The victims in the ritual five years ago.
The pregnant woman who died in a difficult childbirth two and a half years ago.
And now, the newborn that’s about to be born...
"...If we consider the Black Sea as a mirror."
Bishop Daryl pondered for a moment, then said with a rather serious expression, "The positions of Roth Fort and Frigid Wight Tower are almost symmetrical as well."
Clearly, the corpulent bishop was also persuaded by Salvatore’s speculation.
Annan furrowed his brow slightly, pondering seriously.
The information he had received was actually a bit more extensive than what Daryl had—
The new house at "Xiushui Street No.12" where Notre Dame currently resides is actually right next to Gerald’s dental clinic.
If it weren’t for being murdered, the Great Wizard Benjamin should have also arrived at Frostwater Harbor by now. Frostwater Harbor is only a few hours’ journey from Roth Fort.
Plus... Annan, who looks exactly like Maria Rime from five years ago.
—What does this mean?
Annan’s pupils constricted slightly.
According to Salvatore’s information, something went wrong at the very end of the ritual with Michelangelo. But the message Annan got from his nightmare was... that the ritual would end when there were only four people left, no matter what.
Therefore, the final survivors should have been "Michelangelo," "Maria," "Benjamin," and "Gerald."
When Michelangelo died five years ago, Maria, Benjamin, and Gerald were all by his side.
If nothing unexpected occurs... except for Maria who truly cannot be replicated, Annan, Benjamin, and Gerald should all be reunited here.
If Annan were not a transmigrator himself and if Benjamin had not been murdered, what would the situation be like now?
—By the time Annan was unconscious on the beach, Benjamin and Tan Juan would have arrived. Benjamin, having seen Maria before, would recognize Annan immediately and protect him.
—Knowing that the renowned Great Wizard Benjamin is guarding Frostwater Harbor, the Viscount would not foolishly attack with Salvatore’s black flames. But since the Viscount and the Head of the Guards, Claus, are in cahoots, he would then learn of Annan’s identity.
—To deter Tan Juan from rash actions and peacefully complete his own reincarnation ritual, he would invite Benjamin, Tan Juan, and Annan to a banquet at the Viscount’s residence.
And the Viscount’s residence is adjacent to the old Notre Dame house.
Just like how Notre Dame’s new home is next to Gerald’s dental clinic...
"Looking back now, it indeed seems somewhat amiss."
Salvatore looked at Annan with a serious expression, "Lord Notre Dame previously mentioned to us... If Gerald were to win in our fight with him, Notre Dame would then invite Gerald over, replacing the Viscount to curry favor with him.
"But we overlooked something. Notre Dame is just an ordinary tax officer, not even a Transcendent. Why would the Viscount send such a person? Was it really just a scapegoat? According to him, he had always been working hard for the Viscount without offending him..."
"He was telling the truth."
Annan picked up where Salvatore left off, speaking seriously, "At least when Notre Dame was saying those previous words, he was indeed clueless.
"He had no idea why the Viscount was targeting him. But beyond that, there’s another possibility...
"That is, Notre Dame truly knows Gerald. However, ’during this timeframe,’ he himself does not know this."
—If there were two tax officers named Notre Dame existing at the same time, everything would make sense.
Annan remembered that when he was sending Annan and Salvatore back to the Viscount’s residence, he had casually mentioned that his wife, Melis Notre Dame, was an apprentice at the Black Tower and knew what a Soul Reaping wizard was, as well as about Transcendents.
Salvatore had told Annan that the apprentices at the Wizard’s Tower were generally young people. If they hadn’t learned their first spell by the age of twenty-four, they were usually advised to leave, as this indicated they lacked the talent to learn spells.
For ordinary people, learning the first spell was the most difficult. It meant that they understood and controlled part of a curse, absorbing it by sorting through complex, though not contradictory, rules, much like programming with imagination.
Once they had mastered a spell, they were regarded as having acquired the profession of "Wizard Apprentice," simply called "Apprentice", and they could continue their studies until the age of thirty-six.
By then, they would have certainly learned enough spells. If twelve years passed and they still hadn’t advanced to the bronze rank, it meant that either they had a profound understanding of the misfortune of stepping on the path to becoming a Transcendent and feared becoming one... or their minds were too dull to successfully purify even one nightmare.
It was only then they would be advised to leave. Before that, any apprentice who decided to give up the path of the wizard or no longer wished to step into transcendence through it could leave at any time.
The only restriction was, once they left, they could never return.
As an apprentice of the Heath Tower of Black, Melis Nortada must have mastered one to four spells.
The schools of magic taught at the Heath Tower of Black were limited to Transmutation, Shaping, and Soul Reaping. Before Salvatore enrolled, all apprentices of the Transmutation school had been wiped out by Gerald.
This meant that Melis Nortada was very likely to have known Gerald.
Given her age, it was very possible that she was an apprentice taught by Gerald himself.
She could even have been a planted pawn before Gerald left the Heath Tower of Black—
"If I’m not mistaken," Annan said slowly, looking at Salvatore, "the key point might lie in the fact that you closed all the ’doors.’"
Looking back, it was strange that from the outermost door to the inside, all the doors were wide open.
And when Annan and Salvatore walked in from the outside, they had hardly touched anything.
The only thing that had been touched was Salvatore closing the doors out of habit... locking all the doors.
And after all the doors were closed, "the Nortadas from two and a half years ago" suddenly appeared.
"I suspect that the same applies to the other side as well."
Annan turned to Bishop Daryl and bowed slightly, "If you would take a look. To see if the ritual is related to the opening and closing of ’doors.’ Then, we need to confirm once more... if our earlier speculation is correct, whether two ’Nortadas’ from different timelines can appear at the same time?"
Bishop Daryl’s true identity was that of the Silver Baron’s Cardinal.
Undoubtedly—though unimpressive in appearance—his strength was certainly one of the greatest Annan had ever seen... or at least among the strongest of those he had encountered.
For such matters, it was best to have a heavyweight explore the way first.
It wasn’t being cowardly, it was being cautious.
"I can handle these tasks."
Bishop Daryl nodded, sensing nothing amiss.
If Annan had recklessly rushed in, Daryl would have been worried about how to hold Annan back, to stop him from courting death...
Having a good teammate who didn’t like to send themselves into danger was also a very comforting thing.
"However, it sounds like..."
The rotund bishop looked at Annan with some curiosity, "The two of you have made other arrangements?"
Annan exchanged glances with Salvatore and replied, "We plan to take a trip back to Frostwater Harbor to make some preparations. Please revisit the documents in the following days to see if drawing the line on the day of the difficult labor... then what the actual birthdate would be. Afterwards, you can have someone notify us a day or two in advance."
"Oh, that won’t be necessary."
Bishop Daryl laughed, not too anxious, "I’ve done some mental calculations just now; the final date should be December 14. It would be good for you two to return by the evening of the 13th.
"If the two of you have plans, then go ahead and leave. I’ll also take care of the Viscount’s matter for you...
"As the Silver Baron has said, we must prioritize our affairs."
The rotund bishop chuckled, showing a kind smile:
"It just so happens that those greedy mortals and those trivial power struggles... are the least important ones.
"If they dare to make trouble at this time, I’ll make them understand the cost."