Who left their last words here?

Chapter 11 Forbidden Knowledge and the Son of God

"A slightly dirty hem?"

The crow fell silent.

"...But you look like you just fled from the western United States or fought a battle at the Arctic Circle's Skywall."

As she spoke, she glanced at the black spear that had broken in two in Bai Zhou's hand, her gaze lingering on the pair of hideous teeth marks.

"Besides, I don't recall finding any real objects in the fog of knowledge."

With a "thud," Bai Zhou placed the broken spear on the table, and a few drops of dark green pus and blood conspicuously dripped onto the surface.

"It may be hard to believe."

Bai Zhou ruffled his messy hair a couple of times, trying to smooth down the unruly tuft of hair sticking up on top of his head.
"It seems I took a trip to the Reflection Ruins."

As if possessed, he subconsciously concealed the part about the Golden Pass.

"The Reflection Ruins?"

Upon hearing this, the crow suddenly fell silent for a few seconds, which was unusual for it.

She moved closer, her iridescent eyes deepening as she silently met Bai Zhou's gaze.

...After a long while, she finally spoke again:
"Indeed, you do have the smell of 'pollution' on you."

"—This is the erosion from the dead."

Without a ripple in his eyes, Ya turned and picked up the water glass on the table.

Under Bai Zhou's bewildered gaze, the crow began circling Bai Zhou while simultaneously pouring water from its cup—

"Pitter-patter..." Water droplets splashed and the flowing water poured onto the ground, drawing a circle around the white boat.

Then, the crow raised its small hand, swiftly flicked the sleeve of its trench coat, and it swept through the air—

With a "whoosh," the magnificent line of fire flashed and disappeared in mid-air, leaving only wisps of smoke rising in place.

Under Bai Zhou's gaze, the wisp of hazy smoke gradually expanded and expanded... until it suddenly spread out all over the sky.

The misty clouds, dreamlike and ethereal, swirled and drifted around the water vapor circles, carrying an indescribable sweetness that seeped into the depths of Bai Zhou's nasal cavity.

The room was completely silent, the pure white light overhead hummed, and crows murmured ancient and strange syllables.

She quietly walked to the table and gently dipped her pale, almost transparent fingers into the clear oil at the bottom of the beef noodle bowl.

Then, she reached out and touched the hazy smoke.
A drop of oil, cool and refreshing, from a slender fingertip landed on Bai Zhou's forehead.
And recite in a low voice:
“Water—”

"Purify the unclean."

The next moment——

Bai Zhou felt a shiver run through his body, as if a cool, refreshing drink was flowing down his throat.

He felt his spirituality surging within him.

Suddenly, an ominous wisp of black mist appeared from Bai Zhou's body.

It seemed to possess some kind of vitality, writhing and stretching chaotically and eerily in the air.

Almost simultaneously, a slightly hoarse, cold female voice chanted an obscure incantation in Bai Zhou's ear:
“katharsis——”

The moment the incantation was uttered, the black mist emitted a "hum" and burst forth with dazzling white light from within.

With a chilling scream like that of a baby crying, the black mist vanished without a trace.

"What's this?!"

Bai Zhou came to his senses and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Was that thing on my own body?

—Did "it" follow me back from the Reflection Ruins?
"The ancient and extraordinary Hippocrates, the sublime physician, who dispelled the plague, severed the staff of serpents, and ended the rule of the Aztecs, had already summarized and discovered this thousands of years ago—"

“Every restless spirit carries a kind of pollution, similar to resentment, which can cling to people.”

The crow's voice was completely flat, its calm tone as if it were stating common sense like "you should use chopsticks to eat."

"These things accumulate over time; at best, they can cause physical illness, at worst, they can affect one's mind and even one's luck!"

Even if you have a high resistance to pollution, you still need to be careful.

"—But now, I believe you have returned from the Realm of Reflections."

As he spoke, Ya slowly frowned, carefully examining Bai Zhou, as if he were seriously considering something.

But Bai Zhou suddenly shivered.

"Pollution... It seems like the Reflection Ruins Realm also has pollution? Is it the same thing?"

Having lived in the city for so many years, how much of this "dirt" must he have accumulated on himself?
No wonder the Special Administration treated me and the people of Wan Cheng that way back then...

