novelraw Chapter 650: Flee (7k)
Chapter 650: Flee (7k)
"How is it, is it not bad?"
"It looks very good on you."
At an accessory store in the city, Fisher picked a ring that looked pretty good for Renee.
The mining areas of the Southern Continent were rich in precious metals and diamonds. After the pioneering fever, greedy human merchants racked their brains to transport them back and carve them into all kinds of sparkling decorations. This kind of item was deeply loved by the noble ladies of Naris.
Women liked sparkling things; when the luster of those accessories sparkled on their bodies, it could even more set off their beauty.
A few years ago, some jokes were also made because of this, because some merchants who didn't understand the situation brought back a certain kind of Magic Material that looked beautiful on the outside but couldn't be in direct contact with humans, and packaged it to sell as accessories. The result caused the skin of the women wearing them to fester, brewing the largest-scale lawsuit case since the century.
What was picked for Renee was an ordinary, common Finely Carved Silver Ring. It just happened to safely fit on her middle finger by Fisher, looking exceptionally good.
She contentedly stretched her fingers, then took Fisher's arm. It was unclear what kind of situation outsiders saw under the wrapping of the Concealment Blessing anyway.
"Then the next stop is the theater. I haven't watched Naris dramas in so long, we used to go there often in the past..."
"Yeah, after buying front-row tickets with great difficulty, you were sound asleep there, simply a waste."Renee puffed her cheeks, and hammered his shoulder with the pink fist wearing the ring, muttering.
"I swear to the Mother Goddess, I absolutely won't sleep this time!"
"Isn't the Mother Goddess your Previous Incarnation? Swearing to yourself, what use is it?"
"I've said it, I am not my Previous Incarnation." Renee pouted, and then added, "If only I really were my Previous Incarnation."
"How so?"
"Mm, because She is very selfless and great... at least to humans." Renee smilingly explained, incidentally pointing at the Mother God Religion logos that could be seen everywhere on the streets, as well as the magnificent, huge Saint-Nazareth Cathedral not far away that still had people coming and going continuously. "She could go to war with the deities at all costs for humans, passed down to humans the tools to protect themselves, while She herself was reduced to ashes and smoke. This kind of character, generally speaking, shouldn't it be extolled in human culture?"
"...I don't believe in the Mother Goddess, so, it's fine as long as you are Renee."
"I see..."
Renee held Alicia's hand, glanced at Fisher, but didn't say much, just excitedly went to buy tickets.
In the past theaters only had evening sessions; morning to afternoon was resting time for the actors. But it seemed that the scale of the theaters had expanded these years; with a larger cast of actors there was also the opportunity to perform multiple sessions, even performing different dramas on the stage in one day.
Renee held little Alicia pondering what drama to watch in front of the ticket counter, while Fisher stood behind them, sizing up the Cardinals occasionally going back and forth mid-air above the street.
He wasn't clear about the specific public use of those Cardinals—maintaining public order, monitoring, or had Elizabeth already discovered he secretly escaped and was currently searching the whole city for him?
Upon thinking of this, Fisher couldn't help but gulp down a mouthful of saliva, becoming somewhat worried.
But behind him, Renee gently patted his shoulder, bringing him back to his senses from his speculations about Elizabeth,
"Stop spacing out, come help think about which drama to watch? 'The Tale of Revenge' or 'General Barrowen'?"
Fisher glanced at the ticket counter. There were three dramas performed today, but actually because they had to return to the Golden Palace at night, there were only the first two available to choose from, which were these two Renee mentioned.
'General Barrowen' was a standard imported drama, telling a story extremely full of Schwari individual heroism. It described the process of an ancient grand general of Schwari ordered to resist an enemy from the East. Under the internal and external troubles of an incompetent emperor, slandering treacherous officials, and being surrounded by formidable enemies, General Barrowen eventually relied on his own inspiring ability and the courage to share a common hatred of the enemy, sharing life, death, advance, and retreat with the army under him, eventually repelling the formidable enemy and returning triumphantly.
This story was very cliché, possessing a certain realistic historical background. Compared to the other 'The Tale of Revenge', it was more a household name and easier to understand.
As for 'The Tale of Revenge', this was a story adapted from a quite controversial classical masterpiece of Naris.
