"What should we do…? We can't really have each of us look for a fragment alone… I—I'm just a little sidekick!"
Seeing Paimon's pitiful face, Victor Wang couldn't help but laugh. "That's impossible. But since there are three fragments, it'd be more efficient if we split up."
Lumine nodded. "I also want to take this chance to teleport back and ask about the attitude of Watatsumi Island toward the Bathysmal Vishaps—and Enjou's identity."
After leaving the Golden Bridle and parting ways with Enjou, the three began to discuss their plan.
"In that case, I'll go to the Serpent's Heart. You two go back to Watatsumi Island to confirm things first, then teleport to the Dainichi Mikoshi's surrounding area," Victor Wang said, taking out the map he had copied from the Byakuyakoku Library and gesturing across it. "Once each of us has retrieved a fragment, we'll meet at the Evernight Temple."
"Alright."
Lumine agreed to the plan, took Paimon's hand, and vanished instantly.
Not needing to touch a waypoint to teleport… must be nice. Retracting his envious gaze, Victor Wang turned back toward the Dainichi Mikoshi once more, then rode the wind toward the Serpent's Heart.
The mechanism at the Serpent's Heart was ingeniously designed—a circular altar surrounded by five energy gates. At its center was a cryptic hint. By activating the gates in the correct order, the mechanism would unlock. It was, in truth, the simplest of the three trials.
Indeed, it was exactly that simple. Within two minutes of arriving, Victor Wang had already obtained the Fragment of the Reins of Resurrection.
When he returned to the Dainichi Mikoshi, Enjou was still busy searching for the book he so desperately desired—[Before Sun and Moon]. Yet the clue to the [Before Sun and Moon] had been in the Byakuyakoku Library he had already scoured thoroughly, while the actual book lay on a small island even farther south of the Serpent's Heart. The library had, ironically, become his own blind spot. Searching this way, he would never find it.
By the time Victor Wang had turned toward the Evernight Temple, Enjou finally left the Dainichi Mikoshi, clearly dejected. Having failed to locate the [Before Sun and Moon], he dropped his pretenses. Rising into the air, he followed that peculiar abyssal aura straight toward Victor Wang.
"Hey, my friend, if I'm not mistaken, you've met that being before, haven't you?"
Victor Wang showed no surprise at Enjou's physical flight. Instead, he countered, "Which being?"
That only made Enjou more certain of his guess. Casually, he elaborated, "The true founder of the Abyss Order, of course. Though… it doesn't seem to be human."
"To the ignorant, it's the God of Khaenri'ah. In its own words, it calls itself a sinner. In objective terms, though, it's a superweapon created to oppose Celestia. Call it whatever you like—but as a meticulous scholar, I still struggle to decide how to properly address it. Oh, how I wish I could ask it myself."
"A superweapon against Celestia…" Victor Wang repeated softly.
He thought back carefully:
Dainsleif called it that thing, his tone anything but polite.
Diergis, as a member of the Abyss Order, revered its power because he hoped it could revive his wife—yet even he had said, 'It is the one that needs faith the least, and yet it has become the very faith of the Abyss Order.'
Kaeya, on the other hand, had directly called it the God of Khaenri'ah. But who could be sure he hadn't heard wrong—or was simply misleading others?
Enjou adjusted his glasses and continued. "In any case, it was indeed some of its actions that gave birth to the Abyss Order. Our Highness once came into close contact with it, which is why your aura is so obvious. Even someone like me—who doesn't spend much time around our Highness—could recognize it immediately. Don't try to deny it."
"So, you're part of the Abyss Order too, huh? The cursed one who can manipulate fire—the Abyss Lector?"
"Heh." Enjou smiled calmly and spread his hands. "You, see? We both belong to the Abyss. There's no reason for conflict. Now, tell me—where did you encounter that being?"
"Don't get the wrong idea, I don't belong to the Abyss. It just happened that that being took notice of me by accident."
"An accident, huh? Tsk, that's unfortunate. I had so many questions I wanted to ask that being."
"You're… not going to ask how that 'accident' happened?" Victor Wang was a little surprised that, unlike Diergis, Enjou didn't press the issue.
"Why would I? That being is a lunatic. Who could possibly find logic in a madman's actions—another madman?"
Another madman…
Even after all this time, hearing Enjou's slightly mocking tone still made Victor Wang feel a pang of sorrow for Diergis. Even if he hadn't been replaced by the Awakened Precepts, he might have still ended up seeking strength from the void.
Shaking off that melancholy, Victor Wang asked, "Look, I've answered one of your questions. Can you answer one of mine?"
"Let's hear it."
"I want to know where Khaenri'ah's outpost in Byakuyakoku is located."
"You… oh, don't tell me you're the one who took the Hourglass of Khaenri'ah?!"
"You people actually know about that?" Victor Wang frowned. Things were starting to sound troublesome.
"Of course we do! It used to be a crucial part of the plan to rebel against Celestia. And the one who wrapped it up in the end was that being. Even though that path was abandoned, it's still worth keeping an eye on."
"That path?"
"Wait, wait—seriously?! You've already obtained the Hourglass and still don't know what it's for? Don't tell me you're a total outsider who just got really lucky?"
"…Could you explain it in detail?"
Enjou sighed but still obliged.
"You know artifacts are extremely valuable, right? Especially high-grade ones—they're rare, difficult to create, and nearly unique. The only reason humanity can use them in such numbers is because of a kind of projection technology.
"Khaenri'ah was powerful—not only did they master artifact creation, but also the projection of them. They invested heavily to create an ultra-rare set of artifacts, planning to project them to every single Khaenri'ahn citizen.
"You know how things turned out… The people are gone. Unless the Hilichurls can all turn back into humans, granting them artifacts would be meaningless.
"Besides, the projection tech and resources were destroyed. Even if someone wanted to continue the plan, they couldn't. So that path was abandoned."
That explains it!
Victor Wang was stunned.
No wonder the Hilichurls' artifact slots were just five dark silhouettes!
Those artifacts must have once been projected—but failed or interrupted midway, leaving only those shadows behind.
So, they were actually the standard equipment of Khaenri'ahns?
Khaenri'ah had intended to distribute items like [The Two Ends of Beginning and End]—literal rule-defying tools—as a complete set to every citizen?
But since they were projections, they probably functioned like high-level artifacts today: if removed from their slot, they would dissipate instantly. Which meant they couldn't take out the [The Two Ends of Beginning and End] to "shake" it—thus, they couldn't move time forward or backward.
Then, the true function of [The Two Ends of Beginning and End]—the effect that didn't require it to be removed—was likely to protect its wielder from temporal interference!
If that was true for the Sands of Eon, then the Goblet of Space must have shielded its user from spatial interference. The entire set must have been created for this exact reason—after all, Khaenri'ah had planned to oppose the Thrones and the Primordial Four Shadows: the Archons of Time and Space…
It all fit perfectly.
Khaenri'ah had truly prepared for everything in their rebellion against Celestia.