Chapter 1185: Section 1186: Old Times
In the dark crevices of the Void, a leisurely figure trod through space.
The figure was cloaked in a faint glow, a light that seemed to emanate from its porcelain white skin.
By the light, its features were clear, identical to those of Aoluxiya—it was the Lord of the Flameless, who had journeyed to Lassudral with Galal.
The Lord of the Flameless walked through the Void for a while, then suddenly paused.
“Space Collapse?” There was a hint of surprise in the Lord of the Flameless’ eyes. Remaining stationary, the entity pondered for a moment and then extended a finger, opening a new Spatial Passage.
After changing course, the Lord of the Flameless had not gone far in the new void crevice when it stopped again.
This was because a massive creature, large as a mountain, suddenly appeared before it— a Spatial Tempest.
“Garalotos,” the Lord of the Flameless murmured the creature’s name; it was a Magical Creature as formidable as a Demon Lord.
Garalotos was still seething with rage as, not long ago, some “vermin” had escaped its pursuit. The luminous figure before it immediately brought back memories of those vermin… Upon closer inspection, this one seemed identical to one of those who had escaped.
With this thought, Garalotos’ fury reignited.
It was completely unaware of the kind of existence it was about to confront.
Minutes later, Garalotos vanished completely from the void. As the “mountain” collapsed and its debris fell, the Lord of the Flameless’ expression was utterly impassive.
“The strength is there, but the wisdom is still nascent. That is why I least favor Magical Creatures of the Void…” the Lord of the Flameless spoke indifferently.
Magical Creatures of the Void were certainly powerful, but as they resided in the Void, devoid of enlightened civilization, their wisdom evolved all too slowly.
After a pause, the Lord of the Flameless once again lapsed into contemplation.
“On this path, with Garalotos here, they would likely continue to change course… So, which path would they take?” The Lord of the Flameless’ contemplation was evidently much longer than the previous instance of rerouting.
Before long, the Lord of the Flameless finally chose a coordinate and opened a new passage.
However, to the surprise of the Lord of the Flameless, it encountered another unexpected event upon arrival—a Spatial Tempest.
Of course, a Spatial Tempest wouldn’t cause much harm to the Lord of the Flameless; it was more of an inconvenience to navigate. However, if even it found it troublesome, then they would likely avoid this route.
It seemed a change of course was necessary again. Making this decision, a peculiar feeling arose in the heart of the Lord of the Flameless: Although the Void was full of dangers, encountering disasters in succession seemed incredibly unlucky for them, didn’t it?
The Lord of the Flameless continued to ponder the new route they might choose.
This time, the contemplation lasted even longer.
Angel, however, was unaware that due to Toby’s Calamity Curse erupting, not only were they constantly running into misfortune, but they were also delaying the pursuit of the Lord of the Flameless. Sometimes, when misfortune reached its peak, it could paradoxically become a form of good luck.
Unaware of the events in the Void, Angel was currently facing Popota, who was lost in his emotions.
Greerwu was quite willing to let Popota dwell on his memories, as it could buy some time. Angel had initially hoped to delay things too, but as he observed Popota’s emotions becoming increasingly turbulent, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
If the emotional turmoil were to drive Popota into madness, it would be the end. At least Popota, clear-headed, could still be coaxed into a more peaceful interaction through speech, but madness was far less predictable.
Considering this, Angel spoke up, “This pendant was given to me by your sister, and as for the silk painting inside, she kept it as a memento.”
Angel’s words finally brought some clarity back to Popota, immersed in his memories. He looked up at Angel, his eyes flashing with complex emotions, before saying after a long pause, “You’re telling the truth.”
Angel’s heart was open and sincere; even without using any Spell Technique to discern the truth, one could feel that Angel was not lying.
“My sister, Hua Que…” Popota hesitated, previously unmoved when mentioning his sister’s name, but now, upon hearing news of her, he felt a sense of trepidation, “Is she doing well now?”
Angel didn’t answer for a long time, causing an inexplicable panic to arise in Popota’s heart, “Didn’t you say before you’d take me to see her? Are you deceiving me?!”
Popota’s emotions rose abruptly, forcing Angel to find a way to calm him down once again.
“I met your sister two years ago. She was very kind and adorable.” As he spoke, Angel extended his hand and released several Basic Illusion Nodes, which combined into a particular structure, slowly forming a scene.
The room was an assemblage of pink hues, delicate white gauze curtains, an elegant desk, and piles of books… This was the boudoir of a young girl.
