“Let’s go take a look,” Priest Augustus suddenly whispered from the shore. Sister Devlin hesitated for a moment, then nodded: “Alright.”
“But how do we get there?” Iluna quietly asked. They couldn’t touch the water.
The Old Priest smiled and pointed to the side: “With this.”
On the shallow beach, there was a dilapidated wooden boat, looking as if it would sink the moment it touched water. It lay quietly in the shadows not reached by the bonfire, seemingly having been there all along.
But Iluna was certain that the boat had not been there before Xia De and Joey Barton’s fight ended.
“What is this?” she asked, surprised. Seeing Priest Augustus trying to push the boat into the water, she lent a hand.
“The Moon… defeated… death,” the Priest said with effort as he pushed the small boat into the water.
Sister Devlin immediately looked thoughtful: “Are you saying that in death, the Moon directly defeated death?”
“Yes.” The Priest nodded, and together with Iluna, they pushed the boat silently into the water.
“Sorry, I still don’t understand what that means,” Iluna said quietly.
The Priest gestured for her to carry Joey Barton’s body onto the boat, then continued to explain: “Thirteen ancient gods have overlapping divine authorities.”
“Yes, I know that point.”
“Most of the authority of death is held by the ancient death god.”
“Yes.” Iluna nodded again, dragging the body onto the boat.
Priest Augustus and Sister Devlin also boarded the boat in turn. Without any propulsion, the small boat swayed through the dense white shadows, heading towards Xia De in the distance.
The Priest took out his pipe and took a puff. Sister Devlin sat quietly to the side, while Iluna held her dark golden Balance at the bow, its light serving as a guiding beacon.
“But the ancient god of the Moon also holds some authority over death, and this Nether Moon is proof,” Priest Augustus added.
Iluna thought for a moment, then nodded again: “So?”
“So, now, in the True Death, witnessed by myriad souls, Xia De, who used the power of the Moon, defeated Joey Barton, who used the power of death. You just said Joey Barton was some kind of Chosen One? Sorry, I don’t quite understand that, but they both used very pure power, and the dueling ground was here. This can be seen as some kind of symbolic ritual, and Xia De won, so this boat appeared.”
He exhaled a puff of smoke: “I can’t explain it in too much detail, but from now on, this boat will always be here, carrying away the souls that, even if they arrive here, cannot reach their destination. The rules of death have become more complete. This is truly a good thing.”
Iluna still didn’t quite understand, but since it was a good thing, there was no need to delve too deeply into it.
The small boat left ripples on the calm water like silk being cut. They quickly reached Xia De’s side in the boat, and the ripples at the stern disappeared after spreading only a short distance.
Xia De looked at the boat in confusion, thinking it was something Priest Augustus had conjured.
The numerous souls gradually brushed past everyone, while Joey Barton, enduring the severe pain of the curse, finally struggled to his feet.
He looked at the souls before him, at the transparent woman stopped in front of him, and then reached out and embraced her: “Marilyn, this time, I finally grasped your hand.”
Even though the soul-deep pain made it almost impossible for him to breathe normally, he still embraced the soul before him: “Finally, I finally found you, finally saw you again.”
The woman showed a gentle smile, her right hand wrapped around the deformed big Boy in front of her, and her left hand gently stroked his head.
“Is this what they call love?” Iluna quietly asked Priest Augustus beside her.
She was actually closer to Sister Devlin, but the Sister’s cold demeanor didn’t seem to suggest she understood the meaning of love. Moreover, Iluna didn’t think it was a good idea to ask the Sister such a question.
“I suppose so,” the Old Priest said with emotion, his aged face showing a rather complex expression as he watched the scene.
“Don’t leave me, come back with me. Please, come back with me!” Even though he trembled all over from the intense pain, Mr. Barton still held her tightly, crying out with a choked voice.
He looked up at the woman’s face. The woman smiled, shaking her head slightly. She refused.
Xia De didn’t know what Mr. Barton was feeling at that moment, but he knew there would be no more fighting.
“Why? Are you unwilling to come back with me? Why…” He was unsteady on his feet from the pain, and even though he was embraced by the gentle soul, he slowly slid down to the water.
He knelt there, looking at the person he had longed for. The latter released his hand, looking at him gently.
Joey Barton knew that if this was still a farewell, then this time it would be the final farewell: “Then, let me go with you.” He extended his trembling hand to the woman.
The woman smiled gently and shook her head again, but she grasped his large, deformed hands, then crouched slightly and embraced the big Boy.
“Oh!” Iluna on the boat exclaimed softly. As countless white shadows brushed past them, the gray patterns on Barton’s body, like crawling snakes, spread onto the woman’s body.
The woman’s soul, therefore, bore the curse of death, while the curse on Mr. Barton’s body slowly disappeared.
“This is…” 【She absorbed the curse and intends to carry it to the end.】 “She” softly gave the answer.
Gently straightening up and releasing her hands, the tear-streaked Mr. Barton tried to grasp her, but couldn’t: “No, let me go with you.”
