As Anthony Stevenson's words echoed in Memorial Square and spread to other places, the people of Loen who participated in the funeral mass felt moved, sad, warm, and depressed.
In different squares, different choirs recited psalms, and the ethereal and holy voices seemed to echo in everyone's heart:
"The crimson full moon rises, reflecting the earth,
"Everyone fell into a sweet dream, dreaming that they
"Dreaming of parents, wife (husband) and children means this is forever..." (Note 1)
Before they knew it, everyone felt that their spirits had been cleansed, and their spirituality was naturally expressed.
They seemed to have really entered a dream, wandering in a peaceful darkness.
Here sleep their children, their parents, their wives, their husbands, and their friends. These dead no longer suffer or feel pain, and their looks are peaceful and their expressions are gentle.
"We'll look up at the night sky,
“Speak His name tenderly:
"'Goddess of the Night!'
“…If He hears, He will answer,
"A pure smile will surely be shown to the dead:
"'Come, rest, sleep, my children!'" (Note 2)
Those who were wandering in the dreamland felt a strong surge of sadness again, as if they understood that it was really time to say goodbye.
They recalled all the beautiful moments in the past, recalled the scene of the family enjoying delicious food and chatting around the dining table, recalled the person who looked at them tenderly, recalled the pain that seemed to tear their souls apart when they saw them being hurt and heard of their passing, recalled the dark clouds and separations brought by the war.
They sleep peacefully in this peaceful country, without any more worries, but those who survive must suffer torture day and night, and become haggard and withered.
One tear slid down, and then another tear slid down. The people attending the remaining mass in the Memorial Square could no longer suppress their inner emotions, and silently and unreservedly vented their accumulated pain.
A huge sadness permeated the air and was intertwined with the choir's recitation, as if it had taken on a physical form.
"Cross your arms,
"Put it on your chest,
"Pray that wordless prayer,
"And cry out within your heart:
“The only destination is peace!” (Note 3)
The people who closed their eyes and cried silently followed the content of the poem subconsciously and made similar movements. Then, they were infected by each other and shouted in their hearts:
“The only destination is stability!”
The sadness reached its peak, and more than 10,000 people in Memorial Square felt a strong resonance in their hearts.
At this time, Audrey opened her eyes, bent down, and took out a bottle of potion from the leather bag carried by the golden retriever Susie.
Countless fragments of light floated in the potion, like the embodiment of the ocean of collective subconsciousness.
Audrey did not hesitate. In this situation, she unscrewed the bottle cap and drank the liquid in one gulp.
Unlike in the past when she could still experience the potion sliding down her throat into her stomach, Audrey suddenly showed signs of abnormality.
She felt that she could no longer sense her body, and her entire body seemed to have condensed into a ball of thoughts and merged into the illusory sea around her.
This was the first time that she saw the ocean of collective subconsciousness directly without going through the "island" of dreams and the mind. It was like returning to the time before she was born, back to her mother's arms, back to the beginning, being washed away, disintegrated, and influenced by the imprints left by the ancestors of mankind like a tide.
There was fear, madness, and all kinds of terrible mental pollution. Audrey was unable to resist for a moment. Her consciousness faded, and her "figure" was shaking and about to melt away.
However, the nearby "sea area" was not peaceful, but experienced a certain degree of ups and downs, spreading intense sadness and pain to the surrounding areas.
Affected by this, Audrey, whose self-awareness was about to be assimilated by the collective subconscious, also resonated and felt uncontrollable grief.
The grief spread from one thought to another, and soon filled the "thought" that Audrey had "mutated" into, piercing into her spiritual body and her soul.
Audrey finally came to her senses and calmed herself down skillfully, constantly giving hints and removing the contamination until she regained her sanity.
A voice in her ears became increasingly clear and louder, and finally completely returned to this sea of collective subconsciousness:
"The only destination is peace!"
"The only destination is peace!"
"The only destination is peace..." Audrey repeated this prayer, and her figure quickly became clear.
With just a thought, she split into multiple transparent and illusory selves, roaming in the ocean of collective subconsciousness, reaching the mental islands representing different people and climbing up.
In these "places", she intuitively saw where the sadness of different people came from:
From the shells falling from the sky, from the airships forming a formation, from the letters sent back from the front, from the postmen delivering bad news, from the splashing of blood and flesh before my eyes, from the sudden collapse of a loved one, from the pile of toys without their owners, from the violent coughing in the heavy smog...
“The only destination is peace.”
