Stripping away fate

Lumian didn't understand what the illusory river he saw or sensed represented. He could only guess that it might be a symbol of Destiny, and following the instinct of "Fallen Mercury," he raised the tip of his knife and aimed it at a Mercury-Colored symbol in the river.

Upon first seeing the river shimmering with Mercury-Colored light, a series of scenes flashed through Lumian's mind:

The "Noodle Man" was performing that mysterious Sacrificial Dance; the "Noodle Man," Intimidation by the Black Thorn Symbol, prostrated himself on the ground; the "Noodle Man" plucked at the scattered flesh and blood throughout the Dream Ruins to fill his stomach; the "Noodle Man" tried to approach the "City Wall," but seemed to be afraid of something, each time only going a certain distance before turning back; the "Noodle Man" had his head chopped off by Axe...

Is this its entire "life" since the beginning of this Loop? Lumian has a sudden realization and tries to stab the tip of the "Fallen Mercury" knife at the set of Mercury-Colored symbols that represent the death of the "Noodle Man," which is the end of the illusory river.

That was too enormous, too burdensome; he failed.

At this moment, the Mercury-Colored symbols began to fade, the illusory river gradually disappeared, and the images that appeared in Lumian's mind quickly became blurry.

Is there a time limit? Lumian dared not take his time choosing anymore. Following the principle of proximity, he turned the Evil silver-black Dagger toward the Destiny of the "Noodle Man" who was Intimidation by the Black Thorn Symbol.

The Mercury-Colored symbol, seemingly formed by the self- Entanglement of a small river, was suddenly pried open, shrinking and solidifying into a drop of liquid that seeped into the blade of "Fallen Mercury."

The next second, the illusory river vanished completely, and Lumian could no longer see the Destiny of the "Noodle Man".

He glanced down at "Fallen Mercury," and saw that the layers of Evil symbols on the silver-black blade were swaying gently like flowing water, as if they had been given some kind of life force.

What was already dizzying to look at has become even more Evil.

"Success..." Lumian murmured to himself with a sense of relief.

The current "Fallen Mercury" is now complete.

After that, as long as he can Dagger the Flame Monster with this Evil dagger in battle, he can exchange his Destiny of being "Intimidation by the Black Thorn Symbol" with the other party.

After Entanglement the blade of "Fallen Mercury" with a black cloth strip and tucking it back into his belt, Lumian quickly disposed of the "Noodle Man's" Corpse, moved it to a partially collapsed building, destroyed the last supports of the building, and let the stones and wood fall down, burying everything inside.

After finishing this task, Lumian circled back to the area where the Flame Monster had appeared.

This time, instead of getting close to observe, he collected footprints and other traces, taking the time to identify which were left by the target when it deliberately circled around and which were its actual routes.

After nearly two hours, Lumian gradually grasped the daily activity range and behavior patterns of the Flame Monster, and a Hunting map naturally appeared in his mind.

He then spent some time circling all the pre-planned battlefields, looking for any natural traps he could use.

After an unknown amount of time, Lumian rubbed his forehead and decided to take advantage of his remaining energy to venture deeper into the Ruins and explore the "City Wall" to gather intelligence for future explorations.

He didn't let his guard down and started the Sacrificial Dance again, partially activating the Black Thorn Symbol.

With this "talisman" in hand, Lumian sped along the same route as before.

He encountered some Monster along the way, but they either turned and ran away just as they were about to attack, or they disappeared into the distance. The deeper he went, the more often this happened.

Finally, as the burning sensation in his chest from the second Sacrificial Dance subsided, Lumian once again saw the "City Wall" composed of Distortion and chaotic houses.

He rested for a while, and once his spirituality had recovered somewhat, he began the Sacrificial Dance again.

As the dance, sometimes powerful and sometimes gentle, ended, Lumian, bearing the Black Thorn Symbol, darted towards the direction where she had encountered "Fallen Mercury."

After crossing the room where the fire had gone out, he slowed down, fearing a sudden attack.

After walking for a while, Lumian felt that the light ahead had dimmed considerably, as if some enormous object in the sky was blocking the falling light, or that the Sun was behind their current location.

Lumian subconsciously looked up at the sky, but could see nothing but thick fog.

Unable to find the cause, he had no choice but to pull out "Fallen Mercury" and carefully enter the area ahead.

In an instant, it was as if he had gone from daytime to Evernight.

Of course, this is just an exaggeration. Lumian felt that a more accurate description was that the foggy weather had led to a place covered with dark clouds.

Almost simultaneously, he subconsciously yawned, and the fatigue that had already been there suddenly intensified.

"No, I can't sleep..." Lumian forced himself to keep his eyes open and retreated from the dim, gloomy "Dark Side the mountain".

His spirits lifted considerably; although fatigue remained, it was at least bearable.

