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Chapter 498: No One’s Fate Is Immutable, Everyone Has a Chance to Change the Future
🕑 Added 2025-06-11 15:08:01 +0000 UTCThe residents of this new Aegean Island reacted no differently than before!
Some jumped onto boats to flee into the distance; others organized themselves in preparation to resist. However, the majority hid away, leaving the entire port eerily desolate.
Temple Robin, gazing at the distant Aegean Island, felt his hands grow cold as he shouted, “That’s not the Aegean Island! That’s absolutely not the Aegean Island.”
Disregarding everything, he soared into the air, flying toward the island. Charlot Mecklenburg snapped his fingers and said, “Andreas! Follow him and take a look.”
Andreas also took to the air. After a short while, he returned first and said in a low voice, “The people on the island are not the same as the ones we’ve seen before! There are no temples of the Nine True Gods on the island either!”
Charlot nodded, acknowledging this information. He fell into deep contemplation.
According to the diary’s transmitted thoughts, this was the sixth labyrinth!
Had it still been the fifth labyrinth, Charlot would have been alarmed, as it would signify he had fallen into a loop.
Whether it was a time loop or a purely spatial one, it would, in any case, be exceedingly troublesome.
But this being the sixth labyrinth meant that Agmirlas had not yet grown powerful enough to cycle time and space! Charlot mused to himself, “Is he trying to scare me into retreating with a counterfeit time-space loop?”
Soon, Temple Robin returned as well, despondent as he said, “The people on the island aren’t ours. Not a single one is familiar. I’m very worried that the friends we had on the island are all gone, replaced by these strangers.”
Charlot reassured him, “If the Evil God were truly that powerful, he wouldn’t need to play such petty tricks. He could simply trap my fleet at sea.”
Although he couldn’t fully understand the situation, Charlot remained unshaken. Skipping the usual step of sending the quartermaster to procure supplies, he dispatched several hundred wriggling demons under Andreas’ lead to the new Aegean Island for diplomatic purposes, following the same protocol as last time.
This version of the Aegean Island was almost identical in natural geography to the first one, but its residents were completely different, and the town of Tonystark was absent.
...
Ten days later, the Temple of the Serpent of Fate rose on the island, and new trade routes emerged. Charlot recruited a new batch of crew members, set sail, and continued his journey.
A few days later, a third Aegean Island appeared before him.
This time, even the crew on his ship began to feel a creeping dread.
Receiving another mental message from the diary, informing him that this was the seventh labyrinth, Charlot didn’t hesitate to repeat his previous actions for the third time.
When the fourth Aegean Island appeared, the Golden Ram Herolf approached Charlot with a worried expression, saying, “Given our sailing speed, we should have already left the Aggras Sea, but we still see no hope of leaving this region.”
Charlot nodded to show he understood and once again repeated his previous actions for the fourth time...
The atmosphere aboard the fleet grew increasingly peculiar, but Charlot demonstrated an unwavering resolve, pressing forward without deviation. Regardless of how eerie things became with each appearance of a new Aegean Island, the fleet followed the same procedures as before.
By the time they passed the twenty-seventh Aegean Island, marking the thirty-first labyrinth, the sea ahead suddenly became boundlessly vast.
Charlot’s fleet had finally sailed out of the Aggras Sea.
Cheers erupted aboard Charlot’s fleet. Everyone was jubilant; the oppressive atmosphere that had gripped them for so long seemed to dissipate in an instant.
Each new appearance of the Aegean Island had instilled a hint of despair in everyone. Though they knew the island posed no danger, the monotonous repetition of their actions day after day, year after year, with no change in sight, was a torment for most.
Even the most ordinary people believe their lives hold some degree of change. Every day, no matter how minor the differences—whether it’s an eight-coin meal box yesterday or a twelve-coin bowl of noodles today—these tiny shifts provide the courage to carry on.
If every street sold the same food, and there was never a second option, no matter how relaxed life was or how pleasant the environment, it would still become unbearable.
Charlot looked back at the archipelago behind him, then turned his gaze to the vast sea ahead.
He suddenly sought out Juno Arthur and said, “Teacher, I intend to return alone to the Aggras Sea!”
Juno was taken aback. “Why do you want to go back?”
Charlot replied calmly, “I have glimpsed Agmirlas’ weakness!”
Juno smiled faintly. “Indeed.”
“When he took away Yishemierlen Palace, it revealed his weakness. Now, resorting to such tactics to oppress you and make you retreat, while ingenious, still shows he lacks the strength to directly trap you.”
“But have you thought this through?”
“You possess such a powerful fleet, yet you wish to challenge Agmirlas alone?”
Charlot nodded. “I’ve made up my mind.”
“I want to challenge Agmirlas alone!”
“Though I don’t know what is happening with Agmirlas, I have a hunch that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Juno said, “And if your intuition is wrong?”
Charlot chuckled. “Not long ago, I prayed to the Serpent of Fate, but he didn’t answer me. Instead, he struck me with his tail.”
“At the time, I didn’t understand this True God’s oracle, but now I do.”
“Fate is like water, endlessly flowing!”
“No one’s fate is immutable. Everyone has a chance to change their future.”
“If I lack the courage to challenge fate, how could I call myself a follower of the God of Fate?”
“Teacher, please lead the fleet back to Black Phoenix City!”
Juno smiled faintly and said, “Understood.”
“Go and challenge the unknown fate.”
Charlot transferred all humans from the Radiant Holy Kingdom to the Dolmabahçe. On this legendary warship, he left only labyrinth guards, a batch of untrained blood thralls, and the wriggling demons.
When Charlot crossed the Aggras Sea into the open waters, an idea surfaced in his mind. He knew it was insane and understood it was a gamble, but he threw in all his chips without hesitation.
Charlot believed: Under the gaze of the Serpent of Fate, no matter how grand the gamble, it was always rigged.
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