Chapter 411: I Want to Go Home (6k)
The solar halo of the Fifth Day below continued to rotate, while the solar winds, imbued with dense energy, were being pulled closer to the Holy Realm by the high-speed rotating angelic relic, filling the entire sky with a pure, golden color.
The angels in the Holy Realm had all left the Fifth Day, but Fisher and the others hiding in the Seventh Day were not having it easy either. Most of the time, the temperature outside was high, and it was impossible to even open their eyes. Even Fisher could not stay out for long, let alone Tang Zeming Asuka, an ordinary mortal.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz!”
Looking at the terrifying scene that overshadowed the sun, Fisher found it hard to imagine how the beings living on the earth could comprehend the spectacular view born in the sky and how they managed to survive in such an unimaginable world.
It wasn’t that the imagination was too barren, but rather that too many adjectives could not completely express its complex concepts. Thus, humanity used a simple term with the most blank space to describe the being that created all of this:
“Mythical Being.”
During the time Fisher and the others were imprisoned, although the solar halo below was extremely volatile, as if it were about to swallow the entire world, Hela still came up several times, bringing them a bit of food. Fisher and Gouwen didn’t hold back and each asked Hela for something.
Gouwen wanted paper and a pen, saying he was going to write a letter home to his wife, reporting his safety. Tang Zeming Asuka, of course, had nothing to ask for, just eating and sleeping every day. Fisher asked for a carving knife and intended to ask for some magic materials to prepare spells, but Hela said she didn’t know what magic materials were, so Fisher had to give up.
At that moment, the sealed cage was relatively quiet, as everyone was doing their own things, occasionally chatting a bit. Fisher held the carving knife and kept engraving something in the air. If you observed closely, you would find he repeatedly carved the two rings of “Destruction” and “Lightning,” simulating the engraving process of the ten-ring magic “Dragon Slayer Spear.”
Although he had successfully carved it before in a critical moment in a dream, since coming down from the Parasol Tree, he hadn’t had the leisure to practice the magic while being pursued by death and wasn’t sure if he could replicate such an action again in reality. So he had been practicing during this time.
“Gouwen, have you really never heard the word magic before?”
“No, it’s a strange term. Most of the humans nowadays live on the Dragon Continent, right? The Dragon God rarely returns and is running around everywhere, making it unclear whether it’s a bad thing. Because the Dragon God has no kin and no social theory like the elves, the environment on the Dragon Continent is not very friendly to fragile humans.”
Gouwen smiled gently, holding the pen in his hand with rapt attention as he wrote a letter to his wife. It seemed that at this moment, his mood was particularly good, and his tone was much lighter.
“Humans often migrate to avoid other beings with higher life levels. I’ve heard that every human settlement sets up a ‘Universal Warning Tablet’ in the most prominent position, inscribed with wisdom recorded in blood by their ancestors, reminding their kin of the dangers posed by other beings. Although there are cases of humans living among other races on the Dragon Continent, they are quite rare.”
“Is that so?”
It seemed that the Mother God had not yet bestowed blessings upon humanity, and humans were still at the very bottom of the rank.
So, when did the Mother God, who intervened directly in the world three to four thousand years ago, arrive in this world?
Fisher’s magical circuit slowly lit up, still simulating the engraving process in the air, focusing on the questions in his mind.
Meanwhile, Tang Zeming Asuka still curled in the corner, silently hugging her knees, secretly observing Fisher’s actions and words, but she had never expressed anything, merely pursing her lips in silence, maintaining the same position for several hours. It wasn’t until her body became completely stiff that she would slightly adjust her sitting posture.
During this time, she had been very quiet. Many times when she focused on her own tasks, it was easy to overlook her, and only when Hela brought food up would one suddenly realize that there was a third person here.
Of course, Fisher was not ignoring her; in fact, it was because he considered her future status as the Magic Lord of the Creation Society that he was being cautious. After all, Fisher’s impressions of the members of the Creation Society were generally not too good, leading him to be somewhat wary of its founder. Therefore, his conversations with Tang Zeming Asuka were only superficial.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz.”
The solar winds outside remained fervent and noisy, making Fisher, since arriving at the Seventh Day, long for nightfall.
