**Chapter 706: 6. Who**
“.”
Listening to the shouts outside the ruins, Fisher’s eyelids uncontrollably twitched. Clenching the Fluid Sword in his hand, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to tuck the hilt into his robe and, with a nervous heart, walked toward the ruins of Ramastia.
Lightly stepping, Fisher quickly crossed the dark crystal area within the building and arrived at the gap, gazing out at the dark space filled with crimson mist.
The gravity within the Spirit Realm was weak, but still somewhat present, essentially making the crevice the ground, with the tip of the upside-down triangle pointing downwards.
Arriving at the edge of the building, looking at the dark Spirit Realm space before him like a cliff, he couldn’t help but wonder how Gouwen had crossed over.
After a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke.
“Gouwen?”
As soon as he spoke, above Fisher, amidst the stirring crimson mist, a transparent solitary boat about three to four meters long and one to two meters wide suddenly pierced through the air, letting out a “whoosh” sound.
Fisher looked up and saw a male whale folk, dressed in ancient whale folk clothing, standing on the transparent boat, holding a golden Fluid Sword, coming down toward him.
Looking up, a long strand of blue hair tied in front of his chest appeared gentle and elegant, with a handsome face that looked warm as jade, but at that moment, it was filled with black lines, especially upon seeing the confused Fisher below.
“Gouwen?”
“Alright, you, watch the sword!”
Seeing the hint of embarrassment on Fisher’s face, Gouwen burst into laughter, abruptly raising the golden Fluid Sword in his hand and swing it down from the solitary boat.
“Buzz!”
Fisher looked up and confirmed that his rank had increased compared to ten thousand years ago, likely reaching at least the eighteenth rank. He quickly turned and jumped back into the ruins, allowing Gouwen’s swing to hit nothing but air.
“Still running? You wait for me!”
“.”
Fisher jumped back into the ruins, while Gouwen, with red eyes, pushed aside the debris as he climbed onto the remaining parts of the building, preparing to charge in. Fisher felt a chill run down his spine.
He quickly raised his hand to stop him and explained,
“Wait a moment, Gouwen, let me explain!”
“Your explanation doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Hearing Fisher’s words, Gouwen exploded with rage, cursing,
“I originally thought you, with those thick eyebrows and big eyes, were just trapped by your body, as long as you corrected yourself, after ten thousand years, Hela would be completely forgotten, and you could return to the upright path. I didn’t expect this! You really have no standards?”
“I have reformed!”
Fisher said this sincerely, but Gouwen either did not believe him or just coldly laughed, swirling the Fluid Sword in his hand and pointing at Fisher’s lower regions, saying,
“Do you think I would believe your nonsense? Let me tell you, unless I castrate you, I wouldn’t believe it. Otherwise, I think you will only be honest if you die hanging on the wall!”
“.”
Fisher was slightly taken aback, straightening up and asking,
“Why have you been in the Spirit Realm all these years? If…”
“Changing the subject, huh? Hmm? Playing that card?”
Gouwen raised his Fluid Sword again. Seeing this, Fisher quickly raised both hands in surrender, hastily admitting his mistakes.
“I didn’t expect your relationship with Jasmine. After all, such a long time had passed, and Jasmine was so young, that was a full ten thousand years ago.”
“Yeah, the other women you knew had no guardians. You could just woo them, and their families wouldn’t come knocking, right?”
“What kind of image do you have of me?”
“You scumbag! Initially, no matter how reckless I thought you were, it was only a couple of instances. But what have I been hearing year after year from Ramastia?”
Gouwen angrily counted on his fingers one by one.
“Let’s not talk about before your crossing; you were with Elizabeth and broke up peacefully. That was it, no problem. Then you had a fling with a new woman, which was with a dragonfolk; this counts as one too; then there was a less close demon, I endured that well. But you, after being with Jasmine, you just couldn’t settle down and kept bullying her, right?”
“One by one, what is it? Human empress, dragonfolk, phoenix race, human giant-troll hybrid, demons, and even the moon in the Spirit Realm. Are you collecting a race encyclopedia? I’m going to kill this bastard today!”
Gouwen grew more and more agitated, and it seemed that even though Ramastia had conveyed the situation to the Spirit Realm in sufficient brevity, it completely couldn’t cover Fisher’s vile romantic history.
Seeing another strike coming down, Fisher dodged, taking care not to fight back, and explained while avoiding.
“Wait a minute, Gouwen.”
“I’ll wait for you.”
Fisher saw that the Fluid Sword in Gouwen’s hand started to extend and twist like flowing water. He didn’t bother dodging, and was tightly bound and fell to the ground, being dragged back by Gouwen.
