You are the "Great Serpent" of the Wheel of Fortune pathway, Sequence 1, while my "Pure White Eye" holds the uniqueness of the Wheel of Fortune behind it…
Such a combination, according to the aggregation effect, indeed had a high chance of attracting the "Ouroboros."
But I didn't sense any danger, and besides…
"Since you chose to meet me, that means the problem isn't too serious," Ebner said with a smile.
"Let's just say your luck is good. That 'Fool' happened to touch that dumb snake's mural, so its attention was briefly diverted." The infantile Will Auceptin let out an "hmm" before continuing, "What did you come to me for? Speak directly, our time is limited."
Ouroboros's mural? Klein should have already run into Anderson by now, right? Ebner nodded thoughtfully, then carefully asked:
"Do you have a way to observe Ouroboros's 'River of Fate'?"
Will Auceptin sneered:
"Forget it. The Great Serpent's river of fate loops back into itself, outsiders can hardly interfere. With your current level, it's impossible!
"Even if you controlled the uniqueness, you couldn't… not to mention, you can barely make use of it now.
"If you want to better play the role of a 'Prophet,' the best option is to make use of the Wheel of Fortune uniqueness, manifesting different tributaries of fate and letting others choose for themselves… Heh, that idea came from you in the past."
Manifest… in the past me? So one of my past lives really did have interactions with this little snake… no wonder it had given me hints before, saying it was helping a "friend."
With that thought, Ebner said aloud: "That could also leave imprints of the uniqueness elsewhere, distracting Ouroboros, right?"
At this, the infant Will answered lightly:
"Isn't that exactly what you need? Heh, while I can't observe your fate directly, I can infer your intentions from the changes in the fate of those around you."
"Also, you guessed right. I've been playing hide-and-seek with that dumb snake for a long time. It's not good at such things. You can tell—it had no childhood. Every restart, it grew beside the 'True Creator,' lacking the experiences of different psychological stages. That's why it sometimes goes mad, though it doesn't care.
"So long as you occasionally use the Wheel of Fortune uniqueness to role-play in other cities, even other countries, it will definitely confuse Ouroboros's judgment. It'll soon leave Backlund again and again."
So Xio and Fors are both under your observation, and you inferred my plan to hunt Mr. X from their fate trajectories? Having gotten the answer he wanted, Ebner didn't pursue that topic further, but instead asked:
"Do you know a woman named Filina Audis?"
Inside the pram, Will Auceptin showed a look of realization and asked back:
"You tried to examine her two days ago?"
"You know? Was it you who made her suddenly so lucky?" Ebner froze for two seconds and asked in return.
He felt a bit annoyed—after all, the "Snake of Mercury's" attitude showed that it had long known of Filina's peculiarity and must have understood the experiment eleven years ago. If he had just asked directly, he wouldn't have needed such a roundabout path.
Will Auceptin chuckled:
"Actually, she should be called Filina King. She is Roy King's illegitimate daughter, and technically part of our 'School of Life'…
"Well, only nominally… Strictly speaking, like the other four similar girls, she's actually a child of the one on the moon.
"Her earthly mother, Roy King's lover, became inexplicably pregnant after seeing the blood moon, and within a month, gave birth to her… but her mother died as a result.
"Fortunately, for secrecy's sake, that one did not let the child be born carrying any power… otherwise, being a vessel for that one's offspring, a normal death would be a luxury.
"After the ritual eleven years ago, Filina developed some traits polluted by source quality… under special conditions, she can instill knowledge into her spouse, altering fate.
"Originally, this trait was hard to control, the knowledge transferred couldn't be chosen, and the fate it led to was almost always a tragic end… but I made some adjustments for her, and with the aid of a sealed artifact, turned it partially controllable.
"As long as the recipient of the 'knowledge' doesn't use it to overly interfere with others' fates, there won't be a problem…"
Roy King—I recall he was "Fat Pharmacist" Darkwill's teacher… so he should've been a demigod, and Filina is his "daughter"…
And what does it even mean, not using knowledge to interfere with others' fates? Once an ordinary person is given knowledge, they'll definitely use it, and interfering with others' fate becomes inevitable… This is just converting an immediate death sentence into a suspended one, without reduction!
Unless the one receiving knowledge attains enlightenment and becomes a "Hermit" in practice.
As Ebner silently mocked in his heart, Will continued:
"As for the 'luck' surrounding Filina, yes, I did intervene… but that wasn't originally for you.
"You know Pallez Zoroast's condition isn't right—he's parasitizing a 'Red Glove,' that 'Fool's' colleague.
"And that fellow, while investigating Sherlock Moriarty, actually broke into my house at night and interrogated my father.
"I noticed his problem, gave him a brief bout of misfortune, and coincidentally let him discover Filina's peculiarity, so he'd go investigate her extreme 'luck' and suffer a little…
"Of course, amplifying Filina's 'luck' was also to confuse Ouroboros's perception, to draw its attention and let it clash with Pallez.
"But since you came to me directly, that move became unnecessary… and you even ruined it early… The 'luck' I gave Filina probably all got used up in avoiding you!"
Ha, I knew it! No wonder she fled overnight… It was your doing after all! Ebner sighed, then thought for a moment before asking again:
"The ritual eleven years ago—what exactly was…"
Before he could finish, Will Auceptin suddenly opened his mouth and let out:
"Waaah!"
He began crying like a real infant.
So… saying it would break some taboo? Ebner froze slightly, then changed his question: "Let me rephrase. The ritual eleven years ago, who were the participants behind the scenes?"
Will immediately stopped crying and smiled:
"The biggest schemer behind it was, of course, you!"
He paused, then added:
"But on the surface, the leader was the already deceased Roselle, and those acting under his orders—Amon and certain members of the Secret Order.
"In addition, the one on the moon, the Mother Tree of Desire, the Hidden Sage, the True Creator, and I all invested a certain degree of attention…
"As for whether there were others, I don't know."
So the biggest hand behind it really was me? Or rather, me as the "Calamity Seal"? With so many beings focused on that ritual, its purpose couldn't have been just to seal the "Fallen Mother's" brand in five girls, could it?
What was "I" planning?
Ebner stayed silent for a long moment, feeling that the "Calamity Seal" truly deserved its title as a top-class schemer—almost every butterfly effect in this world had its shadow.
After a moment's thought, Ebner put on a smile and asked again: "I want to explore the ruins beneath the Fragrant Manor in Bayam. Do you have any advice?"
"Yes! Remember to bring that 'Solomon gold coin'…
"And if possible, also bring along the slate that Azik has."
At this, Will Auceptin suddenly laughed gleefully and added:
"Also, before your exploration, you'd better visit the Harvest Church."
What… I already planned to go to the Harvest Church… but why are you smiling so slyly?
Sensing their time was nearly up, Ebner didn't dwell on the slate and coin, but quickly asked his final question:
"What exactly is your relationship with the past me?"
At this, Will fell silent—silent for a full thirty seconds—before replying:
"Once, you were my teacher…
"And once, I was your teacher."
After all that silence, just this? Nearly scared me… I thought you were going to say you'd met me when you restarted as a girl!
After all, unlike Ouroboros who had no childhood, this little snake made each restart different to maintain stable psychology—becoming a girl wasn't impossible.
(End of chapter)