Chapter 59 Asahi's Friend 2

The mysterious figure I encountered in the misty dreamscape is now staring at me, even exuding a faintly sinister aura. I refused his offer to trade, and perhaps he is now considering whether he should resort to violence to forcibly take the black jade from me.

It was a truly novel experience. Being watched by him like that, I genuinely felt my life was shrouded in an unseen crisis.

However, the black jade is not on me now. This is a dream; the item should be with my physical body in reality. And if nothing unexpected happens, he should be unable to use any supernatural powers in this mist, just like me.

He's probably a real person, perhaps even incredibly powerful. But here, he's just like me, no different from any other mortal.

The reason I feel a mysterious sense of crisis now is not because he actually has the ability to use mystical powers, but because his "essence is extremely great." Even if he becomes like a mortal, it doesn't mean he has truly become mortal. He can still exert pressure on others.

"Are you going to do it here?" I asked.

After our previous few exchanges, I actually had a rather favorable impression of this mysterious person in front of me.

It wasn't just because he told me important information, but also because of his seemingly contradictory behavior. He seemed to value the black jade I possessed and wanted to collect as much of it as possible for himself. In this situation, his most sensible course of action would have been to prevent me from learning about the importance of the black jade, or even to make me mistake it for a dangerous object that needed to be disposed of as soon as possible. However, he chose the opposite path.

This certainly wasn't because he was stupid. Because while I was still hesitating about whether to admit I didn't know what a divine seal was, he had already seen through my acting. He possessed the wisdom and insight to understand other people's psychological activities.

He seemed worldly-wise, yet untainted by mercenary airs, possessing an upright and even extraordinary temperament.

"...That's incredible." The pressure vanished from his gaze, and he returned to his calm demeanor. "You're very powerful. Someone as powerful as you, yet I have absolutely no recollection of you. Is this what they mean by 'there are always people more capable than you, and heavens beyond heavens'..."

He shook his head, then looked into the depths of the mist and said, "I want to continue exploring this place. Do you want to come with me?"

"Let's go together." I had no objection.

Then, we ventured together into the depths of the misty dreamscape.

I didn't press him for an answer. While I was genuinely curious, the experience of exploring this mysterious realm alongside an unknown person was both novel and exciting. He, too, understood and didn't press me further. A strange, unspoken understanding arose.

Perhaps I was just unlucky before, which is why I wandered in the fog for so long without anything changing. This time, working closely with others, I encountered new changes not long after.

After walking for only a few minutes, some shadowy figures appeared ahead. As they drew closer, I realized they were things I had seen before.

Those were eight enormous rock seats.

Closer to us are seven identical rock seats arranged in a row; while the remaining, particularly large rock seat is placed further away, in opposition to the other seats.

Three people have already arrived here before us.

Perhaps "two people" would be a more accurate description, because there was another person who clearly did not resemble a human. The latter was at least four meters tall and sat motionless on that particularly enormous rock seat, like a colossal statue.

The two others sat on the two rock seats on the left, and their height was much more normal. Like us, they were also presented as shadowy figures. The one on the far left was a tall, thin figure, and the one right next to it was a figure that looked like a child.

I remember this scene.

When I first encountered the black jade, my mind was drawn into this misty dreamscape. I saw the rock seats and three figures sitting on them. However, I was clearly not in a normal mental state at the time, and I was unable to communicate with them.

Having probably heard our footsteps, the two people of normal build immediately turned their gaze towards us.

"Who?" the tall, thin figure demanded.

The child-like figure cautiously asked, "Is this a new companion?"

Judging from the voice, the former is male.

The latter... while it is indeed a child's voice, is too young and hasn't gone through puberty yet. It's difficult to determine the gender just by listening. If I had to, I'd say it sounds like a little girl's voice. And I can vaguely tell she has relatively long hair.

He glanced at the mysterious man beside him. He had expected the man to speak first, but upon arriving here, he was completely stunned, facing the giant who resembled a god.

I also observed the giant closely. Even after our arrival, it remained completely still, making it hard not to suspect that it was merely a lifeless sculpture. However, just like us, the "sculpture" also took on a shadowy form, as if it might move and converse normally at any moment, just like us.

To be honest, I still feel a lack of realism in this misty dream world. Despite its strange and supernatural elements, it is still, after all, a dream.

The two men were still watching us. I decided to go and talk to them first.

