For a long moment, Ignatius remained still and silent.
This person had said, "I don't recognize you." What did that mean? At the very least, this person knew something that Ignatius didn't. Until he had more information, it was surely wisest for Ignatius to refrain from talking.
Was this black-cloaked figure a moderator? That would explain how he was able to freeze the game instance around them, as well as how he'd disappeared previously.
Moderators worked for Path of the Immortal's community management team, trying to find bugs and exploits and otherwise ensuring that players didn't break the game's terms of service. They had the ability to join any game instance, such as dungeons or story missions, and to disable game features for players.
But why would a moderator have joined Ignatius's story mission? Out of the millions of players currently in the game, what could have possibly prompted one of the very few moderators—there were probably only a few hundred working at the beginning of the game—to spy on Ignatius?
And now that Ignatius had been found out, how would this discovery alter the new timeline?
Nervous sweat broke out on Ignatius's forehead, but he just continued to stare at the dark-cloaked figure, remaining silent and waiting for the newcomer to speak again.
After a few moments, when it became clear that Ignatius wasn't going to cooperate, the dark figure began walking slowly across the marketplace. He pulled the hood of the cloak from his head, revealing a very average head and face. His facial features were completely unremarkable, his hairstyle was neat and short, and his skin was a moderate pale white, with just a hint of a tan.
Combined with the dull brown color of his eyes and hair, and with his height of about two meters, this man seemed almost deliberately average.
"I'll ask again," said the man. "Though… you know, I wasn't terribly polite. Let me try again: I don't think we've met before. My name is…"
But then he stopped about a meter away from Ignatius, staring directly into his eyes. A look of uncertainty came into the man's face. "Hmmm," he continued at last. "Maybe this was a mistake."
With every word, Ignatius became more aware of something that surprised and disconcerted him: this man was 'also' being wary. He was 'also' withholding information, waiting for Ignatius to offer something more.
If this person was a moderator for Path of the Immortal, what possible reason could he have for such caution? He would hold all the cards, would have the entire advantage.
'Wait,' Ignatius wondered to himself. 'What do I even mean when I think of "advantages?" What do I think that this man is even accusing me of?'
At the moment, Ignatius was wearing the dull, common form of the gauntlets from the story mission, the version of them which he was 'supposed' to have at this time. However, it was entirely possible that this stranger had been watching earlier, when Ignatius had fought the Heavenly Executioners in a way that no new player was expected to.
So the most likely explanation for this man's suspicions… was that Ignatius, who would be absent from the publishing company's internal beta testing database, had received insider information from someone who 'was' a beta tester, information about a game-breaking early game glitch which the beta testers were probably required by their contract to tell the developers.
If that was the case, this person probably didn't care about Ignatius himself. Instead, he would be hoping that Ignatius would reveal the identity of whichever friend had given him this illegal information.
Of course, Ignatius didn't actually have any beta tester friend! So how was he going to get out of this situation without the stranger becoming more and more suspicious? Though, according to the Chinese scientist's explanation, it would be impossible for Path of the Immortal's devs to ban him now that he lived inside the game's code, that wasn't the only risk.
If Ignatius was constantly under surveillance, he wouldn't be able to take advantage of the game's as-of-yet-undiscovered glitches and bugs to gain power. The developers could simply patch every bug that he showed them.
A bead of anxious sweat dripped down his forehead. Somehow, he needed to seize control of the situation… but how? "So," he said at last. "I guess you're a game moderator? I'm pretty sure you're not an NPC. At least, you act a lot more realistically than all the other NPCs. Are you part of some kind of launch event?" He knew that this was an actual person, but hopefully, seeming more ignorant than he really was would give him some kind of cover.
The other person shook his head slowly, then said something strange. "That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons…?" He said these words in the tone of a question, but kept his expression neutral.
For a long moment, Ignatius was confused. He'd heard those words before, but where?
Then it was as though a firework had exploded inside his head. He winced in pain and took a step back. That must have been the feeling of more neurons connecting in his brain after his transference into his old self. Except… he didn't have a brain anymore, so that couldn't have actually been possible.
But whatever had just happened, he suddenly remembered many things about the author H.P. Lovecraft, a writer who had been one of his favorites.
Most importantly, Ignatius remembered the ending words to the famous line which the stranger had just spoken.
"…And with strange aeons," said Ignatius, "even death may die."
The dark-cloaked man's expression became a frown. "I see," he said. "You really aren't one of our people. And yet… you're a Revenant, nonetheless. Do you 'know' who you are, Ignatius? 'What' you are?"
With every word the man spoke in his dull voice, Ignatius's mind raced to unravel the possible meanings.
So that Lovecraft line had been a kind of password. This person, believing Ignatius to be something called a "Revenant," had given him a famous line from literature, and had asked him to fill in the last few words. Ignatius had given the final words from Lovecraft's original quote, as any ordinary person might have… and this had been wrong, proving that Ignatius did not belong to whatever organization this man was part of.
Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
The word "Revenant" was quite a strange one. It meant, "One who returns from death."
A chill went down Ignatius's spine.
Yes.
Somehow, this stranger knew exactly what Ignatius was.
And by implication…
"I know what I am," said Ignatius. "And apparently, I'm not alone. You're saying there are others like me. You're saying that… you're one of them."
Even still, he was careful not to volunteer information, not to fill in all the blanks. He still didn't know what this other person truly was.
But apparently, this was enough for the dark-cloaked stranger to give Ignatius some amount of up-till-now-withheld trust.
"Yes," he said in a voice filled with new strength. "We are Revenants. Those who have died… and yet live on, unseen and undying, in Path of the Immortal. Come with me, if you will. The others will be eager to meet you."