trade

The nightmare fell to the ground, and it snorted, as if it smelled some unpleasant smell, and revealed hostility in a certain direction.

Tianma chewed some grass and turned his head away without even looking at the other person.

Nasir used magic to send the nightmare back. The two of them walked up the mountain road. There were wooden stakes inserted at intervals on both sides of the road. The wood was black, with dense symbols engraved on it. It was narrow at the bottom and wide at the top, and the top was shaved flat without any wood thorns.

Walking further ahead, we soon saw Christine driving a wooden stake beside the stone road.

The blond knight squatted on the ground, carefully carving something on the wood with a dagger. Seeing the two people coming, the former took the initiative to wave at them: "You are back, did you have fun outside?"

Nasir walked past him without looking back and said, "Don't be distracted. You still have two-thirds of the road to light."

Mason asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

"I am preparing the ceremonial supplies."

Christine sighed and answered with a bitter face.

"We need to use dead wood from graves over a hundred years old as torches. Each one must be engraved with a prayer dedicated to the god of death. We also need to prepare a hundred servings of white leaf flowers and ghost phosphorus leaves, plus the fresh blood of high-level undead monsters. I have to do all of this myself, and I can't let anyone else help."

Only the purest girls can grow white leaf flowers, while ghost phosphorus leaves are born deep in the land where the undead are doing evil. The higher the level of the undead, the higher the degree of corpse transformation.

As for the high-level undead monsters, there are very few of this level that still have fresh blood. These things are hard to find, not to mention a hundred servings. It is so difficult for the living to go to the kingdom of the god of death, no wonder only Christine tried.

Christine said: "I still have 376 torches left to light..."

Mason gave him a sympathetic look and followed Nasir back to the house. Nasir told him to study on his own and then returned to the laboratory.

Back in the study again, Mason sat at the table and couldn't help but touch the bow behind his back.

During this time of training, he had grown a little taller and now looked to be about twelve years old.

This period of time was very fruitful and everything was going well, except for Mason who was feeling uneasy.

He put aside all distractions and there was only one last thing left. Mason found all the books about the goddess of fate and began to read them carefully.

Verdanti, the goddess of fate, was born from the vision of the first primitive man for the future and the sorrow of the last primitive man's death.

When he ascended to the throne of God, he made two prophecies with the help of the World Tree. Only the gods knew the specific content and it was kept top secret.

Those who believe in her are called astrologers. They believe that the stars contain the trajectory of destiny. The goddess makes inferences by observing the leaves of the world tree, and they predict the future by observing the stars.

Mason read these books until he found what he wanted to know, because the goddess of fate was too mysterious and these things had been lost in later generations. According to legend, the kingdom of the goddess of fate is located under the world tree and surrounds the entire world tree.

Therefore, some people call the World Tree the "Tree of Destiny". The Goddess of Destiny built a magnificent circular observatory, which can observe the pulse of the leaves from the best angle. Only the most talented and devout astrologers can go to the goddess's kingdom after death and serve as her servants.

He closed the book, let out a long breath, and made up his mind.

Sure enough, the circular building he saw was the destroyed kingdom of the goddess of fate.

It is hard to imagine how powerful it is that turned it into ruins and destroyed the original world tree. After solving one puzzle, more puzzles come to mind, but those things that happen in the future are destined to be impossible to find answers here.

Mason, feeling upset, decided to go out for a walk. The view from the top of the mountain was the same as always. He walked down a short distance along the path in front of the altar and found Christine smoothly.

The blond knight was still pounding piles diligently, and although the work was very arduous, he was in a good mood. When he saw Mason, he immediately greeted him with a smile and took out some fruits from somewhere and handed them to him.

"You and Nasir look alike. You must not have eaten well. This is for you. It was given to me by someone in the village."

The round fruit is small and cute, with a slightly green skin, and it looks like it is not yet ripe.

Mason stared at the fruit for a while, then suddenly asked, "I heard that the villagers once believed in foreign gods."

Christine's smile faded slightly. "Ah, who told you? Yes, the person who told you was right."

"Christine, why did you save them?"

The blond knight was silent for a moment, looking at him with his deep blue eyes. His eyes were darker than Canaan's, so his features looked softer when he looked at others.

