Ash felt like he was looking in a mirror.
The same Crow Killer feather cape, the same twisted mask, the same hairstyle, the same steel-soled boots, the same Fish-Slaying Dragon base shirt, and even the spirit-parasitic belt is exactly the same - will you also transform into a Beyond Hell Dragon Knight?
The only difference was his eyes, which revealed a complex but familiar look. It was as if he had seen it in Igula's eyes, in Harry's eyes, in Queen Isu's eyes, and also... in Silver Lamp's eyes.
"You've obviously already made a judgment." He said calmly, "Why do you still need me to give you an answer?"
"The origin of the Twins Sect, the starting point of perfect destiny, plus they regard this abyss as a forbidden delicacy..." Ash said: "You are my destined twin? My half?"
"I am just a person who happens to have the same memories and appearance as you." He said, "When you fell, I was also born from here."
"Then you and I are exactly the same." Ash said, "At least our birthdays are different."
"But, I am also Ash, and you are also Ash, how should we address each other?"
"No need to call me anything special. You're not schizophrenic, and neither am I. As long as you speak louder, I'll know if you're talking to me or being sarcastic."
"No, even though names are used by others and not by ourselves, without names, we really have nothing that belongs to us." Ash said, counting on his fingers, "Our bodies will enter the cycle of the world, and our souls will become the inheritance of the virtual world. After countless years, all our traces will be erased, but our names may continue into the future."
"The corpse philosophy of the necromancer? The nihilism of the psion? Or the influence of the dramatic poets and the Raven Killer?" He said, "So you still have such thoughts hidden?"
"No, I just use it as a reason to persuade you to choose a name." Ash was very excited. "Who hasn't thought about giving themselves a new name? Keep it simple, Ash Hiss, or just call you Hiss? No, no, I always feel that using this name has a bad omen... Do you still remember the names we thought of when we were young? Yahun, Yashang, Ya——"
"Call the Observer." The Observer interrupted.
"Why not call me Yaqiming? I think three characters sound better—"
"My name is the Viewer, and your name is Ash."
Ash spread his hands helplessly, his face full of disappointment, walked over to the side and sat on the steps, carefully choosing his words and asking: "You said you have all my memories -"
"Aurora's Magician's Manual, Sword Princess, Witch, Weisser, before the time travel, after the time travel." The viewer said: "I know all your secrets clearly. In my eyes... you are transparent."
Speaking of the latter part, the audience's voice was low and deep, as if it was the whisper of a devil squeezed out of the darkness, full of unspeakable coldness.
The next second, his shoulders were held down and he was pushed against the wall. The spectator felt nothing in his heart and even felt a little relieved. However, when he raised his head, he saw Ash's face full of uncontrollable joy and excitement.
"Did I die suddenly? My parents should be okay, right? The insurance I bought should cover the loss, right? They won't go through my computer, right? And... and..."
Seeing him asking questions like a floodgate, the viewer was slightly distracted, and then calmly said: "If even you don't know the answer, how can I know it?"
"However, with my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew around, they will recover quickly even if they are sad for a while. You have been working away from home and have never been home except during the Spring Festival. You have never called home during other times... They have become accustomed to your absence."
"It's us!" Ash corrected, "What's the point of calling? There's nothing happy about it. Am I going to tell my parents that I worked overtime last night to catch up with the project and didn't even get four hours of sleep? But I didn't expect that working outside would have this benefit. I can die quickly and cleanly..."
Viewer: "There won't be any problem with insurance claims, since you bought it for the sudden death insurance. As for the computer data, basically all of it needs to be reviewed."
"well……"
However, it had been so long since the time travel, and Ash quickly got out of the quagmire of emotions. He looked at the viewer and smiled, "It is said that there are three types of fate twins: similar, complementary, and opposite. You don't look very similar to me, so..."
Ash laughed and linked arms with the viewer: "You are the type that complements me? Please give me your guidance in the future!"
"I won't take care of you." The viewer responded coldly, "You're on your own."
"So, what should we do next?" Ash looked around and finally looked at the huge round hole where he fell. "How can we escape from here? Will there be facilities like elevators?"
The viewer points to a wall opposite.
Ash blinked, looked again and soon found a clue: in the circular underground hall, there was a passage at regular intervals. There should also be a passage in the direction the viewer pointed, but it was now blocked by a wall.
Viewer: "There should be 16 passages here, but now there are only 15 left. Yindeng and the others should choose this passage to go deeper."
Ash: "They? Are they just like us?"
One Silver Lantern could turn the Senluo Wasteland upside down, so Ash didn't even dare to imagine what two Silver Lanterns could do.
"Since they chose to go deeper, it means that we have to continue exploring to find a way out." The viewer looked at him: "Do you choose or do you choose?"
Ash glanced at the passages that were all the same and said, "They're all the same, so you choose."
The viewer nodded and walked into the nearest passage first. The light in the passage came from nowhere, and there was a dazzling light in the distance. When Ash followed in for a while, he heard a loud rumbling sound behind him. He looked back and found that the entrance had been sealed.
