Chapter 452 Azik's Memories
"Mr. Azik!"
Angel greeted with some surprise.
The bronze-skinned middle-aged man nodded slightly, stretched out his hand like a gentleman, let Angel hold it, and then took her hand and quickly traveled through the spiritual world.
The clouds and blue sky around the two of them were rich in color and quickly receded. The Zhongyuan Island below disappeared in an instant, turning into an endless sea. From time to time, ships with sails hoisted or spewing thick smoke flashed by and disappeared at the end of the sea level.
This kind of spiritual journey was completely different from what Angel had imagined. She had thought that the fast flight would stir up strong winds, as if they were traveling quickly in the sky. Unexpectedly, it was so picturesque. They were not even flying in one direction, but changing direction and altitude from time to time, as if they were walking in an invisible maze.
"We'll be in Bayam in about an hour."
Mr. Azik seemed to be talking to himself, but also seemed to be explaining to Angel.
"So, it was Klein who asked you for help?"
"Yes, he blew the whistle, summoned my messenger, and asked me for help, saying that you might be in danger." Azik winked, then his face turned serious and he looked forward. "Be careful, it will be a bit bumpy."
Angel followed his gaze and saw a visible gust of wind blowing towards them, quickly crossing the indistinguishable distance in the spiritual world and passing by Angel. Her skirt rustled and her face twitched involuntarily. She could only hold on tightly to Azik beside her to avoid being blown away by the wind.
When she squinted her eyes to resist the oncoming wind, she was surprised to find that the one who brought about this gust of wind was a familiar figure.
It was the thumb-sized spiritual bird she encountered two weeks ago when she tried to summon a messenger!
At this time, the bird had expanded to be taller than a human, and its wings flapped casually, making the originally silent, oil painting-like scenes sway constantly. It flew around Angel as if showing off, then changed direction and left.
It seems to have some resentment...
Angel watched the bird fly away with an expression that was unclear whether it was disappointment or relief.
"It's actually a mature bird of mourning. The illusory wind whipped up by its wings can directly blow away the spirits of low-sequence Beyonders. If I had remembered these memories when you summoned the messenger last time, I might have persuaded you to sign a contract with it."
Mr. Azik on the side said with some regret, pulling Angel to continue flying forward.
"Ms. Wensa is quite good now. Besides, such a powerful spiritual being wouldn't easily become my messenger..."
Angel was more relieved, because a messenger being too powerful might not be a good thing.
"It lingers near the Raging Sea, perhaps drawn to the aura of death here. It travels through the spirit world, chasing after death and destruction. Perhaps your qualities attracted it."
Death, destruction?
Angel suddenly remembered Pierce Turner who died under the "disaster" spell, and what he said before his remaining consciousness in the dream dissipated.
After briefly telling Azik everything that happened on Para Island, Angel asked:
"Are the runes found on Bansi Island and the power of the 'Disaster' spell the unique power contained in the Raging Sea?"
"No, they are not the same," Azik answered decisively. "I haven't figured out the source of the power of 'Calamity' yet, but it's completely different from the power of the 'Death God' in the Sea of Rage. I recently conducted relevant investigations in the Rorsted Archipelago and the outskirts of the Sea of Rage, and recovered some memories, including the fall of the 'Death God' at the end of the Fourth Epoch..."
"The Raging Sea is the burial place of the 'God of Death'?"
Angel was a little stunned. She didn't expect that there was such a secret in Azik's memory.
Then, she expressed her pity for Senior Deacon Pierce, who had chosen to ascend on Para Island near the Raging Sea. As a corpse collector, a Sequence 5 on the "Death God" path, Pierce, despite attempting to jump directly to the "Sleepless One," was still affected by the fallen Death God. His ritual, performed amidst the suddenly violent waves of the Raging Sea, was doomed to fail, leading to everything that had happened on Para Island over the past six months.
He also mentioned Ince Zangwill, who had failed to be promoted before. The defected archbishop was also a "gatekeeper" who also failed in the promotion, which directly led to the subsequent theft of "0-08" and his defection.
Are there any similarities between their failures?
"This isn't just the influence of the Raging Sea. Even in the far northern continent, the failure rate for those ascending to Demigod status through the Death God Path has been extremely high recently. Perhaps it's due to 'contamination' from higher-order sequences, or perhaps it's some recent change."
Azik's words confirmed Angel's guess.
But pollution...
Angel raised his right hand, which was covered with some white hair that could not be removed even by burning it with black flames, and showed it to Azik beside him. He continued to ask:
"Mr. Azik, is this the kind of pollution you're talking about? Is there any way to remove it?"
If they hadn't stopped growing after I sacrificed the mutated dark holy symbol, I might have gone to the Church of the Storm to seek help. Being locked up is better than being completely contaminated... She thought with some fear.
“This pollution…”
Beneath the brim of his silk hat, Azik's brown eyes grew deep, his gaze fixed on the back of Angel's hand, as if lost in thought.
The illusory and colorful environment around them no longer changed, and the two of them stopped somewhere in the spiritual world.
"Heh, it's very similar to 'Death', but not exactly the same. It's very strange..." He murmured, and his eyes returned to normal with a gentle look. "I remembered something. Do you mind if we take a short detour?"