“Thud!”
With a forceful pull, Fisher was slowly dragged over, remaining silent, watching Gouwen breathe heavily as he pulled him inch by inch.
Until the Fluid Sword dragged him to Gouwen’s feet, Gouwen finally lowered his head with a pale face, gritting his teeth while looking at the silent Fisher beneath him and softly said,
“What now, nothing to say?”
“.You aren’t letting me speak, what can I say?”
“Do you still want to argue?”
Fisher sighed, looking at Gouwen and said,
“Your body is like this; if I run, will you still survive?”
“.”
Gouwen, gasping, pinched Fisher’s cheek and lowered his head, his long blue hair falling down and brushing against Fisher’s face.
“Looks like you’re faster than I am, even as a doctor.”
“I’m just worried about you. All my past mistakes are acknowledged. However, this was ten thousand years ago. I still don’t know what happened to you. You silent and rushed into the Spirit Realm must have a reason. You are not only Jasmine’s father, Xu’s husband, but also a good friend of that subhuman girl enthusiast. You probably know everything about me and have long since judged me, but before passing judgment, at least let me know what you’ve been through these years?”
Gouwen squinted at Fisher under him. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly coughed.
“Cough, cough…!”
Fisher was momentarily taken aback, and the golden Fluid Sword binding him instantly retracted back into the hilt. Gaining freedom, Fisher quickly got up to check on his situation, but only saw faint crimson mist seeping from his body.
That was the symbol of the Spirit Realm’s pollution.
“You—”
“No problem, just got a bit angry.”
Fisher watched as Gouwen covered his lips, his voice hoarse, and suddenly smiled, reaching out to pat his shoulder, saying,
“After ten thousand years, you really speak like an old man now.”
Gouwen glanced at Fisher, voice suppressed as he said,
“Do you think you can travel through time like you? Stay young forever? Besides, when I met you back then, I was already not young.”
“True.”
Gouwen still glared, angry at Fisher before him. He rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was still not over it. Fisher did not intend to avoid it and just looked at him, letting him vent.
Mainly because this matter sounded a bit awkward.
Even though the lifespan disparity between immortals and humans was significant, even if Gouwen had crossed several generations by the time he met Fisher, Fisher truly considered Gouwen to be a good brother deep down.
And now.
Well, it was just a bit complicated; it couldn’t simply end with a sentence, “Let’s each go our own way,” could it?
Fisher swallowed a mouthful of saliva, looking at his body emanating crimson mist, and proactively opened the conversation,
“I assume your appearance in the Spirit Realm is related to Asuka, right?”
Gouwen glanced at Fisher. After a moment of silence, he asked with some complexity,
“You already know that Asuka is the source of the Spirit Realm’s pollution; what else do you know?”
Fisher shook his head, frowning as he replied,
“Not much. My contact with the Spirit Realm’s pollution is too little. Even my most recent encounter was nearly swallowed by Him in the Spirit Realm. I have seen the so-called scene of dreams forming; I saw Asuka’s pain. After all these years, she has been waiting for me, even though I anticipated this suffering ten thousand years ago. But I don’t know whether I should be more decisive.”
Ten thousand years ago, when he first met Tang Zeming Asuka, she was just a tender girl who often caused trouble. Now, a decade later, her name had become a circulated legend, yet with that growth came the pervasive pain in the Spirit Realm.
This could not be called a price. If it were possible, Fisher even wished she could remain forever innocent and happy, without deceiving herself.
“What exactly was the situation back then? Asuka is still alive, right? The pollution in the Spirit Realm is just His physical form and chaos. He is still searching for Asuka’s lost soul; her soul is somewhere in reality. You know where it is, don’t you?”
“Cough, cough.”
Listening to Fisher’s words, Gouwen coughed. He sighed, rubbing his forehead uneasily and said,
“Asuka is indeed still alive, and you also know her now.”
“She—”
Fisher was just about to question when suddenly thoughts of Raphael rushed into his mind.
Based on logic, once entering the Mythical Rank, any children born would have a high risk of being stillborn. That was why he needed to seek a pure soul from the Sea of Souls to implant into Raphael’s womb to form a true embryo.
This meant that their child would also require such a soul infusion.
Previously, after learning of the specific method, Fisher had always thought that Xu and Gouwen must have taken this approach, but this did not explain why they had suddenly decided to have a child over a hundred years ago, rather than earlier.
Their marital feelings were deep, and this was without doubt; having a child was very common. Yet, Gouwen’s current words made Fisher feel that the birth of this child had some other necessity.
