Chapter 260 Girl Praying 2
All those chosen have an unseen connection with the Void Realm, and the Lord of the Divine Seal, as the master of the Void Realm, can use this connection to have the power of life and death over all the chosen ones.
However, there is one exception.
That's me.
"At the end of the last gathering in the Void Realm, it seems that I was the only one who was not affected by the power of the Lord of the Divine Seal..."
I recalled the scene. Strictly speaking, there was one person who seemed unaffected: Number Seven. Although most of the chosen ones in the Void Realm consciously concealed their true identities, Number Seven was the most mysterious among them. Her stance—or rather, her stance towards the Lord of the Divine Seal and the proposed fragment competition—remained unclear, and I was never able to figure out even a fraction of her background.
Even Xuanming No. 4 and No. 6, who were both powerful figures, showed slight reactions to the death illusion cast by the Lord of the Divine Seal, while she remained completely still, like a stagnant pool. I couldn't tell whether she was completely unaffected like me, or simply very good at pretending.
“Yes, I noticed that too.” Little Bowl Number Two continued, “That must be because your connection with the Void Realm is very shallow, so the Lord of the Divine Seal cannot control you at will. However, if the connection deepens, things will be a different story.”
“Every time I enter the virtual realm, my connection with it deepens. Perhaps if I enter it a few more times, I will become completely at its mercy.” I came to this conclusion.
"Not only that, if we further engage in transactions with the Lord of the Divine Seal, it's very likely... no, it's certain that the connection will deepen even further." Little Bowl Number Two said seriously, "Mr. Number Three, have you already collected the second... or even more fragments of the Divine Seal?"
“We’ve already collected the second one,” I said.
Eating food from the underworld will make you a resident of the underworld.
Similarly, making a deal with the Lord of the Divine Seal in the Void Realm and obtaining the desired information from him will also bring oneself closer to the Void Realm. The "exchange of information" itself has a ritualistic nature of acknowledging the existence of the other. Some local folk tales also contain the idea that if you encounter ghosts while walking at night, you should pretend not to see them, otherwise you will be cursed and killed by them.
"Transaction," however, is a ritualistic act that takes things to a higher level. In this process, my existence inevitably gravitates towards the realm of the other party. This is something I can more or less foresee based on my knowledge of occultism.
"So, do you intend to make a deal with the Lord of the Divine Seal?" she pressed.
"Yes," I said.
"...Mr. Number Three, none of us know what the Lord of the Divine Seal wants to use us for. And if he decides to do something in the end, even gods like Number Four and Number Six would probably be no match for him. You are the only one here who is out of his control, and perhaps only you have the ability to fight against him." She said, "I don't know what information you want to exchange with the Lord of the Divine Seal, but can't we really give up?"
Unfortunately, I have no intention of giving up. The true identity of the Great Impermanence who attempted to kill Ma Zao, or the whereabouts of Chang'an's soul—I must at least bring one of these back to the real world. Perhaps doing so will put me at an irreparable disadvantage when I must contend with the Lord of the Divine Seal in the future, and I will pay the price, but I am prepared to accept it.
Furthermore, even if I don't engage in transactions now, my connection with the Void Realm is destined to deepen over time, until my life and death fall into the control of the Lord of the Divine Seal.
It's not that I intend to sit idly by and wait for death. I don't believe that reaching that point necessarily means a dead end. Number Four and Number Six have likely already realized their predicament, yet they show no signs of dejection. In the end, they are simply facing the same "challenge difficulty" as the Lord of the Divine Seal, a colossus.
Having witnessed their confidence and courage, why should I be afraid of falling into the same position as them?
These thoughts may have reached the mind of Little Bowl No. 2 through the connection of telepathy, or perhaps she saw it with her ability to read people's expressions. She said in a low voice, "...Indeed, even if you don't propose a deal, your connection with the virtual realm will continue to deepen...but I may have a way to stop this trend."
"You have a way?" I asked, surprised.
“My prayers, amplified by the power of the divine seal fragments, can even send Asahi-neechan back to the past, so of course they can help you as well,” she said.
If the source of the Lord of the Divine Seal's power is the Divine Seal, and the connection between the chosen one and the Void Realm has the same attribute, then the power of prayer from Little Bowl No. 2 might actually have an effect on it.
"Since you can unleash that kind of power, why don't you use it on yourself?" I wondered.
“Because I don’t actually want to die that much, Mr. Number Three.” Her voice revealed a sense of optimism. “Whether my prayers can bring about a miracle depends on the strength of my will. And I’m already getting tired of living in this kind of world.”
