Chapter 54: New Rules, The Eyes That Glimpse Fate
When the Kenigan Duke's family was mentioned, Maric's expression also turned solemn. For this top-tier noble family, it was difficult for both commoners and the extraordinary to remain calm.
The family might not have high-ranking powerhouses, but they could always invite powerful extraordinaries if they wished.
In a place like Beckland, it wouldn't be surprising if they actually invited an angel.
Maric lamented, "You nobles are so wealthy, no wonder the workers below live such miserable lives, their year of hard work can't even compare to the expense of your single night's banquet."
Hastur found it difficult to respond to this issue. In any era, as long as there are people enjoying life at the top, there will inevitably be those who struggle at the bottom.
The superior man is indeed the one who rides on others' heads, isn't he? He is a noble, and will become a great noble. Facing such harsh social structures, unless the tide of the times has come, it would be difficult for him to stand against his own class.
"Don't worry, I don't despise the privileged that much, it's just that your lives are so good, it makes people envious."
Maric laughed off the previous topic and began to talk about his discoveries in the depths of the dense forest in recent days.
The Spirit Cult, the Path of Death!
Hastur's first instinct was the Spirit Cult from the Southern Continent.
The Path of Death naturally restrains undead creatures like living corpses, and they could easily take away Maric's carefully cultivated squad of living corpses without needing high-ranking powers.
Fortunately, Maric did not act recklessly, otherwise, he estimated he would suffer a great loss.
"How far is it from here?" Hastur asked the most crucial question.
"It's quite far, closer to that count's manor. If anything changes, they will be the ones to suffer misfortune."
"That's good."
Hastur breathed a sigh of relief. Since the threat wasn't imminent, there was no need for him to rush to deal with it.
After collecting conclusive evidence, he would report directly to the Church of the Night Goddess and let them send someone to handle it.
"Don't you want to go and see?"
"A noble should not put himself in danger," Hastur said earnestly.
"Is that a saying from Emperor Roselle?"
"…Perhaps."
Hastur didn't want to discuss Emperor Roselle's famous quotes with Maric and instead asked if he needed to arrange a room for him in the manor.
"No need, I can't rest easy leaving my companions."
Facing the unknown, Maric dared not stray too far from his living corpses.
Hastur chatted with Maric for a few more moments before returning to the manor.
He should plan to live like a barbarian for a while.
Tomorrow, under the guise of hunting, he would venture into the mountains, find an excuse to camp alone in the forest.
With Maric nearby, there should still be some security.
Deep into the night, Hastur entered the Hall of Stars on his newly tidied bed.
After the last attempt to probe the Mother Tree of Desire, he paused this dangerous action. He always felt that the Mother Tree of Desire had set a trap, just waiting for him to fall into it.
Still, he would wait until he had established the second rule before finding an opportunity to probe again.
A Sequence 8 daring to probe an Outer God, he also felt he was too crazy.
But without probing first, he dared not casually summon the Mother Tree of Desire for a meeting, even if it was just a fragment of Her consciousness.
After pondering for a while, Hastur refocused his energy on the second rule.
During this time, he had already determined the general content of the second rule, which was to allow himself to always glimpse the most correct fate amidst chaotic and unordered destinies.
What is the correct fate? The fate that is most beneficial to oneself.
It's like when doing multiple-choice questions, it always allows one to choose the answer that fits one's needs.
Of course, the most beneficial fate is not necessarily the best fate, and this still requires him to use some language to possibly avoid and embellish.
Eventually, he wrote down such a rule: "Under the gaze of the stars, Hastur Campbell, a traveler from another world, the last heir of the Campbell family.
He is the darling of fate, with good fortune accompanying his life; he is the exception of fate, not to be arranged by any existence; he is the sage of fate, always able to glimpse the destiny that has a significant impact on himself in advance.
This rule is fair and reasonable, unchanged by any external factors!"
When this rule related to fate was imprinted on the Chain of Order, the starlight of the Hall of Stars converged like a sea, pouring into the Chain of Order.
As the pale blue starlight patterns spread, Hastur knew that the rule he had set was now in effect.
As the starlight patterns continued to complete and the sea of starlight gradually dissipated, the entire Hall of Stars seemed to be enveloped in an indescribable aura of fate.
Hastur quietly felt the changes in the Hall of Stars, gaining a new understanding of the term "stars."
Perhaps, the stars really could encompass everything.
A new rule, allowing him to touch the Path of Fate, becoming the darling, the exception, and the sage of fate.
Then, when he sets the next rule, could he touch the Path of the Sun, the Path of Night?
This is somewhat similar to the authority of the Daydreamer, yet different.
The Daydreamer uses daydreams to turn the illusory into reality, similar to creating something out of nothing.
The ability of the Hall of Stars is essentially an application of rules, but these rules are more advanced, seemingly encompassing everything.
