novelraw Chapter 468: The Way Home
Chapter 468: The Way Home
During the following time, Fisher's group, with the exception of Helaire, all arrived at the Fifth Heaven. In actuality, they had just brought up Nekelia who was still on standby in the First Heaven. This Phoenix Race who baffledly followed them back to the Sanctuary was still blankly staying in the First Heaven. Even Asuka Karasawa somewhat sympathized with her for leaving her hometown, but if asked, she would definitely say this was a "Gift of Fate."
At this moment, Fisher sat at the edge of the Fifth Heaven, holding a recording scroll he requested from Mikhail, seemingly writing something on it. Looking closely, that scroll was densely packed with a considerable amount of magical knowledge. Naturally, there were also many of his annotations.
Thanks to Fisher's memory and his Fourteenth-Tier physique, the completion speed of his magic scroll was unusually fast. Once these things were completed, he prepared to hand this scroll to Asuka Karasawa. Naturally, that should also be after he left this era.
Writing and thinking up to this point, Fisher suddenly stopped his pen. He cast his gaze toward Asuka Karasawa squatting beside a furnace not far away.
Some time had passed since traversing to this world, and she had largely grown, but overall she was still as green as when she first arrived.
At this moment, she was still foolishly staring at that ring in the furnace, seemingly considering how to engrave the Gospel within the magic materials into it. She possessed a virtue almost all Angels had: cherishing the fruits of her labor, even if it was merely an empty original blank with only a shape.
Asuka Karasawa's interest in these miraculous things of another world was totally unexpected to Fisher. Or rather, she inherently had a profound interest in many things, including the subjects she scoffed at in her original world; it was just concealed by some unknown reason previously...
"You're here. Where's little Karasawa?"
Just as Fisher was thinking, Gou Wen's voice suddenly came from beside him. Fisher turned his head to look. When Gou Wen saw that he wasn't "messing with flowers and grass" again, his complexion finally improved significantly. Fisher privately thought that Gou Wen seemed far too concerned about others' private lives. He didn't know if this was a quality of his as a doctor or if this Whale-kin himself was just very warm-hearted.
"Over there. She's also interested in the forging methods of Angels, so she wanted to give it a try.""I see... little Karasawa is truly energetic, a completely different appearance from when she first arrived. If my wife and I have a little Whale-kin in the future, I truly hope she's like this, unlike other Whale-kin children who are lazy and passive."
"Rationally speaking, given your wife's personality, your child absolutely wouldn't be that lazy, right?"
"That's hard to say. No matter a person's personality, there will always be a certain degree of distortion and compromise in front of those they care for and love. I'm like this, and my wife is probably like this too. In short, no matter how tough my wife's personality is right now, if she has a child in the future, she would probably be very gentle too, right?"
"Probably?"
"Hahaha... by the way, is the Sixth Heaven still inaccessible?"
Gou Wen laughed it off and bypassed this topic, subsequently raising his head again to look at the profound deep space arranged only with stars above. Located directly above the Fifth Heaven, several thousand meters above the rotating sun ring, a magnificent and beautiful library hovered. That was precisely the residence of the Archangel Gabriel who oversaw wisdom, and the Sir Book Artifact Fisher was worried about was currently locked in there.
"Ah, according to Michael, ever since the Dragon God tore through space and passed by the outside of the Sanctuary last time, Gabriel, unknown if she was frightened or what, locked the doors of the Sixth Heaven's Vortex of Wisdom completely. Only she herself can enter and exit; the other Archangels can't forcibly open the main doors either. Therefore, we can probably only wait until everything is over before Pandora has the qualifications to do so, right?"
In the end, Fisher still couldn't meet Eimhart. However, Pandora said his current condition was quite good; Gabriel most likely hadn't bullied him.
Thinking up to here, Fisher suddenly turned his head to look at Gou Wen and asked.
"Next we'll probably head to the Dragon Continent. That Transferred Person named 'Margaret' relied on the Loom of Fate to establish a settlement there. We have to retrieve the Tear of the World Tree from her hands. I have goals to accomplish, Asuka Karasawa and Mikhail also want to return to their original worlds, and Nekelia has nowhere else to go but to tag along with us. What about you? You've completed all your matters; are you still not going back?"
Gou Wen turned his head to glance at him. After a slight pause, he gritted his teeth and asked him.
"I understand now. You want to drive me away, then you can be carefree and casual, getting intimate with Angel Helaire, right?"
"...You're at it again?"
