Leaning back on the sofa with the cat in his arms, Xia De slightly turned his head to look at the distant Tobesk outside the window. It was a late autumn morning, and being able to stay at home doing nothing was especially pleasant for the Outsider who had been busy all autumn long:
“I want to get some good rest. I’ve been really busy lately.”
“You should rest. Oh, and one more thing, the observation of the Star Whale is over. Last night, when the Witches were dealing with the issues on the third floor, I saw the whale swimming in the starry sky, moving towards the Nether Moon through my astronomical telescope. The scene was beautiful. Of course, later, because I observed the struggle between two great ones, my poor telescope broke. Because many people are waiting for those stellar creatures, the Summoner will probably be more famous than ever. After all, no one has ever heard of a mortal being able to summon a God twice, especially that silver moon God, who is suspected to be an Old God from a past epoch.”
Luvia said with a smile, and Xia De shook his head in embarrassment:
“There’s nothing great about that. If it wasn’t absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t want to be a vessel for a God’s descent. First the Blood Feast Lord, and then Vampire Duke Loyaer. I hope I don’t encounter any more evil gods related to blood.”
Xia De said with some lingering fear. Luvia didn’t want to continue talking about Gods. Diviners are more cautious about this than ordinary Ring術士, so she changed the subject:
“Xia De, I don’t want to move the stargazing equipment on the third floor. Can I leave it at your place? That way… it’s convenient for me to come over anytime at night.”
Her purple eyes looked at Xia De.
“Do you understand what this means?”
The voice sounded in his ear.
“Of course, I understand. I’m not an idiot.”
Xia De replied in his mind, while on the surface, he nodded slightly:
“No problem. Just keep the key you have. If I’m not home for some reason, you can always come and help me feed Mia.”
He and Luvia both laughed.
“The third Chosen One is Sister Devlin, and the third stanza of the poem has finally ended.”
Luvia let out a long breath:
“In short, a lot has happened this entire year, starting from spring, but this time it was a successful conclusion. I hope the remaining two months of this year will be peaceful.”
It was now October, the 25th, Friday, of the withered leaf month.
“I also hope life can be a bit calmer. I haven’t had a moment of leisure all autumn.”
Xia De shook his head, then thought about the time:
“How about we go out for lunch together? Tifa booked a restaurant for us before she left. She said Miss Jialinna asked her to help book it. What did you and Miss Jialinna talk about after opening the Death Door on Wednesday night, until I returned in the early morning?”
“About the Chosen One. We can talk about it when we have time. I shared some unimportant secrets, and she was willing to share more about the Chosen One with me.”
She suddenly smiled:
“Xia De, you have a really good appetite. I thought your breakfast had already filled you up.”
Luvia teased, then looked down at the front of her clothes, not knowing what she was thinking. Then, she took out her pocket watch, glanced at it, stood up, and pointed upstairs:
“It’s not even ten o’clock yet. Let’s go, before lunch, I’ll tell you about the third floor. Miss Servite probably told you that the traveler's travel door is already scrapped, but there are other situations. I hope you won’t be too surprised. Not only did I not expect this, but even the Duchess didn’t expect such a thing to happen.”
Carrying the cat, Xia De followed Luvia to the third floor and was very happy to find that the corridor was still in its original state, without the terrifying scene of only ruins remaining as he had imagined.
However, all traces of the sealing ritual arranged on the third floor were gone. After Luvia turned on the gas lamp in the corridor at the staircase, Xia De was certain that it looked no different from before.
The corridor had three doors in total: two room doors and one trapdoor leading to the attic. The oil paintings hanging on the wall were chosen by Tifa, and the style of the kerosene lamps was changed during renovation. Xia De rarely used the third floor, but Luvia had been coming frequently for the past month.
“You might not believe it when I tell you.”
Luvia covered her forehead, looking very distressed. Then, her Four Ring Destiny Ring appeared behind her. The Four Ring had a brand new black-iron-colored whisper Ling Rune, death. This was her reward for assisting in opening the Death Door.
The spiritual light of death illuminated the empty corridor. In that light, the space in the center of the corridor began to twist, and then a dark iron grate door that topped the corridor ceiling appeared, one on each side, almost perfectly symmetrical.
Complex ironwork outlined the holy emblem of the Old God, ancient death god, on the grate door. Patterns of elderflower and mandrake flowers alternately appeared on both sides of the grate door’s edges. Black iron bars connected the two in the shape of vines. Black-iron-colored hinges firmly locked the two doors together, but no lock could be seen.
This grate door completely blocked the entire corridor, allowing one to see the other part of the corridor behind the door through the Gaps in the grate. However, white mist was actually drifting out from the Gap between the two grate doors.
