Hastur stiffened slightly, inwardly fuming, but his face didn't betray the slightest panic.
"I once saw a bounty poster with a huge reward for the Mystic Queen of the Seas."
------------------------------------
"Not a bad reaction."
Bernadette revealed her figure again from the shadows, and the people dining around didn't feel anything was amiss.
Because in their eyes, Bernadette had been sitting in that chair the whole time, never having left.
Does this mean she still wants to continue chatting?
Hastur finished paying the bill, then walked back to his seat and faced Bernadette directly.
He was now convinced that Bernadette was really quite idle today, which was why she had the leisure to play this little game of "feigned retreat to advance" with him.
Speaking of which, it was his own doing that she was trapped in Backlund.
Sigh, what else could he do but keep accompanying her in this play?
He should be of the same generation as Roselle, which meant she could be considered his niece.
Accompanying a niece in play acting was no different from playing a game of make-believe.
Hastur's mindset shifted, and he regained his usual composure and confidence.
"Since you know who I am, haven't you thought about reporting me and claiming a considerable bounty?"
"If I wanted to die, I would probably do that."
"You're not simple."
This was the second time Bernadette had said this, and Hastur could tell the meaning behind the two times was different.
Curious, he asked, "Is there something strange about me?"
Bernadette studied Hastur seriously for a moment and said, "Fate. Your fate is very chaotic, difficult to glimpse."
"I've always thought I was fortune's favored child."
"Borrowed luck often comes with danger."
"Borrowed?"
"Knowing too much, instead, will disturb your original fate."
Bernadette didn't continue the topic. She finished her drink, and her figure dispersed like an illusion.
Hastur's feelings were complicated. He knew Bernadette possessed the Wheel of Fortune card.
With her strength and status, being able to glimpse fluctuations of his fate through that card was perfectly normal.
Borrowed luck?
Had someone of the Fate pathway ever cast luck upon him?
That should be a debt left behind by the original owner of his body, right?
Could today's encounter with Bernadette be due to the Law of Beyonder Characteristic Aggregation?
Bernadette had the Wheel of Fortune card, a high sequence item of the Fate pathway. Because of the second rule he set, he also had a faint connection with the Fate pathway.
According to this law, within the same pathway, high-sequence items will intermittently and unconsciously attract mid- to low-sequence Beyonders to their vicinity.
Only that could explain today's coincidence.
"Sigh, I only wanted to come out and enjoy some food to relax, but instead my mood became even heavier."
Hastur sat in the restaurant for a while longer before leaving for the Hillston District.
After wandering around, he found that his law firm's renovation was nearly complete. He just needed to pick a good day to open.
Then he went to Backlund University, where Lecturer Fron introduced him to two other lawyers.
After being busy until 8 p.m., Hastur finally returned home.
At night, Hastur entered his dreams and arrived at the Hall of Stars.
So much had happened recently. He planned to use the Eye of Fate to glimpse some related futures.
The first thing he wanted to peer into was the war emblem that someone had sent him.
Closing his eyes, he entered a dark world where fragmented images of war flashed, an impending calamity of blades.
The protagonist seemed to be a general clad in black armor, wearing that very war emblem on his chest.
As he fought bravely on the battlefield, blood dyed his armor and the emblem red.
Finally, the vision froze on a gravestone.
Hastur tried to see what was written on it, but the vision ended, forcing him out of the state of fate-divination.
Recalling what he saw, Hastur began to speculate on the emblem's origin.
First, that Beyonder item must have come from the general who fought on the battlefield.
Since his own birth, the only person he had encountered connected to war was that old man who told him his story.
It was reasonable to guess the old man was that general, and the emblem was a gift from him.
What puzzled him was, hadn't the old man gone to court seeking judgment and died?
Perhaps a friend of the old man gave him the emblem as a gift.
That gravestone likely signified the old man's death.
Hastur thought for a while and then set it aside. This showed the gift-bearer harbored no malice toward him, the original intention was to give him a Beyonder item for protection.