"Now even if Igula and the others come in, they won't be able to find us..." Ash said, "Come to think of it, will Igula and the others be okay?"
"Now that the Twins are free, the next step is the defeat of the Natural Cult." The spectator said: "The Twins attach great importance to this abyss, and the Twins saw you fall into the abyss with their own eyes. Even if they have your favor, they will not attack your companions."
"They are our companions." Ash said, "You speak as if you have never had the experience of adventure with Igula and the others."
“Companions are defined not by whether you have shared experiences in the past, but by whether you have common interests in the future.”
“It is precisely because of our shared past experiences that we will have common interests in the future.”
The viewer did not continue discussing this topic with him, perhaps because he was not interested, or perhaps because a door appeared in the passage ahead.
When the two of them stood in front of the door, the crystal block above emitted green light, and then the alloy door opened automatically. An excited female voice sounded from inside: "Welcome Trialist No. 2 Gemini. Please choose the appropriate equipment as soon as possible. The rebirth channel will be closed in 8 minutes and 36 seconds, and the trial will officially begin in 18 minutes and 36 seconds."
Trialist, rebirth channel, choose equipment?
The room is divided into three areas: weapons area, equipment area, and appearance area. In the equipment area, there are sets of combat uniforms of different styles, all of which are full of design aesthetics. The weapons area is full of sharp cold weapons. Although there are guns, they are not only long guns, but also rotating rear-pull manual rifles. Facing this thing, Ash is confident that he can be faster and more accurate than it within seven steps.
While Ash was observing, the viewer had already changed into his battle suit and equipped himself with two swords.
"You also know how to use dual swords?"
"Golden-level swordsmanship can integrate all basic swordsmanship." The spectator said calmly: "Don't even mention double swordsmanship, try triple swordsmanship, and you can quickly master the eight swordsmanship. Double swords are just better at quick attacks."
Ash also changed into his battle suit, but he did not take out a weapon, but took out a sweet sword from his mouth. The viewer looked at him and knew what he wanted to ask, and said, "I don't have everything you got from the Aurora's Sorcerer's Manual. All I have are memories and skills."
"I thought I could talk to you about this game system bug..."
The two walked to the appearance area. Unlike the equipment area, this area was filled with cloaks, masks, capes, accessories, cosmetics and even hair dyes and other appearance modification tools. They looked flashy and meaningless except for increasing their appearance. Ash naturally continued to use the dark red windbreaker and the twisted mask, and the viewer casually put on a black windbreaker. When they returned to the door, they saw a counter rising from the ground with two watches on it.
In this strange place, with his magic power restrained, even Ash knew he had to follow instructions. After the two put on their watches, they saw the countdown on the LCD screen: 14 minutes and 12 seconds.
"What should we do?" Ash asked, "Wait here for the countdown to end?"
"Trial." The viewer only uttered this word and continued to move along the passage.
Since it was a trial, it couldn't be a test of their ability to hide and seek in the room. If Ash guessed correctly, they should go as far as possible before the countdown ended. If they dared to hide in the room, they might be punished - just like the expelling poison of the Sea of Knowledge.
"You really complement me." Ash sighed beside the spectator: "You like double swords, I am good at single sword. You act decisively, I am good at thinking. You..."
在亚修叽叽喳喳分析他们的优劣时，时间迅速流逝。当倒计时剩下十秒，亚修下意识加快脚步，仿佛后方随时会出现滚石或者刷出一大堆斩鱼龙。
然而当倒计时归零后，又刷出一个30分钟的倒计时，不过旁边多出一个小指标「试炼数：1」。
亚修看了一眼后方，没发现任何动静。
观者也停下脚步：“在前面。”
亚修转过头，发现前方通道的亮光里，逐渐出现一个人影。他的影子被拉得很长很长，已经到了亚修两人的脚边。
当观者按住双剑剑柄时，亚修仍旧难以置信自己眼前的一切：“你难道是——”
随着一声超越人类听力范围的心灵尖啸在通道里回**，试炼开始！
……
……
与此同时，地下都市夜降。
听到后面的脚步声，伊古拉转过头，看见双生教派的双子寄神者走过来，问道：“外面已经没有战斗声响，你们已经解决自然教派了？”
“还有一小部分在负隅顽抗，毕竟他们的大法不在这里，死战是他们的结局。”双子说道：“我听说这里出现了异动——”
双子愣住了。
因为圆洞的变化远远就能看见。
它被封住了。
本来是深坑的地方，现在变成平整的地面。双子立刻冲过来，抚摸着地面上的纹理，声音颤抖：“它……它还会变回去吗？”
哈维说道：“试炼结束应该就会恢复。”
“什么试炼？”
哈维指了指，双子便发现黑鸦低头端详的区域里，有数行文字。他们过去一看，两人脸上流露出难以置信的震惊，以及……狂喜。
“神火试炼？”他们喃喃道：“夜降下面，有神火系统的存在？”