After reassuring Lily that he wasn’t going to go anywhere, Claud promised to bring her out for some cake, which cheered her up considerably. At the same time, he made a mental note to be a bit more subtle in his movements from now on. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of Lily’s affection and worry, since it was very possible that Lily had developed a little dependency on him.

Such a dependency wouldn’t be healthy in the long run, so he would have to help Lily get over or at least internalise the fact that her actions had saved some people. Whether that necessitated another trip to Julan, however, was a pretty good question.

“Your eyes look haunted to me,” Lily said, cutting off his thoughts. “Are you alright?”

“Me? Haunted?” Claud thought about it for a moment. “M-must have been the giant beam of light, yeah.”

“Do you need me to do anything?” Lily asked.

“No, not at the moment.”

He took a deep breath. Claud hadn’t really come to terms yet, but essentially, he had killed someone. While this wasn’t the first, he had always hoped that he would no longer need to take someone’s life personally, but he could not have stepped aside and let the Third Bearer of Destiny roam free. He hadn’t quite forgotten how the Third’s machinations had led to a tragedy outside Moon Mansion, and the latent threat of Farah rushing after the Third for bloody vengeance couldn’t be ignored either.

Claud stopped his hand before it could reach out and rub Lily’s head, before leaning back.

“You look really troubled, though,” said Lily. “Was it those odd messages?”

“Yes,” Claud replied. “They just sound like bad news through and through. This year is screwed up, I swear.”

Lily nodded. “This great Dark thing sounds very ominous.”

“Right? Sounds like one of those novels where some nasty fog descends and all caught it in won’t ever see the light of day again,” Claud replied. “Talk about creepy. I think I’m going to hide in my room wherever possible.”

“Not a lot, then.” Lily smiled. “You owe me cake.”

“That’s a one-time thing,” Claud replied. “Eating cake all day will make me fat. I prefer my slim, handsome self, thank you very much. And no, I will not take part in those gruelling spars you guys call practice.”

Lily directed teary eyes at Claud, and he fidgeted in response.

“…Fine. Maybe a few times. I do need to train up some close combat skills after all. It’s for my sake, got it?” Claud shook his head and mumbled something under his breath.

Claud had been thinking about the applications of Absolute One for some time. A fist was nice and dandy, but he had seen Dia wrap mana around her sword before. If he could do the same, under the infinite, unrestrained output of Absolute One, would it have a better effect than simply punching or chopping out with his bare hands?

Above all, using a weapon was naturally safer than using fists.

“Okay, for your sake it is!” Lily made a little happy noise, and Claud rolled his eyes. While they were alone, Lily had a tendency to be a bit more expressive, which made him more expressive at times too.

Steering the conversation back to the topic of the four ominous proclamations, Claud asked, “Are you planning on becoming a bi-folder before the end of next year?”

“Me?” Lily rubbed her nose. “I guess I must, right?”

“Hmm.” Claud thought for a while. His vision was still cluttered by the announcements that had popped up when the Third was killed, and it didn’t take long for him to find that one particular announcement that said that his lifespan had increased. Claud wasn’t keen on checking out how much, not with someone else nearby, but that meant that he could spare some lifestones for Lily.

Or rather, trade his high-ranked lifestones for her low and middle-ranked ones. Since Crown could change these baubles into Pure-Life Gems — he already had quite a few — it would make economic sense for him to offer such a deal.

He would have to check all these changes later, though.

“Something wrong?” Lily asked, tilting her head.

“Just a bit tired. And scared.” Claud patted her shoulder and got up. “I’ll go take a rest first. Today has been one heck of a day, if nothing else.”

“Okay. Rest well!”

Nodding in reply, Claud returned to his room and began to store all the equipment on him. Now that he thought about it, it was a good thing that he hadn’t set up any traps after carving out that small hiding spot earlier — he hadn’t had the time nor the presence of mind to actually cover his tracks after killing the Third.

