Chapter 5: The Sweetness of Reality

The former hill water tower had been transformed into a towering white structure, with the Eldest Daughter of the Sun and the Queen of Shadows residing at the apex and the base, respectively. Guided by a Dark Veil Attendant, Ember descended to the seventh underground level of the white tower, where he found the Queen of Shadows, clad in black robes, clumsily playing a piano.

Disjointed, sporadic notes formed no coherent melody, yet each strike triggered a surging tide of dark veils, evoking a soul-stirring, shrill howling. Given Ember's perception level, he could only see endless shadows swirling frantically around the Queen of Shadows, threatening to form a tempest of absolute darkness. He had to hug the doorway tightly just to narrowly avoid the sweeping vortex.

Clang!

A deafening, resonant chord shattered the veil. Ember waved away the billowing black smoke rushing toward him, not daring to speak unprompted. The Queen of Shadows' mood was foul to the absolute extreme; otherwise, she would not have bashed the piano keys for no reason.

"You're here."

The utterly mundane opening line left Ember uncertain of the Queen of Shadows' true intentions. His current identity was that of a spy planted by the Foundation under her command, with the objective of infiltrating the Maple-Blood family and stealing classified secrets. No matter how Ember looked at it, the whole setup seemed rather absurd, but since he was already here, he decided to make the best of it and quickly slipped into character.

"Greetings, Queen... Your Majesty."

Ember could not think of any proper form of address, so he simply opted for the most flattering one. If the Queen of Shadows and the Eldest Daughter of the Sun were indeed at odds, then "Your Majesty the Queen" was definitely a tier above "Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Yet, the gloomy Queen of Shadows showed no reaction to this. Her gaze was indifferent, and she acknowledged him softly, saying, "I am glad you chose to become a Dark Veil Envoy, because I faintly remember that you saved me. That is why I chose to summon you alone; the other three are being tended to by Grandmother Fengqin. Grandmother Fengqin warned me not to confide in you too easily, because your reputation makes her uneasy. She said the Foundation might have assigned you a secret mission detrimental to me, the Eldest Daughter of the Sun, and the Maple-Blood family."

"..."

Ember truly came to understand the saying: a renowned man is like a fat pig ready for slaughter!

His "consecutive apostasies" had not brought him the slightest benefit; instead, they were constantly used against him by the game's non-player characters, leaving him utterly at a loss as to how to respond to the questions the Queen of Shadows might raise.

Are you really a spy?

Can I trust you?

Can I entrust you with an important mission?

For a moment, Ember's head throbbed. The thought processes of the game's characters were no different from ordinary people, and the character tag of consecutive apostasies easily provoked suspicion in others. He also couldn't fathom why the Old Tailor had made him go undercover despite knowing the risk of exposure.

However, the subsequent reaction of the Queen of Shadows was surprisingly calm. She looked at Ember with her night-black pupils, her pure gaze seeming to pierce straight through to his soul.

"If my life had not been suddenly upended, I would still be an ordinary middle school girl named Anna today, with no need to worry about personal destiny or shoulder family burdens. Unfortunately, there are no ifs... A full year of sinking into the abyss has stripped me of my past, leading me to become the shadow of the Eldest Daughter of the Sun, exactly as the family planned. Perhaps before long, the influence of the dark veils will make my temperament biased and stubborn. That is the outcome they wish to see, because what they need is a Queen of Shadows who commands the dark, not a hesitating middle school girl."

At this, the Queen of Shadows paused, adjusted her emotions, and continued, "Therefore, regardless of whether you harbor malicious intentions, it has nothing to do with who I am now. Compared to Her Majesty the Queen, I much prefer my original name."

"Anna?"

"No, that is merely a codename others forced upon me. As for my true name, you cannot know it yet, because I cannot fully trust you. Yet precisely because they know I will not trust you, I can only—and must—ask you to do something for me."

"???"

Ember was stunned for a moment, thinking that if he heard correctly, the Queen of Shadows was about to issue him a special quest because of his character tag!

"Before the Apostle of Chaos departed, they left many singular points on the periphery of the island. Their purpose was to over-extract the dark veil origin of the isolated island, forming special spaces that disrupt the flow of the dark veils and slow down the island's growth rate. The three major organizations have no countermeasure against the signature trick of the Chaos Lighthouse and can only focus on containment, preventing the singular points from consuming excessive veil origins while generating special spaces. As it happens, the special space located at the original site of the school has condensed something I need. I hope you can retrieve it for me!"

[Prompt: Your character tags, "Consecutive Apostasy" and "Dark Veil Envoy," have triggered a special quest.]

[Prompt: Do you accept the special quest issued by the "Queen of Shadows"—"The Beginning of Trust"?]

...