"I hate those foreign gods more than anyone else. Their birth is based on human suffering. But not all those who believe in them deserve to die."

"The future and the road are things that only those in power would think about. I have seen a believer in the Blood Flower Whisper. It is a foreign god that uses humans as soil parasites. Killing it a hundred times is not too much. But the reason why that believer believes in it is only because the church will cast magic for them to make the crops grow better. He can use this extra money to take care of the children."

"Why didn't he ask for help from the Church of the Goddess of Nature? Because the priests of the Goddess of Nature need 2 silver coins to cast a spell, which is a whole year's income for them. It sounds incredible, right? When I first knew about it, I was also confused. Are these people not afraid of the sanctions of the church for a few extra copper coins?"

"But the man looked at me and said to me, 'Sir Knight, I know this is a sin, but my youngest child did not starve to death or be sold this year. She survived well.' At that moment, I knew how stupid I was. I also grew up in the village. If even I don't understand these people, how can the nobles, priests, and those who have never touched the land with their hands understand them?"

The air suddenly became extremely quiet. Mason moved his lips, but he didn't know what to say. Christine looked at the wood pile in front of him, his voice was soft, but firm.

“So I want to be a god.”

"If I can't change these things as a man, then I'll become God and change them."

This is a well-deserved knight, and you can see all the light of humanity in him. Mason really can't imagine who would not love him. Before this, Christine was just a tool for him to perfect his personality, but after really communicating with him, Mason learned a lot from this knight.

Even though he knew what was going to happen, Mason couldn't help but say from the bottom of his heart, "You will definitely make a very good god."

Christine smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment. I have chosen a priesthood that I really like. When I ascend to the throne, I will be the first to tell you."

"Okay, I'll look forward to it then."

The two chatted and laughed while Mason accompanied Christine as they inserted the last wood pile. Christine stretched her stiff shoulders and continued to prepare the remaining materials.

He had collected them all early on, and they needed to be divided into hundreds of portions and put into baskets for use.

Christine had to do all the preparations by himself. Mason stayed up all night and day with him, and finally finished all the preparations before the lunar eclipse.

Christine was so moved that he couldn't speak. I didn't know whether to say that he had a good attitude or was full of energy. At such a critical last moment, he actually took Mason out for a trip.

The destination is not far away, just near the sea. Ordinary people rarely come here. The white waves beat against the beach, and the sky is a very light and almost transparent blue. The reef stands tall near the shore, and the sea is surging, reflecting thousands of tiny golden lights on the surface. In this poetic and picturesque scenery, Christine...

Build a bonfire and grill fish for Mason.

Mason was speechless, not knowing how to evaluate the other party's actions. But Christine was indeed a good cook, grilling the fish to perfection, with the outside of the fish crispy and the inside tender. The aroma of the grilled fish filled the beach, making people's appetites grow.

Under the blue sky and white clouds, Mason actually felt a long-lost sense of relaxation.

He took a bite of the grilled fish, and Christine sat down next to him, concentrating on sprinkling seasoning on his own grilled fish. The two chatted lazily in the sea breeze. The silver-haired child asked in a slurred voice, "Are you nervous?"

"What are you nervous about? The ceremony?"

Christine thought for a moment and said, "Of course I will. To be honest, although I have been favored by the goddess of luck, I have never been a lucky person. When practicing swordsmanship, I may encounter a wanted necromancer, and when I was clearing out monsters, I accidentally discovered a monster riot. Others have been to places hundreds of times without any problems, but as long as I go to a place, I will encounter big problems..."

"......"

As Mason listened, his expression gradually became subtle.

Why do these things sound familiar?

I traveled through time and found myself cursed, went to Ya'an City and immediately found the followers of the Black Mist, passed by the Green Dragon Canyon and just happened to find the Green Dragon Soul escaping, came to Partington and immediately ran into the Twelve Round Table Trials, problems arise wherever I go...

Mason was a little embarrassed: "Didn't you ask the goddess of luck what she said?"

Christine obviously had something to say: "I asked, which explanation do you want to hear? The better one is that it is a test brought by fate, that I must be the darling of this era and will achieve great things in the future - nonsense, if I can't survive, I will die."