"They are essentially the same, but their numbers differ greatly. The pollution in the Ruins Realm mostly comes from the natural metabolism of these undead in the environment."

Crow shook his head. "You've lived in Night City for over a decade, but you haven't been as corrupted as you've been by a single encounter with an undead."

Bai Zhou felt a sense of unease.

Therefore, the pollution in Night City is equivalent to the undead releasing themselves into the world's air circulation...

Diluted countless times...

fart?
"But there's no need to worry, SCE is a required course for extraordinary individuals."

The crow added, "To go far in the mystical world, one must cultivate the habit of regularly purifying oneself of pollution."

Bai Zhou was puzzled, "SCE?"

"The Western Federation's mystics refer to the purification, sanctification, and blessing of pollution as SCE."

"Water, oil, and smoke are key to these kinds of rituals," Raven explained.

"For lower-level extraordinary individuals to perform SCE, perhaps more precise and demanding ritual conditions are required, but as I said before—"

"A qualified mystic should be able to adapt to the circumstances and use spells flexibly."

"Just like before."

As he spoke, Ya pointed to the bottom of the ramen beef bowl next to him, then casually pulled out a tissue to wipe his fingers.

Upon hearing this, Bai Zhou touched his cold forehead and indeed smelled the aroma of meat broth on his fingertips.

Cooking oil is also called "oil".

—A magical "ritual"!
“You will come into contact with these things later,” Raven explained. “As long as you study hard, I have plenty of secret rituals to teach you.”

Bai Zhou blinked.

Hearing the raven's generosity towards him, his emotions were actually a little complicated and hard to decipher.

"But that's a story for another time."

The crow then said, "Now, there is a very important matter that must be clarified."

"What?" Bai Zhou turned his head and met Ya's gaze.

Those eyes remained completely still, filled only with pure focus.

She remained silent, staring intently at Bai Zhou as if she had just met him.

Only when Bai Zhou felt extremely uncomfortable under her gaze did she finally ask with a serious expression:
Why did you fall into the Realm of Reflections?

"—How could it be the Reflection Ruins?"

The same question was asked twice, but in different tones.

It is clear that the crow's mood was not as calm as it appeared on the surface.

"Is this... not okay?" Bai Zhou asked tentatively.

"Although the fog of knowledge is located in the gap between the Reflection Ruins and the present world, this 'gap' is actually boundless."

Crow shook his head, giving the white boat, whose "clothes were slightly dirty," a strange look in his eyes.

"At least I've never heard of anyone being able to explore to the end of the fog."

"—Therefore, no one will fall from the fog of knowledge into the realm of reflections when they awaken to the principles of destiny."

"This..." Bai Zhou was unsure how to explain it, and was also somewhat surprised by Ya's statement.

All I can say is that it's all because of that golden pass.

"pity……"

"You accidentally fell into the Realm of Reflection, so you probably failed to awaken your destiny."

The crow gently shook its head, then suddenly offered words of comfort to Bai Zhou.

"But it's alright, I'm here."

"It's good that I came back alive; as for things like fate—"

Crow frowned slightly: "Although it might be a bit troublesome, I should be able to find other remedies after thinking about it for a few days..."

Seeing the frown on Ya's face as he looked at him with concern, Bai Zhou couldn't help but feel a little touched.

"It's alright, Crow, don't worry, I..."

Bai Zhou was speaking when suddenly a sharp pain shot through his forehead.

The intense, surging pain made Bai Zhou's head feel like it was about to split open, as if a nail had been driven directly into his brain and was disrupting his brain.

It was similar to the stinging pain he had felt when he was in the fog of knowledge, but even more intense.

But having learned from his previous experience, Bai Zhou immediately pinpointed the source of the stinging pain—

That half of an ancient character is imprinted deep in my mind, an indelible mark.

To be precise, it was a faint scarlet glow that appeared at some unknown time on the edge of the ancient characters.

The red light resembled a worm, eroding and gnawing at the ancient characters, looking extremely ominous.

—But the ancient characters remained unmoved.

It seems it can only drool over ancient characters.

...However, although it could not do anything about the ancient characters, it could easily threaten the white boat.

