When the plot-skips players into the game world

After Erinys spoke, the dark, lightless space immediately gained shape and color.

It was a scene utterly familiar to Aiwass—

This place was located at the intersection of Lohar District and White Queen District, known as Judiciary Square. It was where he passed by on his way to the Pelican Bar.

He looked up to see the setting sun obliquely hanging in the sky, with thick clouds above. The dim yellow light spilled onto the gloomy streets, carrying the moist premonition of an impending storm.

But Aiwass quickly realized something was amiss.

Despite being a bustling area, there was not a single person on the streets. There was a deathly stillness.

This was no illusion.

Because at this moment, time stood still.

The nine of them sat squarely in the middle of the main road, surrounding an illuminated hourglass.

Aiwass noted that only the old man and Sherlock appeared completely unaffected by this. The rest, including himself, seemed more or less surprised.

In the face of this sudden situation, everyone adopted a cautious demeanor. In the instant that everyone opted for silence, the atmosphere became silent as well.

"Angel Envoy… are they the legendary angels?"

After merely a second or two, Cheese was the first to break the silence.

She muttered softly, her voice filled with childish hope and yearning, "Is it an angel sister who will help us advance?"

"—I'm afraid not."

Sherlock blandly interrupted the girl's fanciful thoughts and calmly explained, "The nature of an Angel Envoy is actually that of a Phantom Demon. They simply choose to obey the Nine Pillar Gods and assist them in responding to various rituals."

"…they're essentially the servants who do the minor tasks for the Nine Pillar Gods."

Coco's gentle voice chimed in from the side, softly elaborating, "There's no need to fear… they are only responsible for guiding us in holding the ritual, not for specific judgment or deciding the content of the ritual.

"The formal name of the advancement ceremony is 'Nine Pillar Gods Ritual,' which is a ceremony to call upon the coming of the Nine Pillar Gods. Theoretically, it should summon all nine Pillar Gods. But there are simply too many low-tier Transcendents like us, and the Pillar Gods don't have time to watch us… so they send Angel Envoys instead.

"At least one Angel Envoy must be sent from the nine Pillar Gods. Because we are too weak now, we can only attract one Angel Envoy… Only after the Honorable Apostle arrives can the ritual be established."

"You also needn't worry too much about the Angel Envoy."

Suddenly, Sherlock spoke up, "Lady Eleni is an apostle of the Path of Balance and values fairness greatly. But not every advancement will happen to encounter the hourglass's apostle—if you come across an envoy from the Path of Love, Path of Wisdom, Path of Authority, or Path of Transcendence presiding over the ritual, there is a good chance they may show favoritism or deceive the participants.

"But in reality, the most influential factor is the preferences and biases of the ceremony's compiler… which is to say, the tastes and inclinations of the Pillar God."

The hourglass referred to here is another name for the hourglass, the symbol of the Path of Balance. It is also the emblem stamped on Avalon copper coins.

Each nation has different taboo Paths. Generally speaking, this refers to the opposed paths of mainstream thought, followed by political reasons.

For instance, the Star Antimony Kingdom mainly promotes the Path of Transcendence, Path of Dusk, and Path of Balance, while the mainstream ideologies of the Iris Kingdom are the Path of Beauty and Path of Love. These kingdoms are adjacent to Avalon and don't have particularly good relations with each other.

Considering cultural invasion and the infiltration of spies and such issues, the paths between these three nations are mutually opposed.

—But even so, under the premise that the Star Antimony Kingdom builds its nation on Alchemy, both Avalon and the Iris Kingdom still have not prohibited the Path of Balance.

On one hand, technology and alchemy indeed cannot be neglected, and on the other hand, it's because the Path of Balance inherently emphasizes fairness, neutrality, and absence of borders—this consistent principle of "fairness" is top-down.

"Generally speaking," Sherlock glanced at the always silent old man and paused before speaking again, "hosts also have their personal likes and dislikes—after all, if they lack defined will, personality, and memory, they can't be considered genuine Phantom Demons.

