Part 4 The Undead Chapter 185 Three Choices

　　The strange changes inside the mausoleum made Klein, who had his eyes tightly closed and collected his spirituality, have a hard time knowing what was going on, and was not sure whether it was for the better or for the worse, so even though he had already read out the opening incantation and clutched the “Luck Stealer” talisman in his hand, he didn’t dare to use it hastily for fear that it would cause a negative effect and get the opposite result.

　　One second, two seconds, three seconds, Klein only felt that time passed so long, as if a whole century had passed.

　　Finally, he heard Mr. Aztec’s slightly hoarse but not sure enough voice:

　　”It’s you ……”

　　Immediately afterward, a voice that had no rise or fall but clearly belonged to a woman rang out:

　　”You have three choices:

　　”One is to move on, seek wholeness, and allow Salinger to be reborn from within you;

　　”Two is for me to extract that half of your soul for you to take with you and find a way to stitch it back together yourself, this will allow you to change back to what you were, no longer dying and coming back to life over and over again, but this is not the same as what you are now, and the life you have experienced over and over again in the past will truly degrade into a dream;

　　”Third is to give up all and just leave, you will forever stop at your current level, unable to advance any further, you will still become dead again and again, and wake up again and again from losing all your memories, repeating the search for your past experiences.”

　　Klein listened in a daze, completely did not expect the depths of the mausoleum actually more a “person”, and seems to occupy the absolute dominant power, can give different choices, so that the former “consul of death” Aztec Aegis can only decide from it.

　　”Is this the artificial god of death hidden in the depths of the black fog?

　　”No, k originally does not seem to have much intelligence, just now so long, also did not see k want to communicate ……

　　”Draw out that half of the soul and find a way to sew it yourself …… What does this mean? Mr. Aztec’s spirit wasn’t originally complete?

　　”Drawn from where? The ‘lady’ who spoke actually managed to do what Mr. Aztec couldn’t?

　　”Also, who is Salinger and why was he reborn from within Mr. Azik? Is he, k, the ‘god of death’ who set off the Pale Plague, Mr. Azk’s father or grandfather? k foresaw his own fall, and left the trigger for his resurrection inside Mr. Azk?

　　”The first option is definitely ruled out straight away without consideration, the second and third both have their own problems, one is no longer his current self and will become a strange ‘me’, and the other will bear the curse of immortality forever, never to be freed again …… If one has confidence in oneself and truly regards that past life as an anchor, then one can consider the second option, reconciling with oneself and compromising with each other …… However, this involves the other half of the soul that is split off, the other half of the soul that has not experienced those lives at all, and there is no way to guess what changes will happen afterward, and the anchor may not be able to solve the problem ……”

　　A single thought flew through Klein’s mind, puzzled, curious, embarrassed, and disconcerted, but he could only stand at a distance, unable to even watch from the sidelines.

　　That was Azik’s life, the future he would face, and no one else could make the decision for him.

　　And what Klein had to say had been said before, and he stood helpless and worried, waiting for Mr. Azik to speak.

　　Azik looked ahead at the showy lady in the hood for a long time without a word, the pale flames in his eyes wavering.

　　The mountainous feathered serpent, both illusory and real, seemed to have sensed some kind of bad change, its tail suddenly pulled out and swept frantically in all directions, its head then buried, opening its huge mouth, revealing dark-red flesh and sharp teeth stained with yellowish grease, spitting out its dark core and shadowy-green mucus, wanting to voluntarily devour Mr. Aztec Eggers.

　　But all its attempts failed to make an impact; it seemed to be living in another world!

　　In the uneasy silence, Aztec raised his right hand, rubbed the corner of his forehead and smiled calmly:

　　”Perhaps having gotten used to the present, I choose three.”

　　As soon as he spoke, the hooded lady across from him clutched the bird-shaped gold trinket in her palm, then retracted her arm back a little, ripping the ancient object from the cleft in Azik’s forehead.

　　Azik’s expression twisted once again, as if he was suffering unimaginable pain.

　　Within every drop of his blood, in every muscle, a small amount of spirit was seeping out, intertwining into a transparent soul body.

　　This soul body appeared to be complete without any mutilation, but it was full of incongruous and contradictory meanings, as half of it was golden in color, from the eyebrows and eyes to the torso and limbs, carrying an ancient beauty.

　　As the bird-shaped gold trinket was withdrawn, the translucent spirit that was Aztec began to split from the center, splitting inch by inch as if it were being skinned alive with a pocketknife.

　　Once again, he made an un-human-like ho-ho-ho sound in his throat, which made the distant Klein’s head spin and tingle, as if a steel needle were stirring frantically in his brain matter.

　　It was the work of a few seconds, and Azik’s spirit body completely split in half, half of it turning into golden streams of light and plunging into the eyes of the bird-shaped trinket, and half of it rejoining his body and merging with his flesh and blood.

　　The two pale flames in Azik’s eyes went out, the white feathers and pitch-black scales that grew on his body surface receded, and the distortion of his expression was eased, no longer so hideous.

