Chapter 369: Chapter 312: The Reason for Rebirth

Although there seemed to be something amiss, Denzel knew that with his amnesia, he couldn’t possibly figure out the answer, so he temporarily set it aside.

Moreover, even if something were wrong, the “Secret Avatar” was only on Ash, and Denzel was very reassured.

After all, even if they weren’t lovers, Denzel felt they were quite compatible as companions in their amnesiac cabin adventure; they could develop into lovers–even if they weren’t currently so–of course, that was provided that Denzel didn’t have a beloved once his memory was restored.

If the “Secret Avatar” was important to him, considering their relationship, Denzel believed that after paying a certain price, Ash would definitely be willing to hand it over to him.

If he didn’t have a lover or if he was indeed Ash’s lover, then he might even freeload directly.

After checking their gains, Ash, Denzel, and Sonia all looked towards the Observer.

Even the Empress’s Phantom was no exception.

“Why are you all looking at me?” the Observer chuckled. “Isn’t it still your turn to pose questions, Empress?”

“Don’t you plan to pose questions with me?” the Empress voiced what the contestants were thinking. “I don’t want to be interrupted by your ‘wait a minute’ after just a few words. I’m allergic to ‘wait a minute’ now.”

“How picky, Empress,” the Observer laughed. “But don’t worry, my upcoming questions are different from yours; they are exclusively made for men among men, a place not suited for ladies to participate.”

“An exclusively male affair?” Ash’s eyes lit up. “In that case, lovers and beloveds, there’s no point in you staying here. Wait for the lover to finish answering and leave the cabin–”

“No way!” Sonia cut him off sharply. “I must see how immensely sinful and vile your inner self is, so I can see the light and feel reborn after I break up with you when I regain my memory!”

“What if the question reveals that my heart is pure and loyal, kind and upright, embodying all the wonderful qualities of the world? Will you then devoutly support me?” Ash asked.

Sonia thought for a moment. “You can’t possibly be that kind of person, so we’ll still break up.”

“Why can’t I be? You’ve lost your memory; how can you judge my true nature?” Ash retorted.

“My nature hasn’t changed, though. How could a fellow who becomes my lover be any good?” Sonia exclaimed, its face full of disdain. “Don’t you understand that birds of a feather flock together?”

Sonia’s words were so convincing that Ash began to wonder if he himself had a criminal record.

“I want to see your question too.”

“I will carry out my promise to help analyze the correct answer for you,” Denzel said, “I must also assist you.”

However, Ash sharply noticed Denzel’s tails wagging. “You didn’t explain things like that before; you’re lying. What is your real purpose?”

“I want to understand you more,” Denzel didn’t shy away. “I want to know all your secrets, your likes, your dislikes, your shames, your nightmares. All this information will lay the foundation for the plan.”

“That’s great. Are you preparing our clandestine affair entertainment plan?”

Denzel smiled, looking towards the Empress. “Then, let’s start with my third question.”

Ash’s eyelids twitched. “It’s just about preparing entertainment plans, right!?”

“The third question is still related to this painting,” the Empress pointed at the album’s eye-masked girl. “The question is simple, what have you done to this person before?”

“First, you served her. Mentally, you were her Believer; behaviorally, you were her Monk; functionally, you were her Slave.”

“Second, you possessed her. Mentally, you were her lover; behaviorally, you were her Knight; functionally, you were her Emperor.”

“Third,” the Empress showed three fingers, “you desecrated her.”

“Her Believers were slaughtered by you, her glory twisted and corrupted.”

“You distorted her teachings, destroyed her precepts, until no one in the world could hear her Gospel anymore.”

“You became her only Believer, she became the God who belonged solely to you.”

When the Empress finished listing the three options, the cabin fell into a prolonged silence.

Sonia watched over Diya intently, not taking her eyes off for a second, as if Diya might suddenly awake and strangle her; Ash, avoiding unnecessary thought, suddenly understood the profound principle of being detached from the worldly matters and tried spatially to escape the cabin through his imagination.

“Knight,” Denzel asked, “I’m sorry.”

“Ha, what?” Ash’s voice quivered uncontrollably, fearful that he might be desecrated as well.

“Looks like I’m not your lover,” Denzel said with a chuckle, his eyes fixed on the painting of the eye-masked girl. “That’s too bad. I was quite looking forward to our compatibility in bed.”

“I choose the third option. There’s no need to tell me the stakes for this question; I will not be wrong.”

Without any discussion, with no additional information, Denzel gave his answer very decisively.

And not just Denzel, even Ash and Sonia thought that this was the only possible answer.

In this cabin, nobody had a character more ‘simple’ than Denzel–unrelated to being kind or upright, but simply because Denzel was plain like a blank sheet of paper.

She didn’t disguise any of her thoughts, every drop of desire printed in clean, standard script without any blemish or disguise.

