Although she continually felt something was off, Denzel knew that in her amnesiac state she could never figure out the answer, so she shelved the matter for the time being.
Besides, even if something did go wrong, the Secret Incarnation had merely ended up with Yaxiu, which gave Denzel immense peace of mind.
After all, even if they weren't truly lovers, Denzel felt they had decent chemistry, and they were companions braving the amnesiac cabin together. Even if they weren't lovers now, they could always develop into lovers later—provided, of course, that she didn't have an ultimate beloved after regaining her memories.
If the Secret Incarnation turned out to be vital to her, she felt that for the sake of their relationship, Yaxiu would surely be willing to yield it to her after she paid an appropriate price.
And if she had no lover, or if she truly was Yaxiu's mistress, she could even take it from him for free.
Having checked their spoils, Yaxiu, Denzel, and Sonia all turned to look at the Watcher.
Even the Empress's phantom was no exception.
"What are you looking at me for?" the Watcher asked with a chuckle. "Next up is still the Empress's turn to present a question, isn't it?"
"Do you not plan on presenting questions together with me?" The Empress voiced the unspoken grievance of the examinees. "I have no desire to say just two sentences only to be interrupted by your 'Wait.' I'm practically allergic to the word 'wait' now."
"You truly are finicky, Empress," the Watcher laughed. "Rest assured, though. My next question is different from yours. It's a custom-tailored exclusive between us men; there's really no way to let ladies participate."
"A men's exclusive?" Yaxiu's eyes lit up. "In that case, mistress, sweetheart, there's no point in you staying here. Once my mistress finishes her question, you two can leave the cabin—"
"No way!" Sonia cut in decisively. "I absolutely must see just how heinously wicked, filthy, and vile you are on the inside. That way, when I recover my memories and break up with you, it will truly feel like abandoning darkness for light, like gaining a new life!"
Yaxiu retorted, "And what if the question reflects that my heart is pure, loyal, kind, and righteous, embodying every fine virtue in the world? Would you devote yourself to supporting me then?"
Sonia thought it over. "You couldn't possibly be that kind of person, so we're still breaking up."
Yaxiu said, "Why is that impossible? You've lost your memories; how can you judge my true nature?"
"Because my nature hasn't changed. How could the guy who became my sweetheart be any kind of good person?" Sonia wore an expression of sheer disdain. "Haven't you ever heard that birds of a feather flock together?"
Sonia delivered the line with such overwhelming conviction that Yaxiu began to wonder if he really did have a criminal record.
"I want to see your questions too," Denzel said. "You kept your promise and helped me analyze the correct answer, so I must help you as well."
Yet Yaxiu sharply caught Denzel's telltale slip. "You never used to explain yourself so deliberately just now. You're lying. What's your real goal?"
"I want to know more about you." Denzel showed no embarrassment. "I want to know all your secrets, your likes, your dislikes, your embarrassments, your nightmares. That intelligence will serve as the foundation of a plan."
"Splendid. Are you preparing an entertainment itinerary for our affair?"
Denzel smiled and looked toward the Empress. "Then let us begin my third question."
Yaxiu's eyelids twitched furiously. "It really is just an entertainment itinerary, right?!"
"The third question is still related to this portrait." The Empress pointed at the Eyepatch Girl in the album. "The question is very simple: what did you once do to this person?
"First, you served her. In spirit, you were her believer; in conduct, her monk; in function, her servant.
"Second, you possessed her. In spirit, you were her lover; in conduct, her knight; in function, her emperor.
"Third—" The Empress held up three fingers. "—you desecrated her.
"Her believers were slaughtered to the last by your hand; her glory was twisted and corrupted by you.
"You distorted her scriptures and broke her commandments until no one in the world could listen to her gospel ever again.
"You became her sole believer, and she became a deity belonging only to you."
When the Empress finished listing the three options, the wooden cabin sank into a prolonged silence.
Sonia focused intently on looking after Diya, not shifting her gaze for even a single second, as if Diya might suddenly reach out while unconscious and strangle her. Yaxiu kept his eyes fixed on his nose and his nose on his heart, suddenly comprehending the profound Buddhist truth of transcending all earthly matters as he attempted to mentally escape the wooden cabin.
"Knight," Denzel spoke up, "I'm sorry."
"H-Huh? What?" Yaxiu's voice couldn't stop trembling, terrified that he was about to be desecrated as well.
"It seems I am not your mistress after all," Denzel chuckled, her eyes fixed on the Eyepatch Girl in the painting. "What a pity. I was rather looking forward to our compatibility in bed.
"I choose the third option. There's no need to tell me the wager for this question; I definitely won't be wrong."
Without any discussion or additional information, Denzel delivered her answer with absolute decisiveness.
Because not only Denzel, but even Yaxiu and Sonia believed that this was the only possible answer.
Inside this wooden cabin, no one's personality was purer than Denzel's—not in the sense of kindness or righteousness, but simply because Denzel was as simple as a blank sheet of paper.
She never concealed any of her thoughts; every drop of her desire was printed onto that blank sheet like standard regular script, utterly clear, without a single smudge or corrective erasure.
