Chapter 301: Returning to Reality (4 in 1) |
[TL Note: Sorry for disappearing again, and thank you so much for your patience. Now that I've sorted out my IRL stuff, I'll focus on translating this novel.]
Bidding farewell to Charles and little Avena, Ciel walked out of the Roswell mansion and headed toward the East District.
It was a pity she had somehow appeared in Ansu during this Past Days simulation... If she were in Berren City, she would have been much more adept at testing her abilities.
At least Ciel knew Berren inside out, knowing what could be touched and what could not...
Moreover, compared to Ansu City, Berren had far fewer Transcendents; in a small city of over two hundred thousand people, the total number of Transcendents, both open and hidden, might not even reach thirty.
Ciel walked along the streets, crossing Westminster Bridge and heading all the way east.
The further east she went, the fewer lights there were on the streets, but the number of people gathering by the roadside began to increase.
It was already half past one in the morning. Most of the shops on the streets had long since closed. Those still lit, besides bars, pharmacies, and bakeries starting their morning bake, were only all-night diners and coffee stalls.
These places were basically set up to serve the night-shift workers from the East District's factories. The environments were mostly crude, and the items were extremely cheap.
The side effects of the "Recorder" ability were relatively minor, and in the East District, the likelihood of encountering a Transcendent when "backtracking" memories through certain writings was practically zero.
Soon, Ciel's gaze locked onto a coffee stall.
At the corner of the intersection, right next to a gas streetlight, a dilapidated handcart was parked. The oilcloth originally used to keep off the rain was rolled up and placed to the side. A faded advertising board was pasted on the cart, reading "Hot coffee, one penny."
A large iron kettle bubbled and boiled on a charcoal stove, emitting a large amount of steam. A stout, middle-aged woman, whose cuffs were stained a dark color with coffee, was laughing and chatting with a few workers in front of the stall.
Ciel stood behind the workers, waiting. During her wait, her presence caught the middle-aged woman's attention.
The workers also seemed to notice Ciel behind them. Not wanting to cause any trouble, they hurriedly drank the rest of their coffee, put down their cups, and left.
The middle-aged woman took the coarse ceramic cups, rinsed them briefly over a dirty water bucket, and then shifted her gaze elsewhere, pretending not to see her, seemingly not daring to look Ciel directly in the eyes.
"A cup of coffee," Ciel said, then reached into her pocket to search.
After searching for a moment, Ciel's expression froze slightly.
It seemed... she didn't have even a single penny of change in her pocket.
After a brief thought, Ciel simply unfastened a gem-encrusted cufflink from her sleeve and placed it directly onto the wooden board of the handcart.
Thap—
The sound of the cufflink, which reflected the light of the gas lamp, being placed on the wooden board forced the middle-aged woman to look back. When she heard Ciel's words and saw the gem on it, cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
"Haha... Young Mistress, you must be joking... This kind of coffee won't suit your taste..." The middle-aged woman rubbed her hands together anxiously.
"Just make me a cup of coffee, boss," Ciel said with a smile, "Add a spoonful of sugar."
"O-okay, it's on the house. Please take this back…" The woman nodded repeatedly. She now just wanted to send Ciel away as quickly as possible.
She pulled a ceramic cup from the dirty water bucket, did her best to wipe it clean with a dark brown cloth stained with years of coffee. Then, she poured a cup of hot coffee, added a spoonful of sugar, and set it on the board, pushing it toward Ciel.
"Thank you."
Ciel nodded slightly, reaching out to take the coffee cup directly.
Ciel looked at the coffee in her cup. Thinking back to the woman's reaction just now, an indescribable feeling rose in her heart.
A month and a half ago, she could still chat easily with the street vendors in Berren City, and none of them would look at her strangely.
But now, in the eyes of the poor, a natural chasm seemed to lie between them. Even a mere glance from her filled them with panic.
In Ciel's view, she had only paid more attention to her attire with Avena's help… but these glamorous clothes seemed to have become a barrier separating the classes, making one unable to help but sigh.
Ciel lowered her head, gazing at the coffee cup in her hand.
This coffee cup looked quite old. Who knew how many people had used it to drink? There were dark cracks on it, and the color of the coffee had seeped into them completely.
The "Recorder" ability could directly "read" writings and items through the Transcendent level. An ordinary item like this, used by many but fundamentally unrelated to the Transcendent, was perfectly suited for Ciel to test her ability.
The silver-gray glow flashed in Ciel's eyes, dyeing her red pupils silver.
