When the plot-skips players into the game world

...[My Power]?

Why did she say this spell is her power? Aren't spells the power of the River of Truth?

Sherlock was stunned for a moment, his thoughts tangled like a ball of thread, plunging his mind into temporary chaos.

At this moment, Arsene finally recognized her identity.

He was greatly shocked, nearly horrified: "You are... Hawkeye's 'Dancing Skirt'?"

Arsene left the Hawkeye Organization too early, and he wasn't in the same circle within the organization, so he wasn't too familiar with Dancing Skirt.

Although Arsene didn't have a Path Level of Adaptation, he also didn't know her Path Level...

But now they are, after all, active in the same city, and even during a meeting a few days ago, he saw that not-so-gregarious, somewhat disheartened woman.

Assassins who are not fanatical about the downfall of the Son of the Moon are a minority, which is why Arsene remembered her. And it was Little Deer who informed Aiwass of the hiding place of the Blood Celestial Marshal—a partner not so close, but from the same mentor as Dancing Skirt.

But Arsene never expected that Dancing Skirt would appear here now.

—Did the Blood Celestial Marshal control her during an in-depth investigation?

Sherlock, upon hearing Arsene's words, suddenly saw the light—

Countless fragments of past memories flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

Like flames rapidly spreading on an oiled rope—countless clues, countless pieces of evidence seemed to connect in an instant:

Aiwass had told him that the culprit causing the world's destruction was the "Tenth Path," Nihility. There were only nine Rivers of Truth in total, so the Path of Nihility didn't actually have a River of its own but was constructed from two Holy Numbers adding up to ten to form an "Imaginary Source River."

When the powers of two paths achieve perfect balance and add up to eleven, it reaches the number of "Hope," or "Miracle"; that is, the two paths complement each other and thus elevate their realm.

Nihility is the opposite—it doesn't require balance in the paths, and because it dissolves the meaning of one with another.

For instance, Dedication and Authority will cancel each other out—when an Authority governs and controls a Contributor, in reality, both authority and dedication lose meaning, and the whole society tends towards stillness. The love of Creation and the Dusk of Wrongness, the beauty of differences and the Transcendence of Easiness work the same way...

If a practitioner of the Path of Wisdom seeks the secrets of survival, they will realize that the truth they pursue is meaningless for the purpose of "survival," just "useless knowledge"; similarly, anyone who tries to avoid danger by escaping, if they seek the elusive meaning of life, the ultimate truth... will often fall into the trap of nihilism.

—The core of the Path of Nihility is "meaninglessness," "no change," "self-dissolution."

And once touched by the Path of Nihility, one might have their mind controlled by the destroyer. Through language, song, thought, and so on, the drenched thoughts can be passed on to others.

Once Sherlock understood the components of the element of Nihility, it was a simple deduction that could be completed in an instant for him.

From this extension, Sherlock immediately understood why this person appeared here—

Hawkeye opposes the Son of the Moon. It is a group composed of scoundrels, united to achieve impossible noble deeds. Its organization structure is very fragile, like a group of avengers who exist only for vengeance. Once the common enemy is lost, it will immediately collapse and disintegrate from within.

According to Arsene... the Hawkeye Organization has reached this step now. And she, as an assassin of Hawkeye, sacrificed her youth, offered her body, and doesn't know how many innocent she has killed... at any cost to eliminate the Son of the Moon.

—Now, the Son of the Moon is to be completely destroyed. But this has nothing to do with their Hawkeye Organization.

Everything she did[lost its meaning].

She finally saw through the Hawkeye Organization... It was just a group of murderous people, united to fight greater villains by any means. The people Hawkeye killed never were fewer than the Son of the Moon...

When an Adapter suddenly realizes one day—comprehends what they have done to "adapt" and how far they have deviated from their original intent, they can't bear it all anymore.

Everything she did was meaningless. The overwhelming guilt crushed her conscience, so the Path of Adaptation, which "seeks survival," was polluted and dissolved by the Path of Wisdom...

—Sherlock remembered, among the students of that Assassin Master known as Honey Badger, there was one called Little Deer, one called Dancing Skirt. Coincidentally, the assassin reporting to them today was codenamed Little Deer, and Arsene called her "Dancing Skirt." Moreover, her clothes were spotless... indicating she had just come down.

Before Aiwass arrived, she took the lead and went to the hiding place of the Blood Celestial Marshal... what was she trying to do?

As an assassin, it's impossible for her not to understand the principle of not alerting the enemy. She, lacking enough Extraordinary Power, couldn't possibly contribute to the battle, also possibly startling the Blood Celestial Marshal, only having a counterproductive effect on the raid. But as a student of an Assassin Master, she must harbor a deep-seated hatred for the Son of the Moon and cannot wish for the Blood Celestial Marshal to survive.