A kingdom suffered an enemy invasion, leading to the loss of territory and suffering the pain of national subjugation. The prince of the kingdom escaped his homeland alone, and swore to return to the old land to seek revenge and restore the country. He went far away, hid his name, and recuperated for decades, ultimately deciding to head to the enemy country to assassinate the emperor who caused the destruction of his country.
Many things happened along the way. He met his younger sister who similarly fled, hid her name in the enemy country, eventually married, had children, and formed a family. His sister advised him to cherish her life and give up revenge; his sister's persuasion made him very wavering, but he still continued forward. Yet on the road he also met a general of his former country who like him had endured hardships for a long time. That general not only helped him, but also used his own life to conceal for him the assassination plan that was almost exposed...
So the prince continued to press forward, carrying the general's dying wish, further approaching the enemy country's royal capital, wanting to take back everything that was taken from him. But along the way, he saw the advancement of the enemy country. Compared to the incompetence during his father's—the old king's—reign, this place appeared so strong, prosperous, and full of vitality. On the journey, he again met the people of his former country. They were currently doing business here, and seeing they seemed to live better under the enemy country's rule than under his own father's rule made him increasingly conflicted.
Thus he continued on, finally arriving at the royal capital of the enemy country. He proclaimed in the shadows that he would burn the royal palace to the ground at the coming-of-age party of the enemy country's princess. Overnight, the entire royal capital was made jittery by this prince. They searched everywhere, wanting to find this enemy prince who came seeking revenge like a ghost.
In the end, after spending untold hardships, they only found a letter he left behind in a secret inn advising the enemy king to make every effort to make the country prosperous, while the prince himself had long departed, giving up on the assassination.
Such a story had undergone adaptation and discussion more than once in Naris's literary history. Literati and politicians endlessly debated the metaphors and viewpoints within the text.
Some said this prince was wise because he could transcend his own hatred to pursue the greater good; there were also people who said this prince merely borrowed the greater good to seek an excuse for his cowardice.
There were many details in the text hinting that this prince was actually a person as timid as a mouse. Even his revenge plan sprouted amidst his wife's cynical remarks. After encountering the persuasion of his sister who had already settled down, he was even more extremely conflicted, only worrying about being further ridiculed by his wife upon going back like this, thus forcing himself to continue moving forward to execute this assassination plan.
Which is to say, perhaps actually the enemy country's rule described in the book was just so-so, even having no difference from his former country's rule. It was just because of his timidity and cowardice that caused him to subconsciously find reasons for escaping, making a beautification of everything currently running...
Regardless of whether the prince in the story was a sage deeply understanding the greater good or a weakling as timid as a mouse, Fisher felt that this kind of story filled with large amounts of text probably wouldn't suit a five-year-old child like Alicia. Large-scale fighting and noisy scenes were still more suitable.
Although 'General Barrowen' might be a bit later time-wise, Fisher still suggested choosing this act.
"Otherwise, let's watch 'General Barrowen'?"
Renee blinked her eyes, looking back at the drama title up there, but said.
"Is there enough time? This way we might go back very late, aren't you worried about being caught by Elizabeth?"
"If it's a bit faster..."
"How about watching 'The Tale of Revenge'? It seems to be a newly adapted version, I don't know how it's performed, what do you think?"
Fisher glanced at Renee. Actually he felt indifferent. Since Renee wanted to watch this act, he had no choice but to agree.
Seeing it settled, Renee generously bought three front-row seats, resting and waiting here for a short while, waiting for the audience to take their seats and the drama to officially begin.
Taking advantage of the drama waiting time, Fisher glanced at the expectant Renee beside him, still wanting to ask her a bit.
"Are you this expectant? I brought you here so many times previously, it's the first time seeing your expectant appearance like this."
"Eh, is it this obvious?"
"It is."
"Well, there's a comparison to this after all. Previously staying by your side for a long time, there were many such opportunities. And at that time it wasn't as tense as now. The leisure during leisurely times cannot be felt, only the leisure during busy times is true leisure... not to mention, right now I am snatching you back from that Elizabeth's hands. Heavily increasing the stakes makes me very expectant~"
It felt like, that latter reason was the main cause for her being so joyful.
But bringing this up, Fisher's expression pondered, and still proactively opened his mouth to ask.
"So, what exactly is the method you and the deities agreed upon that can resolve the World-Ending Prophecy?"