Feeling a bit tired from practicing, Fisher put down the carving knife and rubbed his temples. When he turned to look at Tang Zeming Asuka, she immediately lowered her head, and after her instinctive action passed, she forcibly raised her head slightly to smile at Fisher, as a greeting, before pretending nothing was wrong and turning to gaze at the scene beyond the cage.
“.”
Yes, finally, after night fell, it would finally be quiet here.
The reason is that the Fifth Day is embedded in the enormous ring surrounding the entire planet. Since the solar halo must always face the sun when activated, the massive solar halo maintains a rotation frequency almost identical to that of the planet to always remain facing the sun for charging. However, the activity of charging is indeed so great that it can only take a break when other days are far away from the Fifth Day.
The three in the sealed cage spread out to sleep, but aside from Gouwen, Fisher and Tang Zeming Asuka found it very uncomfortable to sleep. The ground of the cage was hard, while Gouwen, as a Whale Folk, had a big tail to prop up his head while sleeping in a strange position with both feet completely flat, making it impossible to wake him up; he slept so soundly.
Even with Fisher’s muscles, he often felt cold. In this quiet and deep night, he suddenly opened his eyes, not because he was cold, but because he heard a very faint and small sharp scraping sound. At first, he thought the solar halo had turned back again, but in such cold, he quickly realized that the sound was coming from within the cage.
Fisher squinted in the dark and turned to look at Gouwen; he was grasping the finished letter tightly with a smile on his lips, sleeping soundly in that strange posture. Looking towards Tang Zeming Asuka, Fisher saw her curled up against the wall, her shoulders continuously shuddering as if her hands were moving gently against the wall.
“Creak, creak.”
Listening to the sharp sound, Fisher instinctively reached for the carving knife beside him, but predictably, found nothing.
He turned to look at Tang Zeming Asuka, silently observing for a few seconds before suddenly discovering that she seemed to be using her own carving knife to slowly engrave a line of characters on the wall that Fisher did not recognize but found somewhat familiar:
“I want to go home.”
He seemed to have seen the exact same characters in the sealed cage of the Moon Rabbit Tribe’s Turan family in the Northern Realm.
In other words, the sealed cage back then was indeed the one they were in now, and it was Tang Zeming Asuka who had just crossed over and engraved that line of characters?
Seeing Tang Zeming Asuka curled up, her shoulders shaking, apparently silently weeping, Fisher pondered for a moment and suddenly asked, “What does this sentence mean?”
“Eh, eh, eh, eh.”
Tang Zeming Asuka heard Fisher’s sudden question from behind, and the cold made her shaky hands lose grip on the knife, causing it to drop to the ground. Startled, she immediately sat up, her hair slightly disheveled, with messy strands falling through numerous gaps in front of her eyes, hiding her reddened teary orbs.
She trembled with cold, shrinking several distances towards the corner of the cage, and then, with her head down, hurriedly apologized, saying, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take your things, I’m really sorry.”
Her tone carried a hint of sobbing. Then, like in the morning, she hugged her legs wrapped in black knee-high socks, curling into a pitiful ball.
Fisher opened his mouth, looking at the little girl with her head buried, then glanced at her tangled, pale fingers. The disorderly hair color and the pink of her tears undoubtedly represented a fragility that unconsciously stirred the flames of male desire to protect and support her, making one want to bully her further.
But just as that thought arose, Fisher turned his gaze back to Gouwen, who was completely fast asleep, motionless, in a peaceful manner. He said, “It’s okay, it’s not really my thing; it belongs to that guy. I was just a little curious about what you wrote.”
Tang Zeming Asuka lifted her watery eyes, seeming to assess whether Fisher still had a look of reproach, but unfortunately, she was merely an ordinary person and could not see as well as Fisher in the dark.
“It means… I want to go home.”
“…I see.”
“Yeah, sorry for waking you, Fisher-sensei.”
Fisher leaned against the wall, exhaling a breath of warm air into the dark. He had no idea how the breath from his lungs allowed him to breathe in the sea of ether, but at that moment, he had no intention of probing further. He simply said, “I suddenly have a bit of curiosity; what exactly does that phrase you often say mean?”
“What phrase?”
Tang Zeming Asuka turned to look at Fisher but saw nothing.
“It’s the phrase… ‘Namu Amida Butsu.’ What does it mean?”
