Chapter 398: Infinity (5k)
Hearing this, Fisher turned to look at the shore where the small boat was docked. The crumbling ruins there were completely unrecognizable in terms of material, seemingly eroded by some peculiar substance, transformed into a texture as uneven as underwater coral. Renee stood up from the boat and tentatively stepped onto the ruined building to test its sturdiness. After waiting for several seconds, she stood firmly on it.
“Let’s do it here. This used to be the center of the Holy Realm. Casting from here has a high probability of allowing you to directly interact with the Angels. While the World Tree can help you, she cannot move her massive body a single bit; everything is basically managed by the Elves. They adhere to a rule called ‘Etiquette’ and are quite resistant to encroachment, making things rather difficult. In comparison, the Angels are much more straightforward.”
Fisher focused intently on Renee’s words, while Emhart, floating beside him, seemed to puff up his bookish form for no apparent reason at all, and spoke up, “Absolutely not! Those despicable Elves love to play pretend, how can they compare to the Holy Spawn? Wait a minute, if you plan to send Fisher back, what about me? I want to go with Fisher too! My gosh, this means going back to the past; will what we do there affect the present? I mean, if this guy kills someone who should still be alive now, will the world change because of that?”
Renee looked at him, pondering with a slight pout, seemingly troubled.
“Hmm, this is indeed a problem. However, I don’t know what might happen. My knowledge of the rules set by the gods is only superficial, and the rules of fate are among the most abstract of those established by several deities. I also don’t quite understand how it interacts with the present. To be safe, it’s best not to do too much unrelated stuff and focus on helping Fisher meet the Heavenly Lock and escape death.”
Emhart nodded, somewhat understanding, then excitedly flew back to Fisher’s shoulder, mumbling, “Hey, can we specify a time to go back? If we return before the Holy Realm was destroyed, then I can help the Holy Spawns prevent its fall, and I wouldn’t have to wander the world like this. Ah, but then I won’t meet Fisher. What should I do?”
Fisher ignored the time paradox thoughts of Emhart, who hadn’t done anything yet. He followed Renee to the shore, observing the crumbling walls, confirming the process of escaping death.
“So, I need to go back to the past Holy Realm, find a way to meet the Heavenly Lock, and have him help me escape death, right? But he is a being of Rank 20, there’s no reason for him to help me for nothing. Do you have any ideas, Renee?”
“Well, I’ve heard some about the Heavenly Lock and his Holy Spawns. The Holy Realm is not directly managed by the Heavenly Lock; rather, he doesn’t appear there and doesn’t allow Angels to meet him. All his will and commands are executed through an Angel named ‘Pandora,’ who wields an artifact called the ‘Azevana,’ which means ‘Wishing Machine of Desire.’”
Renee tapped her cheek, then continued speaking to Fisher, “By fulfilling the Heavenly Lock’s commands and continuously improving their forging skills, every Angel accumulates wishes in the Holy Grail. When the wishes in the Grail are full, it will automatically use the Heavenly Lock’s power to grant the wishes of the person who made them, which certainly includes helping you escape death.”
Fisher stroked his chin, puzzled, “But this Holy Grail is a reward granted by the Heavenly Lock to the Angels. As a Human, it’s unlikely I can gather wishes to escape death. Moreover, the Holy Realm is the residence of the Angels; my presence there is already extremely dangerous, let alone approaching them to accumulate wishes. I’ll probably be killed the moment I arrive at the Holy Realm.”
Renee snapped her fingers and, under Fisher’s gaze, took out a purple, droplet-shaped item. She smiled at Fisher and said, “Silly, Angel species are mythical beings, and their actual number is very small. Based on the life restrictions given by Ramastia, their number is probably less than a hundred. The Holy Realm, however, is a very large place. For their convenience and the needs of forging, Angels have many dependents and slaves below them; as long as you appear in the Holy Realm, you will likely be caught as a slave to work. Moreover, with me here, why would you need to foolishly accumulate wishes?”
“Here, take this. Although it’s somewhat like cheating, just throw this into the Holy Grail, and the wishes within will instantly turn into an unimaginably vast number, allowing you to realize your wish instantly. So, you just need to see the Holy Grail, throw this in, and then trigger the chest seal explosion at the moment the wish is granted. That’s basically the process.”
Fisher accepted the purple droplet-shaped item Renee handed him, raising it to inspect it. Sure enough, inside the droplet was a horizontally lying inverted ‘8’ symbol, indicating that this item also carried Renee’s power. He tucked it into his pocket and said to Renee, “I understand. Thank you, Renee.”
“Don’t be too happy yet! Although Angel species aren’t violent, they are still mythical beings, and dealing with them requires extreme caution. Remember everything I said. Twisting the thread of fate to bring you back means I won’t be able to watch you, nor know your condition—you’ll have to take care of yourself, understand?”
