Chapter 404: I

Thud!

A heavy knock echoed from the Keeper’s demiplane, followed by a low, strained growl.

“Herbert!”

The Ash Bishop, sprawled on the ground, gritted his teeth and pounded the floor with all his strength.

“Damn! Damn! Damn!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Rustle.

Aphrodia sharply yanked back her hood and shook her long purple hair violently.

Every strand of her hair floated against gravity, like countless violet serpents hissing in silent fury.

“...Tch!”

She bit her lip hard, face flushed with humiliation, eyes brimming with resentment.

I lost.

This time, I lost completely.

Herbert, you’ve made me lose so utterly!

She never imagined she’d be dragged into Herbert’s trial.

This isn’t right!

I was supposed to test him—how did it become him testing me!?

“No! How is he completely unaffected!?”

“Why isn’t Herbert affected at all!?”

As Aphrodia originally told Herbert, the legendary potion’s power was to make the drinker forget everything upon entering the mental realm, utterly unaware they’d been hypnotized.

But she never expected Herbert, who drank it, to remain unharmed—while she suffered the consequences.

Because Aphrodia herself had once consumed [Silence and Noise], even as a Shi Shi, she sank deeper than anyone else.

Not only did she fail to sense the anomaly, she forgot a thousand years of memories, completely manipulated by Herbert’s hands.

Though this mishap was mostly due to her carelessness—if she’d prepared properly, she wouldn’t have been drawn into the illusion—yet from the outcome, no excuses mattered: she had been thoroughly toyed with.

Lost badly.

Since no outsiders were present, Aphrodia lay half-collapsed on the ground, muttering complaints under her breath.

“Herbert, are you even human? You said I hurt you!”

“How can you even say that?”

Are you still a Holy Knight? Do you still possess the dignity of a Holy Knight? Do you still have the moral boundary of a Holy Knight!?

Aphrodia erupted in fury, her angry accusations echoing through the entire space.

“Damn! Damn—”

After raging helplessly for a long while, her emotions gradually calmed.

She looked at the books scattered across the floor, trembling as if shivering, then down at her own disheveled state, her lips twitching involuntarily.

“This is really humiliating… Pfft, hah!”

She smiled helplessly, shaking her head in disbelief. “This guy dared to perform like that without knowing a thing.”

Recalling their conversation, Aphrodia suddenly realized the flaw in Herbert’s words—he’d been playing the con artist, successfully extracting a wealth of information from her.

“This kid… how many women has he secretly tricked?”

She muttered bitterly, certain from his smooth, casual demeanor that he’d pulled this trick on others many times.

Yes!

Scumbag!

Playboy!

“Huh…”

After grumbling for a while longer, she exhaled slowly and slumped like a discarded serpent, utterly limp on the ground.

“Herbert… he’s quite an interesting fellow.”

Though she’d been deceived, she had to admit—he was truly unique and fascinating.

“He wasn’t fooled by the illusion at all—no, not just unfooled, he was controlling the situation.”

“Not just me—any other illusions he encounters would likely be easily shattered by him.”

“...Wait, did I forget something?”

Aphrodia mused silently, suddenly sensing something off.

She snapped her gaze toward a tome, reached out, and yanked it— the book fell from the shelf and flew swiftly toward her.

In midair, the book dissolved into runes that settled upon her body, leaving a new mark on one scale of her serpent tail.

The Ash Bishop touched the rune with his fingertip, reading its contents, his brow tightly furrowed.

“Damn…”

Because she herself had once consumed the potion, she hadn’t paid it much mind, hadn’t recalled its details carefully.

But when Aphrodia finally realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

“[Silence and Noise] is the Keeper’s first and most difficult trial; only those who pass it may truly become high-ranking Keepers.”

This information matched her memory closely, but the critical detail lay in a small, overlooked footnote.

“However, the recipe for this legendary potion was not invented by the Keepers—it was simplified from an ancient text.”