“Eh, your Japanese is very standard, Fisher-sensei.”
“Because my memory is still good. So, what does it mean?”
“This is actually a Buddhist phrase; the ‘Namu’ at the beginning is translated from Sanskrit, meaning respect, while the ‘Amida Butsu’ that follows refers to the lord of the Western Pure Land. In Buddhist thought, he is a great wise man and the enlightened one.”
Fisher’s eyes twitched slightly. It seemed he recognized every word, but when combined, he had no idea what it meant.
Seeing his silent demeanor, Tang Zeming Asuka could feel even in the darkness that he was somewhat unsettled. The corner of her mouth, which had previously drooped due to crying, lifted slightly.
“Anyway, it’s a kind of belief in our world. I’m not a Buddhist; it’s just that my dad is the head of a temple in Kyoto, so I know so much about it.”
“He really likes making me read Buddhist scriptures, like those religious texts, which I find really annoying. He always says things like ‘Chanting the name of the Buddha, relying on his power’ to hope for blessings from the Buddha. I hardly ever read them and just pretended to be diligent verbally, so that’s why I have this habit. Well, if the Buddha finds out, he would definitely be very angry.”
In Fisher’s mind, what Tang Zeming Asuka spoke of had automatically transformed into the teachings of the Mother God, and probably the enlightened one her father believed in was similar to the existences worshiped here.
“I see. I just don’t know if reciting that name here, the deity on the other side will bestow blessings upon you.”
Tang Zeming Asuka gave a faint smile, then hugged her legs a bit tighter, mumbling, “It’s okay; compared to the world you’re in, the beings we worship likely don’t exist? Even if they did, someone like me, who isn’t sincere, wouldn’t be saved just for chanting the Buddha’s name. It’s also possible that my insincerity is precisely why the Buddha is punishing me, bringing me to this world?”
Sensing her depressed mood, Fisher subtly changed the subject.
“Before you came here, were you in school?”
“Yeah.”
“How was school life?”
“…It was terrible. I transferred here just recently, having learned at home for three years in junior high school, and when I finally got out of the house to attend school, because I was an outsider, I was ostracized by the girls in class.”
“You mean bullying?”
“No, they knew my father was the head of a temple, so they probably feared the Buddha’s punishment, so they didn’t dare bully me. They mostly bullied others; for me, it was just that nobody paid attention to me, and occasionally, they would privately insult me a few times. Of course, I didn’t have any friends. Sorry. Talking about this should seem childish to such a great person as Fisher-sensei.”
“It’s fine; if we’re talking about childish behavior, that Hela should be the most childish and silly person… no, angel.”
Tang Zeming Asuka chuckled and laughed softly, covering her mouth, “Be careful, Hela might silently appear behind you, Fisher-sensei.”
“…Although I didn’t understand what you said about junior high and high school, I assume you mean that you didn’t go to school for a long time, right? Why?”
“Ah, that.”
Tang Zeming Asuka appeared to recall something, her gaze somewhat forlorn.
“Actually, when I was a child, I grew up with my mother. She was from Tokyo, and when she was in college, she met and married my dad, who was studying in Tokyo. But just like me, my mom quickly grew to hate going back to Kyoto to inherit the temple, as she longed for life in the big city and wanted to earn a lot of money.”
“At that time in Japan, I heard many people could make money, and there were a lot of wealthy people, living in extravagance. My mom was like that; I remember I lived in a tower near Tokyo Tower when I was a child. My mom didn’t want to walk to work but would spend several tens of thousands of yen on a taxi. And the better my mom did, the more she loved to disparage my dad in front of me.”
Fisher didn’t fully understand but didn’t interrupt, for he, fully knowing the lady’s character, keenly sensed that although Tang Zeming Asuka’s tone was calm, her emotions were extremely agitated.
“It seems my mom went crazy in such a life, or rather, the whole of Tokyo went mad. Many people borrowed a lot of money to invest in real estate and stocks, hoping to gain more and more money, then live more extravagantly and luxuriously. But for some reason, because I resembled my father, I felt she didn’t treat me well and often brought other men home.”
She smiled sarcastically, and at the peak of that smile, the shadow beneath it was dragged far, far away. She didn’t continue, but Fisher glanced at her, paused for a moment, and still asked, “And then?”
