章節 7: Chapter 5: Soul Devouring (Please Recommend/Favorite)_2
Accompanied by a strange jingling of wind chimes, she chanted.
"Drifting soul, return from the Spirit Realm."
"Just as a baby clings to its mother, just as a ghost returns to the graveyard!"
"This is your source!"
A sudden feeling swept over Rod's entire body, like stepping from the sweltering heat of summer into a cool house, a breeze flowing through his pant legs and over his entire body.
But it quickly disappeared, and Aunt Youse's surprised voice came from above.
"Why did it fail?"
Rod's heart sank, he tried to recall, and sure enough, there was no new information in his memory.
Aunt Youse fell silent for a moment, then tried again, but still without success.
"This is really strange..."
She fell into a long silence.
After hesitating for a long time, Rod carefully said, "Maybe I haven't completely relaxed, should we try with a nun...?"
Aunt Youse looked up and smiled gently, "Little guy, it's not your fault. The appearance of the summoning soul means the earlier work went fine. Your situation is complicated, there are difficulties beyond my expectation, uh... I need to visit the Great Book Library, this may take some time, but rest assured, I always keep my word."
But Rod was not confident, according to Murphy's Law, once signs of trouble appeared, things always tended to develop in the worst direction.
"No, I can't just sit here and wait for doom, I must think of another way."
With that thought, Rod hurriedly said, "Aunt Youse... Sister, can you do me a favor?"
Aunt Youse laughed, "Tell me, little guy, given your honest nature, I'll agree."
Rod spoke softly, "I'd like you to have a chat with me. You know, I've lost my memory, I remember nothing, not my parents, family, friends, everything familiar is gone. I can't read, I understand nothing, nor do I have money. This city is strange to me, yet I must survive here alone, I'm very lonely, it's as if I'm the only person left in the world, so I wanted to talk with you, maybe make a friend, perhaps that way everything familiar can come back."
His tone sincere, full of emotion, matching his young and helpless image, Aunt Youse's eyes immediately misted over.
"Such a pitiful little guy, what in your request could I possibly refuse?"
Rod's acting played out 120% effectively, and amnesia served as a perfect excuse, allowing him to ask questions without any barriers.
And Aunt Youse turned out to be more approachable and easy to talk to than imagined, Rod easily coaxed a great deal of information out of her, even casually asking about the text he'd seen in his dreams.
Unfortunately, Aunt Youse didn't recognize the language.
"This isn't Niraka language, nor Sasorania language, it looks a bit like Majis language, but without stress marks... It seems to be an ancient language, perhaps you can find someone at Jinworth Academy who knows it."
Rod was about to ask what Jinworth Academy was when Aunt Youse suddenly jumped up as if her buttocks were on fire.
"How..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Aunt Youse abruptly grabbed his hand.
"You can!"
Her plump face bloomed like a tyrant flower.
"You can do it!"
Rod asked blankly, "What can I do?"
But Aunt Youse didn't answer, pulling him through the door and rushing out of the Youse Medical Center.
Outside the medical center was an empty street, blue cobblestones carrying a damp mist, emitting a strange scent, with buildings of stacked bluestone standing on both sides.
Each building had a lamp hanging at the front.
The hazy light dispelled the darkness, but if one looked up, they would see the city skies enveloped in swirling black fog.
Rod shivered slightly.
This is the Royal City, the city with the Strongest Holy Fire, yet it still looked so oppressing.
What would it feel like if one were to leave the Royal City, surrounded by Black Fog all day?
Suddenly, Rod understood what Aunt Youse meant when she said they also serve as Spirit Doctors.
His heart sank slightly as he looked around, the streets were eerily quiet, not a soul in sight, but under such midnight-like conditions, it did not seem out of place.
"Damn, it's already a quarter past noon, I wonder if it's too late."
Aunt Youse glanced at her pocket watch and started running with Rod.
Noon?
A gale hit them head-on, and Rod barely found a gap to shout, "Where are we going?!"
"To the Royal City Great Sacrificial Square, the Fire Trial of this year has only two more clock hours left, the Fire Holy Grail should not have been extinguished yet, maybe you can still make it."
"What?" Rod was stunned.
Aunt spoke rapidly in explanation.
"Young man, I just tested you, your soul is robust, the waveform distinct, the Magic Patterns clear, the Spiritual Pressure flickering, perhaps you can pass the Fire Trial and receive the blessing of fire, igniting the Fire Spark."
"If so, you will enter Jinworth Academy and become a proud Fire Holder student, the academy has countless peers, teachers, and an ageless Dean, you will not be lonely, nor will you have to worry about ignorance, they will teach you everything, and you do not need to worry about livelihood, each student has a minimum weekly salary of forty-two silver coins, personal provisions worth ninety silver coins, and if you are exceptional, various scholarships and provisions await."
"This is your best choice."
Rod was somewhat dazed and shouted, "What does Jinworth Academy do?"
At that moment, the advantage of memory loss was again displayed, for Aunt very thoroughly explained it to him again.
"Only when the fire ignites our souls do we have the strength to protect our homeland and fight the monsters in the darkness, those who ignite the Soul Fire are known as Fire Holders, meaning they can wield the Power of Fire."
"And Jinworth Academy is the academy that cultivates and trains Fire Holders, it is one of the most crucial pillars of the Royal City, it is our future hope."
"Once you become a student, you will receive the most resources, the best treatment, the most thorough protection, and the most valued status because you are the 'Fire Spark,' the future, the Royal City exists because of you, the last Human Kingdom also persists because of you."
Rod was stunned by everything he heard, but at the last sentence, he incredulously asked, "Last? Are there no others besides us?"
Aunt's voice turned slightly somber, "I believe so, the world has long been enveloped by darkness, the all-consuming Black Fog pervades every part of it, humanity has already perished, countless powerful kingdoms have turned into dens for Dark Monsters, we are the only survivors, we've been listening to the world for a long time, but in this dark desert, apart from meaningless noise, there are no understandable sounds, while some scholars still believe that somewhere deep in the darkness, there must be other Royal Cities like ours. I am pessimistic about this."
Rod's heart sank, just now he was planning in case things came to light, to grab his bag and flee, to find another human power to survive.
But now, things have taken a significant twist, and all future plans needed to be remade.
With his mind racing, Rod seized the last moments to ask the most critical question.
"Are there any untouchable taboos within the Royal City and Jinworth Academy?"
Aunt thought for a moment, then answered.
"Do not pray to any existence other than fire, any unknown symbols or rituals are prohibited."
"Do not light or extinguish natural fires in public places, doing so will result in severe punishment."
Rod noted every word, then asked, "Anything else?"
Aunt pondered for a moment, then answered.
"The rest concerns the emergence of Soul Traits and Fire Spark abilities after igniting the Soul Fire; things are much more relaxed now than before, but there is one category that is unforgivable."
Rod hurriedly asked, "What is it?"
Aunt answered.
"Soul Devouring."
-- 收到的禮物 
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票