Seeing Angel gently shake her head, Azka took her hand and continued on his journey. He did not change direction, and the strange scenery of the spiritual world around them moved irregularly. After a while, their figures appeared in a valley.
A clear stream flows through the valley, and in the distance there are fertile farmlands and Loen-style manors.
Angel was in the cemetery on the other side of the stream. There were many tombstones here. Some seemed to have been newly erected, with clear cracks between the stones and no weeds growing. Some were buried by weeds, with only ruins showing.
Azik looked around and quickly locked onto a tombstone in the weeds. It had been broken in the middle, leaving only half of it. Over the long years, the wind and rain had worn away its edges and corners, and it stood like half a stubborn tree root in the dark cemetery.
Slowly walking forward, Azik squatted down, placed his hand on the half-broken tombstone, and lowered his head. Standing beside him, Angel could see the face of this "undead" immersed in memories, filled with sorrow and confusion.
"After feeling that power, I remembered many things. Here, lies my daughter from a previous life. She had black hair and brown eyes like me, loved to act coquettishly towards me, and loved the swing I made for her. She...she's been dead for nine hundred and twenty-six years..."
Mr. Azik's voice trembled as he stroked the smooth tombstone with the words completely disappeared on it, as if he wanted to press his palms into it.
"But in another life, I, having lost my memory, once led my soldiers and nearly razed this remote town. That place, that place, and all that was caused by me... I was still young then, and I didn't recall my identity. I didn't even know if any of her descendants were among those who bravely resisted..."
He stood up and pointed to the other side of the cemetery, where there were neat but dense rows of tombstones, similar in style and age.
Angel took two steps closer with some concern.
"That's why I'm so anxious to find my past self," Azik said, taking off his hat with one hand and ruffling his beautifully styled black hair with the other, messing it up. "I'm worried that, having forgotten my past life, I'll do something irreversible again."
"In this life, you still have us. Klein and I will do our best to help."
Angel reached out and grabbed Azik's trembling hand, and comforted him softly.
Although she knew that "persuading" a High-Sequence Beyonder was like a pipe dream, she still used her ability in speech.
Fortunately, this effort seemed to have some effect. Mr. Azik's bronze cheeks quickly recovered from his confusion, and he stared at Angel in a daze.
"...Yes. This time I was able to recall my previous experiences so quickly, thanks to Klein and your help."
He shook his head, as if trying to shake off these memories from hundreds of years ago.
"Sorry, I was a bit too sentimental just now. My purpose in leaving the spirit world and traveling through it was to exorcise the contamination from the 'God of Death' for you."
As he spoke, Mr. Azik raised his right hand and grabbed the fluff on the back of Angel's hand. All the fluff that looked like miniature feathers left her body, curled up into a ball, and fell into Azik's palm.
"What I said is not quite accurate. This is not the power of the 'God of Death', but some poor imitation. What... do they want to do?"
He closed his palms and the hairs disappeared instantly, Azik muttered.
"Poor imitation?" Angel repeated, his eyes lighting up. "Then if Beyonder characteristics or Sealed Artifacts are contaminated by this power, can the same method be used to resolve it?"
She thought of the Holy Emblem of Night, which had been severely contaminated and she dared not even carry it with her, so she could only sacrifice it to Mr. Fool. If the contamination problem could be solved, she could return it directly to the Church of Night. Before that, she could even make limited use of the characteristics of this high-sequence Beyonder!
"Contaminated Beyonder traits can be directly crafted into magical items with significant negative effects, or sealed artifacts, to harness their power. If it's for the purpose of preparing a potion, the contaminated traits can be shattered, allowing them to coalesce on their own, while the dissipated contamination won't return to the traits. That would require at least an angel-level full-strength attack. Unfortunately, with my current strength, I'm not capable of that yet."
The angel's attack... Mr. Azik is just "temporarily" unable to do it. As expected, he was once a Sequence 2 strongman... Angel was first moved, and then disappointed.
"However, if the power comes from the same source as the contamination on the back of your hand, I might be able to remove it, at least most of it, so that the remaining contamination does not pose a threat. Of course, it still won't be 'clean' enough to prepare the potion."
Azik's next words made Angel's eyes widen.
Unfortunately, the contaminated Holy Emblem is currently in the hands of Mr. Fool, otherwise we could give it a try now... No, Angel, are you trying to take Pierce's Beyonder characteristics for yourself? This must be returned to the Church; this was his last wish!
Resisting the temptation of the High-Sequence Beyonder characteristics, she forced a smile and replied:
"Thank you, Mr. Azik, I understand."
"Then I'll take you back to Bayam."
Taking one last look at the weathered tombstone, Azik stretched out his hand, letting Angel gently hold onto it. Then the two of them entered the spirit world again, wandering in the illusory and brilliant colors, and soon emerged from between the crimson carpet and the beige wall.
The fantasy faded, and the familiar living room of a luxurious hotel suite appeared before Angel. Klein, who was sitting on the sofa, dancing a coin back and forth between his fingers, suddenly jumped up, and a smile appeared on the calm face that belonged to Gehrman Sparrow.
"Welcome back!"
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