I Did It

Iver, who had been shrunk down by the Fairy Queen, looked at the Gem Bird, which was about the same size as him, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

--destiny.

It's fate again.

Not long ago, the Lord of Scales and Feathers had mentioned his fate to Iver —like a lamb being herded by Shepherd, protected and tended only for the final feast. His only resistance was to escape the sheepfold and perish among the beasts of the Dark Forest, inflicting an unbearable loss on the arrogant Shepherd ...

Going back a little further, Cardinal Loki was also a riddle-maker.

Then Iver spoke, half calmly and half sarcastically. "Cardinal Loki chose his destined successor, and he chose you, and you rebelled; and now, Father... you say my arrival is destiny."

"Am I the successor you have chosen? Or am I merely... a key?"

Upon hearing this, the Jewel Robin was clearly somewhat surprised.

He looked at Iver in astonishment, seemingly unable to understand for a moment where Iver had learned these secrets.

However, Professor Moriarty did not refute Iver's statement.

"It seems you know a lot..."

Bird James sighed.

A heavy sigh escaped from its sharp beak, "But some things are better left unsaid."

"Why?"

"Because knowledge is poisonous."

The bird replied, "I'm not talking about the kind of curse that corrupts the mind... but there are things that, once you know them, will influence your subsequent actions. From that perspective, isn't it also a kind of worm that exists in the form of a 'secret' and can manipulate the mind?"

"For example, you know I'm here, and you know 'Moonlight' has the ability to enter the Fairy Kingdom. That's why you came here to find me—isn't that also me controlling you to come here? If I say it's fate, what's wrong with that?"

The Gem Bird calmly and peacefully, and was not angered by Iver's words.

Instead, he earnestly admonished him. "Iver, you must understand this. When you move forward and come to a crossroads, it often doesn't mean you have the freedom to choose. All you have is the freedom not to choose. And even that freedom may be left to fate."

"Because the things that determine which path you take are already determined. That's history, and even if you did it a hundred times over, your answer would be the same. You would come to the same crossroads at the same time, and after the same thought process, choose the same direction."

"—And this thing is destiny. It is the future, but it is also inevitability. It is an inevitability determined by the past."

"... Determinism?"

"Iver murmured."

He didn't know what it was—it just popped into his head when he heard Professor Moriarty's words.

Then, Iver recalled the first Phantom Demon Card he created after awakening his Previous Life memories: The Moon.

He also remembered that the creators of the Tarot Card were the prophets who "adapted" to the path.

The ability to Path of Adaptation is top-down, but the principles of prophets and astrologers are completely contradictory: prophets believe that the future can never be accurately predicted because every prediction actually changes the future, and there are too many people who can predict the future, so the act of predicting the future itself is meaningless and not accurate enough; while astrologers believe that all unexpected changes in the world are because the predictor has not yet learned all the information, so their prediction of the future and the resulting changes are actually precisely because they know too little.

Professor Moriarty, however, was different.

On the one hand, he agrees with the idea that "knowledge is poisonous"—which is exactly the idea of prophets; on the other hand, he agrees with "determinism," which is the idea of astrologers.

But he did not choose either side; instead, he integrated them.

In other words...

"So your claim is that fate can be changed?"

"Nature."

The Gem Bird said calmly and confidently, "Fate can certainly be changed. Although it is inevitable, determined by the past, the only thing that is certain is the past, and the present is still part of the past in relation to the future. Therefore, as long as you grasp the present, you can change the future."

Iver frowned slightly. "But you also said that everything now is determined by the past..."

"That's right, so there's only one exception."

The bird said, "That's intelligence from the future."

"This is like forbidden knowledge; anyone who knows it must be erased. But those who wish to erase it must learn it in order to know that it is forbidden knowledge. This is a paradox. The future will be the same."

really...

Iver made one point clear.

He realized that Moriarty was indeed not a member of the Ring Angel.

In this way, he basically clarified the respective camps of the various players—what Loki wanted, Iver didn't yet know; and his grandfather, Jacob, who was very likely the summoner of the "Sacred Entity," should be a follower or apostle of the Ring Angel; the Ring Angel's goal was to devour him when he was fully developed before completing some great feat...

—But Professor Moriarty's goals were all different from theirs.

"Iver, I have a question for you."

The Gem Bird suddenly spoke, "Do you still remember why you came to find me?"

Upon hearing this, Iver ' expression froze.

...yes.

It was only then that Iver suddenly realized that he had unknowingly strayed from his original goal.

Iver initially investigated his adoptive father because he learned a secret during his first Promotion Ritual —that his biological parents were very likely murdered by Professor Moriarty. Iver always wanted to find an opportunity to find out the truth, but he was afraid to approach him.

Because all the evidence suggests that his adoptive father is a formidable figure who is hiding his true strength and will become the ultimate boss in the future.

Later, Professor Moriarty faked his death and disappeared. Iver believed he couldn't have died so easily, so he wanted to find out where he was and what he was doing.

As Iver gained a deeper understanding of Jacob, the Golden Dawn, and Sacred Entity, he felt that although Moriarty was gone, he seemed to be haunting him relentlessly. He desperately wanted to know what Moriarty wanted to do and what his purpose was.

Until Iver came into contact with Freya, Cardinal Loki, and the Lord of Scales and Feathers, and learned about Moriarty's past and his own destiny... his first thought, however, had somehow become "Is there a connection between my adoptive father and the Ring Angel?" Unbeknownst to him, Iver had already strayed from his course.

Like a sailor setting sail in a storm, drenched in sweat, frantically searching for his compass, trying to escape the waves and sharks. But when the storm finally subsides, he is completely disoriented.

"... I do have a question I'd like to ask you."

Iver's expression turned serious. "My biological parents—I mean, Julio Alexander and Anne Alexander —did they die, directly or indirectly, from the Curse Master you hired, directed, or manipulated?"

"I did it."

Without hesitation, the Gem Bird casually said, "You guessed right, I did it."