When the plot-skips players into the game world

Aiwass had left Magnet Hammer's side by the time it was almost dawn.

He didn't even realize the passage of time until Magnet Hammer reminded him with a phrase, "Are you hungry? How about we grab something to eat and drink some more booze."

Magnet Hammer had also drunk until the morning the day before, and only woke up in the afternoon. Now fully awake, he was ready to have breakfast and then go fishing with William.

With no choice, Aiwass could only say "I better go rest a bit" and politely declined on the spot. Then he went upstairs to find Sherlock.

Last night's room arrangements had Jack sleeping in the master bedroom on Magnet Hammer's bed, leaving the room for Sherlock and Aiwass. And Lily went to Hayna's room to sleep with her.

In the end, that was the only way to divide the rooms. Even if Lily could stay with Aiwass, Hayna and Sherlock simply couldn't sleep together.

After returning to the room, Aiwass was surprised to find that Sherlock hadn't slept yet.

Or perhaps he had already taken a nap... but when Aiwass entered, Sherlock, dressed in pajamas, was earnestly hunched over the desk, writing and drawing.

Seeing this, Aiwass almost laughed out loud.

Because it looked just like a kid hunched over a desk doing homework...

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Sherlock glanced back coldly. After seeing it was Aiwass, he ignored him and continued his writing and drawing.

"What are you writing?"

Aiwass casually closed the door and approached to have a look, "Didn't sleep?"

He was somewhat baffled. It seemed like some sort of mind map—just a few words, then several lines branching out, each pointing to different words, with smaller font densely packed with hypotheses beside the lines and the words.

Upon hearing Aiwass's words, Sherlock slapped his pen down onto the table with a snap.

He flipped through his notebook a few pages forward and handed it over to Aiwass, holding one of the middle pages with his fingers.

"Just one day without sleep... read from the beginning."

Sherlock said briefly, "I've just asked Hayna and Auntie a few questions and also interviewed Mr. Jack. The clues I can sort out for now are almost all arranged.

"In short, we have encountered trouble."

"How troublesome?"

Aiwass countered, "Are you talking about the time flow issue here, or that they have no names? Or is it this place's Wild Hunt Legion?"

"All of them, but also none of them."

Sherlock answered, "I've confirmed a very important point—it has cleared my thoughts. First off, this village doesn't have any youngsters over thirty years old."

Upon hearing this, Aiwass withdrew his gaze from the notebook and looked at Sherlock.

Aiwass confirmed, "You mean there are none... or they are not present?"

Noticing Aiwass's serious gaze, Sherlock smiled with satisfaction, "When I mentioned it to Hayna, she was a bit dazed. She couldn't respond immediately.

"Yes, that's what I mean—at least thirty years ago, there were no newborns here.

"Precisely speaking, among the young people of this village, the oldest is twenty-six years old. There are no young people older than twenty-six... Above that, they are the 'original inhabitants' whose ages and names are unknown.

"My initial suspicion was aroused when I realized that old Inspector William didn't know Meg. When I mentioned Meg to him, he even had to pretend to think about if he knew who Meg was...

"Given his age, that's impossible. So I went to ask Hayna's mother and found out that he came here about sixty years ago.

"—But now he only looks about sixty years old. Moreover, when Hayna's mother spoke of this, it was as if she saw it with her own eyes. She looks to be just over thirty now... but when I asked her about her age, she only smiled and said nothing."

Sherlock spoke seriously, "So I came to a possibility...

"Are the people here really all still alive?"

"Let's not think that way for now."

Aiwass pondered for a moment and responded, "First, let's ascertain one thing. People here can die, and they can leave at any time."

The former just like Aiwass's grandfather.

The latter refers to Hayna's birth father and his mentor—the original blacksmith in the village. Hayna's father left Eagle Cape Village and never returned, and the old blacksmith indeed had gone to the Royal Capital to study when he was young.

"So this at least is not a ghost village—I've also confirmed that they are all living people. Jack can grow up, can't he? It's the same for Hayna."

