Chapter 583 True Illusion
Albert said, looking at Aiwass's collar.
There hangs the token of love that Isabel gave to Aiwass - the "Tear of Isolde" that can withstand a fatal injury.
"It's called Isolde's Tears, and it's a necklace Ini left me. She told me it was something her mother left her. But her mother eventually turned to amber and died, and the necklace couldn't save her. If Ini had been wearing this necklace when she was attacked, she might not have died. But after we got married, she gave it to me.
"...Ironically enough. A consumable necklace that could save someone from death once, yet after sending several owners away, it ultimately failed to protect anything. There wasn't even a chance it would be consumed.
"I feel I'm unworthy of using it, at least compared to its previous owners. My life isn't worth wasting on this precious chance to avoid death."
Albert stared at the necklace on Aiwas's chest and whispered, "So before I left, I gave it to Isabel. Therefore, the first time I saw you... I recognized your identity."
"So what do you think of me now?"
Aiwass raised his empty glass and clinked it with Albert: "Father."
Among Aiwass's "digital fathers", Albert is undoubtedly the one closest to an "ordinary person".
"...You leave me speechless."
Albert was silent for a long time, then answered seriously: "But this feeling...is not bad."
"nature."
Aiwass chuckled, twirling the glass between his fingers. "Because you've been waiting for someone to scold you like this, Father."
"…Be nice to Isabel."
Prince Albert said almost weakly: "On little Isa's birthday... I will go back. I will go back no matter what."
"You don't need to say that. You don't need to give me any promises. Whatever Isabel decides, I will respect her opinion.
"No matter what danger she faces, I will stand by her and protect her. In fact, I just recently rescued her from a fifth-level demon incarnation. And now, she's surrounded by a horde of the Pope's guards... so there's no need for you to worry.
"That timid child has grown up—through her own strong will and the help of us, her friends. She is now Her Majesty the Queen of Avalon.
"And what about His Royal Highness Prince Albert? Poor Prince, he died a long time ago in a battle with bandits."
Aiwass slowly put down the wine glass and put a finger on the wall of the glass.
He twirled his fingers slightly, and the air trembled and hummed.
Compared to when they first entered the door, the two people's positions were completely reversed.
Aiwass declared the conversation over: "Now, I want to talk to Mr. Yunus about Miss Anastasia."
“…Ouch, ouch!”
In just a moment, Prince Albert, who was depressed and decadent with his head down, turned back into Yunus.
He clapped his hands joyfully, then patted his belly like a happy seal. "What a wonderful show! It makes me so happy! Seeing that stubborn man finally speechless is like a star falling!"
There wasn't a trace of loss on the bald fat man's face.
It was as if he and Prince Albert were two completely different people.
He even commented sharply from a bystander's perspective: "That man never faces problems directly. Only your identity makes it impossible for him to escape - because you have indeed taken over his responsibilities, the honorable Minister without Portfolio, Prince Moriarty!"
This conversation gave Aiwass a strange feeling.
He suddenly thought of the god of wine and the host of the banquet.
Aiwass suppressed his distracting thoughts and spoke gently, "Let's put that aside for now and talk about Anastasia. Did you really see her in Avalon?"
"I did see her. I even touched her hand! Her skin was a little cool, but still had the warmth of a living being—I think it might be the cool evening breeze of Avalon."
Yunus plucked the strings twice, his expression becoming serious. “I got her hairband. According to Mr. Maxim, it was a gift from a friend who came to visit.”
...Trandization disease?
"Since it's a gift," Aiwass pondered, "does that mean there's another one in the Theocracy?"
"Those things have long been lost—that's what Mr. Maxim says, but I have a different opinion."
Yunus spoke seriously, his cheerful and lively tone suddenly becoming more serious. "This is my first time in the Elven Kingdom, but I've been here for several months. Many elves don't consider 'tree transformation' a disease, but rather a kind of honor. This means that tree-transformed elves will inevitably be reborn from the Dream World with a more noble attitude...but ordinary elves may not necessarily gain the recognition of the Celestial Gods and Pillar Gods."
Aiwass nodded.
Indeed, for an elf to transform into a tree is like being admitted to the realm of phantom demons. While it signifies the premature death of the physical body, if the physical world is simply considered the "novice period" and "screening period" of the dream world, then transforming into a tree can almost be said to be equivalent to "graduating early from life."
Especially for the elves who revere the giant trees, ascending as a derivative of the giant trees can be a kind of honor.
"Once a spirit has completely transformed into a tree, their relatives and friends will burn all the things they cherished during their lifetime—pile them in front of the tree they transformed into, and the fire will consume both!"
“…burned?”
Aiwass was a little surprised: "Why?"
“Because it doesn’t make sense.”
