Although the Loom of Fate was a divine artifact, it was useless to Morin.
This thing only worked if it remained in this world. Only here was it connected to the laws of time and fate, allowing it to display partial results. Once removed, it became a loom in name only.
At that point, it was just good for weaving.
"The plan I mentioned before was to reorganize the Templar Order and wipe out the High Table and the Assassin League, right?" Morin asked.
"Yes... yeah?" Wesley hesitated, clearly confused.
"It's been a while," Morin said casually. "I was worried you might not remember, so I'm just confirming."
He smiled and snapped his fingers.
Two invisible marks silently attached themselves to Wesley and Fox.
Their functions were simple: protection and positioning.
They would prevent the main combatants on Morin's side from being killed by the Isu or the Assassin League.
Granted, with these people's so-called "protagonist luck," it probably wouldn't happen anyway. But now that the Isu had revealed themselves, the world was about to get chaotic.
And once things got messy, anything was possible.
"I'll deal with their high-end combat power," Morin said. "You two just do what you need to do. No hesitation."
With that, he took a step forward.
And vanished.
"What the f***?" Wesley spun around in shock, then stared at Fox. "Did you see that?!"
"Of course I saw it," Fox said stiffly. "He disappeared."
"I thought I was hallucinating!" Wesley refused to give up, scanning the area wildly. "So what was that? A magic trick? Or actual magic? I want to learn that! Can you do it?"
Morin reappeared inside a hotel room.
On the bed, a sphere of light pulsed and shifted continuously.
Lucy.
She was wrapped within the healing formation Morin had set up.
"Can one hundred percent utilization really allow interworld travel?" Morin muttered to himself. "That's beyond absurd..."
At that moment, the sphere of light paused.
Then it began to contract.
Originally, Morin had planned to look for Wick, Cross, Winston, and the others. He intended to give them some buffs and catch up-a one-sided reunion, more or less.
But he sensed Lucy was about to fully recover.
So he returned immediately.
The light dissipated.
Lucy lay naked on the bed.
It wasn't that Morin was being a pervert.
Her clothes had been destroyed during the space-time traversal.
Before he could react, Lucy's eyelashes fluttered.
She opened her eyes.
Sat up.
And looked straight at him.
Her gaze was empty.
Cold.
Like a machine without a heart.
But when Morin's reflection entered her eyes, something triggered.
A faint trace of confusion surfaced.
"I... have lost a great deal of emotion," Lucy said softly. "In my memory, my objective is to find you."
"And then have you help me restore my feelings."
"My help can only address the surface," Morin said. He didn't refuse. The moment he saw her, he understood the choice she had made-and had already decided to help. "To truly eliminate the root cause, it has to come from you."
A solitary journey often required another presence.
At the very least, it provided some comfort.
"What do I need to do?" Lucy asked.
"First," Morin said, "put on some clothes."
"I thought you'd prefer it this way," Lucy replied.
"I do," Morin admitted. "But that doesn't mean you have to do it."
"More importantly, we have things to do. Staying in this room won't help you recover your emotions."
"The human brain is special. Telepathic information input is temporary. To generate lasting emotions, you need contact with reality."
"Those emotions come from instinct. They're more stable."
Lucy paused.
Then, a set of clothes formed over her body.
"Fine," she said. "Where are we going?"
"To meet some old friends," Morin replied. "This isn't your original world, so there are things here I can show you."
"There's no rush. We'll talk while we walk."
"A long, long time ago..."
"How long is 'long'?" Lucy asked.
"Tens of thousands of years," Morin replied. "The Isu came to this world. They were an alien civilization with extremely advanced technology."
"There were no humans back then."
"Later, due to certain events, the Isu vanished."
"But their bloodline remained."
"Some humans inherited it. These individuals can control adrenaline to achieve 'bullet time,' enhanced strength, physical reinforcement, and even shoot curved bullets."
"That's illogical," Lucy said flatly. "Adrenaline doesn't allow bullet time. At best, it marginally increases reaction speed. Curved bullets violate physics."
"That part isn't important," Morin said. "If you ask, it's just the 'setting.'"
"In professional terms, these are the rules of the world."
"In other worlds, one hundred percent brain utilization wouldn't grant god-like power. CPH4 wouldn't even exist."
"But in your world, it did."
"Worlds are similar in structure, but their laws differ. That's normal."
"I understand," Lucy nodded. "In this world, I can't manipulate time."
"Correct. The laws here haven't acknowledged you," Morin said. "But object manipulation still works."
"Your cells-your existence-already possess that capability."
"So no matter which world you enter, you can do things like this."
He gestured lightly.
"The clothes you're wearing, for example."
He paused.
"Where were we?"
"The Isu bloodline," Lucy answered.
"Right." Morin continued. "Because the Isu look identical to humans, their descendants blend in perfectly."
"But power ensures they can never truly be ordinary."
"After the discovery of a divine artifact called the Loom of Fate, they formed the Assassin Brotherhood."
"The Loom's function is to reveal, via binary code woven into cloth, the names of those who must be killed."
"How was it discovered?" Lucy asked. "And letting a loom decide who dies?"
"Good question," Morin said. "I don't know either."
"If you ask-"
"It's just the setting."
He shrugged.