novelraw Chapter 391: From the Spirit World
Chapter 391: From the Spirit World
Accompanied by that deep fragrance, Fisher's consciousness continuously sank. Immersed within that boundless darkness, he seemed to have a familiar Dream again.
In the Dream, amidst the enveloping and tearing of the darkness, and during his exceedingly painful endurance, a moonlight as clear as water suddenly occupied his entire vision, completely dispelling the darkness that dragged him down continuously.
"Buzz— Buzz— Buzz!"
Panting incessantly, Fisher squinted and slowly lifted his head amidst inexplicable exhaustion. What entered his vision first was an incredibly pure starry sky. Countless stars shone and reflected off one another with their unique brilliance. However, the one and only existence that Fisher couldn't tear his eyes away from, the one that generated an irresistible suction force like a black hole, was the massive white disc sitting squarely in the center of the starry sky...
That was an incomparably bright, yet utterly frigid moon.
The instant that moon entered his eyes, a wave of extreme terror instantly seized his heart, seemingly ready to crush Fisher's very soul along with it. But even so, the lingering obsession he held right before falling asleep refused to dissipate. Just before losing his will, he desperately roared,
"Renee!"
The next second, propelled by the momentum of his all-out shout, Fisher sat straight up. He opened his eyes wide, panting heavily. But where was there any moon before him? There was only the salty sea breeze and the sound of waves crashing against a ship's hull. He stared blankly at the bright sunshine before him, completely unable to understand how he had instantly traveled from the freezing Northlands into the middle of the Ocean.
Presently, Fisher was entirely surrounded by white sand baked by the sun. He lay shirtless on a vast beach, with an unconscious Eimhart lying beside him. But the most crucial thing was that when he looked down, he suddenly discovered his body had actually returned to the sturdy, robust state it was in before being chased by Death, and his Life level had also returned to roughly the Thirteenth Rank. Yet the chilling sensation of being hunted by Death hadn't dissipated in the slightest.
How did I...Considerably astonished, he glanced at his robust body, wanting to find the reason. Instead, he only saw a purple "horizontal figure-eight" pattern on his chest. That tattoo-like symbol seemed alive, continuously surging over his skin. But when Fisher reached out to touch it, he felt absolutely nothing.
"You're awake! How do you feel? Do you want something to eat? There seems to be a lot of coconuts here..."
Just as Fisher was frowning in thought, a profound fragrance suddenly surged into his nose, accompanied by that enchanting, mature female voice entering his ears. He looked up and saw that Renee, who had unknowingly changed into a light white outfit, was standing barefoot on the white sand. Looking at the tall coconut trees before her, she seemed quite Eager to Try.
Fisher cast a glance at the bizarre symbol on his body. He suddenly narrowed his eyes and asked Renee,
"We were still being chased by the Witch Research Society people yesterday. Was it you who brought us out? Did you deal with my body too? Why did you suddenly appear in the Northlands? Who exactly are you..."
Seeing that Fisher was awake, Renee, exuding the allure of an older sister, skipped back to his side. Looking up and down at Fisher's condition, she nodded and said,
"Not bad, not bad at all. To be able to ask so many questions right after waking up... Also, I actually wanted to mention this earlier, but even when you were that weak, your reproductive capability didn't diminish in the slightest. It seems your condition is still quite good~"
"..."
Fisher looked at the smiling, mystery-shrouded woman before him. He guessed in his heart that she would definitely refuse to answer anything just like in the past, making his questioning entirely superfluous. Thus, he sighed, shook his head, and said,
"Never mind, as long as you're alright, it's fine. We are now..."
"It was me, you know. I was the one who took care of the people chasing us yesterday, and I was the one who helped treat your body. Right now, we're resting midway on a small island in the Eastern Ocean. As for why I suddenly appeared in the Northlands... you were always looking for the Undying Witch before, weren't you? Although I don't know your true goal, presumably, the Undying Witch you're looking for is me. And my previous disappearance and sudden appearance in the Northlands are also related to this."
Fisher stared blankly for a moment. Looking at Renee crouching before him with a smile, he raised his eyebrows in Unbelievable shock. He seemed unable to believe this person would actually admit it so openly. After all, with her terminally terrible personality, it would be a miracle if she didn't lie to deceive him. Refusing to answer would have been the logical expectation, let alone honestly confessing...
Hence, after pausing for a moment, the very first sentence he said was actually,
"Where did you hide the real Renee?"
