"Jingle Bell……"
The driver confirmed that Sulek was on the cart, took out a brass bell and rang it. The two "nightmare beasts" immediately started pulling the cart.
At first, this speed was acceptable, but gradually things became outrageous - a dozen seconds later, they actually pulled the carriage into the sky! They can actually fly! ?
"Fortunately, we can fly, too."
Pulling Hitzfeld to catch up, Xia Yibing did not forget to tell her a cold joke.
The atmosphere was too heavy... She wanted to relieve some stress in this way.
But it seemed that Aisuen didn't find it interesting at all. She wasn't even paying attention to me.
...This seems to be different from what is said in the book.
【He has an accomplice.】 Hitzfeld suddenly sent a message.
This shows that they are organized.
Of course.
Xia Yibing raised her eyebrows.
I knew it as soon as he showed up.
This is easy to guess - Captain Mingde is most likely the captain of the guard who guards the garden, but he revealed that he was going to hand over the shift, which means that he is not the one in charge of the overall situation - that is, he is not the "captain-in-chief", and this kind of role is actually not important.
They were probably similar to the squad leaders of the guards outside the White Shadow Palace. If I'm not mistaken, there were more than a dozen or twenty such captains, and Xia Yibing couldn't even remember all their names.
Since Captain Mingde is a minor character, then Sulek, who needs to bow and scrape to him, is naturally not a capable person. His public identity should be just a sculptor, and there is a high possibility that he is also a civilian in the shadow world.
Then the question is: since the work on the statue was completed, why did he go to the garden in the middle of the night - Xia Yibing guessed this based on the empty streets - to do such a strange thing?
Bowing to the statue, carving symbols and stuff...it looks like some kind of evil ritual.
If he could keep his temper and act calmly and collectedly while doing these things, she would doubt his autonomy.
But Sulek almost wrote "I'm scared to death" on his forehead. Not only did his walking posture tremble, but he also kept sweating while bowing and carving the words, as if he was deeply afraid that he would bring retribution upon himself.
So when she saw this man, she wondered in her heart whether he had joined some secret society and was doing this under the inducement and coercion of the society members.
Xia Yibing has seen too many cases like this. She thinks Sulek's performance so far is exactly the same as those of some people who were forced to join the gang by evil cultists.
I was hit in the waist by an elbow.
Hitzfeld pointed somewhere and asked her to look.
Xia Yibing turned her head and found that as the distance increased and the vision widened, they could actually see the edge of the city.
This is the "Floating Island".
Not only is it dark above, but it is also dark below. The entire city is built entirely on a suspended island.
There are many such islands, some large and some small, like scattered fragments. Many fragments have bridges for communication, but occasionally you can see some flying cars, which are also pulled up by "nightmare beasts".
Sulek's carriage did not go too far. It landed on a nearby floating island and stopped directly on the side of the street.
Sulek got out of the car, looked around, lowered the brim of his hat and walked into the shadow of the building.
His shadow turned completely white in the shadow, and at first glance it looked like a squashed white man walking in the dark.
The two of them also floated directly to a nearby place, and as soon as they stepped on the ground, the little white shadow in front of them disappeared.
Is this entering the house?
The spirit passed right through the wall and immediately heard a quiet whisper.
"It's like this...Mr. Mida...I have done this according to your request..."
It's Sulek.
There are indeed accomplices.
Is your name Mida?
There was no light on inside, and all he could see were a few white figures confronting each other. Hitzfeld counted them and found that there were five of them, but he didn't know which one was "Mida".
I'm actually more concerned about the age here.
She thought so.
The Age of Disaster, the Age of Folding, and the Age of Gray Fog.
She needed to determine at what point in history "Sulek's Story" took place.
"Well done, bladesmith."
This is a deep male voice.
"Then I should fulfill my promise and give you what you deserve."
After he said this, it was obvious that someone in the room began to breathe faster.
Is it Sulek?
He seemed very excited. Were these people using this "thing" to tempt him to do things?
"Repeat after me, Sulek."
The white shadow changed. It seemed as if it took out a book from its pocket, opened it and read:
“He is the embodiment of all things.”
"He is the embodiment of all things..."
