Mercury? You’re telling me that thing was Mercury? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Ji Jue’s mind buzzed incessantly. Stiffly, he turned back. For a moment, he really wanted to ask the Seer, Then why don’t you just say I’m Mercury too?

But the truth was right in front of him, and he couldn’t exactly argue against it.

“What... exactly happened to her?” Ji Jue asked hoarsely. “What did she turn herself into?”

The Seer let out a silent sigh. “I don’t know. Don’t you people from the Ember Path understand this better than I do? No one can say what a sage leaves behind after death. Especially someone who clung to her obsession until the very end.”

Ji Jue had nothing left to say. He could only look again in the direction the figure had disappeared.

Someday, when he died, would he also resemble that thing? No. He would be overestimating himself to think that he really could become something like that. He would have to be at the level of an Ember Celestial Being, or a remnant of a sage. This was not a level a mere newbie, unimportant Chosen One like him could ever reach.

Even though that thing had done nothing at all and only touched his face before leaving, who knew what would happen if they had foolishly resisted or revealed themselves as outsiders? What kind of grotesque change could it trigger?

The saying went, “When a whale falls, life flourishes[1].” Those Chosen Ones who constantly dealt with Supreme Benevolences would inevitably become stained by them, altered by blessings, and their very transcendence would leave marks upon them. Even in the case of ordinary people, if they ate nothing but corn before dying, they could explode like popcorn in a cremation furnace after death.

A craftsman spent their entire life dealing with furnaces and alchemy. Every creation, every extraction and refinement, and every invocation of blessings, each one left traces and sediment in both body and soul, accumulating day after day.

Infamously, when those of the Ember Path went through aberration, they would materialize. When the uncontrollable blessings within a Chosen One spiralled out of control, or when they were tainted by some form of corruption, they would gradually lose their humanity and soul, turning into bizarre alchemical objects that brought countless disasters.

It was entirely foreseeable just how terrifying the scale of change would be after the fall of a Celestial Being. If it had only been a mere monster, Ji Jue would have practically lit incense and thanked his ancestors for finally getting lucky for once in his life.

Unfortunately, that was absolutely impossible. Who knew how many such uncontrollable monsters were still wandering in the deep, unfathomable layers beneath the Ninefold Earth?

“Rest assured. You carry traces of Fluid Alchemy, as well as authority from the furnace. They are not interested in you. Besides, there are plenty of other chaotic intruders outside.”

The Seer glanced away expressionlessly, then looked forward, toward that abyssal shaft so deep it seemed to lead straight into hell.

“We’re almost there,” she said. “Pacifier is right below.”

Ji Jue stood at the edge of the enormous shaft, looking down. A cold wind rushed up to meet him. At the very end of that darkness, faint glimmers of light seemed to flicker.

When he came to his senses, he subconsciously took a step back. Under normal RPG conventions, there would usually be an NPC behind him ready to kick him forward, followed by the classic line, “Jumping is very useful ahead.”

But there was no one behind him, only Horsey blinking its headlights in confusion, and An Ran, who had been secretly eating chips. He paused his chewing, and when he realized Ji Jue wasn’t turning around to scold him, he hesitated for a moment, then resumed crunching.

The crisp sound echoed all around. Somehow, that alone made Ji Jue feel a bit safer.

He measured the depth below, then looked at the narrow spiral staircase winding down along the shaft. He genuinely could not understand Mercury’s way of thinking.

“Isn’t Pacifier important?” Ji Jue asked. “Why would it be here? It’s like it was just... left behind... or thrown away?”

“Celestial Beings no longer need matrix restraints or suppression of their blessings. Even without the matrix, it doesn’t matter much to them. It’s not as important as you think,” the Seer replied with a hint of mockery. “Besides, she probably wishes it would disappear from her sight as quickly as possible. If it weren’t something of great significance, she might have thrown it somewhere unknown long ago.”

“Why?” Ji Jue asked, confused.

“Well, she simply doesn’t want to see it anymore.” The Seer sighed. “Perhaps she is afraid of recalling the past, of remembering who she once was. After abandoning the Ember Path, how does one face that completely unrecognizable self?”

After a long silence, Ji Jue could not help but ask again, “Seer, who exactly are you?”

“A guide, a head, a fruit of wrongdoing that should not have survived to this day?” The Seer laughed at herself. “An overburdened tool. Nothing more than that.”

And so, they walked into the darkness, vanishing into the blackness of the abyss. Outside, the gloom churned and spread amid the faintly echoing song.

I think of home, I think of home,

A lonely traveler in a distant land,

So quiet, so forlorn and cold,

I wish that I could journey back,

Return to the home I used to know...♪

These were the hoarse chants of lost souls in the darkness.

From pools of blood, the mournful wails, and the crashing echoes of collapsing structures, one blurred figure after another emerged from the darkness, wandering in confusion within this labyrinth-like central hub. They were just like prisoners pacing endlessly inside a cage they could never escape.

As pale mist began to thread through the air, the clear sea of spirit matter gradually became stained with crimson madness. Frenzy, despair, suffering, and the countless accumulated sorrows of long years rose like rainwater, surging toward the sky.

