Chapter 740 Choice
In another minute, no, at most 30 seconds, I won't be able to return to my normal form... Angel understood this in her heart, but the situation was urgent and she couldn't care less. At most, at most, it would be like dying again during the Backlund smog...
Having made up her mind, she took out another "betrayal" talisman. With her current spiritual power, she could only use the high-level talisman that was strengthened by hundreds of milliliters of blood once more. After that, she might lose control due to the exhaustion of her spiritual power and the exposure of her incomplete mythical creature form.
This was the last chance. Hit it on the head. It would be great if she could recreate the scene of the "King of the North" killing her... She pondered, staring at the magic mirror with her purple eyes, with no whites visible. She calmed her mind amid the muttering and howling that once again filled her brain, and prepared to activate the talisman in her hand.
"Wait a moment."
Klein's words came to Angel's ear. He groped for Angel's wrist, stopped her movement, then turned his body sideways, closed his eyes, and "looked" over here through his eyelids.
Even just like that, Angel's "snake-haired" form made his body stiff, his expression tense, and a streak of dark blood seeped from the corner of his eye.
The venomous snakes on Angel's head, some spitting red tongues and some with their eyes wide open, looked at Klein defensively, exacerbating the feeling of his whole body being stiff and almost turning into stone. Fortunately, Angel managed to control his own form and let the venomous snakes hang down like ordinary hair.
Klein repeatedly entered and exited the gray fog. His spirit and mentality, which had been tested by beings like the "Eternal Blazing Sun" and the "True Creator," finally took effect. He quickly recovered from Angel's dangerous and deadly charm, which made people want to rush forward and be surrounded by poisonous snakes. He withstood the invisible death force of the feathered serpent across a sarcophagus and quickly took out a black water chip-like talisman from his pocket.
"The Luck Thief"!
Angel had heard from the other party that this high-level talisman, crafted by Klein himself with some help from Mr. Fool, could swap the fates of two targets. It only lasted for a short time, but it could change almost any fate.
She instantly understood Klein's thoughts.
Quetzalcoatl seems indestructible and wants to merge with Mr. Azik. This is most likely the purpose of the "artificial god of death". He needs certain qualities from Azik to restore himself to his strongest state.
What if Klein and Azik's fates were reversed, and Quetzalcoatl's target became Klein, who had nothing to do with him, and he mistakenly absorbed certain traits?
This is like a Beyonder taking the wrong potion. At best, they lose control, and at worst, they die directly.
Only then, perhaps Angel's "betrayal" spell will be able to play its true role...
"Azik?"
She asked as if to confirm.
Klein nodded without hesitation.
He's the same as me... Angel's lips curled up slightly. He took Klein's hand holding the "Luck Stealer" amulet and pressed it towards the figure of Azik in the magic mirror.
She wasn't sure if this "Luck Stealer" spell, which at most possessed the power of a demigod, could work on Azik, who was at Sequence 2, or if it could interfere with the "Artificial Death God" who might be at a higher Sequence. She was even less sure if Klein could survive after bearing Azik's fate, or if he could be resurrected like before.
But she respected the other party's choice, just like the decision she made before opening her eyes.
Maintaining the passage between the magic mirror and the ice mirror above, Angel said:
"Now!"
At the same time, the huge feathered serpent body as big as a mountain in the depths of the mausoleum almost covered Azik. The latter quickened his pace and walked towards the illusory feathered serpent body, his face getting closer and closer to the huge bronze-skinned face above.
The mausoleum began to shake, and loud noises echoed in the spacious tomb chamber. The surrounding stone walls seemed to become transparent, revealing a world where countless skeletons were wandering and countless shadows were moving around.
Black tentacles and blood-stained arms penetrated the boundary between the underworld and reality and came to the mausoleum. They swayed and cheered, welcoming the return of the master of the underworld.
"No!"
Azik let out a final roar, and the half of his spirit that longed for completeness pulled him towards the feathered serpent. His body became lighter and lighter, almost taking off into the air. The golden bird decoration on his forehead burst into pale flames, enveloping his entire body, making him almost turn into a feathered serpent with wings on its back and feathers covering its body.
"destiny!"
Klein took a deep breath, not relying on his own sight, and chose the location completely according to Angel's instructions. He recited the opening spell of the "Luck Stealer" spell in ancient Hermetic language.
Angel also clenched the "betrayal" talisman in his hand, ready to give the Quetzalcoatl its strongest blow the moment it showed a flaw.
Neither of them thought about what to do if they failed, or how to be resurrected if they died.
“…”
In an instant, the shaking of the mausoleum stopped, the loud noises around it stopped, and the underworld that was about to merge with reality also disappeared.
In the silence, Klein instinctively stopped charging his spirituality into the talisman in his hand and looked up with some confusion.
He found that the mumbling that kept filling his mind even without opening his eyes and driving him crazy had stopped. Angel beside him also recovered from the strange but extremely seductive snake-haired form and looked at the magic mirror in his hand with the same confusion.
A deep black covered the mirror, enveloping Quetzalcoatl and Mr. Azik.
This darkness, which seemed to absorb all light and bring a sense of inner peace, made Angel and Klein look at each other in bewilderment.
