Chapter 160: The Puzzle is Complete

Chapter 160 The Puzzle Completed

Killing a Chosen?

Meng Siyou was startled by Ursule's conjecture.

Did the Luminous Sea actually plan to defiantly sacrifice a devout and accomplished Chosen in full view of everyone?

Apart from the Luminous Sea itself remaining hidden, how was this any different from directly slapping the Nature Sculptor in the face?

Just as Meng Siyou was reeling from the audacity and cunning of this schemer, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and rested on his shoulder.

Even through his clothes, he could feel the icy touch of that hand, like some cold-blooded creature covered in hard scales. His body froze instantly.

The next moment, the Prophet’s slightly curious voice sounded from above his head: "What are you looking at?"

Meng Siyou stiffened, glancing at the Book of Fate still open before him, and thought:

No way, can the Prophet see this item book too?

Meng Siyou had always assumed these words existed only in the depths of his consciousness, visible only to him and Ursule. As a result, he had never been cautious, boldly opening the Book everywhere. He never expected to be caught off guard by the Prophet...

For a virtual NPC in this instance, even if this one was connected to the True God of Fate in reality, wasn’t this just breaking the rules too much?

His thoughts paused, and Meng Siyou’s face grew even more ashen—oh no, Ursule had specifically warned him not to expose his presence in front of the Prophet!

Taking advantage of the height difference between an adult and a child, the Prophet’s hand swept over Meng Siyou’s head, his fingertips hovering just above the surface of the Book of Fate. He mused with interest, "A very interesting concept."

Then, the Prophet’s fingers tightened, as if gripping an invisible page or spine, and he pulled the Book of Fate straight out of the void!

Meng Siyou’s mouth fell open in shock, unconsciously forming a silent "ah."

...Wait?

So the Book of Fate actually had a physical form?

While he was still stunned, the Prophet had already begun flipping through the pages, his index finger occasionally tapping lightly on a passage, like a meticulous critic deep in thought.

Two small snakes slithered out from under his cloak, circling the Book of Fate curiously, their tongues flicking. The pristine paper and light golden print faintly reflected in their intricate silver-white scales.

The contents of the Book of Fate weren’t long, and the Prophet quickly read through it from start to finish. He then turned to Meng Siyou thoughtfully and asked, "Who gave you this book?"

The Fate Domain was in decline, and high-ranking individuals with the authority to extract the threads of fate from people within a certain range and compile them into an "interactive novel" with constantly updating plotlines were rare.

In the Prophet’s mind, the figures of several former adversaries surfaced one by one, only to be crossed out in succession.

None of these "old friends" seemed like the type to pull such a stunt on other players.

If he had to guess, the creator of this book most resembled—the Prophet himself.

Like something he might have made in a moment of inspiration.

The Prophet stared thoughtfully into Meng Siyou’s eyes, as if he could peer through them, past the awe and fear reflected there, and lock gazes with another presence deep within Meng Siyou’s mind.

Meng Siyou hesitated, unable to provide an answer. He was almost worried that if Ursule and the Prophet at this point in time were adversaries, it might trigger an immediate battle.

Fortunately, the Prophet didn’t push the matter.

He ran his hand over the Book of Fate, following its format to add a new chapter, then placed the Book of Fate back into the void before Meng Siyou’s eyes.

The Prophet casually patted Meng Siyou’s head. "This book is very interesting—I think, no matter who its creator is, they’d find much in common with me."

"Though it’s a shame they don’t seem to want to appear before me right now."

Meng Siyou hesitated, watching as the Prophet’s figure disappeared down the corridor.

He thought to himself that the one in his mind might not share that sentiment.

Sure enough, within seconds, Meng Siyou heard Ursule let out a quiet scoff.

His tone didn’t sound particularly pleased, nor did it seem overly resistant—as if the Prophet’s remark about "getting along" was just a meaningless, trivial topic.

Well, Meng Siyou shook his head inwardly.

The relationships between higher beings were too complex for him to decipher. He’d better focus on studying this instance.

Meng Siyou flipped through the Book of Fate and discovered that the Prophet had added a side chapter after "Chapter 2: The Past of the Shadowed Forest," titled "Illusion of Love."

"People often mistake the self-immolating passion of burning themselves as 'love'..."

The side chapter then recounted, from the old duke’s perspective, the group’s encounter with the Luminous Sea in the forest.

Old John’s and the duke’s narratives complemented each other, like two scattered puzzle pieces finally fitting together. Through this, Meng Siyou learned the complete truth of what had happened back then—

The Luminous Sea’s true identity was none other than the rumored long-deceased duchess, the "mother" of Isildur and Ernos, Hekate!

From this, it seemed the two children created by the Luminous Sea were also integral components of her plan... Ernos, whom she had spent more time carefully "crafting," was likely especially key.

What had Hekate done to her daughter’s body or soul?

What exactly was different about Ernos?

Countless questions flooded Meng Siyou’s mind. Even the next day, while accompanying Ernos to her lessons, he was still pondering them.

His mind wandered the entire time, preoccupied with one thought: With only two days left until the Harvest Season, what else would the Luminous Sea do? Would she act against her own children?

So when Ernos fixed her violet, iris-colored eyes on him and suddenly spoke, Meng Siyou jolted in surprise.

"How did you do it?"

Meng Siyou didn’t understand what she meant and blinked blankly. "Do what?"

"How did you do it—cause so many changes in this 'nightmare' cycle?"

Ernos repeated patiently, ticking off on her fingers: "In the past 246 nightmares, not a single player ever made the future Lord of Fate stay. No one ever changed the outcome of my brother’s steady spiral into madness."

