"Of course not. I came specifically to thank you. Thank you for blessing me with good luck a couple of days ago."
He waved a hand. "No need. That little bit of luck I gave you couldn't have done much anyway. What really mattered was the help of the other big shots and your own efforts."
He paused. "Besides, my attention was entirely elsewhere at the time. I had no time to worry about you."
"You mean the Beyonder incident in Trier that night?"
"Yes."
Edward leaned closer and asked quietly, "Can you tell me what exactly happened?"
"Hmm."
With the spoon in his mouth, he tilted his head back and thought. "A fool who thought he was very clever made meticulous plans and arrangements, successfully screwed over himself and his descendants, and killed a few other idiots along the way. Then he drew in a lunatic who would stop at nothing to achieve their goal, only for someone who should have been the 'prey' to walk away with all the benefits."
"..."
Edward was bewildered. "What kind of nonsense is that? Can't you just say it plainly?"
Will shook his head. "How I say it, and how much I can say, isn't for me to decide. Fate tells me."
Edward frowned and fell silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "...Do you know why you haven't managed to advance to Sequence 0 after all these years?"
"Why?"
"If you follow fate's arrangements in everything you do, how are you supposed to become fate? You need to become fate's master, not its servant."
Will curled his lip. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one who'll suffer if something goes wrong."
Despite his words, a hint of hesitation clearly appeared in his eyes.
After a long while, he