Sulek's white shadow trembled, but he still repeated it obediently.
“He is everything and only one.”
"He is everything and...the only one."
“His greatness transcends time, transcends cause and effect, and transcends the concepts of ordinary cognition.”
"His greatness transcends time... transcends cause and effect... transcends the concepts of ordinary cognition..."
“He is us and we are Him.”
“He is us and we are Him…”
"We are Him...We are Him...!!!"
At first, Sulek recited the words haltingly, but these sentences seemed to have magic power. His tone became more and more determined as he spoke further. By the last sentence, he was so convinced that he kept repeating it many times.
[Aisun...]
【Um. 】
The two of them frowned at the same time.
They actually felt dizzy after hearing the sentences read out by mortals?
It seems that I have found the real owner...
"Now, tell me what you wish for."
Mida's voice sounded again.
"We are ordinary and great. Together we constitute Him. We are Him, and our wishes are His wishes, which will be realized through His great power."
"My... wish..."
Sulek's voice began to reveal pain, and the two men noticed that one of the five white shadows began to tremble violently.
The outline seemed to be trying to expand outwards in many places, as if its body had turned into a water bag with many bulges, making people wonder if it might explode at any time.
"I want to revive my wife Soma..."
Sulek insisted on finishing his wish.
"In order to revive her, I am willing to give everything I have..."
boom!
He exploded.
Hitzfeld and Xia Yibing's hands were held together, and they could feel each other's body tremble.
Sulek's white shadow exploded in the darkness, but the shadow did not completely disappear. After the explosion, the splashing "white" floated back in a strange posture, and re-entered the original white shadow, wriggling and gathering, completing his outline.
No—that’s not completion.
Although the "Completed White Shadow" is still humanoid, it has hair that falls to its waist. Its body shape is also more slender and curvier, it is like a completely different person from Sulek!
Is she Soma?
What kind of power is this? It can actually directly resurrect the dead? ? ?
[Is this fake? Is this cognitive tampering? ]
Xia Yibing was about to refute on the spot.
Just kidding... She had indeed seen many extraordinary powers, but even at the level of God or the Great One, no one could resurrect the dead!
Lana is dead, that's it!
The daughters of Amen-Haven could only accept their fate of death. Even the Sun King could not revive them. How could such a thing be possible? ? ?
It must be cognitive tampering.
It must be like this.
This unknown existence used some means to control Sulek in an instant. He read his thoughts and obtained the information about the "Suma" he imagined from those thoughts and memories. Then he directly destroyed his body, used his body as material, and created a new person according to the "Suma's information".
Then he tampered with this person's cognition and made her think that she was "Suma".
That’s all I can think of.
Hitzfeld said to himself.
The resurrection of the dead is indeed incredible... In comparison, although this kind of cognitive tampering is also terrible and excessive, at least it is not to the extent that it is unacceptable.
"I...what am I doing...?"
A woman's voice came from the darkness, confused, as if she didn't understand what was happening.
"Your husband gave himself to the Lord of all creation in exchange for your return to the human world."
This is Mida's voice.
"My husband...Sulek?"
"Exactly."
"That fool... He does look like someone who would do that - who are you?"
"You can call us 'The Oneness of All Things'. The purpose of our existence is to make everything return to 'One' and make everyone's wishes come true."
"I do not understand……"
"You don't need to understand, ma'am. Because as long as there is wisdom, there will be desire. This is the original sin of wisdom and the destined end of wisdom."
"You said Sulek sacrificed himself, so now he..."
"he died."
"Since I can be resurrected...what if I want him to come back again?"
"Is this your wish?"
"Even so."
"Then you need to swear an oath with me."
"Swear an oath?"
"Repeat after me - 'He is all and only.'"
After one round of recitation, "Soma" has lost himself in the scriptures.
But she didn't explode again or perform a magic trick. Mida and others just told her that from now on, the whole world - everything except the "believers of Oneness" - had changed their perception of her and Sulek.
"How did you die, ma'am?"
"I was... I was careless when I went out one day, and was hit and killed by a nightmare horse."
"What are your husband's occupations and social connections?"
"He's a sculptor, huh? His connections are just those few... Captain Mingde, Captain Xiuli... Don't you know this?"
