Free Web NovelChapter 311: Mission Complete
Inside the wooden cabin.
Sonya settled Dia onto a lounge chair before moving closer to watch Ashe and Denzel work through the problem.
Ashe pointed at the Blindfolded Girl in the painting, his expression clouded with confusion. "Do I know her, too?"
He hadn't expected his question to mirror Denzel's so closely. Even the image used was one of the options from Denzel's first round. This question clearly belonged to Denzel alone, yet for reasons he couldn't grasp, Ashe was being permitted to answer it as well.
Phantom Ashe offered no verbal response, simply gesturing toward the sleeping Dia.
Ashe followed the gaze and fell silent. Dia was a mirror image of the blindfolded girl. There was no way he could claim she was a stranger.
Sonya analyzed. "Think about it. In the previous question, we saw four people who looked exactly like the sister. The Black-White girl was her, and the Princess was her grandmother. Following that logic, the Basement Girl and the Blindfolded Girl should also be relatives.
"The Blindfolded Girl could have three possible identities. The Missionary Saint, the Secret Strategist, or the Gospel Incarnation. Come to think of it, her grandmother even wanted her to become a god among mortals..."
Sonya's voice trailed off as she recalled the frail girl in the painting, the one so poor she had nothing to do but study. Her lips quirked into a pout, almost enough to hang a teapot from. She muttered, "What an illustrious background."
"No need to be jealous," Ashe said, trying to comfort her. "She might come from a powerful family, but you still have me."
Sonya stared at him blankly. Ashe met her gaze with a bright, toothy smile that practically radiated confidence.
The gesture backfired. Sonya slumped into a soft chair as if her spine had been removed. She stared at the ceiling with lifeless eyes, her face a mask of despair. "I don't even dare imagine how miserable life will be once I get my memories back..."
Ashe protested. "Hey, at least have some faith in your own past judgment!"
Denzel watched them for a moment before interjecting. "Putting everything else aside, you two truly must be lovers."
Ashe and Sonya froze. Despite the short time they had spent together, they both sensed that Denzel was a woman of careful thought who never spoke without certainty. She was the polar opposite of Ashe, whose imagination could run wild at the mere sight of a bare arm.
"Why do you say that?"
"Even with your memories gone, you can carry out dense conversations filled with almost no substance in a completely natural way. It shows your personalities have been tempered over time, allowing you to fit together into a whole that comforts one another in any situation."
Despite the affirmation, Ashe and Sonya only responded with a flat "Oh." The label of lovers no longer stirred emotion in either of them. Even Sonya had accepted the role as a matter of fact. More importantly, they understood the subtext of Denzel's remark. Stop talking nonsense and answer the question.
"I think option two, the First Emperor's Secret Strategist, is the most likely," Sonya said, getting back to business.
Ashe nodded. "I agree."
Denzel wasn't surprised. "Because she gave herself the codename Empress?"
The most reliable sources of information in the cabin were the phantoms who held their memories. The codenames those phantoms chose were vital clues. Phantom Sonya was the Swordswoman, a hint that her real self excelled in combat. Witch suggested Dia was likely mischievous. As for Watcher... it probably meant Ashe simply enjoyed being a spectator whenever things got chaotic?
The codename with the most weight, however, was Empress. It suggested that in reality, Denzel likely held supreme authority, perhaps ruling the world while reclining in luxury. The Secret Strategist to the First Emperor in option two was the only choice that matched that level of power.
With no other leads to follow, it was the most logical answer.
Sonya suddenly spotted a flaw in Ashe's reasoning. "Wait. A ruler and a mistress aren't exactly compatible identities, are they?"
Ashe shot back defensively, "Who says so! If my mistress is an empress, that would only make it more exciting!"
Sonya snapped, "Even if you're willing, she wouldn't be!"
"I would," Denzel interjected, shocking them both. "Worldly status would not stop me from pursuing love. However..."
She looked at Ashe and Sonya, her gaze intensifying. "If I truly held power as an empress, I would lock my beloved away. I would destroy all his connections, forbid anyone from approaching him, and never allow him to leave my side. I would become his one and only."
Ashe felt the hair on his arms stand on end. A sudden surge of admiration for his past self rose within him. How did the old me provoke someone like this? Or... did she pursue me instead? No, if she really is my mistress, I need a plan the moment we leave this cabin. At the very least, I should join forces with the lover—
Ashe turned his head, only to find that Sonya had drifted a significant distance away. He frowned. "Why are you standing so far off?"
Without realizing it, Sonya had retreated to Dia's side. She maintained a deadpan expression. "I need to look after her now. It's not convenient to be near you. Besides, you already have an empress for a mistress. I think it's best if we keep our distance for the time being."
Ashe cried out in anguish. "Coward! Shouldn't true love mean sharing fortune and misfortune? Living and dying together, facing blessings and disasters side by side? Through prosperity or hardship, wealth or poverty, health or illness, shouldn't lovers stay together and never abandon each other? My love, you've betrayed us!"
Sonya trembled as she listened, murmuring, "True love..."
"Yes! Lovers should support each other and never part!"
"If one abandons the other at the first sign of danger, can that even be called love?"
Ashe felt deeply moved. "I'm glad you finally understand..."