At this moment, Emhart flew over again, gazing longingly at Renee and Fisher. After a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke up, “Wait, I want to go with Fisher too! I don’t want to be separated from him, and even if I can’t change the fate of the great Holy Spawns, I want to see what the real Holy Realm looks like. I actually don’t remember anything about it. How strange.”
Fisher cast a pitying glance at Emhart, who looked so miserable. He had no choice but to pull him into his embrace and said to Renee, “If possible, please take him too. I know nothing about the Angels. Having him as a guide should make things smoother.”
“Well, I don’t know if I can take him along. We can try it later. Okay, I sense human ships are getting closer; before it gets busy here, let’s get started. Sit here; I’m preparing to cast the spell. Is there anything you want to say to me before that?”
Emhart quickly dived into Fisher’s pocket, and Fisher sat down, watching as a deep purple light glowed in Renee’s hand. He hurriedly said, “Renee, wait!”
“Hmm?”
“I’ll be back soon. You promised me that this time when I come back, I won’t leave, right?”
“Silly.”
Renee froze for a moment, looking at Fisher. The deep purple light in her hand gradually faded. Then, smiling, she squatted down in front of Fisher, her familiar and fragrant breath blowing gently against his cheek.
“I won’t leave. I promised you. I’ll wait for you to come back right here.”
“Okay.”
Fisher nodded in assurance, but Renee didn’t pull away. She quietly leaned against Fisher’s cheek, hesitating for a moment before stepping closer, unexpectedly imprinting a soft kiss on his face.
The soft and fragrant kiss lingered for several seconds. Although it was just a cheek, the sensation seemed to penetrate Fisher’s soul, making his spine tingle.
This seemed to be the first time Renee actively kissed him.
“Hah.”
At that moment, as Fisher became dazed and stiff, Renee lightly pulled back her lips, her voice becoming very soft, “Don’t think this is enough for you… I feel a bit shy about it. That’s it.”
Fisher chuckled but gently shook his head. He held Renee’s hand, which was in front of him, and whispered, “It’s enough, Renee.”
“Hmm. You remember to focus on finding the Holy Grail when you get there. I can’t see anything from here. If you dare to seek out other Ladies again, it’s just… that’s it. Don’t talk; it’s all your fault for what you said earlier. I’m really jealous now.”
“Alright.”
Fisher nodded. Seeing Renee’s expression at this moment, he felt the gentle swaying of her black hair brushing against his cheek, making him feel ticklish, yet he didn’t want to let go of her hand, wanting to stay by her side just like this.
In the quiet warmth, Emhart, who hadn’t made a sound for a long time, climbed out of Fisher’s pocket with dead fish eyes, unable to hold back and spoke, “Hey, um, are you two done? I can’t wait to get back to the Holy Realm. Do you think there will be…”
“Shut up.”
“Oh, okay then. You two continue.”
Emhart quietly crawled back into Fisher’s pocket, making Fisher feel a surge of frustration, wanting to pull him out and give him a good scolding.
This naughty guy disrupted the original atmosphere with his words.
“Pfft.”
Renee didn’t mind at all, covering her mouth and stepping back a few paces to stand in front of Fisher. The deep purple light in her hand reignited, and she said, “Alright, that’s enough. If this goes on, I won’t want to part anymore. Close your eyes; I’m preparing to cast the spell.”
“Okay.”
Fisher took one last look at the beautiful black-haired lady in front of him, tightly closed his eyes, and only heard the sounds of thunder rolling in the stormy sea around him.
At this moment, the escape from death was finally in sight, and he was about to embark on his journey to the Holy Realm. However, the idea of meeting a few Ladies he originally wanted to see still lingered.
He had already met Captain Alagina and knew she was well, but as for others like Elizabeth, she had prepared for herself but he hadn’t managed to see her again. Not to mention Raphael, Jasmine, and Eil—he missed them all.
After so long, Fisher probably wanted to see them.
Once he escaped death and returned, he wanted to meet them and make up for the regrets left behind earlier.
Also, regarding the Apocalypse Prophecy in the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans, the issues concerning the first three, Raphael, Jasmine, and Valentina, had mostly been resolved. Although the methods of resolution were a bit strange, in Fisher’s view, they would not be facing extinction as foretold in the prophecy. Furthermore, Renee merely wrote a tombstone inscription in the prophecy, which didn’t sound like she participated in the apocalypse.
So, had the Apocalypse Prophecy already been resolved by himself?
Was his mission mostly completed?
During these simple thoughts, an extremely cold moonlight suddenly burst forth in the pitch black before Fisher, instantly enveloping everything about him and causing him to lose consciousness completely.
