Baseline Worldline (7000 Words, Two-in-One)

As the camera gradually zoomed in and magnified, finally settling on Queen Sophia's half-open, frozen, and gray pupils, Iver thought the CG was over.

The screen did indeed go black.

—But then another video clip appeared.

Iver, dressed in a bishop's red robe, paced back and forth in the study of the Moriarty Manor. He seemed somewhat anxious.

He nervously pulled a book from the bookshelf, seemingly wanting to read it.

But before he could even start reading, he suddenly heard thunder outside.

Iver immediately went to the window and saw the sky darken at a visible speed.

Large flocks of White Feather Griffin took flight in the distance, the pure white sky appearing as if stained with ink, spreading outwards from the Silver and Tin Palace. Thunder roared, and a howling storm swept through the streets, instantly blowing away the fallen leaves that had lined the streets in autumn.

In an instant, countless withered leaves danced in the air. A visible storm swept in.

As the camera paused there, a gust of wind blew a fallen leaf that hit Iver in the face.

Iver was stunned for a moment before realizing that the CG had ended and he could move again.

"... Seamless transition?"

As he realized this, a sharp, unpleasant, hoarse sound, like fingernails scratching a blackboard, suddenly rang in his mind:

"You are Iver Moriarty. At only nineteen years old, you became a bishop recognized by the Nine Pillars God Church, and you are also the youngest bishop in Avalon."

"Your sister Yulia Moriarty, is Phantom Demon Egg, but fortunately, with the care of your adoptive father James, her condition has been well managed. Under your treatment, her condition is even getting better."

"But shortly after you were promoted to bishop, Yulia was suddenly kidnapped by a group of people. When you found Yulia, she had already lost control and turned into a phantom demon."

"You suspect there might be a conspiracy behind this, and you've been secretly investigating and plotting revenge. Just recently, with the help of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, you finally discovered that the mastermind behind it all is Minister Drost, a spy for the Stibnite Person."

"At the same time, you also discovered another conspiracy—Star Antimony and Avalon are currently organizing Marriage Alliance, but there are unusual troop movements on the Star Antimony border."

"With only one day left until the engagement banquet, it was impossible to stop it, so you decided to split up—you would inform the Grand Guardian stationed at the border, while Detective Sherlock decided to personally go to the Silver and Tin Palace to report the matter to Queen Sophia. At the same time, because you had met Princess Isabel during her Promotion Ritual, after much consideration, you also sent her a warning letter."

"A day has passed, and the Princess has not sent a reply, nor has Sherlock returned to find you. You realize that the bad things seem to have happened after all..."

The next moment, several lines of text appeared before Iver's eyes.

[Necessary Task]

Continue playing the role of Iver Moriarty without being recognized or exposed by anyone outside your teammates (Points: 100)

[Ensuring the safe evacuation of Princess Isabel Du Lac to the Eternal Theocracy (Points: 500)]

[Additional Task]

[The Heart Is the Sanctuary: Instead of hiding in the Moriarty Manor, actively go to the Silver and Tin Palace (Points: 100)]

[Trial - Will of the Candle: The total life force lost while healing others exceeds the sum of one's own total life force (Points: 100)]

[My Unforgettable Nature: To effectively treat others and ensure their survival (Points: 10 per person, maximum 500)]

[Heart of Survival: Safely evacuate as many family members and friends as possible from Avalon (Points: Maximum 500)]

[Trial - Guardian of Life: Generate as much effective healing as possible (Points: Maximum 500)]

[Saving Detective Sherlock: Ensuring Sherlock Holmes ' Survival (Points: 500)]

[Love's Vow of Vengeance: Kill Charles Drost (Points: 500)]

[The Day of Destruction Approaches: Survive to the end without evacuating or leaving Glass Island (Points: 500)]

[Trial: Beacon of Hope: Saving the Dead (Points: Max 1000)]

[What only I can do: Stop Star Antimony's conspiracy (Points: 1000)]

[Question mark: Completed, and increased the survival rate of civilians on Glass Island to over 70% (Points: 1000)]

Two Necessary Task and eleven Additional Task.

Even after deducting the three trial tasks required for job advancement, there are still a total of eight Additional Task.

Without a doubt, this was the most tasks Iver had ever undertaken during his Promotion Ritual.

