Aiwass awoke to find himself in an all too familiar place.
This was the Cathedral of Candle Master in the Red Queen District.
It wasn't St. Genvieve Chapel, where he had last learned the Sacred Arts, but the bustling main hall.
And he was not the one presiding over the ceremony but sitting in the back row, praying quietly.
Aiwass looked down discreetly and discovered that his attire was virtually unchanged from before he entered the instance.
He was still dressed in a white priest's robe, and he wasn't even wearing a mitre on his head.
Could it be that he was a newly appointed priest?
...Strange, who am I?
As Aiwass wondered, a voice suddenly rang in his head as grating and unpleasant as nails on a blackboard:
"You are Priest Julio Alexander, twenty-seven years old.
"Your niece Lisa was murdered a month ago, but the Supervisory Bureau was unable to find the killer.
"A month after the incident, you received a letter stating that you 'did not do as they said' and threatening to kill your son, Aiwass Alexander — specifically today.
"Fortunately, you are a student of Bishop Samuel Mathers, so today you came to seek refuge at the Cathedral of Candle Master with your wife and child..."
The next moment, several lines of text appeared before Aiwass.
[Essential Mission——]
[Continue to impersonate Priest Julio Alexander without being exposed or unmasked by anyone outside your teammates (Points: 100)]
[Within four hours, ensure the survival of your son, Aiwass Alexander (Points: 500)]
[Additional Missions——]
[Survive Yourself: Ensure your own survival (Points: 100)]
[The Heart is the Sanctuary: Choose not to hide in the Cathedral of Candle Master but to go to Judiciary Square proactively (Points: 100)]
[Inalterable Nature: Heal those fated to die (Points: 100 per person, up to a maximum of 300)]
[A Permanent Solution: Find, capture, or kill the killer (Points: up to 500)]
[My Beloved Jasmine: Ensure the survival of your wife, Annie Alexander (Points: 500)]
[Live Longer: Try to survive the longest among the nine ritualists, or at least die later (Points: up to 500)]
[The Beginning of Everything: Find the mastermind (Points: up to 1000)]
Upon seeing all this, Aiwass's pupils suddenly constricted.
He abruptly realized something. Even his breathing paused for a moment.
He turned his head and saw his "wife" sitting beside him.
She had platinum-blonde hair that draped over her shoulders, her figure dignified and elegant, garbed in a pearl-colored silk dress. Her face was that of gentle intellect and beauty, but now it was worn with fatigue and haggardness as she cradled her child in her arms, eyes closed in prayer.
And the boy in her arms had platinum-blonde hair as well.
Being so young, his hair was still sparse and fine, like the fluffy down of a kitten or a puppy.
He clearly did not understand what he was about to face, sitting quietly in his mother's arms with his ocean-blue pupils staring blankly ahead.
Seeing that "Aiwass" was looking at him, the boy opened his eyes wide and reciprocated the gaze.
He lowered his voice, and with a milky tone whispered, "You're daydreaming, daddy. You can't daydream... you said so."
Aiwass felt somewhat shaken. He merely nodded hastily without responding to Little Aiwass and bowed his head to continue praying.
Only then did he truly come to his senses.
—Isn't that 14 years ago?
Aiwass was eighteen years old this year; fourteen years ago would have been when he was four, the year both his parents died.
He was far too young at the time to remember why his parents died.
He didn't even recall their faces, let alone their names. But in his vague and blurry memory, there did seem to be such a scene...
He sat in his mother's arms, facing many dark silhouettes towering like great trees. People were chanting something, and he felt a little feverish, dizzy, and nauseated...
Is that my father's name?
So my mother's name is Annie... and I had a cousin or sister named Lisa.
Then, they were all murdered.
—That voice said, "did not do as they said," what did they say?
Why did they choose not to kill "Julio" but to kill "Aiwass"? Yet in the real history, Aiwass was unaffected, and it was Julio and Annie who died—what's different here?
Despite the Angel Envoy's repeated emphasis that the content of the ritual was all fictitious... Aiwass couldn't help but find it all eerily familiar.
For a moment, he was unable to clearly distinguish which memories were real and which were fictitious.
First, he needed to confirm... whether his blurred memories were accurate.
