Chapter 1539: Amber’s Hope

The high-quality replica baton Amber pulled out—one that could also double as a Shadow Scepter—had an intense intimidating effect on the Three Sisters of Abundance. Gawain was certain he could detect traces of PTSD in their expressions. Only after that did he roughly explain the strange, mysterious connection between Amber and Lady Night, as well as the origin of this so-called “replica” in Amber’s hand.

He had never intended to hide this aspect. While the secrets carried by the Intelligence Director were classified to the outside world, here he had the chance to glean useful information from the Three Sisters of Abundance. After all, Gaia and the others had all come face-to-face with Lady Night, making them the closest source of intelligence Gawain had found so far regarding her.

“Faulty replication and data overflow?” Flora, the Spring Goddess, blinked in confusion after hearing Gawain’s explanation. This was clearly beyond her realm of knowledge. “The things the Voyagers left behind are truly profound…”

“That’s not really our area of expertise,” Gaia, the Earth Mother, gently shook her head from the side. “We sisters know a bit about agriculture and farming…”

“Don’t worry about the technical terms,” Gawain waved his hand. He had never expected these three agricultural deities to fully grasp the black-tech left by the Voyagers. He was just giving them a rough idea of his theories about Amber and Lady Night, so they could have a general impression. “You can think of it simply as some kind of ‘avatar’ or another state of existence. What I want to know is whether you have any insight into this kind of state.”

Gaia’s expression turned thoughtful. After a moment, she shook her head slightly. “Based on your description, Miss Amber could be considered a kind of… copy of Lady Night, but only a very limited part was replicated. So there’s a faint connection to her ‘original,’ but no direct communication can be established. That doesn’t quite fit the idea of an ‘avatar,’ but rather…”

She paused, her gaze settling on Amber. After carefully weighing her words for several seconds, she continued, “It’s more like an existence somewhere between an ‘avatar’ and an ‘independent individual.’”

Eve, the Goddess of Harvest, nodded in agreement and added, “Miss Amber has her own thoughts and personality, so in that sense, she is indeed an independent and free individual. But her existence depends on something copied from the ‘original.’ According to what you said, that’s called ‘overflow data.’ So, in terms of her soul… her ‘independence’ isn’t entirely certain. And from what you mentioned earlier, her current state is clearly increasingly influenced by the original, which also shows that her existence is inherently flawed.”

Hearing the cautious and rather grim assessment from the two goddesses, Gawain frowned. “You mean Amber can’t maintain stable independence? That her ‘stability’ will gradually weaken over time?”

Gaia, Eve, and Flora quickly exchanged low whispers. Then the eldest sister, Gaia, looked up and met Gawain’s eyes. “We sisters aren’t experts in the realm of souls, but as deities, we do have some understanding. Also, we have personally encountered Lady Night. That ancient god… is a powerful and ‘complex’ being.”

“Complex?” Gawain furrowed his brow, trying to grasp the meaning behind her words. “You mean… her ‘composition’ is very ‘complicated’?”

“That’s a strange way to put it, but it fits our impression,” Gaia nodded. “Perhaps she has existed for so long that she has accumulated vast memories and power. Or maybe it’s the influence of the Voyagers’ modifications. Lady Night possesses a complexity and a vast original form that surprised even us. If all gods could be described as ‘data,’ then the amount of data contained within Lady Night must be staggering. And we all know… the more complex something is, the higher the chance of structural defects when it’s copied. Especially when the premise is ‘faulty replication,’ the stability of the copy is particularly worrying.

“From my personal feeling, although Lady Night’s methods are somewhat… rough, she probably doesn’t mind having a ‘copy’ like Miss Amber. The clues you’ve given support this conclusion. So Amber’s recent changes likely have nothing to do with Lady Night’s will, but rather stem from the ‘defects’ inherent in her nature as a copy, which are gradually worsening and affecting her stability.”

Gawain’s expression darkened bit by bit. This conclusion was exactly the possibility he least wanted to face—Amber’s recent abnormal changes had nothing to do with Lady Night, but were caused by her own flaws.

If the abnormalities were related to Lady Night, he would still have many options. He would have a target to negotiate with, a source to address. But if the source was Amber herself?

As a result of faulty replication, Amber’s “information structure” was insufficient to sustain her long-term stable existence, causing her to increasingly gravitate toward her “original,” losing the integrity of her independent individuality… At this rate, she might one day become part of Lady Night or dissolve into useless data redundancy, reclaimed by the Anchor Generator…

Lost in thought, Gawain suddenly felt a gentle tug on his sleeve from behind.

He turned to see Amber looking up at him, her amber-colored eyes fixed unwaveringly on his.

Under that steady gaze, Gawain’s restless thoughts suddenly calmed. Then, as calm returned, a new idea struck him.

“You said Lady Night doesn’t mind Amber’s existence,” he said, looking up sharply at the three goddesses before him. “But what if it goes further? What if Lady Night actually welcomes Amber’s existence, even wants to help this ‘fragment’ of herself continue to exist? What do you think she would do?”

As he voiced this speculation, another thought came to mind—something else that should have vanished from this world but was mysteriously preserved by some unknown power, surviving as a “miracle”: the Wild Mage’s notebook.

As a “local product” of the Violet Kingdom, the Wild Mage’s notebook should have disappeared with the end of the Violet Dream. Yet, it was preserved by a strange force and still lay safely in a special room of the Imperial Grant Library. He remembered a faint glow surrounding the book, and that power undoubtedly came from Lady Night. She had even left a phrase inside the book, seemingly to affirm the Wild Mage’s existence… This act sent a clear signal:

Though Lady Night might strike with a crossbow or a baton, or come knocking to kill without warning, she is a benevolent god—one who would personally intervene to preserve a notebook written by a mortal. So it’s entirely possible she would also intervene to help Amber.

