“It’s me, Your Highness Annan.” The one who responded to Annan’s question was the pope of “the Man in the Mirror”, Benjamin Foster.
Delicious Wind Goose and Wandering Child both knew him.
After all, they were comrades who participated in the major event together.
Seeing that it was an acquaintance, the players breathed a sigh of relief and calmed their nerves.
However, Benjamin had a drastic change in his appearance and the air surrounding him compared to the past.
Back then, he would look like an ordinary old man with the temperament of a scholar without the wizard robe. However, Benjamin was filled with a mysterious air. Rather than calling him a human being, describing him as a totemic figure or a symbol would be more accurate.
Benjamin’s pupils had turned into mirror-like silver that reflected everything before him. He wore a rather intricate gray cloak.
The part near the end of the cloak was inlaid with many broken lenses. At first glance, the iridescent halo was overflowing, like a peacock with wings spread.
No one could forget it after seeing it once. That figure would be branded in mind.
Whenever Benjamin Pope spoke, it seemed like a mystical echo was in the air, as if the reverberation had been switched on.
The moment Benjamin’s voice came out, Annan realized a new influence had appeared.
[You are blessed with the new mark “Novice Influence: Infinitely Overlapping Echoes”]
[If it is not removed in time, you will fall into a random nightmare (difficulty: hard) with the keyword “mirror image” after seven days.]
Can a pope incur an influence so easily?
Annan cast his gaze on the dark golden mirror in Benjamin’s embrace. His hands were hidden in the cuffs, and the mirror in his arms could reflect everything, but it could reflect a person.
Could it be that?
The title, [The Man in the Mirror], referred to a unique way of existence where the deity was said to live within the mirror.
Benjamin seemed alone, but did he carry the deity he served with him?
For a moment, Annan could not decide whether it was the deity’s or pope’s equipment; or whether the “pope” was the deity’s mount.
What a strange way of symbiosis!
It felt like a hippopotamus.
An impolite metaphor came to Annan’s mind.
After a light cough, Annan asked politely, “What are you doing here?”
Not to mention that Benjamin was considered half a teacher to Annan. He also provided a lot of help to Annan in the early stage. Benjamin, who was now Pope, had a social hierarchy similar to Annan even after Annan succeeded as the Grand Duke.
Benjamin Pope asked, “Are you looking for Justice’s nightmare?”
Without waiting for a response, Benjamin made a declaration on his own.
“It is impossible to find it.”
Before Annan and the others could question, Benjamin explained in an ancient voice, “Because the ‘key’ of Justice’s nightmare is not in the current timeline.
“That’s why ‘the Man in the Mirror’ brought me here to guide you.”
What does that even mean?
Longjing Tea was slightly taken aback upon hearing Benjamin’s words.
On the other hand, Annan understood a little bit.
Since he participated in “Nightmare: White Tower”, he had some understanding of the ritual that made up the foundation of Michelangelo’s ascension into a deity.
His ritual foundation was hidden in the “past”. Without the means of crossing the timeline, the ritual could not be disrupted at all.
False deities, who ascended through this ritual, would lose their temporarily “rented” Truth after the ritual was ruined. Therefore, they would be sent back to Gold Rank. For example, the Venerated Skeleton’s ritual foundation was the entire principality he had sacrificed.
If someone wanted to kill the Venerated Skeleton, they did not need to confront Him directly. Instead, the person just had to find a way to enter the Gray Mists, discover the ruins of the Elegy Dukedom, dig all the way underground, and kill all the undead. With that, the Venerated Skeleton’s “proof of betrayal” would be destroyed.
However, that would be challenging.
On the other hand, the Man in the Mirror’s ritual was hidden in the “past”. Therefore, it could also be a secure way of hiding the ritual.
—Was Justice’s nightmare also hidden in the “past”?
“Idol wizards are attracted to each other.” Benjamin said slowly, “This is because the essence of their strength is ‘fate’. Once fate has overlapped or been connected, the causation link will not be broken even after many years. “
Hearing this, Annan gradually understood the context.
“Do you mean the Man in the Mirror has a connection with Professor Wolf?”
After Michelangelo became a deity, people who knew Him could not just pronounce His past name casually. The reason being it would incur influence, which was regarded as occult knowledge, giving birth to meaningless pressure on the observers.
Benjamin nodded at Annan’s speculation.
He gave an affirmative answer without any hesitation.
I see.
Annan understood.
That was why Nefertari came here. “Bone Healer”— the former “Gray Professor” must have made contact with “Professor Wolf”.
Idol Wizards could borrow power by increasing their “similarity” with each other.
From this point of view, Professor Wolf, Frederick, would name himself so, probably to steal the Gray Professor’s power.
Perhaps, the reason “Gray Professor” was renamed to “Bone Healer” was also related to Professor Wolf.
Then, their connection should not be as simple as “they were both Idol Wizards”.
Annan frowned slightly.
“Time Stopper Eye” Michelangelo, who was Gold Rank at that time in the past, was now a deity.
Bone Healer, also known as Gray Professor Seti, was and is currently at Gold Rank.
Professor Wolf Frederick was only silver then, but now he had reached Gold Rank.
The past and present…
If “Michelangelo” participated and used Seti as an intermediary, could this be considered a ritual in the field of “mirror”?
Annan fell into deep thought.
He looked at Benjamin and asked seriously, “How would the Man in the Mirror help us?
“What else do we need to do?”
“In general terms, we just need to purify this nightmare.”
Benjamin Pope replied, “I am the substitute walker of ‘the Man in the Mirror’. I can’t deal with this nightmare myself. Otherwise, I would have resolved it long ago. It must be purified by people of your time.”
“Professor Wolf is stealing the power of the Man in the Mirror,” Annan narrowed his eyes slightly, “Am I right?”
Hearing this speculation, Benjamin was silent for a moment.
He was noncommittal and remained silent.
However, this silence already told Annan the answer.
As expected.
Benjamin came here to terminate this nightmare.
The “destiny” of the three Idol Wizards converged at one point.
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed like all three people had some connection with Annan.
In other words, Annan could hear the names of these three people. It meant that he had already made contact with them.
Benjamin contacted Annan in the shoes of the Man in the Mirror.
Nefertari contacted Annan in the shoes of Seti.
Then, Doreen, the werewolf girl, came into contact with Annan in the shoes of Professor Wolf.
What if it was not a coincidence? Instead, the three Idol Wizards were all “avoiding” Annan, so they sent out substitute walkers who were similar to themselves.
“Fate is the Wheel of the Divine Transporter…” Annan murmured.
He had reached a deeper understanding of this sentence.
—Divine Transporter could be a higher concept than “fate”.