In Ciel's vision, the cup before her rapidly distorted, shattered, and reassembled.
She saw the images within the cup. On the surface of the dark coffee, silver lines appeared, showing scenes of various people holding this cup. Their words also echoed in Ciel's mind in overlapping layers.
Those... were completely backward-running Ansu words. Ciel had to carefully memorize a sentence and play it forward in her mind to hear what it was—this was perfect for preventing too many chaotic words from flooding her mind.
The cup in her hand also refurbished rapidly amidst these dense and fast words; the cracks on the cup vanished, and the dark stains on it were cleared away...
In the next instant, the cup began to melt again, emitting a hot red glow, turning into clay in Ciel's hand. The clay fell to the ground, scattering—a vision of a small pottery workshop appeared in Ciel's mind.
Not only did the process of making the clay begin to rewind rapidly before Ciel, but even the voices of the workers speaking while they worked were clearly audible in her ears.
The rewinding speed continued to accelerate, and the buzzing in Ciel's mind intensified.
The clay reverted rapidly in Ciel's eyes. It went from the workers' hands back onto the freight train, which traveled backward at high speed, until Ciel saw an open-pit mine.
Workers walked backward, shoveling this handful of clay out of the handcart with shovels and putting it back into the ground...
The rewinding speed accelerated further, and a violent buzzing rang out in Ciel's mind.
The original mine was buried, rivers began to flow over it, and her perspective was also flowing backward along the riverbed...
From this point, Ciel's vision was split into countless parts—this was the image of the original rock being washed by running water to form particulates, which deposited along the riverbed…
And in the next moment, the premonition that the rewinding was about to speed up again surfaced…
Before a terrifying spiritual alarm could ring in Ciel's mind, she quickly let go of the cup in her hand, covered her eyes, and took several steps back.
Clang—
The ceramic cup shattered to pieces, the steaming coffee spilling all over the ground. Ciel panted heavily, looking at the rising steam before her, slowly calming her breathing...
To think she could directly rewind to when this cup was in its most primitive state... If she continued to rewind, Ciel had no doubt her perspective would split into infinite parts, even seeing the rocks of ancient times...
A simple cup could actually undergo this level of memory rewinding... This was something Ciel had never expected...
This was an ability that other Tier 1s absolutely could not have... Was it because she herself had integrated "Uniqueness"?
It was as if Ciel had personally experienced making the ceramic cup, and even the process of mining. To some extent, Ciel had indeed learned the skill of making ceramic cups.
Even a cup couldn't be rewound indefinitely... otherwise her mind would definitely fail to hold up.
No wonder this ability was said to be better used on cultural relics; once a handicraft was rewound into raw materials, the mental consumption would grow exponentially.
Theoretically, if Ciel's mental power was infinitely strong, she could rewind all the way to the Holy War Era, or even the Chaos Era, through a handful of soil...
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"
The woman in front of her hurriedly packed up her things, pushed the handcart, and ran. Ciel's performance just now had indeed frightened her.
A glamorous young mistress had ordered a cheap coffee from her, only to stare at it constantly and then smash the cup on the ground... anyone would think she was looking for trouble.
If she offended this young mistress, even giving up her cheap life wouldn't be enough to compensate... perhaps her life's value was only equal to the cost of a meal for the other party.
Ciel watched the vendor leave, retracting her gaze, paying no heed to it.
Ciel now had a rough understanding of how the "Recorder" ability worked in practice.
One had to realize that at Tier 1, "Avengers" could only play with shadows, "Instigators" could only pull off scams, and "Listeners" could merely make others confide in them to restore their spirits.
In comparison, "Recorder" was indeed somewhat ridiculously strong—of course, others walking this path wouldn't have the "Uniqueness" bonus and definitely couldn't rewind for so long.
Ciel then had the thought of giving up on experimenting with "Fabricator"—her memories were extremely important, and even the slightest memory lapse, forgetting just a few words, could cause major problems.
The most terrifying thing would be forgetting that the ability had side effects. By that stage, the "Fabricator" going mad would be almost inevitable.
However...
Forgetting was something Ciel did have a way to resolve.
That was to "overlimit" the ability directly when using it.
Although the overload after overlimiting would cause Ciel's "Fabricator" ability to be completely useless for two days, this was currently a Past Days simulation, and the Overlimit Overload side effects wouldn't be carried back to reality.
As for how to test the "Fabricator" ability, Ciel also had a rough idea.
The simplest thing was to fabricate an ordinary person's diary, modifying a minor event that had happened before, changing it to another minor event on that ordinary person's cognitive level.
