When the plot-skips players into the game world

Aiwass did not interrupt Isabel but listened quietly to the intelligence she brought. Read latest chapters at empire

Isabel, mustering her energy, let out a sigh of relief and collapsed into unconsciousness after detailing everything she had seen. Aiwass, like a real father, picked her up in his arms.

He had her sit on his lap, gently patted her back, and whispered softly, "You've worked hard, Lulu."

"Leave the rest to me."

He felt the burning temperature from Daiya's forehead with his own chin and throat. The heat was scorching, yet he did not let go. Aiwass knew the pain Isabel was enduring must have been much higher than what he was feeling at the moment.

Just by feeling Daiya's body quivering continuously, struggling, and seeing her already somewhat unfocused pupils, he knew Lulu's body and will were at their limits.

Heat waves enveloped her body, as if one had stepped outdoors in the summer. The heat was so intense that Aiwass felt the edges of his clothing starting to scorch.

That feeling was all too familiar to him.

—It was exactly the same as when Yulia was sick as a child.

It wasn't merely a fever in the conventional sense but her body gradually breaking apart under intense heat, like glass shattering like a spider web under high temperatures. Small bodies are even more vulnerable to the power of the Phantom Demon.

Children find it hard to cope with this pain and often cry loudly. And if they did so, intending to "vent," the power of the Phantom Demon would seep through these cracks. It would not only cause massive destruction to the surroundings but also harm their own bodies.

At such times, Yulia would usually curl up in a corner and quietly burn herself.

She was able to bear the pain silently, not to worry Aiwass and the adults at the orphanage, but she couldn't go out and act under such pain.

Aiwass looked at the gleaming purple light in Isabel's cracked pale skin and took a deep breath.

...Purple light. This represents the power to Transcend the Path.

—It was the Incubus.

In that instant, all the intelligence connected in Aiwass's mind.

The legend of Room 201's Merlin, the little girl who had long died outside the window, the Weapon he carried on his person for hunting Demons, Jacob who was still the Scaleless Hand Leader but went to such a small place, the brand-new bills he was carrying, people who inexplicably gathered and forgot why they came, and the overlapping layers of Dreamland...

Why was Merlin a participant in Transcending the Path? Or rather, why did the Great Sage have him preside over this ritual?

At this moment, Aiwass finally understood everything—

"...The nursery rhyme that Lulu heard, 'Lock her up with a key,' recounts a classic erroneous ritual spread among the folk."

Aiwass began to speak slowly, explaining to the others: "It's not just in Avalon—in all countries where Ritual Studies are not widespread, people tend to believe that burying children in hotels or bridges before their opening can prevent earthquakes or collapses due to unknown reasons.

"But in fact, this is an erroneous ritual, or one could say it's only half-right...

"Because the ritual is actually used to create Earthbound Spirits."

Earthbound Spirits create illusions or dreamscapes to slaughter passersby, absorbing their souls to strengthen themselves. If this continues, the site will turn into a 'haunted hotel' or a 'haunted bridge,' and the building itself becomes a ritual site.

Aiwass pierced through this fact directly, thanks to the knowledge of Ritual Studies just taught to him by Teacher Ibn.

But even without knowing this, one could guess all of this from the story hinted at by "The Sage of the Oak," the brick walls found on every floor, and the occasional visions of the little girl. These were obviously parts modified by the Great Sage, intended as hints for the initiates.

"...So cruel."

Jacaranda sighed with a bit of pity: "How ignorant and backwards these people are..."

Living Silver, who had been quiet for a long time, opened his mouth to say calmly, "This is a tragedy caused by a lack of knowledge."

Pure White simply shook her head, without saying a word.

The old Inspector fell silent for a while then spoke up, "In this case, Miss Lulu playing the 'child pushed and killed falling from the stairs of a sealed space' should be the Earthbound Spirit of this haunted hotel."

—That's why this Dreamland specifically emphasized "the zeroth floor" and "the negative first floor," because the negative first floor symbolizes death.

After Isabel brought back the information, and Aiwass had analyzed it, instead of focusing on Aiwass, they started to collaborate.

Pure White was the first to say, "My introductory plot and task tell me that I came here to investigate the situation upon a superior's orders."

"But in this era, Avalon didn't have phones."

Aiwass went on to say, "So the message you received should be outdated. Yet your room is right next to ours."

The "phone" was a device that had started to become popular around when Aiwass was seven or eight years old, around the time when he was just taken in by James.

Now, sixty years earlier, Avalon simply didn't have instant communication devices. Communication was done largely by writing letters.

"—So, my memories and introductory plot are false."

The old Inspector, played by Pure White, said gravely, "I wasn't here because I received orders from my superiors,—otherwise, I wouldn't have come without Gryphon. I know that Inspectors from Avalon always ride Gryphons on combat missions."