Chapter 1223: Lan

Roland was surprised — and yet not entirely. He had half-expected her, in some way he couldn’t account for, from the moment he had unlocked the door.

“Who are you, exactly?”

“Someone who needs help,” Lan said, already glancing around the shop. “I know you have questions. Sit. Let’s take the table by the window.”

“Don’t we need Room 302?” Roland asked, watching her settle into the chair.

“I asked you here to avoid curious ears. Since nobody’s here at all, sit wherever you like.” A pause. “Since this is a coffeeshop — can I have an iced coffee?”

“I imagined you were disclosing some enormous secret. I’ve been careful for weeks making sure no one would overhear.”

“A secret is only a secret when the eavesdropper recognizes its value,” Lan said mildly. “I monitor the Erosion underground every day. I need to sit down occasionally. One iced coffee, please.”

Roland stared at her for a moment and then grumbled, “I only have instant.”

“That’s fine.”

He made the coffee — milk, two ice cubes — watching her the entire time, certain she would vanish the moment he looked away.

“I won’t disappear,” she said without turning around.

“I don’t know that,” Roland said, setting the cup in front of her. “I asked Garcia to reach you. I went to the Prism City twice. You were gone both times. Why didn’t you speak to me then? Why a note?”

Lan was quiet for a moment. Then, with a small sigh: “Because we weren’t ready yet. Child.”

Child. Roland stiffened slightly. “You mean you were waiting for me to discover the Bloody Moon — the Erosion — myself?”

“You’re sharper than I expected. I’m glad.”

“Glad how? You said you need help.”

“What should I do to convince you?” she said, shaking her head slowly. “Weep? Beg on the floor? Offer a reward? None of it would make you trust me. It would push you further away.”

Roland opened his mouth, almost said you’d be surprised, and then stopped. Lan was older than Garcia — old in a way that did not show in her face but pressed through in everything else, the stillness of her hands, the patience of her silences. Chief Disciple of the Defender of the Martialist Association. Senior to his senior. If she was the woman in the portrait in the Reflection Church, she was somewhere between seven and eight hundred years old. A remnant of another age, talking to him over instant coffee.

He sat down across from her and tried to arrange his questions.

“Were you a member of the Union?”

“I have nothing to do with your world,” she replied. “I was born here and will die here, though that won’t be for a very long time.”

“But your portrait is in the Reflection Church — ”

“A historical record,” Lan said, cutting him off. “It proves nothing.”

“The resemblance is exact. That isn’t a minor coincidence.”

“History is full of coincidences. Dwelling on them is a waste of the present.”

Roland suspected she was deflecting, and without Nightingale here to read her, he could not press the point. He shifted. “What is magic power, exactly?”

A faint smile crossed her lips. “You already know, more or less. Nothing in this world can explain it, because it doesn’t belong here. What we know is that it can be used. Think of it as a power we obtained by accident — a force that transcends the four fundamental forces, the missing term in any theory of grand unification, if that framing means anything to you.”

It did. Magic was the Force of Nature, or another face of it. The Dream World had been shaped by it. Roland pressed on. “The book you cited in your speech at the Prism City — Raison d’être — and the deductions you made from it. Were those true?”

“Not entirely. But you can think of them as true.”

“I want the actual truth.”

“It’s beyond what your language can hold,” she said, and sipped the coffee. “And everything I do is observed. If I give away anything that threatens Him, both worlds end. So remember: the truth, for you, is what you can understand of it.”

Roland pressed his lips together. She had just told him, in the most elegant possible terms, that she would lie when she had to.

“He can destroy both worlds?”

“That is why we call Him God. It’s the closest word your language has.”

“What does He want?”

“To keep the Battle of Divine Will running.”

“What is your relationship to Him?”

A silence, longer than the others. “I betrayed Him.”

“Betrayed.”

“Yes. The cycle will not end on its own. Each new round strips more away. God will exhaust Himself eventually — and when He does, both worlds go with Him. I don’t want to wait for that.”

Roland held her gaze and asked the obvious question. “Why come to me?”

“I need your help, child.” Lan’s eyes were steady. “I want you to stop the Battle of Divine Will. End the cycle entirely.”

“You mean win the war.”

“No. Winning starts a new cycle.” She shook her head. “I want you to stop everything — and replace God.”

The silence that followed was absolute.

Roland had not anticipated that.

He took a slow breath. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”

Lan’s expression finally shifted. “Why?”

“Because I don’t know whether you’re telling the truth. You’ve admitted you can only give me evasive answers — that a single wrong word could endanger you, which means a single wrong word could be deliberate misdirection and I would never know. You betrayed God once. You can betray me.” He spread his hands. “I’m not good at taking risks of that size. Find someone else.”

“If you help me — ”

“Don’t,” Roland said. “You already told me a reward would make things worse.”

Lan held his gaze for a long time. Ten seconds. Twenty. A full minute.

“I changed my mind,” she said at last.

“I haven’t.” Roland stood and reached for the coffee — then remembered the cup was gone, broken on the floor, and withdrew his hand. “An empty promise is still empty, however well it sounds.”

“At least let me finish.”

“I’ve already told you — ”

“I can bring Ashes back to life.”

The crash was the cup he had forgotten he was reaching for. It hit the floor and broke into pieces.

The sound hung in the room. Neither of them moved.

