Xia Nan's gaze followed the perspective of "I," shifting away from the corpse on the ground toward the tightly closed doors of the church behind.
He pondered.
Without a doubt, whether judging by the familiar priest's robes or the severed neck and left arm (the previous dried corpse had wounds in the same positions), this seemingly dead priest was the very opponent he had just fought fiercely.
But if the current scene was not a hallucination, but a real event that had occurred in another space-time, how had the priest—whom he had seen killed by "I" with his own eyes—been resurrected, and even transformed into a dried corpse resembling a living dead?
And why had the grey-black staff with the orange-red crystal at its tip, which had been taken from the priest by "I," returned to the altar?
Xia Nan was utterly perplexed.
Yet, for some reason, as his mind raced to consider the cause...
The first thing that surfaced in his mind was the pair of compassionate, pitying eyes of the Goddess statue—bright yellow vertical slit pupils, identical to those of the priest's snake head.
The memory did not end.
The perspective swayed. Accompanied by the sound of metal armor rubbing, two iron gauntlets braced against the church doors.
They were slowly pushed open.
*Buzz—*
The blinding sunlight forced "I," who had been in the dim environment of the church for a long time, to squint.
What came into view was a bustling, wide street.
Even regardless of the overall atmosphere or the integrity of the buildings, it was worlds apart from the narrow path flanked by ruins and debris that he remembered coming through.
Xia Nan still recognized at a glance that this long street was the path he had taken from the entrance of Grey Valley, venturing deep inside until he reached the church.
However, the atmosphere that had seemed exceptionally dilapidated and dead under the shroud of thick fog and stone dust had been dispelled by the bright sunlight and the presence of people in the air.
The collapsed walls and ruins that had made the road so crowded had returned to their original exquisite and orderly state; small houses with an architectural style similar to the church lined the stone-brick road elegantly and orderly.
The street was crowded with people rubbing shoulders, the cries of vendors and the laughter of children intertwining, making it exceptionally lively.
Yet, despite this common scene of foreign bustle, Xia Nan felt a faint sense of unease.
It was like a small fly landing on a pristine white wall, or a stray hair resting on a bright screen—an inexplicable awkwardness and discomfort.
It was the suspicious black spots on the seemingly vibrant skins of the fruits sold by street vendors, the smell of rot mixed with the cloying fragrance of fruit; it was the scrawny, dirty-feathered pigeon the children were chasing, which only cooed and flapped its wings but could never take flight.
Hollow eyes above exaggerated smiles, sharp and piercingly innocent, strange laughter...
It was as if an indescribable grey gauze had been draped over the entire world; a deeper, indescribable aura was invisibly permeating the air.
"I" suddenly looked up.
Immediately, Xia Nan also caught sight of the orange-red sun hanging high in the sky—though it was clearly noon, it was dim and gloomy, as if it were dusk.
"I" tied the staff entrusted by the priest to his waist and walked along the road.
Perhaps due to a considerable status, or perhaps because of the identity of an outsider, "I" received extraordinary attention from the passersby.
Even the most mischievous children waited obediently by the roadside as "I" passed, daring only to keep their heads lowered, only quietly lifting them to look on with curiosity after "I" had gone.
Considering that his current perspective depended on the body of that time, it was clear that "I" also noticed the countless gazes from behind, as well as the complex emotions within those gazes—seemingly respectful, but actually mixed with fear, numbness, and a sliver of secret longing.
"I" chose to ignore it all.
The sound of firm footsteps echoed monotonously on the stone-brick road.
At the end of the road was a small plaza that wasn't particularly wide.
In the center of the plaza sat a magnificent and exquisite fountain pool with refreshing water surging upward.
A tall, obese knight clad in full heavy armor, his muscle and fat bulging against the iron plates, stood quietly by the pool, staring at the fine, ceaseless ripples on the water's surface.
"Did the gentleman give you the Ember?"
Deep eyes beneath the bucket helm swept over the staff at "I"'s waist, and a muffled voice, like the beating of a drum, echoed across the square.
The metal flail in his hand swayed gently, the chain and iron block rubbing and colliding to produce a faint, crisp sound.
