novelraw Chapter 377: Nirvana
Chapter 377: Nirvana
Watching Tolga before him quietly disintegrate into flying ash bit by bit, the lamentation in Fisher's heart at this moment overshadowed the hair-raising terror of being targeted by [Death]. He lowered his head, glancing at the ancient handbook and the slightly sloshing transparent reagent in the test tube that Tolga had handed to him before dying. For a moment, he made no superfluous movements, merely collapsing on the spot, gently caressing the text [Life Completion Manual] on the handbook.
Subsequently, he placed the obtained Life Completion Manual into his pocket and stood up with all his might. This simple action left him completely exhausted.
He leaned against the nearby rubble, panting for a moment. Even though there was clearly nothing behind him, he constantly felt an extremely terrifying existence staring at him, like a sickle glinting with a cold edge resting against his neck, capable of taking his life with a slight movement...
Yet, Fisher still fixated his gaze on the giant egg completely engulfed in True Ice in the distance; he needed to go there.
"Emhart! Is Fisher outside?! How is he, why isn't he speaking?! Did something happen to him?"
"N-no... nothing happened to him... wuu wuu wuu..."
Although the words expressed denial, anyone with discerning eyes could hear that Emhart was lying. From within that giant True Ice egg, a shadow forcefully slapped the egg wall—it was Valentiina, whose specific appearance couldn't be clearly seen right now,
"Just wait... wait until I get out... Emhart, what exactly happened to him?!"
Just as Emhart was stammering and still trying to explain, he suddenly turned his head and saw Fisher slowly limping over while leaning on the nearby rubble. Just as he was about to say something, Fisher gently placed a finger against his own lips, instantly silencing him, only to mutter to Valentiina,
"He's here...""Fisher? Fisher, are you outside?"
Fisher panted, leaning against the exterior of the giant True Ice egg. Hearing Valentiina still forcefully knocking on the eggshell from within, he chuckled, placed his hand on the eggshell, and softly said,
"The Moon Princess and I had you come back exactly for this moment; if you keep knocking you'll let us down..."
Valentiina's movements within the eggshell paused slightly. She seemed to see the shadow of Fisher's hand similarly placed on the eggshell, so she gently rested her head against where Fisher positioned his hand, asking with a sobbing tone,
"Fisher, what happened to you? I was calling you over here just now and you didn't answer, you scared me to death..."
Fisher smiled faintly, sitting down beside that giant egg, and spoke,
"Just now Erwind was locked onto by that deity from the Spirit World. She was on the verge of turning into a base again to allow that deity to descend. I had to resolve the situation over there first; everything is fine on that end now."
The standing Valentiina within the eggshell also sat down bit by bit alongside him, then gently wrapped her arms around her knees, speaking softly,
"Sorry, Fisher. I couldn't help you with anything earlier, and even made you get distracted to take care of me. If it wasn't for that, that guy chasing you would probably have been defeated by you much earlier."
Fisher shook his head helplessly,
"You just recently turned from human to Phoenix, and joined the battle before you even adapted; you've already done very well. I'm already very satisfied with this outcome. Each of us has given our all, and besides, if it weren't for you, there was no way I could break out of the dreamscape, defeat Erwind, or stop that deity from descending at the end."
"Mm, then that's... good. Um, Fisher, actually, I saw a prophecy on the night of the Holy Matrimony, but I didn't tell you."
Fisher felt his feet had already turned completely stiff and cold. He fell silent for a moment. Regardless of whether Tolga had left any backstops right now, he hastily opened the reagent she gave him and gulped it all down.
The instant the reagent touched the tip of his tongue upon entry, Fisher felt as if he had swallowed a large mouthful of magma. From his oral cavity to his esophagus, and finally down to his Five Viscera and Six Bowels, everything burned relentlessly. It felt like a ball of fire suddenly igniting within his body, causing him to lower his head hideously, tightly clutching the emptied test tube, deeply afraid of dropping it and arousing suspicion from the completely oblivious Valentiina.
