Confession

It really has looped again… Hearing Aurore's reply, Lumian was not surprised in the least. So far, this was already the third loop he could remember. Combining his own experiences with the hints given by that mysterious lady, he had arrived at a preliminary summary: "The loop's time limit is Twelfth Night; "The loop's spatial limit is Cordu Village and its surrounding area; "The loop's personal constraint is that the parish padre cannot be killed. "These are the three key points of the loop…" With that in mind, Lumian looked at Aurore and asked thoughtfully, "Sis, if you were writing a novel about a time loop, where would you place the key to breaking it?" "Asking such a question out of nowhere, and acting so sweet, calling me Sis…" Aurore looked Lumian up and down suspiciously. "Thought up a new story to trick people with?" "Something like that," Lumian answered earnestly. Aurore furrowed her brow slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "From a novelist's perspective—or rather, from the perspective of normal logic—the most crucial part of a loop is definitely in the final scene. It serves as both the end of this cycle and the prelude to the next, the very button fastening the end and the beginning together. Without it, time's straight flow couldn't be bent into a closed circle. "Think about it: tracing a loop back, there had to be a first time. At that point, something must have happened at the very final moment to cause time to restart." *Twelfth Night?* Lumian agreed with his sister's deduction. Nodding, he asked instead, "Then why couldn't the most crucial part be the first day of the loop? You have to ask why it starts at that exact point in time, right?" Aurore laughed. "Making up a short story to fool a few people for a bit is your forte, but when it comes to things requiring rigorous logic and a broad knowledge base, you're out of your depth. "The first day of the loop is the first day perhaps only because the power—or rather, the energy—causing the loop can only reach back that far from the final day. Just as the loop most likely doesn't encompass the whole world, but only a certain place. It's not that it doesn't want to; it simply can't." Lumian had actually considered this point; he had just assumed his knowledgeable and well-traveled sister might offer a different perspective. Aurore thought for a moment, then added, "If that loop isn't a completely closed circle, and there's interaction between the inside and outside—say, information inside can be sent out, and outsiders can enter but cannot leave—then the first day of the loop might be counted from the exact day those outsiders arrived. That way, when it loops again, they won't lack a 'place.' Of course, outsiders could also be forced to start on day one doing things they only did later on. There are far too many ways to spin a story like that." Lumian's eyes lit up as he listened, and he felt a strong urge to shower his sister with praise. He suspected that the arrival of Lia, Leyn, and Valentay was what had caused the loop to begin on the afternoon of March 29th. If that was truly the case, Twelfth Night might have actually become the tenth night, or the ninth night. Of course, it could also have originally been the thirteenth night, shortened to the twelfth because of the outsiders' intrusion. All of these were possibilities, and Lumian would have to verify them himself. He fully agreed with his sister's reasoning: something must have happened on Twelfth Night to trigger the loop. Only by finding out what happened then would it be possible to uncover the key to breaking it. Therefore, Lumian decided that during this loop, he would avoid triggering any anomalies if possible. He would also make an excuse to skip the blessing parade during the Lent Festival, quietly staying put until Twelfth Night. Yet he could not simply do nothing either. Time would not allow it. Unless Lumian broke the loop right after experiencing Twelfth Night this time, he would be racing against the clock in the next cycle. A full cycle lasted a whole twelve days. Once this loop concluded, the probability that the outside world would discover Cordu's anomaly would skyrocket. The time Lumian had left to resolve the issue would be one full cycle at most, perhaps even less. And to halt the anomaly within a single loop, he had to gather sufficient intelligence and gain a thorough understanding of the entire village. Avoid setting off the anomalies while still investigating the problems… Lumian could not help but mock himself inwardly: *How is this any different from a clown walking a tightrope on the edge of a cliff?* Wanting to have it both ways was never easy. Seeing that he had remained silent for several seconds and seemed to already be drafting a story, Aurore waved her hand dismissively. "I almost forgot to make dinner!" "Wait a moment." Lumian looked at Aurore, his expression solemn and grave. Aurore immediately clicked her tongue. "I smell a prank coming." Lumian said directly, "Aurore, uh, Sis, we're actually trapped in a time loop." "Heh, using what you just learned on your own sister already?" Aurore was caught between irritation and amusement. *Sometimes, a person really does need a bit of credibility…* Savoring the silent irony, Lumian smiled and said, "Could you at least listen to the story I've made up first? "Maybe give it a rating while you're at it?" Aurore glanced outside at the sky, which was still bright. "Fair enough." Lumian started from his encounter with Lia and the other outlanders. In outline form, he described how he maintained lucidity in his dreams, entered a peculiar ruin, hunted monsters to obtain a Beyonder characteristic, and became a Hunter. He did not hide the thorny ring pattern locked across his chest, as it might involve the key to the time loop—he had seen the identical symbol on the parish padre, and killing the padre had triggered an early reset of time. At first, Aurore listened with a smile, thinking her little brother was being quite creative this time. But as she listened, her expression grew