Grape Collar, some dark cellar.
"Lord Crimson hasn't returned. He died in the past."
In the flickering candlelight, the aging priest reported in a soft voice. "Even the Lord Demon could not come out unscathed. It seems the destruction of that church was an inscrutable part of fate…"
"His sacrifice was not entirely in vain."
Another elderly voice answered from the communication crystal. "The Demon Lords only act out of temptation, and Lord Crimson was one of the most cautious among them. He deliberately ventured into the church before its destruction, surely discovering something profitable… Perhaps the 'mission target' that all Demons seek."
"In that case, we are one step closer to the Chosen One."
The old priest made a devout circle over his chest. "Two full prophecies. He is definitely a precious candidate in the eyes of God and must be brought back to serve."
Even the current Pope had never received such long prophecies, let alone two. As long as this lost lamb was willing to return to the embrace of God, the entire Eternal Church would be willing to bow to him.
"Regarding the second prophecy…" The voice on the other side paused meaningfully.
"I only told Lord Crimson a part of it," the old priest said.
"Very good," the voice on the other end replied calmly. "Someone will take his place."
"Yes, may everything be eternal." The old priest bowed his head in the darkness.
"By the way…"
Just as the call was about to end, the voice on the other side began again. "The case of 'Time Reversion' being stolen, you don't need to investigate it any further."
"Our people have heard that the Drifting Mercenaries are likely involved. And the Golden Sword of the Alva Merchant Group has intervened. Digging too deep will only lead to disaster."
Hearing about the Drifting Mercenaries, the old priest's expression contorted slightly. Even though he enjoyed seeing the Temple of Life ridiculed, the renegade Pope showed no mercy to the Eternal Church, killing every Eternalist.
The Golden Sword of the Alva Merchant Group was also a troublesome figure.
Unless Enbilly himself was willing, no one could pry information from this Golden Sword. He had a very intimidating talent, able to grasp all the details of specific events and "monopolize the truth" to some extent.
Lord Crimson had foolishly tried to take out the Golden Sword. There had been hundreds, if not thousands, who had tried to assassinate Enbilly, and none had met a good end. Now, with Lord Crimson also dead, it might well be some curse.
"Thank you for your reminder. I am aware of the situation," the old priest said. "Until I receive new revelations, I will keep an eye on 'Paradise'. The appearance of Paradise, the Mad Monk's submission, and the return of the Chosen One—this cannot be a mere coincidence."
"Yes, but the priority should be finding the chosen one."
"We will surely bring him before God."
The old priest tightly held a scroll in his hands. The ink on the paper formed two brief sentences. These were prophecies belonging to the Chosen One—the real, complete prophecies.
[Following the river of fate, returning to the land of ashes. Walking through the chaotic times and corpses of Demons—the darkness in his soul remains.]
[His hands can slay everything, and he will follow the God of his choice.]
...
The Dark Forest, the Lost Tower.
Nol and Teest squeezed in front of Lynn's magic screen, watching the "surveillance footage" displayed.
"It's Anakin and Eugene, the captain of the Investigation Knights," Nol said. "The Temple of Life arrived too soon."
"There are only two of them!" Teest remarked with a tone of regret that was somewhat chilling.
Lynn, seated on a makeshift office chair, manipulated her magic controller that displayed multiple angles of the two visitors. To Nol, the controller embedded with a small crystal ball eerily resembled a mouse. "I see no ambush," Lynn said, scrolling with the crystal ball. "It seems to be just the two of them."
"I'll go get ready. Now's not the time for a clash with the Temple of Life." Nol rubbed his temples.
Lynn patted her cheek. "Are you serious?"
"Huh?"
With a weary tone, Lynn said, "Mr. Xu, if you were to meet the boss of a potential partner company, would you think it formal if he just shouted from downstairs with a megaphone? …Would you even consider it a legitimate company?"
"Ah…" Realization dawned on Nol.
"To meet with a leader, making an appointment is the least you can do," Witch Lynn said strictly. "And they only brought two people. Even if it's to show 'we come in peace', that's too few. It's impolite."
