Just as Pri Minister Winston had left, Fran also arrived at the "White Cliff" by the coast.
Dressed in an ordinary purple callia dress, the sea breeze played with the hem of her skirt as if she were a young lady visiting the seaside for fun.
But her exquisite appearance and noble temperant could not be concealed. Many fishern and farrs, upon seeing her, hurriedly and carefully bowed and stepped aside.
They firmly believed she must be a cherished daughter of a great noble family, soone they were better off not offending, lest they mysteriously end up as desiccated corpses.
And so, Fran walked to the "White Cliff."
Unlike Pri Minister Winston, with no need for any "token," the tall, white cliff face simply turned illusory on its own, morphing into a portal to Avalon.
~~~~~~~~
At this mont inside Avalon, rlin was comnting on the Vampire Pri Minister who had visited earlier.
He stroked his foot-long white beard and said indifferently,
"The biochanical slaves you've created... they have too much self-will. If they are not ant to be combat weapons, it would be better to make them mindless things without thought."
Ancestor Roland waved his hand casually, "It's of no consequence; they were only made for nial tasks. This planet is of no use anymore, we'll completely deplete it and then leave."
A flicker passed through rlin's eyes as if he was about to say sothing.
But Ancestor Roland had already said with a cheery smile, "Don't worry, you'll have a position as an 'Angel Envoy.'"
rlin nodded his head as a salute, "That is my honor, thank you for your patronage."
Ancestor Roland stretched lazily, "Don't ntion it, I'm just looking for soone to share the workload."
"I can hardly wait to behold the splendor of the various realms, to seek the endless knowledge they contain."
No sooner had rlin's words fallen than he sensed Fran entering this world, prompting a quick raise of his eyebrows, "Oh, a visit from an old acquaintance. Her soul hasn't dissipated... that's quite rare indeed."
Ancestor Roland was now only interested in Lu Yao, and yawning he said, "Isn't that your boring test subject? Handle it yourself."
He was about to leave, but after taking two steps, he suddenly turned back and advised, "Give the choice to the soul, instead of setting a 'script.'
rlin spoke lightly, "Not a bad suggestion, but it's no longer important. I gave up that research a long ti ago. After all, the soul of an intelligent life... cannot be replicated."
"Practical to the very end, persistence leads to victory," Ancestor Roland said nonchalantly and waved his hand, "Whatever, have fun."
Before the sound faded, his figure had already disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~
Upon entering Avalon, Fran went straight to Lake Eden at the very center.
The surrounding scenery was as it always had been. She had grown up here under rlin's tutelage and had used it as a stronghold to rebel against the Vampire, ultimately dying here.
A flood of past events filled her mind, and as Fran beca deeply moved, she also noted more peculiar aspects of her surroundings.
"Learning, training, fighting... my life was like a play that had been all set up."
"And... why don't I have any mories of my childhood?"
In life, Fran was the King of Knights, which ant she had reached the realm with a Golden Body and Divine Manifestation. Her body and spirit were exceedingly strong, so it was impossible for her to have lost so many mories.
She rembered the first ti she t Lu Yao, and he asked her age.
Fran had hesitated for a long ti and couldn't co up with an answer because she wasn't sure herself.
"I only have five years of mories of my life; that's so strange..."
Moreover, Fran now existed without a physical body. Viewing the world from the perspective of a soul, she suddenly felt that this place was sohow... unreal.
"Why hadn't I felt suspicious before, with so many oddities around?"
Entangled by an array of peculiar feelings, Fran arrived at the shore of Lake Eden and saw rlin, who had been waiting for a long ti.
"My child, I'm glad you're still alive. To be honest, I'm quite surprised," the human emperor's tutor and adviser said with a hint of astonishnt, "Just look at yourself, life can always create miracles, and the soul is the greatest miracle of them all!"
At that mont, the sense of wrongness within Fran beca even more intense.
The rlin before her, the surrounding scenery, it all felt very off to her.
Especially the sapphire-like Lake Eden, which seed to possess an inexplicable allure that made her want to throw herself into it.
Fran struggled to maintain her composure and said coldly, "rlin, it was you who betrayed back then! You even betrayed Mother! Why did you do it?"
Expecting to hear so excuses, she was surprised to see him burst into laughter instead:
"Ha, what a naive and adorable girl. You remind of Arthur the mont I see you; you're exactly alike."
Fran unleashed the Lake Sword, shouting, "You fiend who betrayed Mother, you do not have the right to speak her na!"
Inside the Lake Sword, Lu Yao had previously infused a trendous Divine Thought, which now flickered with dangerous arcs of electricity.
rlin, as if oblivious, instead smiled oddly, "Mother? You are utterly wrong, Arthur is not your mother."
He glanced at the three green crystals floating in front of his forehead and said softly, "According to the terms from my holand, Arthur is your genetic progenitor."
Fran's sapphire eyes narrowed, not understanding the term "genetic progenitor," she spoke solemnly, "What do you an?"
rlin stroked his beard and said, "Genetics pertain to the processes of life—birth, growth, decay, illness, ageing, death... It's a complex field of knowledge, difficult to clearly explain, you'd better see it with your own eyes."
rlin cleared his throat and spoke to the sky, "System, turn off the holographic projection."
As soon as the words were spoken, all the scenery in this world instantly blurred.
Green grass, trees, blue skies, white clouds, everything seed like an illusion, vanishing in an order from distant to near.
In just a few breaths, the true face of this place was revealed.
In Fran's eyes, where she stood was a gigantic space composed entirely of tal, with strange flying machines silently passing by every now and then.
And the sapphire-like Lake Eden had turned into a huge "aquarium."
Inside this transparent aquarium, many people were imrsed, each with a tube connected from their navel to the aquarium, like so many strands of seaweed.
Fran covered her mouth in shock! These people were all young girls who looked exactly like her!
They were closed-eyed, with no thoughts or signs of life.
It was then that rlin reminisced:
"In my world, the powerful seek the path to ascension and transcendence. Most believe the flesh is frail and thus pursue chanical ascension. But my views are the opposite—I thought, how could chips replace the richness of life? So I sought transcendence through genetic technology."
"Yet, no matter the path, we faced the sa difficulty, that of the soul!"
rlin's expression grew fervent, "Consciousness uploading, mory transfer, nothing could solve the 'Consciousness Paradox,' this eternal conundrum! Is the awakened shell truly oneself?"
"Fortunately, a visitor from beyond the stars visited my world! A soul, a consciousness, could exist independent of its vessel! I imdiately realized—this was the key to immortality!"
"So even though the transmission technology was immature, with a high likelihood of no return, I still pursued that celestial visitor and arrived in this world."
At this point, rlin's expression fluctuated, filled with emotion. It was more of a confession:
"Then I t Arthur, a rustic tomboy. We quickly ca to an agreent—I supported her cultivation with all my might, and she willingly beca my test subject, allowing to study the secrets of soul-forging in this world."
"What a happy ti it was. We got along so well. I at one point believed that I had gained a... daughter."
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