"But I don't want Asahi-neechan to die, nor do I want you, who could bring Asahi-neechan happiness, to die. I hope you can live happily ever after."
"If I pray with this intention, I believe I can bring about a miracle."
As she spoke, she gently enveloped my left hand with both of hers, as if making a gesture of prayer.
“However, Mr. Number Three and I haven’t actually met yet, nor have we truly gotten to know each other. Even I can’t reset your connection with the virtual realm under these conditions, but at least I can help you curb the trend of the connection automatically deepening…” she said. “Even so, you still don’t intend to give up?”
I couldn't help but be moved by her feelings, but my decision remained unchanged: "I don't plan to."
She sighed softly, then said, "So, could you tell me what specific deal you're planning to propose? Perhaps I can offer some advice."
"Thanks."
I began to explain the problem I was encountering to her, while continuing to observe the changes in the distance.
Just as I was talking to Number Two, another person entered the rock seating area. The tall female figure was undoubtedly Number Seven. As always, she walked arrogantly to the rightmost rock seat and sat down as if it were her right. Even when the others saw her, no one bothered to approach her and strike up a conversation.
From number one to number seven, everyone has arrived.
This seemed to be the signal to begin. Number Four, Xuanming, turned to look at the Lord of the Divine Seal and said bluntly, "How long are you going to put on airs, Lord of the Divine Seal? It's time to explain why you've summoned us."
"..."
As if awakened by these words, the Lord of the Divine Seal slowly lowered the arm supporting his head and scanned the crowd.
He didn't seem to mind the tone of Xuanming No. 4, and spoke in a majestic voice that sounded like a chorus of countless people, saying, "—This meeting is just a routine one."
“You can exchange information about the Divine Seal Fragments here, or you can make a deal with me to exchange the Divine Seal Fragments for the information you desire.”
Number Four reaffirmed: "As long as I give you the fragment of the Divine Seal, you'll be able to answer all your questions, right?"
"As I've said before, I know most of what happens in this world. Conversely, even now, there are a few things I don't know."
The Lord of the Divine Seal made no attempt to conceal the fact that he also had things he couldn't control, and answered quite frankly: "For example—the things you are thinking about right now."
“Oh, so what am I thinking about right now? Tell me,” said Number Four Xuanming.
"The way to completely kill me, the way to find my true form, or why the end of the world has come and how to resolve it..." said the Lord of the Divine Seal. "These are questions that I must answer with my full attention; I cannot deal with them while I am asleep."
Number Four Xuanming was not surprised and continued, "So what about these issues?"
As he spoke, he raised a series of other questions. He didn't expect the Lord of the Divine Seal to provide answers, but simply wanted to confirm whether they could be answered. The Lord of the Divine Seal didn't mind and actually did confirm.
The questions that Xuanming No. 4 wanted to confirm were all mysteries that I had previously considered using the Lord of the Divine Seal to solve. While the number seemed large, they all revolved around the causes, nature, and solutions to the apocalypse from different angles. As expected, the Lord of the Divine Seal denied them all.
Even questions that seem unrelated to the apocalypse at first glance run into a wall, because most of them are just word games, merely changing the language and logic while the core remains the same. The concept of "apocalypse" seems to possess a kind of forbidden magic; once it is used as an objective, even the Lord of the Divine Seal is temporarily unable to act.
Is the Lord of the Seal truly unable to answer? Or is he unwilling to answer? Once I consider that he might be the culprit behind the apocalypse, I can't help but think about the latter possibility.
Xuanming's question seemed to have dealt a heavy blow to the Lord of the Divine Seal's arrogance in front of everyone, but this was clearly not his original intention. He then changed the direction of his question, seemingly no longer wanting to know what the Lord of the Divine Seal couldn't answer, but rather probing what the Lord could answer.
This time, the Lord of the Divine Seal gave almost all affirmative answers. Knowledge of resurrecting the dead, knowledge of rewriting the past, knowledge of becoming the strongest in the world, knowledge of upgrading human civilization to an interstellar civilization... Among these were many pieces of knowledge that sounded far more "high-level" than "doomsday," seemingly all within his grasp.
Number Four, Xuanming, remained unfazed, but in the end, he posed this question: "—So, what exactly is Loss of Souls?"
"I cannot answer questions related to the apocalypse in my current state," the Lord of the Seals replied.
(End of this chapter)
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