"...Go to hell!"
Hearing this, Renee's fur bristled and she punched Fisher. Now that Fisher's body had recovered its sturdiness, her little fists finally no longer needed to hold back their strength—though there originally wasn't much force to begin with.
"I'm the fake Renee! I'm the fake Renee! Then go find the real Renee to confess your feelings! Idiot, idiot, idiot!"
Floating up, Renee began to adorably pummel Fisher's body like she usually did. However, Fisher paused for a moment before suddenly reaching out and solidly pulling Renee into a tight embrace. Caught Off Guard, her beautiful face instantly flushed red. Breathing rapidly, she tumbled into the sand alongside him just like that.
"..."
Panting, Fisher neither let go nor spoke. Blushing, Renee neither turned intangible nor made a move. The two figures on the beach embraced each other quietly and with deep, tacit understanding.
It was only after a long time, after Fisher tangibly felt the body temperature, breathing, and fragrance of the person before him, that he suddenly said,
"Welcome back, Renee..."
"...Idiot, are you going to listen to me or not?"
"Mm, go ahead."
Reluctantly, Fisher released the arms embracing the soft, fragrant Renee. She also slowly floated up, coughing with a flushed face before saying to Fisher,
"Before I tell my story, I need to talk about one thing first. It's about the origin of Witches... Don't you want to know why Witches are so similar to humans despite being Demi-humans, and why they can pass down Witch Traits across generations? That is because..."
"It's because of the Chaos-kin—or rather, the Stars—within the Spirit World, right? Their gaze upon certain special humans created this unique Demi-human Race."
Renee blinked, looking at Fisher before her, then continued,
"Mm. But as for me, I am vastly different from ordinary Witches. Look at your chest. There's a symbol there; that represents..."
"A symbol representing the Spirit World?"
Renee blinked again, then bristled and punched Fisher, pouting,
"You're not allowed to speak anymore! Or else I won't talk, and you can just say everything yourself instead!"
"As you command, Lady Renee..."
Fisher chuckled helplessly, nodding and remaining silent to let Renee finish her words.
The next moment, light began to shine bit by bit within her eyes. Countless Heart Birds in the distant grass also lit up, looking just as breathtakingly beautiful as purple stars scattered across the mortal realm.
"I come from the Spirit World. I am a Consciousness that is both similar to and different from the Stars. But you should know that whether it's Gods or existences from the Spirit World, they must absolutely never interfere with Reality, otherwise it will trigger severe consequences. That is why I have hidden my identity for so long, not daring to interact with others, and walked the world alone under the disguise of a Witch... until I met you, Fisher."
When she said "trigger severe consequences," her purple eyes lowered for a brief moment before returning to their charming, smiling appearance. She continued,
"During these thousand years, I walked the world under many identities—the [Undying Witch], the [Shapeshifter]—never interfering with the operation of Order, personally observing this world. Before this, you should have already encountered quite a few counter-examples. For instance, the [Completion Handbooks], those [Transferred Persons], and the previous Spirit World Contamination... So, when I first met you, I treated you as an unstable factor because of the Completion Handbook on your person."
A Completion Handbook, huh. So Renee had seen through the fact that he carried such an item the very first time they met. Just like Eliog back then. If so, did that mean Renee's true level was extremely close to, or perhaps even higher than, the main body of Eliog sealed within the Abyss?
"Therefore, I did not hesitate to use lies to deceive you. My Trait isn't infinitely increasing Magic Power. I don't have Witch sisters. It wasn't my first time learning Magic. My true main body isn't what you see either. I can transfer my Consciousness to the Heart Birds at any time because essentially, I created them. Just like this body, they can host my Consciousness..."
"I'm sorry. If you're angry, just say it out loud, I will definitely sincerely reflect on it... But seeing as I'm honestly confessing now, you must scold me lightly! I'll listen very carefully!"
As Renee said this, she clamped her hands tightly over her ears while looking at Fisher with a pitiful expression. This caused Fisher, who had wanted to say something, to swallow his words instantly. Seeing his helpless look, Renee covered her mouth and chuckled softly. But soon, she said softly,
"But, Fisher, being with you was really, really happy. Your guess from before was correct: besides you and Ms. Martha, no one else in this world will remember me. I really cherished the days I spent with you, wishing every day could be like that. But sometimes I absolutely must leave, especially during the Fullness Period."