By contrast, Ash and Sonia were like messy, scribbled texts, which at first glance appeared to unapologetically espouse great truths; but the ink stains between the lines, acrostic poems at the beginning and end of sentences, and repeatedly corrected errors proved that they were fantasy-type criminals lacking the courage to perpetrate their desires.

So when the question involved Denzel’s personal behavior, there was no need for further analysis; one only needed to start from the characteristics of Denzel’s personality and see which one resembled what Denzel would likely do. That option would be the most probable answer.

Although both option one “Serve” and option two “Possess” were possible, option three “Desecrate” was practically tailor-made for Denzel.

To use an inappropriate analogy, option one is holding hands, option two is kissing, and option three gets right to the point. With Denzel’s thrill-seeking nature, how could he possibly stop at holding hands and kissing without getting to the main event?

In some sense, these three options were progressively related, testing the respondents’ degree of twisted affection, and Denzel was clearly the top scorer.

“You answered correctly,” the Empress said. “You wagered your ‘Expert Level Tactics’ on this question, and the reward you received was an equally valuable ‘Expert Level Defense’.”

Two streams of light entered Denzel’s body, but at the moment, she was unconcerned about her gains and instead stared excitedly at the unconscious Diya, while Sonia stood in front of Diya, getting ready to leave the cabin early.

Denzel’s change was not hard to comprehend–she knew from the question that the masked girl was supposedly her lifelong lover, whom she wanted to live and be buried with. However, the masked girl was not here, only Diya, who looked exactly like the masked girl.

Without further information, she would inevitably conclude–Ash was never Denzel’s lover; Diya was her true love.

Or rather, Diya was the substitute for the masked girl, bearing Denzel’s love.

Even Ash and Sonia thought so.

After all, this meant that there were now two couples in the cabin, and the cabin exploration instantly shifted from a cut-throat game of Werewolves to a social event with two couples participating, which sounded much more normal.

However, after Denzel showed this side of herself, even with the little conscience left, Sonia dared not just hand Diya over to her!

…

The Empress looked at the love shining in Denzel’s eyes, while the Phantom’s face showed nostalgic sorrow.

“Do you think if they continue to live like this with their memories lost, maintaining their current relationships, it might actually be a decent option?”

The Empress was surprised to look at the Observer, only to realize the avatars hadn’t noticed the Observer’s spoiler-like words.

A new rule silently emerged in the cabin: Phantoms could private message without the avatars detecting it.

This was naturally a newly born rule–as of today, for the first time since the cabin appeared, the number of Phantoms had reached a communicable level.

The Empress even began to get used to these frequent renovations in the cabin.

“Of course not.” The Sword Maiden, long seated on the sidelines, said coldly. “This house-playing with fake affection makes me want to vomit.”

“Really?” the Witch leaned toward the Sword Maiden. “Wait a second, I’ll call a sister out. She’ll definitely love to taste the Gold that flows from Death Mad–”

“I don’t think so either.”

The Empress turned to the Observer. “Whether in life, death, or now, the Fate that Denzel has received all stems from Gospel’s deep love. She does not need a fake substitute, because she has yet to escape that net of love. Don’t detain her.”

“I was just asking. You don’t need to be so tense,” the Observer said with a smile. “We are just a bunch of Phantoms and don’t have any special abilities.”

The Empress had now completely understood that among their four Phantoms, there were three traitors.

However, when you see that everyone around you is a traitor, perhaps you should shift your thinking.

…

“You promised just now,” Ash grabbed Denzel’s hand, “to wait until I finish answering before leaving.”

Denzel finally shifted her fierce gaze away and pulled her wrist out of Ash’s hand. “As long as she doesn’t leave early, I won’t leave early either.”

Though unsure how to resolve the issue after leaving the cabin, Ash could only continue answering questions to stabilize the situation.

“Is it finally our turn?”

The Observer sat in front of Ash, showing a kind smile. “Don’t be nervous, I am a Phantom that carries your memory. Do you think I would harm you?”

After some thought, Ash nodded. “Indeed, I should be a good person, so you surely can’t be too bad.”

“Pfft.”

“Cough.”

The Empress suddenly heard two inappropriate laughs in a private chat and puzzledly turned around–had the Observer just made a joke with Ash?

“Hearing oneself being praised is indeed a strange experience…” the Observer lowered his eyelids. “Well, let’s start the second question.”

“We don’t need a picture for this one, as the question is quite simple–why did you receive rebirth?”

Everyone was taken aback.

Rebirth?

“First, you actively became a pawn of the Gods of Four Pillars, orchestrated a sacrificial ceremony to extinguish the world, sacrificing billions of lives in exchange for a second chance.”

“Second, you collected countless Mage’s Handbooks, using the power of countless Heart’s Desires and exhausting thousands of years, you created the Miracle that can invert the world.”

“Third,” the Observer blinked, “you also don’t know why.”