"It's useless..." The heavy knight's helmet turned slightly, seemingly observing the numb-eyed crowd watching from a distance. "The fire is fading; no one can escape."
"Look at them... look at me." The muddy voice was filled with an indelible fatigue and despair. "We are all shackles of this world."
"Kill me." He turned abruptly, staring intently at "I". "Fight, let me return to glory... before the Ember."
"I" did not answer.
But the sharp greatsword already drawn from behind and gripped tightly in the palm had already expressed "I"'s attitude.
Thus, the battle began.
Limited by the first-person perspective fixed within "I", the things Xia Nan could observe were very limited.
But it could be judged that "I"'s physical fitness was very strong, and his combat experience was rich, with an incredibly solid foundation in swordsmanship.
Even without displaying special abilities like combat arts or spells, he still managed to suppress the obese knight despite the massive difference in size.
The heavy metal flail whistled through the air but never managed to land a solid hit; conversely, the seemingly clumsier greatsword left sword marks on the bloated iron plates time and again.
After barely a dozen exchanges, "I" seized an opportunity. While dodging an attack, he slammed the hilt of the sword violently into the back of the obese knight's bucket helm.
*Dong!*
The massive, obese body swayed and staggered backward, blood leaking from the gaps in the iron helm.
With his center of gravity unstable, his heel hit the edge of the pool, and the man collapsed like a falling iron mountain, his huge body crashing backward into the fountain pool.
"I" silently sheathed the sword.
Without even glancing at the corpse in the pool, a cold gaze swept across the crowds on both sides of the plaza. Stepping over the stone edge ahead, "I" continued forward toward the exit of the town.
Passing through the last narrow alley, the air seemed to freshen slightly. Although the omnipresent sense of decay had not vanished, the vast wilderness beyond the low wall ahead allowed "I," who had been suppressed in the town for so long, to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
His left hand brushed gently over the staff at his waist as "I" stepped forward, attempting to cross the crude wooden fence by the stone wall and leave this place.
Carrying the "Ember" mentioned by the priest, he would head to the Royal City to seek the last shred of hope.
Perhaps because he was about to leave the town, Xia Nan could feel "I"'s previously taut nerves relax for a moment.
His gaze instinctively lifted, looking toward the side of the town entrance.
His body suddenly froze.
Right at the edge of the low wall, upon a low stone base, a towering, holy figure stood silently.
Cold sunlight fell quietly, illuminating the flawless, pearlescent white body, clearly outlining that familiar silhouette—the elegant and soft posture, the stone gauze dress fluttering in the wind, and those compassionate, serene, bright yellow snake eyes.
Xia Nan didn't know what had happened.
Nor did he know what experiences "I" had at that moment or what stimulus he had received.
From his perspective, he could only see that the moment "I" spotted the statue, his entire body stopped its original motion.
He turned around, let out a sudden roar, and swinging the greatsword in his hand, charged straight toward the statue.
Bursting with full power, the sharp blade split the entire statue in two at the waist. As the statue collapsed, the body seemed to undergo some kind of change.
The originally bright vision gradually dimmed, and blood-red hues spread across the edges.
Finally, following a strange serpentine hiss that seemed to echo inside the skull, right against the ear, the person lost consciousness and fell backward to the ground.
*Dong!*
The back of the head collided violently with the ground. The cold, hard sensation of the brick and stone, along with the resulting faint pain, instantly woke Xia Nan.
Opening his eyes, what came into view was a pair of mottled stone-carved legs filled with the marks of time. Bare toes rested lightly on the pedestal, and the outline of the thighs could be vaguely glimpsed through the drifting, solidified stone skirt.
But from the waist up, there was only an empty space, as if it had been severed in half.
Xia Nan sat up, dazed for a few seconds, before finally realizing he had regained control of his body and had exited the secret realm.
"Am I... back at the entrance of the Grey Valley ruins?"
Then, as if remembering something.
He turned abruptly!
What came into view was the mist rapidly dissipating—visible to the naked eye—as the wild winds surged through the valley. With the gradually increasing visibility, the ruins of the town scattered deep in the valley could be seen.
But that towering church, the most intact and magnificent of all, had vanished without a trace.