“Then… I think it was 1990, right? Suddenly, one night, my mom told me there was no money at home, stocks had crashed, and there was no money to pay back loans, and then she… jumped off a building and committed suicide. I also transferred from Tokyo to Kyoto and went to my dad’s temple.”
In the dark, Tang Zeming Asuka seemed to have a headache, especially recalling these things. Fisher leaned against the wall, listening to the silent weeping coming from the darkness again, tapping his fingers on the wall.
“Sorry, Fisher-sensei. I just… miss home. Every day for the past few days I have been thinking about it… especially my dad. When I think about whether he would be sad if I were gone, I just… I’m so scared. Everything here is so terrifying, and I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry.”
Fisher fell silent for a moment, mimicking Gouwen, silently expressing his guilt to Renee in his heart. Suddenly he turned to look at Tang Zeming Asuka in the darkness and abruptly said, “Reach out.”
“Wuu.”
Tang Zeming Asuka sniffled, tears streaming down her face as she blankly lifted her head. The innocence of her seventeen years could not be faked. Perhaps after a thousand years, she would indeed become that powerful Magic Lord, but at this moment, she truly could not hold on any longer, terrified and not knowing what to do.
“Reach out, Tang Zeming.”
“Eh.”
She seemed to be questioning him with her face, but her body had already clumsily reached out to Fisher first. Fisher smiled helplessly, then his warm hand grasped her delicate little palm.
Before Tang Zeming Asuka’s small face turned pink, an extremely strange sight, one she had never seen, unfolded before her.
From the hand Fisher held, a seemingly embedded complex magical circuit within her body lit up instantly, illuminating her somewhat astonished and confused face in the darkness. Of course, at the moment that the radiant light of the soul illuminated Fisher’s handsome face, a touch of pure shyness suddenly overtook most of her expression.
“Fisher-sensei, what is this?”
“Your soul.”
“My soul?”
“Yeah, I have one too. Every living being in this world has one. Even you, as a being from another world, have one.”
Tang Zeming Asuka stared blankly at her own magical circuit, which had lit up for the first time, momentarily surprised, unsure of what to say.
“I mean this means, in terms of composition, you are no different from the humans of this world, except you might look a bit different and have some other things in your mind. Tang Zeming, fear is natural, but don’t reject where you are now because of it. At least the things you can see and touch right now are real.”
“The words and memories you recite are proof of your connection to another world, and your soul, which is the same as mine, is also your credential to be here. So every time you feel out of place in this world, try to look at your soul circuit, and you won’t be afraid of being ostracized.”
“…And one day, you will find your way home.”
Until this moment, looking at Tang Zeming Asuka in the dark, who was staring blankly at herself, Fisher suddenly hypothesized whether it was possible that the missing Magic Lord had successfully returned to her world?
While he was lost in thought, Tang Zeming Asuka suddenly pursed her lips, lowered her head, and softly said, “It hurts.”
“.”
Fisher looked down and saw that he hadn’t even exerted much force, yet several marks from his fingers had clearly appeared on her delicate hand, prompting him to apologize, “I’m sorry,” as he quickly released her small hand.
Tang Zeming Asuka, still with her head down, slowly placed her small hand over her chest, shaking her head with a dodging glance. However, she should have been feeling much better now, as she was no longer hugging her legs but had simply turned to place them beside her, relaxing slightly.
“It’s okay; it’s my issue. I’m just a bit… sensitive.”
“Yeah, let’s sleep. The solar halo has been rotating for several days now; it won’t be long before it stops. If anything happens, just tell me. Don’t secretly carve words on the wall at night anymore.”
“Sorry.”
Fisher extended a hand to Tang Zeming Asuka. She looked confused and tilted her head until Fisher had to remind her personally, “The knife.”
“Ah, oh, here.”
She immediately picked up the carving knife and handed it to Fisher. After he took back the knife, she got back into position, speaking to herself, “Let’s rest.”
“Okay.”
Tang Zeming Asuka nodded and immediately lay down. After she straightened her body, several seconds later, a voice finally came.
“Um… good night.”
“Good night.”
“.”
There was no more conversation in the room; it was just Gouwen, who seemed to be asleep, smiling slightly as he held the envelope in his arms more tightly.
(End of this chapter)