In fact, even before learning that Lady Night had received a group of lost souls including Silver-Eyed Corrod, and even earlier than that, Gawain had entertained such suspicions. Now, with several “parties” who had dealt directly with Lady Night before him, he thought some of his questions might finally be answered.

“Help Miss Amber continue to exist?” Gaia clearly hadn’t considered this possibility. She paused, then pondered thoughtfully. “We still know very little about Lady Night. Aside from knowing she’s extremely powerful, everything about that ancient god is a mystery to us… But after hearing what you said about the Voyagers, something suddenly occurred to me.”

Gawain fixed his gaze on Gaia’s eyes. After organizing her thoughts, she continued, “In a way, Lady Night might be facing a problem similar to Miss Amber’s—maintaining her own existence.”

Gawain frowned, quickly catching on. “The Anchor Generator.”

“Yes, that thing called the Anchor Generator. I don’t fully understand what it is, but from your description, Lady Night is one of the ancient gods who should have been eliminated by the Voyagers long ago, yet she still survives thanks to this ‘device’ called the Anchor Generator. In other words, her own existence isn’t entirely stable either; it’s just that the Voyagers’ creation is reliable enough,” Gaia said, pointing to the wound on her head. “Another obvious fact is that Lady Night trusts and skillfully uses the Voyagers’ legacy. She even modifies it based on its principles to solve practical problems.

“Using the Anchor Generator’s impact to separate the divinity and humanity of this season’s gods is one such modification and application of the Voyagers’ technology.

“So if she really were to help Miss Amber, and conventional methods didn’t work, perhaps she would use this approach…”

“She might prepare an ‘anchor’ for Amber, just like the Voyagers made one for her,” Gawain suddenly exhaled deeply. Although everything Gaia said was speculative, he inexplicably felt a bit relieved. This relief wasn’t the same as Amber’s earlier acceptance or the self-comfort of “things will work out.” It was the solid feeling of finally having some footing after a long time of uncertainty—seeing a clear light in the darkness. “Wait, maybe this ‘anchor’ already exists…”

He suddenly thought of the Intelligence agents who had disappeared on Violet Island, the mysterious girl “Morning Star” encountered by Modril’s expedition in the Violet Forest, and Lady Night’s invitation. These seemingly unrelated clues suddenly connected under this hypothesis, brightening his eyes a little.

Gaia noticed the change and smiled warmly, clearly pleased. “It seems our answers have some value, don’t they?”

“Extremely valuable,” Gawain quickly composed himself and looked at the three goddesses with utmost seriousness. “At least for me personally, these answers are incredibly important.”

“That’s good, because you’ve helped us greatly as well. Mutual aid is only right,” Eve said, her deer-like legs gently scratching the earth—a sign of her good mood. “So, shall we start planning how to implement that ‘plan’?”

The plan involving a stockpile of explosives in the divine realm.

“Fortunately, we still have some buffer time to complete these preparations,” Gawain exhaled softly, then glanced around the special courtyard on the edge of the civilized world, bordering the realm of the gods. “Let me confirm one thing: is this the only place you can contact us from?”

“For now, yes,” Gaia nodded. “This place lies in the Shadow Realm, and the fortress behind you leads to the Umbral World. This is the ‘furthest’ point we can reach without intervening in the mortal world. Going any further risks triggering divine half-forms’ unrest.”

“Hm…” Gawain pondered briefly, already forming a plan. “Then let’s treat this as a hub for gathering and transit. The edges of the courtyard have vast barren areas, enough to store large quantities of munitions. And since you can safely reach this spot, other gods should be able to as well.”

“Since you three sisters are the first gods to make contact with us, let’s start testing with the Fertile Divine Realm. I’ll arrange for a shipment of ‘supplies’ to be delivered here around this time tomorrow. You can take them back and run some tests—observe how the Divine Realm and the divine half-bodies each react. If everything goes according to plan, we’ll move on to large-scale transportation…”

Gawain suddenly paused mid-sentence, then, as if he’d just remembered something, tapped his head. “Oh, right—I almost forgot. Do you know how to use those ‘things’?”

The three goddesses exchanged glances. Flora was the first to break the silence, a little embarrassed. “I guess… biting them isn’t the correct way?”

“Looks like you’ll need some basic training,” Gawain said with a twitch at the corner of his mouth. “Though the process is basically just ‘stack’ and ‘detonate,’ to get the best results, you need a fundamental understanding of the weapons mortals have made—how they perform, how they cause damage, how to arrange and activate them to unleash maximum power, plus the basics of safe storage and simple procedures if the fuse fails… Don’t worry, it might sound complicated, but it’s all basic stuff. With your divine intellect, I bet you’ll get the hang of it in no time.”

Gawain’s instructions were clear and methodical. The three goddesses nodded along seriously, both sides clearly treating this as important business. Meanwhile, Amber, standing nearby, felt increasingly uneasy. In her mind, she pictured a group of Cecil military experts giving lessons inside the Rebellious Courtyard, while on the other side of the anti-divine barrier, a neat row of gods sat listening attentively. The whole scene made her feel downright unsettled.

She shared her mental image with Gawain, who gave her a strange look. “Now that you mention it… I kind of find that scene artistically and religiously symbolic.”

Amber: “…You definitely have some serious issues when it comes to artistic interpretation.”

Gawain, however, dismissed her critique. Mortals teaching gods how to overthrow divine authority, earthly firearms arming the gods’ humanity, and the mad divinity reduced to ashes afterward—what could be more artistically and religiously meaningful? A scene bursting with intense contradictions and unified order, perfectly embodying the ‘Cecil Order.’

Honestly, just hearing this made him want to find a couple of artists to paint the whole thing!

(End of chapter)