Mystery: A Spark

"Perhaps it's because I've gotten used to my current life, but I really lack a sense of reality about myself during my time as the Death Archon. Besides, I now have some friends, and I don't want to forget them."

"So please proceed, Your Highness, I have already made up my mind."

The handsome middle-aged man looked at Azik for a while and then smiled:

"You are more carefree than your father."

He stretched out his empty left hand, and five translucent threads emerged from the tips of his fingers, disappearing into Azik's head without any hindrance.

Then, as if they were entangled in something, they suddenly tightened.

"what!!!"

A sudden, intense pain shot through Azik's mind, causing him to instinctively raise his hand to cover his head. His knees gradually weakened, and he collapsed to his knees on the ground.

Torzner's expression turned serious. He held a cigar in his right hand and gripped the five semi-illusory threads tightly in his left, pulling something out of Azik's head bit by bit.

Hey, hey, hey!

Azik's hands had somehow left his head and were now bracing themselves on the steps below, and he was making sounds that didn't sound human.

Beads of sweat slid down his forehead, landing on the stone slab in front of him, staining it with a layer of pale yellow oil and giving rise to fine white downy hairs.

At this point, he had no ability to think; he was simply instinctively enduring the pain that felt like his skull was being torn apart.

As time passed, a bulge suddenly appeared on Azik's forehead, revealing a bloody gash.

Then, amidst the entanglement of five and a half illusory threads, a golden light emerged from nothingness and took shape within the flesh and blood.

This is an ancient ornament made of gold, shaped like a slender bird with wings made of pale flames surrounding it.

Inside its bronze-colored eyes, layers of light overlapped, forming a mysterious and illusory gate.

As soon as the golden bird ornament appeared, Azik let out a painful growl and raised his head completely. Two pale flames suddenly ignited in his weathered eyes.

Torzner paid no attention to Azik's strange behavior. He used the silk thread to wrap around the golden bird ornament and pulled it out of Azik's head inch by inch.

Azik's expression contorted once more, as if he were enduring unimaginable pain.

Within every drop of his blood and every muscle, a trace of spirit seeps out, weaving together to form a transparent soul.

This soul appears to be complete and without any defects, but it is full of discordant and contradictory meanings.

Because half of it is golden yellow, from its eyebrows and eyes to its torso and limbs, it has a rustic beauty.

As the bird-shaped gold ornament was pulled out, Azik's translucent spirit began to split from the middle, inch by inch, as if his skin was being peeled off with a knife.

At that moment, Torzner tapped the purple rhombus-shaped gems on the table with the cigar in his right hand.

In an instant, all the gems turned into powder, which drifted toward the place where Azik's soul was torn apart, gradually healing the terrible wound.

Azik's pained and contorted expression eased slightly, and in just a few seconds, his spirit body completely split in two. One half entered the eye of the bird-shaped ornament, while the other half returned to his body and merged with his flesh and blood.

His face turned pale, and his overall energy and spirit were noticeably weaker than before.

Strangely, Azik's eyes were unusually bright at this moment, no longer bearing the heavy burden of his past.

“Thank you, Your Highness.” He bowed to the handsome middle-aged man.

“Don’t mention it, this wasn’t actually my own idea,” Torzner said with a smile, playing with the golden bird ornament in his hand.

Azik glanced at the cigar box and said, as if enlightened:

"I see."

"Speaking of which, how much strength do you have left?" Torzner asked curiously.

"Right now, I'm probably only at the level of a newly promoted Sequence 3. If I can recuperate for a few years, I should be able to barely return to the level of Sequence 2." Azik did not hide his situation.

"I see. Now you basically have the ability to protect yourself. As long as you don't intentionally kill yourself, nothing should happen. Go do what you want to do."

“Then I’ll take my leave.” Azik turned and left.

Torzner examined the jewelry in his hand for a moment, then sighed softly:

"It seems this era no longer needs you, Salinger. Rest in peace..."

……

7 Backlund Townsend Street.

Arthur leaned back in his recliner, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, as if waiting for something.

After a while, the colors of the scene around him became even richer, the reds became redder, and the whites became whiter, as if it had turned into an oil painting.

Arthur sat up, unsurprised, and greeted the figure before him:

"Mr. Azik, congratulations on your new life."

"I also want to thank you for your help," Azik said sincerely.

Although his current strength is far from what it was in his prime, at least he won't have to die and be resurrected again, and lose those precious memories.

This is more than enough for Azik now.

