When the plot-skips players into the game world

"...Hmm."

Hayna slowly opened her eyes, subconsciously tensing her muscles.

She looked around, feeling momentarily confused. It was as if she had been away in a dream for a long time, and upon suddenly returning to reality, she even forgot what she was doing before she fell asleep for an instant.

"Yo."

Aiwass approached her, greeting her warmly, "It seems everything went smoothly. May I ask, how are you feeling now?"

"I... cough..."

Hayna was about to speak when she choked and coughed due to the excessive force throughout her body.

The next moment, a dense killing aura spilled out along with the cough. Her pupils were completely enveloped by a silver-white radiance.

Hayna breathed heavily, instinctively reaching to grasp the clothing at her chest. It was as though she had entered a high altitude from an area with higher oxygen concentration—her cheeks instantly turned crimson, and her heart began to pump vigorously.

"Don't disturb her just yet."

Sherlock reached out to pull the curious Aiwass back, "Ascending to the Fourth Energy Level is quite a hassle."

Hayna was no longer paying attention to Aiwass.

At this moment, her spirit, after being enhanced and returning to the Material Realm, was filled with the power she had harvested from the Dream Realm, spills over when a cup is full.
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As she awoke and her consciousness returned to the Material Realm, her spirit finally poured that power into her body.

The power of the Path flowed continuously from Hayna's spirit, visibly enhancing her body.

Her entire body's muscles and bones greedily absorbed the essence of this silver-white strength. Her aura visibly increased to a degree that could be seen with the naked eye. An invisible silver-white flame wrapped around her, like a gentle shell.

Visible white ripples echoed in the air—signs of a life form's transformation after completing an initial job advancement. Aiwass didn't need to activate his spiritual vision to see the realized power of the Path with his naked eye.

It was not something gathered from the Material Realm, but what Hayna had brought back from the Dream Realm. Like dry ice returning to room temperature, it was steaming with white vapor.

—But after all, this was a legit promotion after completing the ritual and being recognized by the world. The process of level enhancement wasn't painful or long.

About three or four minutes passed, and the light flames burning on Hayna's body dissipated.

When she opened her eyes again, her expression had once again become calm.

Aiwass raised an eyebrow, sensing the change in Hayna's temperament.

The clear sense of foolishness she had about her when she first awoke had almost disappeared to the point of being invisible. The carefree gentle smile was also gone.

In its place was an almost dangerous air of determination.

Even her posture had noticeably changed. What was once a lazy and casual sitting position now became sharp and precise.

—It was only then that Aiwass realized. This was indeed the leader of the "Hyena Gang," "Anonymous," from the game. Even though she avoided that future with the help of Aiwass and Sherlock, she still possessed the talent to reach that status.

Of course, it wasn't only Aiwass who realized this. Lily and Sherlock also clearly felt the change in Hayna's aura.

But in the end, the first to speak was the small Sherlock who didn't know how to be polite and fully utilized the advantage of her current appearance, "What did you experience in the dream this time?"

The normally outspoken Hayna instinctively hesitated for an instant.

—Just this bit of growth was quite a surprise to Aiwass.

He could clearly sense that Hayna was hesitating about "whether or not to lie."

But in the end, Hayna still chose to tell the truth.

However, saying whatever comes to mind without scheming, and deciding to speak after careful consideration are different—the latter undoubtedly represents a deeper trust.

"...I may have foreseen the future."

Hayna's expression was serious, even somber, "Because the era of my advancement ceremony was the year 1900—that is, two years from now."

"You can foresee the future in an advancement ceremony?"

Lily was somewhat startled.

However, Aiwass and Sherlock showed no reaction.

Sherlock looked up at Aiwass and, seeing his calm expression, turned back to Hayna to explain, "There indeed is such a possibility. But that is actually not the real future, just one possible future."

"Perhaps Miss Hayna's first ascension ceremony is too far behind her. In the first ascension ceremony, the host will mention... The dreamland used in the ascension ceremony is 'another possibility of history' inferred by the Nine Pillar Gods. And since such inference preparations are made, they naturally extend to the future.

"According to scholarly research, this statement can lead to two interpretations. One theory is the 'Theory of Multiple Histories'. Scholars of this faction believe that history is not unique. But the results of history—that is, the key milestones—are determined.