The inquisitors of the White Church were bound to check the surrounding area after that stupendous blast. As for whether the surrounding area actually survived, that was another question all together.

Stowing away the last knife on his body, Claud sat down on his bed and began to sift through the multiple rectangles in his vision.

“Let’s see this one first, then,” Claud muttered.

[, has been completed. Calculating result grade.]

[Results: Grade 1]

[With your masterful stroke, you took the Third Bearer of Destiny by surprise and executed him with a tranquil fury. For your skill and grace, you have been awarded 72% of his lifespan.]

[FiBoD:A??? has absorbed one Fragment of Fate. Evolution requirements: 1/2]

This was quite a lot to parse. First, it was possible that the impulse to kill the Third was due to this so-called Hidden Quest. Second, quest results had grades, which was apparently linked to how he had solved these quests. Third, he had actually gained rewards from this, but was it something he obtained from completing the quest? Or was it obtained when he killed the Third?

After mumbling some rubbish about the need to assuage his headache, Claud dismissed these three rectangles with his mind. The next few ones that followed all started with the same word, which was far easier on the mind.

[Mission Function unlocked]

[Mission available: For the light of the Moons]

[Mission available: For the Dark beyond the stars]

[Mission available: For the Glory of the Gods]

[Mission available: For a Transcendent World]

[You have failed .]

“Missions, eh?” Claud clicked his teeth. “How do I open the Mission Function—oh.”

A rectangular box, far bigger than he was used to seeing, appeared in his eyes. It was quite quaint; the five quest names were listed there, and with a single thought, he could access any given quest.

[Faction Mission: For the light of the Moons

Mission introduction: The great age of change has come. The Moons and the Dark have struggled with each other to gain influence over . Should the Dark succeed, great changes inimical to the Moons will follow.

Mission requirements: Neutralise the Dark-aligned Bearers of Destiny.

Dark-aligned Bearers of Destiny neutralised: 0/3

Mission rewards: 1000 years of lifespan, 1 Fragment of Fate

Additional remarks: This quest has been failed upon receipt.]

[Faction Mission: For the Dark beyond the stars

Mission introduction: The great age of change has come. The Moons and the Dark have struggled with each other to gain influence over . Should the Moons succeed, their hold over fate will strengthen. Sweeping changes will occur.

Mission requirements: Neutralise the Moon-aligned Bearers of Destiny

Moon-aligned Bearers of Destiny neutralised: 1/3

Mission rewards: 1000 years of lifespan, 1 Fragment of Fate

Additional remarks: Doing this quest will invalidate all Moon-aligned faction quests and increase their hostility towards you.]

[Faction Mission: For the Glory of the Gods

Mission introduction: The great age of change has come. By the agreement of the five grand skies, the Moons and the Dark will soon make their advent. However, the Coloured Gods will not stand idly by as new powers seek to topple their throne. A calamity will occur should the Coloured Gods fall.

Mission requirements: Neutralise the Moon-aligned and Dark-aligned Bearers of Destiny

Moon-aligned Bearers of Destiny neutralised: 1/3

Dark-aligned Bearers of Destiny neutralised: 0/3

Mission rewards: 2000 years of lifespan, 2 Fragments of Fate]

Additional remarks: This quest allows you to take on another faction quest, but harming their Bearers of Destiny will fail the relevant quest immediately, if it has not been completed.]

Claud stared at the three missions, and took a deep breath. There was so much information in these three little rectangles that he didn’t even know where to start. From what he could guess, however, it was clear that the Moons and the Dark were enemies, although he didn’t know what kinds of enemies they were. Maybe they were acrimonious lovers or something, but whatever the case, this was just more proof that things were going to get hairy after a year.

More importantly, Claud had a feeling that he wasn’t the only one to have received these three quests, but before he could act on impulse and accept the obvious route, he took a deep breath and looked through the other bits.

His jaw fell open a moment later.