“Clack clack clack clack clack!!”
At the very center of the stormy sea, as a truly bizarre fluctuation of power flickered, the rule known as “Fate” was instantly shattered. In the midst of countless chaotic and collapsing moments, Fisher and Emhart instantly vanished from their place, disappearing into the boundless ocean of destiny.
That endless chilling moonlight gradually shrank, slowly returning to Renee’s hand. Afterwards, she took a deep breath, looking at the now vanishing Fisher with a slight smile.
“Fisher.”
However, her voice didn’t carry through the surrounding medium at all because the next moment, an array of bubbles that seemed like black holes began to appear around her, sucking in the light. The bubbles wrapped around her quickly, carrying her backward furiously until she was taken to a place as profound and vast as the starry sky.
There seemed to be no rules here. In this unimaginably magnificent space reminiscent of the universe, many hidden stars were distributed vaguely, and the thick river of consciousness was entirely chaotic, playing the eternal solitude she was all too familiar with.
This was the Spirit Realm.
The horrifying scarlet mist that Fisher encountered before was now cowering in the corners of the Spirit Realm, being confined by several chaotic moonlights, appearing extremely listless. Though it had sustained severe damage, it showed no signs of fading regardless of how the moonlight attacked it; it merely lay there in apparent death, waiting for the call of time.
Renee sighed while standing in this void. The next moment, a soft female voice suddenly appeared around her, “You have violated the oath we made with us and have once again broken the rules. Do you wish to walk the same path as your predecessor and wage war against us?”
The voice seemed to come from the profound depths of the incredibly beautiful world before her; every word symbolized vibrant vitality, representing the expansion of that terrifying authority.
Renee opened her eyes at the sound and shook her head, saying, “Ramasthia, I am not him, and I do not wish to repeat the war that would lead to our mutual destruction. For thousands of years since he faded, I have stuck to the truce agreement between us, not interfering in a single matter of the world; even suffering from the torment of loneliness has not wavered my resolve. This time—this time is unavoidable. I am willing to be punished for breaking the rules.”
The soft voice from beneath the surface of the beautiful world spoke again with a slight smile, “Although you are the inheritor of the perishing false god’s undying power, you may indeed be different from him. At least you understand the importance of adhering to the rules, which is a good sign. However, the threads of fate have suffered a tremendous impact because of you. You need to make up for this.”
Moonlight swirled in Renee’s eyes, linking in a perpetual cycle. She spoke, “Alright, but I cannot accept the punishment of never being able to enter the world again. If that is the case, I will have to choose to wage war against you once more.”
“Buzz buzz buzz!”
In the surrounding darkness, an eye accompanied by subconscious bubbles suddenly opened, focusing on the standing Renee in the Spirit Realm. Within the internal layers of the world, flickering golden threads began to tremble, twisting in layers of time and space, constructing countless gazes locking onto Renee. Behind her, with a crisp ping, extremely high-temperature stars vanished and then burst, releasing streams of various elements.
Together with Ramasthia, who lingered beneath the surface of the world, a total of four deities locked their gaze on Renee. Yet she remained unmoved, with the cold moonlight in her eyes growing larger and faster, to the point where it soon became immeasurable, transforming into a twisting inverted 8 symbol.
That was the power known as “Infinity.”
But just at that tense moment, the gentle female voice from the seabed spoke again, “Indeed, you can never perish. But please do not underestimate our determination to defend this place. Outsider, your predecessor intervened multiple times into the rules we created, leading us to an unbearable point, which was why we went to war with him, resulting in a mutual destruction. You are the harbinger of annihilation; even though we cannot completely expel you no matter how hard we try, you should know that once war begins, everything about you will perish in the conflict.”
“Your memories and the cherished moments in your heart will all turn to nothing, until your power fosters a new awareness. You and the one who confronts order will no longer recognize each other. He will spend a regrettable life alongside you in endless missed encounters. Even so, will you still stubbornly persist?”
The cold moonlight on Renee’s face gradually faded until enough humanity returned to occupy her body and mind. She finally closed her eyes, drawing all her power back into her essence.
“I am willing to bear the consequences. What is the punishment?”
The powers of the surrounding deities gradually dissipated until only Ramasthia’s presence remained before her.
“As punishment for this reckless act, I want to make a deal with you, a deal regarding the contamination of the Spirit Realm behind you.”
Renee was slightly taken aback, turning her head to look around. In the depths of this seemingly boundless dark space, the swirling streams of scarlet mist were still so evident and dangerous.
Even in its currently severely damaged state, it continued to eye the incredibly beautiful world before it threateningly, as if it aimed to devour everything in sight.
