It didn't take long for Haiter to retrieve the documents on the Artificial Death project.
Soon, the materials were in Alaric's hands for review.
As a project spanning many years, the Artificial Death initiative had amassed a considerable amount of documentation. However, truly valuable information was sparse.
This wasn't Haiter playing tricks; it was simply the reality that, even as a Sequence 2, Haiter's efforts over the years had only marginally impacted the Artificial Death... or rather, the Death's Uniqueness. In fact, the corruption inflicted upon him by the project was far more significant.
"Fortunately, there's still something useful here." Alaric said, setting down the documents. Though the valuable data was limited, it provided him with some insights, giving him greater confidence in safely separating Azik's soul from the Uniqueness without side effects.
Moreover, the documents confirmed one thing: his earlier approach of reshaping others' perceptions of the Artificial Death to indirectly influence it was correct. However, the impressions created by a few oracles alone weren't strong enough, and there weren't enough true devotees of the Artificial Death to make a significant impact.
Now that the Numinous Episcopate was under control, continuing down this path would be much easier.
"…Since this concerns your own image, I'll leave this part to you, Azik." Alaric said, turning to Azik and handing over the responsibility.
"Alright." Azik replied with a gentle smile, nodding without hesitation.
"Once the reformation is mostly done, we can try to make you whole again." Alaric said with a grin, then began assigning other tasks.
After arranging most of the immediate work to ensure the Numinous Episcopate's reformation plan progressed steadily, Alaric yawned, checked his pocket watch, and smiled at the group. "It's getting late, and I have a potential meeting to attend, so I'll take my leave."
Medici glanced at him, guessing his intent. "Going to see the Evernight Goddess?"
"I'm not going to see her... she should be coming to see me." Alaric corrected with a shake of his head and a smile.
Alaric wasn't certain the Evernight Goddess would meet him today, but he had a hunch she would.
After all, she had been observing him for so long. Her confidants had already formed a partnership with him, and another ally had met him face-to-face. Now that Alaric had taken down the entire Numinous Episcopate, even someone as cautious as the Evernight Goddess would likely feel compelled to make contact.
Of course, if she didn't show, Alaric wasn't bothered.
He never lacked for allies. The Evernight Goddess was capable, but he didn't need to work with her.
"Be careful. The Evernight… tch, she's a sly one even Adam can't fully read." Medici said, clicking his tongue as if recalling something.
"I know." Alaric nodded, glancing at Medici with a teasing smile. "Thanks for the concern."
"Who's concerned about you? I'm just worried you'll get sold out by her and drag me, your poor worker, down with you." Medici retorted, rolling his eyes after a brief pause.
"Uh-huh, sure, sure." Alaric replied dismissively, waving a hand at the group before using his teleportation ability to return to Backlund for some rest.
As for the safety of Azik and the others left behind in the Numinous Episcopate? With Medici wielding the Conqueror's characteristics, Azik able to commune with the Death's Uniqueness, and Will lurking in the corner... unobtrusive but ever-present... Lady Sia wouldn't be able to stir up trouble, even if she harbored rebellious thoughts.
So, Alaric returned home to sleep with complete peace of mind.
Out of respect for the Evernight Goddess, Alaric offered a brief prayer to her before bed, essentially notifying her: if she wanted a meeting, she could enter his dream. If not, so be it.
As it turned out, the Evernight Goddess was indeed ever-watchful. Not long after Alaric fell asleep, he sensed his dream shifting. Instantly alert but restraining himself from breaking the dream, he followed the force probing his mind into another dream world.
The scene in this dream felt both foreign and familiar to Alaric, a recreation of city, likely the capital of a nation.
In his world, there was a similar nation and city, but he knew they weren't the same... parallel worlds at best.
Still, it wasn't a bad substitute.
Alaric wasn't picky.
"I've visited this city more than once for work, but since it's not the one I know, the reconstruction might not be perfect…" A soft yet cool female voice spoke beside him as footsteps approached.
"It's fine. It's just a construct in a dream. Too much realism would make it dull." Alaric said, turning to glance at the newcomer.
She appeared to be a woman in her twenties, her face veiled with a starry black veil, her body shrouded in a cloak. Beneath it, one could faintly discern more than one pair of arms.
A line of poetry suddenly came to Alaric's mind, making him chuckle. "You remind me of a saying: 'The sea, oh, it's all water! Goddess, you've got eight legs!'"
The Evernight Goddess visibly paused, clearly caught off guard by Alaric's playful verse. After a moment's thought, she replied, "Strictly speaking, I only have two legs. The rest are arms."
"Pfft!" Alaric couldn't hold back a laugh, looking at her. "Didn't expect you to have a sense of humor."
"I don't consider myself a cold person." The Evernight Goddess said, offering a faint smile.
The playful verse seemed to ease the initial distance between them.
"You're not cold, true, but that doesn't stop you from being more decisive than anyone when it counts." Alaric said, as if agreeing yet not quite, his smile fixed on her.
"Though it may sound like self-justification, I must say…" The Evernight Goddess paused, lifting her gaze to the sky. In this dream-constructed world, a silver-white moon hung above.
She stared at it, as if gazing at a lost past, a forsaken city.
"I had no choice." She continued. "This world isn't kind. To survive, we must learn to be ruthless."
***
Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well. I just wanted to let you know that right now I'm working on a really good and promising fate fanfic. If you're interested in reading it, feel free to give it a try:
[Fate/Max Level Returner]
Synopsis:
What if you took your max-level account and replayed the entire story from the beginning?
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