Hearing this somewhat familiar term, Fisher furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Fullness Period?"
Hadn't Ramastia mentioned this term before when he left Jasmine to slumber at the bottom of the sea? Renee's departure was actually tied to this word as well...
"Mm. During the Fullness Period, the world's repulsive force toward me reaches its peak. After all, you know, I am a foreigner. So besides you, no one else welcomes me as a guest... However, if it was just the Fullness Period, I wouldn't have left for so long. The real reason lies with the Spirit World Contamination."
"A long, long time ago, the Spirit World Contamination suddenly appeared out of thin air within the Spirit World. It possesses no sentience, is highly destructive, and devours streams of consciousness containing life. Because of its appearance, the Spirit World descended into Chaos. The Stars hid away the torrent of consciousness that alternates with mortal life. As a result, It set its sights on the massive Stars, forcing the weaker ones among them to be completely unable to survive in the Spirit World. They were forced to descend into Reality, where they clashed with the lifeforms within the world, causing extremely severe destruction..."
"Centuries later, the Base formed by the total sacrifice of the Phoenix race gave us an opportunity to lock It firmly outside the Crevice, at the position closest to the Base. Thus, It stopped moving for a very long time, finally allowing the environment in the Spirit World to ease up significantly... Yet eighteen years ago, Its activity grew increasingly intense. Because the Base within the world sensed increasingly dense Phoenix blood, it became agitated in an attempt to make itself whole, which consequently caused It to begin moving once more. And half a year ago, Its activity reached its absolute peak, which is why I had to leave and not return for so long."
Calculating carefully, it seemed eighteen years ago was exactly when Valentiina was born. And half a year ago was precisely the time framing Valentiina's departure from Snowflake Fortress to search for the Wutong Tree—right when she came of age. In this way, many clues connected together.
Fisher's frown deepened after hearing this. He looked at Renee with worry and said,
"But now, the Phoenixes' Base has been destroyed. Without the Base, It will wander the Spirit World again. When that time comes, the situation for the Stars and you will become exceedingly difficult once more."
"It's fine. This time, with the help of Dagon and many Stars, It sustained quite severe injuries. It will temporarily remain in place and won't move again for a very long time. Though, one day It will move again... But before dealing with It, let's focus on you first, Fisher. What I'm going to say next is very important, you must listen closely..."
"I don't know how you were targeted by Death. The overwhelming probability is that someone disrupted the Rules of Death and forcibly imposed them upon you. This is an exceedingly severe problem."
Renee's smile faded bit by bit. She pointed at Fisher's newly robust body, specifically the symbol on his chest.
"I temporarily used my abilities to help you evade Death's reckoning. But Death will not let you off that easily. Within half a year at most, Its reckoning will breach my power and kill you completely. Hence, we must resolve It before then. The mechanism behind Death's reckoning is extremely complicated. You essentially just need to know that, besides Gods, only existences standing at the very pinnacle of living beings can help you..."
"Ramastia's three children and the God of Destruction from the Ocean fall into this category. But Fafnir and Xuan Shen are not adept at manipulating Rules. Just like me, their assistance would only be counterproductive for you... The only two who could truly help you are the Chain of Heaven and the World Tree, but both of them have been dead for a long time."
Fisher's expression slightly stiffened. Didn't this essentially mean giving up on treatment? And from the sound of it, the Gods would absolutely never break the rules just for him. Just as he had heard emphasized in many places:
Gods and existences from the Spirit World interfering with the world will invite exceptionally severe consequences. This is something that absolutely cannot be permitted under any circumstances!
"From the sounds of it, I still have half a year to live right now. Since the existences who could help me are already gone, let's talk about your problem for now... This is Eimhart, an intelligent Relic created by the Angels. He told me of a terrifying Demon named Baimon, who might be related to the Base formed by the Phoenixes. Right now, that Base is also in Baimon's hands. If we go find her, might there be a way to lock down the Spirit World Contamination again?"
However, Renee shook her head and stood up. Walking back to the tall coconut tree from before, she began contemplating whether to eat coconuts, saying in passing,
"Rest assured, I definitely had a purpose for bringing you here. I already have a way to help you escape Death. After all, if you are still being chased by Death, I'd derive no joy in doing anything else either... Next, we will continue our journey deep into the Eastern Ocean. We'll make a stopover at the Pirate Harbor first; there are some things to buy there. Waaah, that coconut is huge! Fisher, hurry and help me pick it!"
