Weaving Fate

Just as you guessed, the young man standing before Heilang was named Shaya, and he was a transmigrator.

Shaya felt that this was probably some huge joke Heaven had played on him.

He prayed to the gods every day for wealth, but the only response he got was Huabei payment reminders.

All those jokes he made about lying flat, giving up, running away, and starting over had all fucking come true.

And he had run away thoroughly.

From Heilang's words, Shaya had gained a fairly clear understanding of this world. He had probably transmigrated into a parallel time and space.

Part of its history overlapped with Earth's. For example, the Roman Empire existed, though there were some differences, since Rome had fallen several years later.

The world's landmass was also much larger. The Americas and Eurasia were connected by land, and the Atlantic Ocean was likely far smaller.

Because the Americas and Eurasia were connected, this land had been colonized much earlier.

This Britannia Empire had been established in the Americas by foreign colonists. It was roughly three hundred Tongliaos in size and had likely incorporated most of North America.

But according to him, it was not even the empire with the largest territory. There was another, even more powerful nation.

As for the era, it was roughly the early days of the First Industrial Revolution, though several decades ahead of Earth—approximately the eighteenth century.

Shaya silently nodded and said to Heilang.

"Thank you for telling me all this."

"It was an honor," Heilang said.

"Tell me," Shaya said, quietly watching Heilang. "Your story."

Heilang raised his head, so excited he could scarcely put it into words. After composing himself slightly, he began to explain why he had come to find Shaya.

After hearing Heilang describe the era, Shaya had actually been mentally prepared.

Historically, the First Industrial Revolution had been a relatively dark period, second only to the Middle Ages.

The Middle Ages had only just passed. The oppression of the nobility had not yet disappeared, and a new oppressive class had emerged.

The nobles controlled vast tracts of land, while the land converted into factories could only be the small plots owned by peasants.

Those lands were turned into factories. The wastewater they discharged polluted the fields, while air filled with harmful substances eroded the peasants' health.

Having lost their land, the peasants could only become factory workers.

But this era had no labor protection laws, workers' rights, or unions. They became sacrifices of the age, doing the hardest work for the lowest wages, unable even to maintain a basic life.

What surprised Shaya, however, was that this man was not a worker, but the son of a factory owner. The profits from his factory had drawn the covetous eyes of the local nobility.

The nobles had mobilized the army, confiscated his family's factory on fabricated charges, killed his parents, and captured his sister. He had escaped disaster only because he had been away studying.

"So, you want me to help you... take revenge?" Shaya asked calmly.

Heilang lowered his head deeply and gritted his teeth.

"I can give everything for it."

Shaya looked down at him, thoughts swirling through his mind. After a moment, he said, "I can help you."

Heilang raised his head, hope appearing in his eyes.

But Shaya continued.

"However, you need to make a choice."

"A choice?" Heilang frowned.

"Would you prefer it to take longer to achieve your goal, but gain not only immense wealth in the future, but also the power and status that would make everyone respect and fear you?

"Or would you prefer it to be quicker, but possibly have to hide your name for the rest of your life and live beneath a mask?"

"I choose the latter!" Heilang said without hesitation.

Shaya raised his brows in mild surprise. "That is not a good choice."

"My sister is still in his hands!" Heilang said with unwavering eyes.

Shaya nodded. "Family is indeed important."

He looked at Heilang, then slowly raised a hand and murmured softly.

"Then... accept this Fate I grant you."

His voice was low and magnetic. Heilang felt as though he were a majestic judge seated high above, passing judgment upon his fate.

A faint glow detached itself from Shaya's hand and entered Heilang's body.

Heilang's pupils contracted slightly. He felt many memories appear in his mind. The mysterious Sorcerer before him had become his teacher, teaching him many things: stealth, assassination, climbing... He had also become exceptionally strong.

He stood where he was, a trace of confusion appearing in his eyes as he struggled between falsehood and reality.

"Wait here for a while." Shaya withdrew his hand and went upstairs. Several hours later, he came down carrying a hooded garment and an exquisitely crafted weapon.

"Put on this garment. When you raise the hood, it will lessen your presence in a crowd. As for the weapon, you should understand how to use it."

Heilang nodded, then solemnly accepted the two items.

"Now, leave this place," Shaya said. "Fate will guide you."

After a moment of silence, Heilang asked, "What price must I pay?"

"All gifts from Fate have already had their prices secretly marked." Shaya sat down again in the chair before the fireplace, facing the flames. "Your price has already been paid..."

Heilang frowned in confusion, but still nodded.

"I understand."

With that, Heilang walked down the stairs, and Shaya's voice came from behind him.

"Turn the doorknob."

Though he did not know what that meant, Heilang obeyed and turned the doorknob. With a ding, the four-colored wheel hanging on the door turned to yellow.

Then he slowly opened the door.

What lay before him made his pupils contract slightly.

It was no longer the despairing snowfield, but a quiet city street.

