I'm a replica
The next morning, Duke did not return to the cabin until Aurelius woke up.
There was a trace of fatigue on his face, and he prepared a simple breakfast before starting to rest. The Queen of Insects took the opportunity to jump back onto Oreius's shoulder and began to complain.
"This old fellow can really run. I had to follow him around all night. My tail is almost worn out."
The red-haired young man pretended not to hear anything: "What are the results of the investigation?"
The Queen of Insects wanted to sell out the mermaids, but she didn't get the response she wanted. She was very upset but could do nothing about it: "He killed mermaids all night, and I didn't see anything."
It was not difficult to hear the disgust in her words. The queen hated serious guys like this the most. Oreius said "Oh?" and didn't say much. The Queen of Insects complained while observing his expression. She always felt that this guy was holding back a lot of bad intentions.
Aurelius didn't care what she thought, and left the room after dinner.
The wooden house is located on a green meadow with a warm and humid climate. From the outside, it seems out of place in the swamp environment.
He followed Duke's instructions and walked along the path in front of the door for a while. Sure enough, he saw a faint flash of phantom light at the end, as if calling them to come in.
The red-haired young man stopped in front of the phantom light. It was a strange entrance that was as thin as a mirror and had a shimmering water glow. Through the translucent hole, Oreius saw many swamp mermaids wandering around the entrance, as if they were looking for something. Walking out of here would be like walking into a trap.
Between fighting with the mermaid and bothering Duke, the young man chose the latter without hesitation. Duke hadn't slept for long when he opened his eyes drowsily and met a pair of dark golden eyes. They were careless and lazy, with a little unconscious indifference, and were as cold as thin ice.
The old priest suddenly woke up and asked: "What are you doing?"
The red-haired young man sat on the bed and said sincerely, "My way back is blocked by swamp mermaids. Please help me. I want to go to the depths of the swamp sea. Is there any other way?"
"If you find the corresponding door, you can go straight to the depths."
Duke rubbed his forehead and finally came to his senses: "I haven't been there, but I can try to help you find the corresponding door. This may take a few days."
Aurelius naturally agreed, and the two of them got along very well. Duke got up, ate, told him to take good care of himself, and then went out at lightning speed to fulfill his promise.
It is said that experts in wilderness survival have unique skills. It took Duke only two days to find the door. On the third day, he told Oreius the good news and asked him if he wanted to leave.
The red-haired young man followed the other person to their destination. A vortex-like door stood abruptly on the grass, shrouded in a hazy glow.
Duke said, "Go through this door and you will reach the depths. It is very dangerous there. Even I have never been there. Please be careful. My Lord will bless you."
"Thank you so much, I don't know what I would have done without your help."
The red-haired young man thanked him sincerely and put his hand against the door. Just when Duke thought he was going to leave, the red-haired young man suddenly turned around and asked, "Come to think of it, what did you do on your first night out?"
The priest was stunned, unsure of the other party's sudden attack. "Clean up the monsters that ran in and maintain the stability of the holy land, what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing."
The red-haired young man smiled and shook his head, then turned and walked through the door. For some reason, Duke felt a palpitation.
The vortex slowly turned, but it did not teleport the other party away as he had imagined. The entire door froze in place, flickering on and off. Finally, it turned into a ball of light and suddenly disappeared from the spot.
Duke was dumbfounded, and felt that the other party had done it, but he could not find any evidence. He tried to blame Oreius, but the latter just gave him an innocent look, as if to say, "You are the expert."
Orelius withdrew his hand, and the wound on his palm healed silently, and there was no longer any sign of abnormality.
Portal, I can only help you so far. If this can't save you, then just be a sleeping beauty.
Somewhere in the void, a ball of light was drifting with the flow.
There are countless illusory doors here. Every time the light ball approaches a door, its power will be slightly restored.
Suddenly, another ball of light jumped to its side.
The sleeping portal lived up to Orelius's expectations and instinctively began to devour the power sent to the surroundings. The disciples who had just arrived here wanted to resist.
But the blood lines on its body were faintly visible, forcing the opponent to give up the idea and contribute strength obediently.
With the same source of supply, the sleeping portal slowly woke up. It took several bites before it realized what had happened.
The power delivered to his mouth was so suitable that it was like a part of it. The portal stared at the other party in surprise and confusion: "Who are you? How come you have the same aura as me?"
The absorbed door almost disappeared, leaving only a vague consciousness. After hearing this, it understood the other party's situation.