Ciel found the most chaotic Saint Cathedral District in the East District, directly "infiltrated" a gang sub-leader's home with force, and found a ledger.
She directly used the overlimited "Fabricator" ability to modify the transaction amount of one of the transactions.
To Ciel's slight disappointment, the "Fabricator's" ability did take effect; the amount in the ledger was modified, and the cognition of everyone who knew about this ledger was corrected to the modified amount.
But when Ciel went to interrogate them about the whereabouts of the modified amount, a problem arose.
One of the gang members actually corrected Ciel's modification of the ledger during the process of recalling the transaction, remembering the correct amount...
Just as Ciel had thought before, affecting reality through modification was indeed not something a Tier 1 could accomplish...
But if a "Fabricator" could utilize it well, a Tier 1 could even possess the influence of a Tier 3 "Subverter."
It could only be said that this path had a promising future, because to Ciel, the "Fabricator's" ability was temporarily inferior to the "Subverter's." At the current stage, what "Fabricator" could achieve, "Subverter" could also do, and do better.
During the remaining time, Ciel found Archbishop Eleanor of the Savior Goddess Church. After obtaining her trust, she had Eleanor take her to the Savior Goddess archives, and Ciel fast-read the books inside once more.
Just like the books in the Church of the God of Order, ninety-nine point nine percent of the literature and materials remained completely unchanged, with only a small portion of descriptions altered, and some new materials appearing that weren't originally there.
The organization Ciel created during her first time in the Old Days had indeed been passed down. However, over time, it had reached a point where, let alone Ciel, even the members still carrying on the legacy in recent centuries had no idea what the organization was called.
But in the next Old Days simulation, this situation should change...
Next time, Ciel could directly spread her own path. Although it was only Tier 1, the members of the organization would definitely search for Reconstitution Rituals and potions on their own, trying to perfect the path.
By allowing them to perfect this path all the way from the Old Days to the modern era… Ciel might directly obtain a complete set of Tier 1 to 4 potions and Reconstitution Rituals.
And on this basis, Ciel would have even more room for manipulation...
For instance, while spreading her organization and path in the Old Days, she could also introduce current steam engine technology, allowing them to develop it all the way to the modern era…
Would modern technology undergo a massive transformation?
Bringing any technology to the ancient Old Days, tempered by the tides of time, could potentially evolve into something she couldn't possibly imagine.
Even if they were only Tier 1 "Recorders" and "Fabricators," they might be able to use their abilities in creative ways, developing many applications Ciel hadn't even thought of.
Moreover, this time Ciel prepared to search for some useful things in the Old Days.
Previously in the Old Days, Ciel had encountered the "Cocoon of Light," suspected to be a "Uniqueness." She could tentatively bury it in a place only she could find, or simply have the organization pass this item down through the generations as a family heirloom.
If it was passed down all the way to the modern era... wouldn't she be able to obtain this item directly?
After having her first immature experience, Ciel had more ideas on how to utilize the Old Days, and these ideas could be verified in the next Old Days.
But Ciel was also slightly worried that if she messed around like this, when she returned to reality from the Old Days next time, reality might be made unrecognizable due to the butterfly effect…
Lost in her thoughts of the Old Days, the countdown of the Past Days simulation gradually ran out, and a silver light completely enveloped Ciel.
Within the silvery glow, Ciel sank into darkness once more, feeling the burning pain of the silver flames…
...
「Reality」
「Holy Year 741, July 27, 5:00 AM」
「Evaluation: Welcome back, History's "Fabricator" and "Recorder," Your Excellency Host」
「Out of three lives, you've already lost one... With the remaining two chances, can you still reverse the overall situation?」
「Perhaps you can also do something at the second altar to revive your first altar...」
「...」
「...」
「What are you still waiting for? Waiting for rewards? ^^」
「Rewards rely on your own actions in the Old Days, it has nothing to do with the system, oh ^^_」
Amidst the burning of the blazing flames, Ciel's senses were rapidly recovering.
Recovering along with her senses was the accumulated, even greater volume of believers' "prayers."
These were the prayers of all the believers over countless years in the Old Days, exploding completely at this moment, resounding in Ciel's mind.
In the simulation, Ciel had only unlocked the prayers of Tara and the others in reality. Now back in reality, the messages from the Old Days began to bombard Ciel wildly.
A dizzying sensation struck Ciel. Her steps were unsteady, and she took several steps back, seemingly bumping into something, falling directly backward.
"Whoa!"
