Finally, she was killed, and after losing most of her spirituality, she shrank into a flame butterfly, which Aiwass contracted to become his first familiar. Aiwass used this method to preserve her spirituality, hoping to eventually find the master of the "Insect Amber" who possessed the legendary revival magic to bring her back to life.
Only in version 5.0 of the main story did Aiwass master a new ability. He could seal the theoretically unkillable phantom demons into cards, which acted as enhancement-type equipment to arm his familiars. It was only then that Aiwass finally received a major enhancement that was exclusive to him.
After that, he stopped joining players in dungeon raids and instead became the plot's finishing move against phantom demon-type bosses in the CG.
Just as Aiwass came to this realization, he suddenly heard a young voice.
Hayna, excitedly discussing "Sherlock and Deduction" with Aiwass, also instinctively turned her head when she heard the voice.
There was a little girl standing silently at the door.
"You woke up yesterday, just when I was asleep. After I woke up, you went back to sleep," she said, somewhat aggrieved and somewhat astonished. "Brother, how come you're... in a wheelchair now?
She was dressed in the same pure white fluffy pajamas as Aiwass, her silver-white hair reaching her shoulders, her deep red pupils reminiscent of roses. Her features were delicate and gentle, evoking the image of a white cat or rabbit, a type utterly different from Aiwass's dazzling handsomeness. Whether it was her eyebrows, hair color, or pupil color, everything proved that there was no blood relation between the two.
If there was any resemblance between them, it was that sense of frailty passed down in their lineage.
She had a similar frailty to Aiwass, and it was even more pronounced in her.
The girl's skin was somewhat sickly, almost transparently pale. She stood at the door unconsciously leaning on the doorframe, her body slightly tilted to shift her weight and reduce the pressure of standing upright.
Like seeing an adorable pet, she wanted to get closer but feared she might scare the other.
"It's okay, Yuli. It's just temporary. This is Senior Hayna; she had some things to ask," said Aiwass, smiling and addressing the girl with a nickname just as he remembered. But for some reason, it felt awkward and unnatural.
It was like not using friends' names for a long time, calling them by nicknames instead, and feeling strange when suddenly calling them by their full names as if the name didn't belong to them.
After a momentary daze, he opened his arms slightly to Yulia: "Come here for a hug."
Yulia obediently wobbled over, as if she had just woken up, exuding a sense of weakness that made one worry about her falling.
As he embraced Yulia, who snuggled up to him, Aiwass felt a sudden moment of disorientation.
The Yulia he held now was from this world, yet it felt like another world entirely.
Having received the "prophecies" from another world, Aiwass suddenly felt a certain fear for the future.
Yulia would turn into a monster... and then, she would die.
—At that moment, Aiwass's memories overlapped with reality. They merged completely, and the memories from his two lives became clear. It was like a sleepy person suddenly awakened from a nightmare, finally able to distinguish whether they were dreaming or not.
It took Aiwass two full days after awakening his past life's memories to finally realize that he was not dreaming. He had truly crossed over to another world.
He had come to this world at a very young age, and only just recently remembered who he was.
But now, he also clearly realized another fact—that the current plot was different.
The Aiwass in the game definitely had not contracted with the Shadow Demon.
Because the ritual this time was interrupted by players, it never successfully took place.
And this probably meant that there were no "player characters" in this world.
In an epic fantasy game, players usually take on the role of a one-time savior; and if the game is an MMO, they usually become a continuous, high-frequency, low-forgiveness savior.
They have to save the world with every major update.
...And that would be troublesome for him.
Because "players" are, by design, descendants of the "Serpent Father," one of the Nine Pillar Gods who once controlled "The Path of Transcendence." This is the reason players can have "Experience Points" and "Levels," allowing them to grow stronger endlessly, unimpeded by any threshold or talent. By design, players didn't actually do dungeon raids, nor did they form teams. Instead, they defeated all enemies by themselves.
But Aiwass, despite being a key character, couldn't defeat calamities like the "Fallen Celestial Marshal," "Calamity Demon Dragon," or "Shadow of Avalon," the world-ending disasters, by mere conventional strength.
Aiwass knew that in about half a year, something terrible would happen to the Kingdom of Avalon.
Though he didn't remember the main story in detail, at least he remembered key moments like the version update.
What he told Hayna was no lie. The Kingdom of Avalon would indeed face a catastrophe in half a year, and it was deeply related to the current unnoticed Demon Ritual.
But now, Aiwass still had a chance to change everything.
To change everything—
He hugged Yulia tighter subconsciously, and the girl, sensing something, asked perceptively, "Brother?"