"Another theory is about the operation of the World Tree. The goddess of fate said that I am a person who radiates strong positive energy. In order to reduce the negativity in the world, the World Tree will add more negative energy to my destiny. The more it eliminates, the more favor the world will show to me."

This kind of situation can easily break a person's mentality, but the truly strong can always gain strength from it. Neither Mason nor Christine felt pain for what they went through.

The two had a lively discussion about this and spent the last day before the lunar eclipse in a harmonious trip to the seaside.

…

The mysterious land controlled by Nasir is a special place.

Every five years, a lunar eclipse occurs in a mysterious place. The night of the lunar eclipse is when the followers of the God of Death hold a ceremony.

Before the lunar eclipse, the two returned to the mysterious place, and Nasir was waiting for them at the foot of the mountain.

Unlike usual, the black-haired man tonight wore a black robe with golden satin edges. His inky black hair fell on his shoulders, like a vampire walking out of a painting.

Seeing the two people arrive on time, he cast his eyes to the sky. The bright moonlight gradually disappeared, and darkness enveloped the entire mysterious place.

When the moon was completely swallowed by darkness, Nasir stepped onto the first stone step, and a ball of phosphorescent light suddenly jumped out from the wooden stakes on both sides. The dim firelight illuminated the road ahead, and it swayed with every step of the priest.

The prayers that Christine had carved seemed to flow in the firelight as Nasir walked up one more step. Something broke free from the thick darkness and followed him closely.

It was a believer in a white robe with an obscure face, holding a torch, following the priest's guidance towards the high altar. With every step Nasir took, there was one more person behind him.

The dead in the wilderness wandered around in confusion, crying and asking the traveler: "Where should I go to find relief?"

The first person raised a torch and threw the flame ignited by the blood of the monster forward: "I will illuminate you."

The second person sprinkled pure white petals, forming a lonely path: "I will pave the way for you."

The third person plays the sobbing leaf song, awakening the deceased's tears: "I pray for you."

Hundreds of thousands of people, dressed in white robes, built a long dragon leading to the top of the mountain.

Nasir came to the highest altar and bowed down to it. The rough and simple altar in front of him suddenly flashed, and the shadow of a towering tower appeared faintly on it.

It was huge and tall, like a giant overlooking the ground. The believers behind Nasir bowed down one by one, and the black-haired priest in the lead turned around, his eyes seemed to penetrate the long road, and he looked at the blond knight.

He said: "This is the holy land of the dead. The dead have gone there and the living avoid it."

The followers in white robes were solemn and said, "This is the holy land of the dead. The dead have returned and the living should stay away."

"Whoever believes in Him will find eternal peace; whoever welcomes Him will find tranquility of mind and body."

The tower slowly opened, and the interior led to a dark place without light. The dead souls stared out from the door. That was the kingdom of the god of death. Except for the rituals during the lunar eclipse, only the dead could walk across the bridge of the dead to the other side.

Nasir lowered his eyes, and all the white-robed believers stopped talking. They all turned around and looked at the humans on the ground. Silence was like a huge object expanding in the air, bringing a heavy pressure. Christine took a deep breath, knowing that they were all waiting for him.

Mason held his breath and watched the knight about to step onto the stone steps. At this moment, the space ring on his finger suddenly shook.

Mason was silent, and so was Christine.

Normally, he should have ignored this, but not many people have his contact information.

After a moment, the blond knight took out a magic envelope from the ring. The originally closed envelope opened automatically, and letters kept spewing out of it.

"Who is looking for me at this time?"

Christine muttered, but still took a quick look at the contents. When he saw the contents of the first letter, the expression on his face suddenly froze. He quickly read the second, third...

After reading it all, Christine raised his head and looked at the stone road in front of him. The profile of his face looked unusually hard in the firelight.

The gods are waiting at the end. He looked at the road for a long time, but did not move.

Mason's heart suddenly jumped, and his voice became hurried unconsciously: "What's wrong? Christine, go up quickly, Nasir is waiting for you."

He almost prayed in his heart.

As long as he gets the last mark, Christine will have the recognition of the twelve gods. Becoming the thirteenth god is a done deal. Nothing is more important than this. Go, Christine, go quickly.