Chapter 1223 - Lan

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn Roland was a little surprised to see Lan, although he had somehow predicted that she would come. He asked, “Who are you exactly?” “A person who needs help,” Lan said while looking around. “I understand you have a lot of questions for me. We can sit down and have a chat. Let’s sit over there by the window.” “Don’t we need to go to Room 302?” Roland asked as he watched Lan take the seat. “The reason I asked you to meet me here is to avoid curious ears. Since nobody’s here, just take a seat you like,” Lan said casually. “By the way, as this is a coffeeshop, can I have an ice coffee?” “I thought you were disclosing a big secret to me, so I’ve been very cautious, making sure that nobody will overhear us.” “A secret will only become a secret when the eavesdropper recognizes its value. I monitor the Erosion underground every day and do need to take a break from time to time,” Lan said gracefully. “One ice coffee, please.” Roland gazed at her for a second and then grumbled, “I only have instant coffee here.” “That’s fine.” Roland was a little frustrated to see Lan act as if she were the owner of the shop. He added some milk to the coffee and put two ice cubes in it. His eyes were glued to Lan during the whole process. “Rest assured. I won’t disappear,” Lan said while shrugging. “I don’t know about that,” Roland said, his eyes fixed on Lan resolutely. “I once asked Garcia to contact you and went to the Prism City twice, but you vanished. Why didn’t you talk to me? Why did you just leave me a note?” Lan lapsed into a short silence before she answered on a sigh, “Because we weren’t ready yet at that time, child.” Weren’t ready? A little astonished, Roland pursued, “You mean you’ve been waiting for me to find out about the Bloody Moon, well, the Erosion myself?” “You’re quite smart. I now expect more from you.” “Expect what from me?” Roland grunted. “You don’t look like a person who needs help.” “Then what should I do to convince you? Do I have to beg and cry for your help? Or you want a reward from me?” Lan said while shaking her head. “No, I don’t think you’d trust me even I did so. That’ll only push you away.” Roland wanted to joke around, saying “You never know”, but somehow the words abandoned him. Lan was much older than Garcia. She was the Chief Disciple of the Defendender of the Martialist Association, the senior of his senior. If she was really the person in the Reflection Church, she was probably 700 to 800 years old, a historical figure, so to speak. At this thought, Roland put up a more serious look. “Alright…” Roland said as he sat down across the table, and went over the questions he had in his head. “Were you a member of the Union?” “I have nothing to do with your world,” Lan replied. “I was born here and will also die here, although it’s won’t happen until many many years later.” “But I saw your portrait in the Reflection Church — ” “That’s nothing,” Lan interrupted Roland. “It’s just a historical record that doesn’t really say anything.” “But what are the odds that you and the person in the picture look exactly the same!” Roland argued while knitting his brows. “If you think further, there are many coincidences in the history. Compared to dwelling on something in the past, you’d better focus on the present.” Roland knew Lan might be pretending. Without Nightingale, he could not tell whether she was telling the truth or not. There was no point in keeping arguing with her, so he immediately changed his question. “So, what’s magic power exactly?” Lan’s lips curled into a smile. She said, “You probably have already known it. Nothing in this world could explain it because it doesn’t belong here. Low lives don’t have the capability to understand higher animals. What we know now is that we can use it. Therefore, you could view it as ‘a power we obtain by accident’.” From Lan’s words, Roland judged that magic was like the Force of Nature, or perhaps simply another form of the Force of Nature. Because of magic power, the Dream World became the way it was. Roland thus asked, “So the book, ‘Raison d’être’, you mentioned in your speech during the orientation in the Prism City, and your deduction were all true?” The most two pressing questions Roland had now were the nature and origin of the Erosion and the reason for the endless Battle of Divine Will. “Not really, but you could think that way,” Lan said quickly. “I want to know the truth.” “It’s beyond the scope of your understanding, and it’s impossible to describe it in your language,” Lan said after sipping the coffee. “Plus, everything I do is under God’s watch. If I give away any information that’ll potentially endanger Him, both of the two worlds will be destroyed. Hence, please remember that the truth is what you understand.” Roland twitched his lips in amusement. Lan could have directly told him that she would rather lie than tell the truth. “He can destroy the two worlds?” “That’s why we call Him God. It’s the closest word to describe Him in your language.” “What does He want?” “To keep the Battle of Divine Will going.” “What’s your relationship with God?” Lan fell silent and then replied hesitantly, “I betrayed Him.” “Betrayed?” “Yes. The war will continue, and I don’t want to be stuck here forever. A new cycle means another round of loss. God will eventually exhaust His power. By that time, both worlds will be devastated.” Roland stared directly into Lan’s eyes before he asked, “So, why did you come to seek me?” “I need your help, child,” Lan said and gazed at Roland. “I want you to stop the Battle of Divine Will and put this cycle to an end.” “You mean to win the war?” “No, that’ll start a new cycle,” Lan said while shaking her head. “I want you to stop everything and replace God!” Roland was astounded. He had never anticipated that. He took a deep breath and said, “Sorry, I’m afraid I can’t help you.” “Why?” Lan asked. Her expression finally changed. “I don’t know whether you’re telling the truth. You admit that you could only give me some evasive answers to avoid raising God’s suspicion. Sometimes, one single word could mislead a person. What if you lie to me? You betrayed God once, and you can certainly betray me,” Roland said while spreading out his hands. “I’m not good at taking risks. So, look for someone else to replace God.” “If you could help me — ” “Don’t,” Roland interrupted. “You said there was no reward. You told me a reward would make things worse.” Lan fixed her eyes onto Roland for about 10 minutes before she conceded, “No, I changed my mind.” “I’m determined,” Roland said as he rose and poured himself a coffee. “An empty promise doesn’t mean anything, although it sounds pretty nice.” “You should at least let me finish.” “I’ve told you — ” “I can bring Ashes back to life.” “Crash!” Roland was aghasted. The glass in his hand slipped through his fingers, fell on the floor and broke into pieces.