"Everyone, please sit well, the drama is about to begin immediately. Please do not make loud noises during the theatrical performance, and do not eat food with stimulating odors, to ensure the normal experience of other audiences. Thank you very much for your cooperation!"
Right at this time, the announcer on stage had already walked out from behind the curtain. Because it was the afternoon session, plus 'The Tale of Revenge' was originally a relatively unpopular drama, the people buying tickets to come watch in the theater couldn't be considered too many, only sparsely sitting separated, waiting for the opening of the drama.
But regardless of the amount of audience below the stage, the actors on the stage still needed to do their utmost to perform.
Right after the announcer retreated back to the stage, the lights in the entire exhibition hall suddenly dimmed, making the side profile of Renee beside him become hazy.
Fisher continued staring at her wanting to obtain an answer, but Renee only stared at the stage, watching the splendidly dressed entrance of the actors of the first act.
Amidst a burst of armored warhorses and freezing rivers, the down-and-out prince threw his farm tools onto the ground amidst his wife's disgusted ridicule, loudly shouting with a theatrical singing voice.
"Ah, my homeland was ruined in the spreading flames of the night, yet its master could only flee dismally, letting the years ferment like wine in a gloomy cellar..."
The lengthy, heavy literary scene made it hard for people to raise interest, but from his peripheral vision, upon seeing Renee's focused gaze, he also couldn't help but put his attention onto the performance before his eyes.
As the text progressed, Fisher quickly discovered that the version performed before his eyes adopted the second saying of the literary circle, which was: this prince was a solid coward; him giving up the assassination was not for any greater good at all, but rather completely based on his timidity and cowardice.
He feared the powerful enemy country, feared the assassination where nine out of ten would die. On the journey, he interrogated his struggling heart more than once, asking what kind of reason exactly he should seek to give up the assassination.
Was it sister's sincere consolation, the superiority of the enemy country hidden in subtle places, or the risks contained in the assassination?
Just as Fisher expected, Alicia at the side was made drowsy by this heavy, profound implication-filled drama, already unable to control her sleepy eyelids midway through the second act, and began to sleep soundly.
But just precisely at this time, Fisher who was focusing his full attention staring at the stage suddenly heard an extremely soft question from Renee,
"Fisher, do you not believe me and the deities can resolve the World-Ending Prophecy?"
Fisher turned to look at her, but found she still stared unblinkingly at the stage. Thus, Fisher also turned to look in the direction of the stage, simultaneously responding,
"No, it's just that previously in the Southern Continent, I don't know if it was an illusion, I constantly had a premonition of worrying about you. Even if you've already explained to me you forgot to bring the lark, even if this time you also brought the lark, I continuously feel that resolving the World-Ending Prophecy shouldn't and couldn't be as easy as revealed in your words."
"..."
Renee looked at the stage, fell silent for a while, sighed and explained,
"...Fisher, the so-called World-Ending Prophecy is fundamentally just an invasion against this world. You have encountered a Transferred Person, you should know that outside the Spirit World, outside the Ultimate, there is an even vaster world. And the invading enemies are exactly the deities coming from outside the world. Although They are called 'Chaos', fundamentally They have no essential difference from Ramastia and the others. Although Ramastia and the others have never spoken in detail with me, I have detected that They are very familiar with several of the deities coming to invade..."
"..."
Chaos, essentially having no difference from the deities?
At this moment, Fisher suddenly associated the important clue the Demi-Human Girl Con passed to him through Cidi's mouth, she said:
【The deities are exactly Chaos】
In other words, the authority itself possessed by the gods—regardless of which deity it is possessing the authority, it is actually Chaos to the reality inside the crevice?
So the concept of [Chaos] described by the gods is actually not relative to Them, but relative to this world?
"Are you saying, these gods headed by Ramastia actually come from the same place as those deities invading this world?"
"Probably. In comparison, my consciousness that was born within the Spirit World from beginning to end is instead more like a native product. But even so, I actually have no overly big difference from Them either. Because Fisher you should know, our essential characteristic is actually the Authority inside our bodies..."
The actors on the stage were using exaggerated expressions, exaggerated movements and singing voices to display the arc of the characters, and Renee's explanation was also just in time.