Gou Wen sneered. Staring at Fisher for a long while, he finally shook his head. Sighing, he said to Fisher.
"You're not a bad guy at heart, who knows where that strange illness of your restless essence came from. Perhaps if you didn't have this strange illness, you'd be a good female... um, friend to women."
"You feel the same way too, right?"
Gou Wen speechlessly turned to look at Fisher, then continued.
"You really take any out you're given, not ambiguous at all... but anyway, didn't Archangel Pandora say she'd promise us a reward after completion? We've come all this way, not taking an Archangel's reward would be a waste. This way I'll have an explanation to give my wife when I return. Besides, in a team, whether there's a doctor or not makes a huge difference, let alone an excellent doctor like me."
"Suit yourself, however..."
Just as Fisher wanted to continue saying something, his spine suddenly felt a cold sweep. His gaze sharp, he wanted to turn his head, but quickly felt an ice-cold, soft body press up against him, halting his continued movements.
Fisher wasn't experiencing that light and soft feeling for the first time, hence he quickly realized who was behind him.
"Helaire?"
"It's Cupid."
Fisher turned his head speechlessly, only to see Helaire, who had already recovered her original appearance, having appeared behind him without anyone noticing.
Right now, she levitated in mid-air, her hands merely embracing Fisher's body. Her chin thus rested on his shoulder, carrying a seductive smile as she looked at Fisher turning his head over.
"Did you fly directly up from below?"
"To be precise, I flew up from the First Heaven. I just returned from Archangel Sariel's place, and concurrently wanted to do some rehabilitation training, so I wanted to try flying up."
"What about the injuries? Are they fully healed too?"
She smiled and released Fisher's shoulders. Meeting Fisher's inquiry, the two pairs of blue-gold wings on her back unfurled again, indicating her current condition to Fisher. Yet Fisher only kept staring at her beautiful white robe that was like a long skirt, seemingly exploring the specific changes to her body, but unfortunately to gain nothing.
It was also during this process of appraisal that Fisher suddenly gazed past her generously displayed body and discovered a blind Archangel floating not far behind her. She wore a smile and waited quietly there; it was precisely Archangel Pandora.
"Archangel Pandora?"
Helaire smiled and nodded. She swept a glance around, seemingly confirming if anyone was missing here, and quickly discovered Mikhail wasn't here.
"Mhm, Archangel Pandora has already told me the intelligence regarding the Ideal State and that Transferred Person, but she's still not very reassured. This operation is relatively important, so if there are any questions later on, you can ask her directly... oh right, where's Mikhail? He should be going too, right?"
"He's writing scrolls for Michael over by the workshop."
"Oh, not surprising. Only Mikhail can casually enter and exit Archangel Michael's forging workshop. They often engage in a bit of... um, knowledge exchange inside."
Helaire placed heavy emphasis on "exchange," seemingly hinting at something.
However, he didn't actually need her reminder. Fisher and Gou Wen had long felt the relationship between Mikhail and Michael wasn't that simple. That feeling was both subtle and hazy, difficult to describe with words yet making one unable to resist guessing.
"Angel Helaire! You're back! And Archangel Pandora..."
Right at this moment, Asuka Karasawa, who was squatting in front of the furnace in the distance, also spotted the ascending Helaire. Thus, she also stood up and called Nekelia to walk back together. Conversely, Helaire smiled faintly. Levitating, she lightly sat on one of Fisher's shoulders and waved at Asuka Karasawa.
"Little Karasawa, come over quickly!"
But before she could sit firmly, she was slapped off by a dark-faced Fisher beside her. Yet she wasn't the least bit annoyed; smiling, she used her bare feet to step on his shoulder, then drifted far away like in water, until she came to a complete stop not far in front of Pandora.
Watching those two seemingly flirting like lovers, Asuka Karasawa, who had just run over smilingly, gradually slowed her steps. The radiant smile on her face also subconsciously withdrew somewhat. However, she quickly regained her senses blankly and once again revealed a smile slightly inferior to the previous one, briskly arriving in front of Fisher.
"Alright, we won't wait for him anymore; let's begin directly... according to the intelligence Archangel Pandora obtained, after that Transferred Person left the Tree Continent, she fled to the Dragon Continent with the assistance of Earl Tsubaki. There, she established a nation called the Ideal State, attracting tens of thousands of native residents in the Dragon Continent within half a year. The majority are humans, while the remaining Demi-human Races also occupy a significant portion."
Fisher stroked his chin and analyzed.