It wasn’t the damp, cold mist of the Gap; it was another familiar white mist.
“This…”
Xia De was dumbfounded.
“Yes, that’s right, it’s exactly as you think.”
Luvia said, walking to the grate door and pushing it. Of course, it couldn’t be pushed open because of the chains. She tried to unfasten the chains, but couldn’t move them at all:
“Because of my and Galina Cavendish’s adventurous actions, the 【traveler's travel door】 went out of control, and then, even more unfortunately, the boundary also went out of control. But luckily, these two out-of-control events superimposed on each other, seemingly opening a door permanently fixed here. The boundary turned into another... wonderful space.”
She turned to look at Xia De:
“Yes, it’s the kind of space you’re very familiar with.”
“The ancient death god’s relic, Soul Graveyard?!”
Xia De gave the answer, but then asked in confusion:
“But how? How could the Soul Graveyard appear here?”
“The spaces left behind by Old Gods are certainly not naturally formed. They are created by some great power and can be summoned through special rituals. You once said that because you were also present when Darkness was killed, All Things are Impermanent · Darkness absorbed the Dark Dungeon, allowing the Dark Dungeon’s door to be placed in the basement. You also said that besides killing the Chosen One, there are other ways to summon these spaces through rituals or special means, but the conditions are very strict.”
Seeing Xia De nod, the purple-eyed girl continued:
“What we did that night was still somewhat different from the method of opening doors used by the fifth epoch Witches you mentioned, but it is very likely the ritual to summon the Soul Graveyard’s gate. That Witch and I were truly eye-opened, but repeating this ritual process is almost impossible.”
In reality, it was completely impossible. Xia De couldn't think of anyone else who would be trapped in death:
“Two doors in the basement, one door on the third floor. Now I have three extra doors in my house.”
He sighed softly.
“But the problem now is that neither Galina Cavendish nor I can open this door.”
Luvia tried to shake the hinges on the grate door again:
“I think you should be able to open it. After all, probably no one understands these wonderful spaces better than you.”
She left the grate door, and the grate door slowly disappeared.
Xia De, holding the cat, reluctantly accepted the fact that he had lost another relic but gained a door. His Destiny Ring appeared behind him, and the spiritual light of True Death illuminated the center of the corridor, making the grate door reappear:
“Based on my summary, entering the spaces left by Old Gods, besides the door’s location, has three other requirements: First, there must be a corresponding Ling Rune, such as death and True Death, both work.”
Xia De also came to the grate door and put Mia on the floor. The cat curiously looked at the grate door in front of her, and then squeezed through the Gap in the grate—this was easy for the small cat, and she successfully reached the latter half of the corridor.
“Next, a spell is needed. For example, ‘World Tree protects me in time.’”
Xia De said, then looked at the grate door in front of him, finally recognizing the elderflower as text:
“And corresponding to the Soul Graveyard, it should be — ‘Eternal End protects me before the end.’”
As he softly chanted in that ancient language, the hinges on the door began to move with a clatter. They loosened the tightly closed two grate doors and coiled on the right iron bar, like a metal snake.
Luvia tried to push it again, but still couldn’t open it:
“What’s the third point?”
Xia De smiled:
“The third point is that a special artifact is needed, just like for the Time Corridor—the time key, for the 【Judge’s Court】—the Old God’s holy emblem, for the Space Labyrinth—the Old God’s statue, for the Witch Council—the Witch’s jewelry. The Dark Dungeon in the basement, because it was obtained through special means, doesn’t require an artifact or a Ling Rune, only a spell. But this one won’t work. The question is, what special artifact is needed to open this door?”
Xia De pondered, then pushed it casually—
Creak~
The door opened, but behind it wasn’t the latter half of the corridor where Mia was. Behind it was a white mist door, with white mist wriggling.
“Huh? How did it open?”
“Put your hand on the railing.”
“She” softly reminded him. Xia De immediately did as told and quickly received a reply:
“To open this door, it needs to be tainted with the aura of death. This requires a complex ritual to achieve, but any living person who has walked out of death carries the aura of death.”
“Her” voice sounded in his ear, and only then did Xia De understand. He told Luvia the answer, and Luvia nodded curiously:
“Let’s go in and see.”
She grabbed Xia De’s hand. This door was opened by Xia De, so she needed to hold onto Xia De to enter.
“Okay, I’m curious about its function too.”
Mia squeezed out from the grate Gap again. A shocked expression appeared on her cat face as she looked at the white mist door, not understanding why the front and back of the door were different.
Xia De smiled, picked up Mia, and then walked into the mist door with Luvia.