A startled squeal rang out, and the soft figure pinned beneath Ciel began to scramble frantically up the bed, shrinking back toward the headboard.
"Who's there?!"
In her panic, she snatched a scalpel from the bedside table and aimed it at Ciel. But once she saw the figure clearly in the silver moonlight streaming through the window, the girl cowering at the head of the bed froze on the spot.
"Cie... Ciel?"
Adele put down the scalpel, scrambled to Ciel's side on all fours, leaned in close, and took a careful look.
"It really is Ciel…" Adele's mouth fell open in surprise. She quickly reached out and shook Ciel by the shoulder. Ciel's eyes were tightly shut, her expression carrying a hint of pain. "What's wrong, Ciel? Are you alright?"
Seeing no response from Ciel, Adele panicked. She stopped shaking Ciel, scrambled off the bed, and ran barefoot across the cold wooden floor, rushing outside without even putting on her shoes.
When she returned to the room holding a large pile of potions, she froze dead in her tracks.
The previously closed window now stood open, and Ciel's figure was no longer on the bed. The only thing proving Adele wasn't seeing things was the lingering indentation on the blanket where Ciel had just been lying.
Meanwhile, Ciel, having recovered slightly, was already walking rapidly along the dark, empty streets.
To think that nearly thirteen hours had passed...
At this hour, even the gas streetlights had been turned off. The entire street was shrouded in darkness; if not for the moonlight, it would have been almost pitch black.
Returning from the Old Days through the Past Days simulation that had served as a transit station, Ciel received no rewards from the system.
According to the system, the rewards of the Old Days depended entirely on her actions within them… which is to say, the Tier 1 "Recorder" and "Fabricator" paths were already considered her reward.
Ciel's influence in the Old Days this time had been too small, and the organization she created hadn't made any waves in reality.
If Heini hadn't diligently fulfilled her promise to Ciel, she might not even have the Tier 1 "Recorder" and "Fabricator" abilities.
Ciel opened the Future Days simulation interface; the simulation date was still July 28... If this was her fated death, it meant Ciel's actions in the Old Days last time had not influenced her fated death at all.
If this continued, Ciel would absolutely be unable to confront Sadhana...
Now, in Ciel's mind, the two flames symbolizing the altars had begun to burn silver, meaning both had been activated simultaneously… Ciel could enter the Old Days again at any time.
But Ciel couldn't enter the Old Days just like this.
Last time, Ciel had entered the Old Days in almost her best mental state, but had still failed to leave any significant imprints there.
Although Ciel had a clearer approach now, to do better in the Old Days, she had to restore her spirit to its optimal state… at least, she had to suppress the countless prayers still ringing in her mind.
If she let those accumulated prayers continue to ring in her mind, Ciel had no doubt she would be driven completely mad by the voices.
Now, she had to find Avena quickly and have her help seal away these prayers, preventing them from continuing to ring in her mind.
Ciel headed straight to Avena's mansion, practically slamming open the front door.
A maid on night watch was startled upon seeing Ciel burst in, but after recognizing her, she didn't scream.
"Miss Ciel, you are..." The maid hurried to meet her, asking in a low voice, "What's wrong with you?"
"Is Avena... here?" Ciel asked, her voice somewhat raspy.
"She is, Young Mistress Avena is in her room..."
Before the maid could finish speaking, Ciel quickly walked upstairs.
Nia, who had heard the commotion from the door, reacted quickly, rushing out of her room. However, after seeing that the one bursting in was Ciel, Nia watched her walk to the door of Avena's room and then returned to her own.
"Huu..."
After Ciel closed the door, she looked at Avena lying on the bed.
At this moment, Avena did not seem to notice someone entering her room. She seemed to be having a nightmare, her eyes tightly shut, her brow slightly furrowed.
After Ciel vanished, Avena had been searching for her almost continuously with the others. Not until well past midnight, after searching every place Ciel might have appeared to no avail, did Avena finally choose to rest for a brief hour.
Avena hadn't even changed her clothes. Lying prone on the bed without having taken off her shoes… she looked exhausted.
"Avena…"
Ciel sat on the edge of the bed, calling out softly.
The moment Ciel spoke, Avena's long eyelashes fluttered slightly. She opened her eyes blankly, her gaze gradually focusing on Ciel beside her.
Avena stared at Ciel for over ten seconds. Only after confirming she wasn't dreaming did she lightly purse her lips, lie down again, and bury her face in the blanket, as if refusing to face the girl who had left without saying goodbye.
