Many fortune-telling theories believe that fate is a fixed number, a constant.
All outcomes will lead to the same end point.
Countless lines will also meet at the same node.
Reirfu also held this belief.
Before he became the Bishop of the Ninth District of the Meditation Society, he was an acclaimed diviner.
His many experiences of peering into fate made him a firm believer, and he grew to revere it even more.
If fate was not fixed, it only meant that he had not delved deep enough.
“But what about this situation now?”
“Was it my teacher’s mistake?”
“Or… is this also part of the Secret Sect’s assessment?”
Reirfu furrowed his brows.
He met his mentor before joining the Meditation Society.
Most of his current achievements were thanks to his mentor.
Even though he had never seen his mentor’s true face, it did not hinder his respect and admiration for him.
His mentor’s identity was very mysterious; he came from an ancient Secret Sect.
People within the Secret Sect called themselves “Dream Awakened Ones.”
Reirfu had always hoped to gain his mentor’s approval and join that mysterious Secret Sect.
But despite repeated requests, his mentor always refused him, stating that his soul was still lost.
He was disappointed every time, but he gradually got used to it.
However, just a few days ago, after the academy puppet incident was exposed, his mentor actually said he could join the sect.
The prerequisite was—【to create a “Theocracy” relic of his own】.
Relics. In the circle, they were called cursed objects, and most people in the circle knew what they were.
But the Secret Sect actually had a stable method for creating relics!
Not only that, the Secret Sect also categorized relics into three types— “Theocracy,” “Person of the Principle,” and “material.”
His mentor told him that the Secret Sect was also divided into three factions, corresponding to the classification of relics, and they each pursued their own doctrines and beliefs.
His mentor belonged to the Theocracy faction.
“Theocracy” represents fate, prophecy, commandments, and omens; it is transcendental and revelatory.
“Person of the Principle” represents consciousness, perception, reason, and reproduction; it is cognitive and social.
“material,” on the other hand, represents movement, mass, medium, carrier, and shape; it is existential and objective.
Even if the world is an illusion, truth remains eternal.
Reirfu stroked his chin and murmured:
“My teacher told me before he left to be careful of people from the ‘Person of the Principle’ faction.”
“They are all a bunch of lunatics who like to toy with their own memories and souls, reveling in deceiving the world, deceiving fate, deceiving themselves…”
“The incident of puppets replacing living people was done by people from ‘Person of the Principle’… The person in charge might have even turned himself into a puppet…”
“Could my coin have been affected by this incident?”
“I remember the Night Crow Sister’s report stated that the monster successfully escaped…”
Reirfu pondered for a long time, until the “shasha” sound ended, and he suddenly looked up.
The reason the gray quill stopped writing, without exception, was that the coin holder had fallen into a deep sleep.
Reirfu put away the paper and spread out another blank sheet.
He picked up the quill, sat on the chair, and began to rack his brain.
This pen was a relic given to him by his teacher, called the “Witness's Pen.”
It could anchor several objects, witnessing and recording the experiences of the owners of those objects.
The cost, however, was that after operating for a period of time, he must use it to write a satisfying, spicy, gossipy short story. The only specified requirement for the story was that it must be from your own perspective as the protagonist.
If he couldn’t do it, it would forcibly rewrite some of his fate.
And the longer the delay, the more absurd and dangerous the deviation from fate would be.
“Sigh… I’m a respectable Bishop, where would I have so many gossipy stories…”
“Oh, I know… I’ll write about the Governing Madam and the Governing Madam, each having a secret rendezvous at the same hotel.
“When they were in their joyous moments, they were separated by only a wall, yet neither knew of the other, and they even competed in endurance based on the sounds from next door…
“But who should I substitute myself for?”
Reirfu scratched his head for a while, finally making up his mind:
“I’ve already written about the Governing Madam and that man. This time… I’ll substitute myself for the Governing Madam…”
“Shashasha…”
The sound of writing in the room resumed.
From initial hesitations and pauses, to later smooth and fluent strokes.
........
In the early morning, the rain had stopped.
Li Andy’s biological clock prompted him to open his eyes precisely.
Sunlight, dappled through the curtains, quietly spilled onto the bed.
He unconsciously moved his two arms, only to find them pinned, and the sensation was like being buried in smooth jelly.
Youxi on his left slept peacefully, but Sophia on his right frowned slightly, and as his arm stirred, she unconsciously murmured incomprehensible nonsense like “Andy slow down” and “Youxi not there.”
Li Andy’s lips curved into a smile, he animated the quilt, making it wrap the three of them closer, then lazily enjoyed his time in bed while feeling his own changes.
He wondered if it was because he had been with the two girls for so long, but Li Andy could faintly sense the coordinates of their shadows, similar to Molly’s soul thread.
Li Andy slowly closed his eyes, and the next second, his shadow, like spilled ink, instantly spread to engulf the entire room.
In an instant, day turned into night again.
This was the current limit of his shadow extension without the aid of light.
“I wonder to what extent I can develop this…”
“Can I achieve Sister Anna’s shadow teleportation?”
“Sigh, if only I had a system or an instruction manual…”
Li Andy reopened his eyes, and the darkness in the room quickly receded.
He sensed someone in the corridor outside the door; it was Susan, who had already woken up, pacing outside the door, hesitating whether to knock.
“Tsk, how rude, so impatient first thing in the morning, no wonder she has no friends…”
Li Andy reluctantly got up, put on his clothes and pants, and opened the door.
Susan in the corridor paused, then immediately said:
“I’ve recovered almost completely, can we talk about the commission now?”
Li Andy gave her a speechless glance, just about to speak, when a knock came from downstairs.
“Miss Susan! Are you here? I’m Hank from logistics, the director has urgently summoned you back!”