advanced Divine Art, you still need a test; the most rational method is to empower you through a ritual.

There’s much to attend to regarding Hourglass, so let’s follow the rules and go through the process.”

“…What is the test?” Aiwass asked with some anxiety.

But the Lord of Scalefeather only patted Aiwass on the head, “Don’t worry, it’s very simple for you.

A single ascension ritual…

presided over by me personally.”

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