"Eighty of those players couldn’t even awaken their self-awareness. They drifted mindlessly, accepting the identities this world assigned them, and perished in the flames."

"Another fifty-six players partially discovered the existence of the 'Eyes,' only to be inevitably corrupted by her and become one of the 'Eyes' themselves..."

For a moment, Meng Siyou’s mind went blank. He went rigid and blurted out in shock, "How do you know—"

She knew about the dungeon and the players?

She even had memories of all the previous iterations of this dungeon...

Which meant that from the moment Meng Siyou still believed he was "Meng Na," Ernos had been quietly monitoring every move the players made?

"Because this world is my dream."

Ernos replied calmly, pausing briefly before adding, "You could say it's 'me.' To be precise, I am Them, but They are not me..."

"I am merely Their reflection in the nightmare, a fragment of Their memories and self."

Throughout, Ernos's tone remained flat as still water, as if she were recounting someone else's experience.

Meng Siyou could be certain that Ernos bore him no ill will at the moment, so he steadied himself quickly, his thoughts flowing once more.

It was precisely because he had dirtied the false god's painting that he had been cast here by Their power. Naturally, he had paid attention to—and speculated about—the painted reflection, this realm's creator.

He had known before that the painted reflection was undoubtedly a direct witness to this history, but as for Their identity, Meng Siyou had been unable to confirm it for some time.

Of all the figures in the dungeon, the one most closely tied to painting was Ernos. Moreover, players' assumed identities upon arriving at the manor were also connected to her...

All signs pointed clearly in one direction, yet Meng Siyou still couldn't find any substantial evidence. At times, he had even been misled by Ernos's highly deceptive appearance.

After all, looking at this quiet child of about ten years old, it was hard to imagine that she was the childhood incarnation of a false god...

Then, Meng Siyou also recalled that Wu Suer had once revealed to him that the painted reflection was called "the painter who stole the glory of the gods"!

In history, was it at the age of eleven that Ernos was forcibly pushed to a higher rank by the hand manipulating events from the shadows?

The moment this speculation formed, it was confirmed by the Book of Fate.

Illusory pages of fate fluttered in midair, and Wu Suer's voice echoed in Meng Siyou's mind, intoned new verses like sacred poetry—

"On the burning Harvest Season, amidst the wails of thousands of subjects in the territory, the young child miraculously stole the power of the Nature Sculptor and attained divinity."

"Blasted grain stalks, charred corpses, and the embers of houses—these macabre remains fused and solidified together, forging the reflection's crown... a beautiful crown that symbolized mystery and power, yet also condensed despair and pain."

Meeting Ernos's eerily calm eyes, Meng Siyou couldn't help but wonder:

Was this power, obtained through death, deceit, and destruction, a burden Ernos chose to bear?

From the perspective of the mystical world, this girl had leapt to divine status in one bound, achieving a great leap in her life's hierarchy at a tender and ignorant age, reaching an endpoint countless Ability users struggled in vain to attain.

But in reality, Meng Siyou seemed to see only a puppet without will—shaped, decorated, and gilded by human hands, yet merely rendered a more valuable tool.

Wu Suer remarked with caustic wit, "The ornament's thoughts don't matter. It only needs to be exquisitely displayed in a glass cabinet, testament to its owner's might."

"Hekate sought to artificially create a near-divine existence entirely under her control, a puppet-god at her command."

"..."

Hekate dared to scheme for a god's scepter and was confident in controlling a false god...

Did an even greater plot and force lurk behind her?

Meng Siyou had absorbed too much information at once and needed a moment to process before asking Ernos, "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because you seem different from the previous players. You've accomplished many things they couldn't."

Ernos displayed unfailing patience and asked again, "How did you do it?"

After a moment's hesitation, Meng Siyou alluded carefully to Wu Suer's presence: "Actually, I've been fortunate to receive the favor of a High-level ability user from the Fate Domain, gaining his gifts and assistance..."

Otherwise, he would've died the moment he faced the fluorescent sea!

No, it might have been even earlier—"Meng Na" would have been thrown from the carriage by Ernos...

Ernos showed dawning comprehension. "So you're a follower of Fate? No wonder the prophet took notice of you, and no wonder you have the power to change all this."

Hearing a cold laugh in his mind, Meng Siyou hesitated again.

How could he clarify that the being sheltering him now wasn't the Narrator, but rather the prophet—who seemed to hold conflicted, near-obsessive regard toward Them?

After much deliberation, Meng Siyou could only choose to remain silent, allowing her to retain this misunderstanding for the time being.

Before parting ways with Ernos, he couldn't resist asking the question that had burned in him so long: "May I ask why you tried to kill me on the carriage back then?"

"Every player who comes here faces only three fates: either perish in panic amidst the flames, be assimilated into the 'Eyes,' or forget their identity and remain trapped in the nightmare, reliving it over and over."

Ernos smiled faintly, a smile that froze Meng Siyou's blood. "To hasten the end of each nightmare—both 'my' nightmare and yours—I usually end you beforehand, letting you leave before enduring torment worse than death."

Meng Siyou twitched his lips. He had realized that Ernos bore no subjective malice toward players, but this was rooted in her warped worldview.

She seemed to possess a self-annihilating streak and believed that destroying others was a path to salvation...

"So, have you given up on killing me now?" Meng Siyou asked.

Ernos shook her head slowly. "No matter how many times it repeats, the fire will always arrive as promised—before you perish in the flames, I will kill you myself. With Fate's favor, you may still have hope of rebirth beyond this nightmare."

"I don’t wish for more souls to be tempered into jewels by fire, adorning my crown... It is already heavy enough."