From the sudden cessation of the strange phenomena, the stillness of the mausoleum, and the quietness of the surroundings, the two could sense that the force that had previously threatened Mr. Azik was no longer there. At least it had stopped eroding the poor man who resisted his fate. But would there be a new threat? What was that invisible black force?
The two had no idea at all.
After a moment of hesitation, Angel was about to stand up and observe the situation deep in the mausoleum with her naked eyes, but Klein stopped her and directed one of the secret dolls squeezed behind the sarcophagus with him, "Winner" Enzo, to make the attempt.
Just as Enzo was about to stand up, a soft, pleasant, but lackluster female voice reached their ears:
"You have three choices..."
The moment he heard the voice, Angel found its owner in his memory.
She helped Backlund deal with "Lady Despair" during the Great Smog, and gave her the sapphire ring and the Beyonder characteristic of "Pain". In the end, she killed her woman with dignity after she calmed the threat of the Great Smog.
The angel of the Goddess Church, the "Mother of Heaven" with a statue in the misty town!
How did he get here? And he seemed to have helped Mr. Azik... Angel's eyes widened, countless thoughts flashing through his mind, but he didn't dare to move.
The same was true for Klein beside her. The secret doll Enzo hid behind the sarcophagus in a strange half-squatting posture. The two secret dolls just listened quietly to the conversation between Azik and "Him".
“…One is to make the soul complete, to allow Salinger to be reborn within you;
"Second, I will help you extract the other half of your soul, and you will find a way to stitch it back together, eventually returning to your state in the Fourth Epoch. You won't have to be reborn and recover your memories over and over again, but your experiences over the years will become a dream deep in your memory.
"The third option is to leave right here, no longer seeking the 'end' or 'answer,' and unable to continue ascending. You will remain in your current state, constantly losing memories and being reborn with this half of your soul, gradually regaining your memories. Ultimately, your experiences in the Fourth Epoch will become just a small part of your life."
Three choices... We had just reached the last step, and Mr. Azik was almost about to be swallowed by the feathered serpent. Now he could actually make a choice?
It sounded like all three options weren't good, but allowing "Salinger" to be reborn from within him was bound to be the worst... Could this Salinger be the artificial Death God, no, the true Death God of the Fourth Epoch? He had devised a plan, so that if Azik could regain his complete memories and power, he could be resurrected within him through some means?
Excluding this most dangerous option, the other two also have their own problems. The second one might turn Mr. Azik into the person he least wants to be. Well, this is actually the real him, but after more than a thousand years of reincarnation, "this half of his soul" seems to have become a different person. He will definitely resist the interference of the "other half", which may cause some kind of mental and personality split...
The final option sounds like maintaining the status quo, and it's the one Angel finds most acceptable among the three. However, repeated gains and losses might make Mr. Azik tired of this cycle of death and resurrection every 60 years. What will he choose...
Angel was thinking about it, and couldn't help but want to stand up to see Azik's current condition and the true appearance of the "Mother of Heaven" who could "give him three choices".
But the power of the magic mirror that blocked her from prying eyes made her realize that the other party did not want her to witness the current scene.
This choice belongs to Azik Eggers alone.
After a long silence, Azik's words came out slowly but with great determination:
"I don't want to forget them, and I don't want to forget these heartwarming experiences. I choose three."
As soon as he finished speaking, he groaned, obviously suffering from some uncontrollable pain.
This made Angel nervous again. She looked at the magic mirror in her hand. In the darkness that covered everything, a golden light seemed to appear, but the golden light disappeared in a flash. Azik's humming was replaced by panting. The continuous sound gradually subsided and finally disappeared.
"Thank you for your help, may I leave now?"
His respectful voice came again from the depths of the mausoleum.
No other sound was heard. It seemed that the "Mother of Heaven" nodded instead of answering. Then the sound of Azik's leather shoes could be heard, followed by his tired tone:
"It's all over now."
The sound came from behind them. Angel and Klein quickly stood up and turned to look.
Azik, his temples still twitching, seemed to be suffering from some kind of mental pain as he looked at them. The top hat on his head was gone, as was the deep scar on his forehead and the golden bird decoration in it. Of course, the scales on his face and the back of his hands had returned to bronze skin, and there was a familiar smile in his eyes, not coldness or madness.
Over his shoulder, Angel looked into the depths of the mausoleum, which was covered by the black shadow he had seen in the magic mirror before. The black fog around it gradually spread and enveloped everything.
The feathered serpent, the "Mother of Heaven", was nowhere to be seen.
Looking at the exhausted Azik, Angel didn't plan to ask questions now. Instead, he approached him and waited obediently for the "Archon of Death" who chose to "maintain the status quo" and retain their memories to reach out and press his shoulder. Klein did the same on the other side.
A moment later, as blocks of black, grey, and white overlapped, they left the mausoleum and entered the spirit world.
At the moment when his vision was blocked by the bright colors, Angel saw the black fog being dispersed by an invisible force, and a female figure wearing a classical robe and a hood covering the upper half of her face appeared in the depths of the mausoleum.
The corners of his mouth, hidden in the shadows, curled up slightly, as if looking at Angel.
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