Seeing Lan, Roland felt both surprised and as if it was only natural. "You—who exactly are you?"
"A trapped individual seeking help." Lan surveyed her surroundings. "I know you have many questions for me. We can sit down and talk slowly. Let's choose the seat by the window."
"No need to go to room 302?" He watched as she directly chose a seat near the street and sat down.
"The agreed location was to avoid prying eyes. Since there's no one else here, we can sit anywhere." Lan said casually, "Oh right, since it's a cafe, could I have an iced drink?"
"I thought a secret talk would involve a shocking secret, making people nervous, with even the slightest leak leading to disaster."
"The value of a secret depends on the person hearing it. Besides, being underground all day, and having to guard against the expansion of the Erosion, my nerves are already stretched thin enough. It's rare to come out, so I might as well relax a bit." Lan replied leisurely, "An iced drink, please. Thank you."
Roland stared at her for a moment before saying unhappily, "I only have instant here."
"That's fine."
Damn it, even though this is my territory, it's like she's taken over... He poured pre-made coffee concentrate and milk from the refrigerator into a cup, added two lumps of ice, and handed it to her. Throughout the process, his eyes never left Lan.
"Don't worry, I won't disappear into thin air," Lan shrugged.
"That's hard to say," Roland said without blinking, "I once asked Garcia to contact you, and I went to Prism City twice, but you seemed to have completely disappeared. Since you left the note, why didn't you talk to me directly?"
This time, Lan was silent for a long time before sighing softly, "Because the time wasn't right yet, child."
The time... wasn't right yet? Roland paused. "You mean, letting me discover that the Crimson Moon... is actually the Erosion, and it's more believable if you tell me directly?"
"Your reaction is quick, which makes me have a bit more anticipation for you."
"Anticipation for helping you?" Roland couldn't help but snort. "Your expression doesn't look like someone in dire need of help."
"Then what kind of performance would make you believe me? Begging impatiently? Holding your leg and crying bitterly? Or promising a lot of generous rewards?" Lan shook her head. "No, even if I did that, you wouldn't easily believe me—it would only make things worse."
How would you know the result if you didn't try, Roland wanted to reply jokingly, but he swallowed the words at the last moment. She wasn't a peer like Garcia; she was the chief disciple guarded by the Martial Artists Association, Garcia's master, and his predecessor's predecessor. If he included the Time Imprint he saw in the Reflection Church, then she was probably seven hundred years old. Looking at a figure who seemed to have walked out of history, he found himself involuntarily becoming more restrained.
"Okay..." Roland sat down opposite Lan, roughly sorting through the countless questions in his head. "You were once a member of the Union?"
"I have nothing to do with your world," Lan replied. "I was born here and will surely rest here, although it is an extremely long process."
"But I saw your portrait in the Reflection Church—"
"It's not strange that the appearances are similar," she interrupted. "Besides, the records left in history don't have much reference value."
"This is too much of a coincidence." Roland frowned.
"If you stretch the timeline long enough, you'll find that any coincidence is just like that. Instead of dwelling on the past, it's better to focus your main energy on the present."
She might indeed be unaware, or she might be deliberately concealing something, but Roland knew that without Nightingale's assistance, his ability to read people's expressions was simply not enough to judge the truth from a few words. Since she answered that way, there was no point in dwelling on it. It would be better to ask some other questions.
"Then... what exactly is magic?"
Lan raised the corners of her mouth. "You should have vaguely guessed it—it's nothing. None of the existing systems can explain it because it doesn't belong to this world, just like low-dimensional creatures can't understand high-dimensional structures. The only thing known is that we can use it, so you can also use a common word to describe it: accidentally acquired power."
Sure enough... the same as the power of nature. Roland thought to himself, no, that's not accurate... it's not that magic is the same as the power of nature, but that they are the same thing. In order to explain to himself what magic is from another perspective, the Dream World would become like this. "Then, the explanation you made at the new student conference in Prism City... and the guess in 'The Reason for Existence'... are they all... true?"
One is the origin and essence of the Erosion, and the other is the deduction of the endless cycle of the Battle of Divine Will. These are the two questions he most wanted to figure out.
"Not accurate, but you can think of it that way." Lan's answer was surprisingly straightforward.
"I want to know the accurate explanation."
"That exceeds your ability to understand, and it can't be accurately expressed in your system of words." She took a sip of coffee. "Also, all my actions are under the surveillance of the 'God', and if I reveal information that could endanger it, both worlds will be destroyed. Therefore, please remember one thing: only what you personally realize is the real answer."
Roland couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth. Isn't that the same as saying directly, I'm lying for your own good?
"It has the ability to destroy the world?"
"That's why I use God to refer to it. After all, this is your consciousness, and it's the easiest image to possess this ability."
"What is God's purpose?"
"To keep the Battle of Divine Will going."
"Then what is your relationship with God?"
This time, Lan didn't answer immediately but hesitated. "I am someone who betrayed it."
"Be...trayed?"
"That's right, this cycle will never end. I don't want to be trapped in this small space forever. Also, reincarnation means loss. One day, God will also disintegrate, and then both worlds will become desolate."
Roland scrutinized her for a while. "Then what is your purpose in finding me?"
"I need your help, child," Lan didn't avoid his gaze. "I need you to stop the Battle of Divine Will and shut it down completely."
"You mean, win the war?"
"No, that would just start a new cycle." Lan shook her head. "If you want to stop all this, you must replace God!"
Roland couldn't help but be stunned. This answer... is really shocking.
He took a breath. "Sorry, but please allow me to refuse."
"Why?" Lan asked, puzzled, and the expression on her face changed somewhat from before.
"What you told me, I can't verify at all. What's more, even you admit that you can only use ambiguous answers to avoid God's surveillance. Sometimes, misleading only requires one word, which means I may be tricked by you and still helping you count the money—after all, you claim to have betrayed God, wouldn't betraying me be even easier?" Roland spread his hands. "It's not my forte to pull chestnuts out of the fire, so you should find someone else for the great cause of replacing God."
"If you can do this—"
"Stop," Roland held out his hand. "Didn't we agree that you wouldn't promise a lot of generous rewards? You just said that would only make things worse."
This time, Lan stared at him for a full ten minutes. "No... I've changed my mind."
"That won't help much," Roland got up and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Empty promises are like carrots hanging in front of a donkey. They look good, but it's meaningless if you can't eat them."
"You should at least hear me out."
"I said—"
"You can bring Ashes back to the world."
"Clang—smash!"
Roland was stunned, and the cup in his hand slipped and shattered on the ground.