The black sun hangs high

Chapter 236 Fate and Script

"It's just a game."

When these words came out of Theseus's mouth, a strange sense of absurdity arose.

Hugh couldn't even tell whether Theseus was referring to the image on the computer screen in front of him or hinting at something else. After all, the power Theseus had displayed in the past and his unique penchant for the wicked made it difficult to fathom the true meaning and intention behind his words.

The saying "if you make too many bad jokes, no one will believe you anymore" probably refers to this situation.

However, Theseus was naturally not embarrassed by any misunderstanding; he simply enjoyed it.

Theseus slowly spun his chair, and with this movement, his form began to change once again. In just a few seconds, Theseus's form, composed of thick mist, transformed once more into the shape that made Hugh feel very uncomfortable.

Looking at the figure in front of him, which was noticeably smaller and clearly had feminine features, Hugh felt a headache coming on.

Hugh's emotional and mental changes could not be hidden from the strange deity in front of him, so he, or rather she, immediately let out a rather crisp laugh: "How interesting, at least this conversation is not too boring."

Hugh couldn't help but sigh: "Whatever makes you happy."

"Of course I'm happy."

Theseus crossed her legs and gently placed her hands in front of her. She smiled and said, "After all, you finally remembered to come back here... Although your intention to come back is obviously not pure, I can assume that you came to visit me."

"..."

Hugh stared at the faceless god before him for two seconds, then abandoned his attempt to continue the conversation with Theseus and instead said, "Vanne's magic has undergone some strange changes, and I sensed a distinct aura of the Dark Abyss court within it, so I wanted to confirm something with you..."

Before Hugh could finish his question, Theseus quickly nodded and gave his answer: "Yes."

"I haven't asked yet."

"You just want to ask me if a 'black sun' is about to rise, don't you?"

Theseus tilted his head slightly: "So that's my answer. That huge black celestial body is about to rise again... and your world will soon return to the gaze of the gods. This was bound to happen, just as reasonable as the cyclical changes of the tides."

Theseus's answer was so decisive and straightforward that it could be said to have a touch of ruthlessness.

When she said these words, she was as calm as if she were stating a simple fact. For Theseus, this question did not seem to be a terrible topic concerning the survival and development of a world. Judging from her indifferent tone, the topic seemed as simple and boring as "what to eat for breakfast tomorrow".

Theseus's answer was not beyond Hugh's expectations. Based on the changes in magic that he had personally experienced, it would be most bizarre if nothing happened. Now that Theseus had personally "revealed" the news that the black sun was coming, Hugh's mood had become much calmer.

He hesitated for two seconds before asking, "So, is your attitude towards what's going to happen the same as before?"

This question seemed to surprise Theseus, but she maintained her feminine demeanor and asked in return, "What attitude?"

"Just like when we first met, you always said you were looking forward to my 'performance' and the changes that went beyond the 'script'... Is that still the case now?"

This time, it was Theseus who fell silent.

Her raised leg trembled slightly, while the mist that formed her indistinct face stirred with a specific rhythm.

Finally, the faceless deity let out a muffled groan of ambiguity, and then she replied, "Perhaps it will be different, it's hard to say... What, is my attitude important? Does it affect the decisions you make?"

Hugh shook his head. He did not answer Theseus's question, but continued, "During this time, the power of the Mirror Messenger that I possess has experienced a new growth. In the process, it brought me a dream."

He looked at the elusive, chaotic humanoid figure before him and said, “In that dream, I saw scenes from that lost era… In addition, I also saw a Mirror Messenger from the Dark Abyss Court who came to Vaan for some unknown reason, and on this Mirror Messenger’s journey, He encountered someone.”

Hugh paused slightly, staring intently at Theseus, whose face continued to undulate at an extremely slow pace, seemingly unaffected by Hugh's words.

So Hugh continued, “It was a woman, to be precise, a human woman… I saw her in my dream, and at that time, a considerable number of humans, elves, dwarves, and even ogres obeyed and followed her… This woman seemed to have absolute dominance among those different groups.”

Hugh thought Theseus would let him continue, but before he could speak, Theseus suddenly spoke up.

"Not to rule, but to lead."

The moment he uttered those words, the female silhouette he had been using instantly reverted to its original form, and his voice returned to its neutral state, a blend of countless different vocal tones, with a hint of coldness in his words.

Clearly, Theseus was taking Hughes's words very seriously in "correcting" him.

Hughes could even sense a very rare sense of oppression emanating from it.

Theseus's performance was in line with Hugh's expectations. Although in the previous conversation and probing, Theseus had always denied all concepts related to the goddess of magic, Mel, he was even unwilling to place the word "god" on Mel. At first glance, this attitude seemed very similar to the Black Sun Society members who directly blasphemed those gods and used this to please the ancient gods, but in reality, its core was completely different.

Hughes had a very keen intuition in this regard. As someone who dealt with words all his life, he could clearly sense Theseus's affection for the goddess of magic.

It could even be called "respect".

