Will didn't answer immediately. He watched Hastur for a long moment, then said quietly: "No."
"His luck, his fate, changed the moment you were born."
------------------------------------------
That one sentence instantly made Hastur feel a chill run down his spine, his whole body stiffened, and a cold sensation crawled across his back.
He had never thought that he himself was the true cause of Voltaire's poor gambling luck.
No, not him.
It was the original soul of this body!
At the time of his birth, before he had crossed into the World of Mysteries, the one who brought about all the changes, the one who altered Voltaire's fortune and fate, was the original soul!
The original soul of this body had always complained that Voltaire gambled away the family fortune and angered his mother to death, but in the end, the root of it all came from himself!
What kind of filial piety was this supposed to be!
The name Hastur, from the very moment of its birth, seemed already burdened with destiny.
Could it be that the original soul of this body died because he could not bear this destiny, and was therefore replaced by him?
But on what grounds should he bear this fate?
Hastur's throat turned hoarse as he said: "Why do you know Voltaire's life so clearly?"
"When you were born, fate had already changed once. That was when I noticed you. As for Voltaire, I merely observed him in passing."
Will waved his hand again: "So many babies are born in Backlund every day. If not for the disturbance in fate, I would never have had the leisure to observe a newborn baby."
"Then what destiny am I bearing?"
"Not clear. I don't know."
Will thought for a moment and added: "I dare not peer into it, for fear of being influenced by the fate you carry."
"Does Ouroboros also know there's something unusual about my fate?"
"That stupid snake doesn't. At that time, he wasn't in Backlund. Only I, being here, could sense the subtle shift in destiny at close range."
At the mention of Ouroboros, Will's mood brightened.
He and Ouroboros had been playing hide-and-seek for who knows how long, normally he hid, while Ouroboros chased.
Now, hiding in Backlund, he instead came to know of the changes in fate earlier.
That stupid snake was probably still sticking close to the True Creator, acting like a good child.
In this game of fate, he had already taken the advantage.
"If He encounters me, would He notice something strange about me?"
"Face to face, yes. At a distance, no."
"Why?"
"You have something on you that conceals fate. If I hadn't paid attention to you from the moment of your birth, even I would not have noticed anything unusual."
Having some doubts cleared away, Hastur's heavy heart felt much lighter.
"Those fate-pathway Beyonders hiding in the dark, are they your subordinates, or members of the Aurora Order?"
"Neither."
"Just ordinary Beyonders?"
"Not that either."
Will denied Hastur's guesses one after another, then said with a serious tone: "They call themselves the Yellow-Robed Monks."
Yellow-Robed Monks?
Hastur repeated the words twice in his mind, his face instantly froze, his mouth went dry, and a bone-chilling cold spread through him.
If before he only suspected a connection with the King in Yellow, now he was certain: Hastur Campbell truly had a fate-bound with the King in Yellow, and a very deep one at that!
Not only fate, even his life, his soul might be bound up!
Because the Yellow-Robed Monks were none other than the believers of Hastur (King in Yellow), their self-designation!
Still unwilling, Hastur asked: "What characteristics do these Yellow-Robed Monks have?"
"They like to wear yellow robes, and often carve a yellow mark on the back of their hands. Other than that, I'm not too sure."
"Those fellows are cunning, and I suspect they aren't just simple fate-pathway Beyonders."
"I don't want to stir up too much trouble."
Will finally spread his hands, showing that this was all the information he knew.
Heh, this was plenty!
Fond of yellow robes, chasing after the yellow mark, these were without a doubt the followers of the King in Yellow!
They indeed were not of the ordinary fate pathway. Their pathway did not belong to the current twenty-two Beyonder pathways.
Rather, it came from the Outer God pathway of the King in Yellow!
Fate abilities were only part of that pathway, perhaps not even the main Beyonder power.
Hastur was silent for a long time, then gradually a smile surfaced on his face. This was good too, clear and direct, saving him from constant guessing and wasting brain cells.