Fisher cast a glance at Eimhart, who was still sound asleep beside him, and stood up, looking helplessly at Renee before him. At this moment, she was as beautiful as before, yet because of her honesty, the lingering cloud of suspicion that had always wrapped around her finally faded substantially, making him feel exceedingly close to her right now.
"Can't you turn intangible? Just fly up and grab it! Why make me do it? I'm still being chased by Death, you know..."
"Eh? Haven't you heard that Carduan proverb? 'Coconuts picked by others taste better', you know!"
"You just made that up on the spot, didn't you?"
"Ehehe."
Smiling, Fisher looked at Renee, who was yearning for the coconuts on the tree. Clearly possessing the appearance of an older sister, yet she always loved to do such adorable things. Truly...
Fisher retained the vast majority of his leniency solely for Renee. Just as he was preparing to go up and pick the coconut, he suddenly remembered something and asked,
"Right, did you take care of the traces of the Witch Research Society group from yesterday? Don't let your 'Chaos-kin-like' aura be discovered by the Six Tribes. They have quite a bit of trauma regarding that."
"I'm not a Chaos-kin, I'm special, alright... Well, I roughly cleaned up the scene, disguising it as if you fought them and perished together. No one will find out. Plus, it's just right for you to fake your death for a period of time, since we still need quite a while afterward to deal with the Death pursuing you."
"Is that so..."
Fisher nodded, but froze in place a second later. He probably didn't care whether he faked his death or not, since many of the other ladies weren't very aware of his current whereabouts anyway. Yet, the only exception was Elizabeth, whom he had dialed just yesterday over the phone. Knowing this made it impossible for him to relax.
Given Elizabeth's personality, she would definitely unevenly dispatch people to verify his condition. Once she found out he perished together with the Witch Research Society people...
She couldn't even accept him distancing himself from her while he was alive, much less the permanent separation of death. Knowing her, she would definitely do something foolish out of grief again. He didn't want her to act like that.
Basking in Renee's expectant gaze, Fisher nimbly leaped to the top of the coconut tree. While picking the coconut she fancied the most, he plotted Elizabeth's situation in his mind.
"That one, right? Let's get a few more down... Oh, right, that Relic is called Eimhart, right? I knocked him out earlier. Does he need to eat?"
"He doesn't need to. Just consider us."
Multitasking, Fisher weighed the matter of Elizabeth. He couldn't possibly call her to check in right under Renee's nose, could he? Informing her that he was still alive?
Holding the coconuts, Fisher hopped down from the tree. Before figuring out a solution for Elizabeth, gazing at the ocean before him, he suddenly realized another extremely severe problem.
And that was... didn't Renee just say they were going to the Pirate Harbor to buy something?
Going to the Pirate Harbor wasn't the issue. But as bad luck would have it, the Pirate Harbor was exactly where the Iceberg Queen Ship was stationed. And his relationship with her was quite intimate...
"Psst. To think a Nali Person living by the sea would stare blankly at the ocean... Are you thinking about something? Could it be that there's someone in the Pirate Harbor you want to see?"
Right during that single second of Fisher's contemplation, an alluring voice suddenly, quietly exploded right next to his ear. Calmly turning his head to look, Fisher found Renee staring at him very "innocently". Tapping her red lips with a finger, she spoke these words as if entirely unintentionally.
Fisher, conversely, nodded point-blank with an expression of 'you got me'.
"Mm, indeed there is."
Renee's smile deepened, intoxicating like a freshly unsealed jug of aged wine.
"Oh? Can I meet them?"
"You can. Back when I was at Saint-Nazareth University, I had a classmate who researched Demi-human Races earlier than I did, named Little Jack. He passed away a long time ago. Before his death, he shared a lot of knowledge regarding Demi-human Races with me, which benefited me immensely. While you were away, his father fled Naris with me. Later, because I wanted to search for you in the Northlands but couldn't bring him along, I had him go to the Pirate Harbor... Thinking of it now, I just feel a bit apologetic, that's all."
"Is that so..."
Tapping her chin with her finger once more, Renee concurrently floated up and caught the coconut Fisher picked for her. She said to him,
"It's fine. We're not in a hurry to get there this time. We can just meet this elder first and report that you're safe... I'm so hungry, so hungry. It's just a pity there's only coconuts here. I really want to eat the meat stewed by Ms. Martha, and blueberry cake too..."