Chapter 377: 152. Nirvana (5k)
Looking at Torga in front of him quietly turning to ashes, Fisher felt a mix of emotions that momentarily overshadowed the chilling fear brought on by the gaze of death. He glanced down at the ancient manual that Torga had handed to him before dying and the transparent potion swaying slightly in the test tube. For a moment, he did not move, instead softly running his fingers over the words “Life Completion Manual” on the cover.
Then, he put the Life Completion Manual into his pocket, exerting all his strength to stand up. This simple action left him exhausted.
Leaning against a boulder nearby, he gasped for breath for a moment. Although there was nothing behind him, he felt as if an extremely terrifying presence was watching him, like a glimmering sickle poised above his neck, ready to take his life with the slightest move.
Yet Fisher still focused his gaze on the giant egg wrapped in pristine ice in the distance; he needed to get there.
“Emhart! Is Fisher outside?! What’s wrong with him? Why isn’t he speaking?! Did something happen to him?!”
“He’s fine, really. Boohoo.”
Though the words expressed denial, anyone with discerning eyes could hear that Emhart was lying. In the shadow inside the pristine ice egg, Valentina forcefully hammered on the inner wall of the egg, though her specific appearance was unclear.
“Wait for me. Wait until I get out, Emhart! What happened to him?!”
Just as Emhart was stammering in an attempt to explain, he suddenly turned his head and saw Fisher slowly approaching, leaning on the boulder. Before he could say anything, Fisher gently raised a finger to his lips, silencing him, and muttered to Valentina,
“He’s coming.”
“Fisher? Fisher, are you out there?”
Fisher leaned against the outside of the pristine ice egg, listening to Valentina banging furiously against the shell, and he chuckled softly, placing his hand on the shell, whispering,
“The Moon Princess and I brought you back for this moment. If you keep banging, you’ll let us down.”
Valentina’s movements inside the egg paused slightly. It seemed she saw the shadow of Fisher’s hand resting against the shell. She gently rested her head on the spot where Fisher’s hand lay and spoke in a trembling voice,
“Fisher, what’s wrong with you? I called you just now but you didn’t reply. It scared me to death.”
Fisher smiled slightly and sat beside the giant egg, saying,
“Just now, Erwind was targeted by that deity from the Spirit Realm. She was almost transformed into a base again for that deity’s descent. I had to deal with things over there first. It’s all okay now.”
Valentina, who was standing inside the egg, also sat down slowly, wrapping her hands around her knees and quietly said,
“I’m sorry, Fisher. I wasn’t able to help you before and even made you worry about me. If it weren’t for that, the one chasing you should have been defeated by you long ago.”
Fisher shook his head helplessly.
“You just became a phoenix from being human; you joined the fight before even adapting. You did great. I’m quite satisfied with the outcome now. We have all given our best, and without you, I would not have escaped the dream, wouldn’t have defeated Erwind, nor would I have resolved the deity’s arrival.”
“Yeah, that’s good. Um, Fisher, actually on the night of the wedding, I saw a prophecy, but I didn’t tell you.”
Fisher felt his feet become completely stiff and icy. He paused a moment, regardless of any backup Torga might have left behind, and hurriedly drank all the potion she gave him in one go.
The instant the potion touched his tongue, Fisher felt as if he had taken a gulp of lava, burning from his mouth, down his throat, and into his internal organs, as if a ball of fire exploded inside him. He grimaced down, gripping the empty test tube tightly, afraid it would fall and arouse suspicion from the unaware Valentina.
The fiery pain caused his body to convulse, clearly unbearable even for Fisher, who was accustomed to pain. But miraculously, as the potion completed its journey into his belly, the burning feeling gradually drove away the coldness that had dulled his senses, making Fisher feel once again what it meant to be “alive,” though he remained extremely weak.
“Fisher?”
After several seconds, Fisher finally let out a heavy breath. Valentina, sensing his silence, asked in confusion, and he quickly responded calmly,
“It’s nothing, I just got a bit hurt. You mentioned seeing a prophecy; what did you see?”
“I saw that in the Parasol Tree, I was killed by the base, and then you walked out of the Parasol Tree all alone. Basically, I died, and you came out safe. So before coming here, I acted according to the prophecy, because that outcome seemed good enough for me.”
Fisher paused briefly but was not too surprised.
“So that’s why you woke up as soon as I came; you actually didn’t sleep at all that night, did you?”
“Yeah, should I not have taken it upon myself? I was just a little worried that if I told you the prophecy, it might affect your decisions. It’s just too terrifying, especially thinking about never seeing you again afterwards, so I couldn’t sleep that night.”
