Chapter 1932: The Successor and the Origin of the Outlander

Up until now, that ritual array of the sun, moon, and stars—which looks similar to but differs from the pattern on the back of the Cards of Vague Totality—has appeared in many inexplicable places.

For instance, on the ground of the Temple of the Dark Night, where Xia De branded this pattern after violating the rules to travel through time; for instance, the symbol that appeared on the ground when the Black Time Key manifested as the Staff of Yggdrasil; or, for instance, the similar symbol at the collapsed Moon Tower of Mount Kalas, the place where Miss Danister's teacher went missing.

But in truth, if one thinks about it carefully, no one ever said the pattern branded on the land of the Temple of the Dark Night belonged to the Temple of the Dark Night in the first place. That symbol looked more like it appeared after Xia De utilized the Cards of Vague Totality to trigger the "Memory of the Earth" at that time. And very coincidentally, beneath the Temple of the Dark Night is the location where Long-Haired Luweiya stores her "Memories of Past Lives."

Thinking of it this way, the symbol at the Temple of the Dark Night is clearly related to Long-Haired Luweiya's methods. Moreover, at the time, "she" once said that the time travel was "against the rules." This further indicates that the strange ritual array on the ground back then was not the power of the Old Gods at all, but was more likely a method of Long-Haired Luweiya's, intended to help her next self in the Sixth Era "see" the stories of past lives.

As for that strange 【Staff of Yggdrasil】, it is currently known that the birth of the Black Time Key is inseparable from Long-Haired Luweiya. Therefore, the pattern when the long staff manifested is also highly likely related to Long-Haired Luweiya; it might even be that she herself crafted that relic.

Although "crafting a relic" sounds incredible, for Luweiya, who has destroyed space-time and returned to the Sixth Era several times, it does not seem like anything extraordinary.

If one follows this line of reasoning, then the "sun, moon, and stars" ritual arrays Xia De saw at the Temple of the Dark Night and on the Staff of Yggdrasil were all caused by the Luweiya of "past lives." Combining this with what the diviner standing with his back to him is saying—that this ritual array was created by him based on the Cards of Vague Totality—then Xia De has reason to believe that the Luweiya of past lives was the one who, "at this time and place," received the entirety of Laplace Klein Howard's research data.

In some Sixth Era where Xia De did not exist, the Luweiya who defeated the "Edwards Family: United as One" obtained and inherited those pieces of knowledge from this diviner of the Diviner Association, and subsequently studied and expanded upon them carefully, deepening Laplace Howard's research into the Vague Totality, divination, and astrology, until, after countless years, she utilized that knowledge to create even more astonishing rituals and inventions.

Although there is no clear evidence to support this conjecture at present, the more Xia De thinks about it, the more he feels this is the truth.

After all, it is currently known that the Luweiya of past lives most likely inherited Sister Daelin's "Primal Fire" and Miss Miss Pawo's copy of the "Smowell Codex" in the end. Given the personality displayed by the Laplace Howard before him, if he learned after his failure that Luweiya was a diviner, it is indeed possible that, like others, he would give everything to her.

"The Luweiya of the past, just how many people's wishes did she inherit... But if so, what is the meaning of Miss Danister discovering this ritual at the ruins of the Moon Tower on Mount Kalas?"

Xia De thought to himself, but before he could open his mouth to ask if the other party had been to Mount Kalas or seen Miss Danister's teacher, the diviner, who was looking at Green Lake with his back to him, spoke again:

"Do you know, more than two hundred years ago, it was from this pier that I first stepped onto this island."

Xia De looked up at the lake under the night sky:

"Are you referring to the island in reality, or this island you call 'Green Island'?"

"Both."

The diviner said in a hoarse voice, still with his back to Xia De, raising his hand to point at the lake:

"I jumped off the boat here, then, carrying my bag, I walked along the pier to the beach. Before entering that small path in the woods, I turned and took one last look at the lake. I will never forget that day; it was also a spring night, and the starry sky was even more beautiful than it is now. At that time, I had not yet obtained those key fragments of the poem, nor had I planned out the Edwards God-Ascension Art, so back then, I never imagined what I would do on this island next."

The cards constituting his body were flying out one after another, then turning into fly ash. Theoretically, when he was defeated by Xia De on that blood-colored giant tree currently burning a few hours ago, he had already died, only obtaining a chance at rebirth with the help of that set of alchemical cards.

But after being defeated by the joint efforts of Xia De and Sister Daelin, because of the fusion with the evil object, this second life of his had also reached its end. That he could hold on to finish saying these words here and finish explaining these matters was already quite remarkable.