So there is only one answer.

—That she wants to die at the hands of the Blood Celestial Marshal.

She couldn't face those she killed, the innocent blood on her hands, yet couldn't let go of her hatred for the Son of the Moon. So she wanted to die at the hands of the Blood Celestial Marshal, ending her meaningless life... In this way, at least her journey of life would be complete.

"To seek meaning, and lose meaning..."

Sherlock muttered.

Not long ago, he had heard this very sentence.

It was during the confrontation against the Swan King, who nearly became a Nihility Heavenly Department—

"Path" is the road people walk in the world. It's the road beneath one's feet, the path one has traveled, and the direction one is going to take.

And when the Path falls into the Void's abyss, life loses its meaning.

The overwhelming void will saturate the mind, directly destroying a person's personality...

——Once again, it's [Void].

But if spells are indeed the power of the void...

At that moment, Sherlock remembered another thing——

It was the story of Aiwass and Sherlock together, confronting the Giant Prince.

At the time, Aiwass prayed for the Great Sage's power, initiating Odin's Trial.

——It was a ritual designed personally by the Great Sage. With one's entire life and soul as a sacrifice, the recipient is sacrificed to their future self; offering one's momentary self to the next moment of oneself... This sacrifice is based on the power of the Serpent Celestial Marshal, resulting in an infinite cycle. Until all mysteries of the world, all knowledge, and secrets are recorded in thought.

Aiwass attempted through this method to shatter Prince Wolfram the Giant's soul, unable to withstand the power of "Truth," so he wouldn't become the Bear Celestial Marshal's angel envoy.

Sherlock still remembers, after the Giant Prince endured the "Truth" conveyed by the thunder's medium, he could only withstand it for a very brief time.

His body morphed into an ugly, swollen mass, then collapsed and contracted...

Thus transformed into [Void].

"...Witnessing Truth, silent and speechless... of God..."

Sherlock murmured, his pupils trembling.

He suddenly realized... What exactly did the Great Sage see after opening that Gate of Truth?

Why did He suddenly turn back and destroy the Tower of Heaven.

Why He didn't let a single Tower of Heaven mage ascend into the Dream Realm.

Because the root of all runes, the origin of all spells——

Spells originate from otherworldly knowledge, which is why they can evoke mysterious power with only strange runes and incantations! And why all other powers of this world seem to be "of a different style"!

Precisely because the knowledge from "Void Whisper" carries contamination, spreading through words to others, so the Great Sage remained silent!

Apart from the Great Sage, the other Wisdom Path angel envoys do not have this problem. Thus, it becomes apparent that the Great Sage alone bore all the casting costs of the mages... This is why ancient mages called Him the "Great Sage"!

Sherlock learned from Aiwass that in the past, the Winged Celestial Marshal split into Supreme Heaven and the Great Sage. Strength and Wisdom complement each other, precisely adding up to the number eleven. The fact that He split into two Pillar Gods must be due to a failed fusion... The reason for the fusion failure might be because the Path of Wisdom itself has issues!

Herein lies the problem.

Sherlock remembers that before becoming the Great Sage, He was already the world's foremost mage.

——So before He bore the costs of casting, who brought the spells' otherworldly knowledge?

And looking at Sherlock's eyes flickering intensely, "Dance Skirt" seemed to understand Sherlock's heart.

She smiled in appreciation: "Ponder long and desire knowledge, knowledge grows abundant but thirsts for thought... Liking to think is a good thing, it will bring you a step closer to Truth..."

With her words, Sherlock's body also froze instantly.

Countless knowledge streamed into his heart, and his lightning-blue pupils were instantly tainted by a deep black, transforming into a disquieting deep blue, like the depths of the ocean.

——And all this happened in merely an instant.

After Sherlock's Lightning Chain was rebounded, "Dance Skirt" glanced back at him and said a word... just that simple.

In merely an instant, Aiwass and Sherlock lost their ability to fight.

Isabel immediately realized they couldn't delay any longer.

She promptly threw the card in her hand, shouting, "Don Quixote!"

And in that moment.

What lit up first wasn't Don Quixote's pure white Holy Light.

——But a blood light.

Accompanied by "Dance Skirt" behind her, the heart in mid-air abruptly shattered, the flesh mixing with blood and conjuring into an enormous blade out of thin air, sweeping in instantly!

The astonishing Heavenly Power, merely in its moment of activation, made one feel their muscles quake.

But the target of its attack... was not Aiwass, nor Isabel, nor even Don Quixote.

——But "Dance Skirt" herself, with her back to the heart!