That agonizing burning pain caused his body to twitch continuously, evidently reaching a degree completely unbearable even for the pain-accustomed Fisher. But miraculously, as that reagent fully entered his stomach, that scorching sensation actually drove away the unfeeling coldness within his body bit by bit, making Fisher, though still extremely weak, feel the sensation of being so-called "alive" once again.
"Fisher?"
After several seconds passed did Fisher let out a long breath. Valentiina beside him, hearing him not responding for so long, asked doubtfully. He immediately calmly explained,
"It's nothing, just suffered a minor injury earlier... You said you saw a prophecy that night, what did you see?"
"I saw... inside the Sycamore tree, I was killed by the base, and then you walked out of the Sycamore tree all alone... anyway, it was an ending where I died in the end and you were safe and sound. Therefore, before coming, I acted in accordance with the prophecy's scenes, because that ending was already a very good outcome for me."
Fisher stared blankly for a moment but wasn't overly surprised,
"I see, no wonder you were already awake the moment I got up. In fact, you didn't sleep at all that night, did you?"
"Mm, should I not have acted independently without consulting you? I was just a bit worried that telling you this prophecy would affect your decisions... such a prophecy, it's truly too frightening... especially, the thought of never seeing you again... so I couldn't sleep all night."
"...It seems we really are quite suited to be husband and wife, we are like this in many aspects."
Fisher smiled, looking at his body which was visibly wasting away bit by bit, and uttered a sentence that left Valentiina somewhat baffled.
His body, originally of the Thirteenth Tier, shriveled up like a deflating balloon under the oppression of [Death], becoming formidably weak.
Death still hadn't let him off, but the shadow of this originally terrifying matter was eliminated bit by bit amidst the sincere words of the young girl beside him, actually making Fisher feel indifferent at this moment.
"Why so sudden... honestly. But I also feel that marrying you was the right choice. Thank you for appearing in my life, Fisher... yawn..."
As Valentiina spoke, she suddenly yawned. She seemed a bit tired, and the True Ice fog above grew increasingly dense,
"Sorry, Fisher, it seems I can't get out right now. I feel so sleepy..."
Fisher glanced at the giant egg formed by True Ice, somewhat curious as to what principle this entailed. It seemed there were very complex constructs within those True Ice, wrapping tighter and tighter around Valentiina's indistinct shadow,
"It seems to be reconstructing your body, but I don't know the specifics. It's hard to say what kind of backstops the Phoenixes left behind."
At this moment, the sobbing Emhart staying in his embrace twitched, then turned his head to look at that giant egg, shaking his head and saying,
"That's... hic
... that wasn't done by the Phoenixes; they don't have the ability to reconstruct a body of life... It's Baimon. She was the one who took away the base formed by the Phoenixes and used some method to construct a new body for Valentiina. I don't know her goal either; maybe it's for fun, maybe she struck some deal with the Moon Princess, maybe there's some evil plan... or there's an extremely slim chance she suddenly showed mercy and bestowed kindness.""Baimon?"
Fisher suddenly remembered the conversation between Emhart and a certain lazy female voice he had groggily heard when he woke up. That female voice was the very sound that had reminded Fisher to shout that vocabulary word related to the Magic Lord to construct that terrifying dream magic in the nick of time. And that also meant Baimon had constantly been by his side, watching him and the Phoenix Race.
If it were before, Fisher might have carefully pondered her deeper meaning and origins. But right now, he only had one month left to live; he had many regrets to fulfill. He hadn't confirmed if Renee was safe, hadn't resolved matters with Elizabeth, hadn't fulfilled his promises to Jasmine and Alajina, hadn't cashed in the punishment Raphaela owed him...
Of course, besides these ladies he had a deep relationship with, there were also his family and friends in Naris: Ms. Masha, mentor Helson, Tlander, and that Headmaster Dami'an whom he had rebuked fiercely...