Yunus immediately replied, "Unlike Amber—the spirits of Amber aren't actually completely dead; their souls are still locked within their bodies. Theoretically, there's even a possibility of recovery."
"But transformation into a tree means the decay of the body and the sublimation of the soul. Even if one descends into the material world again, one cannot return to their original form. They will become just a tree, just as the 'Giant Tree' of yesteryear left behind its divine body. Some may wish to preserve the bark or branches as a memento, but those are merely souvenirs, much like the Star Antimony custom of refining corpses into gems or transforming them into undead spirits.
"The elves believe in light and fire. The tree trunk turning into flames is a blessing to them—just as the elves don't practice burial, but prefer cremation. From what I've heard, many elves believe that once the soul is freed from its shackles, it will be purified and ascend higher."
"No, no, no, that's actually superstition. It's actually a story told by old elves to children."
Aiwass shook his head and refuted the rumor, "Any pastor would know that regardless of whether the body is burned or not, buried or cremated, the soul of any body that undergoes a proper funeral is bound to be sent to the River of Dreams. A body left in the material world is meaningless; it's just a piece of flesh... and in Miss Anastasia's case, it's just a pile of wood."
"The main reason the elves practice cremation is actually because the giant tree lacks the space needed for burial, and the giant tree does not require fertilizer..."
"...It's all right, Mr. Aiwass! I mean, that headband should have been burned!
"But I saw Anastasia in her youthful form, and I even received a hairband from her—even Mr. Maxim was certain it belonged to Anastasia. That's why, unable to explain himself, he changed his story and said the items were lost. Just like the tree Anastasia transformed into, it must have been burned. After all, I've been here all these days, and I still haven't seen the tree Anastasia transformed into."
Yunus said seriously: “But his attitude is wrong.
"His daughter turned into a tree and died. No matter if he felt happy for her, sad, or lonely... no matter what, this attitude shouldn't have been like this!
"He treated me warmly and allowed me to write to Mr. Sherlock. He didn't drive me away, but allowed us to investigate here and even provided us with accommodation and food... But when I really asked, he said nothing... He didn't deny that the girl I saw was Anastasia, but he was certain that Anastasia had died in the form of a tree."
The initial rhythm and humor were no longer detectable in Yunus' voice.
Aiwass sensed a hint of powerlessness and unwillingness in his voice.
At that moment, Aiwass suddenly understood... why he was so obsessed with this matter. And why, in the original history, he went back to Isabel to apologize and admit his mistake after completing this task.
He saw a little bit of himself in Mr. Maxim. He didn't know what Maxim was doing, but he just felt that something was wrong.
He was keenly aware that something was wrong—and this keenness came from his guilt towards Isabel.
Yunus realized that if he continued to investigate, he would be torturing his past self. Every question he posed to the earth mage would boomerang back at him.
But he couldn't escape from here... This incident was like a black hole, sucking him here.
From another perspective, he longed for self-destruction, and Prince Albert instinctively realized that this event might be his guillotine.
"...Can I see that headband?"
Aiwass thought for a moment and asked.
Yunus nodded, pulled out a red cloth bag from his pocket, carefully took out the hairband, and handed it to Aiwass.
After receiving it, Aiwass didn't see anything pop up in front of him - this meant that it was at least not an extraordinary item. It was just an ordinary headband.
"What about Sherlock? What did he say?"
Aiwass asked again.
"He seemed to understand something from the beginning, but he didn't tell me anything."
Yunus was a little annoyed: "He just said something like, 'Maybe that's why you can see ghosts,' but he didn't explain - and when I pressed him, he said, 'I'll try to catch a ghost at night.'
"I don't know exactly what he did last night, but he said... he wasn't going to say anything until you got here. He said 'there are some things you can safely leave unsaid.'"
"Like Sherlock."
Aiwass nodded happily.
——That idiot finally realized that he should wait for his teammates to arrive before attacking the monsters!
In the original history, Yunus's messy operations eventually solidified the truth of the matter into "the girl manifested her spirit because of her longing", a romantic but unreasonable story that started well but ended badly.
"There is no doubt that the Anastasia you saw could not have been a ghost."
Aiwass answered with absolute certainty, "A ghost wouldn't have given you their belongings. And if it were a cursed item, it's even more impossible for you to keep it intact for so long."
"So what you saw must be a living person."
“…alive people?”
"Or rather, it's the [True Illusion] that you are so familiar with."
Aiwass said calmly, "Have you noticed...ever since you changed back to your original form, there's been a lack of noisy things in this room?"
Yunus looked at Aiwass in confusion.
He quickly opened his eyes and recalled:
"That... fairy lady?"
Aiwass nodded.
Update complete! 7,000 words of update!
My frozen shoulder is recovering. I feel it should be fine after two days of moxibustion!
(End of this chapter)
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