After a short rest, Hastur decided to investigate the golden box's origins.
That thing had clung to him for so long; it had to be dealt with sooner or later.
Previously, he avoided probing it to not become too entangled. But now that it had been returned to him, he could no longer ignore it.
Closing his eyes, the dark world shifted again.
This time, the vision was far less detailed than with the war emblem. He could only faintly make out a blurry image.
At just a glance, Hastur felt his spirituality completely drained, his head splitting in agony, as though it would explode.
He had experienced this before.
Back when he tried to divine his fate concerning the Mother Tree of Desire, he had suffered the same backlash.
This proved the golden box's origin far exceeded his earlier imagination! It was highly likely to have come from an Outer God!
Hastur collapsed onto the table, resting for a long while before the pain subsided.
"So that's it, the golden box's origin is far too shocking!"
"But this shouldn't be. Something of that level descending on earth would definitely cause great upheaval. How could it quietly become a plain box, lying undisturbed on the third floor for so long?"
"Could it be I misinterpreted the vision?"
He muttered softly, calming himself from the previous scene.
The starry sky split open, and a golden box fell like a stream of light.
That was all the first half of the vision revealed.
Yes, there must be a second half!
This was Hastur's deduction.
At first glance, the vision had felt incomplete. When the second half was just darkness, he became even more convinced.
Something that fell from the starry sky must be related to an Outer God of the deep cosmos.
Such a descent would surely cause immense upheaval.
Could it be the Seven Gods did nothing, watching it fall?
Or perhaps they did act but couldn't stop it entirely?
And what terrifying thing was sealed within the golden box?
Hastur thought deeply and realized his initial assumption might be wrong.
The box's fall from the sky didn't necessarily mean it originally looked like a golden box.
It might instead be a seal, designed to completely imprison what lay inside.
That would explain why it hadn't affected its surroundings but lay quietly.
This explanation made sense, but wasn't necessarily the truth.
Divining fate was always elusive.
With only half a vision, it was nearly impossible to reconstruct the truth.
He could only hypothesize and deduce, step by step, until his guesses neared reality.
Those who probe fate will ultimately be bound by fate.
Hastur's mood grew heavy. This glimpse into destiny might itself bring greater trouble into his future.
Still, it strengthened his resolve never to open the golden box!
"Perhaps today's encounter with Bernadette wasn't because of her Wheel of Fortune card pulling me, but rather because the golden box's connection to me pulled her toward me."
In terms of rank, what lay inside the golden box was definitely higher than the Wheel of Fortune card.
"It seems I should go see that Angel of Fate. Hmm… since He hasn't reincarnated yet, it shouldn't be considered a disturbance."
Hastur thought for a while and decided to bring some delicious ice cream as a gift for tomorrow's visit.
He believed the angel would appreciate it.
The only concern was that He might deliberately avoid him.
After all, with Hastur's messy fate, He likely wouldn't want to get entangled and risk trouble.
After pondering, Hastur cast his gaze toward the star where the Son of Chaos resided.
Bernadette's appearance had sparked a bold idea in his heart.
Perhaps he could make Bernadette a Follower of the stars.
If successful, he would have a true high-sequence Beyonder under his command, making many things far easier.
Otherwise, relying on himself alone, it would be difficult to stop the Son of Chaos and the Mother Tree of Desire's collaboration.
Now, with the Abomination Suah still lingering near Backlund, unless the Seven Gods descended, it would continue to pursue Bernadette.
If Bernadette were to be caught, the apocalypse might come early.
Hastur considered and found the idea quite feasible.
But how could he make Bernadette willingly become a Follower of the stars?
Should he directly tell her about Roselle? Wouldn't that make her even more wary of him?
After much thought, Hastur decided to proceed gradually.
Being too hasty might scare Bernadette away.
He lingered in the Hall of Stars for a while longer, until his spirituality was exhausted, and then returned to the real world.