Chapter 553 – 31. True and False Prophecy
“Who is Hela?”
Fisher, just waking up from a murky state, was still a bit disoriented and hadn’t fully grasped the situation before him. He merely gazed at Renee, the joy of unexpectedly reuniting with her, the confusion over her sudden appearance, and the shock of having blurted out her name all melded into one moment, leaving him momentarily flustered.
Behind Renee, Emhart, who seemed like he wanted to find a place to crash and die, looked at Fisher’s body gradually transforming back into human form. After hesitating for a moment, he quickly flew in front of Fisher and interjected,
“Great! Fisher, you’re back to normal! I thought you were going to remain a ball forever!”
Emhart’s interruption eased the earlier deadly atmosphere, and Renee’s momentarily dazed expression also relaxed. She looked at Fisher’s body and sighed in relief, saying,
“Great! It worked.”
“Renee.”
Fisher’s newly grown eyes strained to focus. At this moment, he felt as if he had just been born from swaddling clothes, his entire body feeling so strange. He did his utmost to look at the person before him, and through the faint and subtle fragrance, her familiar appearance finally became clear.
Seeing Fisher’s somewhat dazed expression, Renee couldn’t help but smile a little. But soon, that smile was overshadowed by a hint of reproach. She huffed softly, stood up, and asked Fisher,
“Did something happen to you in the past? Why is the time and place of your return so strange? I’ve been looking for you for a long time and waiting for you. If it wasn’t for the clear chaos here and the presence of that little thing, I wouldn’t even have known you were back.”
“It wasn’t intentional, Renee. In the past, I encountered danger, so I used your mark. I don’t know if that caused the discrepancies in the time and place of my return… I did land in the Holy Realm, but was captured by angels, along with several others who had also arrived in this world, and then I was forced into some troubles in the Tree Continent. I met the Duke of Peach, and the situation was critical, so I had no choice but to use your mark to intimidate her.”
Fisher briefly explained the situation regarding the use of the mark to Renee. After all, it was her mark, and given the power of the True God was too strange, he didn’t understand its specific nature and could only tell her to let her judge.
Upon hearing he had used the mark, Renee was utterly stunned, her disbelief evident as she exclaimed,
“Wait, what did you say? You took out my mark early?!”
“Ah, but after scaring the Duke of Peach away, I sealed it back inside me.”
Renee’s face turned pale with fright, and she quickly squatted down to check Fisher’s body from top to bottom,
“How could this happen? Fisher, you… you really are…”
“What’s wrong?”
Now naked, Fisher felt a bit unnatural under Renee’s scrutiny. He took a step back as if trying to hide behind the rocks, but Renee wasn’t reassured and examined his chest and other areas carefully, saying,
“The mark I sealed within you is already very unstable, you know that. I am not accepted by this world; even exposing my power could lead to serious consequences. Sending you there and back relied on that property. To release it in another way could very likely completely devour you. How reckless!”
Even when angry, Renee’s words lacked any real weight towards Fisher; he felt no hostility, only her concern.
In truth, Fisher felt that if her mark lost control, it wouldn’t just affect him; it could potentially trigger disasters far worse than the Ideal Nation.
“I’m fine, and in the past, not only did I escape death, but I also advanced to Mythical Rank. The only issue was the slight discrepancy in my return, not only did I leap over four and a half years, but I also ended up in the Southern Continent.”
With Fisher’s calming words, Renee’s anxious expression gradually eased. She was indeed worried about Fisher. For her, it didn’t matter if he had just entered Mythical Rank; even a Demigod meeting her power would be quite dangerous, let alone when he seemed to still not have reached Mythical Rank at that time.
The thought of his potential death instantly filled Renee’s heart with unprecedented sadness, and her thoughts nearly halted.
But at least now, he was safe, and had accomplished his goal of returning safely.
Renee slowly calmed down her emotions. She breathed heavily as she looked at Fisher, suddenly realizing that he was completely naked.
“!”
In the dim moonlight, a faint, imperceptible pink hue flushed across Renee’s face. Her bright violet eyes also shifted away slightly as if in embarrassment, and she stood up, pouting playfully at Fisher, saying,
“Well, if you hadn’t explained, I would’ve thought the first thing you did after returning was to look for that Dragon Race and Whale Folk. Raphael… ha, she burned your clothes that you left for me. Talk about bold.”
