Chapter 1222: The Promise of the Divine Will

“Your Majesty. Your Majesty — Your Majesty?”

Dispersion Star’s voice pulled Roland back.

“Er.” He rubbed his forehead. “Does anyone else know?”

“Only the astrologers named after a star. The students in the Arithmetic Academy are unaware,” the old scholar said, and lowered himself to one knee.

Roland understood immediately. That grave, sentenced look on every face upstairs — they had expected to be silenced. The Astrology Association had been founded, as far as they knew, to hunt the Star of Extinction. The truth about the Bloody Moon was a royal secret. They had come to the conclusion that any man who stumbled onto such a secret could not be allowed to speak of it.

Roland shook his head. “You did well. Tell no one. Return to the Arithmetic Academy and forget the stars for now. Compared to an object that doesn’t exist, Neverwinter is rather more pressing.”

He left before the stunned scholar could answer.

“Back to the castle,” Roland said quietly.

He walked faster than he had come, nearly at a run.

“Do you think they’re telling the truth?” Nightingale asked, stepping out of the fold.

“I don’t know. I have a hunch.” He kept walking. “It doesn’t mean the Bloody Moon isn’t real. It might just be something else entirely.”

“Something else?”

“A hole, for instance.”

Roland had never thought too hard about the Bloody Moon. It was enormous because it was close — the same way Jupiter filled two-thirds of Io’s sky. The people of the Land of Dawn called it a moon because it was round and glowed. But if it was an Erosion, it might be any shape at all. A square. A polygon. A tear in something that had no name in any language he knew.

“Are you saying the sky is cracking?” Nightingale asked.

“Possibly something worse. I have to see it first.”

“How?”

Roland glanced at her. “By dreaming.”

It was not yet his usual sleeping hour, but no law prevented Roland from entering the Dream World in the afternoon. This time he told none of the God’s Punishment Witches. He asked only Nightingale to stand watch over him.

We’ll meet upon the appearance of the Divine Will.

He had not understood that line when he first read it. He understood it now. The messenger had not meant a meeting inside the Dream World. She had meant the Bloody Moon. The real world. The thing that had just been declared, by the best arithmetic minds in Neverwinter, to not physically exist.

It was remarkable that the messenger knew the Dream World’s true nature — and knew the real world as well, as though she could sense both simultaneously. Every thread Roland had followed — the executives of the Prism City, the anonymous book, Dispersion Star’s calculations — pulled toward the same conclusion. The Battle of Divine Will was not a myth. The Erosion was its evidence.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Zero called, toothbrush jutting from her mouth, one elbow propped on the bathroom door frame.

“I’m not eating. Go ahead without me.” Roland pulled his coat on without looking back, stepped into his slippers, and went out.

The alley below the apartment was already loud with morning commerce. Breakfast vendors worked their stalls in a haze of oil smoke; deep-fried dough and steamed buns moved fast into the hands of students and young professionals. Vendors shouted over each other. Grills hissed. The whole narrow street felt like a single dense, purposeful organism.

The Rose Café stood apart from it — quiet, curtains drawn, its door sealed against the noise like a man who has given up explaining himself to a crowd.

Roland let himself in with the key and went straight to Room 302 — the ground-floor room he had insisted be numbered 302, which was odd and which he didn’t care about. He had been so deep in Neverwinter’s crises lately that the Dream World had half-slipped his mind. Standing at the door now, he felt, to his own surprise, a trace of nerves.

He wasn’t worried that the messenger couldn’t get into a locked shop. She had threaded a message through a champagne glass. She clearly moved by her own rules. He pushed the door open.

Empty.

One table. Four chairs. No hiding places. Nothing.

Roland crossed to the table and sat down.

Had he read it wrong?

He told himself to wait. The messenger wasn’t an apparition; she couldn’t materialize from nothing. But the uncertainty gathered anyway. Could she find this place? The shop had been open less than a month. What if she was waiting somewhere else? What if the note had nothing to do with the Divine Will in the real world, and he had assembled an elaborate theory from coincidence and wishful thinking?

He had no evidence. Not one solid thread.

He was nearly on his feet when the bell rang.

Clink and clang.

“Welcome to — ” The words died in his mouth. The God’s Punishment Witches hadn’t come with him. Garcia rarely visited, and no sane customer would pay what the menu asked. Roland turned.

He had seen this woman twice.

Once at the orientation for new martialists in the Prism City. Once inside the Reflection Church, deep in the old Holy City of Hermes.

He remembered her face.

“I didn’t expect you to open a coffeeshop and call it ‘Rose Café,’” she said. “I thought you hadn’t found the note.”

Lan said it, and stepped inside.