　　His face became slightly paler and more transparent, and his forehead was twitching in a fit of agony, clearly suffering from pain originating from deep within his mental body.

　　”Thank you for your help.” He curtsied to the showy lady in the hood, turned his body, and moved up the steps to Krynn’s side with his feet in vain.

　　”You can open your eyes now.” Azik smiled wearily.

　　Klein hastily opened his eyes and surveyed Mr. Azik for a moment, finding that he showed no signs of madness or loss of control, and only then was he completely relieved, curiously casting his gaze into the depths of the mausoleum.

　　A dark mist filled the area there, obscuring everything at the bottom again.

　　”Who was that one just now?” He couldn’t help but ask.

　　Azuk laughed and probed, grabbing his shoulder:

　　”You wouldn’t hear me even if I told you, unless k wanted you to know.”

　　As he spoke, Klein subconsciously grabbed the shoulders of his two secret puppets as well.

　　The color blocks around them intensified in unison, overlapping each other starkly, and the two of them soon crossed the spirit world corresponding to the “Sea of Rage” and returned to the hotel room Klein had stayed in in the city of Gulain.

　　As soon as Azuk was released, he pinched his forehead and smiled gently:

　　”I’ll need a sleep that I don’t know how long it will last to recover next, if you have questions, you can ask the Seven Lights of the Spirit World for advice, the corresponding rituals you should have already mastered.”

　　”Mr. Aztec, is everything alright with you?” Klein asked with concern.

　　At the same time, he belabored himself:

　　How could there be nothing wrong with losing half of your soul forever?

　　Azuk laughed and said:

　　”Nothing major, except that it will maintain that previous state, foreseeing its own death, arranging everything, severing the connection with its original life, and then forgetting everything, resurrecting and awakening, seeking the past.

　　”Compared to before, at least there’s still the presence of you, someone who knows a lot about me, and if I forget again, seeing a letter from you should bring back a lot of memories.”

　　He paused, nodding his head imperceptibly and chuckling lowly:

　　”A deep sleep, is not a bad thing, at least I can dream, and in my dreams, I never left, still basking in the sun with her, still instructing that stubborn child on how to use a broadsword, still building swings for that pampered little one ……”

　　Before the words were finished, Azk threw out the brass whistle and smiled gently:

　　”Remember to write letters.

　　”But I won’t get back to you until I wake up from my nap.”

　　Klein had just reached out to catch the ancient, delicate copper whistle when Azik had disappeared into the room, going nowhere.

　　After a while of staring blankly, Klein suddenly let out a low sigh.

　　……

　　To travel elsewhere from the city of Gulain, if one took the land route, one had to follow the road that circled upwards, through a patchwork of neighborhoods, to the highest point of the city, and then one could go over the mountains and into the plains.

　　At this moment, the “Red Gloves” team led by Souster was standing on the highest square, looking out at the abnormal stormy sea.

　　Daley Simone, who had been pressing her forehead, suddenly lowered her palm and spoke strangely:

　　”Everything is normal again, nothing is wrong.”

　　”Normal?” Leonard asked back with slight surprise.

　　In his opinion, it would be difficult for Daley to return to normal before the Berserk Sea’s mutation ended.

　　”Perhaps, it’s intermittent?” Solstice hesitantly gave his guess.

　　Dai Li was about to respond when inspiration suddenly touched the crowd, and they once again looked towards the Berserk Sea.

　　One bright star after another lit up in that pure deep blackness.

　　……

　　Birkeland, inside St. Samuel’s Church.

　　Archbishop Anthony Stevenson had gotten an urgent telegram from the sea.

　　The contents of that telegram were quite simple, yet startling enough:

　　”Germaine Sparrow reappeared and boarded the ‘Black Tulip’ with someone who made secret puppets of Ludwell, and the one he followed was known to Ludwell as the ‘Consul of Death.’ ”

　　Germaine Sparrow …… “Consul of Death” …… St. Anthony repeated the two names wordlessly.

　　He slowly leaned back and closed his eyes, the information on the sealed object “0-17” coming back to him once again, in its entirety, within his mind:

　　”Number: 17.”

　　”Name: Hidden Angel.”

　　”Danger Level: ‘0’, Very Dangerous, Highest Importance, Highest Secrecy Level, Do Not Inquire, Do Not Spread, Do Not Describe, Do Not Pry.”

　　”Confidentiality level: the Pope, Group A researchers, and the Archbishop in charge of the Diocese of Birkeland (Note: when the Archbishop transfers out of the Diocese of Birkeland, he needs to erase the relevant memories with the sealing object ‘1-29’)”

　　”Sealing method: sealing is accomplished through the cooperation of ‘1-29’ and ‘1-80’.”

　　”Description: this is not an item.

　　……

　　”Warning, k cannot be utilized!”

　　”Appendix 1: This sealed item first appeared in the Quaternary Pale Age, specific year, missing, specific date, missing, specific location, missing.”

　　”Appendix 2: Information indicates that k has been awakened five times.”

　　”Appendix 3: Inability to be utilized has a qualifying prerequisite; it is confirmed that k can be used as a vessel for the descent of the goddess.”