For a brief moment, it was not just the City of Light, but the entire endless land of Eden that seemed to slow down, because no matter where one stood, whether within a crowded city, deep inside an ancient forest, across a barren wasteland, or beneath an open sky with no soul in sight, the same window had appeared before everyone.
And the information shown in that window made the whole Eden fall silent for a second, as people read it once, then again, just to be sure they had not read something so absurd.
And then everything erupted at the same time.
**
"Wait... wait, read that again properly, I think I missed something..."
"I already read it three times, it is not changing, you are just hoping it will make more sense the next time, but it does not..."
"No, I mean the rewards, look at the rewards carefully, are you seriously telling me this is something real...?"
"That is exactly what I am saying, and that is the problem, because if even half of that is real, then this is not just a quest, this is something that can completely change your life in one move..."
A man leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice without realizing it, his eyes still focused where the window had been.
"Blessing of the Universal System... do you understand what that means? because I certainly don’t.....but it must be something special right...?"
"And the Blessing of the Realm on top of that, it is like the Realm itself is backing you.....I wonder how it will feel like being blessed by the Realm...."
"Forget that, look at this... Heaven-Blessed Sovereign Physique..."
There was a brief pause as a few of them exchanged glances, none of them fully understanding it, yet none of them able to ignore it.
"Actually, I have no idea what this physique even does but special physiques are already rare enough, and anything with a name like that is not going to be normal... don’t u guys also think so...?"
"And you are telling me this is being given for finding one person...?"
Someone finally spoke what everyone was thinking, his tone slower now.
"What kind of person even needs rewards like this to be hunted...?"
"Did you not hear what was said earlier, this is not a normal person, this is someone who is not bound by anything, not fate, not karma, not anything we understand..."
"And you think we can just walk around and find someone like that...?"
"No, I am saying if someone does find him, then that person is not normal either, because even noticing something like that is not something everyone can do..."
That made them fall silent for a moment.
"So this is not about effort alone..."
"Yeah... it is luck too..."
"And timing... and knowing what to look for..."
"And risk... don’t forget that..."
A man shook his head slightly, his expression turning serious.
"If that person is really like this, then getting close to him might not be safe at all..."
"But does that even matter...?"
Another voice came in, calm but firm.
"When something like this is in front of you, something that can change everything, are you really going to think about safety first...?"
No one replied immediately, but the answer was already visible in their expressions..
**
All over the Eden, the same kind of conversations had already begun, people talking in low voices or arguing openly, some trying to understand, some already planning ahead, while others were still stuck on the shock of it, but no matter where one looked, the mood had changed, and it was not something that would settle down easily.
Meanwhile, Ash, who was watching all this unfold quietly, could not hold himself back and started cursing the seven generations of the High Priest and the Angels with clear irritation.
"F**king golden winged crows with polished feathers and empty brains, acting all holy while poking their noses where they are not needed, why can’t they let me live in peace, I haven’t even done anything to burn their shiny tails yet, but they are already barking like street dogs that just learned how to fly."
His face twisted in a way that did not suit him at all, as if he had just eaten something so unpleasant that even the aftertaste refused to leave, making his expression look both annoyed and slightly ridiculous.
Meanwhile, Eva stood to the side, trying her best to hold back her laughter, her lips pressed together and her shoulders shaking lightly as she struggled to keep a straight face, but the more she tried, the worse it became.
Ash noticed it almost immediately, and that only made his mood sink further.
"What are you laughing at? I dare you to laugh, I will—"
"Pff....hahahaha ahahahha ahhaha a"
She could not hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, her voice light but uncontrollable, making Ash stare at her for a moment before letting out a quiet breath, feeling both annoyed and helpless at the same time.
Tsk, F** k!!
But almost as soon as that thought passed, his mind began to calm down on its own, the irritation fading just enough for his thoughts to become clear again, as if the moment of venting had helped him regain his balance.
