Before long, Lin Xi finished merging.
Before he even opened his eyes, Melusine threw herself into his arms.
"Hehe, I can finally get close to you without worrying about the occasion, Lin Xi."
Lin Xi blinked in surprise and looked at Electrolux, who was smiling beside them.
"Elder Yi, what's going on?"
Before he absorbed the gold of life and awakened Electrolux, Melusine had still been unable to manifest in his Sea of Consciousness. She appeared immediately afterward; even an idiot would know what had happened.
Electrolux chuckled and winked.
"I settled their souls, which were attached to your Soul Rings, in your Sea of Consciousness. Now they can directly enjoy the benefits of the gold of life too."
"You can even do that?!"
Lin Xi was rather stunned.
His immediate purpose in bringing Electrolux aboard had been to use his power to develop the Soul Spirit System, paving the way for an alliance with the forces of the Star Dou Great Forest in the future.
He had never expected an unexpected bonus like this.
Electrolux nodded.
"Yes. This is only the beginning. As their souls spend more time being nurtured in your Sea of Consciousness, they may even gain physical bodies that truly belong to them. I believe this will be of great benefit to you."
"Of course it will! Thank you so much, Elder Yi!"
Overjoyed, Lin Xi bowed deeply to Electrolux.
He sincerely regarded the Servants as his companions. If they could have bodies of their own in the future, they could escape their current state of living parasitically within him and truly gain their freedom.
How could that not make him happy?
Smiling, Electrolux did not step aside and accepted his bow.
He had the right to accept it.
After waiting a while and confirming that Lin Xi's emotions had settled, he said kindly:
"Child, you must still have many questions, don't you? Don't hold back. Ask them all. We know each other's backgrounds inside out; there's no need to play dumb with each other."
"Yes, Elder Yi." Lin Xi took a deep breath and asked earnestly, "You mentioned the power of fate just now. I've heard that term since coming to this world too. What exactly is it? And why do you think I have such a strong power of fate?"
Electrolux stroked his beard.
"Starting with that, are you? You're more perceptive than I imagined. My conjecture about the truth behind your transmigration is also closely tied to this power."
He explained:
"The so-called power of fate is both a person's ability to struggle against their destined lot and their ability to attract major events and great fortune."
"The ability to struggle against one's destined lot means the ability to interfere with the course of the world. For example, people always say that the great forces of the world, long divided, must unite, and long united, must divide. There is certainly a particular logic to that, but it may also involve the great hand of the world's will manipulating things in secret. Those with a strong power of fate can resist such interference."
Frowning, Lin Xi slowly nodded.
He more or less understood.
It was like how Director Ken was doomed to die in every worldline. Even if he escaped or won the Fourth War, he would still die in a plane crash on his way back to the Clock Tower.
That was because the world needed Waver to become Lord El-Melloi II, and Director Ken's existence was too much of an obstacle. He had to be removed.
The reason he could not even fight back was also that his power of fate was not strong, leaving him utterly unable to resist this arrangement by the world.
If his power of fate had been a little stronger, perhaps he could have avoided that ending.
Seeing that he had more or less digested this, Electrolux smiled faintly and continued:
"As for the ability to attract major events, that is actually easy to understand too. Those with a strong power of fate are destined to bear great fortune. At the same time, anyone blessed with great fortune is destined to be drawn to others who possess the same. When people with great fortune gather together, they naturally and unwittingly attract major events."
So that was it.
Lin Xi understood.
It was like how he and Huo Yutong had been born in the same city, or how the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had sensed him and immediately come looking for him as soon as he first arrived in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Beings with a strong power of fate could sense others of the same kind.
And when beings of that level gathered together, it would have been stranger if they failed to accomplish something great.
He asked:
"Then why do you think my power of fate is so strong?"
"As for that question..." Electrolux frowned slightly. "I don't actually have a definite answer either. I can only offer a few conjectures for your consideration."
Lin Xi hurriedly straightened up.
"I'm all ears."
"The first possibility is that your Martial Soul Awakening strengthened your power of fate."
Electrolux said slowly:
"According to you, your Martial Soul is directly related to a work from your previous life that bears the name 'Fate.' If so, it may well possess certain innate attributes of fate. In other words, you were originally just an ordinary person, and your power of fate is only strong because you happened to awaken a good Martial Soul."
"That doesn't seem right, does it?" Lin Xi frowned. "I already had memories of my previous life before my Martial Soul Awakening. If my power of fate only grew significantly stronger because of my Martial Soul Awakening, I don't think I would have been born with those memories."
"Exactly. That's why the first conjecture is unlikely."
Electrolux nodded in satisfaction and continued:
"Then let's look at the second possibility: the very reason you have this Martial Soul is that your power of fate was too strong. Under the influence of that powerful force of fate, you happened to awaken both memories of your previous life and a Martial Soul related to them."
"According to this conjecture, you are someone from this world who happened to awaken a powerful force of fate, and you also happened to have a connection with these Heroic Spirits in your previous life. That is what brought about the current situation."
"..."
After hearing the second possibility, Lin Xi's brows knitted tightly.
This possibility sounded considerably more plausible than the first.
Yet after turning it over in his mind several times, he still shook his head.
"Elder Yi, I don't think that's right. For so many years, no human like me has been born with a power of fate strong enough to shock the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and I also just happened to have a connection in my previous life with this game named 'Fate.' Explaining it all as coincidence is still too much of a stretch."
"I thought so too."
Electrolux chuckled.
From his observations, Lin Xi indeed did not seem like a child who could accept that sort of answer.
He always sought certainty. While using coincidence as an answer certainly fit the nature of "fate," it could not convince Lin Xi.
"In that case, let's discuss the third possibility, which is also the conjecture I believe is most likely to be correct."
As he spoke, a sharp gleam flashed through Electrolux's eyes.
"After hearing the information you gave me, I came up with a conjecture. If it is correct, the vast majority of our current questions can be resolved as readily as bamboo splits beneath a blade."
He paused, then slowly said:
"Could it be that we are inside a large-scale Singularity?"