The door that was about to disappear laughed and said, "I am the same as you. We are both portals."
The portal couldn't understand what it was saying. If it was a portal, then what was it? There couldn't be two identical contaminants in the world, unless they were copied... ah, that's right!
It immediately understood: "You are my copy!"
The other party did not say anything, only sent a mocking intention, and then was completely swallowed up.
The portal was uneasy until it heard Oleus' call, then it mustered up its strength and jumped over.
The obsidian gate appeared out of thin air on the grass, with delicate dark red patterns all over it, like a rose carved into the stone, enchanting and powerful.
A familiar voice sounded again: "Respected Lord Orelius, the portal is at your service at any time! These craftsmen are so cunning that they secretly used my copies to deal with you. I will punish them for you and devour them all~"
Seeing this scene, Duke's expression darkened.
Oreius patted the portal, then looked at the priest and said calmly: "Would you like to recall what you did on the first night?"
"Now that you know everything, there is no need for me to continue hiding it."
Duke answered expressionlessly. The grassland where the two of them were was completely shattered, replaced by emptiness.
Thousands of doors of various colors divide it into independent entities, and stepping into the door is like falling into the torrent of time. This is very familiar to the teleportation gate, and it can find a way to leave here without closing its eyes.
"Leave it to me, Lord Orelius."
It operated with confidence, sending Orelius out first, and then making its own jump. The first half went smoothly, and just as the portal was about to leave, a familiar voice rang out.
"Oh? Isn't this a replica of me? How come it is in this human's hands?"
This voice made Chuansheng feel inexplicably panicked, and then Men flew into a rage: "You are the copy, and your whole family is a copy! I haven't even investigated the matter of the craftsman copying me, and you dare to say that I am a copy?"
"It seems that you haven't figured out your identity yet. There are not many idiots like you. Let me think, you don't look like a guard. Are you the research product for the craftsmen, or the one that was taken away by humans in the past, or the one who is responsible for guarding the seal?"
The grinning voice was identical to the portal, and a huge shadow appeared in the portal world. The portal stared at the door in a daze. From the outside, it looked exactly like the portal, except that it lacked the blood line.
The illusory door slowly opened in front of him, and endless black mist gushed out, exuding the cold smell of death.
Compared to it, the portal was as young as a child. A stealthy laugh echoed in the air, looking down from above. It examined the portal, happily enjoying its panic and doubts, and laughed at it.
"So, have you seen the reality? It doesn't matter who you want to be the pollutant of, after all, I am a very free door. There is only one thing, you cannot disobey the orders of the [Wise]. If you continue to be stubborn, I will have no choice but to swallow you. Well, it sounds so pitiful. After all, [I] am definitely the most humane existence among the out-of-control pollutants, much better than other out-of-control pollutants."
"Impossible. I am an out-of-control pollutant created by the pollution from human death. I am recorded in the Noble Association. How could I be a replica of you?"
From the aura emanating from the other party, the portal clearly sensed the desire to surrender.
That was the natural submission of the replica before the original, which made it realize more and more that the other party was right.
But how is this possible?
It remembered all the history since it became a pollutant, the things it had experienced and the people it had met. It remembered the feeling of its former master dying in front of it and blood spurting on the door. From that moment on, it deeply understood what death was and inherited its master's fear: the desire to escape.
Therefore, the portal has mastered the authority of the [door] and can travel through different spaces.
These memories were extremely real, but gradually became precarious under the other party's laughter. The real portal almost couldn't help laughing when he heard this.
"Out-of-control pollutants generated by humans? You think too highly of that human. Unless it is an SSS-level death, the pollutants created will never be able to control the authority of the [Gate]. This is the highest authority! Listen carefully, I was not born for humans from the beginning."
A huge force pressed down from the sky, blocking all escape routes of the portal. This level of control is totally incomparable to the portal. If it can open a door at any time, then the entity in front of it can create a door at any time. The portal was hit and crawled all over the ground, stumbling to avoid the opponent's attack.
More and more black mists surrounded it, trying to drag it into the gate. Looking at the ugliness of the portal, the main body sneered arrogantly.
"I am the offspring of the Supreme Evolution, a child born of the Mother of Pollution, born to control the Gate. I am to Pollution what God is to Humanity. Do not sully me with such a stupid record—"
"Humans are just slaves to pollution. In this world, only out-of-control pollution can truly stand at the top!"
"And you——since you have been brainwashed by humans, I will take you back. It doesn't matter, you will return to this world soon, in a brand new way."