Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 898 Journey

[Personal Exploration Log of the Ash World]

……

"first day."

"After leaving the Fire Ritual Site, because we lacked a specific map and tools, and the location function of the brand was temporarily unusable, we could not accurately determine our location. We could only roughly estimate how far we had gone based on Charité's pace."

"Unlike the outside world, the Ash World cannot observe changes in the starry sky, and communication methods are extremely limited. Apart from the information given by Brother Grayheart, the only thing that can confirm that we have not deviated from our route is perhaps the strength of the enemies along the way."

"... "

"... "

"The third day."

"We encountered the river that Brother Huixin mentioned, which is a five-day journey from the Firelink Ritual Site. We found no trace of human activity... well, to be precise, no trace of any biological activity."

"According to the nun, wandering spirits and undead only gather in areas with a certain amount of royal fire aura and power. In addition, because of the Abyss Curse, people in this world will not die even if they don't eat, drink, or sleep. Therefore, we cannot use common sense to judge the gathering patterns of creatures."

"Think about it carefully, the concept of 'food' may not even exist in this world."

"... "

"... "

"The eighth day."

"There is no concept of 'week' or 'month' in the Ash World, and even the definitions of 'days' and 'years' are vague."

"Or rather, since the invasion of the abyss, the concept of 'days' and 'years' within this world has been limited to simply knowing the division of this time scale."

"Although the inhabitants of this world habitually regard the alternation of day and night as the 'passage of a day,' judging from the passage of time on the imprinted interface, the 'day' in this world... or rather the alternation of 'day and night' is actually a standard that fluctuates greatly."

"Sometimes the days are extremely long, sometimes the nights are unusually long, and sometimes both alternate at a very fast pace, but most of the time, the combined time is significantly longer than the outside world defines a day."

"From this perspective, the journey may take longer than we imagine."

"... "

"... "

"Day 11".

"I tried the spirit assimilation with Zero again. Just like before, although the Eternal Soul Core still exists, it cannot trigger the spirit assimilation effect normally. I guess it is related to our current physical condition."

"The development of spells is also affected. The development of crystal magic in this world has not been as smooth as expected. The existence of retrospective properties and blessing rules means that apart from the most basic spell crystals, other spells, such as crystal healing spells for healing wounds and crystal void magic for manipulating gravity, cannot be used normally in this world."

"According to the information we received earlier, the concept of magic should exist in this world, but neither elemental magic nor structural magic seems to work very well in this world."

"Hmm... perhaps we should change our thinking. Spells are the application of phenomena, and the biggest phenomena in this world are the blessing rules brought by the Royal Fire and the undead curse brought by the Abyss."

"Royal Fire...flame"

"Is it possible..."

"... "

"... "

"Day 15."

"We have arrived at the mountainous area that Brother Huixin said would take a month to reach on foot."

"From here on, it's clear that the enemy's strength has increased significantly."

"The development of spells is not going smoothly. Neither Lingyu nor I know what kind of structure to build to guide magic to change the 'phenomena' of this world. It would be great if we could see how spells are cast in this world."

"... "

"... "

"Day 19."

"The enemy is getting noticeably stronger. We might soon reach the small Ash Settlement that Brother Grey mentioned leads to the Pilgrim's Path."

"Suddenly I miss the food in Paradise. In this world where there is no death and no sleep, there is no way to come into contact with the concepts of 'food' and 'meals'."

"... "

"... "

"The twentieth day."

"We successfully found the small gathering place that Brother Huixin mentioned... but we didn't meet anyone we could talk to."

"The people here have long since turned into living corpses. Fortunately, the nun was able to help rekindle the fire here. At least we don't have to worry about any accidents that would make these twenty days a waste."

"... "

"... "

"The twenty-third day."

"The existence of Zero-Fragments has been discovered by the Sister..."

"Well, perhaps it shouldn't be said that she discovered it, but rather that she exposed herself."

"Pah, Lai Lai, you shameless thing! I just asked you to properly call Sister Sister 'Mom'. If you hadn't insisted on saying that you didn't say it, I wouldn't have given myself away!"