Thinking this, Aiwass turned back, opened his eyes to look at Little Aiwass, and asked softly:
"... Aiwass, does your head hurt?"
The little boy responded obediently.
At those words, his mother, Annie, was suddenly startled, her emerald pupils dilating as she quickly reached out to cover little Aiwass's forehead and rebuked him in a low voice, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Aiwass immediately leaned in closer.
Annie frowned deeply and tried the back of her own forehead.
She said hesitantly, "It seems... a bit hot. But I'm not sure..."
"It's okay, let me do it."
Aiwass said soothingly, taking the younger version of himself from Annie's arms into his own.
He stretched out his hand and pressed it on little Aiwass's heart.
——Art of Illumination.
The next moment, a soft, water-like glow seeped out from the palm of his hand. A warm strength poured continuously into "little Aiwass."
Fortunately, they were sitting in the back row, not disturbing anyone else.
The instant he employed the Art of Illumination, Aiwass realized... the mana pool he was using now was not his father "Giulio's," but his own.
A priest should have at least completed the first advancement. It's impossible to have only this pitiful seven points of light mana.
He had infused a whole mana point before he stopped his Art of Illumination.
Aiwass's mood became heavier.
Because he did not feel any trace of illness in "little Aiwass."
If it were someone else, they might think this was just little Aiwass's imagination, or that the child didn't want to stay here and was making things up.
But because it was Aiwass, he knew "little Aiwass" not only wasn't talking nonsense... he was actually being quite conservative.
At the time, his head was dizzy and heavy as if there was something solid inside banging against his skull. His whole body was uncomfortably hot, his breath difficult, even the air he exhaled felt like it could scorch his nasal passages. It was like being sick with a fever, wrapped tightly in blankets, rolled into a solid cocoon, with every heartbeat clear and able to shake all the way to his fingertips.
However, little Aiwass was a very strong child.
He perceived the anxiousness in his parents' hearts, so he didn't speak of his troubles and silently endured instead.
Latter, the younger Aiwass gradually lost consciousness.
Seeing this familiar scene, Aiwass's memories in his brain were being slowly filled in.
More and more details became clear:
He realized that the problem his "son" was facing was definitely not simple. To directly faint and lose consciousness, that was a condition that could potentially be fatal.
But then again, he really did not detect any illness from little Aiwass...
"It's not an illness?"
His wife, Annie, upon seeing this, furrowed her brows with worry.
She looked at her child, not knowing what to do.
She just sat restlessly closer, thinking hard with knit brows, and suggested a possibility: "I am wondering... is there a possibility that the person who sent you the threatening letter used a curse?"
Aiwass's movement suddenly paused.
He looked deeply toward his wife "Annie."
——Her point of view and stance when she said this were clearly off.
Aiwass held little Aiwass closer within his arms, letting the boy's face bury into his chest.
Then, Aiwass turned toward "Annie" and whispered in her ear.
He opened his mouth and spoke softly, word by word, "I think... it's 'Lulu', right?"
Seeing Annie's emerald pupils suddenly become frantic, her whole body stiffened in an instant, legs clamping together, sitting upright, and her body subconsciously shifted away from Aiwass.
Aiwass couldn't help but sigh, feeling a pang of regret as if he'd been bullying a child.
...Too easy to guess.
It's obvious that you've never been a mother before.
Too many loopholes... aren't you the "Prodigy" of the Path of Beauty? Doesn't a prodigy learn acting?
It was exactly because he easily pulled out "Lulu" from right beside him that he truly realized the ritual had begun.
So he immediately perked up.
Aiwass did not want to reveal that the child in his arms was his younger self. Thus, he did not show even a hint of the anxiety and concern in his heart, but instead revealed a confident and composed, gentle smile.
He used a little force to pull back "Annie," who was subconsciously leaning back to avoid Aiwass, back to his side.
"Don't move around. If I'm not mistaken, part of your task includes 'acting,' right... You are now my wife."
His deep and magnetic voice sounded word for word in the ear of the startled "Annie":
"Don't be afraid, I am 'Fox'.
"I think you certainly didn't choose to abandon 'Dedication,' right? I will protect you. That's exactly my task."
Aiwass silently added in his heart.