Fisher glanced awkwardly at Emhart, who was completely befuddled but knew what was happening.
Before he left the Southern Continent, he had given his carriage to Raphael to help her cross the continent with her companions, but in his haste to leave, he had forgotten to take Renee’s clothes that he had left in his carriage.
Well, to be honest, directly going back to get those clothes would indeed have been inappropriate. Otherwise, when he completed the last assassination with Raphael, holding another woman’s clothes would’ve probably made her genuinely angry halfway through.
As for the fact that Raphael burned Renee’s clothes, it was both unexpected and reasonable.
“My landing in the Southern Continent was indeed an accident, and Emhart can testify to that.”
“Ah? Me? Uh…”
Fortunately, Emhart didn’t have hands; otherwise, he would be pointing at his own face in confusion right now.
When Renee looked over, he seemed to break a cold sweat, hesitantly mumbling,
“That… is indeed the case.”
“Then who is that Hela you just mentioned? Did you have romantic entanglements again in the past?”
Renee crossed her arms and asked Emhart expressionlessly, making him step back in shock. He glanced at Fisher and then at Renee, hurriedly stating,
“I— I don’t know! I was captured by the saints after going back in time, and I basically didn’t see what he was doing. This… has nothing to do with me! Master Renee, please see clearly!”
“You are merely a sacred item, what does it have to do with you?”
Renee seemingly asked Emhart, but her words were directed at Fisher. After saying this, she looked at Fisher, seeming a little jealous of the fact that he had been calling another person’s name in worry when he was barely even conscious.
She had once said that she didn’t mind many of the constraints of the mortal world, but this statement had a premise: those women should not provoke her.
This teasing had nearly been thrown in her face; though it came through Fisher’s words, it was clear that Fisher valued the owner of that name, wasn’t it?
At this moment, upon hearing Renee’s question, Fisher’s expression suddenly turned serious. It didn’t seem to be a response to the accusation but rather a signal that there was something important he wanted to communicate to Renee, as he began,
“Speaking of Hela, Renee, she is an angel I met in the Holy Realm, a Mythical Being created by the Heavenly Lock. In the chaos triggered by a Trans in the Ideal Nation, both she and I were submerged in a sea of chaos. She was tainted by the chaos, yet I was unharmed, at least on the surface. A new Demon Race was born in the Ideal Nation; because of that opportunity, she was dispatched by the angels to intervene, disguised as ‘Baemon.’
“Perhaps precisely because of her appearance as a ‘Demon God’ while actually being an ‘angel,’ she not only evaded the destruction of the Holy Realm in the war but also escaped the Mother’s cleansing of demons. She has continued to remain active in the world for thousands of years. After I returned, she awakened two eighteen-rank demons from the abyss, which are currently hidden within Nali’s army. The most crucial point is that just before I left the past to return to the present, the ‘Mother’ had just been reborn, and her rebirth seems to be somewhat related to her, or rather, a certain elf named ‘Ch.’”
Renee was taken aback for a moment, then pondered over the name,
“Ch?”
“Ah, one of the three elves descended from the World Tree, I met her in the past. She and Hela helped me enter chaos through Mythical Rank. She looks exactly like you, completely identical.”
Fisher shared the details of meeting Ch with Renee, especially mentioning that she had said he was very special, relating it to what Hela stated earlier about “Fisher being the key to solving the Apocalypse Prophecy.”
The more Renee listened, the more puzzled her expression became. She murmured,
“Ch, Hela, Baemon— these names I have indeed heard before, but I know very little about them. My previous incarnation, revered by humanity as the Mother, fought against the gods in the Spirit Realm at the end of the Mythical War, causing her to completely perish, and I thus sprouted. I am not her, and she is not me; we are merely two existences birthed by ‘Authority,’ having no memories of each other, only occasionally catching glimpses of the scenes she once saw. But I know the time of Authority’s arrival in this world was approximately ten thousand years ago.
“If she was born when you left, then your return time is also exactly ten thousand years. From a temporal standpoint, her experience of living time and events is far greater than mine, and she knows far more about this world than I do. Even until now, I have been searching for the truth of her participation in the war; even Ramastia doesn’t know the reason why. She was born into the Spirit Realm of this world ten thousand years ago and has lived in peace and harmony with this world for so long; why suddenly intervene in the Mythical War?”
“As for the so-called… Apocalypse Prophecy.”