"The key lies in the fact that the Elves couldn't possibly be unaware of where she went with the Loom of Fate, yet they haven't reckoned with her until now; there must be a reason for this."
"Correct. The Elves, and even someone as powerful as Lord Tao, haven't reckoned with Margaret; there is indeed a reason for this..."
Helaire snapped her fingers with a smile and said to Fisher and the others.
"You should know that above the three powerful Demigods in this world are five Chief Gods. Four of them wander outside the world; even the deity Lord Ramastia residing on the seafloor is practically the same... Only one is an exception, and that is the Goddess governing death, Lord Hela. He stripped his own consciousness and transformed into the world's clearing rule of death, constantly influencing the world with His divine power. That is to say, just like Lord Ramastia, His true body lies within the world."
"For thousands of years, not even the three Demigod adults knew the resting place of the Goddess of Death, Hela. Legend has it that He was hidden by Lord Ramastia in a hard-to-find place. This should be considered a secret known only to the gods. The problem is that the loom containing a True God's Divine Authority was stolen by that Transferred Person. Even more unfortunately, she used the Loom of Fate to find the place where Hela sleeps."
Fisher frowned deeply. Gou Wen and Nekelia's expressions also grew grave. The numerous clues from before in the Tree Continent then linked together. Fisher immediately recalled the earthquake that occurred in the Tree Continent, as well as the strange phenomena of various chaotic deaths happening at the time.
"No wonder we encountered changes in the rules of death when we were in the Tree Continent. Those changes weren't caused unconsciously by Hela, but by Margaret. That Ideal State is built upon Hela's sleeping ground. The reason those changes happened in the Tree Continent then was because Margaret was threatening the Elves, proving she could already influence death to a certain degree. It was also because of this reason that the Elves didn't dare to act rashly, right?"
He finally knew why Lord Tao summoned beings of the Fourteenth-Tier in the Tree Continent at the time; it turned out to be a backup measure to deal with Margaret sealing off the Mythic Species.
Helaire nodded and continued.
"Correct. Margaret declared that if the Elves dared to act rashly, she would detonate the Loom of Fate and awaken the sleeping Hela. Furthermore, she prohibits any Elf-kin at the Mythic Rank from entering the Ideal State; otherwise, she would likewise detonate the loom. Once the Goddess awakens, the rules of death in the world would collapse in an instant; such guilt isn't something the Elf-kin can bear. In short, both factions are currently at a stalemate like this..."
"Oh right, worth mentioning is that Earl Tsubaki's identity as a traitor was discovered by Lord Tao, but long prior, he had fled to the Ideal State with almost all his citizens. Thanks to his rather small domain border, otherwise it would also be very troublesome, right?"
Asuka Karasawa glanced at the grave-faced everyone around her, then at the still-smiling Helaire. Consequently, she suddenly raised her hand tremblingly, signaling to speak like a student. Helaire also respected her former habit as a High School Girl, immediately pointing at Asuka Karasawa and saying.
"Student Karasawa, please speak."
"Eh uh? Yes."
Asuka Karasawa's face flushed red. When the others, especially Fisher, looked over, she became even more embarrassed, even stuttering as she spoke, but she still continued.
"It's just... the gods of this world should know about this matter, right? Why don't They intervene to help? Or do They simply not pay attention to the events happening in this world, even for something so serious..."
"No, on the contrary, the deities constantly monitor this world; it's simply that They cannot interfere with the world's operation."
Gou Wen sighed, seemingly very clear about this issue. Looking at Asuka Karasawa, he explained.
"It's precisely because of this that They created these three powerful Demigods to supervise the world on Their behalf."
"Then since the World Tree, the Dragon God, and the Chain of Heaven are siblings, now that there's a mistake, the deities should ask the other two Demigods to aid the World Tree, right?"
However, Fisher had deductions based on the massive battle between the three siblings later on. He said.
"The relationship between those three siblings isn't good; concerted assistance is highly unlikely. In matters like this, them not adding to the chaos can already be considered giving face to Ramastia."
"That is indeed the case."
Helaire nodded with a smile, explaining to Asuka Karasawa.
"According to what Archangel Pandora said, Lord Chain of Heaven and Lord Dragon God both received instructions from Lord Ramastia, demanding them to assist the World Tree in reclaiming the Loom of Fate and pacifying this conflict. But Lord Dragon God and Lord World Tree actually have long-standing grievances. Previously, relying on the Loom of Fate, Lord World Tree rendered Lord Dragon God totally helpless, making him fly away crestfallen from frustration every time. This time, he's probably gloating in their misfortune, right? Lord Chain of Heaven is roughly the same; he hopes the Sanctuary won't interfere in this matter."