Hugh could understand if any other person or being held reverence or goodwill towards the goddess Mel, but Theseus was different. He was a strange being burdened with the traces of many ancient gods, even capable of directly wielding their power and authority. Logically, it would be more reasonable for him to stand firmly against Mel, rather than simply denying her divine status. While Hugh remained silent, Theseus said, "I neither recommend nor agree to applying your concept of 'rule' to her, understand?"

Hughes sensed an invisible threat and immediately nodded.

Seeing this, Theseus sighed with a hint of helplessness, raised his hand, and the computer monitor next to him turned off.

This was a very rare instance of Theseus adopting a serious attitude towards conversation.

"It seems that those defective products in Seren City have ultimately brought you ample opportunities for growth... That's good."

Theseus nodded and continued, "But I think that's all you've seen so far, only in that dream. As for the other encounters of that messenger in the mirror, you probably can't see them, right?"

With that, Theseus let out another strange, enigmatic laugh: "So, are you curious about what happens next?"

Hughes stated bluntly: "Of course."

However, Theseus spread his hands: "Unfortunately, I don't intend to take you there myself. After all, looking back on these past events doesn't make me feel good... If you want to see more details, you'll have to do it yourself. Anyway, it won't be long, right?"

Upon hearing this, Hugh's eyebrows twitched involuntarily, and his eyes widened slightly.

Because Theseus had clearly acknowledged a fact through his words.

That is, the distant memory that Hughes glimpsed when he wore the Mirror Messenger mask seemed to originate from Theseus, who was the Mirror Messenger who came to Vaan for unknown reasons. Theseus did indeed, by a twist of fate, meet the goddess of magic who would later be worshipped and believed in by countless beings in the world of Vaan.

Or, in Theseus's words, he met "that leader."

Theseus seemed somewhat satisfied with Hugh's reaction. He did not deny Hugh's conjecture, nor did he offer any further rebuttal or correction. Instead, he directly changed the subject.

He slowed his speech, his blurred, misty face trembling slightly: "I know why you returned to the dream world today. Although I don't recommend that you perform another sacrifice, I won't stop you... After all, you are facing some challenges now, and you naturally need to have a couple more trump cards up your sleeve. Of course, you will bear the consequences yourself."

Then Theseus raised his hand and pointed to the containers shrouded in mist: "Now that things have come to this, I can tell you something else... about this sanctuary."

As Theseus spoke, the ancient creations locked in various cabinets, drawers, bookshelves, and objects by the mist resonated slightly, and Theseus nodded in satisfaction as if he had sensed the call of his "subjects."

He then said, "Everything in this shelter is a remnant of that distant era that I preserved from the past."

"Remnants?"

"Yes, the vast majority of them were once the followers of a certain deity, special cases among the huge races under those deities. They should have perished like their own kind after the deity they followed and worshipped fell into slumber, but... I made some small changes."

Theseus said slowly, “I selected them and made some minor adjustments and modifications to their will, which allowed them to successfully retain the precious blessings bestowed by the gods, but at the same time, it also freed them from being restrained and influenced... Of course, they themselves probably don’t know it.”

"So in fact, all the survivors in this shelter are traitors who escaped from the faith in those gods."

Theseus's words had a significant psychological impact on Hugh. Hugh couldn't help but grip the armrests of his chair tightly, and he asked somewhat urgently, "So, you really are standing against the ancient gods?"

However, Theseus shook his head: "I said before, don't look at these things with your simple, crude concepts of good and evil and opposites... The two are not comparable. Perhaps I do this only because it brings me more fun?"

This time, Hughes was skeptical of Theseus's words.

He paused for two seconds to calm down, then asked, "I have a question that I hope you can answer."

Theseus did not agree, but shrugged: "Tell me first."

Hughes breathed a sigh of relief and asked in a deep voice, "I want to ask, are all these things happening now, and the choices I've made... still within the scope of your so-called 'script'?"

This question clearly surprised Theseus. His agitated, misty face froze for a moment, but then returned to normal.

"Ah, good question."

Theseus smiled and praised him, then replied, “I can tell you that ‘fate’ and ‘script’ are two completely different concepts… Fate is constantly changing, and every choice you make can disturb its development. When these disturbances accumulate, they are enough to shake its development.”

"The 'script' I'm referring to is a reasonable deduction based on the trend of fate and those fixed conditions... Just like some of the names I possess, I can indeed glimpse the development of fate and use that to arrive at the most likely outcome, but even if the so-called 'god of fate' wanted to completely control the power of fate, it would be impossible."

Hughes frowned: "What's the principle behind this?"

"If it's just the fate of an individual, it's very easy to manipulate. But if the individual is related to the group, or even the whole world, then everything becomes complicated... Just like those useless fools in the Black Sun Society, they think that by making preparations and arrangements according to an ambiguous prophecy, they can directly guide the development of things in the direction they want. However, the reality is often not so."

At this point, Theseus slightly raised his head, as if pointing his chin at Hugh: "If it were before, you would of course be in a fixed script, but now it's different... Your fate is intertwined with many people, and those people in Seren are just a part of it."

"You're on the verge of breaking this established script, just one step away."

(End of this chapter)