"Your descendants, how should they be dealt with?"

Considering that the other party had given his knowledge and property to him, Xia De asked this question. The diviner shook his head slightly:

"They themselves, or you, decide."

As the cards were pulled away one by one, that figure became increasingly blurred. But this conversation was not yet over; the diviner had deliberately waited here for Xia De in order to say those most important words at the final moment:

"After fusing with my grandson, Enwei Edwards, I once truly glimpsed a corner of that destroyed time; becoming one with the 【Door in the Bottle】, I heard its description of that time which should not have been known, amidst the babbling and whispers."

He struggled to stand up, supporting himself on the pier, and finally turned to look at Xia De.

The galaxy was inverted above their heads; in the shining sea of stars, three moons illuminated the earth where sporadic battles were still taking place. Behind Xia De, amidst the sky-high flames, that giant blood-colored tree was still burning; the crackling sound of the burning would likely continue for the whole night.

Laplace Howard's transparent face held an expression of incomparable exhaustion, but he still looked at Xia De earnestly:

"You have also known things from the past, even more than I knew. Someone came from that time to the present where we are. I once thought that was you, which is why you could display such astonishing power time and again, and intervene at the most critical moments to save everything, as if you had flipped through all the stories in advance. But now it seems, that person is definitely not you."

Xia De's lips moved, but he did not speak.

The diviner continued:

"I believe you know who that person is, who it is that destroyed the stability of space-time and bears a space-time curse even more intense than the curse on my grandson. I only want to give you one piece of advice: do not trust him or her; he or she is absolutely not telling you the truth."

"I will not easily believe everything you say just because you gave all your things to me."

Xia De frowned deeply, but still said this. From the first time he met the other party on the island until now, the other party had been making him doubt Long-Haired Luweiya. But the diviner should have no need to lie at this moment; his words now should be sincere, which is why Xia De was frowning.

The cards were rolled high into the sky by the wind, turning into fly ash upon touching the sparks blown over. The diviner, whose body was becoming increasingly transparent, smiled:

"At least, you have already received a warning. In the future, when you make major decisions, you will remember what we said at this moment. You can choose not to believe me now; I understand your vigilance toward me, but you will understand what that destroyer of space-time has done to our world.

If our world is a game with many endings, then he or she has led us to the worst ending."

Xia De pursed his lips and did not continue speaking. Although he would not doubt Luweiya, if there were an opportunity later, he would explore more secrets of Long-Haired Luweiya. While he would not go so far as to suspect that Long-Haired Luweiya had been deceiving him all along, it was still necessary to get to the bottom of those matters. He would not blindly persist in a certain idea because of his stance; investigation and practice were the means to reach the truth.

Time had reached the end, and the second life of Laplace Klein Howard had also reached its end.

His gaze passed over Xia De's shoulder, looking at the burning giant tree, and then at this island. Xia De had originally thought he would lament his life, or ask Xia De whether he could be considered a good person.

But he did not mention these things; Laplace Klein Howard considered that he had already fulfilled his mission for coming to this world. Although he had failed, he had verified that one path was impassable, and left his final spark for other explorers who were still striding forward.

He chose to use the final seconds of his life to continue the topic of "past lives":

"Destroying space-time that has already appeared and starting the Sixth Era from scratch, do you know what kind of miracle that is? If there were an opportunity, I would really like to talk to that true destroyer of space-time, to talk about those things I have not yet known."

He looked at Xia De's face and left his final words:

"That is an accident that absolutely could not have occurred; that is the disorder of the collapse of time and space; that is also, likely, the most desperate prayer of that destroyer of space-time. Under this series of errors, I do not know what kind of brand-new story the newly started Sixth Era will bring to this world. Oh, Caller of Gods beyond fate, please sit under the stage and witness this story to the end. May you and I reunite after the end."

He bowed slightly to Xia De, and when the final thirteen cards flew toward the lake and turned into ash scattered in the water, the first-generation lord of Green Lake Town, the former traitor of the Diviner Association, died completely.

Xia De stood stunned for a moment, the diviner's final words echoing in his ears. He suddenly walked forward a few steps, standing in the position where the diviner had just been standing, and looked at the calm, large lake in a daze:

"He just said... So, so..."

Looking down at his own reflection in the water beneath the pier, the shadow kept shaking; even if he reached out to scoop it up, he could not scoop up any reality:

"So, that is how it is." ===== CHAPTER 1933 =====