novelraw Chapter 61 – Blueprint
Chapter 61 – Blueprint
"I don't know, Master."
The golem humbly lowered its head, trembling like a frightened child.
"The power of the Chosen One's sword was astounding. I might have returned to The Abyss. But strangely, I can't sense my body being reformed..."
"Chosen One? You call her the Chosen One?" Xia Ya's expression was odd. "Then what am I?"
"You... you are the Son of the Abyss!"
I'm the damn Son of the Abyss!
Xia Ya almost lost his temper, taking several deep breaths in succession.
Orinshiru couldn't possibly be the Chosen One because she couldn't be resurrected after dying.
In the cycle, she truly died during the 28th campaign, which was Xia Ya's first solo challenge. He convinced Orinshiru to go with him, and in the end, the Valkyrie died blocking Synlos's final blow for him, a damn plot kill.
Synlos's attack should be called "100% hit and kill the NPC next to the player."
Since then, Xia Ya's solo battles never included anyone else, not giving the opponent a chance for a plot kill.
"So, you retained the memory of the last 'cycle'?"
"I don't understand what 'cycle' means... If you mean the last era, then yes. Not just that, but the era before that, and the one before that, and the one before that..."
"Shut up!" Xia Ya said irritably.
"Yes..."
Xia Ya calmed himself and suddenly asked, "Do you remember what I told you? About why I saved you."
The golem hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "Something about changing positions or something?"
The gaze from behind grew colder! Cold with a hint of disdain for a pervert!!
"I [bleep] you, what the hell did you remember?"
"You, you said that at the time..." The golem looked aggrieved. "Oh, you also said you killed me 176 times, 26 of which were with the vanguard, and 150 were solo, and this time you wanted to try something different..."
"Yes, that's the sentence! Can you now recall your past experiences?"
Xia Ya stared into the golem's eyes, filled with anticipation.
However, under his expectant gaze, the golem shook its head.
"I always thought you were joking..."
As expected...
Xia Ya sighed. The problematic Synlos only remembered the 177th cycle, and only the last great battle... But it didn't matter; this was already incredibly good news: someone still remembered the past. Not just vague memories like Mia's.
Although...
Although he's the biggest villain BOSS, destined to destroy the world, just thinking about it makes one itch with frustration... But it's better than no one knowing.
Suddenly, he thought of a question.
"You said you're not in the nest, nor in The Abyss?"
"Correct."
"You're not... in this realm?" Xia Ya frowned.
According to the game's background, the reason for the surge in monsters, the increased corruption among races, and Yveline's Soul Leech going berserk was due to the surge in Arcane Energy, all because of Synlos's appearance in the realm... But now he's not even in the realm, so why is the Arcane Energy still surging?
The golem pondered this question for a long time before answering.
"This feels very strange, Master. I can't quite describe this subtle situation... According to past patterns, after being killed by the bugs, I would return to The Abyss, rest, heal, and wait to reappear. Before that, I could only respond to the prayers of the thoroughly corrupted, at most creating an Abyss creature for them, unable to directly interfere with this realm... But this time, I can ignore this rule. I can clearly sense any trace of Arcane Energy in this realm and control them at will. It's very strange, especially since I can't even feel my body..."
He paused and added, "Moreover, the strangest thing is a bothersome voice buzzing in the depths of my mind..."
"What voice?"
"At first, I thought it was some supreme consciousness. It always provided time, place, and instructions, telling me to do something. But later, I realized it merely coldly relayed these contents, indifferent even when I mustered the courage to question it... I originally thought it was your will until I just saw you..."
Listening to Synlos's words, a flash of insight suddenly crossed Xia Ya's mind!
"What did the voice tell you? Recite from the beginning."
"Yes."
Synlos paused, controlling the surrounding scene to revert to darkness.
Then, lines of instructions were projected on the screen in Abyssal script.
Xia Ya looked at these words and suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve.
He turned his head to see Yveline's unnatural expression. The Dark Elf had a request but was momentarily unable to navigate the slightly awkward relationship between them.
"Which line do you want me to translate?" he asked directly.
The Dark Elf curled her lips, giving him a "you should know this" look, then pointed to a line higher up.
"I remember this time very clearly..."
"This one, 'Increase the level of Akahari Mzudurish Bahalazeb Ansen by 5. Grant it 'Berserk State'...'"
"Alright, stop reading!"
Xia Ya looked at this sentence, his brow furrowing.
He looked at the golem with an odd expression, "This sentence... is in the past perfect tense."
Synlos visibly shivered, "Master, I don't recall such an offense; the original instruction was like this... If it truly is 'past,' perhaps it's from a past I can't remember..."
"I know."
Xia Ya nodded, his gaze sweeping over the text again, then asked him:
"Do you remember doing these things?"
Synlos tried hard to recall for a few minutes, but in the end, he still shook his head.
"I see..."
Xia Ya murmured.
Simply put, this is the schedule of the Destroyer of Worlds, Synlos, detailing what Synlos should do at x time on x date at x location.
All instructions before the Public Test Day are in the past perfect tense—Synlos is relaying the original instructions.
This includes known information like "in the past, increased Arcane Energy concentration."
However, those after the Public Test Day are in the imperative mood, expressing commands. For example, certain monster riots that occurred during this period align perfectly with the plot Xia Ya knows.
There's also information like "Three months later, trigger a monster riot in the Golden Butterfly Marsh of Elvenheim, host still being determined..."
Clearly, this is a two-part instruction list. The first half can be called 'Instructions Synlos Has Completed,' and the second half is 'Instructions Synlos Is Yet to Complete.'
The Destroyer of Worlds actually has such a blueprint from a higher 'will'... He's like a tool executing instructions.
He thought what he did to the Soul Leech happened in the 177th cycle because after being killed by Orinshiru, the next time he opened his eyes was the game's Public Test Day.
But in reality, this event happened in the setting, or rather, it never happened, just like that. Even the 177th cycle version of him never experienced this event.
Moreover, he hasn't realized that time has been reset.
"This is getting interesting..."
Xia Ya muttered to himself, gently rubbing his brow with his fingers.