After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

The thick, scalding ocean seemed endless, and Oswald had no idea how much longer he would have to wander.

Perhaps because I couldn't use my spiritual vision skill, all I could see was pitch blackness that I couldn't break through, and every drop of seawater seemed to emit a baby-like wail in my ears.

Is time passing? Am I sinking into a nightmare, or am I in a hallucination? Where should I go? How can I leave this place?

What is "统...统"? What does this word represent? What am I forgetting?!

Stopping his flailing hands in the seawater, Oswald suddenly realized what he had been doing before. Why had he bothered swimming across this ocean?

Two completely different memories flashed through Oswald's mind, and he had a splitting headache. He couldn't tell who he was, he really couldn't tell now.

In a fragment of memory, the woman's drunken face suddenly appeared, one eye drooping, the other wide open, half lifeless and numb, the other brimming with impending rage...

Mother?

With a whoosh, the vast ocean was parted by a pair of giant hands reaching out from the sky. Oswald, unaware of what was happening, was bewildered as he was cradled in the palm of those hands.

His soft skin enveloped him, soothing his restless heart, and everything seemed to become incredibly peaceful.

Leaving the ocean, a cool breeze caressed his burning skin, and he felt instantly refreshed, greedily inhaling the fragrance of flowers in the air.

Something gently embraced him, and Oswald finally opened his eyes; he had miraculously regained his sight...

Before me lay a garden bursting with flowers, butterflies fluttering about, and birds singing—a scene of unparalleled beauty.

Oswald, whose spirit seemed to have been elevated, looked at his childlike body and felt no problem at all. He only wanted to live carefree in his mother's arms.

Mother…the person who hugged me, Mother? Mother!

Oswald turned around abruptly and was met with the woman's gentle smile.

He recognized it; wasn't this the Virgin Mary from the mural of the Virgin Mary holding her child on the ceiling of his room?

The Virgin Mary's smile slowly froze, and Oswald's eyes revealed a murderous intent.

He raised his hand, and the aura of death surged into the heavenly garden. The moment the flowers withered, a piece of decaying chain shot out and tightly bound the Virgin Mary's neck.

Oswald was so angry that he laughed maniacally. He never expected that the goddess would use such a low-level method of probing memories and looking for human weaknesses just to deal with a tiny being!

One can only say, she truly deserves to be called the goddess of life.

The chains tightened further, and Oswald, calming his mood, laughed loudly: "Don't try to kill me with flashbacks. My hatred is no less than my love. Besides, don't underestimate time travelers; I have no purity whatsoever except for my ideals."

The Virgin Mary looked coldly at Oswald, and in the instant his neck broke and his head fell off, her fingers brushed across Oswald's eyes once more.

As darkness descended, Oswald awoke from his slumber. As his psychic vision ability activated, sonic waves erupted from his body, shattering the cotton blankets covering him into dust.

"grown ups?"

Elena, who was sweeping the room, stared blankly at Oswald, who suddenly sat up in shock amidst the flying cotton scraps, summoning his staff and about to wreak havoc. She tilted her head in confusion.

Her voice brought Oswald back to reality. After a moment of silence, Oswald quickly withdrew his staff and lay down peacefully again.

Since I have no eyes, nobody knows if I'm a zombie or not. As long as I'm not embarrassed, it's others who will be...

Putting down her broom, Elena walked over with a slight smile. She could tell at a glance whether Oswald was pretending to be asleep, because when the Duke pretended to be asleep, he would always unconsciously furrow his brow.

"Did you have a nightmare, sir?" She reached out and gently took Oswald's fingers. Oswald nodded and then lay motionless on the bed.

Alene sat on the edge of the bed and quickly calmed Oswald down. He regained his senses and also sorted out everything that had happened.

Releasing Alene's hand, he quickly stood up and asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Fifteen days, sir."

Has it been that long? Oswald sighed quietly, placed his hand on his chest, and felt the intense activity in his lungs for a while.

Normally, even in a healthy body, the lungs wouldn't make such a loud noise, because structurally, the breathing movements of the lungs are accomplished with the help of the surrounding muscle tissue.

Oswald, an undead, could also do this, but he couldn't switch to automatic breathing, nor could he mobilize his blood to transport oxygen through breathing.

After all, he doesn't need oxygen.

For him, his lungs were merely a balloon-like organ, used for smoking.

But things are different now. At the end of the light, with the divine remains suddenly awakened, Oswald acted decisively and destroyed the lungs of the Goddess of Nature with all his might. After that, he was invaded by something and lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I found my lungs were throbbing and beating...

Oswald didn't know if this was a coincidence, nor did he know what kind of breathing it was doing, because it only breathed and had no other function.

Forget about supplying oxygen to the whole body, Oswald couldn't even stop it.

(System, something seems to be wrong with my system. Please explain.)

[This system doesn't know, but don't worry, host, what invaded your body was the remnant soul of the Goddess of Nature, which has already been eliminated by this system.]

Oswald asked in bewilderment, "Didn't you say that you control all souls? How come there are still remnants of gods in this world?"

[Just like a dragon, she didn't want to leave. Luckily, the Goddess of Life preserved her divine remains. You've seen Harry Potter, right? Yes, it's similar to the situation with the Holy Relics.]

[However, host, please be careful. You absorbed and assimilated too much lightning element while you were unconscious. Be careful not to get shocked to death when you kiss someone in the future.]

After the host woke up, the system also breathed a sigh of relief.

Oswald was very lucky this time, encountering flesh and blood enhanced by spatial magic. This flesh and blood could automatically regenerate and, after assimilation, could be used to fill his damaged body, so there was no need to worry about him becoming a deformed monster.

As a result, the element of lightning, a natural force, has taken deep root within Oswald's body, giving him an additional source of power to use.

(Why isn't it the wind element...?)

To this day, Oswald still laments the departure of the wind; the last wisp of breeze that remained in his heart vanished in the battle against the goddess.

[A warning to the host: the method of devouring and assimilation should not be used excessively. This time, you were lucky to retain your human body. As your original flesh and blood diminish, this system cannot guarantee what you will become.]

(I know that our primary goal is still physical recovery.)

Since even the system didn't know the reason for the lung activity, Oswald resisted the urge to have his lungs removed, put the matter aside for now, got up, and strode out of the room.

After being in a coma for half a month, Elene came to his side, and Oswald couldn't help but worry about whether the construction plan for the Northern Territory was going smoothly.

"Have there been any urgent reports of foreign invasion during this period?"

Upon hearing this, Elene, who was walking behind Oswald, immediately replied, "No, even the royal city should have just learned of your coma, sir."

Seeing that His Excellency the Duke quickly returned to work, Elena was slightly surprised, and then heard Oswald say wistfully.

"Time is not on our side, Eleanor. This life is a challenge for each of us."