Based on Iver's experience with these Promotion Ritual, the tasks given by the Serpent Father are full of extremely difficult tasks that are impossible to complete normally, while the tasks given by the Twin Mirrors are full of fun and ridiculous elements, with huge amounts of points that are simply randomly filled in, just encouraging you to cause trouble.

The best task was given by the Hourglass... Its task itself was a form of guidance and suggestion. Even though Weizhe messed things up during that Promotion Ritual, the Hourglass was still trying to organize the thoughts of the promoted individuals.

The Lord of Scales and Feathers' two tasks were very conservative in terms of bonus points, only awarding high marks for one or two extremely difficult "bonus questions." The rest were tasks that were clearly achievable... as long as you did them seriously, you would definitely be able to complete them.

If this is true for Iver, then it's likely true for everyone else as well.

Therefore, it might not be so easy to create a score gap in the Lord of Scales and Feathers scenario. Tasks that can be completed must be completed.

Iver watched the dark clouds gradually spreading outside the window, silently analyzing the tasks.

All three trial missions are required for job advancement—among them, [Beacon of Hope] is a necessary trial mission for advancing to the level of Enlightener and Temple Warrior Monk, requiring at least one-third of the progress to be completed.

The quest "The Day of Destruction Approaches" clearly conflicts with the Necessary Task.

This is likely a common quest for those ascendants who don't intend to help Isabel evacuate; it's a quest available on all paths.

Since the Necessary Task must be completed, no points are awarded in principle. The extra 500 points for helping Isabel escape will need to be made up for with other tasks—and clearly, with the Avalon disaster imminent, evacuating to other countries is the safest option. The second best option is to leave Glass Island and hide in those small towns.

Iver didn't know how big the map for this Promotion Ritual was, but judging from this mission, he knew... it was at least bigger than the entire Glass Island.

Let's reconcile the mission requirements: deliver Isabel to the Theocracy. In the process, rescue as many people as possible and get them to safety.

We need to rescue Sherlock as soon as possible. He was probably arrested while delivering the message, and it's hard to say where he's being held.

And then... Iver had to kill Minister Drost again.

—It must be said that this was Iver's most satisfying task.

Last time, I gave the opportunity to Lily, but this time I can finally do it myself.

Although Iver knew that Drost had murdered Queen Sophia, he never knew how he had done it...

The Shadow of Avalon Ritual was only one head short of being performed... but after Queen Sophia was assassinated, the ritual was never initiated.

This indicates that Queen Sophia's head was not included in the calculation for some reason. Iver had already expressed doubts when Queen Sophia explained the Shadow of Avalon Ritual to Iver.

Before that, he always thought there were two heads short. The Queen filled the second to last one, and the last one was two years later, when the Fallen Angel descended, the Star Antimony split, and the Doll Isabel, who had awakened her human heart, sacrificed Isabel brother John, using that child's life to complete the ritual and attempt to summon Lancelot.

But the Queen said that only one head was needed.

Now that Iver has seen the complete CG, he finally understands what happened back then.

The Queen stated that at the time, only three people besides herself knew about this counterattack ritual. Meg and Arius, being commoners, were unaware of it.

Since even the commoners of Avalon's "Senior Generation didn't know, and even Meg, Queen Sophia's most trusted confidante, didn't know, Queen Sophia probably wouldn't tell Yanis, a foreigner, about Avalon's deepest secret. On the other hand, Isabel clearly didn't know either.

Aside from George and Shafiya, the last person to know about the ceremony was perhaps Prince Albert, Isabel's father. It could also have been Sherlock's father or brother, or even the Privy Council Minister Camelot.

George died in that famous charge, and Shafiya was the one who escaped with Isabel. But when Isabel finally went to the Theocracy, Shafia was no longer with her; she most likely died around that time as well.

This ritual requires the Blood of Du Lac who died in murder.

The key is "blood".

Those Du Lac who were previously cursed and poisoned were obviously included in this list. In other words, all that was needed was to obtain the blood... but at the time, no one knew that blood needed to be taken from the Queen's remains to activate the Shadow of Avalon Ritual.

Perhaps Shafiya knew, which is why she might have tried to return to retrieve the Queen's body... but ultimately failed. This could also explain why she died quietly, while the Doll Isabel was able to obtain related information.

Moreover, this Promotion Ritual also featured, for the first time, an unseen and blurred task.

Although the task was censored, Iver felt that the length of the blurred field should be "Shadow of Avalon".