Sonya sighed. "Which is why we should break up. That way, we won't be lovers anymore, and I can abandon you without the guilt. What a short-lived romance it was. I'll remember you, Sir Knight, whose name I still don't know."
Ashe was so angry that he could not say a word. It didn't matter, however, because a warm embrace soon wrapped around him. Slender arms circled his neck, and the back of his head sank once more into that intoxicating softness.
"Can we answer the question now?
Denzel's flat voice instantly sobered him. "Yes. I hate it when people start chatting in the middle of serious matters. Let's finish this cabin journey quickly.
"We can completely rule out option one. So far, we haven't found any information related to the Missionary Saint. When you've lost your memory, choosing an option with zero information is just gambling. Option three is the same, but..."
Denzel prompted, "But?"
Ashe pondered for a moment. "In these questions, we've seen four people who look exactly like the sister, yet based on the answers, all four are different individuals."
Ashe adjusted his position, pressing the back of his head more firmly into the Empress's embrace. "So, can we form a hypothesis? What if only one of them is real, and the other three are... imitators?"
Sonya frowned, looking confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not entirely sure what it means either, but unless this was done intentionally, there's no way four identical people could exist naturally. One of them must be the original template, and the others were deliberately shaped to mirror her.
"Do you remember the answer to the sister's third question? Her grandmother wanted her to become a god among mortals. If we connect that to this question..."
Denzel reacted instantly. "The Blindfolded Girl... is the original god among mortals?"
Ashe replied, "Not necessarily, but she must possess a power so significant that others would mold their descendants in her image just to inherit her authority. And among these three options, the identity most likely to carry such an enigmatic power is..."
Ashe and Denzel both turned their gaze toward option three, the Gospel Incarnation of the Omniscient Weaver.
Even while they were stripped of their memories, they could feel an overwhelming, inexplicable weight radiating from that title alone.
Ashe admitted. "But this is just speculation. It's mostly guesswork without solid evidence. As it stands, option two still has the highest statistical probability."
Denzel looked at him. "Then what will you choose?"
"I'm going with three."
"Then I'll choose three as well."
"Does this mean we have that tacit understanding lovers are supposed to have?" Ashe asked.
Denzel didn't answer directly. Instead, she whispered, "Do you know what kind of person I admire most? Someone who thinks. Someone calm. Someone knowledgeable. Wisdom is the quality that attracts me above all else. I have no resistance to intelligent people."
She lowered her head, leaning close to Ashe's face, and took a deep breath. "Only just now did I begin to sense that scent of wisdom I love radiating from you. If you can keep providing that, then even without my memories, I would still fall deeply for you all over again."
Ashe didn't dare move. He tilted his head slightly, catching Sonya's eye in the background. He blinked rapidly. Got it. I'll just act dumb from now on to escape this.
Sonya blinked back, her expression dry. I don't think you even need to act.
Phantom Ashe interrupted. "Right. Before you answer, you should know what treasure this question is tied to. No need to mention the beauty's item; it remains the Incarnation of Secrets. As for you, Sir Knight, your treasure is..."
A cluster of starlight coalesced in Phantom Ashe's palm. "The Incarnation of the Stars. This is the most precious thing you possess."
The moment Denzel saw it, her eyes widened. Her memories might be gone, but a sense of purpose etched into the very fabric of her soul ignited. She understood her mission instantly. She had to have it.
She asked, "If I answer correctly, can I choose the Incarnation of the Stars as my reward?"
Before Phantom Denzel could speak, Phantom Ashe answered for her. "Of course."
Phantom Denzel stared at Phantom Ashe's profile. She knew something had gone wrong within the wooden cabin. When Denzel had answered correctly earlier, she had received 10,000 soul energy instead of another conceptual incarnation. Why? Because conceptual incarnations were unique. The cabin couldn't simply grant them as rewards. Unless...
"Now then," Phantom Ashe prompted, "Now then, have you confirmed your answers? In theory, you are not allowed to choose the same answer for the same question. If you insist on doing so, you may face a certain... punishment."
In truth, no such rule existed. Since its creation, the cabin had never hosted two guests at once. Therefore, it never had the opportunity to establish the rules of a two-player game. Yet Phantom Denzel remained silent. The moment Phantom Ashe spoke, the rule manifested into reality.
Once it was clear that neither Ashe nor Denzel would waver, Phantom Ashe declared cheerfully, "Alright! Congratulations. You have both chosen the correct answer."
Before they could relax, the Phantom continued, "However, since you selected the same answer, the cabin suspects you of collusion. You shall be punished, though you will still be rewarded. The penalty? The treasures you wagered are forfeit. The prize? You shall receive an item of equal value in return. So..."
In that instant, the Incarnation of the Stars flickered into existence in Phantom Ashe's palm, while the Incarnation of Secrets materialized at Phantom Denzel's fingertips. The two clusters of light swapped places, streaking toward their new owners.
Ashe gained the Incarnation of Secrets and lost the Incarnation of the Stars. Denzel, in turn, gained the Incarnation of the Stars and lost the Incarnation of Secrets.
Ashe felt nothing in particular; he had no concept of their worth. Denzel, however, fell into a deep silence. That etched sense of purpose within her soul suddenly felt fulfilled. So... is the mission complete?