stern. Much of this knowledge was not something Lumian should know. When Lumian said he had already become a Beyonder, she finally moved, raising her right hand to knead her temples. Her pale-blue eyes instantly turned profound and deep, yet reflected no figure. She looked at Lumian for a while, then nodded gently. "Your etheric body has undergone a tremendous change. Your life energy and physical condition far surpass those of an ordinary person. "Your astral projection has changed somewhat, though not by much… "Indeed, a Hunter who excels at hand-to-hand combat rather than spellcasting… "As for that symbol and its associated changes, I can't see them clearly, nor do I dare look too deeply…" At this point, Aurore pouted slightly and asked with lingering doubt, "You didn't make up such an outrageous story just to get me to accept that you've become a Beyonder, did you?" That would be classic Lumian. Lumian did not bother to explain, instead launching directly into the mysticism knowledge the lady had imparted to him. Naturally, he only mentioned the names briefly without elaborating. This was not because he held high moral standards and principles, refusing to tell his own sister without that lady's permission; rather, the lady was unmistakably powerful. If leaking such precious knowledge angered her, the time loop might get resolved, but he would definitely be dead. "The Law of Indestructibility… The Law of Convergence… The acting method…" Aurore was entirely stunned. Her little brother, an illiterate in the field of mysticism, actually possessed such invaluable knowledge! It had been more than five full years since she became a Beyonder. In the beginning, she relied on Emperor Roselle the Great's diary, later joined that organization, and, given that her pathway symbolized common knowledge in mysticism, was chased by knowledge from time to time. Only through all this had she mastered the three cornerstones of the Beyonder world: the acting method, the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Indestructibility, and the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Conservation. Because of this, she considered herself not particularly senior, yet exceptionally knowledgeable among Beyonders, streets ahead of most of her peers. Yet now, her brother, who had never touched mysticism before, could speak of these things—and even mentioned the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence, something she had never heard of! This ruled out any possibility that Lumian had sneaked a peek at her sorcery notes. As a Beyonder of the Mystery Pryer pathway, Aurore suppressed her burning desire to learn the specifics of the Law of Convergence. Looking at her brother, she asked with a mix of suspicion, astonishment, and concern, "What on earth did you pay for that lady to teach you this knowledge?" Even the potion formula had been given for free! She scrutinized Lumian again from top to bottom, bottom to top, trying to see if he was missing any part of himself. "Nothing at all." Lumian gave a self-deprecating smile. "That's what's so terrifying. I don't even know what price I'll have to pay in the future. Well, I suspect it has something to do with the symbol on my chest and that dream ruin. That lady probably wants me to unravel those secrets." Aurore gave a soft hum. "Continue." She settled into listening to the rest of the "story" with utmost seriousness. Lumian spoke of the owl, the abnormalities during the Lent Festival, their experiences in the second loop, and how the loop restarted the moment they tried to leave Cordu Village. Aurore listened intently to the end, then muttered in disbelief, "Either I was hypnotized by you and told you everything, or time really is looping…" She was beginning to believe Lumian. She had named her Brooch of Integrity herself and had never recorded the name anywhere. Unless she had told her brother in person, it was impossible for Lumian to know it, yet she had no memory of ever doing so. Lumian struck while the iron was hot. "I can also predict that the three outlanders will appear at the Old Tavern tonight, that the parish padre is committing adultery with Madame Pualis tonight, and that the shepherd Pierre Berry has returned to the village, bringing three sheep that are all abnormal…" The more Aurore heard, the graver her expression became. After quite a while, she said, "Those three outlanders only entered the village this afternoon. You and I were practicing combat, followed by resting. We never stepped outside at all. "And during combat practice this afternoon, you were still an ordinary person…" She accepted Lumian's claim that time was looping. With anyone else, Lumian would have laughed and teased, *You bought it! You actually believed such a ridiculous story!* But facing Aurore, he remained very restrained. He then suggested, "I'll go walk around the village now and see if I can gather more intelligence." Aurore nodded. "I'll use my 'eyes' to take a look around as well, but there are heavy restrictions on it and it's very dangerous. I can't guarantee any results." Lumian waved his hand to acknowledge her, then headed toward the door. After a few steps, he turned back to look at Aurore's silhouette standing in the kitchen. The image of her shoving him toward safety amid countless undead flashed through his mind, and an inexplicable pang of parting welled up inside him. He asked instinctively, "Sis, why did you adopt me back then?" Aurore answered in an exasperated tone, "I didn't want to either! "I was just kind enough to give you some food, and then you followed me everywhere, impossible to shake off. You were so well-behaved, helping me with this and that, and my heart softened, so… Who knew you'd grow up into the pest you are now! "Do you know how hard it was for a young girl like me to raise a kid like you back then?" Listening to Aurore's answer, Lumian wanted to say thank you and praise his sister, but the words caught in his throat, as if welling up toward his eyes and nose instead. He turned his head away and walked toward the village.