This explains why it is necessary to ensure that "the survival rate of civilians on Glass Island exceeds 70%".

In the original "Cruel Autumn" incident, although Glass Island was overwhelmed by the gargoyle army, the Golem and the army never actually advanced. The main casualties were from the superhumans who tried to resist; Star Antimony did not directly attack civilians.

From a civilian perspective, the story is about an assassin who transforms into Isabel and poisons Queen Sophia. Subsequently, the Stibnite Person take the opportunity to invade and wipe out the Griffin Legion of Avalon, eliminating all the Fifth Level superhumans and instilling fear in the people of Avalon.

At this time, Princess Isabel ascended the throne and ceded a large amount of territory to make peace, while continuing her Marriage Alliance with Xingti. Thus, Xingti smoothly withdrew its troops... Throughout the process, although the civilians were severely frightened and many cities suffered extensive damage, there were actually not many civilian casualties.

They were unaware that it was Minister Drost who poisoned the Queen, that the real Isabel had escaped, and that the Knights of the Round Table Hall were fighting amongst themselves, leaving only those from Star Antimony.

After all, at least half of the Founding Family remained intact, and the Round Table Hall and the entire Avalon government were still functioning normally. They would only assume that the rest had died in the invasion, unaware that the entire upper echelons had been replaced.

From the perspective of the Theocracy, it was Minister Drost who poisoned the Queen, and the rebellion in Avalon was initiated by the ministers from within. Although Star Antimony was secretly instigating, it did not allow the superhumans to directly attack the Queen, nor did it pursue Isabel, thus not crossing the Theocracy's bottom line.

Moreover, the people of Avalon at the time greatly approved of the Doll Queen Isabel because she brought "peace"—after the people of Avalon realized the power and cruelty of Star Antimony, they cherished the hard-won peace even more. Even though the Doll Isabel continuously provided Star Antimony with various benefits, causing dissatisfaction among the people, no one dared to oppose her.

—After all, they were truly terrified by the Stibnite Person.

Even with the signing of one unequal treaty after another, and the constant draining of resources from Avalon, no one dared to resist Star Antimony. This was because Avalon had been disarmed, making resistance impossible.

Once the Theocracy recovered, they couldn't directly interfere with Star Antimony's puppet rule. That would mean eliminating the entire upper echelons of Avalon's rulers—including most of the Founding Family.

This is simply impossible.

Because Avalon is essentially a joint rule by the Founding Family, the fact that the Du Lac Family became the monarch is merely compensation for Lancelot not becoming an apostle immediately but instead remaining in the Human World to rule Avalon on behalf of the Silver Crowned Dragon.

In principle, however, the ruling power of Avalon was divided equally among the Founding Family.

It wasn't until the Fallen Angel descended and Isabel, with the support and help of the Theocracy, defeated them that the people of Avalon Fallen Angel to doubt their puppet Queen. And after breaking free of control, the Doll Isabel gradually gained her own sense of self.

It was precisely because the Doll Isabel attempted to summon Lancelot to save Avalon that Avalon was truly destroyed.

Because Shadow Angel destroyed everything equally.

Whether it was the Round Table Hall, the Silver and Tin Palace, or the knights and founders of the old era... whether they favored Star Antimony or Avalon, they were all equally destroyed.

To complete the Shadow of Avalon Ritual without causing civilian deaths... Is that even possible? Iver fell into deep thought, but quickly realized a way to break the deadlock.

"... It seems like it really can be done."

"Iver murmured."

The key point is time.

Because once [Necessary Task Two] is completed, the Promotion Ritual will immediately end and the results will be calculated.

That means that no matter what state Iver was in at that moment, he could immediately return.

The requirement for [Necessary Task Two] is to "get" Isabel evacuated, not to "evacuate" Isabel.

In other words, I don't have to evacuate with them.

Iver must complete the Shadow of Avalon Ritual before Isabel leaves in order to complete this mission!

And once Shadow Angel arrives, both the two Fifth Level powerhouses and the gargoyle legion will be swallowed up. [What only I can do] can also be accomplished incidentally.

The only problem is that Iver will most likely die there as well.

This Necessary Task does not require survival, meaning... even death will be the end result.

However, this ritual is very difficult. If you die, you may die in reality as well, and your soul will definitely be damaged. Once your soul is damaged, it will increase the difficulty of your future advancement.

No, that's too risky.

