Chapter 97 Chapter 97 Memory.
He was born in the northern part of the Southern Continent, in a prosperous city called Coleraine.
The downtown area, in the slums full of thieves and wanted criminals, is always filled with the sour smell of bad wine and the rusty smell of despair.
His parents were always drinking. Many years later, he still remembered how they looked when they were drunk, either lying there snoring or picking up a broken stool and smashing it on him.
Children of the same age learned to rummage through garbage and steal bread, while some bolder ones would target passing merchants, trying to steal their glittering jewelry and bulging embroidered purses.
The consequence is being beaten to death by bodyguards or mercenaries.
Some people died directly.
After all, these people can't afford potions.
He saw bodies rotting in the gutter, maggots crawling in rotting eye sockets.
He practiced smiling in front of the mirror to make himself look sweeter and more harmless. He helped a lame neighbor repair doors and windows and asked her to teach him how to read. He helped the bookstore owner clean in exchange for the right to read. He sat on the side of the road and observed passers-by, trying to figure out their personalities.
He presented flowers and berries to a kind nobleman and received his first silver coin, which he used to buy clean new clothes.
He chased a noble lady's carriage for two blocks and returned the headdress she accidentally dropped, thereby obtaining his first Dou Qi book.
He would sit at the gambling table, win and lose, and walk away with only a small amount of money, so he would never be a target for robbers.
He leaned on the terrace in his luxurious dress, looking at the nobles toasting in the courtyard, as if he was overlooking a group of chess pieces waiting to be fooled.
But the mercy he wanted most never came.
"Why," he stroked the beautiful face in the mirror, "am I not the apostle you want, Your Majesty?"
——"The Cunning Fox of Coleraine"
-
The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and only the faint sound of burning lamp oil could be heard.
Su Cheng stood there with a blank face.
What did she say?
oh.
It turns out to be the truth.
Su Cheng: “…”
She looked up cautiously.
Kai was staring at her thoughtfully.
There was no distinct emotion on his face - pride, surprise, ridicule or joy, it seemed none, he just looked like he was lost in some thought.
"Besides," Su Cheng decided to strike first, "I thought you knew!"
She tried to calm down and suppress her slightly accelerated heartbeat. "I remember I said that."
Kai raised his eyebrows slightly, "...Do you mean you told it to me, or to others?"
Su Cheng: “?”
What's wrong with this guy!
Why couldn't he just continue to be a little more considerate and understanding?
Now, especially the second sentence, it almost sounded like she had a crush on him, so she mentioned him to others behind his back like a love-struck child.
She would never do such a stupid thing.
etc.
Su Cheng thought about it carefully again and found that he had indeed done so, for example, he had made similar remarks in the bathhouse of a certain prince.
But she just said that to provoke the other party.
And she was talking about her figure.
It seems that what they were discussing just now was appearance, right?
Su Cheng narrowed his eyes: "I have never said this to anyone, why should I say this? I seem to have said it to you, if not, then I remembered it wrongly."
He curled his lips. "Well, maybe I remembered it wrongly. I guess it's hard for us to know. After all, using memory-related magic for something like this doesn't seem worth it."
Su Cheng: "...Can you?"
Kai was noncommittal. "Theoretically, I know how to do it, but I'm not very skilled."
Su Cheng silently took the portrait back from his hand and looked at it carefully for a while. "It does look a bit like it. What does the text below say?"
There were some very scribbled characters beneath the portrait that didn't look like any language, but that might just be because it was too messy.
Kai took it again, pretending not to notice the blush spreading across the girl's cheeks.
"Well, the first sentence should be like this - I peeled off my skin, and underneath was another face. I kept peeling, layer after layer... until finally, I saw you. It turns out we are both wearing each other's skin."
Su Cheng: "Ah?"
Kai paused. "To prove my existence, I must lie. This is the first and greatest lie He ever told me. By repeating Him, I am proving myself."
Su Cheng: "...anything else?"
"They are all crazy," Kay continued reading. "They stubbornly believe in one story and call it the world. And I can hear many stories at the same time. They scream, sing, and cry in my head, and then interweave into His true name, which is the only answer."
Su Cheng: "Nothing more behind?"
Kai shook the paper in his hand, and a rare look of disgust welled up in his stern golden eyes. "There's more to it, but I don't want to read that name."
Su Cheng couldn't help but become interested. He reached out and took the paper, trying to distinguish the last character. "What? Since you know it, is that the God of Illusion?"
"...In fact," he thought for a moment, "He is now only known as a false god in the void."
Su Cheng was stunned for a moment, "Are you sure?"
Aren’t Jingyin Society followers of the God of Illusions and Dreams?
Those are not some false gods in the void, they are all real gods and allies of the Dark God.
To be precise——
For the people of the Holy See, they do call all other gods outside the camp of the God of Light false gods.
The Dark God, his subordinate gods, and even his allies are no exception.
