Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Or to be more precise, human civilization was affected by the aftermath of the Eldar's fall, suffering a devastating blow as if caught in the crossfire. When Slaanesh was proven to have created a vortex in the Eldar's core at the moment of his birth, all warp-related technologies, or rather spells, in the entire home universe were severely disrupted.

The most obvious manifestation of this is the loss of communication.

The second most significant issue was the disruption of transportation.

Overnight, human civilization was transformed from a 'galactic village' into a shattered sandbar during a flood. The turbulent subspace environment disrupted most means of transportation and communication, turning every planet into an isolated island.

This would have been a catastrophe. Whether it was a suddenly disrupted communication network or a spaceship malfunctioning during operation, the moment it happened, it would have caused immense damage. Perhaps trillions of ordinary people would have perished in this disaster, or perhaps the number of deaths would have exceeded trillions.

But all of that was changed before it happened. During the countless timeline interferences against the Eldar, there were a few times when the four unborn supreme gods cast their gazes toward human civilization—which led to the rise of religious sects that worshipped these four supreme gods, and after their effectiveness proved to be proven, they spread like wildfire.

Khorne, symbolizing struggle and courage; Nurgle, symbolizing life and compassion; Tzeentch, symbolizing intelligence and knowledge; and Slaanesh, symbolizing love and beauty—before the balance of positive and negative in the Warp was broken, and all good things became evil and corrupted, these four supreme divine powers with terrifying names were truly bright and positive. And it is precisely for this reason that their power could permeate human civilization evenly and effectively, and serve its due purpose when the Eldar fell.

—They protected humanity.

As the Great Vortex formed and the Netherstorm spread, all regions where the faith of these four supreme deities resided received a special blessing—a blessing that stabilized the forms of the sentient beings, allowing ships that should have perished in the warp storm to reach their current destinations. It also allowed communication to remain intact for a short time before being completely severed, providing a buffer. It gave human civilization, which should have been nearly destroyed in the chain reaction, a transitional respite.

And so, on the very day the Eldar fell, the population turnover rate of human civilization did not change much more than usual. But soon, after human civilization had passed through this most difficult period of adaptation, the protection from the supreme divine power quietly left them.

They tried to pray, but it was no use.

They tried to offer sacrifices, but there was no response.

When the psionic beings among humanity detected the increasingly chaotic reality within the warp, fueled by the complete proof of Slaanesh's existence, and as the societal regression caused by the warp storms intensified, these supreme beings who had once sheltered and guided mortals were utterly abandoned.

—The heretical trials of over twenty thousand years ago were repeated in this cosmic age. After all, to quell the anger of the masses when military force is unstable, the rulers ultimately have to offer some sufficiently significant sacrifices. Those priests who worshipped the four gods and devout believers were arrested one by one and burned in public or hanged. Meanwhile, the rioting masses cheered and shouted in the square or behind the screens, as if they had won a great victory.

Ironically, but it's an effective strategy.

Perhaps due to the lingering attachment from their past as mortals, the reincarnators who wielded the power of these four supreme gods deliberately severed their connection with the faith of the mortal realm after the neutral subspace mutated into malignant chaos, in order to prevent the spread of pollution from the chaos. This action, however, rendered those who had once acted as agents of divine power useless, and all the useless would be disposed of when the time was right.

Therefore, human civilization, having undergone drastic changes, stabilized by cleaning up the waste. Society was reshuffled, and interests were redistributed. War was unlikely to break out during this reshuffling and distribution of spoils. And when enough blood had been shed by the sacrificed, everything returned to calm.

The rioters returned home, pretending to be the same law-abiding citizens they once were. The soldiers returned to their camps, convinced that all their actions were just. And the new generation of rulers, like scavenging crows, devoured the remaining flesh and blood of their victims, until they erased or devoured all their legacy and traces.

No one will remember the worship of the four Chaos Gods that once permeated human civilization. All believers will die, and all records will be erased. When future generations look back on this history, they will only marvel at the past human civilization's success in surviving those terrible natural disasters, without considering any behind-the-scenes maneuvering.

They succeeded. The sect of the Four Gods and its achievements were completely erased, leaving only the infamy of being labeled a heretical cult to be remembered in history. In the eyes of later generations, these four supreme gods would be a dark force that threatened the development of mortals in ancient times. And many heroes were born out of thin air, filling the non-existent historical records with numerous feats of ancient warriors against the forces of chaos, enriching the existing doctrine.

—The universe has finally become like this. And this timeline is firmly anchored with the proof of the Four Gods. There are no longer any gods in human civilization. And after that, humanity will rise again in this self-perceived godless universe.

The incident is now closed.

That was the future that would unfold in the real universe over the next few hundred years after Alice set off and arrived at her destination.

But now, only a few hundred years before all of this happened.

....................................

Alice reached her goal.

She landed on this centuries-old colony, her toes touching a suitable patch of ground.

The ground she was on was inside a classical library in this colony, a library that housed paper books. As she landed, she heard the chaos and commotion of the entire city outside the library.

