Neither Dragon Well Tea nor Annan are people who like to dawdle.
After Dragon Well Tea got the situation clear from Silver Baron, he sent the video directly to Annan.
——Previously, after Annan had laid his cards on the table with the players, he also "added as friends" several of the more active and closely-connected players.
In this way, if Annan needs to find soone, he wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of finding a player and then having them make calls one by one to pass on ssages... Even if they were not online, Annan could directly converse with them.
After receiving such critical intelligence from Dragon Well Tea.
Annan didn’t hesitate for long before making his decision.
He decided to welco back "Dark Annan".
Because Annan himself understood very well that his past decision to sever his old self was actually to "reawaken his Heart of Justice" rather than because his past self was evil.
What he truly needed was "to get a new Annan", not "to get rid of the old Annan". He should not confuse ans with ends. Now that this goal has been completed, it’s also ti for him to beco whole again.
What really made it impossible for Annan to ignore was not the small matter of possibly losing his humanity or being filled with divinity...
Although Annan always thought of himself as an ordinary person, he never felt very normal — ever since long ago, even when on Earth, he was forcefully binding his actions with "morality" and his own set of "rules". Otherwise, he might even beco a pleasure criminal.
Of course, Annan didn’t think this behavior had anything to do with "human nature".
If sacrificing his humanity could achieve a better outco and make the whole world happier, it wouldn’t matter to him.
This is a simple utilitarian philosophy — the pursuit of "the greatest good". Without considering motives and ans, only considering the impact of outcos.
It’s just like the Path of Good that the Elves advocate for, pursuing "the best life" and "the best death".
The real motive that moved Annan to make himself whole again was a possibility that suddenly occurred to him.
Because of Paper Princess, Annan had t The Worm. The Worm had stolen all of Annan’s talents, creating a "clone of Annan" as its human form.
Objectively speaking, Annan could not possibly defeat an enemy that was identical to him, with the sa pattern of thought, the sa intelligence and power, but also possessed additional power unique to "The Worm".
Because any thought of Annan’s was taken into account by the adversary. They were too similar, able to guess each other’s intentions... Under such circumstances, neither clever strategies nor desperate efforts ant anything.
But if he regained the self he had forgotten, the situation would be different.
In that case, Annan and The Worm would each be half similar and half different. Annan would be back on an even footing with The Worm!
——This might be the only chance to defeat The Worm.
As for the Heart of Justice — different from what Silver Baron and the players thought.
Annan had absolute confidence.
This confidence stemd from Annan’s understanding of himself.
Even holding the Winter’s Heart and living in this world for over a decade... but if it were Annan, he would never fall. Even regaining the part of "Dark Annan" would not change Annan’s current resolve.
It was a very straightforward, heartfelt thought.
Just like other deities...
He wanted to make the world a better place, to ensure the happiness and well-being of the people.
He wanted to sustain Justice, to ensure that the good are rewarded and the wicked are punished.
But at the sa ti, Annan did not intend to deprive people of "the capacity to do evil", to turn this world into a utopia. For people have the right to atonent and regret, the ability to correct mistakes and learn from them — that is what it ans to be human.
The only thing that made Annan hesitate was about the Siren of the Third Oath.
According to Professor Bai Chiron’s words.
At the height of the Elven Empire, the Elven Emperor without the Winter’s Heart could also, by sheer will, forcibly hold the Siren of the Third Oath. This implies that a complete personality indeed has the potential to control the Siren of the Third Oath.
Annan felt that his willpower was not weak.
But he still couldn’t maintain the form of the "Tyrant" when transford into the Triton of Three... Even though the Triton of Three had beco the Triton of Two, with a third of the curse entwined around it gone, it was the sa.
And Gray Craftsman suggested a possibility:
"This might be because your personality has beco imbalanced."
"Imbalance?"
"Yes. Because of the influence of the Heart of Winter, whether reversed or not, the Heart of Winter makes you extre and incomplete.
"Either you cannot feel happiness and joy, or you cannot feel fear and pain, just like a human body that has lost the ability to regulate balance.
"A so-called strong will is not a heart as cold and ruthless as steel, but one that can overco fear when afraid, and suppress joy when pleased."
"Are you saying... that I must extract the Heart of Winter and transplant the Heart of Justice to achieve the integration of the two?"
Annan asked.
The Gray Craftsman shook his head: "There’s no need for that. What you have once forgotten is a complete personality... Even if it stays in your body for a while, as long as it’s not for too long, it won’t be assimilated and twisted by your current self. Moreover, in that case, it’s quite simple—there’s no need for a ceremony, and I can just put ’your past self’ back into this body.
"But I think what you truly need is not to have two radically different personalities exist in one body but to completely and thoroughly rge them, right?"
"Yes."
Annan nodded: "If I am rely finding my past self, then it’s aningless. Because ’I’ from back then chose self-sacrifice, and I should not expect to be saved by the future ’’—revival must have its significance."
Just like how the senior and the seniora have completed their integration.
Annan also hoped to achieve that level of integration with "Black Annan."
"In that case... you need a more complete ritual."
After pondering for a while, the Gray Craftsman opened a hidden door and entered a secret chamber. Annan waited politely outside and did not follow.
It seed that after a series of complex identity verifications, the Gray Craftsman retrieved a book from inside.
It was a yellowed, thin book, its pages felt like moth wings coated with dust.
"This is..."
"The Egg of Dream Condensation. Its full na is ’Egg of Dream Condensation: Undying Sun,’ a puzzle-type Otherworld class nightmare," the Gray Craftsman sighed, "Tricino once hoped to use it to complete an ascension ritual, ascending to rkabah Hall in an astral chariot to thoroughly kill .
"And by killing him... or to be precise, by dissolving him, you indeed saved . At the sa ti, it also ant that Tricino did not use this Egg of Dream Condensation to complete the ascension ritual.
"This also allowed it to remain—it still has one last use, which I am now giving to you."
The Gray Craftsman said gently: "I have the mories of Tricino’s previous use of this Egg of Dream Condensation, I can initiate the ritual, modify content inside, and distort this nightmare...
"To be exact, I’ll make ’your past’ a part of this Otherworld-level nightmare and the ultimate reward. Once you successfully clear the nightmare, it ans you’ll have ’digested’ your past self, completing the unification of your personality.
"But likewise, if you die inside, then your past self will take over your current body and be reborn... Even though your past and present selves don’t have any enmity, I think that’s probably not the ending you wish to see."
"In other words," Annan reiterated, "I just need to clear it in one life, right?
"Besides, I rember Professor Bai’s improved ceremony for the Sacrosanct Bone transplant requires entering the nightmare... and Paper Princess has already gone to find the Heart of Justice for .
"Otherwise, once my Sacrosanct Bone delivery arrives, shall we combine the two ceremonies? Will this affect the outco of the ritual?"
"No. That’s not a problem, because both ceremonies belong to my domain. Rather, if you can purify the nightmare successfully, it might even go more smoothly."
The Gray Craftsman thought for a mont, then emphasized: "But the premise is that you must co out alive from the nightmare. Otherwise, if your past self cos out, I can’t guarantee that the Heart of Justice will recognize him.
"And also, I can’t tell you the plot inside this, as it would ruin the ritual."
"Ah, those are details. No worries."
Annan smiled: "It’s just solving puzzles in a nightmare... that’s what I’m best at."
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