By contrast, Yaxiu and Sonia were messy essays. At a glance, their prose seemed full of high-minded righteousness, but the inkblots between the lines, the acrostic poems tucked into the beginnings and ends of sentences, and the repeated scratch-outs hiding errors all proved they were merely armchair criminals—possessing the criminal intent, but lacking the guts.
Therefore, when a question concerned Denzel's personal conduct, there was no need for elaborate deduction. One only had to look at Denzel's character traits: whichever sounded most like something Denzel would do was undeniably the most probable answer.
While Option One's 'serving' and Option Two's 'possessing' were both possible, Option Three's 'desecrating' seemed tailor-made for Denzel.
To make an imperfect analogy: Option One was holding hands, Option Two was kissing, and Option Three was the main event. For someone like Denzel, who pursued thrills and saw them through to the very end, how could she possibly stop at holding hands and kissing without getting down to business?
In a sense, the three options were an escalating progression that tested the respondent's yandere level, and Denzel was clearly a straight-A student.
"You are correct," the Empress declared. "The treasure wagered on this question was your 'Expert Tactics,' and the reward you obtain is the equally valuable 'Expert Defense.'"
Two streams of light sank into Denzel's body, but she paid no heed to her gains. Instead, her eyes shone brightly as she stared at the unconscious Diya. Sonia moved defensively in front of Diya, bracing herself to leave the wooden cabin ahead of schedule.
Denzel's shift in attitude was not hard to understand. From the question, she knew that the Eyepatch Girl was likely the ultimate love of her life, someone she wished to share a bed with in life and a tomb in death. Yet the Eyepatch Girl was not here; only Diya, who looked identical to her, was present.
Without further information, she would inevitably arrive at a conclusion: Yaxiu was not Denzel's lover at all; Diya was Denzel's true beloved.
Or rather, Diya was the Eyepatch Girl's stand-in, bearing the brunt of Denzel's affection.
Even Yaxiu and Sonia believed this to be the case.
After all, this meant there were now two couples in the cabin. The cabin expedition instantly transformed from a deceitful game of Werewolf into a double date, which sounded far more normal.
Yet now that Denzel had exposed such an intense side of herself, Sonia didn't dare hand Diya over to her, if only out of what little conscience she had left!
***
Watching the affection flowing in Denzel's eyes, a sorrowful nostalgia appeared on the Empress phantom's face.
*"Do you feel that if they remained amnesiac like this, maintaining their current relationships and going on with life, it might actually be a fine choice?"*
The Empress looked at the Watcher in surprise, only to discover that the original bodies hadn't noticed the Watcher's spoiler-laden words.
Silently, another new rule had been added to the cabin: phantoms could privately communicate without being detected by the original bodies.
This was naturally a freshly minted rule as well. After all, this was the very first time since the cabin's appearance that the number of phantoms had reached a threshold where conversation was possible.
The Empress was even beginning to grow accustomed to the cabin's frequent renovations.
*"Of course not,"* the Sword Princess, who had long been relegated to the bench, said coldly. *"Watching this make-believe hypocrisy makes me want to vomit."*
*"Really?"* The Witch leaned close to the Sword Princess. *"Wait a moment, then. I'll call one of my sisters out. She would be absolutely delighted to sample the liquid gold flowing from Dead Frenzy—"*
*"I don't think so either."*
The Empress looked at the Watcher. *"Whether before death, after death, or right now, the fate Denzel has endured all stems from Gospel's profound love. She doesn't need a false substitute, because she still hasn't broken free from that web of love. Do not try to keep her here."*
*"I was only asking; there's no need to be so tense,"* the Watcher smiled. *"We are merely a bunch of phantoms. We don't possess any special abilities."*
The Empress had come to realize fully that among the four phantoms, three of them were traitors.
Though when you find that everyone around you is a traitor, perhaps you ought to rethink your perspective.
***
"You promised earlier," Yaxiu said, catching Denzel's hand, "that you would only leave after I finished answering my questions."
Denzel finally pulled her blazing gaze away and slid her wrist free from Yaxiu's grasp. "As long as she doesn't leave early, I won't leave early."
Though he didn't know how they would resolve this mess once they left the cabin, Yaxiu had no choice but to continue answering questions to keep the situation stable for now.
"Is it finally our turn?"
The Watcher sat down before Yaxiu, wearing a benign smile. "No need to be nervous. I am the phantom carrying your memories. Do you really think I would harm you?"
Yaxiu thought about it and nodded. "True. I ought to be a good person, so you can't be that bad either."
*"Pfft."*
*"Ahem."*
The Empress suddenly heard two untimely chuckles in the private channel. She turned back in confusion—had the Watcher and Yaxiu just cracked a joke?
"Hearing oneself praise oneself is truly a curious experience..." The Watcher lowered his eyelids. "Then let us begin our second question.
"No portrait is necessary, since the question is quite simple—why did you obtain rebirth?"
Everyone froze.
Rebirth?
"First, you took the initiative to become a pawn of the Four Pillar Gods. By setting up the World-Sacrificing Cyclic Annihilation Rite at the cost of countless hundreds of millions of living souls, you obtained a second chance.
"Second, you collected countless sorcerer manuals. Drawing upon the power of countless wishes and exhausting a thousand years of time, you created a miracle capable of turning the world upside down.
"Third—" The Watcher winked. "—you have no idea why either."
Chapter 311