"They think that the Nine Pillar Gods hold ascension ceremonies to look for a 'best past'... That's why sometimes, although the Pillar God says, 'This is not the same as history,' the actual development is the same. It could have been different, but it has been changed.

"But I support another faction more, the 'Watchers' Theory'. They think that the Nine Pillar Gods weave dreams and repeatedly hold ascension ceremonies in order to use the past to infer the future. Otherwise, they would not be obsessed with inferring 'past possibilities' because that would be an unchangeable past.

"The River of the Dream Realm is a great river that transcends time and space, ancient and modern. Dream Traversing Monks have confirmed... Even mortals have the opportunity to reach the future directly through The River of the Dream Realm, but once they go, they cannot return. The Pillar Gods, on the other hand, can see far into the other shore, to that ever-changing future... Therefore, the Pillar Gods hold ascension ceremonies to continuously confirm future possibilities and prevent potential great disasters."

Sherlock looked deep at Aiwass and said meaningfully, "Perhaps the root cause of some disasters is just an ordinary trivial matter; it is also possible that after preventing one disaster, another larger disaster may be triggered."

"I know you want to talk about the fox bewitching its master again."

Aiwass retorted, "I must say, this is a prejudice against 'foxes'—it shows you read too little, only knowing 'the fox bewitching its master' and repeatedly bringing it up. If it really won't do, should I change the code name for the next ascension ceremony?"

"That's not what I said."

Sherlock coldly denied, then turned back nonchalantly and continued, "The monks of Ancient Horus once discussed a philosophical question: 'If a person can always go back to the past to solve various misfortunes, then when he returns to the future, will the sum of misfortunes in the world decrease with each return?'

"The answer is obvious—it's impossible. The world is constantly developing and changing, woven together by countless coincidences. This means we cannot focus on a certain moment in the past to judge the future.

"So, if any great being could know the infinite future, it would probably only be God. But even so..."

At this point, Sherlock hesitated for a moment.

Because he didn't dare to continue, he subconsciously chickened out.

Aiwass, on the other hand, had no hesitation and continued, "Even so, Pillar Gods can fall. If the Nine Pillar Gods could know all futures, then the Supreme Heaven could not possibly have been pierced by the Silver Spear and fall to the earth.

"Rather than consider the possibility that 'the Crowned Celestial Marshal of yesteryear could avoid the gaze of the Pillar Gods', it's more likely... that even the Nine Pillar Gods cannot know all futures and the changes in the farther future caused by altering any future."

Or rather, the future observed by the Nine Pillar Gods themselves must inevitably be inaccurate.

That's why They need to hold ascension ceremonies, to add the variable of mortal souls.

Sherlock concluded, "Ascending to the fourth energy level indeed has a certain probability of encountering 'future' dreams. Generally speaking, this is a situation that one encounters at the fifth energy level... Some transcendent individuals at the fifth energy level go mad after ascending, because they see fragmented shards of the future.

"Because these usually are parts of a disaster, they tend to believe them to be true; and after waking from the dream, memories quickly become blurred, and their own imagination fills in many of the details, making this information even less reliable.

"But this is not a story that must happen, just one possible future—yet compared to the determined 'past', this kind of 'future possibility' is obviously more referential. Even if it's just a possibility, this information is valuable.

"——So, what exactly did you see? Tell us while you still remember."

"I..."

Hayna, who had now changed class to an Arbitrator, only opened her mouth in response to Sherlock's question.

She said in a low voice, "I dreamed... Avalon was destroyed. Or rather, Avalon had perished."

After Hayna spoke with a heavy tone, the room fell silent.

Aiwass, Lily, and Sherlock were all as stoic as ever. One could even say they were expressionless.

Looking at her with a puzzled lift of her head, Sherlock furrowed his brows and urged, "And then?"

"—Aren't you surprised?!"

Hayna couldn't hold back any longer, stressed, "I dreamed that Avalon was destroyed by the Star Antimony people, completely wiped out—even the royal family does not exist anymore!"

Seeing Hayna now, Aiwass felt like her previously sharp demeanor was just an illusion.

She was still that not-so-smart girl.