Many people were making a racket, emitting a cacophony of sounds. But these sounds were quickly dissipated by the magical power that spread like ripples on water, eventually fading into silence.

This was inevitable, given that the warp storm had sealed off the planet's external communication channels just seconds before. Only a very limited number of divine blessings could be of use at this juncture. And before the four holders of supreme divine power severed the bonds of faith and blocked the transmission of divine power, the clergy within the temple would proactively engage in maintaining valuable projects and restoring stability to the chaotic city.

This is what clergy are supposed to do. And that's why they're not here now. Ah...that's right. This ancient library is a temple that exercises divine authority. And the ownership of this temple belongs to Alice, or rather, to the 'Tzeentch' controlled by Alice.

Of course, that didn't matter. At least it didn't matter at all after Alice casually extinguished the possibility that the library would be destroyed by fire in a riot thirty years later—she simply reached out, pushed through the numerous protective measures, and picked up a book from the bookshelf in front of her. The title of that book was "The Death of King Arthur."

King Arthur is a fictional king in many worlds.

It doesn't have a specific entity to which it refers, but rather it originated from the fabrications of scholars in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance—Western scholars at that time often needed to rely on ancient traditions to achieve their political goals. And if a suitable ancient tradition or classic could not be found, then it was not unreasonable to make one up on the spot.

Therefore, the real King Arthur is not one of the 'inevitables' in the multiverse. Rather, he is a product of the two percent chance share in the 49th Heavenly Evolution. Unlike the myths of various civilizations, which, even if distorted and deformed, are inevitably placed into every universe, King Arthur does not have a necessary meaning for the existence of the entire universe, nor for the humanistic script meme.

For the universe as a whole, the individual King Arthur is not necessary.

As for the limited diversity of ways to settle the end of the war, the book "The Death of King Arthur" is not destined to appear in this context.

In other words, this book is here because the story within it has formed a connection with the universe itself. And since the story is here, the people must also be here.

Alice turned the pages of the book with light and deft movements.

She moved quickly and steadily, turning one page after another, and after examining the entire book using this outdated optical method, she tossed it aside as if it were worthless.

—Because the King Arthur in this book is a man.

She knew very well that when she first came into contact with the West Sea team, the queen was undoubtedly a woman.

—Not this book.

So, let's turn to the next book.

So Alice continued to peruse the books, some brand new and some old. And soon, on the fourth book, she found the one she needed.

The content of the book is not important; it is nothing more than the boring process of a king named Arthur rising, struggling, seizing power, falling into distress, and finally perishing—something she loves to see and even create many times. The only important thing in the book is that the Arthur in the book is a woman.

The corresponding point has been found.

Alice blinked, and in an instant, she retrieved the identity of the manuscript's author—an elderly, ancient scholar who had died thousands of years ago.

It's normal for someone to have been dead for a long time. But it doesn't really matter.

Because Alice simply nodded, time seemed to flow backward before her eyes, successfully transporting her to the time zone of the manuscript's author.

She saw the scholar, but the old scholar undoubtedly did not see her.

She read the scholar's memories and life story, and then went back in time a little further.

—There's really nothing she can do. After all, the timeline is already anchored, and messing around with changes won't create any new endings. In fact, she doesn't intend to change anything, because all she needs is witnessing.

So, in her second time travel, Alice moved the timeline forward several decades, returning to the scholar's youthful days when he was still a passionate young man. This point in time was exactly a few months before the scholar wrote the article that corrected King Arthur's gender.

Alice had no interest in contacting the scholar, so once she arrived at the right time, she quickly began searching her surroundings. After a brief review of her memories, she finally found the source of the scholar's inspiration for his writing style.

That was a dream.

A dream whose complete structure is ultimately formed by the intertwining of three things: everyday memories, adolescent delusions, and a crude understanding of history.

In this dream, she saw the scholar's inspiration. She saw that King Arthur was once a 'girl'.

Objective achieved.

Alice finally found the female King Arthur and the many traces she had left behind while operating in this finite multiverse. She knew, of course, that this was not intentional on her part, but rather a natural projection phenomenon caused by the tilt of the other outer universes toward the Silver Lord's battlefield. And it was precisely because of this flaw that the opponent's lair and her current location were now clearly presented before Alice's eyes.

Thus, all the springboards were ready.

So—let's begin the leap.

Alice put the book from her memory back in its place. She did nothing more than record the information.

After that, she blinked.

Close your eyes once, then open them again.

She has successfully appeared in the source world where the West Sea Team captain, or rather, the only remaining member, is located!

Section 20. Infiltration

—【I once had a wish.】

—[I want to go back to the day the king was chosen, to the moment before I pulled the sword from the stone. I want to entrust the throne to another wiser ruler. A king who, even if he cannot avert Britain's destruction, can at least allow Britain to enjoy a peaceful slumber.]

—【I've always thought this way. Even after experiencing such a hateful betrayal, even after learning the hidden truth afterwards, I still haven't changed this wish.】

—【I... am not a competent king.】

..........................................

