Chapter 149 Personal Side Quest: The Returnee

In the 13th century, in a wilderness of Europe.

Dante was walking forward, and the matter beneath his feet instantly turned into ashes and flew behind him. His eyes stared straight at everything in front of him, but nothing was reflected in his pupils.

He was moving forward, but not because he wanted to, but because he had no reason to stop.

His state is one of progress, and he hasn't found a reason to change it. So at this moment, he remains "progressive."

This alienated way of thinking seems to have been with him for a long time.

Nearly a century ago, he was just an ordinary human being with powerful but obviously side-effect superpowers. He and his companions were dedicated to changing their hometown and dreaming of a better future.

Things began to change one day when he died.

Now, I can't quite remember the details, but it seems he was killed in a battle, a normal and "predictable" death.

If one were to die like that, it wouldn't be a bad way to live a perfect life.

However, he underestimated the "Divine Comedy".

In a daze, he seemed to have arrived in hell, passed through purgatory, and finally seen heaven; it seemed as if words had been etched on his forehead. But when he awoke, it all felt like a dream.

However, he did change.

His body was no longer the blood, bones, and flesh of a normal person; it had become a pile of...and some ashes of sparks.

Dante was very familiar with these embers; they were what his special ability produced when activated. Only now, they had completely become part of his body.

Perhaps, he should be called "the Divine Comedy with a Dante personality" at this moment? An entity with special abilities formed through a unique process?

Perhaps a normal Dante would have pondered these more philosophical questions. But at this moment, Dante... had little motivation to think about them.

In the process of becoming alienated, he clearly sensed something disappearing from his body, and he could no longer feel emotions.

—According to a more modern understanding, he probably lost his amygdala and hormones, as well as all the organs used to receive hormones and generate emotions, during the unconscious process of physical changes.

A failed attempt at species alteration might be worthy of such a title.

Was this a joke? Probably? He didn't know, because he was no longer able to feel "pleasure" at that moment.

Many people seem to think that a person who loses their emotions will become increasingly prone to "self-destruction." However, Dante discovered that this was not the case, because when he realized he had lost his emotions, he was also clearly aware that emotions such as "sadness," "anger," and "fear" had also left him.

It's hard to describe his state of mind at this moment. If we were to use his thoughts from when he was human as an example, perhaps it would be better to call it a "faint sense of boredom."

Just as some people unconsciously tap their fingers on the table or subconsciously grab a leaf when they have free time, Dante's actions at this moment are not based on deep thought, but entirely on this superficial instinct.

For him, there was no meaning in thinking; daydreaming and thinking were exactly the same thing at that moment.

There was no curiosity, no worries, no joy of finding answers, and no frustration of being trapped.

All that's left is a faint sense of boredom.

Dante continued his journey across the wilderness, having forgotten why he had begun. But he found no reason to stop, so he pressed on.

Suddenly, Dante lost his footing and fell into a deep valley—he had seen it before, but hadn't found a reason to avoid it, so he didn't dodge.

Dante lay at the bottom of the valley, silently gazing up at the sky.

Naturally, he had no reason to "get up".

He gazed at the sky, and his brain, which had been dead (if it still existed), began to think about something for the first time.

These are some strange and scattered questions, which, if categorized, can be seen as pondering the unanswerable question of "the meaning of life."

As Dante's thoughts gradually dissipated, the embers around him gradually spread out and became "enormous".

The massive embers continued to scorch the surroundings, expanding once more and becoming even larger.

Perhaps if Dante's thoughts were allowed to spread unchecked, he and the Divine Comedy would become a catastrophe deadly enough for even the planet.

Fortunately, this possibility was prevented from the very beginning.

A voice suddenly appeared beside him, even though there was nothing there at first: "Dante, can you still hear me?"

Dante recognized the voice; it was "him." So the pervasive energy within him paused, and he began a brief moment of reflection once more: "Yes."

His voice continued: "To be honest, your current state is a bit dangerous, to the point where I have no choice but to intervene."

"Should we take action?"

Are you going to kill me? This is what Dante actually asked.

"Not yet, that's really unfair to you, especially since I have a better solution."

Dante was lifted up by an unnamed force and placed in a stone coffin.

He stood outside the sarcophagus, looking at Dante and the sarcophagus.

“This stone coffin can nullify all supernatural abilities, life activities, and thoughts, which is very suitable for your current situation—I’m not comfortable letting you think freely for hundreds of years in this state and what kind of trouble might occur.”

Dante nonchalantly replied with an "Oh," and then asked, "Like sleeping?"

"Yes, it's like sleeping."

Dante remained silent for a long while, seemingly deep in thought: "Will I be able to get the answer?"

He paused for a moment and looked carefully at Dante.

It wasn't urgent or desired; it was just a casual question.

Looking at Dante's indifferent expression, "he" seemed to sigh: "You will find the answer."

"Sometime seven centuries from now."

The coffin lid closed, and Dante's thoughts ceased.