But since it has the prefix "Void", it cannot be referring to the gods in the dark god camp.
She still remembered what the God of Filth had said: the people of the Ring of Silence worshiped and could communicate with the ancient creatures in the void. He said that being was called—
Su Cheng: "You're not talking about the Serpent of Truth, are you?"
Kai glanced at her. "No. The so-called void originally referred to the place outside the known planes. The time and space of the void are chaotic, all rules are unstable, and there are too many planes between them, making it difficult to connect with our world. There are more than one 'false gods' in the void, and they are not gathered together. They are probably just located in a crack or fault. But they can still influence the northern and southern continents in some way."
His eyes fell on the portrait.
Su Cheng: "...Wait a minute, then this portrait, this face, does it belong to a follower of some false void god? Or is it the incarnation of some false god?"
Kai raised his head, seemingly not wanting to stare at the thing too much, "The latter."
“Why is His portrait here?”
"There's a legend that the current God of Illusions and God of Dreams were once human, and they became gods after gaining the power of the false god of the void."
Su Cheng: “?”
If the portrait in my hand is truly the so-called false god in the void—
If this person was really the dancer that night, why did he suddenly come to sleep with me? Was it just to help me relieve the curse?
Could it be that I will also be chosen to become a god?
The God of Light. The God of Darkness. The false god of the void.
Is there any deeper connection between these three forces?
Su Cheng was completely confused. "Wait, is it true that humans can become gods by acquiring the power of pseudo-gods?"
Suddenly, a strange chill seeped into my fingertips.
It was like touching the scales of some living creature.
Su Cheng lowered his head in shock and looked at the portrait on the parchment.
The lines in the sketch, from the hair to the eyelashes to the shadows of the cheekbones and the outline of the jaw, everything began to move.
——It was as if countless tiny insects were hidden under the carbon powder, slowly crawling and reorganizing themselves.
Wisps of smoke seeped out of the portrait, and the gray mist danced in the air, condensing into sticky tentacles that suddenly wrapped around her wrist.
This speed is really too fast.
She had no time to throw away the portrait or dodge. In an instant, her neck was locked, and then a terrifying suction force came from the portrait.
First the fingertips, then the wrist, then the forearm and the entire arm.
Su Cheng was dragged into the portrait inch by inch.
Ripples appeared where her skin touched the paper, as if an invisible abyss was swallowing her completely.
More smoke poured out of the painting, gently wrapping around her shoulders, back, and waist, even climbing up her cheeks, gently caressing her nose and lips.
It was as if countless greedy fingers bound her tightly.
Su Cheng heard some noisy sounds, sharp laughter, sticky whispers, inhuman roars, as if tens of millions of souls were wailing.
The next moment, the secret room in front of him disappeared.
She fell into the world of the painting and stood in front of a dirty mirror. In it was a blurry but quite handsome face.
"Oh, Father of a Thousand Lies, please grant me true power—"
The man had his hair loose and his muscular upper body naked. He was touching the mirror with his hand and laughing with satisfaction.
"...I've come to understand that it's not about changing reality, but about creating a stronger cage and then swallowing the key."
However, the reflection in the mirror did not change.
The man was silent for a moment, then suddenly punched the mirror and broke it.
"Does it look good?"
He suddenly turned around.
Su Cheng met those bloodshot eyes and said, "It's not pretty. I mean, I have no idea what happened."
"I can tell you," the man said calmly, "that you are in my domain."
Su Cheng rolled his eyes. The room they were in was surrounded by thick dark grey fog. The only thing that could be considered an object was the dirty mirror.
Su Cheng: “…Oh.”
The man looked at her calmly, "You seem to have a lot of questions. Now you can think about how to start."
Su Cheng took a deep breath, "Who are you?"
"If you're asking for a name," the man replied with interest, "I have more than one name."
Su Cheng couldn't help but feel a little strange, "Someone once said something similar to me-"
The man's expression became a little strange, as if he had been punched by someone and his childish imitation was exposed.
But it was only for a moment.
Su Cheng didn't have time to carefully grasp his emotions.
The man's expression quickly changed, and he showed a beautiful, heart-beating smile again.
His smile is very nice, natural and friendly, without any pretentiousness or hypocrisy, which makes people trust him at first sight.
"Fan," he said softly, "You can call me that."
Su Cheng nodded slowly, "Okay, you...why am I here?"
"You touched a medium."
Isn't this nonsense?
Su Cheng sighed, "Okay, who were you talking to in the mirror just now?"
"A god."
"Uh," Su Cheng was unsure, "False Gods in the void? I mean, that's what the people in the Church call them."
The man frowned at her, "What is the Holy See?"
Su Cheng opened his eyes wide.
Is there anyone in this world who would ask such a question?
Even those who cannot read, even those who cannot pronounce the word "clergy", at least know the existence of the Holy See.