The moment Bai Zhou noticed the red light, a familiar yet even more intense stinging pain surged through him.

It was accompanied by chaotic, indistinct murmurs that seemed to come from a distant place.

"When did they arrive..." Bai Zhou asked, puzzled.

When did this ominous red light appear?

He had never seen this thing before in the Fog of Knowledge.

Could it be... that they also came from the Reflection Ruins Realm?

"What happened?"

A blurry figure appeared, its back to the incandescent light.

A crow approached, its icy, slender hand touching Bai Zhou's forehead.

With a flick of her fingertips, she wrote several strange strokes on Bai Zhou's forehead.

A cool, refreshing current flowed into Bai Zhou's brain, soothing him. "Your spirituality has been awakened?"

Crow suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "You've awakened your destiny?"

"Yes... that's what I was just about to say."

Bai Zhou finally let out a long breath, only then realizing that his forehead was covered in beads of sweat.

"—But now, I might be in a bit of trouble."

As he spoke, he summarized his situation in the most concise language, while omitting any mention of the Golden Pass.

"Half an ancient character? Such knowledge exists amidst the fog?"

The crow's expression rarely showed surprise.
"How deep into the fog did you go? How did you get there?"

Everyone else is exploring the Reflection Ruins by walking.

So you drove a drilling rig and dug all the way down?
"There is no doubt that the red light is indeed eroding your body."

"Even the purification ritual couldn't remove it... It seems it has quite a background."

Crow added, "But I think it shouldn't be something from the Reflection Ruins, but rather something closely related to the ancient characters themselves."

"Then what should I do to deal with it?" Bai Zhou asked weakly.

"Okay, I'll write it down for you to see..."

As he spoke, he mustered his spirits, turned around, and found a piece of white paper and a genuine black ballpoint pen on the desk.

Based on the obscure ancient characters deep in his memory, he slowly traced the first stroke on the white paper, forming a curved vertical line.

But in the blink of an eye—

A familiar red light flashed at the tip of the pen.

Fine lines of blood flowed from the ink, meandering across the entire sheet of white paper!
Bai Zhou: "?"

The crow's expression changed, and the crow on its shoulder suddenly spread its wings, the dense, mysterious symbols on its feathers lighting up one by one.

An invisible field instantly bloomed and spread like a large net, enveloping the room.

"Om-"

Almost at the same time,

With a "whoosh," the incandescent light flickered, a gust of wind rose from the ground, and a black wind carrying the smell of blood appeared out of nowhere in the room.

Deep within the black wind, pale lightning danced and roared.

It was as if some hideous ghosts had been disturbed, and the deepest part of the underworld was filled with ghostly wails and howls, which sent chills down one's spine.

"……enough!"

With fluttering robes, Ya appeared beside Bai Zhou and grabbed Bai Zhou's hand.

"I can't write anymore!"

Even without Ya's prompting, Shiraishu was already planning to do the same.

He immediately threw the pen away.

"Gululu..."

The ballpoint pen rolled on the ground.

—The strange phenomenon vanished immediately.

The wind stopped, and the lightning disappeared.

The incandescent light returned to normal, and the ghostly wailing disappeared without a trace.

The ink marks on the paper rose and fell like boiling ink, the strokes disappeared naturally, and the paper spontaneously combusted without wind, turning to ashes.

The pen stops, the words disappear.

The world has returned to peace and tranquility.

"It's hard for me to say whether this is good or bad."

In the quiet dormitory, the cold, sharp cry of a crow rang out.

She slowly released Bai Zhou's arm, and the space around her rippled with translucent waves.

"—But if I'm not mistaken, this might be taboo knowledge that the world wouldn't accept!"

"Ancient, powerful, mysterious, unknowable... these are their synonyms."

"I have only seen vague and fragmentary passages in ancient books."

With two creaking sounds, the crow slowly walked to the side, its voice low as it stepped over the mess on the ground.

"Perhaps it has a momentous history from a pre-civilization era, recording indescribable secrets..."

"But now, many years later, the world no longer allows it to exist."

"Once it appears or is used, it will be wiped out by the world!"

"As for the red light, it's simply the world's natural attrition of it..."

As he spoke, Ya pointed his fingertip and began to write and draw on Bai Zhou's forehead.

