Chapter 718: 18. Welcome
“Is it really Asuka? A ten-thousand-year wait?”
Jasmine stared blankly at the Gouwen in front of her. The name that had just come out of her father’s mouth felt like a leaf falling into a calm lake, stirring up layers of ripples in her mind, making her restless.
But she couldn’t articulate the source of this feeling; her heart raced inexplicably, and she was suddenly consumed by the sensation of palpitations, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Xu quickly reached out to steady her shaking shoulders. The soft palm of her mother stopped Jasmine’s body from trembling, yet it didn’t quell the pallor on her face; Gouwen lifted his gaze toward Xu behind her, only to see Xu shake his head slightly.
“So… actually, I am not Dad and Mom’s child? I am a soul from another world, the same as those beings that caused destruction. That’s why I can’t enter the Mythical Rank, right?”
Gouwen withdrew his gaze and quickly reassured her, “Jasmine, don’t worry, you will always be our child. We have never seen you as the reason for destruction. You don’t need to rush to think about this; Mom and Dad are just telling you this as a precaution, hoping that you will be able to accept the changes happening to you. Neither we nor Fisher will change our feelings for you because of this.”
“Jasmine, we’ve always been here.”
Behind her, Xu gently patted her back like a reassuring weight, giving Jasmine some peace of mind. The deep brown in her eyes gradually lightened. She gathered her thoughts and asked, “When did Teacher Fisher find out about this? He… does he still see me as that Asuka?”
“No, he just learned about it too. And he probably, like you, isn’t ready to face this answer.”
“Then is it because of my true identity that Dad didn’t let me near the crevice back then?”
Gouwen was slightly taken aback, exchanged a glance with Xu, and nodded while shaking his head.
Regarding this, the confusion in his eyes was no less than Jasmine’s, and even Xu furrowed his brow, “Hmm, the pollution pervading the Spirit Realm is your physical manifestation. After your soul separated from your body in the past, it lost its sanity and became an existence whose only purpose is to seek souls. But Jasmine, it was not I who forbade you from approaching the crevice. The time in the Spirit Realm does not align with reality, and it’s hard to ascertain what is happening in reality here; only gods can do that. Even Ramastia had just arrived then, and I didn’t have time to keep an eye on the events happening in reality.”
Jasmine’s eyes widened, her expression turning incredulous. She turned to Xu and asked, “So, back then, the ‘Dad’ who ordered me to deliver medicine to Teacher Fisher and repair the laws for Mom, but didn’t let me approach the crevice, wasn’t really ‘Dad’?”
Xu nodded, his expression not looking good either, “Not only that, but the being who delivered the medicine to save Fisher was also not your dad; I wasn’t the one who sent it.”
“But that being could produce medicine that even your mom couldn’t differentiate between real and fake, which shows that being is no small matter.”
Bringing this up, since Ramastia hadn’t said much, he only told Gouwen that perhaps Fisher might know some clues. Combined with Ramastia’s words and Jasmine’s descriptions, he felt even more puzzled.
From the actions of that being impersonating him, he not only directed Xu to delay the invading Chaos Race but also created medicine to save Fisher. Later, he also provided a method to repair the laws that Xu had broken, albeit at the cost of lives related to Elizabeth and the Nali.
Overall, that being seems to be there to help Fisher?
Could it be the moon?
This logically made sense; the moon had a deep relationship with Fisher, and her previous incarnation, the Mother Goddess, was also a friend of Asuka.
Gouwen stroked his chin, pondering for a moment before standing up and looking at the still preoccupied Jasmine. He turned to Xu and said softly, “In that case, dear, you should rest with Jasmine here for a bit, so Jasmine can digest this.”
“And you?”
“I’m going to clarify this matter, and by the way, there are important matters regarding Hamon Hamon that happened a thousand years ago; I’ll go check with Fisher. The crystal we used to contact each other before is still usable; we’ll just use it to communicate when needed.”
Gouwen turned back, looking at Jasmine, who was sitting there in a daze. He could tell from her confused expression that she was currently feeling a tumult of emotions.
It was understandable; if one day your parents told you that you were actually a ten-thousand-year-old monster, anyone would be at a loss, especially since she had just learned from Gouwen that she had been waiting for Teacher Fisher for ten thousand years.
Ten thousand years, how long must that be?
Jasmine didn’t know; she just felt it must be a very long time. She tried to imagine that concept, to picture what it would feel like for her, but all she could sense were pain and resistance, preventing her from continuing to simulate that feeling.
