The strange changes in the mausoleum made it difficult for Klein, who had his eyes closed and his spirituality restrained, to know what had happened. He didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. So, even though he had recited the opening spell and was holding the "Luck Thief" talisman in his hand, he didn't dare to use it rashly, for fear of causing negative effects and getting the opposite result.

One second, two seconds, three seconds. Klein felt that the time passed so slowly, as if a whole century had passed.

Finally, he heard Mr. Azik's slightly hoarse but uncertain voice:

"It's you..."

Then, a voice without any ups and downs but clearly belonging to a woman sounded:

“You have three choices:

“One is to keep moving forward, to seek wholeness, to allow Salinger to be reborn from within you;

"Second, I will extract that half of your soul from you and let you take it away. You will then find a way to sew it together yourself. This will allow you to return to your original form and no longer die and revive over and over again. However, this does not mean that you are the same now. The lives you have experienced in the past will truly degenerate into dreams.

"The third is to give up everything and leave directly. You will stay at your current level forever and will not be able to advance any further. You will continue to become a dead person again and again, and wake up again and again after losing all your memories, repeating the experience of searching for the past."

Klein was stunned. He had never expected that there was an extra "person" in the depths of the mausoleum, and that he seemed to have absolute control and could offer different options, leaving the former "Archon of Death" Azik Eggers to decide.

“Is this the artificial god of death hidden deep in the black fog?

"No, it didn't seem to have much wisdom. It took so long just now, but it didn't seem to want to communicate...

“Take out that half of the soul and try to sew it together… What does this mean? Mr. Azik’s soul was originally incomplete?

"Where did you get it from? The 'lady' who was speaking could actually do something that Mr. Azik couldn't?

"Also, who is Salinger, and why was he reborn from Mr. Azik's body? Is he the 'God of Death' who caused the Pale Disaster, Mr. Azik's father or grandfather? Did he foresee his own demise, and leave a trigger for his resurrection in Mr. Azik's body?

"The first option must be ruled out. Don't consider it. The second and third options both have their own problems. One option is no longer the current self and will become a strange 'me'. The other option is to bear the curse of immortality forever and never be able to break free... If you have confidence in yourself and truly regard your past lives as an anchor, then you can consider the second option, reconcile with yourself and compromise with each other... However, this involves the other half of the soul that was separated, the other half of the soul that has never experienced those lives. There is no way to guess what changes will happen to it afterwards. The anchor may not be able to solve the problem..."

Thoughts flashed through Klein's mind quickly. He was confused, curious, embarrassed, and puzzled. However, he could only stand far away and couldn't even watch.

That is Azik's life and the future he will face. No one else can make a decision for him.

Klein had already said what he needed to say. He stood there helplessly and worriedly, waiting for Mr. Azik to speak.

Azik looked at the beautiful hooded lady in front of him and said nothing for a long time, the pale flame in his eyes flickering.

The unreal yet real feathered serpent seemed to have sensed some bad changes. It suddenly stretched out its tail and swept it wildly around. It then lowered its head and opened its huge mouth, revealing dark red flesh and fangs stained with pale yellow oil. It spat out its jet-black snake core and dark green mucus, and actively tried to swallow Azik Eggers.

However, all its attempts failed to produce any effect, and it seemed as if it was living in another world!

In the uncomfortable silence, Azik raised his right hand, rubbed his forehead, and smiled calmly:

"Perhaps I've gotten used to my current life. I choose three."

As soon as he finished speaking, the hooded lady opposite clenched her palm, tightly grasped the bird-shaped golden ornament, then slowly pulled her arm back and pulled the ancient object out of the crack on Azik's forehead.

Azik's expression twisted once again, as if he was suffering from unimaginable pain.

A little bit of spirit seeped out from every drop of his blood and every muscle, interweaving into a transparent soul.

This soul body seems to be complete and intact, but it is full of inharmonious contradictions because half of it is golden, from the eyebrows and eyes to the torso and limbs, with a simple beauty.

As the bird-shaped golden ornament was pulled out, Azik's translucent spirit began to split in the middle, inch by inch, as if someone was peeling his skin alive with a knife.

He once again made an inhuman gurgling sound from his throat, which made Klein's head dizzy and painful in the distance, as if steel needles were stirring madly in his brain.

In just a few seconds, Azik's spirit was completely split into two halves. One half turned into golden light and flew into the eyes of the bird-shaped ornament, while the other half returned to his body and merged with his flesh and blood.

The two pale flames in Azik's eyes went out, the white feathers and black scales growing on his body disappeared, and the distortion in his expression eased, no longer looking so hideous.