After sketching with just a few simple strokes, Bai Zhou felt a refreshing coolness.

After a while, when the red light overflowed and began to erode the white boat, a cool, clear stream surged out, counteracting the erosion.

"There's nothing I can do about them, all I can do is protect your body."

"...However, this ritual requires periodic reconstruction and maintenance."

As he spoke, Ya looked at Bai Zhou, who was still feeling a wave of fear, with a very complicated expression.

At that moment, she suddenly felt that Bai Zhou was somewhat unfamiliar.

Who would believe that just a minute ago,
This person actually produced a document containing legendary forbidden knowledge.

Even she had never encountered anything like it before.

—But just a few hours ago, Bai Zhou was just an ordinary person who was nobody.

Although she had long felt that Bai Zhou was special.

—He believed in Shirazu's specialness even more than Shirazu himself.

The moment she realized that Bai Zhou could see her, she knew that Bai Zhou possessed a special talent that perhaps even he himself was unaware of.

Even so, she never expected that Bai Zhou, who had just drunk her "handmade special potion" and gone out for a short while—

In the blink of an eye, they brought her a big one back!
Beneath the sharp, raised collar of his trench coat, Crow's chest heaved restlessly.

"Bai Zhou, I'm very curious."

"what?"

"I did mention that I asked you to look for the golden fluorescence... but I never expected that what you found would be half of a forbidden ancient character."

The crow gazed at the white boat, lost in thought. "—When it's shrouded in mist, does it also appear as a golden, glowing object?"

"No, that's not it." Bai Zhou shook his head.

"When you see it, it is a spark."

"Tinder?"

"Yes, it's like a ball of fire burning in the air, only with seven colors, like a rainbow."

Bai Zhou calmed the chaotic emotions in his heart and let out a breath.

"It took me a lot of effort to catch it."

But after he finished speaking, Bai Zhou noticed that Ya seemed to be lost in thought.

"Crow, crow? Say something!"

"What's wrong?"

"nothing……"

The crow seemed somewhat dazed, shaking its head and muttering "fire" twice.

"...But you remind me of a secret story, whether true or false."

"what?"

"A long time ago, I had the chance to obtain a fragment of an ancient book, which recorded an ancient story full of mysterious metaphors."

"—The story of an ordinary person who, through a fog, finds a spark of fire in a shattered altar."

Mist, spark.

Both Ya and Shiro had to admit that this was a story highly similar to their own.

Bai Zhou couldn't help but ask, "And then?"

"At the end of the mist, he saw the shattered altar of the Age of Gods and stole a spark containing infinite wisdom from it."

The crow said, "No one knows the true nature of that spark... People only know that the man was no longer ordinary."

“He brought back the fire and enlightened and baptized all those who followed him.”

"Thus, an era of ignorance came to an end in that western land."

"A new era has begun, and extraordinary individuals, who were once even rarer than legends, are now spreading like wildfire."

"—Finally, it will travel upon the earth."

After saying this, the crow's expression was complicated, but it didn't say anything more.

“...You are truly special, Shirazuki.”

After a moment of silence, the crow suddenly sighed again.

"—More special than I thought."

The crow, who always seemed like an iceberg, looked at the white boat in front of it, which was stroking its tuft of hair and covered in dust. Its vision was somewhat blurred under the lamplight.

A unique mist, and a forbidden fire unlike any other.

Right now,

Just like that time.

However, there is a sequel to this "blasphemous" story that she never told.

Later, the "ordinary person" in the story gradually gained many followers and even believers.

after that,
He was revered by devout believers as Immanuel, Son of God, Son of Man, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the bright morning star…

—His name is Jesus Christ.

A soft sigh, tinged with questioning doubt, slowly escaped from the depths of the crow's throat.

“Jesus…”

How could they be so similar?
　Thank you to "Lord of Inexhaustible Steel" for the 1000 coins, thank you to "Master Qianqianqian" for the 1000 coins, and thank you to "Virsis of No Moon" for the 100 coins. I am deeply moved and bow in gratitude.
　　Being able to feel your support and recognition is the greatest support for the author, Yu Lu, to carefully polish this story!
　　Thanks again.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)