Su Cheng: "The Holy See is the largest organization of believers in the God of Light."
The man looked at her quietly for a few seconds, "What is the God of Light?"
Su Cheng: "…………Are you serious?"
She felt that there might be something wrong with the other person's brain.
Of course there is another possibility.
This person lives in some completely isolated place and has no contact with the outside world at all.
Or maybe he is in another dimension, not the North or South Continent.
But if that was the case, why could he establish a link with the other party through the portraits stored by Jingyin Society?
He must have some connection with Jingyin Society, right?
Su Cheng was silent.
The man didn't speak either.
Su Cheng: "...Why is it written on the wall outside: Don't trust your memory? Because memories can be faked?"
Fan groaned. "I don't know what you mean by 'out there on the wall,' but the first question has many answers, and the last sentence is just one explanation. Memory isn't an inscription on a stone slab, but a sand painting in the wind. Every time you look back, the old sand is blown away and covered by new. And your mind isn't a locked iron box, it's a living book, writing on its own blank pages—"
He leaned back against the mirror. "Anger makes memory burn, fear clouds it, joy makes it vivid. Even time is a poor scribe, writing 'maybe' as 'is', 'I heard' as 'I saw'."
Fan tilted his head slightly, and his handsome face was fully in her sight.
He has dark brown curly hair, wheat-colored skin, a high nose and deep eyes, and is very handsome. There is a lazy smile on his face.
For a moment, Su Cheng felt that his temperament had changed.
It seems that it is no longer in the confused state as before, but has become more mysterious and mature, and more difficult to understand.
"What I say to you now may take on a different form in your mind tomorrow. This is not a curse, my dear lady, but the fate of flesh and blood. It is a tapestry that is constantly fading, a monument that will eventually collapse—"
"Then tell me." Su Cheng said, "How to get rid of the flesh and blood body."
"Oh?" He tilted his head playfully. "Those who desire eternal life, that sounds cliché. Is that really what you want? Can you afford it?"
"Let me know first, then I can make a decision."
"Well," Fan didn't answer her, but just stared at her quietly, "Aren't you scared?"
"No, because it's not true."
Su Cheng said, "From the moment the painting started to smoke, it wasn't real, although it took me a few seconds to realize it."
"What made you come to this realization?"
"...If it's true, my companions will save me."
Su Cheng said calmly, "Whether I can save him or not, I should at least see him react instead of just standing there."
"Ha," he said, seemingly not expecting such an answer. "Interesting. That's alright, I guess. Besides, you're right. It's just a memory."
Su Cheng: “?”
Is that okay?
Before Su Cheng could say anything, he suddenly felt like he was stepping on empty air.
Then it began to fall, and kept falling.
Until the darkness around him dissipated.
"What the hell?!"
She opened her eyes suddenly.
In front of me was a dim and gloomy shop with dusty doors and windows. It looked like it was no longer in business. The cupboards were cluttered with yellowed old maps, rusty compasses, and some outdated documents.
Su Cheng blinked and suddenly realized that something was wrong.
She was in someone's arms.
The cold temperature came from the chest pressed against my side.
She was sitting suspended in the air, and what was resting under her buttocks was not a chair, but a man's muscular arm.
The metal buckle of the leather wristband was a little hard against the inside of my thigh.
Su Cheng moved his legs subconsciously.
The person next to her immediately sensed something and tilted his wrist to let her lean more on his shoulder.
"How does it feel?"
The man asked.
Su Cheng tilted his head, "Um... okay, what is this place?"
"It's a shop. The entrance to the Kagami-in-kai's base is underground here."
"Are you saying there's a teleportation array hidden underground?"
"Yeah, almost, except the other end is connected to another dimension." Kai nodded. "People from the Vatican have been looking for it, so I'm taking you away first. I've also destroyed the corresponding magic array here, so they can't get through for a while."
Su Cheng also didn't want the people from the Vatican to see him, especially in that place, "That's great."
She sat on the captain's arm, so she was lifted up by him, her elbows pressed against his broad shoulders, and her fingertips could already touch the handle of the heavy sword behind the man.
Looking down again, close to the side of the body are crossed leather straps, encircling the bulging and hard chest. The marble-like muscles bulge, almost filling the field of vision.
The next second, slender fingers wrapped in leather suddenly gently held her face.
"you……"
The black-haired, golden-eyed man looked at her, his rough fingertips stroking the girl's cheekbone, then he casually picked up a small mirror from the cabinet next to him.
In the dusty mirror, her face was reflected clearly.
——Golden threads of light spread out from the corner of the left eye, and those threads intertwined at the end of the eye, converging into the pattern of half an eye.
It looks like half of the left eye was copied in equal proportions, and the copied image was shifted outward a certain distance.
Su Cheng: “???”
Su Cheng: "What is this?"
Kai looked at her, "The mark of the God of Illusion."
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