To put it simply, water is poisonous. The Daydreamer's authority is to daydream poisonous water, replacing non-poisonous water, thus making the truth that water is poisonous accepted by people.
The Hall of Stars directly sets a rule that water is poisonous, from then on non-poisonous water becomes a deadly poison, and then everyone obeys and recognizes this rule.
Similarly, one could set some rules that contradict common sense, such as: rocks are soft, sugar is bitter, children are born by men…
Hastur quietly pondered all the possibilities of the Hall of Stars.
Although these speculations are based on his existing knowledge and may not be correct, or even completely wrong, they can broaden his thinking and clear a bit of the fog.
While Hastur was deep in thought, the second Chain of Order flew in front of him, its tip touching Hastur's forehead, bringing a familiar sensation that made him groan involuntarily.
This time, instead of rushing straight to the back of his head from the forehead, it merged into his eyes.
He seemed to see a Chain of Order merging into his eyes, his eyes beginning to emit the same light as the stars.
Was this to form eyes that could glimpse fate? Hastur guessed in his heart, among all the organs of the body, the eyes undoubtedly matched fate the best.
He had emphasized the ability to glimpse fate when setting the new rule, and only the eyes were suitable to carry this change.
The last time it merged into the spine, this time into the eyes, where would it merge into his body next time? If he set a rule related to the Path of the Apothecary, wouldn't that be…
Cough cough, he mustn't think wildly, he wasn't that guy Gehrman Sparrow.
Hastur put away his stray thoughts and gradually adapted to this change.
Soon, everything in the Hall of Stars returned to normal, and the second Chain of Order quietly hung beside Hastur.
Thump, thump, thump.
Hastur tapped his fingers on the table, looking at the star where the Mother Tree of Desire resided, showing a contemplative expression.
After thinking for a while, he decided to try and see if he could glimpse the corresponding fate.
"Now, if I summon the Mother Tree of Desire to the Hall of Stars for a meeting, what kind of future will happen?"
Hastur silently repeated this three times in his heart, then slowly closed his eyes.
At first, there was a vast expanse of darkness, and then it fell into eternal tranquility, as if everything was forbidden at this moment.
Suddenly, a flash of imagery sped past, breaking the tranquility of the darkness.
Hastur abruptly opened his eyes, feeling an immense headache, his brain as if pricked by needles, a sign of a large consumption of spiritual power.
If he were in the real world, his brain would definitely have been blown apart, as glimpsing fate requires a sufficient price to be paid.
Being in the Hall of Stars, due to the effect of the rules, allowed him to largely exempt himself from such damage.
After resting for a bit, Hastur recalled the flash of imagery he had just seen.
Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, he still saw the general content of that imagery.
The Hall of Stars, himself, the Mother Tree of Desire, and the Lamp God Sitting together in a meeting.
The Lamp Godsat at the far end, the Mother Tree of Desire sat closest to his left hand.
The scene looked quite harmonious, but it was unknown what had happened before and after.
This is equivalent to a painting that freezes a corner of future fate.
Unknown cause, unknown result.
It's up to the person who sees this painting to interpret and think.
Hastur thought seriously for a while and felt that this scene was a harmonious and friendly representation, indicating a future fate trending towards the positive.
"No rush, wait until the next
"No rush, wait until the next time I summon the Lamp Godfor a meeting, and try probing His reaction a bit. Perhaps I can even directly summon the Mother Tree of Desire in front of Him."
Hastur quietly pondered all the possibilities, until the headache became unbearable, and he had to leave the Hall of Stars.
The next day, Hastur proceeded with his original plan, heading to the dense forest behind the manor to hunt and clear his mind.
As night approached, he proposed to camp in the forest with friends, and asked Maric to send two living corpses to accompany him, to alleviate the concerns and worries of Butler Neil.
With no outsiders present, Hastur exhaled lightly, his expression much more relaxed. Disregarding the noble image, he took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, removed his shoes, rolled up his trouser legs, and prepared to catch some fish in the lake to grill.
Maric emerged from the depths of the forest and, seeing this scene, paused and teased, "Have you had enough of being a noble and now want to experience being a savage?"
"When in nature, one should liberate their spirit and become one with it, only then can one truly appreciate the beauty of nature."
Hastur didn't look back, grabbing a sharp stick and aiming at a fish blowing bubbles in the water.
His throw was powerful and the water rippled, but unfortunately, he missed.
Hastur wasn't in a hurry. After searching for a while, he targeted another fish.
"Liberating your spirit? You're clearly just playing around."
"Shh, you scared my fish away again."
"It's clearly your own lack of fishing skills!"
"Tsk, if you're so capable, do it yourself instead of complaining."
"…"
In that moment, Maric felt that his image of Hastur as an elegant noble had completely shattered.
(End of Chapter)