“When first discovered, this potion bore another name—[The Glimpse of Fate].”

“It is a divine elixir from the fallen Ancient God, the Goddess of Fate.”

Upon reading this, Aphrodia’s brow clenched tightly.

“It’s the elixir of that Ancient God…”

The [Goddess of Fate] mentioned here was not today’s [Goddess of Fortune], but a far older deity who perished before the Age of Faith.

The current Goddess of Fortune was born from the corpse of the fallen Goddess of Fate.

A new deity—yet not entirely her.

Regardless of other matters, in power alone, the Goddess of Fate was a Gao Jie-tier divine being, wielding the Divine Office of [Fate].

This Fate was not merely the destiny of mortals—she could even interfere with the fates of gods!

Of course, some believed this very power was the true cause of her downfall.

The current Goddess of Fortune, by contrast, barely reached Zhong Jie-tier divine power, her domain reduced to only [Luck] and [Misfortune], affecting only mortals, with negligible influence over gods.

She was utterly outmatched in power.

To worshippers of the gods, she remained an Ancient God from a bygone age.

But to even older entities, the Goddess of Fortune was not their peer—she was a newborn.

Since the Keeper’s potion originated from that ancient Goddess of Fate, it could not possibly be as simple as it appeared.

Though she was certain she’d given Herbert the modified version of [Silence and Noise] left by the Keepers.

But in the world of the transcendent, nothing is surprising.

Especially when it involves the domain of “Fate”—a realm brimming with uncertainty.

Fate is the most elusive thing in this world—just as the Goddess of Fate’s capricious mind.

Aphrodia steadied herself and read the remaining text.

“Once the [Glimpse of Fate] ritual begins, it must continue until a result is obtained—whether success or failure.”

“The stronger one’s own fate, the greater the trial’s difficulty… Hss, trouble!”

Aphrodia sucked in a sharp breath, her expression shifting.

“Wait—if even I’m not the true trial, then what is the real trial for him?”

“Hss!”

After a moment’s thought, Aphrodia’s eyes widened sharply.

“This is bad!”

“Could it be… the Old One!?”

Oh no!

Aphrodia’s spirit trembled— the more she thought, the more certain she became that the Grand Master had appeared in Herbert’s illusion.

Yet for Herbert, the current situation might be even worse than Aphrodia imagined!

…

Herbert felt he had dreamed a long, long dream.

He dreamed he was no longer the helpless orphan, but a noble son born into a frost-laden kingdom.

He had a childhood friend, loving family, a gentle older brother—all the things he’d lacked in reality.

Wealth, status, beauty…

The same soul, yet a radically different life.

In the dream, he forgot all of reality, growing up as a child.

Everything began normally, without incident—the true twist came after he came of age.

After that day, everything changed, unfolding into wild, impossible turns.

He remembered the reality beyond the dream—this sinking illusion became a lucid dream.

Herbert possessed a unique talent in the dream: he could make monster girls become infatuated with him.

So he began interacting with all sorts of monster girls.

Relying on this ability and the wisdom accumulated over two lifetimes, he walked cautiously through this wondrous, fantastical world—joking aside, he was reckless as hell.

After all, this was just a dream; what was there to care about?

Even if he died in the dream, what difference would it make?

It would only mean waking up.

Dragons, mermaids, vampires, elves, demons, devils, angels… all manner of monster girls gathered around him.

After confirming he was truly destined, he began doing things he would never have dared imagine in reality.

He kept courting death, yet somehow never died.

He was both executioner and savior.

To some, he was a madman; to others, a hero.

But none of them knew Herbert did all this without any special purpose—only following his own inner thoughts.

He didn’t care how others saw him, nor did he care about their fates.

Herbert simply wanted to do what he wished.

Since this was a dream, he must begin indulging freely.

In the few short months after waking, Herbert experienced far more thrilling events than in the first half of his dream life—or in the world beyond the dream.

He indulged without restraint.

Then, slowly, he sank into the dream.