“It seems we really are well matched as a couple in many ways.”
Fisher smiled as he looked at his visibly thinning body, saying something Valentina found somewhat puzzling.
His originally thirteenth-ranked body was shrinking under the oppressive weight of death, becoming weak and unrecognizable.
Death had not yet released him, but this formerly terrifying matter gradually lost its shadow through the heartfelt words of the girl beside him, making Fisher feel surprisingly indifferent.
“Why so suddenly… Really. But I also think marrying you was the right choice. Thank you for appearing in my life, Fisher. Haha.”
Valentina suddenly yawned mid-sentence, appearing somewhat tired, and the mist of pristine ice above them thickened.
“I’m sorry, Fisher, but I don’t think I can get out right now. I feel so sleepy.”
Fisher glanced at the giant egg made of pristine ice, curious about its mechanics; it looked as though there were complex structures within the pristine ice, wrapping around Valentina’s blurry shadow tighter and tighter.
“It seems to be remaking your body, but I don’t know the specifics. It’s hard to say what kinds of backups the phoenixes left behind.”
Just then, Emhart, who had been crying in his arms, turned her head to look at the giant egg and shook her head.
“That’s not something the phoenixes did; they don’t have the capability to remake a life. That’s Baemon. She took away the base formed by the phoenixes and constructed a new body for Valentina using some method. I don’t know her purpose; maybe it’s for fun, maybe it’s some deal with the Moon Princess, or maybe it’s some kind of evil plan, or it’s just a slim chance that she suddenly felt kind-hearted, that’s why she brought down mercy.”
“Baemon?”
Fisher suddenly recalled the muddled conversation he had overheard upon regaining consciousness, Emhart and a lazy female voice. That voice had reminded Fisher at a critical moment to shout out the word related to the Magic Lord to construct that terrifying dream magic, which also meant that Baemon had been watching him and the Phoenix Race all along.
If it were earlier, Fisher might have pondered her deeper intentions and origins, but now he had only one month of life left. He still had many regrets to fulfill; he hadn’t confirmed if Renee was safe, hadn’t resolved matters with Elizabeth, hadn’t fulfilled agreements with Jasmine and Captain Alagina, and hadn’t exacted the punishment Raphael owed him.
Besides these connections with the ladies he was fond of, there were also his relatives and friends in Nali, Lady Martha, Teacher Heilson, Trandal, and the principal Damien, who he had scolded.
All these obsessions made him too weary to calculate the gains and losses in this situation. For now, he kept his focus on the shadow curled up inside the pristine ice, while Valentina’s voice came intermittently.
“Fisher, wait, I don’t want to sleep. I still want to see you; I’m a bit scared.”
“I’m here, Valentina. Sleep for a while. When you wake up, you’ll be healthy, just as you said in the dream. You can run and fly freely in this world and do anything you want.”
“Mm, I want to go with you… to the Northern Ocean, to see the Rainbow Wing Whale.”
“Right, and I still owe you a real wedding ring. Don’t you remember?”
Upon hearing Fisher’s words, Valentina curled up tighter, pressing her hand against the egg shell again, smiling dreamily.
“Hehe, let’s make a promise, okay? When I wake up, I’ll come find you.”
Fisher laughed helplessly; even if he were dead by then, it might not be a good thing for her to encounter other ladies. However, Fisher, always greedy, was unwilling to let down any woman he cherished, especially Valentina, who had accompanied him through his not-so-peaceful time in the Northern Region.
“If I’m far, far away by then, are you going to fly across the ocean and the continent to find me?”
“Of course! Unless you don’t want me anymore. But even so, I’d still come to find you and clarify things, no matter where you are. Hmph, just wait.”
Fisher gently placed his hand on the shell of the egg, overlapping it with hers.
“Alright, then it’s a promise.”
“A promise.”
Valentina’s voice grew weaker, and as the mist of pristine ice surged over the egg, the temperature around them gradually began to drop, making the egg seem heavier, eventually putting pressure on the already unstable floor, causing fine cracks to appear.
Fisher hesitated slightly, noticing that the egg encasing Valentina seemed intent on descending towards the roots of the World Tree below the platform. He frowned and just as he sat up, the giant egg crashed down towards the roots of the World Tree below.
“Valentina!”
Within the egg, Valentina’s consciousness seemed to have completely fallen asleep. On the platform, Fisher could only watch as the giant egg made contact with the roots below, and in an instant, the originally radiant roots dimmed, replaced by the increasingly bright giant egg.