Moreover, if he didn't go with Isabel, he might not be able to get her safely to the Theocracy.

Unless "Lu Lu" also descends upon her, and the two of them work together, there might be some drama.

"... But how can we 'stop Star Antimony's conspiracy if we don't complete the Shadow of Avalon Ritual?"

Iver fell into deep thought.

"Shouldn't we think of a way to get rid of that Prince and Queen?" This thought suddenly popped into Iver's mind.

When watching the CG just now, Iver felt quite uncomfortable looking at those two people... Even knowing that the Prince was just there to play a minor role and that "Isabel," whom he was nominally married to, was just a ball-jointed Doll, Iver still felt very uncomfortable.

Whether it was his possessiveness towards Isabel, his desire to protect her, his anger at the Queen's poisoning and Isabel's wrongful accusation, his heartache for the pitiful Isabel, or his worry about Lu Lu seeing the CG, all of these things increased Iver's hatred for those two people.

—If we could kill them, we might be able to stop Star Antimony's plot.

No, that's not right.

Iver confronted his true feelings.

He doesn't need to deceive himself with points and tasks; he can simply face his true self.

To be precise, regardless of whether killing them would stop Star Antimony's plot, Iver wanted to kill them—even though they weren't the targets that had to be eliminated in this Promotion Ritual, and killing them was not only risky but also offered no points reward.

Iver simply wanted to do it.

With that in mind, Iver began to check his condition and the abilities he could use.

... But his heart sank quickly.

Aside from the Paradox Flame Butterfly and the priest's four Sacred Art, he can only use "Shepherding," "Dawnfire," and a few simple rituals.

The good news is that the "Iver" body he's using is undoubtedly his own. Using Iver feels completely natural, very comfortable and smooth.

His mana pool is just ridiculously high.

It has a full 87 points of Light Attribute mana and only 29 points of Fire Attribute mana! Iver did some calculations and figured out that this should be the standard stats for a level 29 priest, plus the mana pool created by a level two Light Container and a level one Flame Container. Since the Container Entry affect the body and cannot take effect in dreams, this should be the attributes chosen by this body... that is, the attributes Iver himself chose when he advanced in this timeline.

Or rather, it was the pool of mana that the Lord of Scales and Feathers allocated to Iver.

"This skill point allocation is really weird, isn't it?"

Iver couldn't help but frown, confirming one thing—that this Iver was definitely not himself as a time traveler.

Even if Iver were a single-class priest, he couldn't possibly have leveled up the Light Container to such a high level... or rather, if he didn't have the adaptability Path of Transcendence, and didn't have the mana pool necessary for making Great Sin Card, he might not even have chosen the Container Entry.

Because the dilution of Container Entry is most obvious, the higher the level, the lower the benefit.

Unless there are special professions that can convert mana into combat power, such as the Great Sin Scholar who needs mana, the Mage who can convert mana into other forms of mana, or the Blood Mage who can convert mana into life, the Container Entry is meaningful.

Even if one of these three Container Entry is "Vessel of Burning and Radiance," that would mean that at least two Promotion Ritual selected the container attribute. Therefore, Iver, upon reaching the Third Level, could at most only have one other attribute.

Pouring out so much mana... does it mean they have no desire for combat power and only want to heal others? Wait...

"... No adaptability Path of Transcendence?"

"Iver murmured."

He finally realized why he felt so strange when he watched the introductory scene—

He subconsciously assumed that his advancement was due to his own Dedication Path cultivation, thus the mana pool belonging to other professions within Iver's body was blocked.

But now it seems... this should be another possibility for Iver.

This is Iver, a pure Dedication Path! His Path Urge never manifested, so he focused on the path of pastor from a young age.

Then he wouldn't have gone mad by dropping out of school to study demonology at home, he wouldn't have secretly written letters to contact the Noble Red, he wouldn't have become Demon Scholar, and he certainly wouldn't have been tied up and sacrificed.

He wouldn't have become involved in the Pelican Bar case, nor would he have received the letter from Minister Drost's secretary. He wouldn't have learned the details of the "Redstone" case, Iver wouldn't have been silenced at the Commendation Ceremony.

Because Iver chose all the Container Entry, and received ample comfort and treatment from Iver, the Paradox Flame Butterfly, possessing the same memories and similar personality as Yulia, became less disruptive and instead focused on growing and developing peacefully. As a result, Yulia's health improved significantly, preventing the seal from prematurely failing and thus avoiding her going out of control and transforming into a phantom demon.