"As described above, this is the entire process of the zero point exposure..."

"... "

"... "

"The twenty-fifth day."

"Fortunately, Sister got used to Zero's presence quickly... Well, perhaps I should say she was somewhat happy?" "Indeed, for someone who has always stayed at the Fire Ritual Site, having another person of the same sex to talk to is indeed a comfort."

"As for the only problem... it's probably because the rules of this world seem to not allow things like 'astral projection,' which is why Zero uses my body every time she communicates."

"So what! The nun doesn't care anyway!"

"I was actually more surprised by her ability to accept things than by that..."

……

Day 27.

"I see... Lord Black Sword, you remember your life so clearly?"

The sound of sparks flying rose from the ordinary campfire lit by torches. Under the cover of night, gentle voices rang out as a blindfolded nun knelt quietly before the fire, murmuring softly.

"Pretty much. In fact, aside from extinguishing the King's Flame, one of our more important goals in this world is to figure out what caused our deaths."

Xin Lailai said, gazing at the flickering campfire before her, a deep glint flashing in her eyes, which were filled with the cracks of lava.

Since awakening from the world of ashes, they have gained a considerable understanding of this world, but even so, they still have no clue about the 'real culprit' that caused their amnesia and death.

No, strictly speaking, the cause of death has actually been found: the rule of blessing rejects external things. The key point is that it was the thing that forced them to erase all their memories before they died, even the records in the Paradise Mark were completely deleted.

Kingfire, the Abyss, the Undead Curse, the Ashbringers, the Blessed, the Lords of Cinder... As of now, they can say that they have a pretty good understanding of the Ashbringer's background on the surface. But even so, so far, they have not encountered any risks that require them to erase their memories to avoid, which is what makes Sin Lai Lai the most uneasy.

After all, having learned so much and still having no clues, in a sense, it means that the Ash World may be hiding something far more dangerous than what they already know.

"We can only hope that everything we are doing now is moving in the direction of solving the problem."

Xin Lailai murmured, a look of solemnity flashing in her eyes. The blindfolded nun beside her, watching this scene, gently bit her lip and said with some self-reproach:
"I'm sorry, Lord Black Sword... As your Fire-Bestowing Sister, I am unable to offer you any help when you need it most."

"No, Your Excellency, you have already helped us a great deal. The rest should be the responsibility of us, the pioneers, to handle."

"Pioneer... Come to think of it, Lord Shiro often mentions this word. Is this Lord Black Sword's identity in the outside world?"

Faced with Xin Lailai's denial, the blindfolded nun unusually did not insist that the other party retract her words. Instead, she gently twirled the end of her hair with her slender fingers and asked casually, as if she was thinking about something.

"Well, in a sense, yes... To be more precise, it should be said that it was the path we actively chose."

Upon hearing this, Xin Lailai looked up at the pitch-black sky, a hint of antiquity flashing in her eyes, as if she were recalling her past experiences.

Thinking about it carefully, this is the first time they have encountered such a bizarre and strange world as the Ash World since they became pioneers. It is so bizarre that they don't even know where to start.

No, to be precise, it should be said that they were too 'lucky' in matters related to anomalous characteristics in the past.

First, there's the Black Four Worlds. They seemed to be in the center that time, but in reality, they only managed to overcome the alienation thanks to the efforts of Julius and Yamu. They also received strong support from the world's will, so it can be said that they had the perfect combination of timing, location, and people.

With the help of Daoji's backup plan and Rentaro Satomi disguised as Hiruko Kagetane, they not only entered the Black Bullet World at the perfect time, but also found Izumi Momo, who was the key to breaking the deadlock, thanks to the divination tools sent by Meimu. Although there were some thrilling and exciting parts along the way, it was far from despairing.

While the experience in DanMachi World was hellish in terms of difficulty, what truly drove them to their doom was the abyssal environment of the Dead Sea ruins and the Extreme Blade Shadow blocking the exit. As for the abnormal characteristics of DanMachi World itself, they never actually came into contact with it.