After the room took shape, a human outline slowly emerged beside the desk and finally revealed itself to be an innocent little girl with freckles on her face, wearing a goose-yellow dress.
The little girl had been looking at a picture album in front of her, but seemingly feeling the burning gaze of Popota, she suddenly turned her head and smiled in Popota’s direction.
That smile was radiant with sunshine.
Popota froze on the spot; the restlessness in his heart smoothed over in an instant. He began to smile foolishly, muttering the name of his sister, but soon after, Popota burst into tears.
Popota was not stupid.
Angel created this Illusionary Realm not to prove that he had seen Hua Que, the pendant alone was enough evidence. Angel’s intentions were already explained within this Illusionary Realm.
The silk painting in the heart-shaped pendant was a birthday gift Popota gave to his sister when she was nine years old. That year also happened to be the year she disappeared.
Popota still remembered that his sister was wearing a dress just like this goose-yellow one when she went missing.
The little girl in the Illusionary Realm was his sister, wearing the dress from when she went missing, her height and appearance matching what his sister looked like at age nine. But Popota knew very well that many years had passed since his sister had gone missing, and if Angel had met her the year before last, she definitely wouldn’t still look nine years old.
Furthermore, the flickering phantom shadow of Hua Que in the Illusionary Realm was, in fact, subtly symbolic of certain things.
His sister might already… no longer be alive.
Popota’s question: Is she still all right?
Angel did not speak directly, but through a gentle and beautiful Illusionary Realm, he revealed his answer.
That’s why Popota, at first, was smiling foolishly but quickly started crying once he understood the news Angel was trying to convey.
The sound of sobbing echoed in his ears. The cry of sorrow and despair, so infectious that it made even Greerwu, who stood by, stop in his tracks, showing how much Hua Que mattered to Popota.
Perhaps exhausted from crying, Popota’s eyes looked bewildered as he gazed into the dark and deathly still sky and softly said, “My sister, perhaps she is the true descendant of the Baiyuanians because she inherited the Baiyuanians’ Talent—Prophecy. Everything I know today actually came from the ancient scrolls that my sister saw when she was very young, and then from her deductions…”
“At that time, although we knew of the existence of Transcendents and always sought their traces, we never came across any. Even with the prophecies, we learned of some places where Transcendents might exist, but those places were far too distant for us, perhaps unreachable in this lifetime.”
“Not becoming a Transcendent, so every time my sister prophesied and deduced, what she consumed was not the magic power flowing in the Magical Core, but her physical vitality.”
“When my sister was nine, because of the prophecies and deductions of the previous years, she often suffered from confused memories, even frequently forgetting the way home. Later on, I was recruited by the Royal Knights, and knowing my sister’s condition, I planned to refuse. But in order to decline the royal offer, I had to personally go to the Knights’ Order to explain my reasons, so I took one day off, telling my sister not to leave, and went to the Knights’ Order.”
“But when I returned that night, my sister was gone.”
“Asking around, no one had seen where my sister went. At first, I thought she was just playing and couldn’t find her way home. Later on, I heard from people that on the day my sister disappeared, they saw a group of black-robed people flying in the forest. At that moment, I thought those people might be the Transcendents from the legends, and knowing that I wanted to become a Transcendent, my sister might have followed them out.”
“Over the following years, I even speculated with a hopeful vision that maybe my sister had become a Transcendent and that one day she would come back to find me.”
As Popota spoke, he paused for a very long time and then gave a self-mocking laugh.
“Later, I went to the Barbarian Cave. That’s when I knew, Wizards are not as wonderful as I had thought, wicked and cruel, selfish and greedy… What difference does that make from a Demon? If such Transcendents took away Hua Que, I already had an ominous guess as to what her fate would be.”
“In the middle of the night, in my dreams, I would often ask myself—if I had stopped my sister from making prophecies if I hadn’t gone after the traces of Transcendents, if I hadn’t gone to the Knights’ Order that day, would all this have been avoided…”
His sister’s pendant, the news of his sister, the goals about to be achieved because of his sister’s prophecies… All these things combined made Popota unable to hold back the matters he had kept hidden in his heart for many years.
It was both Popota’s most precious memory and his greatest regret.
Angel finally understood that the reason Popota knew all about the Abyss, and his actions seemed forewarned, was all thanks to Hua Que’s contributions.
For a mortal to receive such terrifying prophecies, even if she had the wisdom of the ancients, it was an extraordinary matter.
Angel couldn’t help but recall the scene when he first saw Hua Que.
After Hua Que’s death, her spirit remained coherent and did not disperse, indicating just how exceptional her Talent was in life!