"Hmm!?"
Startled, Xia Nan instinctively tried to rush into the ruins.
Setting aside the loot from the three adventurers, the greatest gain of this operation—the staff referred to as the "Ember" in the secret realm's memory—was still in the church.
If the church had disappeared, he...
As he thought this, just as he took a step, a strangely abrupt hard sensation at his side made him instinctively look down.
The next second, the light of burning embers reflected in his dark eyes.
At some unknown point, that Ember staff had been tightly tied to his belt, just as it had been for "I" in the secret realm.
Reaching out to remove it and feeling the faint warmth emanating from the surface of the wooden staff, Xia Nan concentrated his attention, staring at the staff in his hand.
Immediately, semi-transparent characters symbolizing the attribute panel emerged in the void before his eyes
...
【Ember Instructor's Staff】 Type: Consumable/Item Level: / Description The flame crystal at the tip of the staff records an ancient heritage from the Zareit Ash Church. Crushing it allows one to comprehend the mysteries within. Note "The fire will eventually go out, but human hope will not." — Inscription on the wall of the East Experimental Room, Royal Sorcery Research Institute, Royal City.
...
The encounters in the secret realm vanished rapidly from his mind like last night's dream; the details of that eerie town became exceptionally blurred and difficult to recall.
But through those few key nodes—the priest with the severed head and left arm, the obese knight who died in the fountain pool, and the goddess statue severed at the waist.
Xia Nan could be certain that the buildings and enemies in Grey Valley were exactly those he had seen in the secret realm.
It was just that, for some unknown reason, an indescribable and eerie change had occurred, causing the buildings to collapse and decay, while some living people were transformed into highly aggressive dried corpses.
Now, perhaps because he had triggered the secret realm.
The church, along with several adventurer corpses inside, had vanished from the spot.
And Xia Nan's loot, aside from the 【Iron-Stomach Flail】 previously hidden in a secret location deep within the ruins, was only the 【Ember Instructor's Staff】 in his hand.
Unexpectedly, judging by its appearance, he had originally thought it was a casting equipment exclusive to mages.
He hadn't expected it to be a storage-type consumable item used for teaching heritage.
Given the eerie origin of this item, in the past, Xia Nan would certainly not have dared to use it casually.
Fortunately, with the gold finger of the attribute panel, the method of use was pointed out directly, and it indicated that what was hidden inside was not some curse, but a legitimate foreign heritage.
Lifting his head, he expanded his perception and scanned the surroundings. Seeing no danger, Xia Nan wasted no more time.
He reached out, his five fingers gripping the orange-red crystal at the tip of the staff that flickered with ember-like fire.
He applied a bit of force.
*Crack.*
It was a crisp sound, like an eggshell shattering.
A flame-colored crack appeared on the surface of the crystal near his fingertips. Like a breach in a dam, dazzling light and scorching heat instantly surged out from within the crystal, transforming into a large ball of orange-red flame that enveloped Xia Nan's entire body.
As if sensing several key items on his person, the fire quietly split into three parts.
The largest portion, occupying nearly half of the total flame, turned into a rapidly contracting orange-red flame vortex and was absorbed by the silver ring on Xia Nan's right ring finger—the terminal transformed from the 【Dream-Weaving Corridor】—causing its surface to glow faintly.
One-third of the orange-red flame carried the complete heritage within the crystal and surged into Xia Nan's head.
Text, sounds, images... a massive amount of information surfaced in his mind.
The time was short, and there was no time for detailed analysis.
But through the knowledge digested in these few hurried breaths, he could roughly judge that this "Ember" from a remote foreign town seemed to be a—
Combat Art!?
Aside from that, the last few wisps of fire remaining in the air followed the decapitating longsword behind Xia Nan and surged directly into the depths of his backpack.
They merged with the smooth silver ingot—the loot left behind by "Trewilliam," the Knight Captain under the Earl of Sticky Tree Territory, whom he had encountered in Molten Scale Town.
This caused its originally flawless silver-white appearance to be stained with a strange hue resembling residual fire, emitting a scorching temperature from the depths of the backpack.
(End of Chapter)