Lynch knew his soul was a sacrifice to the Ancient Flicker, already branded by it, destined to be collected a month later.
The evil god Madam Bessie described also demanded souls.
So from the start, he had planned to sell one item to two buyers; such a good trick naturally deserved to be promoted.
Since both of you want souls, you'll just have to fight it out to see who gets it.
It was a desperate gamble for survival; success would break the stalemate and save Officer Natalie, while failure would simply mean death. After all, she had helped him reclaim this life, so there was nothing left to fear.
For this, Lynch had specifically asked the Travel Companion in his mind when entering the Thorn Flower. The answer was that it was feasible, so Lynch immediately made up his mind.
When he came down, Jeremy was just revealing the truth—or perhaps he had deliberately waited for Lynch to arrive before doing so. As Lynch listened, the gentle Travel Companion had already issued a warning.
A mysterious filth had already formed a strong connection with his soul.
Perfect. Lynch was completely reassured. The moment the vortex's pressure appeared, he immediately charged forward.
There were no spiders or toads from the illusion; in reality, two bizarre auras simply collided head-on.
Silently, but in the next moment, anomalies erupted.
Lynch seemed to see a ruined city on frozen earth, spiders crawling on webs, ferocious beasts and a war of flying flesh and blood, and dense nets with wriggling cocoons.
Everything was fragments—fragments of light and shadow, fragments of sound. All these fragments overlapped, instantly rushing into Lynch's brain, causing him excruciating pain as if his head were exploding.
Yet, this was only what he could comprehend. Beyond that, more twisted, forbidden, and incomprehensible fragments also flooded his mind, making him clutch the moon pendant on his chest, feeling as though he was on the verge of madness.
In a daze, he saw those two strange and terrifying existences again. They clashed and separated instantly; more than half of the human-bodied, spider-bellied creature's body turned to dust, quickly retreating with half a spider abdomen and a few legs, while the six-legged, human-faced toad beast, just awakened from its slumber, was hit head-on, its body scattering into countless fragments.
Roar.
A silent howl erupted from the depths of Lynch's soul, filled with anger, slowly fading after a long time. The gaze that had been peering at Lynch and Natalie also vanished abruptly, as the indescribable will rapidly receded like a tide back into the vortex.
“Ah~~”
The impact was too strong. Lynch clutched his head, almost collapsing to his knees on the spot. His mind felt as if it were boiling, agonizingly painful, his consciousness utterly chaotic, unable even to comprehend the current situation. He could only desperately ask in his mind: ‘Were those two evil gods just now? Did we succeed?’
【That was just your brain, for self-preservation, transforming reality into images you could understand, but you did succeed. The Web of Concealment has been broken, and the mystery relic and the event have both detached from the web. Your connection with them is severed.】
‘Phew.’
Lynch let out a long breath in his heart. Even though his head ached so badly he wanted to chop it off, he couldn't help but crack a smile. However, before his lips could fully curl, the gentle female voice resonated in his consciousness once more.
【Lynch, go after it. Put your hand into the vortex, quickly.】
This was the first time the female voice had made an active request, and her usually gentle and calm, observer-like tone now conveyed a sense of urgency and haste to Lynch.
But Lynch still hesitated.
Although he didn't know what kind of hellish place lay within, he knew something had just retreated into it.
Reach in and touch it? Don't be ridiculous.
However, with a change of thought, he realized three things.
First, throughout all those years of solitude, it was likely she who had always been with him.
Second, she had never harmed him.
Third, she was his only reliance in this world.
He had no reason not to trust her one more time; when had she ever not helped him?
Therefore, Lynch made his decision in just one second.
He glanced back at Officer Natalie. Since the bizarre will had receded, she had regained her strength and was freeing herself from the cobwebs, getting up. Knowing he didn't need to worry about her for the moment, he quickly rushed to the vortex in her astonished gaze, closed his eyes, and plunged his hand in.
Please, don't let me touch anything weird, Lynch didn't even dare to imagine.
However, there was nothing inside. Lynch grabbed at empty air, then probed around. The first two times he touched nothing, but on the third try, he felt as if he had grasped something.
It was as if he himself wasn't sure; there was no physical sensation in his hand, yet a feeling in his heart said, 'I've caught something.' Without even thinking, he instinctively pulled his hand back, clutching the 'thing' in his grasp.
He opened his eyes and looked at his palm, but it was empty.
Did I feel wrong? Did I actually catch nothing?
But the next moment, he realized something was off. A burning sensation suddenly erupted from his chest, as if something had caught fire.
He looked down and touched it, realizing it wasn't an illusion; the moon pendant hanging on his chest was glowing hot.
Lynch, surprised, took off the pendant and held it. He found it was emitting a faint red glow, transforming the originally black pendant into the distinctive red of the red moon.
This is...?
As his gaze focused on the glowing pendant, Lynch felt a wave of dizziness, as if his vision was being sucked into it. He quickly shook his head to clear his mind, but then suddenly realized something was wrong.
In the blink of an eye, he was no longer in the dark cave, but in a pitch-black void, surrounded by endless emptiness, suspended in the vacuum.
What's going on?
Lynch knew it had to be related to the pendant, yet he wasn't nervous at all. He just kept asking in his mind: ‘Is everything alright outside? The battle won't change, will it?’
【Time here is distorted; it won't affect the time outside. What you just grabbed was one of the red moon's former authorities, Concealment. After its fall, its Divine Authority was taken over by the Abyss Weaver. He used the Divine Authority of Concealment, which gave it the characteristic of hiding secrets.】
Huh? What was that? That thing was an authority? Aren't authorities supposed to be purely conceptual? How could he grab it with his hand?
However, upon reflecting on the sensation he'd just felt, he completely believed it.
【The authority you seized activated the Red Moon Memories, allowing it to awaken a lost authority.】
‘Wait, this thing is actually Red Moon Memories? The one that can cause my soul alienation? So I've been wearing the holy mystery of the red moon every day while searching for holy mysteries? Why didn't you tell me?’
【It wasn't originally a holy memory; only after absorbing an authority that once belonged to the red moon could it be used as one. And a deity's authority is only dropped when the deity's avatar or will is shattered. Normally, you wouldn't have had the chance, so there was no need for me to inform you.】
Lynch's lips twitched. It made perfect sense, leaving him speechless.
【Now, Lynch, you originally had only one choice, but now a second option has appeared.】
‘It seems you've become more proactive because of this, Travel Companion.’
【Yes, also because of the second choice.】
‘What's the second choice?’
【You can follow your original plan: obtain the Red Moon Memories and undergo soul alienation through conventional methods. If so, I will accompany you along this path of awakening, witnessing every sight along the way. Now you have a second choice: I can use this item to open a new path of soul alienation for you. If you choose this path, I will also continue to accompany you. Compared to conventional methods, this path will entail hundreds, even thousands, of times more difficulty, but on this journey, we can witness truly unique sights together.】
‘This is too sudden, I have to choose now?’
【Yes, this is the only chance; you must decide immediately.】
‘Let me ask first, is it just my imagination? When you introduced the second option, it seemed like you deliberately skipped a sentence, didn't you? You intentionally omitted 'walk along this path of awakening.' Why?’
【You will know the reason later, but... it's not your imagination.】
‘But I'll face hundreds or thousands of times more difficulty?’
【Yes, long and arduous.】
‘And for me, will there be any benefits?’
【Cannot be determined, only that... perhaps.】
‘Heh, is that even a question? As a transmigrator, I prefer unique sights.’
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