"Therefore, essentially, our mission is illicit; we must be careful accordingly. Whether it's Lord Chain of Heaven or Lord Dragon God, they both understand deeply that the deterrent that Transferred Person maintains right now is merely temporary. There's no way the World Tree and the Elves can let a human threaten them indefinitely. Breaking through her threat and retrieving the loom is merely a matter of time for them. Specifically speaking, we just need to recover the Tear of the World Tree before then, and the mission will be considered a perfect conclusion."
Fisher roughly considered the sequence of events and analyzed the obstacles of this operation, then he seemingly discovered a blind spot.
Since essentially, Margaret and they were not hostile. Coupled with Margaret only needing the Loom of Fate as a threat against the Elves, the Tear of the World Tree was merely a byproduct for her, entirely unimportant to her. Therefore, their taking away the Tear of the World Tree offered space for negotiation.
Margaret most likely wouldn't give it away for free; therefore, what they really needed to consider was actually what chips they should put on the table to exchange for the Tear of the World Tree.
Thinking up to this point, Fisher's gaze involuntarily landed on the Angel who had remained quiet behind Helaire. He suddenly had an idea.
He first vocalized his earlier analysis. The preceding wasn't the focal point; the latter part was.
"...Therefore, if we can produce a bargaining chip that moves Margaret, obtaining the Tear of the World Tree won't be a difficult task. And for a Transferred Person, this chip is also very simple. The reward Archangel Pandora promised to Asuka Karasawa and Mikhail—the method to return to their world—I believe Margaret would definitely be very interested. I wonder if Archangel Pandora could also produce evidence to make Margaret believe the chip we offer, so our negotiations would be simpler."
Helaire smiled and said nothing further, merely winking ambiguously at Fisher. It felt completely unlike discussing serious matters, but rather more like the thrill of a secret affair.
And Gou Wen and Nekelia also looked at that quiet Archangel. Asuka Karasawa grasped her white robe tightly in nervousness, seemingly very concerned about this matter.
In reality, Fisher's remarks aimed to kill two birds with one stone. It not only discussed Margaret's matter but also tested whether the promise Pandora made to these two Transferred Persons was true.
After all, Fisher came from the future. If Pandora truly could provide a method, then why did Asuka Karasawa create the Creator's Society in the future? Or was the future altered because of his appearance; if he weren't here, Pandora wouldn't have made such a trade with Asuka Karasawa?
Regardless, this was a question Fisher needed to investigate.
Everyone's gaze landed on Pandora. She wasn't flustered, nor did she reveal any other expressions. Simply after a second of silence, she suddenly spoke up.
"Actually, I don't mind revealing the reward promised to you all in advance; you will know the specific reasons later on. Regarding the method for Transferred Persons to return to their corresponding worlds, I do indeed know it, and that key lies in the [Spirit World]..."
"The Spirit World is the deep layer of this world, and also the outer boundary. There dwell the Streams of Consciousness and stars the deities cannot touch. However, it is extremely dangerous; ordinary Mythic Species cannot survive there, let alone you fragile Transferred Persons. Several Archangels and I have been to the Spirit World, and moreover, because of my identity as [God's Emissary], I know some secrets regarding the Spirit World that others do not..."
"Legend states that the Spirit World has an end, but apart from myself, few people should know where that end is located. Even the stars inhabiting there year-round do not know. But I can confirm that the place linked beyond that end is precisely the destination you wish to reach, because you most likely arrived here through that entrance..."
"And only I can bring you to that place within the Spirit World. The reward I promised is that I will bring you to the position of the end, and you will be able to return to the world belonging to you via the entrance you came from. Naturally, you can also inform that Transferred Person named 'Margaret' about this matter. If she hands the Tear over to me, I will prepare the same reward for her as well."
Asuka Karasawa's breathing practically stopped. She firmly engraved this matter in her mind. After so long, she had finally grasped a bit of hope for returning home, making her feel stimulated.
"I... I should also tell Mr. Mikhail about this matter. This way... Great, truly great."
Her expression was quite excited, her hands subconsciously wanting to press together to thank the Buddha, but she suddenly released them awkwardly. She hurriedly thanked Fisher beside her and the Angel Pandora in front.
Fisher raised an eyebrow. Perhaps not even he expected there to really be a method for them to return to their hometowns. Moreover, he always felt he seemed to have read related clues somewhere...
For example, the Soul Completion Handbook.