"The appearances, personalities, and characteristics of deities are all bizarre and without fixed forms, while Authority is Their only common characteristic. Authority is a kind of power, a kind of property. It is the essential characteristic of every high-level existence named [Deity], and also the simplest and most straightforward unit used to measure the strength and weakness of deities. Authority is like mass; the larger the mass, the more it means the deity's mighty power is vast and boundless.
"I and other deities all have exactly one kind of Authority, while Ramastia has two, so He can be revered as the Chief God, many decisions of this world are dominated and controlled by Him. And the source of the Blessing He bestowed upon your body, the [Hidden Azanroth], a great deity stronger than Ramastia by an unknown magnitude and possessing an unknown amount of Authorities prayed for protection. Hence the Barrier was produced as a result, isolating the world from everything outside..."
Fisher's thinking was very fast, so he made an inference from the clue previously given by the Demi-Human Girl Con almost instantly.
"But something went wrong with the Barrier, allowing the authoritative power of the outside deities to permeate in, right?"
"Yes, Fisher, and this is also the crux of the problem..."
Renee let out a sigh, smilingly asked back,
"The Barrier was easily shattered, the mighty power of Azanroth reduced to ashes and smoke before the invaders' eyes, revealing a gigantic gap named [The Ultimate] where one can only enter but not exit. Then, can you imagine, what kind of level of existence exactly is the existence coveting this world?"
"..."
"To you, to us, that is no longer a deity acting as an enemy. That is a grim reaper, a grim reaper placing a scythe over the heads of all existences in this world, including deities like Ramastia... The so-called World-Ending Prophecy is simply watching powerlessly as that grim reaper, so powerful it is almost unable to be resisted against, transforms into the terminator of the world, burning everything of everything to ashes, that is all."
Fisher opened his mouth, a drop of cold sweat on his forehead uncontrollably converging, but he still couldn't help but question,
"Don't Ramastia and the others come from the same place as the invading enemies outside? Do They know absolutely nothing about this 'grim reaper'?"
Renee shook her head, and said to Fisher.
"There are six types of invading powers that can be detected, but They are only familiar with four, respectively corresponding to [Life], [Cardinal], [Destiny], and [Death] in the Completion Handbooks. As for the remaining two, They are completely unaware, the one that shattered Azanroth's Barrier should be one of the remaining two..."
The remaining two hmm...
There were records on Tao Gong's chaos handbook, just conveniently two trees above and four trees below, corresponding to Renee's saying.
The four trees below were relatively weaker and familiar to the gods, highly likely foreign deities with exactly one authority and on the same level as the gods; while the two trees above, were respectively [Ocean of Consciousness] and [Scarlet Dream Illusion].
"Previously when I said there was a method to resolve it, I indeed didn't lie to you either. Several gods’ reactions towards the upcoming World-Ending Prophecy all differ... There are those who want to flee, those who want to stay put waiting for death, those who want to surrender, and those who want to resist."
Renee smiled slightly, and followed up by adding some information. It had to be said, under the protection of Azanroth’s blessing, she could also disregard the gaze of the Outer Chaos, and tell more information to Fisher.
"But because the power of Azanroth has yet to completely dissipate, the Barrier can only be entered but not exited, so fleeing is useless; staying put waiting for death is ignored, as for those surrendering, They quickly vetoed it Themselves, I don't know the reason either... And now, there only remains the proposal suggested by Lamastia attempting to resolve the World-Ending Prophecy. He has provided a concrete proposal, and we are currently executing according to this proposal..."
"If I'm not guessing wrong, this method should be aimed at one of those unknown deities right? The chaos of the [Soul] has already temporarily quieted down, and the remaining corresponding completion handbook is [Magic], under Tao Gong's record it is [Scarlet Dream Illusion]."
"Mm, your guess is correct..."
On the stage, the guards portrayed by the actors had already heavily surrounded the hotel the prince resided in, yet in front of everyone's eyes, when they opened the door of the room, inside there only remained a small piece of a letter.
That prince had already fled, gone far away.
The entire story was also right after this plot, about to welcome its ending.
Before their eyes, the music of the drama soared bit by bit, attempting to bring the audience below the stage into an environment of contemplation and immersion.
And beside him, Renee's voice became increasingly clear in Fisher's ears.
She hesitated for quite a while, looking at the scene on the stage, yet still couldn't hold back opening her mouth.