It seemed a light rain had just fallen. The entire city was shrouded in mist, hazy and indistinct. Water stains soaked into the uneven bluestone road, glimmering beneath kerosene streetlamps.

People hurried along the street, coming and going.

"This is the Imperial Capital!?" Heilang murmured absentmindedly.

Though he had already prepared himself somewhat for the abilities possessed by a Sorcerer, the power to cross hundreds of kilometers in the blink of an eye still left his heart unable to settle for a long while.

Click.

The sound of the door closing by itself pulled him back to reality.

He turned to look at the door, then at the familiar street.

He took a deep breath. Though he did not know what the guidance of Fate Shaya had spoken of truly was.

At this moment, however, he felt more confident.

With that thought, he started walking toward the end of the street again, eventually disappearing into the mist.

"So this is the Imperial Capital?"

Shaya quietly watched the bustling city through the window and murmured softly.

The Imperial Capital naturally referred to the city where the emperor resided—the capital of a nation.

When he had first arrived in this world, he had been in the snowfield Heilang had crossed.

Unlike Heilang, who had prepared in advance, Shaya had possessed almost nothing at the time. He had no equipment whatsoever and was even wearing a short-sleeved shirt, so the outcome was naturally obvious.

However, just as he was about to become a new ice sculpture on the snowfield, he encountered someone.

That person said, "This is Fate's choice," then asked what he wanted.

Shaya's consciousness had been very hazy at the time. He could only make a wish based on what he desired most deeply.

He said he wanted to go somewhere warm and sit by a fireplace.

Then, he obtained this castle.

Shaya quietly watched the flames dancing before him. As they burned, his thoughts returned to the past—to roughly one day ago.

To when he had first entered this castle.

"You may call me Fate."

It was still inside that castle. Yet the person sitting before the hearth was not Shaya, but an old man. He was stooped over, wrapped in a long robe, with his back to Shaya.

"Fate?" Shaya frowned.

"Do you believe Fate exists?" the old man named Fate asked.

After thinking for a moment, Shaya said, "Perhaps. In this world, some people are born destined to enjoy wealth and glory, while others struggle all their lives and may only be able to live in some tiny corner.

"There are indeed things in this world that are predetermined from birth, things humanity cannot change."

"An interesting answer."

The old man murmured. The corners of his lips seemed to curve faintly upward. "What cannot be changed is called inevitability. Conversely, what can be changed is called contingency.

"Inevitability is destiny, contingency is fortune. Only when the two are combined can they be called Fate."

"You are not from this world."

The old man continued, "There is contingency within you, but no inevitability at all. That means you do not exist upon this world's thread of Fate.

"You have no origin."

After a moment of silence, Shaya asked, "Do you know why I came to this world?"

The old man shook his head. "The most wondrous thing about Fate is its uncertainty. It chose you."

After a pause, he said, "From now on, this place belongs to you. It can take you out of this snowy land."

Shaya looked around, somewhat confused.

"Do you recognize this Moving Castle?" the old man asked calmly. "It is a creation I manifested based on the warmest house in the depths of your heart."

Only then did Shaya finally remember why this house felt so familiar. It came from an animated film he had watched in the past, called "Howl's Moving Castle."

"Then what is the price?" Shaya asked. He had never believed there was such a thing as a free lunch in this world.

The old man turned around. His face was covered in the marks of time, folds of wrinkled skin sagging from it, but his eyes were bright and wise.

"I want you to take my place."

Shaya frowned. "What place?"

"A long time ago, people called me the Weaver of Destiny."

"Does Fate need to be woven?" Shaya asked in confusion.

The old man smiled and raised his hand. A point of light entered Shaya's mind.

In an instant, Shaya's pupils shrank to pinpoints.

His perspective expanded at an astonishing speed—space, time—until it finally reached an incomparably vast viewpoint.

He saw a colossal tree, beginning in the distant past and extending infinitely toward the future. Inevitability and contingency intertwined into its branches. It was the Tree of Destiny, and also the Tree of Time.

Shaya saw the fates of countless people. He saw time flowing along the Tree of Destiny.

He suddenly realized something.

From the perspective of physics, the universe had no concept of time—or rather, it did not need time at all.

The universe was composed of countless fundamental particles. What humanity perceived as time was merely the movement of those particles, the increase of entropy.

Humanity simply could not explain the passing of things or aging, so it gave them the concept of time, forming the current worldview and extending it into the three concepts of past, present, and future.

Fate was the same.

The concept of Fate was born from life.

The contingencies and inevitabilities of countless lives intertwined and converged into the Tree of Destiny.

So if life perished, Fate would lose its meaning of existence as well.

Though Fate had no consciousness, it possessed an instinct to continue.

It required the existence of a Weaver to ensure the continuation of Fate—in other words, to ensure the continuation of living beings.

But the Weaver was not a savior. He was responsible for weaving the fates of saviors.