As Renee continued speaking, she subtly glanced at Fisher, who was also deep in thought and unaware of her gaze. A flicker of something ambiguous crossed Renee’s face, and then she abruptly spoke,
“Fisher, I don’t believe you are the key to resolving the Apocalypse Prophecy. I believe you don’t need to get involved in this matter.”
Fisher’s thoughts came to a sudden halt. He looked up at Renee, only to find she was already gazing out at the distant sea and the Dragon Court. He couldn’t help but ask,
“What do you mean?”
“Fisher, do you remember many years ago when you met me? It was precisely because you mentioned that you were searching for the ‘Undying Sorceress’ that I paid attention to you. I know you have known about that prophecy for a long time and even attempted to resolve it; even that Dragon Race, Whale Folk, and the recently resurrected Valentina from the Northern Region all encountered you because of this prophecy.”
“.That is true.”
“But I must say, the prophecy you read has been altered. The meaning of that prophecy has been changed by someone, creating ambiguity.”
Renee turned to look at Fisher and continued,
“The Apocalypse Prophecy was discovered by the Fate God ‘Anipatos’ about nine thousand five hundred years ago within the threads of fate. At that time, they had already tried to contact my predecessor for five hundred years, but to no avail; she didn’t respond at all, only silently observing this world. Until one day, my predecessor brought a prophecy to this world, and she herself was the omen of this Apocalypse Prophecy. She said:
“‘The flame of the soul shall ignite first, burning everything in the world to desolation.’
“‘Twisted lives will raise great waves, erasing the rules upon which all living beings rely.’
“‘The false gods from within the barriers will leave no refuge for the remnants of the thieves.’
“‘The irrepressible misinterpretations of you will compose your epitaph in song.’”
With Renee’s soft recitation, that prophecy, seemingly infused into the future of this world, was finally fully revealed to Fisher at this moment.
A vague whisper passed through his ears as both he and Emhart froze in place, letting the prophecy of unknown significance crash into their minds.
“This is the true prophecy we are facing. If I’m not mistaken, you still possess another version of the Apocalypse Prophecy, stemming from the conjecture and fantasies of a lower-level being. Hundreds of years ago, Ramastia also heard this version of the prophecy from an unknown source and believed that this altered, fabricated version was the key to resolving the Apocalypse Prophecy.”
Upon hearing this, Fisher furrowed his brows slightly. He couldn’t help but compare this version of the prophecy shared by Renee with the Apocalypse Prophecy from the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans he had. First off, not to mention anything else, just on the surface, Renee’s prophecy seemed far more like a genuine “Apocalypse Prophecy.”
It’s hard to say whether it was due to their long time apart, but Fisher had come to understand some of the qualities of the Subhuman Girl Enthusiast and began to look at her attitude through colored glasses.
But putting past preconceptions aside, there were two possibilities regarding the Apocalypse Prophecy in his hands.
First, what Renee said was correct. The Subhuman Girl Enthusiast could have caught a glimpse of a fragment of the Apocalypse Prophecy from somewhere, but due to the nature of life and the unique psychological issues of Trans (especially considering that this Trans had problems that weren’t ordinary), the prophecy she regarded as a guide might genuinely be a prank version of the Apocalypse Prophecy.
From the current situation, those “world destroyers” he previously thought were not the real issue; the true issue lay with the Supplement Handbook infused with chaotic knowledge, rather than with these Subhuman Girls. That was why Fisher earlier had the illusion of resolving the Apocalypse Prophecy.
Second, what Ramastia said was right. Both the Subhuman Girl Enthusiast’s prophecy and Renee’s prophecy were true; it was just that the Apocalypse Prophecy given by the Subhuman Girl Enthusiast was a translated version. It might harbor specific events of destruction or could convey the obstacles to resolving the Apocalypse Prophecy.
Moreover, Hela had just mentioned to him that the key to unlocking the Apocalypse Prophecy lay within Raphael, which perhaps from another perspective corroborated the authenticity of the Apocalypse Prophecy shared by the Subhuman Girl Enthusiast?
But this also raised another question, as Fisher still couldn’t determine whether Hela’s words were entirely true, and he had no way to falsify her viewpoint, yet he was using her opinion to validate his conjecture—this made no sense.
The key point was that many things currently faced by Fisher lacked evidence. If he were to pursue things meticulously, the entire logical chain would ultimately become an infinite loop of doubt, leading him to the trap of “skepticism,” causing him to become overly cautious.