"You'll fall asleep as soon as you go in, and the deeper you go, the more sleepy you'll feel?" Lumian muttered silently, then turned and walked in another direction.

After performing a Sacrificial Dance midway through, he arrived at an unfamiliar area.

To his right was a "City Wall" of stacked doors and windows, to his left was a wasteland connected by a ring of building Ruins, and in front of him stood rows of brown trees.

In the Ruins where not a single Weeds existed, the trees seemed to possess extraordinary flexibility, Entanglement and embracing each other to form a wooden wall five or six meters high.

The wooden wall was covered with many green branches and leaves, lush and verdant, a stark contrast to the desolate and lifeless surroundings.

If it hadn't blocked the path to the back of the "City Wall," Lumian might have praised it for its "tenacious vitality," but now, he could only express his dissatisfaction with a dirty gesture of raising two middle fingers.

He could have chosen to take a detour and enter from the other side of the Dream Ruins, but he was completely unfamiliar with that area, and his spiritual energy was almost depleted, so there was no need to take the risk.

Lumian yawned without hesitation, his chest still burning, and began to retrace his steps.

When Lumian woke up, some Dawn had already seeped through the thick curtains into the window, outlining the furniture in the room, such as the Desk, chair, and wardrobe.

"It's still early..." he muttered silently, turning his head to look at Aurora beside him.

Aurora's Blond Hair was scattered on the white pillow, her eyes closed, fast asleep.

Her right hand gripped the top of the blanket, occasionally trying to turn over, but she instinctively stopped herself. Her brow furrowed slightly, then gradually smoothed out.

Lumian roughly understood why her Older Sister was behaving this way:

She had too many bottles and jars hidden under her Long Dress, just in case of any accidents, because if she slept on her side or stomach, they would definitely prick her.

"It must have been really tough..." Lumian murmured silently, her expression gentle and her heart at peace.

After watching for a while, he looked away, carefully got out of bed, and left the bedroom.

He went to the side balcony that he could climb onto the roof, and stretched his body, facing the distant sliver of crimson.

Less than a minute later, Valentine came out of the room, stood in the hallway, looked at him, and said, "Are you also welcoming the Sun?"

His gaze softened, and his usually aloof expression was filled with approval.

Can I say no? Lumian smiled:

"Yes."

Valentine nodded in satisfaction, went onto the balcony, and stood ramrod straight, facing the rising sun.

He then opened his arms, tilted his head back slightly, and whispered, "Praise the Sun!"

"Praise the Sun!" Lumian had no choice but to do the same.

Valentine folded his arms, crossed them over his chest, closed his eyes and prayed for a while, then opened them and said to Lumian, "If the Loop can be broken successfully, I will introduce you to the bishop of Dalege Region, or would you prefer to go to Bigos?"

"I prefer Trier," Lumian replied with a smile, "But where we go isn't up to me, it's up to my Older Sister."

Valentine nodded, didn't continue the topic, turned around, and entered the corridor, where he began to patrol back and forth.

Nothing happened until eight o'clock. The two went downstairs and started making breakfast together.

Not long after, Ryan came down to help, and around nine o'clock, Lya also got up, only Aurora was still sleeping.

"What are the plans for today?" Ryan asked Lumian, taking a bite of his toast.

Lumian thought for a moment and said, "Leave someone at home; we can't let Aurora face a possible attack alone."

"The remaining two will go out with me to replenish our food supplies and fetch a few buckets of water. Hehe, we're going to hold out until the Twelfth Night."

The Cordou Village didn't have Tap Water yet, so when Aurora built this house, she installed a water tank on the roof. As long as it's replenished and disinfected regularly, it's equivalent to having Tap Water.

"Yes, these things need to be done Lent Festival," Ryan agreed.

Lumian immediately broke into a bright smile:

"Oh, and there's one more thing. We need to visit Madame Pualis and see if we can persuade her to help us investigate the Warlock and Owl who died in the Tomb Chamber."

As expected, Lumian saw Valentine frown and Ryan's smile become slightly stiff.

Lya took a sip of water, smiled, and said, "I'll stay here and keep Aurora company."

"No problem," Lumian agreed on behalf of Ryan and Valentine.

Things had come to this point, and the two gentlemen had no choice but to agree to go to the Administrator's residence in the morning.

After breakfast, the three of them left the semi-underground two-story building and headed towards the Old Tavern.

On their journey, they passed by the home of the Shepherd Pierre Berri Family.

Lumian's heart skipped a beat, and he said to Ryan and Valentine, "Let's go check on those three sheep."

He remembered the bleating of a sheep he had heard last night.

Ryan and Valentine, understanding what he meant, did not object.

After circling around for a while, the three arrived at the back of the Berri Family, only to find an empty Sheep Pen.

The three sheep have disappeared.