"You think this is a probe. Coincidentally, I think so too," Teest chimed in with crossed arms. "It's a wonder hearing such analysis from a naïve puppet witch. The world truly is full of surprises."
"We're all in the hall trying to save Piel anyway. How about setting another time for them to visit?" Lynn snorted, ignoring Teest's remark. Being a resident of a civilized society, she wasn't comfortable communicating with a murderer. It was one thing to deal with the natives, but Teest was different. Every time she looked into his eyes, she felt a chill run down her spine. She wondered how Nol managed to work with someone like that.
Nol was busy planning the time. It took a while before he responded, "It'll take about two days for Piel to recover. Everyone else needs some prep time too. How about three days from now?"
Lynn responded, "Sounds good, but we need a suitable way to reply…"
Nol smiled, picking up a spare puppet from Lynn's table. "Can I borrow this?"
At the forest's edge.
Anakin mentally cursed Eugene a thousand times. She had to exert a great deal of effort navigating through powerful players, securing the "contact quota" with the Lost Tower.
She had upgraded from a mere white priest to the first "Flawless" in the world of Tahe. Her younger brother, Solo, was on a transfer mission and couldn't accompany her. Anakin had a perfect plan to meet Nol, exchange some recent intel, and get new tasks. This way, she could claim to the players that she's "gaining Nol's trust", with the new tasks as proof. Eventually, she could have free access to the Lost Tower. However, she was intercepted by Eugene.
Eugene wanted to represent the Temple of Life and needed a strong healer. Anakin and Solo were completing a mission in the Black Forest when Paradise appeared in the world, so he probably had some suspicions.
Cursing her luck, Anakin couldn't figure out his intentions.
Anakin gave a sidelong glance at Eugene, who wore an annoyingly polite smile on his face. She couldn't decipher what this young captain of the knight's order was thinking.
Indeed, Eugene was young and handsome, but he stood in the way of her path to become stronger. To Anakin, he looked utterly detestable.
"I am devoted to the goddess," Eugene said when Anakin glanced at him a second time. "She once cooperated with the treacherous Eternal Son to resist the Demon King's corruption. For her benevolence, we would never act in petty or narrow-minded ways."
"Why tell me this? I don't control you," Anakin replied, her tone soft but words sharp. "Weren't you the ones saying that the monsters were the doing of the Eternal Church? You change your narrative so easily."
"Kind lies are necessary. Sometimes, so is righteous killing," Eugene replied, his green eyes turning toward her. "For the goddess' will, some truths are destined to be buried. Please understand."
She didn't want to understand. Anakin, a staunch atheist, couldn't tolerate such talk and ignored him.
Thankfully, Paradise acted before the awkwardness lingered too long. About ten minutes after Eugene's call, the ground trembled. Birds flew out from the forest canopy like dust shaken off. Not far from them, the ground heaved, and a creature, formed of roots and bones resembling a giant serpent, emerged. Its eye sockets alone were taller than a person.
The serpent rose and bowed slightly, filling the air with the damp scent of earth. Opening its mouth slightly, a deep voice emanated—
"Although we are a monster alliance, we understand human etiquette. Is this the attitude of the Temple of Life, knight?"
The serpent shifted uneasily, sending clumps of dirt the size of fists falling to the ground.
"Please don't misunderstand."
Eugene performed a knight's salute and responded calmly, "I am here today just to request an audience. Whether to meet or not and the meeting time, of course, is for the Master of Paradise to decide. If we are fortunate enough to meet the Master of Paradise, we will naturally arrange the highest-level representatives and gifts."
"Even when dealing with a king, the Temple would only send a regular messenger to set the time. Now, just for an inquiry, the Temple has dispatched me, the captain of the knights, which shows the sincerity of the Temple."
'You're quite good at pretending,' Anakin thought while her face contorted for a moment. She had no doubt that if the door was opened, this guy would walk right in.
The giant serpent looked Eugene up and down with its hollow eyes. "I see. The Master of Paradise can meet you in three days. Please wait here at sunset."