Quest Name: [The Beginning of Trust]
Requirement: Acquire the "Snow Umbrella" within the instance dungeon "Snow School."
Reward: Determined by completion performance.
Description: The awkward predicament of the Queen of Shadows forces her to take a gamble and choose to trust you, who shares a similarly awkward fate. She senses that the singular point located at the school's original site hides an item she urgently needs. Whether you can win the trust of the Queen of Shadows depends on your completion of this mission.

[Prompt: Singular points consume massive amounts of dark veils based on the surrounding environment to generate special spaces. Such spaces can be regarded as structurally stable minor planes, though time flows in cyclical loops within a certain range. Despite mostly harboring perilous special events, they condense dark veil essences to produce special items with varied effects.]

[Prompt: Only in difficulties of "Normal" or higher will you have the opportunity to acquire the "Snow Umbrella." The less time consumed, the greater your reward.]

...

Heh!

To think this quest was genuinely triggered by consecutive apostasies!

For all he knew, the other three players who became Dark Veil Envoys might only be able to accept other quests, because his situation actually resonated with the Queen of Shadows—one was forced into hiding, while the other was determined to rebel. The two struck a chord with one another...

Ember suddenly realized that he might actually be able to pull off an Infernal Affairs-style double agent act with this character tag!

"I will get it done as soon as possible!"

"Mhm! I look forward to your good news. If you can retrieve the Snow Umbrella for me on Hard difficulty, that would be best of all! In addition, I have some information introducing the Snow School space here, which is the summarized exploration of the three major organizations' scouts. I hope it can bring you some assistance."

...

Instance Name: [Snow School] (Brief)
Type: Exploration, Combat
Headcount: One
Requirements: Vitality Level 5, Willpower Level 6
Drops: Equipment (Extremely Low), Materials (Medium), Special Props (Guaranteed drop upon achieving a special ending)

[Prompt: This instance is primarily exploration-based and contains instant-death segments with relatively high attribute requirements. Please proceed with caution.]

[Prompt: The main purpose of this instance is to help players familiarize themselves with the brand-new mode as soon as possible. Closed-beta players should note that the rules for attribute judgment have been altered.]

...

"An exploration-based instance, huh? Then I suppose I don't need to rush into learning skills just yet," Ember thought thoughtfully. "However, with the headcount limited to solo, I'm afraid our group's plan to tackle instances will have to be slightly delayed."

"Every Dark Veil Envoy receives an initial reward for following me. If you wish to obtain a better prize, you must complete the mission and further secure my trust!"

With that, the Queen of Shadows made a grasping motion in the empty air, pulling together a cluster of dark veils which she then flicked toward Ember's eyes, prompting a game notification.

[Prompt: You have obtained the passive skill "Dark Veil Affinity (Elementary)." Effect: Dark veil vision is increased by twenty percent.]

Good stuff!

Ember could not help but feel delighted. Vision had a massive impact on combat; obtaining such an excellent initial perk just by becoming a Dark Veil Envoy made him look forward to the subsequent rewards all the more.

"You may leave now. Lingering too long will arouse Grandmother Fengqin's suspicions. Of course, should you choose to betray me, I wouldn't mind too much; I am already a prisoner in my own home, and things cannot possibly get any worse than they are now."

The tone of the Queen of Shadows sounded indifferent, yet Ember still caught the sorrowful emotion in her eyes. After all, the Queen of Shadows was still a minor in true age, and she likely still harbored various dreams in her heart. To possess the thought and courage to rebel against her family was already remarkable, and choosing to make a believer out of someone with a notorious reputation like him was even rarer.

Ember said nothing. Just as he was about to depart, he saw the Queen of Shadows sit back down before the piano, striking out fragmented, discordant notes with unrefined technique. Yet this time, Ember could sense that the Queen of Shadows' mood was complex—hidden beneath her worries was a glimmer of anticipation, which involuntarily quickened his pace as he left.

...

Escorted out of the white tower by the Dark Veil Attendant, Ember was wondering how to explain to his companions that he was going solo when he noticed activity in the temporarily created five-man chat group.

White Flag: Oh my! I'm so sorry, I picked up a timed quest and have to bail. You guys don't have to wait for me, apologies.

Cup of Wine Growing Stronger: Coo coo coo!

Lu Renjia: Huh? What a coincidence. I got a quest too, and I have to challenge a solo instance.

Not a Pro: Haha, looks like we all have missions on our hands. Ember's probably no exception. So let's put the Nightmare instance of the Shadow-Devouring Insect King aside for now. After all, with the server launch, we still need to get used to some changes. Making more preparations can never hurt.

Discovering that before he even went solo, the rest of the group had already flown off in all directions like scattered pigeons, Ember also stepped forth spiritedly on his solo journey.