All these lingering attachments made him too lazy to calculate the gains and losses involved anymore. Right now, he merely fixed his gaze at the continuously curling shadow within the True Ice. Valentiina's voice was still transmitting intermittently,
"F-Fisher, wait, I don't want to sleep... I still want to look at you for a bit longer... I'm a bit scared..."
"I'm right here, Valentiina. Just sleep for a while. After you wake up, you will become healthy. Just like you said in your dream, you can gallop and soar freely in this world, and do anything you want."
"Mm, I... I want to... go to the Northern Ocean with you... to see the Colorful-Winged Whales..."
"Mhm, and I still owe you a real Wedding Ring, have you forgotten?"
Hearing Fisher's words, Valentiina curled herself up tightly, pressing her hands against the eggshell once more, and chuckled infatuatedly,
"Hehe, then let's make a pinky promise okay... After I wake up, I'll go find you."
Fisher smiled helplessly. Although he'd have died long ago by that time—and even if he hadn't, it probably wouldn't be a good thing if she ran into other ladies—but as always, the greedy Fisher was unwilling to betray any woman he had taken a liking to, especially Valentiina who had kept him company throughout his rather unpeaceful time in the Northlands.
"What if I'm at a very, very faraway place by then? Don't tell me you'd fly over oceans and continents to find me?"
"Nonsense, unless you didn't want me anymore... but even so, I would fly over to find you and demand an explanation, even if you were at the ends of the earth. Hmph, you just wait."
Fisher gently placed his hand on that eggshell, overlapping with her hand placed on the eggshell,
"Alright, then let's make a pinky promise."
"Pinky promise..."
Valentiina's voice grew increasingly weak. As the True Ice fog on that eggshell surged madly, the surrounding temperature dropped bit by bit. That eggshell also seemingly grew heavier and heavier, until fine cracks were pressed onto the already tottering floorboards.
Fisher stared blankly for a moment, noticing that the eggshell wrapping Valentiina seemed to really want to head toward the roots of the World Tree beneath the platform. Just as he frowned and sat up, that giant egg had already smashed straight towards the World Tree roots below.
"Valentiina!"
Within the eggshell, Valentiina's consciousness seemed to have fallen completely asleep. The Fisher on the platform helplessly watched as that giant egg came into full contact with the tree roots below. Instantly, the previously dazzlingly bright tree roots dulled, replaced by the increasingly bright giant egg.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
Subsequently, the True Ice on that eggshell spread rapidly, until it completely swallowed and encompassed the spacious area beneath Fisher. The dense mist obscured Fisher's vision in the blink of an eye, completely preventing him from seeing Valentiina's location anymore.
But he deeply knew that Valentiina's brand new body was being nurtured below. Once she emerged anew, she would be even more beautiful and powerful than what he had seen in his dream, spreading wings that could blot out the sky once again like a Nirvana reborn Phoenix of the Northlands Mythical Species.
Watching the True Ice completely devouring the World Tree roots below, Fisher didn't utter a word. Only a long while later did he slowly clasp his lower abdomen and stand up. His body had already sustained injuries when fighting Erwind previously. For a Thirteenth Tier physique, those injuries frankly counted for nothing at all. But now that his body was extremely weak, his Tier dropping directly to the zeroth Tier, all these originally insignificant wounds bloomed, scrambling to let Fisher feel their existence.
"Hss..."
Fisher gasped for breath from the pain, somewhat speechlessly looking at the hundred-meter tall cylindrical space before him, still wondering exactly how he was going to climb up and out of the Sycamore tree. Could it be that by the time he got out more than a dozen days had passed, and then he would just obediently wait for death after getting out?
"Fisher, you... wuu wuu, what are you going to do later? Quickly go find your backers... Dagon, Ramastia, the Mother Goddess works too! Anyone to save you... wuu wuu wuu, I don't want you to die! How can I live without you!"