"But whether we can defeat the scarlet unknown deity remains an unknown. The scarlet pollution in the Spirit World, merely influenced by its power, has already burst forth with Authority, plunging the entire Spirit World into chaos over thousands of years, yet we still have no way to deal with it from beginning to end. At that time we might have to face the true master whose strength is unknown magnitudes greater than the Spirit World pollution, not to mention there's still that soul deity that disappeared unfathomably, whether it gave up and left is still an unknown..."
A cruise ship sailing in the ocean, a grim reaper hovering above the cruise ship jokingly waving a scythe; this was the current world, and its seemingly destined ashen future.
From Renee's mouth, Fisher finally detected her becoming extremely obvious perplexity and a little humanistic shivering. That wisp of fragility made him somewhat helplessly want to stretch out his hand to hold what he thought should be her ice-cold palm. But before he raised his hand, Renee had already taken the initiative to hold his hand, gently grasping him.
In his slight daze, Renee turned her head to look straight at Fisher, she said.
"Perhaps it is a bit selfish for me to say this, Fisher, but do you know what I am thinking now?"
"I am thinking..."
"Could we ignore all this, we pass through Azanroth's Barrier fleeing towards the world outside the Ultimate, this way, perhaps who knows we might still be able to survive."
Fisher opened his mouth, between the slight flickering of his eyes, the hall of the entire theater also brightened up along with the music of the drama's finale.
The actors stepped up to the front of the stage one after another to express gratitude to the meager audience below, quickly standing jam-packed on the stage. The one in the lead, was exactly the prince in 'The Tale of Revenge' wandering around all the way but eventually giving up revenge.
He smiled bowing downwards, waving his hand expressing gratitude to the audience, just like the prince who truly made the decision in that story.
But everyone knew, he wasn't the prince in that story, he was just an actor with exceptional acting skills, he could not make any decision for that perished kingdom...
Then, what about Fisher right now?
"I..."
"Fisher, you have Azanroth's blessing, this is a pass, it is also the only item inside this world possessing Azanroth's aura, and also the only method to walk outside from within the Barrier."
"But..."
"I know, you might worry about others, those women you know? As long as they desire, I... we can completely bring them to leave here together. Before the true World-Ending Prophecy arrives there is still a very long period of time, you completely can make them do well psychological preparation. I have the authority rivaling the power of a god, you have the method to escape here... Even if leaving the Spirit World going to the outside of the world we can still be unimpeded. The World-Ending Prophecy will always haunt this world, as long as we leave here, everything here will have nothing to do with us anymore, isn't it so?"
Renee seemed to be slightly afraid, hence she even tightly grabbed Fisher's hand with her hands. Her purple eyes looked motionless at the Fisher before her eyes, reflecting his figure, waiting for his answer.
But at this moment, the sounds of dispersing and gratitude had already awakened Alicia sleeping beside them. She rubbed her eyes, holding the Eimhart whose eyes were opened and expression was extremely serious but without uttering a single word, she sat her body up, hazily asking Renee and Fisher.
"Big Brother, Big Sister, is it over? Sorry... I was too sleepy, so... ao wu"
Renee didn't respond to Alicia's words behind her, only looked straight at the Fisher before her eyes. And Eimhart also looked at Fisher, but different from Renee, he only pursed his lips, raising his eyes signaling Alicia who couldn't see Fisher to temporarily keep her mouth shut, don't interrupt their conversation.
Facing Renee's proposal, Fisher's moving sentiment became extremely hesitant amidst it.
At this moment, it was absolutely not because of some laughable reason like worrying about bringing those acquainted female companions along would lead to quarrels with each other.
The so-called moving sentiment was because the difficulties faced right now were indeed beyond imagination. Even when all deities including Renee gathered together they felt the hope was slim. Then at this kind of time, having a method to escape the disaster, this could be said to be a hope.
Then, the so-called hesitation?
He just wasn't sure whether such a choice was suitable.
This meant, they had to discard everything they saw now.
Naris, the West Continent, the Northern Border, the Southern Continent...
All life, all civilization, and stories were about to be discarded.
The place they were going was outside the Spirit World. It was very vast there, maybe there was a place similar to here, there was the hometown of Transferred Persons.
But it might also be equally dangerous there, because those invaders came exactly from outside the world...
The surrounding audience and the actors on stage had already scattered, but the story of 'The Tale of Revenge' seemingly hadn't ended, it merely became Fisher's turn to play that prince, for him to make a choice.