Chapter 1222: The Promise of the Divine Will

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn “Your Majesty, Your Majesty… Your Majesty?” Dispersion Star’s voice startled Roland. “Er…” Roland rubbed his forehead and said, “Does anyone else know about it?” “Only astrologers named after a star know it. The students in the Arithmetic Academy don’t know,” the old scholar said as he knelt down. Roland now understood why the astrologers were all wearing a stern expression as though they were facing a death sentence. Apparently, they believed that Roland would kill them to prevent their betrayal of the horrific truth about the Bloody Moon, for the real purpose of founding this Astrology Association was to explore the Star of Extinction, which was a secret that only the royals were entitled to. These astrologers were expert in political games, so they naturally knew the consequence of their discovery. Roland was impressed with their caution and loyalty. He shook his head and said, “You did a great job. Don’t tell anyone about it. Keep up with the good work. Continue to manage the Arithmetic Academy and forget about astrology. Compared to something that doesn’t exist, helping with Neverwinter is apparently more important.” With these words, Roland left the attic, leaving the stunned scholar behind. “Let’s head back to the castle,” Roland said in a low voice. He walked in a even more brisque manner than when he had come and almost broke into a trot. “Do you think the astrologers are telling the truth?” Nightingale asked as she revealed herself. “I don’t know… I just have a hunch,” Roland said. “It doesn’t mean that the Bloody Moon doesn’t exist. Perhaps, it’s something else…” “Something… else?” “For example, a pit.” Roland had never given much thought about the Bloody Moon. It was giant because it was close to the earth. For example, the Jupiter observed on io took up two thirds of the sky. People here called this object a moon simply because it was round with a soft glow. If this was an Erosion, then it could be a square or a polygon. Nightingale asked in confusion, “Are you saying that the sky is cracking?” “It may be even worse than that, but I have to find it out first.” “How?” Roland cast her a glance and answered, “By dreaming.” … Although it was not yet his typical sleeping hour, nobody had forbidden Roland to enter the Dream World during the day. This time, he did not inform any of the God’s Punishment Witches but only asked Nightingale to guard him. “We’ll meet upon the appearance of the Divine Will.” Roland had had no idea what the Divine Will was. Now, he suddenly came to the realization that the messenger was not referring to the time in the Dream World but that in the real world. It was incredible that the messenger knew the true nature of the Dream World and even had knowledge of the real world. The messenger could probably even sense the change in both worlds. All Roland’s suspicions seemed to have been confirmed when Dispersion Star had said “the Bloody Moon doesn’t exist”. Both the “Battle of Divine Will” described by the executives in the Prism City and the anonymous book led Roland to the same conclusion. “What are you going to eat for breakfast?” Zero asked him, with a toothbrush between her teeth as she stood in front of the sink. “I’m not having breakfast today. You can eat alone!” Roland shouted without looking back. He pulled on his coat briskly and rushed out on his slippers. The alley below the apartment was alive with people. The breakfast booths where deep-fried doughs and buns were sold were surrounded by students and young professionals. The residential area was teeming with the raucous voices of yelling vendors and the sizzling sounds of the deep-fried doughs. The only place that seemed to immune to all these noises was the Rose Café. The coffeeshop was like a loner slinking outside the mainstream community. When Roland took out the key and opened the door, he could see the vendor across the street cast him a pitiful and scornful look that people typically afforded to an idiot. Roland took a deep breath and went straight to Room 302. The shop was on the ground floor, but Roland insisted the room number to be 302. It was a a little strange, but he did not care about it. Since Roland had been busy dealing with the incidents in Neverwinter, he had kind of forgotten about the Dream World for a while. Therefore, when he pushed open the door, he felt, surprisingly, a little nervous. Roland did not care about whether the messenger would be able to get into the closed shop. As the messenger could send a message to him through the champagne glass, he certainly possessed some extraordinary power. Perhaps, the messenger would pop up somewhere out of nowhere abruptly. Roland took a deep breath and put his hand on the doorknob. The shop was empty. Apart from a table and four chairs, there was no further furniture. Certainly, there was no hiding spot either. A little disappointed, Roland slowly walked to the table and sat down. Was he wrong? Then he realized that the messenger was not an apparition after all, who could travel from one place to another in a split second. Perhaps, he should wait for while. But Roland became more and more uncertain. Could the messenger really find this place that had just opened a month ago? What if he was waiting at another place? Could the note be a hoax that had nothing to do with the Divine Will in the real world? Roland had not a shred of evidence to his theory. Apparently, it would not be that easy to solve the problem. When Roland was about to leave the shop, suddenly, the bell rang. Clink and clang. “Welcome to — ” Roland’s words rested on the tip of his tongue. The God’s Punishment Witches did not come with him this time, and Garcia would not visit his store very often either. No customer should come here considering the absurd prices listed outside. When Roland opened the door, he saw a familiar figure outside the shop. Roland had seen her twice. He had met her during the orientation for new martialists in the Prism City. He had also met her in the Reflection Church in the old Holy City of Hermes. Roland remembered this face. “I didn’t expect that you would open a coffeeshop here and name it ‘Rose Cafe’. I thought you didn’t find that note.” Lan said.