"Is there something you need my help with?" he asked.

“Yes, could you help me find Katarina? I need to speak with her about something,” Arthur said, nodding.

“It would take some time to find her directly. If you’re in a hurry, we can go find her child first. I remember her scent,” Azik said after considering for a moment.

“Alright, let’s go.” Arthur wiped his face and transformed back into the Virtuoso.

Azik reached out and grabbed Arthur's shoulder, then they traversed towards the spirit world.

……

The process of "reasoning" with Tracy went very smoothly, after all, she had met Azik before and knew that he was a strong person on the same level as her mother.

Therefore, when the sick girl Tracy saw Azik and the legendary, infamous Virtuoso arriving together, she wisely gave up any thought of resistance.

Through her connection with Katarina, Azik and Arthur soon found the ageless witch Katarina somewhere in Backlund.

“It’s you. I didn’t expect you to come looking for me on your own initiative, and you even brought…this gentleman with you.” Katarina, dressed in a white high-slit robe, glanced at Arthur.

“I have a few questions for you,” Arthur said.

Under the alluring demeanor that Katarina deliberately exuded, he suddenly felt a surge of restlessness.

Fortunately, Arthur was a man who had been through countless battles in the Garden of Pleasure, so he was still able to barely control himself.

"Oh? You're asking me? Am I supposed to answer?" Katarina gave a playful smile, momentarily appearing like a young girl.

“Yes, you have to answer,” Azik said calmly at this moment.

Katarina looked at him, her alluring blue eyes slightly narrowed, and said:

"You're different from last time. Have you recovered?"

“Only a portion.” Azik didn’t intend to bluff; he stated the facts directly.

But it was precisely this attitude of his that made Katarina somewhat suspicious.

Having experienced the Pale Calamity firsthand, she knew very well that even if this "Death Archon" Azik Eggers was only half as strong as he used to be, he could easily crush her.

Not to mention that the opposing team also has a Fate Master whose strength is said to have reached the level of a demigod.

So, after assessing the strengths of both sides, Katarina gave a friendly smile and said:

"What do you want to ask?"

Arthur waved his hand, unfurling a curtain of shadow, and said bluntly:

"I want to know the location of George III's nine mausoleums."

"What do you want to do?" Katarina's smile faded slightly.

“This has nothing to do with your witch cult, after all…” Arthur chuckled and said, “your cooperation with him ended a long time ago, didn’t it?”

"How did you know?" Katarina frowned slightly, looking quite endearing.

"Heh, I know a lot of things, but I don't need to explain them all to you."

Arthur shrugged and said:

"You only need to answer this one question, and I won't make things difficult for you after that. However, if your answer is even slightly wrong..."

His voice suddenly turned somber:

"Then you can forget about ever finding that sapphire ring."

Upon hearing this, Katarina's expression finally changed.

At that moment, she felt a chill run through her entire body, as if the person in front of her had seen through everything.

"How did you know?" Her voice was clearly panicked.

All conspiracies and schemes succeed by exploiting information asymmetry, so what they fear most is having their secrets exposed.

Now, this person actually knows the most important secret of their witch cult, which gave rise to a thought in Katarina's mind.

That means this person must be killed, otherwise the primordial arrival will inevitably encounter problems.

Arthur chuckled softly, ignoring Katarina's question, and continued speaking to himself:

"How about this, let's play a little game, and we'll call it 'The Secret That Cannot Be Told'."

"Tell me the exact locations of George III's nine tombs, and promise not to reveal this information for three months, and I will not disclose your witch cult to anyone else."

"if not……"

Arthur reached out and touched the chin of the white mask, seemingly deep in thought. After a few seconds, he clapped his hands and said like a happy child:

"I've got it! If the information you give me is even slightly wrong, or if you leak this information within three months, I will not only post your witch cult's plans all over Backlund, but I will also grind Triss to dust."

"So, what do you think of this game? Haha, hahaha, hoohahahaha..."

Hearing that twisted laughter, Katarina felt a chill run down her spine.

She knew she had no choice but to play this damn game with him.

Because the other party already knows the most important secret of their witch cult, and there must be a powerful force behind them, otherwise they would not dare to plot against George III.

Even Azik Eggers could be one of them, otherwise it's impossible to explain why this deceased consul was able to recover so quickly.

"The nine mausoleums are located in the northwest suburbs of Backlund, the southwest suburbs of Backlund, County Akhova, and County East Chester..."

Katerina first gave a brief overview of the locations of the nine mausoleums.