However, the current issue still needed to be addressed: the two approaching eighteen-rank demons were real, and that seemingly intangible yet corroborated “Apocalypse Prophecy” was indeed real. These didn’t need proof; they lay directly before his eyes.
Fisher pondered for a moment, while also realizing the meaning behind Renee’s words. He then asked,
“Renee, do you mean you want me to distance myself from this Apocalypse Prophecy?”
Renee nodded, glancing with her peripheral vision at the several Supplement Handbooks that were clearly visible despite Fisher being completely naked.
In her eyes, those things were not Supplement Handbooks but rather some form of calamity.
Thus, she spoke with a tone that was both worried and serious,
“Fisher, you’ve just now emerged from the loss of control! Don’t you know how dangerous these things are? They could harm you. It’s because you think you are the key to the Apocalypse Prophecy that you keep coming into contact with these things, causing them to pull you into this whirlpool of destruction.”
“It’s not that I think I’m the key. I’ve never thought of myself as special or that this great responsibility of saving the world is solely mine. Rather, I must do this. Even if the Apocalypse Prophecy I’ve seen is false, the Apocalypse Prophecy itself does exist. It will affect the people I care about. They cannot escape, so how can I leave?”
“Even so, you’ll lose control like today; you’re constantly on the brink of collapse?”
Looking at Renee’s worried face, Fisher ultimately nodded and said,
“Even so.”
“Is it because of Raphael and Jasmine, right?”
This statement didn’t seem like a question but rather closer to a declaration. Strong as Renee was, she had long known about Fisher’s relationship with those ladies, and didn’t need to guess to understand his thoughts.
Yet contrary to Fisher’s expectations, there seemed to be little jealousy in her words; instead, there was a hint of sadness.
“Also because of you, Renee. The prophecy ends with the ‘Undying Sorceress,’ and that was why I went to Shivali to find you. At that time, I approached the Apocalypse Prophecy with only a sense of curiosity, not knowing how severe it would become.”
Renee fell silent, wanting to say something, but Fisher spoke again,
“Alright, Renee. We just met again; are you sure you want to turn this reunion into a meaningless argument? Even though last time in the Northern Region was quite sudden, after all, you came from the Spirit Realm; you could have appeared from anywhere. Regarding reading the Supplement Handbooks, I will be careful and consider it further.”
Renee sighed deeply, but in the end, she didn’t seem to intend to continue arguing with Fisher on this point.
Having been with each other for so long, although Renee had not informed Fisher of her true identity for quite a long time, it was precisely because of this that she could relax and fully reveal her true character to him.
Apart from their identities, they truly understood each other sufficiently enough to read the meanings behind what they said, rather than bickering in anger.
Renee pouted, then lightly punched Fisher’s chest, saying,
“Ha, anyway, our Fisher is capable; even angels of the Holy Realm will unconditionally help you, even remembering you from the past to ten thousand years later. In comparison, it’s really me, the sorceress, who has only waited for you for four and a half years. I sincerely apologize, Lord Fisher of the Holy Realm.”
This sarcastic remark clearly indicated that she still felt a sense of grievance over Fisher’s first response not being about her, but rather that Hela character.
“Renee.”
“Hmph, don’t argue. The next time you’re with me, it’s better not to mention any female’s name; I’m jealous.”
“Wait, didn’t you just say that as long as…”
“That was Renee from four and a half years ago; I’ve changed my mind now. No mention, no mention, no mention.”
“Okay.”
Fisher nodded in exasperation, while Emhart stood straight next to Renee as if he were about to “ardently carry out Master Renee’s new protocols for handling issues of solitude”; he had long since defected to Renee’s side and became part of the “Renee faction against Baemon.”
Upon receiving Fisher’s affirmation, the pouting Renee stood up, her body slowly beginning to fade, just like in the past,
“I’ll go find you something to wear; your current state is rather indecorous. Wait here for a moment.”
As she left, Renee gave Fisher her back and added a moment later,
“Also… regarding the topic we just discussed, I was serious. You should hand this matter over to me and those few deities.”
“We already have a way to resolve the Apocalypse Prophecy.”
The moment her words hit the air, she vanished from the spot, heading towards the Dragon Court behind her.
Please vote, tip, and support; it is very important to me!
Thank you very much for your support!
(End of Chapter)