The blond knight was silent for a long time, and then whispered, "I can't go up. The border of Roland Ag has been attacked. As a knight, I can't let the enemy invade. As an ordinary person, my hometown is there."

The path to godhood is within reach, but behind him is the human world.

No one would offend the followers of the twelve gods, as that would be tantamount to seeking death. But in one situation, even the remaining gods would not help.

When a true god has opened his kingdom and is ready to entertain guests, the invited guests turn away without paying attention to the god's majesty. This is nothing short of a joke to the god.

The God of War knew about this, the Goddess of Fate knew about this, and even the God of Death had a premonition of this. There was only one reason why the twelve gods did not change their decision.

This is a choice between divinity and humanity.

The black-robed priest stood at the entrance, his tone calm. There was a faint divine light in the depths of his eyes, as if he already knew the other party's answer.

"Christine Raleigh, if you leave here, the ceremony will end. The Lord has cast his eyes on us, and such behavior of playing tricks on God will bring wrath."

"The Twelve Gods will not help you."

"Nasir. I respect the twelve gods, and I have no intention of playing with death. Becoming a god is indeed important, but I have something to protect."

"If you walk out of here, you'll have to wait five years."

Christine smiled bitterly and called out loudly, "Neil!"

A pure white Pegasus descended from the sky, emitting a light that shone like stars. Christine kissed its forehead and said, "Please accompany me for another journey, my friend."

Neil arched his chin, and Christine turned over and rode on the horse. The silver-haired child suddenly stepped forward: "Take me with you."

"This matter has nothing to do with you."

“But I want to walk this journey with you.”

The other party was really insistent, so Christine had to accept his kindness. Pegasus flew high in the sky, carrying the two people away from the mysterious place and quickly heading to the border.

As the distance got closer, the silver-haired child began to grow rapidly. His body was twitching, and heaven was reviving. Strength was returning to his body, but Mason became anxious.

Can he get there before he disappears? No—no. The world is rejecting him, as if warning the retrospective not to destroy destiny itself.

If Christine had not died here, the things associated with it would not have happened. The flapping of a butterfly's wings stirs up the storm that affects the future, and no one can resist the torrent of fate rushing forward.

Thinking this, he closed his eyes. [Heaven] expanded at an extraordinary speed, and then compressed in the opposite direction.

"Wherever He goes, there is heaven. There are rivers of milk and honey flowing, and everyone is pious and good."

Compress, compress, and continue compressing. These forces can exist even after he disappears. As long as the quantity is large enough, it can slow down the speed of dissipating in this world.

"The guilty, the lost, the hopeless, the irrecoverable, the powerless."

"Please listen to this prophecy."

Don't give up the fight, don't be extinguished in the lightless night, don't stop before the coming darkness, and don't surrender to the destined ending.

"Wherever you step on is the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who bow down here will find peace and rest; those who follow this man will hear the gospel."

“That story.”

Christine suddenly said, Mason opened his eyes, from his angle he could only see the other's chin, but soon, he could see the other's face.

The young knight looked forward, without sadness or hesitation. Judging from his expression, it was hard to imagine that death was waiting for him. He himself was obviously aware of this. The voices of the conversation were a little blurry in the warm light, and the ending sound was slightly raised.

"I want to hear the end of that story that has no end. What happened to Aurelius after I died?"

"If I can really survive, I want to meet him."

When he sees you, he will surely burst into tears. As long as you can survive, I will do my best to see you.

The words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat. Mason memorized the other person's face deeply, deeply in his heart.

The body that was growing faster was also heading for faster collapse. The energy was compressed to the extreme into a bright starlight and sent into Christine's body. A warm feeling filled his body, and Chris was surprised to find a new power surging in his body.

The figure of the silver-haired young man gradually faded away. He stared at the knight and seemed to say something. Christine could tell from his lip shape that:

"Wait for me."

Christine smiled.

He whispered, "It will happen. As long as you have a righteous heart, we will eventually meet at the end of this road."

The last bit of light faded away, and the border city of Roland Ag appeared in the distance at the end of his sight. The glorious knight Christin put on his helmet and drew his long sword, and the voice under the visor was brave and fearless.

