The statue of the Old God, the Lord of Sleep, was a faceless, obese man in a posture of lifting or stretching. The holy emblem was an indescribable serpent-like spiral. Xia De felt sleepiness wash over him after a glance, and he couldn't help but yawn.
This made Mr. Bernhardt next to him yawn as well.
Xia De held his breath and extended his right hand. As his fingers crossed a certain boundary, the skin at his fingertips peeled away, revealing a not-so-dazzling golden glow within the cracks.
He pulled back his hand and squinted slightly. Seeing that everyone else was looking at him, he hesitated for a moment, then used his left arm in an awkward posture to block their view. However, considering that Sister Devlin's "seeing" did not rely on vision, it was hard to say whether this action was effective.
He extended his right hand and simultaneously grasped the statue and the holy emblem. Immediately, an irresistible wave of sleepiness surged into his heart. Amidst "her" laughter, Xia De collapsed onto the table:
"As expected of Sleep."
"Then let's continue."
The owner of the mansion withdrew his gaze from Xia De.
"What will happen to him?" Bernhardt asked softly, pointing at Xia De, who was sprawled on the table.
"If he can wake from Sleep, he can naturally leave. But if he remains in Sleep, he must stay here."
"Can't we take him with us?" Sister Devlin also asked.
The wrinkles on the old man's face piled together, and he grinned, revealing his toothless mouth:
"The first card of the second round, my ante is—"
(Mia running...)
Xia De had a psychological expectation of what would happen after touching the evil god's statue. Since this Old God was called the Father of Sleep, it was understandable to fall into Sleep after coming into contact with its power.
In that endless void, his feet touched solid ground. Centered on the green land beneath his feet, the wilderness under the endless night sky spread out in all directions. The sea of stars hung upside down above his head, and a massive silver Moon illuminated Xia De.
He knew this was his dream. After all, since coming to this world, this was the scene he most often saw in his dreams. Only this time, the wilderness under the silver Moon seemed unstable. Xia De could feel that he was falling into a deeper layer of the dream.
It was a dream of nothingness, a dream without consciousness or any thoughts.
"Then who will you ask for help?"
Xia De looked up at the Moon, and "she" whispered softly in Xia De's ear.
"The desire in the pond? She is looking forward to your call."
"She" asked with a smile.
Xia De shook his head and looked down slightly as the surrounding scenery collapsed:
"Sister Devlin has already said that when encountering danger, one can move in the direction where fire exists (Chapter 637)."
The solid dreamland collapsed, turning into specks of light that drifted towards the starry sky above. The starry sky scroll gradually contracted, with only the silver Moon remaining so real.
"Fire..."
He looked at his hand. The red stone he had once obtained from Mr. Thales at Sicar Inn, the stone that, when observed against the sun, revealed a giant flying bird, now appeared in his hand through imagination.
"Outsider, you are about to fall into Sleep."
"She" gently reminded him.
Xia De nodded, looking at the silver Moon above his head:
"I need guidance."
He said softly.
The silver Moonlight was quiet and serene, and with Xia De's words, a illusory yellow moon appeared behind the silver Moon. The ground beneath his feet completely collapsed, and Xia De closed his eyes, falling into a deeper dream. And the silver Moonlight and yellow moon light together shone upon him, and upon the red stone in his hand.
"What a pity, you still didn't seek my help."
In a trance, he seemed to hear the voice of desire, but then his thoughts completely ceased, and he fell into eternal Sleep.
Consciousness fell to the deepest dark void, and one second felt like an eternity. And in that profound darkness, the red stone in Xia De's hand suddenly flashed with red light.
The stone left his hand and floated in front of him.
With a crisp bird cry, the stone ignited into flames. The flames spread in all directions, illuminating the darkness. Light red, dark red, fiery red, orange-red... Illusory flame colors presented a hazy light and shadow in the dark void.
Chaotic yet dazzling, an indescribable light illuminated the deepest void of consciousness, and Xia De, whose consciousness had fallen silent, heard the most real voice as he was illuminated by the red light:
"Xia De · Su Lun · Han Mi Er Dun, open your eyes quickly!"
"Again?"
The feeling of exhaustion made the now-conscious Xia De unwilling to even open his eyes.