When considering Ramastia’s favoritism towards Jasmine and the blessings of Ramastia upon her, along with what Heow had said, that Ramastia kept hidden the soul that Spirit Realm pollution was desperately pursuing…
“You’re saying Jasmine is Asuka?”
“.She’s your student, isn’t she?”
Fisher was in disbelief, while at that moment, he saw the pale-faced Gouwen sitting in front of him, covering his mouth, coughing, while saying to Fisher,
“.You don’t know the suffering she went through before she was born. Ten thousand years ago, you just left, leaving her, an outsider, to survive in this harsh world. Even though I and Mikhail, these two actual elders, helped her, you have to know how miserable the Trans of the Mythical Era was.
“Cough, cough… Not only did they have to suffer the scorn of the entire world, hunted down like a rat, but most importantly, they also faced the torment of external deities in their will. Jasmine always told me she could see you. From the very beginning, she could distinguish this as an illusion but gradually developed recognition over the long time. She would subconsciously talk to that illusion when she felt sad, struggling because of its words.
“The minds of Trans become increasingly chaotic and mad under the influence of confusion, while they still have to live a life of uncertainty. Asuka has been holding on painfully, believing that after hundreds or thousands of years, she will one day see your figure in the kingdom again. Yet, even at the last moment, when she regretfully gave up, she never waited for you. I have witnessed all this.”
Fisher’s eyes widened, sitting on the icy crystal floor beside Gouwen. He had indeed sensed the similarities between Jasmine and Asuka, but the personality similarities were too subtle against the stark differences in appearance. Moreover, Jasmine had never revealed any related memories, which made Fisher more puzzled.
“So, at this moment, Jasmine’s soul is indeed the purified Asuka’s soul, right?”
Gouwen shook his head, softly saying,
“If that were the case, Asuka would be considered dead and wouldn’t need me and Ramastia to do this. How could there be a conversation about salvation? Back then, Asuka took countless methods to fight the chaos within her body, even opting to separate her soul from her body. She walked the world with her soul, while the pollution in the Spirit Realm is the body that was completely infected by chaos.
“But even so, the dream’s lock on the soul made it so that Asuka couldn’t find a place to hide. She could no longer wait for you and ultimately decided to break through barriers, leave this world; before she left, she had a final conversation with me and Mikhail, and then set off alone toward the Spirit Realm, attempting to leave the Ultimate.”
Fisher opened his mouth. He already knew that the barrier was unescapable; once inside, one could only enter but not exit, so Asuka must have failed.
“She failed.”
“Yes.”
Gouwen sighed, looking at Fisher as he said,
“Back then, Xu and I, unable to rest easy, went to the Spirit Realm together. We witnessed the horror of the Spirit Realm’s pollution chasing her with all its might toward the Ultimate, and of course, saw her at the Ultimate reaching a dead end.
“Even though the gods exerted themselves to restrain the Spirit Realm’s pollution, they were helpless against Asuka’s inevitable conclusion. She ultimately decided to destroy the soul that the Spirit Realm’s pollution was chasing after, plunging herself into the Sea of Souls. The moment her soul became pure, she would die completely, cleansing away everything of the past, becoming part of the Sea of Souls.
“Her plan indeed succeeded. As soon as she fell into the Sea of Souls, the Spirit Realm’s pollution lost its direction and transformed into a drifting, mindless mist. But Xu and I observed how she struggled over the thousands of years, and feeling pained, I decided to save her.”
“I ventured into the Sea of Souls, attempting to save her, but missed the timing; she was already close to sinking into the Sea of Souls. The nature of the Sea of Souls is peculiar; no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t drag her out, so I had to leave it to Ramastia to rescue her bit by bit. This rescue took thousands of years.”
Fisher’s internal timeline seemed to clear up, neatly aligning with what the Fate Lord had mentioned.
Asuka had separated her soul and body, and thus the Spirit Realm’s pollution independently existed within the Spirit Realm, beginning to interfere with the living conditions of the Chaos Race, causing great turmoil in the Northern Region and decades of conflict.
While she returned to reality alone, that Spirit Realm pollution relentlessly pursued her, forcing her to develop the idea of leaving reality through the Ultimate, thus embarking on her own journey into the Spirit Realm.
Within the Spirit Realm, she must have explained matters to the Mother, who possibly witnessed Asuka’s ending. In any case, She began to change dramatically. Not only did She start to interfere with reality and protect humans, but She also taught humans magic, eventually triggering the Mythical War under the dual interference of chaos and the Mother.
After the Mythical War ended and the Mythical Beings perished long ago, it was only after a few hundred years that Ramastia fished out Asuka’s soul.