The golden retriever Susie also closed her eyes during the mass, reciting the words in her heart in human language, and did not notice any unusual changes around her.
Suddenly, Audrey's voice rang out in her soul, in her mind:
"Susie, I succeeded...
"I was always worried. I was afraid that as my level increased, I would be more and more affected by the potion, becoming more and more indifferent, and more and more like a mythical creature rather than a human."
Susie looked up bewilderedly, and saw that the blonde girl next to her had her eyes closed, but her face was covered with tears without her knowing when.
Then, she heard Audrey say in her heart:
“Fortunately, I can still feel their sadness.
"very nice……"
In Susie's eyes, another tear slid down from the corner of the blonde girl's eye, crystal clear.
At this time, the sun withdrew its last ray of light, and the night brought tranquility.
Everyone opened their eyes at the same time and said in a calm voice:
"The only destination is peace!"
…………
After crying uncontrollably, the usually sunny Audrey became gloomy, a little more fragile, and with a hint of sadness, which made everyone who saw her feel pity for her from the bottom of their hearts.
Under various protections, she returned to Queens and her room.
Until this moment, she had the opportunity to seriously examine herself and digest the knowledge and experience she had gained from the potion and from the ocean of collective subconsciousness.
Others might not be able to see it, but Audrey knew very well that the tall, beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes in the mirror already possessed super strength and exaggerated dragon scale defense, the kind that could shatter a piece of steel with one punch.
"Well, I can also 'transform into a dragon', which is equivalent to using an incomplete mythical creature form. However, this can only be done after I adapt to the potion and continuously stack the correct psychological cues, otherwise I will lose control directly... Each 'transformation into a dragon' cannot exceed a certain time, otherwise even if there are treatment methods for the spirit and mind, I will be deeply infected by madness and chaos and lose control... My current limit is about one minute...
"The core ability of a 'manipulator' is called 'manipulation'. I can let my mind body pass through the sea of collective subconsciousness and enter other people's mind islands, directly tamper with their subconsciousness, read their thoughts, and silently drive them to do all kinds of things...
"In combination with 'manipulation', 'virtual personality' is used. I can create many virtual personalities and give them corresponding mental bodies. On the one hand, this can counteract many influences in the mental realm. On the other hand, it allows me to communicate with others while using 'them' to silently invade the target's consciousness island without any signs on the surface...
"I can only create thirteen personalities at the moment...
"'Manipulators' can also create terrible 'mental plagues', using the sea of collective subconsciousness to spread all kinds of mental illnesses and extreme madness...
"Well, 'deterrence' has become a large-scale 'mind deprivation', and it is no longer just a deterrent effect...
"I can also transform my own designated thoughts into a 'psychic storm' that sweeps around and affects all enemies...
"Haha, as a 'manipulator', the ability to travel in the sea of collective subconsciousness is also necessary. This is called 'consciousness walking'. Otherwise, when I slowly arrive at the predetermined place after complicated manipulation like before, the target will have already left..." Audrey looked at herself in the mirror and suddenly smiled faintly.
Then she puffed out her cheeks and opened her mouth as if she was about to spit something.
Since her mythical creature form is a psychic dragon, she must have breath.
This can directly stimulate and damage the target's mind and spirit body. It is a range-type, enhanced version of "mental piercing".
Audrey immediately turned her eyes away and sighed in her heart:
"This is a demigod, half man. These abilities scare even me... And how powerful must Mr. World be to be able to kill Hvin Rambis..."
…………
Above the gray fog, inside the ancient palace.
As the participants in the hunt became ready, they decided to organize a private meeting to discuss the specific details.
"Is the 'Manipulator' so scary?" Magician Fors looked at Miss Justice beside him and blurted out in astonishment.
Just now, "Justice" Audrey briefly mentioned the changes that had occurred to her after she became a demigod. Although she did not go into detail in order to protect her trump card, it still frightened "Magician", "Hermit", "Judgement" and "Star".
"It's actually not that scary. Mr. World knows it very well." Audrey cast her eyes towards the bottom of the mottled long table.
The World Gehrman Sparrow did not nod, but said, “Hmm.”
"I also had a powerful helper to kill Hvin Rambis."
He paused, then said:
"Before we discuss the hunting operation, I want to know how to make the Abraham family feel my friendliness?"
Note 1: Adapted from Tennyson, The Lotus Eaters
Note 2: Adapted from I.B. Browning, The Cry of Children.
Note 3: Adapted from Thomas Hood, The Bridge of Sighs and Tennyson, The Lotus Eaters
PS: Update first and then modify.