Chapter 517: 134. The Chasm
At this moment in the Holy Realm, listening to Tang Zeming Asuka’s voice coming with a sobbing tone mixed with laughter from that side, Fisher remained silent and unconsciously pulled his face a little away from the position of the mechanism.
He was a bit dazed for a moment, and a vague gleam flickered in his eyes that hadn’t blinked for a long time.
He felt that perhaps right now, Tang Zeming Asuka, who had managed to muster the courage, did not realize how heavy the vow she had made truly was; she also did not know at what point Fisher had traveled back to this place.
Perhaps even Fisher himself could not be sure; he could only provide a general, vague range.
He estimated, at the very least, eight thousand years, perhaps even further back, nine thousand years, or maybe even ten thousand years.
It should be noted that even Fisher himself had only lived for thirty years, so viewed through the perspective and imagination of human’s meager lifespan, such a time scale was too long to form any relevant concept.
If Tang Zeming Asuka had already been alive for ten thousand years by the time Fisher was living, no one would have any specific notion of that; they would only feel that it must be very long.
But if Tang Zeming Asuka was already a hundred years old, then what would come to mind would definitely be an old person trembling, toothless, and with a face full of wrinkles.
And by that time, Tang Zeming Asuka would have experienced a hundred lifetimes like that of a weary old person.
So at this moment, what Fisher was pondering was whether this was a vow or a curse for Tang Zeming Asuka?
Just because he nonchalantly replied “good” to her proposal of “the future path will cross again” and then casually walked away, should he leave her waiting here foolishly, wishfully for ten thousand years?
He wasn’t worried about the other party possibly aging and dying, because he had learned from Erwind that the Fate Lord, the genuine first generation transfer person, had been impersonating the Magic Lord for a long time; the transfer individuals seemed to have some method or characteristics that allowed them to live for an extraordinarily long time, even not aging at all.
Thus, what Fisher was worried about at this moment was merely the “long years” cage; he did not want to establish such a cruel promise due to the other party’s naivety and youthful passion.
After hesitating repeatedly, even that greedy Fisher felt somewhat restrained at this moment. He slowly approached the mechanism waiting for his response and softly spoke to Tang Zeming Asuka,
“Asuka, promise me that no matter what, you will find your way home, even if after you seek the answer, we still do not meet on the same path.”
“Eh? Why… is it because… of Angel Hela? Is that why Teacher Fisher has to reject me?”
It turned out that Tang Zeming Asuka took Fisher’s advice as a form of rejection, so at this moment, her already tearful words sounded even more despondent.
Fisher suddenly thought, if only he were that dedicated of a man.
Unfortunately, he was self-aware; he was not.
So he shook his head and explained to Tang Zeming Asuka,
“No, Asuka. Because you do not know how long it will be when our paths cross again. If it is one year or ten years, perhaps you could endure, but what if it’s a hundred years, a thousand years, or ten thousand years?
“Asuka, I do not wish for the bond we cherish as teacher and student to turn into a curse. I sincerely hope you can find liberation and become better and better. I swear, I will exhaust everything to find you, even if the only news I find is that you’ve left this world; I will find solace in that.”
There was a brief pause, and then her soft voice came back,
“So… meaning, Teacher Fisher did not reject me, right?”
Fisher smiled helplessly. How could he not discern that the words following her moment of silence were actually a joke? He just called out her name again, attempting to steer the conversation back,
“Asuka.”
“Alright, alright, I know, Teacher Fisher.”
There, Fisher heard her voice, which had turned from crying to laughter, and then she took a deep breath and said,
“I promise you, Teacher Fisher, I will take good care of myself. During this time, I will also try to find other ways for me to go home. If… I mean if, there really comes a day before our paths cross again, I will go home as per Teacher Fisher’s advice. Ah, by the way, why did Teacher Fisher suddenly start calling my name? I wasn’t prepared at all.”
“Because I noticed that when Margaret called your name earlier, you seemed a little shy. I guessed that your habit of calling names might be similar to the people of Cardu, where only those who are close can call each other by their names. Margaret has let you down with the name she called you; at least I stand in as a substitute.”
