Chapter 598: The Centennial Banquet

Titania rubbed her eyes and looked carefully, only to find that James in the cage was gone.

She was immediately horrified: "Evans, did you eat James?"

"W-what?"

Grace was also shocked.

Aiwass simply shook his head. "Of course not, Your Majesty. He left first due to something. Thank you for your protection."

Although James didn't tell Aiwass why he stayed quietly in the birdcage.

But Aiwass has analyzed James's motives from those few words -

Cardinal Loki once taught James the "Secrets of Stargazing", a mysterious skill that allowed James to know many things that had happened in this era, and also made many secrets disappear.

Aiwass is not sure how James will return to the beginning of his "shedding" after the world is destroyed.

But considering that he knew some of the true names and secrets of the Pillar Gods, and knew the nature of several source rivers, it was at least certain that he did not have a body, but had returned to the dream world.

According to the fundamental rules of this world, any intelligent and transcendental being capable of persisting in the dream world for an extended period of time could be called a phantom demon. While it was unknown in which realm it existed, or whether it existed in a conscious or dormant state, it was at least certain that it had not died in the dream world and become a phantom demon egg.

James, who learned the secrets of stargazing from Cardinal Loki, was a resolute and gentle man in his youth. However, his personality suddenly changed after he met Anna Kingsford, the founder of the Golden Dawn.

Therefore, the nameless "Illusionary Savior" must have been summoned by Anna at that time and possessed James' body. This is a classic "necromancy" ritual, a transcendental ritual also related to the path of love. Its essence is a misrepresentation of higher divine arts.

The "James Moriarty" from then on was the Professor Moriarty that people knew.

A fusion of a boy gazing at the stars and a paranoid savior.

——From another perspective, the original boy James may have died when the ceremony was successful.

Although the two souls could be considered to have merged, the young James's consciousness was clearly not much. But it was enough for him to know that Cardinal Loki possessed powerful astrological skills, able to see the secrets of everything happening in the starry sky.

That's why James chose to hide in the Fairy Kingdom before the plan started to avoid detection; he even went further and got into the Fairy Queen's cage so that the Pillar God could not interfere with him.

The Fairy Queen is more or less a great being at the level of a celestial being. Although her strength is not as good as the Twin Mirrors, her status is basically equivalent to that of a Pillar God.

Transformed into a jewel bird by the Fairy Queen and then caged, he could be considered the Fairy Queen's pet and personal property. Any interference with and observation of his fate would be reflected back at the Fairy Queen.

Perhaps it can be done by force, but it is not easy and there is no need.

For the weak, there is no need to defeat the strong. All they need to do is make the cost of defeating them unbearable, and that is enough to protect themselves.

Thinking of this, Aiwass spoke to comfort the somewhat lost Fairy Queen: "He will definitely come back later."

"He always told me that before."

Upon learning that James had left without saying goodbye, this great being at the Celestial Master level was not angry or upset, but rather a little sad: "You will also tell me when you will come back..."

It looked so aggrieved, as if the cat at home had run away through the window by itself.

Aiwass felt as if tears were about to well up in the Fairy Queen's eyes - considering that the Fairy Kingdom is a two-dimensional world, perhaps that was not an illusion.

James should indeed have a good relationship with the Fairy Queen.

Although in this world line, James chose to become the inheritor, he still has the memory of the "Elementalist".

Just as Aiwas's memories as the "Scholar of Sin" allowed him to create phantom cards in advance, he also relied on the memories of the elementalist to successfully make friends with the fairies.

"He will definitely come back."

Aiwass comforted the Fairy Queen again.

The Fairy Queen raised her head and cast her tearful eyes towards Aiwass: "How about... you stay with me?

"What bird would you like to be? A sparrow, a dove, or a crow?"

“…I’ll let it go.”

Aiwass was somewhat helpless, but considering Titania's personality, he had to refuse clearly: "But I will come to accompany you later if I have time."

"Busy, everyone is busy..."

Titania muttered angrily.

She shook the birdcage and dumped Aiwass out.

When Aiwass escaped from the birdcage, he immediately felt himself growing larger. The imprisoned power returned to his body, and the sense of isolation and silence immediately dissipated.

Titania wiped her eyes and looked at Grace.

Although she is a mature and elegant woman, she has an innocent and cheerful smile on her face at this moment: "You are here, my lovely little leaf - are you here to play with me?"

"Your Majesty, I'm here to see Anastasia."

Grace, who had transformed back into her girlish form, made a crisp sound.

She looked at Aiwass beside her and said hesitantly, "Then...can I take Aiwass away too?"

"Hey... let's go, let's go."

Titania sighed and shook the empty birdcage.

A vortex appeared beside Aiwass and Grace and sucked them in.

When everyone left, Titania's face immediately fell.

"That's really boring... Let's change the subject."

The Fairy Queen was thinking about what theme to change for the palace, but she found that every current theme was a bit boring.

"Damn it, no inspiration!"

She complained, raised the birdcage, and ordered all the fairies in the kingdom: "Go and bring back some children, bring back more! And also invite some storytellers, find some clowns and poets!

"Hurry up and go hunting in the Land of Shadows, and bring back some juicy meat; go to the Garden of Pure Beauty and pick some sweet fruits. Remember to distinguish between the mirror image and the real thing!

"Go quickly and get some golden honey from the moon. Miss Heng will be willing to give it to you. Then go to Mr. Cain and ask for some red blood. Mix it with the red wine from Dionysus and make an intoxicating candy!

"By the way, remember to invite Mr. Zagreus. A banquet always needs a host to make it grand!

"Don't take the vegetables that the children hate to eat, but remember to go to the Everburning Valley to catch some beautiful butterflies. They will be our dance partners—"

"—We're going to hold a grand, wild and chaotic banquet that only happens once every century! Everyone, get moving! All the lazy people will be turned into roasted pig heads!"

When Titania's order came to fruition, all the fairies shouted excitedly.

The entire fairy kingdom was in chaos... just like the day of the big holiday, when the children's screams seemed to be able to tear the ceiling apart.

"...Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

A toy soldier nearby spoke cautiously, "The last grand banquet was held twenty years ago."

"Nonsense!"

The Fairy Queen waved the birdcage angrily and said, "Since you like talking so much, then come and chat with me!"

The toy soldier's body suddenly shrank and turned into a colorful parrot, which was sucked into the birdcage.

(End of this chapter)