Because he was not involved in these events, Iver was able to focus on his studies.

He eventually reached the Third Level a year after enrolling, passed the church's examination, and was promoted to bishop.

—But similarly, Iver of this timeline missed all opportunities to come into contact with the Noble Red.

Therefore, Iver would never know that the one who kidnapped Yulia was the Noble Red.

Since the Giant King wasn't eliminated by Iver in time, both the Noble Red and Lloyd's remained intact. Therefore, the "Succubus" Emma didn't need to relay orders from Griffiths; she could directly command her students to take Yulia's blood.

When Yulia's life was hanging by a thread, the undeveloped Paradox Flame Butterfly would burst out of her abdomen— the Giant King must have drained Yulia's blood, causing the Paradox Flame Butterfly to hatch.

"... I understand!"

Iver suddenly lit up.

He understood the fundamental difference between these two world lines.

Iver's impulse to Path of Transcendence was not entirely inherited from his grandfather. A large part of it stemmed from the "Sacred Entity." It was the influence of the Ring Angel that caused Iver to lose his mind and do those things.

His parents were still dead, and he was still adopted along with Yulia, indicating that at least the first part remained the same. However, for some reason, the Sacred Entity within Iver never awakened...

In other words, this is a timeline in which the Ring Angel did not exert any influence on Iver!

If there exists a "baseline" world line, that would be the "cleanest" possibility!

On this timeline, there are no "players," no information about time travelers, and no influence exerted by the Ring Angel. Iver has not come into contact with the influence of any other special being.

In this timeline, Iver and Isabel were barely acquainted, merely strangers who had met once. Instead, he became friends with Sherlock.

He didn't even know Hai Na, and Lily might have already died under mysterious circumstances. Meg was not saved, Chloe was not captured, and the Bone Carver successfully completed all its missions.

Lloyd's was not purged, Tommy Lloyd still survived, the Noble Red remained intact, and the Giant King might even have obtained the Book of Law. The Round Table Hall was completely corrupted, Isabel remained timid and powerless.

... Thinking about this, Iver's mood became complicated.

The Ring Angel did nothing, yet things got worse... even worse than a future without transmigrators and players, but with Iver affected by the Sacred Entity.

At least in that possibility, Lloyd's's and the Noble Red would be punished, the corruption in the Round Table Hall wouldn't be so severe, and Iver and Isabel would become friends—without the ambition to transcend, Iver would never have taken the initiative to contact Isabel.

Iver selected so many Container Entry, clearly for Yulia.

Could this also be First Ring of "transformation"? Making things change, thereby creating new possibilities...

Iver gained a deeper understanding of the Ring Angel. Thinking this, his mind became somewhat chaotic.

He subconsciously reached out and grasped the necklace on his chest in an attempt to find peace of mind.

He had long since developed the habit of touching the "Isolde's Tears" that Isabel had given him when he was thinking.

But the unfamiliar touch made Iver pause for a moment.

Iver instinctively gripped it tighter. Although he gripped it tightly, he dared not use force... for fear of accidentally breaking it.

He didn't even look down; he already knew what it was.

Overwhelmed by an involuntary sadness, Iver's tears flowed uncontrollably.

Perhaps because his soul and body were so perfectly aligned, he directly sensed the sorrow permeating "Iver"...

Having watched the CG before, the anger that had been suppressed by reason suddenly erupted. His body trembled as if he were shivering, and his empty left hand suddenly clenched into a fist.

Iver remained silent for a long time before quietly wiping away his tears and looking down at the book intently.

He saw a Ruby Necklace lying in his palm, radiating warmth, like a butterfly, a maple leaf, or a flame.

Even when held in your hand, it still radiates that familiar warmth... just like someone's body temperature.

It was so familiar, yet so strange. Iver had only ever seen it in games.

"Thankfully... it was just a dream," he murmured as if in a dream.

—It is the remains of Yulia.

A 7,000-word update! But it's not really suitable to split it into two chapters, so I'm posting it as a combined post~ Also, I'd like to recommend the new book by an author from the cat station. He's one of the few original authors on Hedgehog Cat who can consistently get 10,000 subscriptions. I wrote chapter recommendations for him when he was at 4,000 words, and I didn't expect that he would still write chapter recommendations for him after returning to Qidian. It really brings back memories...