His face turned slightly pale and transparent, and his forehead was twitching. It was obvious that he was suffering from pain coming from deep within his spiritual body.

“Thank you for your help.” He bowed to the beautiful hooded lady, turned around, and walked up the stairs with unsteady steps until he came to Klein’s side.

"You can open your eyes now." Azik smiled tiredly.

Klein quickly opened his eyes and looked at Mr. Azik. He found that he showed no signs of madness or loss of control. He was completely relieved and cast his gaze curiously into the depths of the mausoleum.

There was a black fog everywhere, covering everything at the bottom.

"Who was that just now?" he couldn't help but ask.

Azik smiled and reached out to grab his shoulder:

"Even if I tell you, you won't be able to hear it unless I want you to know it."

As he spoke, Klein subconsciously grabbed the shoulders of his two secret dolls.

The surrounding blocks of color were all rich and vividly superimposed on each other. The two people and the two dolls quickly passed through the spiritual world corresponding to the "Sea of ​​Violence" and returned to the hotel room where Klein stayed in the city of Gurain.

As soon as Azik let go, he pinched his forehead and smiled gently:

"I will need a sleep of unknown duration to recover. If you have any questions, you can ask the Seven Lights of the Spirit World. You should have mastered the corresponding rituals."

"Mr. Azik, are you okay?" Klein asked with concern.

At the same time, he criticized himself:

How could nothing happen when half of my soul is lost forever?

Azik smiled and said:

“It’s not a big problem. I will just maintain the same state as before. I will foresee my own death, arrange everything, sever the connection with my original life, and then forget everything, revive and wake up, and search for the past.

"Compared to the past, at least I still have you, someone who knows a lot about me. If I forget again, I should be able to remember a lot after reading your letter."

He paused, nodded slightly, and laughed softly:

"Sleeping is not a bad thing. At least I can dream. In my dreams, I have never left. I am still accompanying her in the sun, teaching that stubborn child how to use a broadsword, and building a swing for that spoiled little guy..."

Before he finished speaking, Azik threw out the copper whistle and said with a gentle smile:

“Remember to write.

"But I won't reply to you until I wake up."

Just as Klein reached out to take the ancient and exquisite copper whistle, Azik disappeared into the room, and no one knew where he went.

After staring blankly for a while, Klein suddenly sighed softly.

…………

To travel from the city of Gurain to other places by land, one must follow the winding road, pass through one block after another, reach the highest point of the city, and then cross the mountains and enter the plains.

At this moment, the "Red Gloves" team led by Soest was standing on the highest square, looking at the abnormal and violent sea.

Daly Simone, who had been pressing her forehead, suddenly put down her hand and said in a rather strange tone:

"Everything is back to normal, there are no problems anymore."

"Is it normal?" Leonard asked in surprise.

In his opinion, it would be difficult for Daly to return to normal before the changes in the Violent Sea were over.

"Maybe, it's intermittent?" Soest hesitated and gave his guess.

Daly was about to respond when everyone was suddenly inspired and looked towards the raging sea again.

In that pure darkness, bright stars lit up one after another.

…………

Backlund, inside Saint Samuel's Church.

Archbishop Anthony Stevenson received an urgent telegram from the sea.

The content of the telegram was quite simple, but shocking enough:

"German Sparrow reappeared and boarded the 'Black Tulip' with others. He made Ludwell into a secret doll. The one he followed was called the 'Death Archon' by Ludwell."

German Sparrow... "Archon of Death"... Saint Anthony repeated these two names silently.

He leaned back slowly and closed his eyes. The information about the sealed object "017" appeared in his mind again. The complete information:

"Number: 17."

"Name: Hidden Angel"

"Danger level: '0', extremely dangerous, highest level of importance, highest level of confidentiality, cannot be inquired, cannot be spread, cannot be described, cannot be peeped."

"Secrecy level: The Pope, Group A researchers, and the Archbishop in charge of the Backlund Diocese (Note: When the Archbishop is transferred from the Backlund Diocese, the relevant memory must be cleared using Sealed Artifact '129')"

"Sealing method: Use '129' and '180' to complete the seal."

“Description: This is not an item.

…

"Warning, cannot be used!"

"Appendix 1: This sealed object first appeared in the Pale Age of the Fourth Epoch. The specific year is missing. The specific date is missing. The specific location is missing."

"Appendix 2: Data shows that he has been awakened five times."

"Appendix 3: It cannot be used under certain conditions. It has been confirmed that it can be used as a vessel for the goddess to descend."