As for the incident with White Edge Star, it goes without saying that they only faced the filth and pollution that had seeped into White Edge Star from other places. As for the abnormal characteristics of White Edge Star itself... well, the White Saintess's side, let alone a threat, she was actually thinking about how to get them and Little Lily to leave this world safely the whole time.

It can be said that, up to now, the only truly powerful anomalies they have encountered are the 'Retrospective Aspect Outbreak Event' and the 'Ash World'. In fact, strictly speaking, considering that the 'Retrospective Aspect' was actually just a small amount of abyssal contamination that Gamo brought out from the 'Ash World's' macrophage world cluster, these two events can actually be regarded as different periods of the same event.

As for the impact it has had... just look at their experiences in the expeditionary world and their current situation to understand.

Forcing the abyssal behemoth to flee to the shallow abyss, nearly causing the entire expeditionary front to collapse, leading to the formation of the Megaphalan world community, and brewing the current blessing rule that is remarkably similar to, yet completely different from, the notarization rule... If all of this is considered as part of the 'Ash World Event', then the difficulty of the anomaly they experienced this time can be said to have completely surpassed any previous abyssal anomaly event.

"Thinking about it this way, I actually admire Daoji even more..."

Xin Lailai murmured to herself, a hint of emotion in her eyes.

Only by personally experiencing this sense of despair and powerlessness can one truly understand how remarkable it is that Daoji was able to prepare so many contingency plans in the Black Bullet World, and even clearly arrange his resurrection and counterattack methods.

Or rather, only now do they truly realize just how outrageous the danger and unpredictability of the phrase "Abyss Anomaly" really are.

"Lord Black Sword."

"Hmm, what's wrong? Do you want to chat with Bai Yu?"

Suddenly, the blindfolded nun's gentle, hesitant voice rang out, bringing Xin Lailai back to her senses. She looked at the nun with some curiosity.

Since learning of Zero's existence, the blindfolded nun has become much more active. At least, she has spoken more in the past two days than in the previous twenty days combined.

"No... I'm just suddenly curious about your life in the outside world, Lord Black Sword."

"Although Lord Shiro has mentioned many things about the outside world to me, they have mostly talked about food and personal hobbies. They have rarely mentioned Lord Black Sword's past. So, if it's convenient... Lord Black Sword, could you tell me about your experiences in the outside world?"

Their own experiences?
Upon hearing the blindfolded nun's question, which was tinged with hesitation yet also mixed with curiosity and anticipation, Xin Lailai was taken aback. In that brief moment of surprise, her throat and lips suddenly began to move on their own:

"Oh, so you're more interested in these things, Sister? You should have said so earlier! I could have just told you directly! Hmm, let me think, where should I begin?"

The excited, almost female-like reply, delivered through ventriloquism, caused Xin Lailai, who was deep in thought, to twitch her eyelids slightly. The blindfolded nun before her, seemingly accustomed to the scene, hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"This... is up to you, Lord Bai Yu, to decide. However, if possible, could you tell us more about how you met Lord Hei Jian?"

"Hehe~! I knew you'd be interested in this, Sister Nun!"

"Let me think about it... Hmm... This is too troublesome. Why don't you explain it, Lai Lai? After all, it started with you, right? Besides, explaining this would be no different from explaining it from the beginning!"

"If you're too lazy to ask, don't agree so quickly..."

Having regained control of her body, Xin Lailai listened to the mutterings of someone unhesitatingly throwing the task back to her, and sighed helplessly. However, she quickly gathered her thoughts, calmly looked at the blindfolded nun before her, and said:

"Since Your Excellency is interested, then of course there is no problem."

"However, to discuss this, we probably need to start with the existence of Paradise and the situation in the outside world. Sister, you should remember that Bai Yu occasionally mentioned the Astral Plane and Paradise to you before, right? In fact..."

As night fell, the calm narration, accompanied by the crackling of the campfire, gradually faded into the distance. In the firelight, the invisible darkness grew thicker along with the ashes in the woodpile, as if reminding those who had arrived that the night would be exceptionally long.

……

(End of this chapter)