"For this reason, the hosts may choose to slightly favor Transcendents of their own path or to add troubles to the paths they dislike."

Upon hearing these words, the glowing hourglass finally spoke:

"Don't worry too much, everyone,"

"After all, this ceremony is theoretically under the joint attention of the Nine Pillar Gods, so it won't be too harsh,"

"We are neither the graders nor the exam setters, just invigilators. Our role is to witness the ceremony and ensure no one cheats. Trying to flatter us is useless. Even verbal attacks don't matter—of course, while I don't mind, the zealous 'Detective' here is correct, and I also do not advise attacking the envoys of other paths,"

Lady Eleni's voice was gentle, and she neither interrupted Sherlock nor offered any rebuttals. Clearly, she was of a very good-natured disposition.

"Now, everyone, as per tradition—in your first advancement ceremony, I shall explain the proceedings to you,"

"Three of the advancers this time possess multiple paths, but please note: during the advancement ceremony, only abilities from the advancing path and extraordinary items handmade by yourself and corresponding to your path may be used,"

"—Everything you encounter in the Dream Realm is related to but distinct from the Material Realm's true history,"

"Perhaps a ritual calling upon a higher being, an assassination targeting a significant figure, or a local war could change the world. Or maybe the world has already been changed, and no one remembers the original history,"

"During the advancement ceremony, you will witness 'another historical possibility' as speculated by the Nine Pillar Gods,"

"Each dreamland you use for advancement will be used only once, and its content is fictional, different from reality's development,"

"Therefore, you must also solve mysteries, search for items, defeat enemies, or simply survive under the watch of the Nine Pillar Gods, proving your abilities,"

"This ceremony is limited to four hours, with a one-to-one ratio to real time,"

"You will role-play as a certain character in the field and complete your tasks, gaining corresponding points for each objective accomplished,"

"Since the ceremony is a full moon ceremony, cooperation is allowed, and cooperative points will be calculated: the collaborator will receive an additional 10%-50% of the points earned by the person assisted, depending on effort and benefit,"

"However, you may not cooperate with the envoys of an opposing path you've chosen for this ceremony, or you will lose 50%-100% of the points earned by the person you helped,"

"Note: Helping the opposing path without knowing their identity still results in a penalty; but if you do not recognize and directly state the correct identity of the collaborative path, the helping behavior will not earn you any points. After the ceremony, the three with the lowest points will be eliminated,"

"During this ceremony, all sapient beings apart from the participants lack complete intelligence and souls, all created by 'Amber', so actions such as killing, healing, sacrifice, etc., will not trigger oaths, taboos, agreements, or curses,"

"The difficulty level for this ceremony is 'Safe'; any injuries or deaths in the ceremony will not affect the health of your body in the Material Realm, and failure to advance will not cause weakness or harm to the soul,"

"Further disclaimer: the dreamscape for this ceremony is constructed by 'Amber,' and task and role assignments, as well as bonus and penalty rules, are the responsibility of 'Lord of Scalefeather.' It is completely unrelated to the witness of the ceremony—that is, me,"

Eleni said all this in one breath, not stopping until she finished the disclaimer, finally pausing briefly.

"Does anyone have any questions? The next time you advance, the new host won't tell you this much,"

No one made a sound, akin to the atmosphere when a teacher asks, "Has anyone not understood?" in a classroom, silent as a graveyard.

And Eleni was not surprised by this.

She added, in the spirit of friendship:

"This ceremony is simple and not lengthy, so don't be nervous or feel compelled to find teammates. If you have any questions, you can ask your guide after you wake up,"

"Remember, everything you see in this ceremony is fictional. Do not regard anything you see here as actually having happened in history—"

As she spoke, the sand in the hourglass had just finished falling.

As the hourglass slowly inverted, Angel Envoy Eleni uttered her last sentence:

"In the year 1884, in the capital of the Kingdom of Avalon, a terrifyin series of serial killings took place..."

And when the hourglass completely flipped over, Aiwass suddenly felt a strong dizziness.

The world before his eyes froze, but the nine people sitting in the chairs vanished without a trace like ripples on the water.