When the plot-skips players into the game world

Sherlock gazed at the pensive Aiwass, his own eyes flickering with some unease.

He too understood how shocking his words were — to accuse a Pillar God of corruption, especially as a Transcendent on the Path of Authority, was akin to a minor official crying out, "The Emperor has rebelled."

Not to mention, the Silver-Crowned Dragon itself was the protector and founder of Avalon.

Without the Silver-Crowned Dragon, Avalonians would still be kept as livestock by the Giants. Statues of the Silver-Crowned Dragon are everywhere, and people's respect for the Silver-Crowned Dragon surpasses that of any other Pillar God... Even though the Silver-Crowned Dragon has not performed any miracles, doubting the Silver-Crowned Dragon is an act of disloyalty.

"What do you think, Aiwass?"

Sherlock asked softly.

After speaking, he glanced at Isabel and added, "What do you think?"

Aiwass raised his eyes to look at Sherlock, the understanding of that sentence deepening within him.

— Just as Professor Moriarty said, "Knowledge is poisonous."

Once certain things are known, it's impossible to think from the perspective of not knowing them. In this sense, the information has become a worm that seduces the mind, infiltrating consciousness during learning and mastery, and in every thought, it takes more energy and self to perfect itself.

Sherlock's process of learning the "Ten Holy Numbers Theory" also proves this point.

Once he became aware of the existence of the Void, he could not help but start thinking about which things might relate to the Void; once he realized that the Truth's Gate held the Void, he had to begin doubting his own path, and further, doubting other Pillar Gods.

Originally, things that seemed unproblematic in daily life now began to appear abnormal piece by piece — as if every mortal on the street had the potential to become a Son of Nihility, as if every god above intended to destroy the world.

Everything he experienced seemed to have the layout and calculations of the great ones. And any of his thoughts may have been altered by the Path and the Source River;

When he meets a strange person, he wouldn't think about how this person's past life formed their current character, leading them to such a state; nor would he consider if there were problems in the environment he grew up in, whether it was his family, school, country, or race that made him so distorted... He would first conduct Path calculations to see if they add up to ten.

— The whole world seemed twisted because of this, and only those who had accepted the same amount of information as him could understand what he was talking about.

To others, he was just a paranoid madman. Constantly speaking of indescribable, inexplicable, incomprehensible things, yet unable to convey what he knew to others.

But Aiwass understood him.

Aiwass slowly nodded: "I believe you."

Or rather, because Aiwass could see the future, he knew that Sherlock's analysis and reasoning were indeed correct. At least, this angle could explain it.

"In that case," Isabel quickly replied, "I also believe you."

Even for Avalon's Queen, even as a descendant of Lancelot—after Aiwass stated his position, Isabel chose to believe Aiwass.

That was not perfunctory, but a heartfelt conviction.

Since in a certain sense, "Truth" already concealed inexpressible dangers, not every question needed to be pursued to the end for that single answer, just knowing what could help oneself was beneficial.

And as for now, what they needed to do was to be wary of the Silver-Crowned Dragon.

It wasn't a difficult task, and preparing in advance wouldn't be wrong. After all, the Calamity Demon Dragon could descend upon the Material Realm at any time.

The only problem is...

"Aiwass," Isabel said with some concern, "will something happen to Avalon? I mean... the current Avalon region."

Although the Avalon Kingdom has already merged into the New Heras Empire, Isabel remains concerned about those citizens who once followed her. If possible, she hopes to eliminate danger and hidden threats for them in advance.

And Aiwass then solemnly shook his head: "Hard to say."

It's really hard to say.

Unlike the clearly defined Ring of Ouroboros ritual, he wasn't quite sure how the Calamity Demon Dragon would specifically descend, nor was he certain about the exact timing. All he knew was that pulling the Calamity Demon Dragon into the Material Realm required three items, one of which was the "Sword of Separation of All Things" already in his possession. Yet, the origins of the remaining two were unknown.

He could only tightly grasp this Ritual Dagger in hand to delay the occurrence of such events as much as possible.

— Because one reason was that Aiwass couldn't stay in Avalon forever, he had to travel abroad to resolve the Ring of Ouroboros ritual and simultaneously seize the Celestial Marshal Shards.

Another reason was that the descent of the Calamity Demon Dragon had human agents. The descent, or rather the "prison break" process, was incredibly covert, unlike the Ring of Ouroboros, which dramatically alters celestial events; before the Calamity Demon Dragon acted up, Aiwass couldn't determine whether it had already descended.

Originally, Aiwass was curious why when the Calamity Demon Dragon descended, the Silver-Crowned Dragon remained silent… Now, with Sherlock's analysis, this last piece of logic finally fell into place.

— Because from the moment the Silver-Crowned Dragon could no longer suppress the Calamity Demon Dragon, it signified that it too had been contaminated. Or at least, had begun to be contaminated.

A clay Buddha crossing the river, even it can't protect itself.

