The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 167: Harvest

"She said she wasn't Aurore Lee?" Lumian felt as if he'd been struck by lightning, his mind going completely blank.

He had always suspected that Aurore Lee wasn't his sister's real name. After all, someone who had deliberately moved to a remote mountain village was unlikely to use their real identity. Yet, after nearly six years of living together, Lumian could sense that Aurore had fully embraced the name "Aurore Lee," never mentioning her original name or past. The forged documents she had acquired became more convincing over time, especially after she gained fame as a bestselling author.

Why had she said such a thing?

And how was it connected to her sudden belief in the existence known as Fate?

The throbbing pain in his head snapped Lumian out of his shock, and he urgently asked, "Did she say who she really was?"

In the mirror, Guillaume Bénet's pale, bluish face, now uncovered by black flames and frost, answered in confusion, "She said she was Loïse Louis Sanson."

A completely unfamiliar name... Lumian furrowed his brow and asked, "Did she say anything else about this identity?"

Guillaume Bénet shook his head. "No."

Lumian pressed his hand against his temple, staying silent for a few seconds before asking again, "Was the plan to sacrifice the entire Cordu village to summon the Angel of Fate orchestrated by Loïse Louis Sanson?"

Guillaume Bénet seemed to struggle internally, but ultimately couldn't resist the pull of the séance, responding truthfully, "No, that was my idea.

"I wanted to gain divinity and become a saint as quickly as possible. Aurore Lee initially supported the plan a few hours before, but then she hesitated and opposed it. In the end, I chose to hide my preparations from her. Later, she tacitly agreed and even helped at critical moments, although she occasionally did things that sabotaged the process. But soon enough, she would compromise."

Aurore sounds like she had a split personality... Lumian instinctively wanted to defend her image, but then he remembered the time when lizard-like translucent sprites had crawled out of her mouth. He also recalled how she would sometimes be lucid, helping him discuss ways to escape their predicament.

But even in her lucid moments, Aurore wasn't entirely normal. She hadn't even remembered summoning Hela's messenger, the fastest and simplest way to seek help.

Lumian shifted his line of questioning. "When did Aurore start spreading the belief in Fate in Cordu village?"

Guillaume Bénet's gaze grew even duller. "My initial investigation found signs around May or June of last year. That's when she secretly visited me."

That fits my assumptions... It must've been something that happened before that period that caused Aurore's corruption. If she had been a believer in Fate from the start, she wouldn't have waited five or six years to begin spreading the faith... Lumian grimaced, quickly suppressing the pain.

"Have you ever seen any lizard-like translucent creatures in Cordu village?" he asked.

"No," Guillaume Bénet answered truthfully.

"Do you know of a 'Sufferer' in Cordu village?" Lumian pressed further.

Guillaume Bénet appeared momentarily dazed. "No, I don't."

Lumian's face twitched slightly as he continued, "Have you ever seen an owl near Aurore?"

"No." Once again, Guillaume Bénet's response was a negative.

Lumian went on to ask several more questions related to the disaster in Cordu village but received no satisfactory or useful answers. In the end, he asked, "Is there a secret organization or evil god's church behind Loïse Louis Sanson?"