He heard a hoarse female voice, calling to him. He could feel a grand and beautiful figure appearing in his consciousness.
His body, which had been "lying" in the void of consciousness, gradually turned to face the hazy red light and shadow. In repeated calls of "Open your eyes quickly, Xia De · Su Lun · Han Mi Er Dun," Xia De struggled to overcome the influence of the evil god's power and "looked" towards the calling entity in the void of consciousness.
The firelight illuminated his eyes, and what he saw was a blurred figure within the firelight. It accompanied the flames, and the flames accompanied it. Reflected in his pupils was that beautiful and mad posture. Brilliant flames, in the deepest part of the red light, enveloped a beautiful creature, and around that creature were piles of burning human bones.
"Phoenix."
"Xia De · Su Lun · Han Mi Er Dun."
The voice seemed to come from all directions, but it was not grand; rather, it was somewhat gentle. But within the gentleness was madness and restlessness. It might have gone mad long ago, but it still answered the call and came here, awakening Xia De from Sleep.
But Xia De was not satisfied with this; he needed the help of this Ancient One. The Moonlight Ring appeared in his consciousness, and he gently kissed the ring:
"May the yellow moon guide you—Bewilderment."
The silver and yellow twin Moons appeared amidst the illusory firelight around them. The cool light stabilized Xia De's spirit while making the restless flames gentle:
"Outsider beyond fate, I see new possibilities in you."
The beautiful figure in the firelight seemed truly awake. A few sparks of fire, from the figure at the center of that light, gradually flowed into Xia De's body. He felt power, he felt satisfaction, and he realized that he was devouring the Phoenix's flames.
His soul rejoiced, yet craved more due to greed and Gluttony. The sin of sloth, at the moment Xia De regained consciousness, truly became his power. A new sin was gradually becoming stable in his soul.
"The problem of the Between Life and Death is imminent. I awakened at your call, but I cannot maintain it for too long."
This was an ancient language, spoken in a gentle tone:
"The Gap is on the verge of collapse, and death is about to descend upon the City below the mountain. Go, foreign traveler, go and pull out the four nails sent from the land of death into the real world. Those are four people who have died and been resurrected. This cannot stop the disaster, but at least it can buy you more time."
"I understand."
Xia De did not open his mouth, but his voice naturally appeared in this void space.
"Travelers connecting the present and the past, Red Butterfly Twins, Ashes Sisters, Death Angel, Vampire Prince, inheritors of the Witch Emperor, chosen ones, the strong of the material world gather here, and even the gaze of the great one is cast upon it. Go, Xia De · Su Lun · Han Mi Er Dun, I will give you power to overcome the current difficulties, to fight sin with sin. But you must remember..."
Xia De felt himself waking up, and the Ancient One, who had been there since ancient times, spoke its final warning:
"...Only death can resist death. Mortals will all die. All things have an end."
Xia De was about to wake up, and he asked his last question:
"Excuse me, why exactly did you use your body to suppress the passage at the top of the Gap mountain?"
The Witch Emperor probably sealed the passage halfway up the mountain incidentally, as they were the true mortal administrators of the fifth epoch material world. And the Orthodox Church only acted after discovering the problem; they were originally the Guardians of the sixth epoch extraordinary order.
Only the Ancient One at the mountain top seemed to have no relation to anything, yet it sealed the most crucial passage. This responsibility, in Xia De's view, was unimaginable.
"Because I have always been here."
"What..."
"Humans worship the mountains and forests, that is me. Humans worship fire, that is me. Everything that humans worship about this great mountain, that is all me. I have been here since my birth, from the third epoch until now. I am the child of Sicar Mountain. I am with the mountains, with the earth, with all things."
The firelight submerged Xia De. That endless power was like the mountains, like the earth. In this firelight, he saw the phantom representing everything of Sicar Mountain, and saw the story of humans and the mountains.
"Outsider, you have touched the Phoenix's fire. You have gained the spell 'Flame Shaping'."
"Outsider, you have touched the Phoenix's fire. Your body now possesses stronger self-healing abilities."
The Phoenix that suppressed the Gap was the first Guardian of Sicar Mountain. It was not a god, but the mountains were with it; it was the child of the mountains.