From the looks of it, my body reformation seems to have affected the deeper and unseen parts of reality, otherwise I don’t think those golden crows would go as far as issuing something like this across the entire Eden, especially not without a reason that directly involves me...
Still, if he thought about it properly, Ash was not afraid of the Angels, because whatever natural advantages they once had due to their race no longer held the same meaning for him, and what he lacked right now was not strength, but time.
Time to understand his current state.
Time to figure out how can he increases his overall ability other than by comprehending the Runes.
Time to become stronger.
But as always, this world never allowed things to go the way one wanted.
The future has changed once again, and this time the change is centered around me, which means even if I try to stay hidden, things will keep moving in my direction...
Even though my passive concealment abilities will make it hard for anyone to find me directly, it will not be impossible if people start thinking carefully instead of rushing blindly, because all it takes is one small clue to connect everything...
And there really was a flaw, something simple yet dangerous.
He did not have the Universal System.
While the entire world depended on it for almost everything, from daily tasks to growth, Ash stood outside of it completely, and that alone was enough to make him stand out if anyone paid attention for long enough.
Even normal people who had no abilities still possessed the Universal System, though it did not help them grow unless they awakened, and after the formation of Eden, the number of awakenings had increased by a large margin, making it even rarer to find someone without it.
By now, Eva had finally stopped laughing, not because it was no longer funny, but because Ash’s expression had returned to normal, calm and unreadable, which meant he was thinking again, and she knew better than to disturb that too much.
{Cough...Cough!!!}
Ash glanced at her and asked in a slightly stern tone, "What?"
{I was thinking, if it is possible to hack the Universal System, not fully, but just enough to make it look like you have an identity, something simple so you do not stand out too much in a world where everyone is connected to it.}
Ash looked at her quietly for a few seconds, actually considering the idea instead of rejecting it immediately, but in the end, he slowly shook his head.
"Its not possible right now, your computational powers are too weak, and I do not even know how the Universal System is built, without understanding how it works from the inside, there is no way to interfere with it properly, and without that knowledge, I do not even know where I should even begin."
{But aren’t you already thinking about talking to that amber flamed woman? I am at least 70% sure that she might have all the answers that you seek, but it depends on whether you can choke those answers out of her without getting castrated in the process!!}
Ash was speechless at the choice of Eva’s words, his expression turning slightly strange for a moment as if he wanted to say something but decided against it, and in the end he simply ignored her words altogether.
Because even without her pointing it out, he was already planning to contact her, the idea had been in his mind from the moment she revealed her identity, but the real question was not whether he should meet her, but how he should approach her without exposing more than he intended.
While Ash and Eva were lost in their discussion, Ash silently deactivated his Clairvoyance ability, as he already learned everything he could and as if on the cue...
The High Priest gave a calm bow as if he had not just dropped a bombshell on the Eden and then disappeared from the sight of everyone, his presence vanishing so cleanly that it almost felt unreal, and not long after, Elizabeth also left the stage after lingering for some moments.
Although she had more things she wanted to say, she understood clearly that continuing would be pointless, because the crowd was no longer in a state to listen, their minds already occupied with the Realm Quest and everything that came with it, their thoughts drifting far from her words.
In fact, even she herself felt a faint restlessness rise within her, a subtle itch that came from the thought of that unknown being.
After all, the rewards were that good, good enough to tempt even someone like her.
But before leaving completely, her gaze shifted slightly, settling in a specific direction within the Inner District of the City of Light, her eyes narrowing just a little as a thought formed in her mind.
That gaze I felt... it came from that direction, did it not?
There was a brief pause as she replayed that feeling in her mind, her expression turning faintly intrigued.
Interesting...
Instead of watching through the stream like everyone else, that person was looking at me directly...
Is that meant to be a provocation... or an invitation...?
A faint smile formed on her lips, she had just found something far more interesting than the crowd before her.
And in the very next moment, her figure dissolved into faint traces of amber light and disappeared from the stadium, leaving behind a crowd that was still caught between confusion, excitement, and the overwhelming possibilities that had just been placed before them.
***