Furthermore, this realization also led Aiwass to another secret—

That from the promotion ritual that escaped from the world within the painting, the secret revealed by those three paintings.

They all relate to the pollution of the Dusk Species!

[—All banquets must end. Feast upon the blood of Fools, devour the flesh of The Banqueter, until the banquet succeeds and guests leave satisfied. Afterward, the Banquet Master will once again achieve Perfection, ascending to the Heavenly Department Position. The feast they long for will convene again, perhaps in the Dream Realm, or maybe in the future]

The first painting, the banquet succeeds.

It was the eternal feast yearned for on the Path of Love. It is love, and also dusk. It is creation, and also error. The secret it reveals, the guests "why they died," refers precisely to outsiders.

It is the Void.

The guests did not die from [Slaughter], nor did they perish from [Judgment].

Rather, they were fixed in the endless wild feast by [Banquet]!

Until the "banquet" they yearn for is held once more... perhaps in the Dream Realm, perhaps in the future.

[—Rebellion is the first blade of the helpless, and the curse will be the last one. History will inevitably cycle, once, twice, thrice... No one can escape the curse of the Eternal Ring. A king will surely die by the sword, and he who kills with the sword shall surely be king. This may be a paradox, but perhaps it's a cycle. Who knows? Not to mention all beings, even the gods are just bloodthirsty beasts, devouring each other...]

The second painting, the Rebellion Ring.

It is the conflict of Strength and Wisdom, telling the story of the ascension of the Great Sage and the Supreme Heaven, narrating the beginning and end of the Path of Authority, and the silence and betrayal of the Path of Wisdom.

History will inevitably cycle—this refers precisely to the history repeated by the Serpent Celestial Marshal. The curse of the Eternal Ring also points to the paradox and cycle of the Reincarnation Celestial Marshal.

The gods are just bloodthirsty beasts, devouring each other... revealing the birth and transition of the gods.

What is the knowledge hinted at here?

Aiwass couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Rebellion is the first blade of the helpless, and the curse will be the last one..."

If the "curse of the Eternal Ring" is indeed "the last blade of the helpless," does that mean the Serpent Celestial Marshal is the innocent one? Rebellion was his first blade... whom did he rebel against?

...The Void?

And the third painting...

[—The Sun will eventually set, and destiny will ultimately return. Every encounter has its day of parting; however, even after parting, one can meet again. Beneath the blazing Sun, the path to freedom is impossible. But if the starlight is piercing enough, perhaps it can cleave the heavens before daylight. Then, you will know where that new path leads]

It corresponds to the star number.

[—My Holy Number is 11, the number belonging to our kind]

Just like the prophecy spoken by the Serpent Celestial Marshal.

Stars are the number of men.

Just as in The Grimoire of Aiwass, the card "The Star" was absent from the very beginning.

Because Aiwass himself is the Star—destined to cleave open the heavens before daylight.

And the story it describes is the eternal conflict between Aiwass and the Serpent Celestial Marshal.

In sequence, the first painting tells of [Love] and [Dusk] being eroded and surviving in the eternal wild feast.

The second painting tells of "wisdom and strength being eroded by the curse of the infinite cycle," hinting that the Path of Wisdom and the Path of Authority will be the second to run into trouble.

And the third painting speaks of Aiwass and the Serpent Celestial Marshal—concerning [Dedication] and [Transcendence].

Considering this is the New Moon Ritual Candle Master prepared for Aiwass, a "most cruel ritual hosted by the most benevolent Pillar God," it means this is the secret Candle Master wants to convey to Aiwass.

Because "knowledge is poisonous," Aiwass can't learn the truth before going through those events, to avoid the self-fulfillment of the prophecy.

And now is about the time when the truth is revealed.

"The gods are just bloodthirsty beasts, devouring each other..."

Aiwass pondered over Candle Master's prophecy thoughtfully.

Does this imply that... the Crown Lord is going to be devoured by the Calamity Demon Dragon?

If so, things are indeed grave, brothers.

As everyone knows—

The Path of Authority currently has no Celestial Marshal.

Before Aiwass became aware of the Silver-Crowned Dragon's issue, he didn't realize anything was wrong here—after all, the Path of Authority is the most "power-obsessed" Path, so it's normal to hope for the consolidation of one's power.

But once realizing that the Silver-Crowned Dragon may have been eroded long ago... this behavior immediately becomes peculiar.

If a Pillar God doesn't produce a Celestial Marshal, it can only be because they feel they don't need a replacement.

However, the Hourglass indeed doesn't need one—it's a load-bearing wall, if the load-bearing wall fails, everyone fails together.

But what about the Path of Authority?

Clearly, it is already ill; why not seek a cure?

Unless it knows... if there is a cure, it may lead to its death.

The Silver-Crowned Dragon's killing of the Bear Celestial Marshal implies its completion of itself... what exactly was completed?

What did the Bear Celestial Marshal's last words to the Silver-Crowned Dragon mean?