She didn’t know how to accept this; she could only naïvely think that if that were the case, wouldn’t she have more confidence and a greater chance to gain powerful strength?
Jasmine thought this way.
Gouwen left the basement. Honestly, Xu being in the Spirit Realm alleviated a lot of his pressure; even his cough had improved significantly.
He returned to Fisher’s side. When he came back, Fisher was discussing news about the base with Lady Bojiang. Renee’s whereabouts were unknown. Upon seeing Gouwen return, Fisher said that something seemed to have happened on Renee’s end that needed to be dealt with.
At the same time, Fisher quietly asked Gouwen, “How is Jasmine?”
“What else can it be? You’re always flirting; Jasmine will soon be done with you.”
Gouwen spoke exaggeratedly, and Fisher raised an eyebrow, unsure when he had learned to joke so expressionlessly. However, seeing the expression on his face made Fisher realize something, and he quietly asked, “Did you tell her about Asuka?”
“How did you know?”
“Your expression is complicated and uncertain, like you made a decision even you are not sure about.”
“You understand me well. Yes, I’m not sure if this is a good thing. If possible, I wish she would never know these things, never think of Asuka, because all of that is suffering for her.”
“…You’re right.”
Gouwen’s previous analysis wasn’t wrong; Fisher hadn’t fully accepted this matter either. This was evident in that he had a lot to say to Asuka, who had waited for him for ten thousand years, especially since he now knew her final choice, even if she had entrusted the Mother Goddess to teach humanity magic and protect them shortly before her death.
Clearly, she had done so many painful things, which made Fisher have so many heartfelt things to say, but now, bringing this subject up with Jasmine would undoubtedly be selfish.
Just like, to repay his guilt for keeping Asuka waiting for ten thousand years, he was eager to apologize, but all that would do was awaken her memories of past suffering.
Even Fisher was stiffened in place; yet at this moment, Gouwen had already taken the lead to do so, leaving one to wonder if Fisher would follow suit.
“How is the situation with Hamon Hamon? I hadn’t had the chance to ask you in detail when you returned.”
Gouwen changed the subject to pull Fisher away from his thoughts, and Fisher nodded, informing Gouwen about the invitation received by David.
He pondered over the wording for a moment and murmured, “I clearly felt that Hamon Hamon seems to have undergone some sort of positive change; how could it sound like a trap after you mention it?”
“A trap banquet? What’s that?”
“A term used by Subhuman Girl Enthusiasts, meaning a banquet with malicious intent and ulterior motives. She often describes Xu inviting her to the underwater realm this way, which is why she never attended.”
“What about the actual situation?”
“The reality is a trap banquet because Xu always feels she corrupted me and wants to teach her a lesson.”
“.”
Fisher fell silent, contemplating for a moment before continuing, “Lady Bojiang said a lot of Chaos Races have gone there; whether it’s a trap or not, Hamon Hamon is a problem that must be dealt with. Now that Renee and the God of Destruction are both there, it offers some security. With Jasmine now in the Spirit Realm, we need to resolve Hamon Hamon quickly so we can shift our attention back to Jasmine.”
“…Right, let’s go check it out first.”
Gouwen clapped his hands, turning to look at David’s mechanism ship docked beside the small island. David seemed eager to go there, and Renee had not yet returned.
“Are you hungry? It seems like you haven’t eaten anything since arriving here; Xu just got here and said he wanted to treat you to something, and Renee hasn’t returned yet.”
“…No need, let’s set off directly. Renee will come to the ship later.”
“Ha ha.”
Fisher declined Gouwen’s invitation for a trap banquet, thanked Lady Bojiang who had just answered his questions, and cautiously walked toward the mechanism ship.
Meanwhile, Gouwen smiled slightly, watching Fisher’s back. For some reason, he always thought of that woman with messy long hair. Unlike Fisher, who silently walked forward, that enthusiast for subhuman girls would have waved her hands and shouted, then stagger away, taking a long time to return.
One wonders if that fellow is dead now?
Troublesome for a thousand years, perhaps that fellow is still enjoying life somewhere beyond the barrier, or maybe she has already returned to her world?
Who could know?
“Beep beep. Beep beep beep beep.”
The darkness of the Spirit Realm spread by the Crimson Mist had become an indelible shadow in the hearts of the Chaos Races. Ever since their previous faith, the Mother Goddess, perished due to her promise to a close friend, extinguished in seeking to protect humanity, the Chaos Races have endured suffering for an unknown length of time.