“Crack, crack, crack!”
Then, the pristine ice rapidly spread across the shell of the egg, completely engulfing the wide space beneath Fisher, and the mist soon covered his vision, making it impossible for him to see where Valentina was.
But he understood that below, a new body for Valentina was being nurtured, and when she emerged, she would be even more beautiful and powerful than what he had seen in the dream, spreading her wings like the phoenix reborn from the Northern Region’s mythical race.
Fisher gazed at the pristine ice swallowing the roots of the World Tree, not speaking, and after a long time, he slowly covered his abdomen and stood up. He had already sustained injuries while fighting Erwind before, and for a thirteenth-ranked body, these injuries normally wouldn’t be an issue, but now, his body was extremely weak, having dropped directly to rank zero. What were once negligible wounds flared up, urging Fisher to acknowledge their existence.
“Ah!”
Fisher gasped in pain, somewhat speechless as he looked at the towering cylindrical space before him, wondering how to ascend from the Parasol Tree. Had he really been trapped for over ten days, just to step out and simply wait for death?
“Fisher, boohoo, what are you going to do? Go find your support! Dalasgon, Ramastia, or the Mother, anyone who can save you! Boohoo, I don’t want you to die! How can I live without you!”
Emhart no longer dared to stand on Fisher’s shoulder as usual, fearing that her slight weight would impede his movements. She was now spinning in circles, crying.
But Emhart, with her broad vision, clearly understood how serious Fisher’s situation was, feeling like a frantic eagle about to explode with anxiety, flying around and cursing,
“It’s all that devil Baemon’s fault! That beast should really die for this! Boohoo!”
This was the first time Fisher saw such urgency from Emhart, making him want to laugh and not feel any annoyance. He waved at Emhart and calmly took out the Fluid Sword, saying to her,
“Alright, Emhart, stop shouting. I want to live too; I’ll certainly find a way. What you said about the gods does make sense, but Dalasgon just appeared, and clearly knows my situation yet hasn’t shown up. Either he doesn’t want to help me or is powerless to save me. I lean more towards the latter.”
“Huh? How about Ramastia? Should we go find Ramastia?”
Fisher gently squeezed Emhart’s book cover and continued,
“Maybe that deity indeed has a way, but unfortunately, I seem to have a poor relationship with her. Furthermore, she just fell asleep due to the fullness period; she might not have woken up yet. Even if she has, she can’t hear my call unless I enter the Deep Sea. I only have one month, and time is too tight for many things. I don’t want to waste it on such matters.”
“Don’t! Fisher, what do you plan to do this month?! You really want me to watch you die? How can you be so cruel?! Boohoo!”
Fisher paused slightly, raising his hand to reveal that beneath his white shirt, his once strong body was starting to thin out. His expression was complex as he patted Emhart’s body, saying,
“I just have some people I want to see and things I want to do. But don’t worry, I won’t give up until the last moment. I’ll also think of ways to escape death, okay?”
A month was indeed too short. From here to the southern end of the Sardinia Kingdom would take at least five days; from Sardinia to Nali would require half a month, a month to the Pirate Cove, and a month and a half to the Southern Continent.
Only now did Fisher lament that having people scattered all over wasn’t a good thing.
But seeing Emhart, who was usually so annoying, nearly crying as she looked at him like he was giving up, he decided to change his tone, offering some comfort until she didn’t shed tears all over the book cover.
“Just wait a moment, I’ll thoroughly go through every material in my belly; maybe I can find a clue to help you.”
“Mm, let’s get out first.”
In the darkness of the Parasol Tree, Fisher, clutching his abdomen, walked further and further with Emhart, who was anxiously sifting through the contents of her belly that shimmered with golden light. Behind them, death was relentlessly following, tightly pursuing the back of that northern man.
The vast interior of the Parasol Tree was in disarray; this place, once the homeland of the rulers above the snowy grounds of the Northern Region, was now devoid of its former glory, easily crushed beneath the weight of history and fate. This was truly a lamentable and thought-provoking matter.
But as the Moon Princess had said, the beings of the Northern Region still remembered them. The land still passed down their epics and legends; their traces had not faded but were deeply embedded in the hearts and memories of the multitude they had once sheltered.
Like the last bloodline of the phoenix deeply asleep at the bottom of the Parasol Tree, they were also waiting and brewing, anticipating a day when their revered and beloved phoenix would rise again, leading them to write a new chapter for the future.
And that day would not be far off.
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(End of Chapter)