"I got involved here after obtaining the so-called 'Fragment of the Divine Seal.' As for this man, I don't know him well; we just happened to meet on the road. You can ask him later," I said. "Did you also come here after coming into contact with the Fragment of the Divine Seal?"

“Fragments of the Divine Seal? As expected…” The tall, thin figure seemed to be frowning. “That’s right, we are also those who came into contact with fragments of the Divine Seal. I am ‘Number One’, and she is ‘Number Two’.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the figure of a child beside him, who whispered, "Hello, big brother, I'm number two."

“There’s no need to exchange names here; we can just call each other by our numerical designations,” Number One said to me in a curt and direct tone. “You are Number Three, and he is Number Four.”

Number four is the mysterious person next to me.

“Okay, I’m number three. Then…” I looked at the silent giant, “and what number is he?”

"He doesn't have a numerical designation. If you really want to call him, just call him Zero," Number One scoffed. "Are you curious about who he is?"

"Of course, could you please enlighten me?" I asked.

Although Number One's tone was unfriendly, he answered every question: "There's nothing to hide. Actually, Number Two and I don't know what he is either, but one thing is clear: this is the guy who dragged us into this inexplicable dreamlike fog."

“It’s him…” I observed the giant known as “Zero” again.

At that moment, the mysterious figure—Number Four—made his move.

He suddenly strode forward, standing right in front of the giant, and demanded in a voice simmering with suppressed rage: "—Is it you? Is it you who has brought the world to this near-destruction state?! Answer me!!"

Previously, I thought Number Four was a person of good manners, but now he is like a volcanic eruption, aggressively questioning the giant.

The giant, however, remained unmoved.

Number One spoke in a cold voice from the side: "Don't bother talking to Number Zero. He's asleep right now. If you have any questions, you can wait until he wakes up."

Number Four suddenly looked at Number One: "You spoke with the Lord of the Divine Seal?"

"The Lord of the Divine Seal... Hmph, so this guy really is the original owner of the Divine Seal. No wonder he was able to use the power of the Divine Seal fragments to drag us into this..." Number One pondered for a moment, then answered Number Four's question, "That's right, when Number Two and I first entered this place, he was still awake. But after we finished explaining, he fell asleep."

"According to him, he will wake up again when the place is full and then announce the reason why he summoned us here."

I glanced at the remaining empty seats; there were five in total.

If two of the empty seats belong to me and number four, then we still need three more people.

Then, I asked the question that concerned me most at the moment: "If not everyone arrives, will we be stuck here forever?"

“No, that won’t happen,” Number One said. “It’s just that our minds are now bound to the fragments of the divine seal, and we’re occasionally drawn to this place. I estimate that we’ll be able to wake up from this dream in a little while.”

That's good. Although I'm very curious about this place, I still need to go back to the real world to find Asaho.

As for the Lord of the Divine Seal they just mentioned... if I understand correctly, that giant is the master of the "Divine Seal that can grant any wish"? Why did he summon us here?

What about the "world being brought to the brink of destruction" that Number Four mentioned? Judging from his tone, was it caused by the giant making some kind of wish upon the divine seal? Could it be related to the apocalypse that Asahi mentioned?

The scope of this topic is far too broad, leaving me feeling overwhelmed. I don't even fully believe in the concept of a "wishing machine" yet.

I voiced my doubts to Number Four, but he seemed to have forgotten everything else, only glaring angrily in the direction of the giant.

"It must be related to the doomsday prophecy circulating in Luoshan," Number One said dismissively. "I heard there's an unknown prophet in Luoshan who believes the end of the world will come in the near future. And the increased frequency of strange events is a sign that the end is near."

“Luoshan… Doomsday…” I murmured these two words.

The character who appeared in the misty dream suddenly mentioned "Luoshan," making me feel that he, like me, was a real person.

However, judging from his tone, he didn't seem to be a member of Luoshan.

His mention of "the end of the world" gave me a different feeling.

Originally, whether it was "doomsday" or "divine seal," in my mind they were just words that Ma Zao unilaterally threw out.

But now that there are people who know about the existence of the divine seal, and there is also the so-called "doomsday prophecy," I suddenly feel that the end of the world has become a concept with real weight.

"What, you believe in the apocalypse too? I've heard that even in Luoshan, only a very small minority believe in this stuff." Number One continued speaking in a dismissive tone, seemingly not believing in the apocalypse. "If that's the case, you probably have a lot in common with Number Two."

"Number Two?" I looked at the quiet child.

“Yes, this little girl claims to live in a post-apocalyptic future,” Number One said.

(End of this chapter)