Deeper and deeper, deeper and deeper.

He nearly forgot who he was.

The reality beyond the dream had become a distant, distant memory.

So distant… he now felt it belonged to a past life.

And now, the moment of awakening had come.

That truly was a past life.

Upon seeing the face he had nearly forgotten, Herbert felt a heavy hammer strike his skull.

Thud—

The moment he saw that face, he felt strange—unfamiliar.

It felt like encountering someone he knew, but not well.

The feeling was eerie.

It was himself, yet not himself.

Without reason, a sense of emptiness arose within him.

As if he were merely a fleeting bubble, entirely dependent on the reflection in the mirror.

While Herbert remained silent, the reflection in the mirror spoke.

“You finally decided to look at me.”

“Herbert” grinned at Herbert: “You’re no longer pretending you didn’t hear me.”

“Have you had enough? Stop it. Wake up. You have work tomorrow.”

“There are still many cases to handle. You can’t keep sinking like this!”

“You must remember to donate to the orphanage tomorrow. The children are waiting for us.”

“Also, you must clearly reject the match Zhang Jie introduced. I checked her out—she’s not after my handsome face or body, but my savings. I can’t let her drain me dry.”

“Good thing I dodged fast—if I’d gotten close, she might’ve sued me. Well, I’m not afraid of lawsuits, given my background, but it’s still a hassle.”

“Also, tell them to stop setting me up with divorced women with two kids. I really don’t like that.”

In the mental world, Herbert chattered endlessly, while the phantom monster girls remained silent.

In reality, the reflection in the mirror spoke alone, while the man outside stood frozen, mute.

The noisy past. The silent present.

After a long while, Herbert finally let out a long, weary sigh and shook his head.

He looked at his reflection and asked softly: “Who are you? Who am I? Who… are we?”

“Who am I? Hmm?”

“Herbert” blinked, puzzled: “You forgot?”

Herbert stared at him silently, neither nodding nor shaking his head.

Forgot?

He felt he hadn’t forgotten, but the other’s expression suggested otherwise.

“This is troublesome…”

The reflection in the mirror clicked his tongue, muttering irritably: “Fine, I forgot again. I’ll have to explain this all over. Whatever—after all, I chose this myself.”

He convinced himself, raised his head, and said to Herbert: “Who are we? That’s a complicated question.”

“Simply put, I am your real self; you are the dream version of me. We are one, with no distinction between you and I.”

“If you insist on an explanation—do you understand dissociative identity disorder?”

“I am the personality of reality; you are the fabricated personality created to enjoy life in the dream.”

“Our lives have been too bitter. We needed an escape. Since there was no hiding place in reality, we fled into the dream.”

He shrugged, casual: “Nothing more to say. And this isn’t the first time.”

“In the dream, we’ve experienced countless versions—fantasy worlds, xianxia worlds, cyber worlds, h-games… wait, you still don’t remember?”

“Herbert” frowned slightly at Herbert’s calm face, growing impatient: “How much more detail do you need?”

“Do you want me to recount the plotlines from our h-game world?”

Honestly, Herbert felt a flicker of interest at that moment.

Dammit, he kind of wanted to hear.

But hearing his past self describe his own erotic fantasies? That was oddly abstract.

No, it was far too abstract.

So he shook his head, sighing: “Regrettable, but no need. It’s just too weird.”

“True.”

“Herbert” nodded, grimacing: “I don’t have such strange kinks. Besides, this dream’s been great—I like it. Let’s pick it up again next time we sleep…”

“Wait, stop for a moment.”

Herbert raised his hand, interrupting: “You don’t need to say more. I understand everything.”

“Herbert” paused, unfazed by his blunt tone, and nodded: “Since you understand, wake up now. Sleeping too long tires you. Find a memory anchor, then get up and wash up…”

Snap!

“Alright, let’s cut to the conclusion.”

Herbert clapped his hands sharply, shook his head at his reflection, and whispered: “I am not you. You are not me. I have never had a second personality.”