“That’s not a substitute.”
Before Fisher could finish his words, Tang Zeming Asuka’s small grumbling voice came through.
Although her voice was small, it was so clear to Fisher. He guessed that Tang Zeming Asuka must be very close to the mechanism used for communication, which caused this effect.
And it was exactly as he had guessed; at this moment, Tang Zeming Asuka was pressing half of her small face against the mechanism, but her cheeks were flushed due to the captivating pink color that spread all the way to her ears.
Having moved on from her previous desperate crying, it turned out that just saying such a sentence could make her blush.
Unfortunately, Fisher could not see how her tiny fingers and toes had curled up shyly at this moment, but he could sense the heat that emanated from her tightly wrapped restraint and innocence.
“Fisher.”
Before Tang Zeming Asuka’s trembling voice could finish, Fisher had yet to savor the enticing flavor of her shyness…
But at this moment, a voice with no fluctuation and seemingly devoid of emotion rang in their ears, that of Michael,
“Are you done talking? How much longer?”
“Michael?! Have you been listening all along?”
“Why not? David was created by me, the mechanism was assembled by me, Mikhail’s eyes were replaced by me, so naturally, I can hear everything. Do you have any objections to that, Transfer person?”
“Ah no… I… um.”
Fisher was not surprised at all; rather, Tang Zeming Asuka was turning red as a boiling kettle, her mouth trembling as if she was shocked into a stutter.
While Tang Zeming Asuka struggled to organize her words, Fisher spoke up to help her out,
“We’ll finish up quickly, Angel Michael.”
“You better do it fast; Gabriel is on her way back.”
“Okay.”
Michael’s voice cut off abruptly. Fisher even suspected that he might have acted like this when chatting with Mikhail, pretending to hang up while eavesdropping on the side.
“Alright, Asuka, is there anything else you want to say?”
“Eh, eh… I… I just wanted to give Teacher Fisher a warning in advance!”
Tang Zeming Asuka was too shy, so she needed to raise her pitch to muster her courage.
“A warning?”
“Ah, right. That is…” While Fisher wore a puzzled expression, she stammered to explain, “Teacher Fisher said before, if we might see each other again in the future, it would be a long time from now.”
“Indeed.”
“Then if it’s been so long, by that time… by that time, I might have changed a bit. I might not be the same fool as now… I might become very capable, very brave, very mature, very beautiful… and also… well, I don’t know, I should be like Angel Hela! But anyway, I will definitely be very different from now. When Teacher Fisher sees me again, can you not… change your attitude towards me like you do now? Just like now would be fine.”
Why is her reference point that guy Hela?
Is Tang Zeming Asuka’s obsession with Hela that deep?
Of course, from various perspectives, that guy truly leaves an extremely deep impression.
“First of all, no one thinks you’re a fool now. Secondly, no matter how you change in the future, I will remain the same as I am now.”
Because going back to the future, for Fisher, there was truly no change, as if only a second had passed.
“That’s… great. Thank you, Teacher Fisher. In your presence, I will always be your student.”
Amidst the faint sound of waves, she paused for a moment and then finally spoke softly,
“Then that’s it, Teacher Fisher.”
“I… will always like you.”
Even though they were so close, her shyness was drowned out by the electronic voice. Fisher was slightly stunned, then he put down the mechanism that had not made any sound for a long time.
He stood in place for a while with the mechanism in his arms before turning and walking back into Michael’s workshop, just in time to see the impatient expression on Michael’s face as he rested his chin on one hand, looking at the celestial sky outside the Fifth Day.
“By the way.”
Fisher glanced at him, placing the mechanism he was holding on the pile of holy relics beside him. He paused for a moment, wanting to speak to Michael when he heard him interrupt,
“Don’t be noisy. I heard what you talked about with that transfer girl, but I’m not interested in investigating and I don’t want to change our deal. Instead of worrying about this, you might as well worry about Gabriel, who is coming soon and is not good-natured. Or think about how that weak girl will survive after you leave.”
Fisher took out a small scroll from his arms, which recorded quite a lot of magical theories he had completed earlier,
“Angel Michael, can the mechanism transmit the contents of the book to her so she can read it?”