Aiwass asserted, "I can certainly tell the difference between the living and the undead. More important than that, I think what's truly fatal here is that these people do not have names."
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With that, Aiwass shared his side of the investigation results with Sherlock.

If this were in a game, it might be normal not to have names.

But if this were to be considered in reality... or rather, in esoteric studies, then the significance would be entirely different.

Because naming itself belongs to the power of the Path of Dusk, it is a preparation for remembrance.

Even for those who have died and whose souls no longer exist, the power of the Path of Dusk persists... This power refers to the person's name.

Because people still remember them, and their names are still inscribed upon the world. Even if their bodies have disappeared, and their souls are gone, necromancers can still call out to them.

What they call upon is the "name" of the undead. It is the remnant shadow of the deceased left in the world.

A person can only be accurately recorded by having a name or at least a designation that precisely refers to them. Otherwise, they cannot exist in history, books, or the world itself, and their existence will be consumed by others.

Even if a person is stripped of everything, they still retain their name.

Parthian Ancient Country had one of the most severe punishments—that was crueler than the death penalty, desecration of the body, or even the imprisonment of the soul, called the "white penalty." It is the complete erasure of any trace that the person ever existed, through rituals and forceful methods.

Their name will be erased, all their deeds will lose their name and be attributed to someone else's name... or be completely destroyed. Their descendants will all be killed, and even their students will be executed.

All those who once remembered that person, all their friends, their memories will be altered. The person will become an unrecallable blank space—without features, without a name, without memory.

Such a penalty had only been used three times in the intermittent succession of 3,800 years in Parthian Ancient Country. Because of the existence of the white penalty, there are no records of what they did to incur such a punishment, and even in which era the executed lived is unknown.

...And Eagle Cape Village is just like the entire village has undergone the "white penalty."

"I want to take a look at that swamp tomorrow. All the outsiders entered the village through the swamp, while the villagers entered by traversing the small paths in the forest."

Sherlock took the notebook back from Aiwass, his brows deeply furrowed: "But they all say that place is forbidden land—yet if it really is forbidden, how did they discover those outsiders,"

"So you're going?"

"Of course, we'll go stealthily. But since it's forbidden land, I suspect it might be dangerous... so you should accompany me. We'll bring Lily and Hayna along... not necessarily to find anything specific, but at least to take a look around."

Sherlock plotted in his notebook with crisp logic, setting out the plan: "Besides that, we also need to visit those who knew your grandfather—my suggestion is that after we return, we split up.

"You and Lily should start by asking the village elders. They might know something. It's your secret to uncover, so I shouldn't eavesdrop.

"Next is Hayna's father. His departure was very unnatural... no argument, no stolen wealth. His daughter had only been born a few years; it makes no sense for him to leave the village without notifying anyone, never to return.

"So I suspect either he died silently somewhere, or he learned something. To find out about this, we probably need to ask that old blacksmith. I'll take Hayna to inquire about this.

"Finally, we should see where the village's people are buried. I can't believe this village doesn't have its natives dying—of course, if that's truly the case, then this information would be even more valuable. As long as someone has died, there must be funerals, graves, and memorial rituals. That's where you'll need to talk to the local priest.

"Then I'll look around, letting Hayna guide me to nearby suspicious places. We should seek out that old inspector—though I'm not one myself, Hayna is. She understands the details."

Sherlock said, marking out two clear task lines in his notebook: "Swamp—Elders—Priest; Swamp—Blacksmith—Inspector. Let's divide it up like this, and come back once the investigation is complete.

"Because time here is chaotic, you never know when dusk will fall... but to be safe, the moment twilight approaches, no matter where we are or what stage our investigation is at, we immediately stop and go home. If we absolutely cannot make it back, we stay at the current inquirer's house overnight; safety comes first. Unless we are all together, we don't go to the swamp alone."

"Understood."

Aiwass nodded earnestly.

Though he looked like a child, Sherlock was, after all, the oldest and most socially experienced among them.

Aiwass always heeded the advice of experts.

The only problem was...

In this atmosphere that felt a bit like a horror movie, splitting up didn't seem very auspicious.