Perhaps they do not resent the Magic Lord who enticed the Mother Goddess to fight for her life; they simply would not accept that the reason the Mother Goddess sacrificed her life was that Magic Lord, that human, and never them.
They had long followed the Mother Goddess, even helping humanity create their powerful race, the Sorceresses, during the time the Mother Goddess imparted magic. Yet, the Mother Goddess abandoned them like a worn shoe, using them as tools and discarding them when done, not caring for what happened behind.
Enduring long-term pollution from the Spirit Realm left this group of stars, who only loved to observe reality without doing anything, changed in character. They increasingly felt that this world was like a family that didn’t love them, especially when they learned that the Sea of Souls that gave birth to them was stolen by the gods, their dissatisfaction with the world after birth reached its peak.
At this moment, the distorted, enormous figures of the Chaos Races with countless compound eyes muttered incantations taught by Elizabeth, carving a crack through the pollution pervading the Spirit Realm, led by a relatively healthy demigod, the Pisces.
Behind him, several Chaos Races of the Nineteen Rank and Eighteen Rank followed, seemingly forming a small team traversing the Spirit Realm’s pollution to reach an unknown place hidden within the pollution.
As the endless Crimson Mist gradually dissipated, a massive angelic sanctuary, resembling a mountain, floating in the deep space of the Spirit Realm suddenly occupied their entire field of vision.
“Sure enough, the closed sanctuary has opened.”
Pisces stopped in the space not far from the enormous sanctuary. The several Chaos Races following him also stopped behind him, their variously shaped tentacles swaying slightly. In the darkness, only their eyes remained bright, resembling twinkling stars in the night sky.
“Beep beep. Beep beep beep beep.”
Many controlled mechanisms moved in and out of that sanctuary, welcoming numerous Chaos Races into it like hosts.
Generally speaking, Chaos Races act independently, not as an unbreakable whole. Besides the strongest twelve Chaos Races, there are many scattered individuals hiding for survival, and at this moment, some pioneers had already been received by Hamon Hamon.
Pisces looked at the mechanisms coming and going and still felt a bit incredulous, “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, who could imagine that Hamon Hamon, so many years ago, would change to become so… amicable?”
“Pisces, don’t forget, the noble ‘Ocean’ arranged this.”
“I know.”
Pisces’ compound eyes flickered slightly, and his tone in the darkness grew particularly resolute, “The ‘Song’ must not have discordant notes, and the score must not be violated. That being with precious qualities, Fisher, will definitely come. We also need to convey the ‘Respect’ of the Ocean to Hamon Hamon.”
“.”
Having said that, Pisces shook the tentacles behind him again and flew toward the opened angel sanctuary. Midway, a vague figure with a weak glow flew up and temporarily blocked their path.
“Esteemed stars, may I ask if you are here to attend Hamon Hamon’s banquet?”
Hearing the long-unheard angelic language, Pisces and the other Chaos Races paused once more. Pisces scanned the dim figure standing in the darkness with his compound eyes, and behind the figure, a faintly glowing wing shape seemed to sweep by.
“Who are you?”
“I am the angel responsible for receiving guests. You may call me Ariel.”
“An angel?”
Even Pisces, who had seen much, was slightly stunned. They looked at the blurry figure in front of them. Illuminated by the blue light flickering on a nearby mechanism, the figure’s outline was slightly revealed, showing that the angel extended a friendly hand toward Pisces.
That hand was mangled and appeared to be covered with squirming flesh buds, glinting with a color and texture resembling metal.
Pisces’ compound eyes flickered slightly. After hesitating for a moment, amidst the watchful gazes of several stars behind him trying to dissuade him, he extended one of his tentacles, intending to touch the angel’s hand. However, this movement looked awkward; one tentacle reached out while several others coiled tightly around the end of the extended tentacle, prepared to sever it at any sign of trouble.
“Slap!”
But when the tentacle touched the angel’s palm, nothing happened. Pisces did not sense any fluctuation of Hamon Hamon’s authority on the angel standing before him.
The angel named “Ariel” simply politely withdrew her hand, flapping her illusionary wings that had a slightly strange odor, and side-faced, warmly welcoming Pisces and his companions, “Welcome to Hamon Hamon’s banquet! We sincerely welcome your arrival, stars!”
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(end of chapter)