“Jasmine is essentially Asuka; it’s just that after sinking into the Sea of Souls, she has forgotten many things, but her nature has never changed. The Spirit Realm pollution soon realized her presence, but could no longer pinpoint her; even the whale folk body couldn’t completely merge with her soul, which might lead to her inability to enter the Mythical Rank and showcase her original magical talents.”
“Have you spoken about this… to Jasmine?”
“.No.”
Fisher chuckled helplessly, softly saying to Gouwen,
“That’s okay.”
Gouwen raised his gaze to him, looking puzzled while Fisher continued,
“I saw fear in her toward her parents amidst the Spirit Realm pollution. Her original family was hell to her; at this moment, she abandoned everything. You all took good care of Jasmine, giving her the love of a family she had longed for. Even if she were to know, she would undoubtedly be grateful to you.”
Hearing this, Gouwen’s eyes trembled slightly. After a moment of silence, he extended his hand and weakly punched Fisher’s shoulder.
“Since that’s the case, while you’re out there messing around, do you think I should stab you?”
“Yeah, definitely. Once you recover, a few stabs are fine, just don’t slice my kidney.”
“Your mother.”
“No, don’t misunderstand. It’s injured from an explosion and still hurts.”
Fisher joked, then stood up and reached out to help Gouwen up from the ground.
To be honest, this was indeed a bit unexpected, especially concerning Jasmine.
However, at this moment, she was safely in the crevice, and fortunately, Fisher had risked his life to maintain it; otherwise, if the crevice collapsed and the Spirit Realm pollution invaded reality, he didn’t know how Jasmine would cope.
In summary, everything still lingered under the shadow of the Apocalypse Prophecy; to be worry-free, extinction must be thoroughly eradicated.
With this thought in mind, Fisher turned to Gouwen and asked,
“Gouwen, the issue with Dreams is likely still quite tricky. Do you know the whereabouts of Mikhail?”
He needed to first obtain the complete mechanism completion manual before he could thoroughly reach a state where he could gaze upon the deities.
Gouwen pondered for a moment, stroking his chin and said,
“I know a little bit. The last matter related to him was something I personally handled two hundred years ago, and it left me with some injuries.”
“Is he still alive?”
“I don’t know. His situation with Michael is quite complicated, so I’ll tell you slowly.”
“Yeah, you do that.”
Fisher was just about to catch up on the information he didn’t know from Gouwen when suddenly, a clear sound came from outside the building.
“Beep beep… Beep beep.”
Both Fisher and Gouwen were startled and turned to look outside, only to find a mechanism wobbling as it flew over, powered by a mechanism engine.
“A mechanism? How did it get here?”
Fisher, unfamiliar with the Spirit Realm, turned to Gouwen, who was equally astonished as he looked at Fisher.
“Have they begun manufacturing Mikhail’s mechanism in reality after the angels perished?”
“What?”
Upon hearing this, Fisher looked at the wobbling mechanism and soon bizarrely discovered that it had a crudely painted sign of Nali on it, but at this moment, that mechanism looked ragged, as if it had traversed through a surreal space, battered and injured, arriving in front of Fisher and Gouwen.
“Beep beep.”
“Thud!”
“Ouch!!”
Before Fisher and Gouwen could react, from within the mechanism suddenly burst forth a rectangular figure of a book, wailing as it fell toward the ground. Fisher, quick-witted, caught the book in his arms, and looking down, it was none other than the dazed Emhart!
“Emhart?”
“Fisher!! I… how did I end up here?!”
“Don’t ask me! What happened in reality? Why did you suddenly come to the Spirit Realm?!”
Looking at the dazed Emhart in his arms, Fisher was anxious, as an ominous premonition surged within him, while Emhart was utterly confused, desperately trying to recall the specifics.
“I… I don’t know… Ah! No! Wait! I remember!”
He quickly flew up, turning to look at the shabby Nali mechanism floating behind him, exclaiming in shock,
“It was Alagina! That thing on Alagina that transported to the Spirit Realm suddenly lit up!! It suddenly flew towards Jasmine, and then the Ocean Emperor chopped that thing into several pieces, smashing it everywhere! At that moment, Alagina’s state was off, like those things on her body were out of control and her face turned pale.
“And then… then that mechanism somehow didn’t break, your mother! It just teleported me here! The Ocean Emperor didn’t manage to save me?!”
Fisher opened his mouth, momentarily speechless at seeing Emhart’s wronged expression.
Gouwen also looked up at the floating mechanism, at its battered body, which suddenly transmitted intermittent electronic synthesized sounds.
“Beep beep. Respectful Mr. Fisher, I am [Hamon Hamon]! It’s great to meet you!”
(End of Chapter)
