He lingered in the Hall of Stars for a while longer, until his spirituality was exhausted, and then returned to the real world.
------------------------------------
"I want to go outside and play today. I don't want to stay at home."
"No, we all have to work today. We don't have time to be with you. So that we won't be distracted, you need to stay home and behave yourself."
"But today is the only day I really want to go out and play."
"Then you can only go play at Mrs. Brin's next door. We'll tell her in advance and ask her to take care of you."
"Can I go somewhere farther away?"
"No, Will, you're not that young anymore. Don't be so willful all the time. On Sunday this week, we'll take you out to play. Don't you always like eating ice cream?"
"…Alright."
Little Will couldn't win against his parents in the end and had to reluctantly agree to go to Mrs. Brin's next door.
Before leaving, he took his tarot cards, stuffed them in his pocket, and after watching his parents leave, put on his shoes and went to his neighbor's house.
Knock knock knock!
After knocking for a while, Mrs. Brin opened the door with a big smile, welcoming him warmly.
Mrs. Brin was a full-time housewife with no children. Every time Will came, she would be happy for a long time.
"Mrs. Brin, I'm bothering you again today."
"Your visit always makes me happy. This is the best gift I've received today."
"Thank you for your praise." Little Will politely thanked her before walking inside and closing the door.
Once inside, Will quietly sat on the sofa, playing with his tarot cards.
After a while, his gaze drifted to the window, resting his chin on his hand in thought.
"Little Will, what are you thinking about?"
Mrs. Brin came over with a plate of fruit, bent down, and placed it on the table in front of him.
Will bit his lip lightly, thought for a moment, and asked: "When Mrs. Brin doesn't want to see someone, what method do you usually use?"
"Just close the door and don't let them in."
"But isn't that a bit rude?"
"Then you can go out beforehand when they come visiting, or go to someone else's house. As long as you avoid meeting them, it's fine."
"What if you can't avoid them?"
"Then politely serve them a cup of tea, and after they finish, politely see them off."
"What if they keep refusing to leave?"
Mrs. Brin chuckled, walked to his side, patted his head, and teased: "Does little Will also have someone he doesn't want to see?"
"It's not that I don't want to see them, just that it feels too early to meet them."
Will tilted his head slightly, looking troubled.
"Who is it that troubles you so much?"
"A very troublesome person."
"Troublesome, huh? Then don't meet them. Life is better when you're happy."
Will looked up, his eyes clear, and smiled sweetly: "That's what I think too."
Mrs. Brin patted his head again and said with a smile: "I'll prepare some desserts for you. I've just learned two new ones recently. Perfect to let little Will try."
Will's smile faded, his lips pouted a little, but he still said happily: "Thank you, Mrs. Brin."
He loved desserts. As long as they weren't too hard to swallow, he never refused.
Mrs. Brin's cooking was quite good, but when it came to making desserts, she never had much talent.
Although they weren't inedible, they weren't particularly delicious either.
"Sigh, I told you I should've gone farther away to hide."
Will sighed, picked up an apple, and started eating.
He planned to eat more fruit so that later he would have an excuse to eat less dessert.
Sigh, ice cream is still the best.
Cold, sweet, and with so many flavors to choose from.
The only downside was that it was a bit expensive.
His parents usually only bought him ice cream on Sundays, when they had a day off and took him out.
And not even every week.
"Sigh."
Will sighed again, thinking that maybe in his next life he should be born into a wealthier family, at least one where he could eat ice cream whenever he wanted.
Around noon, Mrs. Brin prepared three dishes and two desserts.
She thoughtfully placed both desserts in front of Will, telling him they were just for him, no one else would take them.
Naturally, Will smiled and thanked her, then ate slowly, one spoonful after another.
Too sweet, or no flavor at all.
Around six in the evening, there was a knock at the door. Will's parents came to pick him up.
When they got home, they found someone had delivered a gift, ice cream.
It must have just been delivered, otherwise it would have melted.
Will frowned at the three carefully packaged ice creams, surrounded with ice to keep them cold.
"Will, don't you love ice cream the most?"
"I already ate at Mrs. Brin's. I don't really feel like it now."
"What a pity, these three look expensive. I wonder who sent them."
"…"
Will glanced again at the three different ice creams: one sprinkled with chocolate bits, one with peanuts, and one topped with a big strawberry. They all looked delicious.
"I'll just eat a little bit."
"You can have them all, as long as our Will is happy."
Sigh, eating ice cream is of course a happy thing, but fate is always fair.
The things that are free are often the most expensive.
…
That night.
Hastur lay on his bed resting. Tonight he purposely didn't enter the Hall of Stars.
He was waiting for someone, or more precisely, for a little snake, no, the Snake of Fate.
Around midnight, Hastur's dream began to change.
Fog rolled and churned, and a giant snake seemed to thrash about in a sea of clouds.
Hastur's arrival didn't disturb the snake's enjoyment, but just as he was about to greet it, a voice rang out:
"The ice cream tasted good. Next time, remember to send other flavors."
Before Hastur could ask anything, the snake vanished, and the fog-like dream world collapsed.
Hastur awoke, returned to the Hall of Stars, tapped the table lightly, and chuckled: "Loves eating ice cream, but keeps avoiding me. No wonder I couldn't meet Him today."
"Even in a dream, He blocked my questions beforehand."
"This only proves He isn't ignorant of my matters. Perhaps He knows too much and doesn't want to speak with me."
Will's refusal didn't discourage him. It had just been a try, if he could meet and ask directly, all the better. If not, it still confirmed his suspicions.
From Will's behavior, it seemed that the one secretly coveting his fate wasn't from His connections.
It must have been the other Serpent of Mercury.
Perhaps because Ouroboros was always watching him, Will didn't want to meet him, so as not to create ripples in fate that would reveal Him to Ouroboros.
Mr. A, Ouroboros… I really do have ties with the True Creator.
It seems that when the original body performed the resurrection ritual, it was indeed to the True Creator that the prayer was offered, and it was indeed answered.
In that sense, I've become a favored one of the True Creator. That also explains why Mr. A was so eager to recruit me into the Aurora Order.
He must have felt the aura of the True Creator on me, and so thought I was blessed.
As for Ouroboros, maybe it was just one of His followers coveting the golden box out of selfishness, with nothing to do with Him.
After all, He is Sequence 1, the Serpent of Mercury, the Angel of Fate under the ancient Sun God.
A single favored one of the True Creator wouldn't be enough to draw His attention, much less make Him secretly observe.
Hastur carefully sorted through his thoughts, weighing every possibility.
He finally confirmed his guess: Mr. A's kindness came from the True Creator's blessing on him.
And the hidden fate-pathway Beyonder had nothing to do with Ouroboros.
That also explained why Will hadn't rejected the gift of ice cream.
If Ouroboros truly were watching, then giving ice cream to Will would have been extremely dangerous.
Will's acceptance proved Ouroboros wasn't paying attention here.
Relieved of this worry, Hastur turned his gaze again toward the star where the Son of Chaos was.
He was preparing to glimpse his fate with Bernadette, to see if she might become an apostle of the stars.
Closing his eyes, in the darkness, a vision gradually appeared.
A starry sky poured down light. Under the gaze of the stars, Bernadette prayed devoutly, and in the distance, a cage held a twisted, hazy wishing lamp.