Boom!

Above the heavens, the image of the shattered tower flickered back into brilliance once more. From the ruptures of the tower, thin streams of crimson seeped out, scattering across the earth like blood.

Deep within the darkness, Ji Jue heard the gentle sound again. He thought he was imagining it.

“Mom...”

Horsey suddenly halted, its engine trembling.

Ji Jue turned back, vigilant. As he scanned his surroundings, a shadow seemed to flash through the blind spot of the darkness, but when he turned to look again, it was gone.

Footsteps would suddenly sound from somewhere whenever his attention slipped. Sometimes he heard breathing, sometimes strange noises, sometimes whispers. It felt as if they had entered the realm of the dead. The further they went, the closer they came to another world... a very distant world.

Horsey trembled violently. If Ji Jue hadn’t been holding it in place, it would have refused to move forward. An Ran slowly looked around, sniffing the air, but could not detect any trace of the living or the dead.

A girl’s laughter rang out again from right ahead. Within the deep darkness beyond the narrow staircase, shimmering waves of spirit matter flickered, resembling a rainbow. A small, childish figure ran past Ji Jue and threw herself into another figure’s arms.

“Mom! You’re back?!”

“Did you miss me?” a gentle voice responded.

Ji Jue halted his steps. As he turned back slowly, he could not make out the face through the blurred illusion, but he could recognize that voice and that figure even if it was reduced to ashes.

Mercury!

In the darkness, the sage from four hundred years ago took her daughter’s hand, speaking softly and laughing as they walked away.

The chaotic voices did not stop. They came from all directions, as if they had finally crossed an invisible boundary. Faint, indistinct figures appeared one after another.

“One kilogram for sixteen and a half Fedra. Can’t go any lower. It’s a good brand from the Southern Continent. Since you’re a regular customer, I’ll even throw in some garlic for you.”

***

“Wow, come look! They say Onyx pulled off another attack in the Central Capital.”

“They’re all lunatics. Why bother with that? Did you finish paying your business tax this year?”

***

“It’s four in the afternoon. It’s time to praise the Emperor. Are you coming to the service?”

***

“Gloria has to stay here. Take the money. Raising a child doesn’t cost that much. Don’t worry, she’s just like my own daughter.”

“It’s my fault, big brother, I...”

“Enough. Stop talking. I don’t want to hear about your ideals or saving the world anymore...”

Under the flickering light, a man was smoking in the living room. He let out a weary sigh.

“You’ve only been back a few days and you’re leaving again. Did you tell her?”

The other figure had its back turned to Ji Jue. It remained silent.

Near the staircase, a little girl holding a stuffed toy cautiously peeked out. “Mom? Do you not want me anymore?”

Mercury fell silent, lowered her head, and said nothing more.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I’m sorry, Gloria.”

***

“Mom? Where did Mom go?” the little girl asked in the morning, crying. “I want Mom! I want Mom!”

“Someone got sick, and your Mom went to help out. Don’t worry, she’ll come back,” the elderly woman said, gently stroking the child’s hair. “How could she ever forget you, Gloria?”

Soon, even that illusion faded away.

More fragmented, chaotic, and incomprehensible scenes rose alongside the rainbow-like light from the darkness, creating a layered kaleidoscope. It was dizzying and disorienting.

As Ji Jue moved forward, he could not help but stop and sigh at the sight of the crying girl. Across four hundred years of time, that distant sigh seemed to echo to the other side. The girl, with her head lowered and teary eyes, lifted her gaze in confusion and looked at him. “Who are you?”

Ji Jue’s hair stood on end, and he staggered backward. That vision quickly dissipated, vanishing without a trace.

The Seer scoffed. “Has the Aether’s record overflowed this badly? After so many years without maintenance, it probably can no longer contain the events of the past.”

“What exactly was that?” Ji Jue could no longer hold back his question. He lowered his head and looked down.

At the end of the deep shaft, a shimmering, rippling pool of light resembled a gateway to the past, brimming with scenes from bygone days.

“Those are the old times, Mr. Ji Jue,” the Seer said. “Fragments of time, painstakingly pieced together with great effort. Scattered remains of events gathered and condensed through the power of Aether. They’re from a town located in a remote corner of an empire four hundred years ago.”

Mercury’s hometown. Her eyes were lowered, illuminated by the light of the old days. Even her gaze seemed to grow clearer and brighter, free of any darkness.

“What an excessively long and distant dream.”

The weight of time itself rose from the darkness and surged forward before swallowing them completely.

1. 一鲸落，万物生。 “When a whale falls, life flourishes.” This refers to the process in which a whale’s body sinks to the deep ocean after death, and as it decomposes, it creates a unique ecosystem. It is often called “the gentlest farewell in the deep sea.” A whale carcass, weighing tens of tons, can sustain deep-sea life for decades. It not only provides food for creatures like sharks and various invertebrates but also forms an ecological oasis, nourishing tens of thousands of organisms and even giving rise to new species. ☜