“There’s no need to bother. Many functions of the originally designed mechanism are not perfect. Do you think it’s a wishing machine? After a while, I will send the mechanism to ‘capture’ Mikhail back after you ‘escape.’ Just put that thing under the mechanism; I’ll send it over when I get a chance… if I remember it.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Fisher could not possibly believe that a Nineteen Rank Angel like Michael would forget anything; this was merely a manifestation of his usual silence, and Fisher trusted that he would keep his promise to deliver the item to Tang Zeming Asuka.
Who would have thought that the Angel Michael, who had given Fisher the worst impression during their first meeting with the Seven Angel Lords, would actually be the kindest among them.
It might also be thanks to Mikhail; without him, Michael probably wouldn’t be so easy to talk to.
“One more thing, I just received word that your Angel Hela has been appointed as the new divine messenger by Lord Heavenly Lock, and she likely has a task related to the Ideal Nation. I still don’t know the specifics. But it is certain that Lord Heavenly Lock has blamed Hela for what happened before; that task is not a good one, and she’ll suffer a lot. Heh, but for a girl like her, no matter how hard the conditions are, she can probably find joy in adversity. Alright, get ready, Gabriel will be back with that book soon, and I’m ready to take action; you watch for the right moment.”
He slowly stood up, and several weapons and armor flew toward him from the pile of holy relics without wind, awaiting Michael’s selection. He looked expressionless at Fisher and warned,
“Once the opportunity is missed, you might die instantly, and I won’t take responsibility.”
“I understand.”
Fisher’s expression also became a bit serious; after all, Gabriel was a mother who had lost a child, and one could never know what crazy things she might do.
If it came to action, even if he took Sir Book away, he must hurry and escape the Holy Realm back to the present. But before that, he still wanted to see Hela one more time.
No amount of reminders would be enough; he hoped Hela could be cautious and change her bad temperament to survive in the war ahead.
“Buzz!”
At this moment in the sky, within the desolate and silent vastness of the universe, a stream of light surrounded by countless illusory eyes was rapidly traversing between several planets.
That stream of light carried an unmatched might, and beside him, Michael gestured for Fisher to go outside. He then hid the holy relics that were lined up behind him prepared to follow him out, as it seemed Michael’s plan was to act immediately and seize the opportunity if negotiations failed.
“Fisher!!”
As the stream of light drew closer, until it was near enough to the intangible ether surrounding the entire Holy Realm, a voice that Fisher was all too familiar with suddenly echoed from above.
Fisher’s expression changed slightly, and he rushed out of Michael’s forge, looking up at the sky and shouting,
“Emhart!”
“Boom!”
In the next moment, that swirling stream of light suddenly fell to the ground. Although there was no obvious impact, the light wrapped around the falling person gradually dissipated, revealing endless illusory eyes behind the figure.
Those eyes continually twisted, much like a kaleidoscope, all looking towards Fisher not far away, and in front of those illusory eyes was the angel, Gabriel, with long light brown hair.
However, unlike the blank and hollow expression Fisher had seen her with before, at this moment, her eyes sparkled with bits of rainbow-like light, as if they contained the pure wisdom of this world, though that light still appeared dim, swaying like a candle in the wind.
She was tightly holding—no, it should be said she was binding two things: one was Emhart, who was looking at him with a profoundly sorrowful gaze for some reason, and the other was the crystalized body of her child, who had long since passed away.
“Fisher! Wuwuwu!”
Before Emhart could speak, her words transformed into indistinct cries, and Gabriel’s arms that held her remained unmoving like a solid wall, separating Fisher from Emhart as though creating a chasm.
Michael beside them had a “not surprising” expression, casting a sidelong glance at Fisher, while Fisher’s brows knitted together little by little.
At that moment, Gabriel finally turned her head slowly to look at Michael, asking him slowly and clearly,
“What did Michael call me for?”
“I must say, since your child left you, this is the first time you have uttered my name, Gabriel.”
Michael smiled faintly, then turned to look at the Fisher behind him,
“As for the specifics, let this transfer person—no, Fisher tell you in detail.”