"Let's go, Neil, let's go protect our hometown!"

The world is distorted. Time slows down at this moment, and everything you see is divided into countless frames.

Mason felt himself floating upwards, and a warm but not blinding light enveloped him. Eleven gazes came from all directions. The gods were indeed paying attention to this place.

"He really chose humans..."

"If even the Child of Time cannot become the 13th God, who else can we choose?"

"Even if we all stand on the side of humanity, we are destined to make a choice as the next era arrives. He is too human to become a ruthless god."

"A god cannot have weaknesses."

When Christine made his decision, they sighed. But soon, the gods noticed the silver-haired young man and stopped talking. Several gods who had met him before smiled and walked towards him with good intentions.

"My dear child, I hope you will not let my flowers down."

The goddess of beauty bent down and placed the rose she picked from the garden in the palm of the silver-haired young man.

"Remember your promise."

The twin snakes bit the silver-haired young man's ankle, leaving a slight stinging sensation. Then they disappeared without a word.

"Don't embarrass me! You must become the strongest warrior!"

The young man felt a sudden pain in his shoulder, as if someone had slapped him hard in the face.

The gods came and left one by one. They had seen the end.

Finally, someone stood behind the silver-haired young man.

The cold voice reached his ears, like a faint mist rising from a cemetery. Unlike other gods, He asked softly.

"Do you agree with this outcome?"

The silver-haired young man replied: "Absolutely not."

"I can make a deal with you. You are entangled with a terrible secret that will lead to the deaths of countless people. I will help you, and only I can help you. In exchange, you need to give me something."

"What do you want?"

"Your death."

He said, "I have been with them since their birth. Until the last second of their lives, I blew away the dust on their souls. But you are different. You have no defects, no lifespan, and are an immortal monster."

"I will create a weakness in you, a scar that will kill you forever. In exchange, I will plant a seed for you. It may sprout, or it may not. Everything depends on you. If successful, you can meet in the future."

Just a possibility, is it worth exchanging Canaan's life for it?

Without any hesitation, the silver-haired priest nodded.

Not only because of his friendship with Christine, but also because a person like this shouldn't be here and die because of something like this.

He should have a good ending and a bright future.

The hand of the god of death passed through his body from behind and landed on his right eye. His eyeball felt a burning pain, and when the god of death removed his hand, the priest's right eye turned as black as ink.

A dagger appeared in the hand of the god of death, the blade glowing as blue as the sea. The silver-haired priest felt a strong call from it, as if the two sides were one.

Death's voice was calm and prophetic.

"Nothing about you will be affected, but when this dagger pierces your right eye, even your immortal life will come to an end."

He loosened his grip, and the dagger fell from the sky, landing on Christine and merging with him.

The blond knight knew nothing and rode his horse towards the last battlefield of his life.

"One day..."

The voice of the Grim Reaper became infinitely distant, and Mason's consciousness completely withdrew before he could hear the rest.

In the Age of Darkness, in a meditation room in the Holy City.

The pocket watch on the table made its final circle and its light dimmed again.

The silver-haired young man sitting at the table suddenly opened his eyes, a dazed look on his face.

He subconsciously reached out and touched his right eye. The dark black eye contrasted with the azure blue of his left pupil. The words of the god of death were still ringing in his ears. The silver-haired priest was silent for a long time, and finally stood up and walked out of the room.

At the same time, somewhere forgotten, a pair of blue eyes opened.

Those were a pair of tired but resolute eyes, and anyone could see an unyielding soul through them. The owner of the eyes stared at nothingness for a while, then suddenly laughed, with a tone of nostalgia.

"I was thinking about something that happened a long time ago..."

As he said this, the sound of heavy chains rang out in the air.

Countless chains stretched out from the void, piercing through the other's body. It was as if he was carrying the sins of the entire world, and as if he was suppressed by the world. When he opened, all the chains shook demonstratively.

"Okay, I'll just be quiet. Even if you lock me up here, I won't give you anything."

The soul spoke in a relaxed tone, but the only response was deathly silence. He was not annoyed and closed his eyes calmly again.

Waiting and waiting.

In the darkness without seeing the sun, I have been waiting.