But just a second later, before Ciel could explain anything, Avena sat straight up.
Grabbing Ciel by the shoulders, she pushed her back onto the bed and straddled her.
"Look at me."
Avena said coldly, though Ciel could already see the shimmer of tears in her eyes.
Ciel lightly pursed her lips, looking at Avena. As a faint purple glow lit up in Avena's eyes, Ciel felt the noise in her mind gradually begin to quiet down.
Ciel fell into a brief sleep. In her subconscious, she seemed to witness herself emitting a purple light that enveloped the red flames, sealing them deep within her sea of consciousness.
Not until the sky began to brighten did Ciel recover from this strange yet comforting sensation.
She felt the believers' prayers vanish from her mind, though if she focused, she could still perceive the faintest murmur.
The voices were incredibly quiet now, as if suppressed by some invisible force.
Not only that, Ciel also felt that the mental pollution from her contact with the darkness and Moros's corpse in the Old Days had dissipated considerably… as if the burden had been shared.
Ciel had encountered this situation before. When she was previously influenced by the Other Side, it was also Avena who had forcefully stepped in to share the weight of the mental pollution.
Avena…
Ciel sat up quickly, her gaze scanning the room, but it was empty. As if in retaliation, Avena's figure had vanished without a trace.
Ciel's heart squeezed slightly.
She knew she owed Avena far too much. Not only had she failed to keep her company properly, but she also frequently vanished… and every time she sought Avena out, it was almost never for anything good, but usually because she had a favor to ask.
In the simulation, she had even complained that Charles didn't know how to get along with Avena, but after returning to reality, Ciel realized that the one who truly didn't know how to be there for her was actually herself.
But Ciel truly had no choice. Pressure from all sides was constantly pushing her forward; even if she wanted to stop and rest, it was simply impossible.
Ciel had indeed spent a long time with Avena in the simulations… but that was only a dream. Even if she spent years by her side there, the Avena in reality would never feel it.
"Avena?"
Ciel stood up, about to walk out the door, when a cold voice sounded behind her.
"It feels quite unpleasant, doesn't it?" Avena's voice came from the bed.
Ciel whipped around and saw Avena leaning against the headboard. Avena's gaze was cold; she had never left Ciel's side at all.
This was likely the "Psychologist's" ability. Avena had used her power to plant a subconscious suggestion in Ciel's mind, making her forget that Avena was sitting right there, effectively achieving a form of psychological invisibility.
It was only when Avena spoke just now that this suggestion was broken.
"Avena… I…"
Before Ciel could speak, Avena cut her off.
"No need for apologies," Avena looked away, her gaze drifting out the window. "I know what terrifying things you are facing… I just didn't control my emotions."
In a daze, Ciel seemed to glimpse that well-behaved little girl from nine years ago once more—the one who wanted her father's company but was too sensible to speak up for fear of disturbing him, so sensible it was heartbreaking.
Though many years had passed and Avena had grown rebellious, her true nature had never changed.
"I…" After a few seconds of silence, Ciel continued, "I had a dream."
Avena remained silent, so Ciel went on: "I dreamed of a seven-year-old little girl. She was very well-behaved, had a very close playmate, and a father who was so busy his feet barely touched the ground… "
Ciel talked slowly, as if sharing a completely unrelated story, bringing up a few details from the simulation.
Ciel knew that if she revealed these things directly, something bad might happen, but she still decided to tell her, choosing a roundabout way to convey the matter.
As Ciel's narration progressed, Avena's expression gradually grew a little surprised. She slowly turned her head, looking in Ciel's direction, and quietly listened to her finish this "story."
Not until a long while after the story had ended did Avena slowly speak: "What happened next? What happened to that little girl?"
"I don't know." Ciel shook her head. "I don't always dream of her."
"Is it… those voices?" Avena asked, looking at Ciel.
If there was anyone who could best understand what Ciel was going through, it was Avena, who was sharing the burden of her mental pollution.
"Sort of." Ciel nodded.
"Then… have you awakened from the dream?" Avena continued to ask.
"…" Ciel met her question with silence, the answer self-evident.
Ciel could not afford to waste any more time; there was no telling when the active altars would fade, and she had to make her plans as quickly as possible to complete the next Old Days.
Ciel stood up slowly, saying, "I have to leave, Avena…"
Ciel cast one last glance at Avena and walked toward the door. At this moment, Avena's voice came from behind her.
"Ciel."
Avena looked at Ciel, who had stopped, and spoke slowly yet firmly.
"I will find you in the dream… and be there with you."