The transparent soul smiled gently, bathed in the glow of the Nether Moon. There was no sorrow of separation in her eyes. She spoke softly, her voice very gentle: “Keep me in your heart and live well. As long as you remember me, I haven’t left.”
Xia De’s eye twitched slightly. Priest Augustus shook his head. Sister Devlin remained expressionless, and Iluna on the boat’s eyes were already a little red. The immature girl couldn’t bear to see such a story, especially when it was unfolding right before her eyes.
“Remember, live well.”
She softly gave her final blessing. As Mr. Barton lay on the water, crying loudly, the woman’s soul turned and, along with the myriad white shadows, walked towards the massive Nether Moon at the end of the water.
Xia De looked at the white shadows. He wanted to say something, but the story was simply too difficult to summarize. Fortunately, someone spoke for him: “Wait a moment, don’t go yet.”
The Old Priest tapped his pipe on the side of the boat. The woman’s soul stopped, and everyone else looked at the Old Priest.
Ratt Augustus, with his eyelids drooping, said in a deep voice: “One, two, three, four, five people came in, and five people must leave. Joey Barton certainly cannot leave with the souls; he must return to reality with us. Otherwise, if his power returns to death, it will also break the fragile Balance.”
Xia De looked at the Priest in confusion, not knowing what he meant by reiterating this point.
“But you have done too many bad things, and too many people have died today because of you, so I don’t want you to return to reality alive. Joey Barton, you made a mistake, and you must pay the price.”
The Priest looked at Joey Barton with a serious expression. The latter trembled and nodded slightly. Xia De rarely saw the Old Priest show such an expression.
“In order not to disrupt the Balance of life and death, the dead must absolutely not become living. But if some price is paid, a powerful living person can be exchanged for a dead person.”
The Priest coughed and emphasized again: “One, two, three, four, five people came in, and five people must leave, do you understand?”
Xia De raised an eyebrow, and Iluna also had a look of sudden realization. Mr. Barton, however, widened his eyes in disbelief: “I can be used to exchange for her rebirth? And this can also maintain the Balance of life and death?”
“Generally speaking, no, this would also be a resurrection that breaks the rules. But the situation is special now. If I am willing to help, it is possible.”
Priest Augustus slowly pointed to himself. Xia De knew that he had some of the power of the Death Angel, and it was indeed possible for him to accomplish such a thing. The Priest added: “Of course, that would not be a perfect resurrection. Moreover, your soul must leave with her, remaining attached to her for life, because she and you are not equivalent.”
You are dead from this moment, turned into a wandering soul. Only when she dies again will you be qualified to reach the end; you don't even have the right to end it actively. And that curse of death, you will bear it together, and no one can escape it. This should be the best method for now. You must pay the price for today's actions, Joey Barton.
Mr. Barton trembled as he looked at Marilyn Handel's soul:
"I can't let her bear the curse too, no, I can't be so selfish, I can't—"
"Sir, I am willing."
The gentle soul actually spoke on its own. She bowed slightly to Priest Augustus. A soul can reflect a person's essence, and she was indeed a very gentle and kind person.
"Madam, even if you are willing, I am not."
The Priest shook his head:
"Although I don't want Joey Barton to return to reality alive, resurrecting you would greatly break the rules. Why should I help you?"
"What do you need for this?"
The woman's soul asked softly. Priest Augustus did not state any conditions but looked at the soul watching them:
"Are you sure you want to do this? Madam, you will gain the qualification to walk alive again, but the price is that you will bear his heavy soul, you will be tainted by a terrifying death curse, and even the resurrection will not be complete; you will face more suffering. This suffering needs to be endured by both of you until you have paid the price. This is fair to Joey Barton, but unfair to you, as you have done nothing wrong."
Marilyn Handel's pure white soul looked at Barton, who was slumped there, and lowered her eyes slightly:
"Joey, are you willing to spend your life with me in this way, to atone for your mistakes with a lifetime of good deeds?"
Mr. Barton trembled as he looked at her. Their eyes met, and tears of the soul streamed down his cheeks. He slowly nodded:
"Marilyn, if you can still accept me like this, I am willing. To compensate you with this life, to compensate those who have been hurt."
The Priest was not surprised by this outcome:
"Of course, for me to help you, you need to pay a price. Your Founding·Death belongs to Xia De."
"No problem."
Mr. Barton said immediately.
Xia De looked at the Old Priest, who winked slightly at him. Then the Priest asked seriously:
"Also, you need to tell me, what method did The Society of Truth use to suppress your reverse growth speed?"
"Hand bone; they peeled open my right arm and replaced my hand bone with a pure white, glowing bone."
"I want your hand bone."
The Priest said.
"Okay."
"Without your hand bone, even if you find a chance to revive in the future, reverse growth will still take your life again."
The Priest reminded him.
"I understand."