Alice opened her eyes, looking at her temporary body with satisfaction. She was pleased to find that everything was as planned. This body contained no additional power elements but was entirely composed of matter and causality from this universe. In other words, even those below the Transcendent level, and even some flawed Transcendent beings, could not detect anything unusual even if they stood in front of this body and observed it closely.

The universe will not reject her, because deceiving the universe is such a simple subject.

Fate will not reject her, because the script meme had already been altered beyond recognition when the reincarnators forcibly intervened and transformed it into the source world. Even if a Heavenly Dao capable of supporting the operation of the universe has not yet been born in this final war universe, the previous script has long since become discarded scraps of paper.

There is no script, no destiny.

There is no fate, no destiny.

Furthermore, the master of this place, the holder of this source world, harbors an overwhelming desire for self-denial. All the old predetermined fates now have a great deal of room for modification.

This is good.

Alice glanced at the bronze mirror before her, which swayed slightly as the carriage moved forward. In the mirror lay a pretty yet somewhat thin body—shoulder-length blonde hair, pure blue eyes, and a noble and elegant air. A name seemed to well up within her.

—Aiyo Satori.

Ah, that's right. Since it's an unfolding of another Moon World, then using the identity of Aika Sajou, who originated from the Moon World, and the corresponding causal chain to act is the most appropriate strategy. After all, the master here craves self-denial. And under the influence of her twisted and distorted will, it's quite reasonable for some people from the future to appear in the past.

"Sorry, Aigo, is it alright to borrow your identity for a moment?" Alice thought to herself before setting off.

She quickly received a response that seemed perfectly reasonable.

"Please use it as you please, Your Majesty Alice. Everything Aika has belongs to Your Majesty Alice and Your Majesty Luoye." Aika happily responded to her request. And she handed over her share of cause and effect, that fate, that source world line that, though not yet qualified, could already be extended in Alice's hands, to Alice.

Simply put, aside from the spiritual light created through the ritual, everything she had was in Alice's hands. And that's precisely why her infiltration of the West Sea Team's source world could be so seamless—after all, she wasn't sure what level the West Sea Team captain had reached. In other words, she didn't intend to alert him before forcing him to reveal his hidden true form.

no way.

Battles between prepared transcendent beings are actually quite tedious. Rather than getting bogged down in the agonizing process of pointless time-wasting overlap of source worldlines like that between Sirin and Luo Hao, she preferred to silently distort the other, much like the Undead King's worldview, or the Outer God's interference with Suzuki Satoru. That's why she's here at this moment.

So, what time is it now? What day? And where is this place?

Alice blinked. In the mirror, her reflection, bearing the image of Aigo, observed trillions of constantly shifting parallel worldlines existing outside the pan-human history of the Moon World—she wouldn't rashly rush into pan-human history and alert the West Sea Team captain, who was lurking somewhere. Therefore, the area she was currently in was a parallel worldline that deviated slightly from the official timeline, but wasn't too far off.

This is Britain in the sixth century AD. It was a time when King Uther was dead, and Arthur had not yet drawn the sword of the Elector.

And she loves someone's identity at this point in time—the daughter of a fictional Grand Duke of Wales, a young duchess about to inherit the authority of the deceased Grand Duke.

This is good—after all, the individual Sajou Aika has a basis in this worldview. If she were randomly replaced by a beggar, an unemployed person, or a lower-ranking noble, it might actually attract the attention of the world's ruler. In Alice's observations before arriving here, the reason she chose this parallel world line was precisely because the point of divergence was the [accidental transmigration of the individual later known as Sajou Aika]. In other words, her very existence is the root of this parallel world line. And as a transmigrator, she can naturally make significant changes here.

So, according to the initial plan, before 'Sajo Aika' was replaced, the intention was probably—

"Your Highness, we have arrived." — The carriage stopped. A knight's respectful voice came from outside. Alice stretched, settling into her manner of behaving as a young duchess, and stepped out of the carriage. Before her lay a bustling crowd and a hill surrounded by honor guards and other high-ranking nobles.

Ah, that's right. Now is the time for King Uther to die.

The deceased King Uther left a decree that any inhabitant of Britain who could draw his sword would become king. Naturally, the sword-drawing ceremony would be held in full view of everyone, witnessed by numerous knights and nobles.

Alice refused the knight's help and ignored the cheers of the crowd. She walked on her own, followed by her guards, to the viewing platform for the nobles. After casually dealing with these small fry whose names she was too lazy to remember but whose inside and outside she could know at any time if needed, she turned her gaze to the hill where the sword in the stone was placed.

And everything unfolded just as described in the story, as depicted in the book "The Death of King Arthur" that she had obtained—knights from all corners of the land rushed forward, vying to be the first to draw the king's sword, even at the cost of their own lives. Yet, regardless of who the victor was, defeat was always on their side.

Whether valiant knights, cunning wanderers, fierce warriors, or elegant swordsmen, they tried time and again, only to fail each time. Even the most renowned warriors among them, as imposing as giants, exerted all their strength, gritting their teeth, yet their swords embedded in stone remained unshaken.