"I will keep the kindness of Paradise in my heart. Please convey my greetings to the Master of Paradise." Eugene bowed deeply again, his young and handsome face filled with smiles.
The remains of the giant serpent nodded and scattered on the spot, forming a small hill. Its massive head rested at the top of the pile, becoming a natural landmark.
"Three days." Eugene narrowed his eyes at the giant head.
"Three days should be enough for you to prepare. Please find another healer by then," Anakin bluntly replied. "I have other arrangements in the next few days."
Eugene nodded. "It's a pity. You are currently the most powerful healer in Grape Collar."
'…So he'll be part of the delegation in three days,' Anakin thought.
That was odd. Usually, such negotiations would be led by a bishop. They would bring along church knights, rarely involving Investigation Knights, let alone the captain of the Investigation Knights.
Seeing Anakin silent, Eugene moved forward a few steps and untied the horse he had secured beforehand.
"As you can see, I'm not really suited for this kind of task. Those creatures have been wreaking havoc on the land bestowed by the goddess. I admit, I don't have any fondness for them."
He caressed the neatly groomed mane of the horse, white strands adorned with beads polished from emeralds and peridots, resembling sprouts sprinkled in between.
When the horse bowed its head obediently, Eugene turned around, looking at Anakin's complicated gaze. "But I carry a prophecy full of expectations. I won't let the Goddess down."
Anakin frowned.
…Eugene isn't a servant of God, but a Chosen One.
"As I said earlier, you don't need to tell me this. We're not working together," Anakin responded dryly.
Knight Eugene wasn't the type to mindlessly show off, which made Anakin's intuition raise alarms.
"The Goddess said, 'I will behead the false god with the sword of faith.'"
Eugene continued calmly, "The prophecy is absolute. No matter what forces emerge or disturbances arise, the Goddess is destined to win. I hope you and the Saints will remember this."
Anakin stood there completely stunned.
...
Nol stretched his neck.
"Once they leave, I'll retrieve the puppet from the snake's mouth."
To achieve the fantastical effect of the giant serpent speaking, Nol stuffed a puppet into its mouth that could transmit sound. He used magic to alter his voice, pretending to be the temporary receptionist of the Paradise Company.
Once he approached it with the mindset of creating dialogue for a script, Nol realized he had quite the knack for acting.
Having scheduled the meeting time, he suddenly felt the relief of having "three extra statutory holidays". His mood improved substantially. Even Teest, whom he normally found pleasant, seemed even more so—well, he would have been if not for that smug, mysterious grin plastered on his face.
"Why are you smiling?" Nol couldn't help but ask as they left Lynn's room.
"Well, they've arranged a private room for us on the first floor. The one prepared for you is especially large. They said you can decorate it however you like."
Teest moved in front of Nol, walking backward with his hands behind his back. "You've been busy saving the child, while I had nothing to do, so I went ahead and decorated it—I just finished."
"I could've done that myself."
"No, I like that big room," Teest said. "So I've decided to move in. I've already notified them."
"I see." Nol paused momentarily. That made sense; they still had the distance limitation imposed by the [Betrayal Overture]. This arrangement was quite good. Yes, he definitely didn't have any ulterior motives.
When they reached the door, Teest gleefully swung it open. "Take a look—"
Objectively, it was a fantastic room. A lush green view from a massive window, the overall ambiance was delightful. But before Nol could appreciate it, his eyes were immediately drawn to a piece of furniture at the edge of the room.
It was a huge double bed.
Nol: "…"
Nol: "…One bed?"
To date, their neighbors thought of them merely as teammates, or at most, friends. It wasn't uncommon for them to share a bed when they were out, but given the spacious room here, for Teest to have arranged it this way…
Nol stood at the doorway for a long moment, rubbing his slightly warm ears, trying to appear more serious.
"Teest."
He said softly, "Regarding our relationship, we need to have a talk."
The author has something to say:
Nol: We should have one room.
Teest: We should have one bed.
Nol, conceding a point!