Emhart didn't even dare stand on Fisher's shoulder like normal, deeply afraid his meager weight would become a hindrance to Fisher's walking, forcing him to weep tears while spinning around anxiously in circles.
But the well-informed Emhart obviously knew exactly how severe the situation was for Fisher, who was locked onto by the concept of [Death]. Anxious like a goshawk about to emit smoke, he flew and cursed simultaneously,
"It's all that damn executioner Baimon's fault... that beast, she really deserves to die, harming you like this... wuu wuu wuu..."
It was Fisher's first time seeing Emhart so anxious, making him want to laugh a bit, completely unable to muster any annoyance. He merely waved his hand at Emhart, calmly drawing out the Fluid Sword, and said to him,
"Alright, Emhart, stop clamoring. I also want to live, and I will definitely try hard to find a way... The deities you mentioned do hold some merit, but Dagon just showed himself. It's clear He knows of my situation yet still hasn't shown up. He either doesn't want to help me, or is powerless regarding my current predicament; I lean more toward the latter."
"Huh? Then what about Ramastia? How about we go find Ramastia?"
Fisher gently pinched Emhart's book cover, then continued,
"Perhaps that deity indeed has a way, but regrettably, it seems my relationship with Him isn't too great. Moreover, He fell into Slumber not long ago due to the Fullness Period; He might not have awakened yet. And even if He did wake up, He wouldn't hear my call unless I entered the deep sea. I only have one month's time, it's a bit stretched tightly to do a lot of things. I don't want to waste it and use it on something like this."
"Noooo! Fisher, then what are you going to do this month?! Are you really going to make me watch you die? How can you be so cruel, wuu wuu wuu!"
Fisher's body paused slightly. He raised his hand, only to see that beneath his white shirt, his originally robust body had already begun to turn thin. His gaze was somewhat complex. Following that, he patted Emhart's body and said,
"Just some people I want to see and things I want to do, that's all... but don't worry, I won't give up until the final moment, and I will ponder how to shake off [Death], okay?"
A month's time was truly too, too short. To travel from here to the Sardin Woman's Country at the southern end of the Northlands would take at least five days; from the Sardin Woman's Country to Naris would take half a month; to Pirate's Bay, a month; to the Southern Continent, a month and a half.
Only now did Fisher sign with some emotion; the people he wanted to see being too scattered wasn't a good thing either.
But seeing the normally highly punchable Emhart beside him look like he was almost about to cry seeing him ready to give up, he had no choice but to adjust his tone and console him, preventing him from shedding tears onto his book cover.
"Wait a moment for me, I will carefully rummage through all the materials in my belly from top to bottom. I might truly be able to find a clue that can help you a little bit..."
"Mm-hm, let's head out and talk later."
Within the darkness of the Sycamore tree, Fisher, clutching his lower abdomen, and Emhart, wobbling unsteadily and flashing with golden light while anxiously rummaging through the contents of his own belly, walked further and further away. Behind them, [Death], following like a shadow, tossed and turned to closely tail the Naris man's retreating figure.
The massive Sycamore tree was in utter ruins. In this hometown that originally belonged to the sovereign upon the snow plains of the Northlands, their former brilliance was no longer visible, effortlessly pulverized to pieces by heavy history and destiny. This was truly a matter that made people sigh with lamentation.
But it was indeed just as the Moon Princess had said—the living creatures of the Northlands still remembered them. Their epics and legends still circulated upon this land. Their traces hadn't dissipated, but were deeply buried within the inner hearts and memories of the common folk they had once shielded.
Just like the final Phoenix bloodline peacefully sleeping deeply at the bottom of the Sycamore tree right at this moment, they were all waiting and brewing, waiting for the day their respected and beloved Phoenix would rise anew from Nirvana, to once again lead them in writing a new chapter of the future.
And that day wouldn't be far away.