Let's go back to the 20th century, to the seabed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

On the Nautilus, Vladimir curiously tapped on the enormous sarcophagus that Jules Verne had just salvaged: "What is this?"

“God knows, such an ancient thing was dumped almost in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.” Verne, who was manipulating the water flow and mechanical arm to lift the sarcophagus, also examined the sarcophagus. “Two possibilities: one is a powerful superhuman, and the other is a sufficiently powerful regime and fleet.”

Romain Rolland straightened up and took over the conversation: "Preliminary estimates suggest it's from around the 12th to 14th centuries. It wouldn't have been easy to throw something like that into the middle of the Pacific Ocean back then."

Verne suddenly added something meaningful: "Moreover, this sarcophagus can also nullify supernatural abilities."

"Really?" Vladimir, who was still tapping on the stone coffin, casually used "Lolita" on it, then was surprised to find that there was no response, as if it had sunk into the ocean: "Could this thing be a coffin that seals an ancient demon king? Not only can it nullify supernatural abilities, but it's also thrown into the Pacific Ocean?"

"Wait a minute, Verne, why did you pull something like this up that looks incredibly dangerous?!"

Verne shrugged: "Take a look at the front of the sarcophagus for yourself."

Vladimir looked in the direction Verne had indicated, puzzled, and then was surprised to see—a rather standard :)

Yes, it's a smiley face emoticon, but Vladimir's position was reversed, so he didn't recognize it at first.

"Are you sure this thing is hundreds of years old?"

Romain Rolland shrugged: "Anyway, from an archaeological point of view, yes."

Verne was equally speechless: "Before I pulled this thing up, I thought it was a modern artifact. Who knew it was actually an ancient artifact?"

As the group stood silently around the sarcophagus, Christie, in her wheelchair, was pushed into the room by Vargrave from behind.

Because the extent of the sarcophagus's nullification was unknown, Shelley was forbidden from touching it, while Stevenson stayed with him.

Romain Rolland briefly explained the situation to Christie, then watched as Christie was pushed around the sarcophagus twice by Wagrave before saying to Verne, "Verne, please stand it up."

Verne did as instructed with some doubt. Although he couldn't touch it directly, he easily raised the sarcophagus by indirectly manipulating the two iron plates with fluid.

After Christie went around to the back of the sarcophagus to confirm something, she nodded in satisfaction and then gestured for the others to come and take a look.

The remaining three people curiously gathered around, and for the next few seconds, they forgot to breathe.

The back of the sarcophagus was inscribed with several small characters in standard modern English.

—To Owen, I hope you can become friends.

And they are UN, UNOwen (UN Owen), Unnowen (Anonymous).

The air hung heavy for a long time before Vladimir's voice broke the silence: "Could it be a coincidence?"

Roland: "We just happened to stumble upon a sarcophagus that had been thrown into the sea hundreds of years ago, Jules Verne just happened to see the emoticons on it, Jules Verne just happened to discover the ability to nullify supernatural powers, and it just happened to have a pun on our organization's name engraved on it. What do you think is the probability of this being a coincidence?"

Romain Rolland, who also rediscovered his voice, directly refuted Vladimir's claim: "If this is all a coincidence, then there shouldn't be many things in the world that are 'certain'."

“Okay, okay, that’s not what I meant. I just said…” Vladimir tried to organize his thoughts several times, but he still didn’t know what he was trying to say: “It’s just… ridiculous!”

“You can attribute all this absurdity to ‘overly powerful superhumans,’ it’s a universal explanation.” Verne seemed quite calm: “Many incredible ancient ruins were created this way, you just get used to it.”

"Thinking about it this way, it's not so strange to have a superpowered person who can predict things hundreds of years in advance."

Vladimir: This is incredibly weird!

After confirming that everyone had seen the object, Christie nodded: "Then open it."

Romain Rolland: "Sure."

Verne: "I'll go find a crowbar."

Vladimir was furious: "How could you all just accept this so calmly?! What if there are some dangerous items inside?!"

Romain Rolland glanced at her sideways: "If there really is a prophet who can see hundreds of years into the future, do you think he would not know whether this sarcophagus would be opened?"

If such a person truly exists, then whatever actions they take should be within his expectations; even if left unattended, the desired outcome will eventually be achieved.

so...

"Don't you think it's quite interesting to open such an ancient artifact?"

Anyway, I don't know how to avoid it, satisfying my curiosity is the most important thing!

Not only Romain Rolland, but also Jules Verne and Christie showed expressions of agreement.

Vladimir: You three adventure addicts are hopeless! Utterly hopeless!

Just as Vladimir trotted to the door to peek inside, Verne and Romain Rolland had already pried open the lid of the sarcophagus.

The lid of the sarcophagus was opened, and Dante, inside, resumed his contemplation after hundreds of years.

Looking at the people surrounding him, Dante recited what "he" had once taught him: "Hello, thank you for bringing me back. If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."

Anyway, I'm bored.