He smiled faintly at the reflection, blinked: “You… are the illusion.”

“You’re saying… I’m fake?”

After hearing Herbert’s words, “Herbert” didn’t get angry—only sighed helplessly: “Ah, this reaction again. You still don’t get it.”

“You’re going to say I’m your past self, and you’re your present self? That reality is just a memory from your past life, right?”

“I get it, I get it.”

He scratched his head, exasperated: “Think back—when you’re in your so-called reality, don’t you often feel dazed? Don’t you constantly yearn for the past?”

“Don’t you keep making obscure jokes no one understands? Don’t you use them over and over to prove you once existed, to keep from forgetting?”

Herbert narrowed his eyes.

“…”

He did often recall his past, and he did use his own methods to anchor his mind, to avoid forgetting everything.

Herbert didn’t answer, but his expression said it all.

“See?”

The reflection snorted: “You can fool everyone—but never yourself.”

“These are our keywords. Every time you do this, it’s an unconscious signal to wake up.”

“Wake up. Don’t sink any deeper.”

“This is just a game. A ridiculous, beautiful dream. When it ends, we must return to reality.”

“Herbert” grew serious: “Enough. Stop playing.”

“The dream… must end.”

His voice was quiet, his tone mild—but it gave Herbert the sense of having lived a thousand lifetimes.

He felt his body grow heavier, yet his soul lighter.

Long-absent sounds reached his ears.

Thump. Thump.

The heartbeat, the flow of blood, his steady breath, the birdsong outside the window—all converged within him.

The reflection in the mirror was falling asleep. The man outside was about to awaken.

The long night is over.

The dream has ended.

But just as Herbert was about to close his eyes and break free from the dream, he let out a soft sigh.

“Of course, it was only a dream.”

Herbert slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clear and free of any trace of sleepiness.

He looked at his past self reflected in the mirror with regret, whispering: “You tried to imitate me, to pretend you are me.”

“But you are not me.”

“Yes, I truly miss everything from the past, constantly missing it.”

Herbert never denied his longing for his past life, even though it had not been so beautiful.

Everything from the past shaped who he is now, made him what he is today.

He would not forget what he had endured—not to glorify suffering, but to remember the version of himself who overcame it.

That was his path forward.

“But so what if I miss it?”

Herbert raised an eyebrow and whispered:

“Memories are like carving marks on a boat to find a lost sword in the river—we all do it, but no one can live in memory.”

“No one can live in the past.”

“No matter how much you miss it, memories can stay behind, but the living cannot remain frozen in the past.”

The white-haired boy gazed at the black-haired young man and smiled peacefully, blinking as he added: “Besides, even if I miss it, I’ve never wanted to go back.”

“Because here, I already have people and things I can’t let go of.”

Never mind anything else—his past life didn’t have real demon girls!

That matters!

Herbert nodded silently, then whispered to his reflection: “Where I am is my reality.”

“The past will not become a chain binding me.”

“I will move toward the future.”

Life is a one-way journey; whether you wish it or not, you can only go forward.

“And… you overlooked one thing.”

After a long silence, the reflection in the mirror lifted its head and looked at the boy outside.

What had he overlooked?

Herbert smiled: “I’ve always said that I reached this point through my own effort and sweat—no other help.”

He said it shamelessly, then shrugged.

“But deep down, I know it’s just a joke.”

“If I hadn’t met that guy, I’d probably be a completely different person, living a completely different life.”

I might still be a rigid, rule-bound miserable Holy Knight, training my iron groin with my fellow knights.

“This dream was perfect—it shook me deeply—but it strangely forgot one character who matters most to me.”

Herbert paused, then laughed, asking not in doubt but in certainty: “You’re here, aren’t you?”

【“I am.”】

Without the slightest pause, the Harmony Goddess—supposedly asleep, absorbing divine power—whispered softly in his heart.

【“I have always been with you.”】

(End of Chapter)