After receiving the answer, the Priest first handed Xia De a charred feather from the boat, instructing him to give it to the woman's soul as a guarantee of resurrection. Then, the Priest pulled up Mr. Barton's corpse, took the Night Watchman from Xia De's hand, and neatly severed the corpse's right arm:
"I can help you slightly break some rules, exchanging you for her. But to revive, a body needs to be reshaped, and her original corpse is needed, which I cannot do."
"I can help."
Xia De said, also asking Mr. Barton:
"Do you have her Ashes with you?"
"Yes."
Mr. Barton wiped the tears from his face and immediately nodded:
"I've always carried them with me."
"I can restore the Ashes into a corpse, but you need to pay a reward. I want a quarter of your soul, and after you leave death, I promise not to report you."
The time for cremation far exceeded the time that Time Breath could affect. In Four Ring, Xia De could restore objects for about ten months, but the cremation of the corpse was in 1848, and it was now 1853.
Fortunately, the Ling Rune's immersion in divinity meant that the momentary power Xia De possessed had not completely faded. He could rely on the last overflowing power of divinity to cast spells beyond his limits; this was the last Miracle before he obtained the next drop of divinity.
Mr. Barton looked at him in surprise:
"This is possible."
"Missing a soul, this means—"
"I understand."
Xia De looked at Priest Augustus:
"Can you help me divide a quarter of his soul?"
"Of course, that's a small matter."
With a casual gesture from the Priest, Mr. Barton was not divided, but his soul became much more transparent. A more ethereal Joey Barton appeared behind him, then was brewed into blood brew by Xia De's red wine bottle.
Joey Barton's soul suffered heavy damage from the curse, and this was a voluntary offering, so Xia De's spell only needed dozens of seconds.
Putting away the wine bottle, Xia De also climbed onto the small boat and searched Mr. Barton's corpse for the Ashes. Taking a deep breath, as a gray current of air rushed from the Ashes into Xia De's nostrils, the woman's pre-cremation corpse appeared on the small boat. Her face was made up with corpse makeup, and she wore the clothes she had on during cremation.
Xia De gently laid her down, and thus, a male and female corpse lay in the small boat.
No one asked what Xia De wanted to do, and Xia De's face looked a bit unwell. He hadn't used up all of Red Butterfly's power, but after that power reverted to a pendant, the pendant actually cracked. The blood brew was prepared for this, because he had to get this blood brew, which is why he promised not to report Joey Barton.
He needed to return to reality as soon as possible. Today's most dangerous action was definitely not defeating the person who had already undergone reverse growth.
This night had just begun.
The Old Priest continued:
"You have the qualification to revive, and you have the corpse, but it's not enough. The soul and the corpse must merge, but this is not resurrection, merely a living dead. Some special power is still needed. Let me think of a way—"
The Priest pondered, and at this moment, Sister Devlin spoke:
"I can help, by rekindling this lady's life fire with Original Fire. But you will have to pay a price."
"What price?"
Barton asked for the third time, and the Sister said softly:
"Your corpse; I want your corpse, willingly consumed as fuel for the flame."
"My corpse belongs to you."
"Without your corpse, you will completely lose any chance of future resurrection. You will forever remain a lonely soul."
"I understand. Sister, this is the price for everything I have done."
Sister Devlin nodded, raising her hands, and a slender flame appeared again. The flame landed on Joey Barton's corpse, quickly burning it to Ashes, leaving only a bone whistle among the Ashes. Then, some sparks splattered onto the other woman's corpse, and her body gained warmth.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Xia De felt that the fire in the Sister's hand seemed to have grown stronger.
"What is this?"
Xia De curiously picked up the whistle, and Mr. Barton answered softly:
"The Truth Society gave it to me; it seems to be related to an ancient god. Sister, please sprinkle the Ashes into this water, so my body may be with death."
Xia De then noticed that Joey Barton, who had originally still had color, was now only a transparent soul.
The Ashes of the burned corpse were carefully sprinkled into the water by Sister Devlin. The woman's soul, supported by Mr. Barton's soul, stepped into the small boat and merged with the corpse.
After a moment, she opened her eyes, then sat up and embraced Mr. Barton, who was extremely weak due to his soul being divided. They trembled, not only from excitement but also from the terrifying curse.
But both of their faces held smiles, smiles born of pain, smiles that came from the heart.
Xia De could not evaluate this scene, but some left, some returned, some paid a price, some bore a curse, some regained their beloved, some willingly sacrificed... Unable to judge whether it was a tragedy or a comedy, Xia De decided that after this matter concluded, he would tell the story to Dorothy, and the Writer would provide the answer.
Now everyone was on the boat. Joey Barton and Marilyn Handel embraced tightly, Priest Augustus smoked his pipe, looking at the severed arm at his feet, Sister Devlin turned to look at the Nether Moon, Iluna sat at the bow looking at the Balance in her hand, and Xia De put down his sword and looked at the sky.
The boat once again silently glided through the water, which shimmered with star-like colors, moving against the flow of countless departing souls, sailing towards the tidal flats where the Death Door stood.