"You know of the Yellow-Robed Monks?" Seeing Hastur's strange expression, Will cast him a curious glance.
"I know a little."
"Seems your fate bond with them runs deep."
"Very deep indeed."
So entangled that it was nearly impossible to tell who was who anymore.
"You'd better be careful. Those people give me a very bad feeling."
"I will." Hastur smiled, no longer pursuing the topic.
"Anything else you want to ask?"
Will gave Hastur a look, hinting that he could now ask the most crucial question.
As for his own fate, he no longer needed to ask Will.
And what Will knew might already be less than what he himself knew.
Hastur thought for a while, then said: "Do you know of something that fell from the depths of the starry sky?"
"I only know a little."
Will's expression grew solemn: "Something once descended from the depths of the stars, landing in Backlund. That's the only reason I know of it."
"But when that thing reached Backlund, it vanished completely without a trace. I could not discern where it went."
"Even if it appeared before me now, I fear I would not recognize it."
Will fixed his gaze on Hastur, already making his true thoughts clear.
A gift from the stars, Hastur's unusual birth, both in Backlund, both tied to fate, it was hard not to link the two.
If not for knowing the golden box had not yet been opened, Hastur too would suspect that thing was within himself, perhaps even guess it was the Hall of Stars.
But he could be sure: whatever was inside the golden box, it was definitely not the Hall of Stars!
If the King in Yellow possessed the Hall of Stars, would He still need to send something down across the starry sky?
With the Hall of Stars' power, it could bypass the primal barriers and do things beyond the limits.
"Those so-called Yellow-Robed Monks, they only gathered in Backlund after that thing descended."
Will gave Hastur another reminder, so he'd be prepared.
"Do you know what that thing looked like?"
"Not clear…"
Will showed an awkward smile and said softly: "I only sensed it, never saw it with my own eyes, nor dared to recklessly pry into such matters."
So even Will, this favored child of fate, didn't know that the thing was the golden box.
Hastur looked up at the ceiling, murmuring: "Everything in Backlund is watched by the gods. Can They know of this?"
Will lowered his voice: "Aside from Evernight possibly noticing, the other beings likely cannot."
"That belongs to fate, and They do not possess authority over fate."
"And since They are far from Backlund, in this matter, They cannot compare with me."
On this point, Will was rather proud.
To an existence like him, gods required caution, but were no longer an unmentionable subject.
"Why is it only the Evernight Goddess who might notice?"
Hastur was curious. The Evernight Goddess seemed always a step ahead in many things.
"Because Her gaze is always fixed here."
That was Will's answer.
"You are special, but best not probe too deeply into this area. Otherwise, danger will come quickly."
Will offered a reminder, in case Hastur kept asking about the Evernight Goddess.
With his current Sequence 8 strength, he was still far from the level of gods. The more he knew prematurely, the greater the danger.
"I'll be careful."
Hastur had always been cautious about such matters; only when reaching the Hall of Stars would he ponder issues of the godly level.
Today, it was only because Will was here that he dared be a little bolder.
"Anything else you wish to know?"
Will planned to answer all of Hastur's questions in one go, so he wouldn't keep bothering him.
One encounter of fate was enough; meeting too often could easily trigger a chain reaction of destiny.
It was safer to meet in dreams. Otherwise, a noble coming here too frequently would arouse suspicion.
"No more questions for now."
"Good. Knowing when to stop is a fine virtue."
Will was very satisfied with Hastur's answer, it saved him plenty of words and time.
He rose, placed the teddy bear on the sofa, went to the door, and urged: "Hurry along now."
"Sending me off already?"
"Weren't you going to treat me to ice cream?"
"Didn't you say staying with me wasn't a good thing?"
"Ice cream can be an exception."
Hastur smiled, rose to his feet, and led Will out the door, onto the carriage.
Under Will's influence, the coachman didn't notice an extra child aboard.
In his destiny, he would never intersect with this little boy Will Auceptin.
Not before, not now, not ever in the future.