I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

And so, Duke, Amber, and Cecil held hands and leaped into the dark sea.

"thump--"

Duke sank into the dark sea. He stared wide-eyed ahead, trying to see something beyond the darkness in the black water... He didn't see Amber, he didn't see Cecil, he only saw a dazzling light shining from the depths of the sea, and only this light pierced through the dark water.

They are slowly venturing deeper into the ocean, gradually approaching the light in its depths.

But gradually, Duke forgot what they were doing, and he was no longer able to think calmly. Anxiety, tension, anger, frustration, sadness, pain, and all sorts of negative emotions gradually flooded Duke's brain, replacing his ability to think calmly.

Duke started to feel nothing.

Duke sank into the dark depths of the sea.

Disease, madness, disaster, sin, jealousy, theft, greed... all sorts of human suffering appeared in Duke's mind one by one, and he couldn't help but utter a heartfelt cry:

"Ha, isn't that too pretentious and empty? Can't you come up with something more practical?"

The sneer that echoed in Duke's mind may have aroused the displeasure of the Dark Sea.

Then, something "more practical" invaded Duke's brain.

Duke saw the streets of the floating city.

In a daze, he returned to the time when he had just come into this world.

Chapter 378 Mortal Dust and Mud

Suddenly, the scenery in front of Duke had changed.

Before him lay the streets of the floating city, which he knew all too well. Although he had only lived here for a few months, Duke had unknowingly developed feelings for the city—many of his people, whom he couldn't bear to part with, were here, such as Amber and Cecil. The bonds with people were the most useful anchors for fixing memories and emotions.

But as he gazed at the streets of the floating city, he felt a persistent sense of negative emotion.

Loneliness, fear, dread, madness, doubt... and so on.

These were all negative emotions that Duke had once possessed and then let go of, but now they surged up all at once, making him feel so nauseous he almost vomited. When he first arrived in this world, he faced the loneliness of being alone in a strange world, never to see his parents, relatives, and friends again; the fear of facing cold, hard pain and death; the madness on the verge of collapse; and paranoia stemming from doubting everything…

"No, I didn't break down to that extent at the time. I may have had those emotions, but definitely not this intense."

Duke slowly exhaled, managing to maintain absolute calm and rationality.

This is clearly not the real world, but a fabricated illusion constructed from his memories within a realm of fantasy. He only needs to maintain his composure amidst the endless stream of negative emotions and find a chance to regain his senses. His memories of what happened before arriving in this world are fading, but Duke's abilities are sufficient to keep him conscious—his soul, influenced by the divine body and Ida, has already begun to mutate towards godhood, so he won't succumb to its effects so quickly.

Duke closed his eyes, and then felt as if his soul was looking down on him from a higher dimension, looking down on himself who was engulfed by negative emotions. This version of himself maintained absolute rationality and calmness, observing himself from a godlike perspective. Then, in his observation, "Duke" took his first step in this other world.

"Then, I fell down."

As expected, Duke fell down, as seen from God's perspective.

This actually happened. When Duke first transmigrated, he had extremely poor control over his body, as if he hadn't adapted yet. He would fall even if he just took a step on flat ground. But Duke clearly remembered that not many passersby noticed his fall, and some kind people even came over to help him up.

At this moment, in this bizarre world, not only did no kind-hearted people offer him help, but all the passersby looked at him. Some had empty and eerie eyes, while others even showed mocking smiles, seemingly enticing Duke's negative emotions to explode further.

"What's the point? At this point, do you think I'd care what others think?"

Duke, from God's perspective, let out a mocking sound, but Duke, filled with negative emotions, remained unmoved. His rationality calmly controlled his body, and he did not change in the slightest because of this bizarre scene. He was not overwhelmed by negative emotions. He struggled to get up from the ground and forced himself to adapt to his body.

If Duke's memory serves him right, he will soon meet Carol, who is traveling incognito. She will be the first witch he encounters in this other world. The moment he sees Carol, his system will issue the first quest in the beginner quest series.

Duke waited, but Carol didn't appear. However, the "Witch Conquest System," which hadn't yet announced its name, naturally issued its first mission.

[Task Released: The Love Trilogy (Beginner Task 1)]

【Task Objective: % & #¥】

A long string of garbled characters appeared in the taskbar of the system interface.

Duke was slightly taken aback; this was the first time he had experienced emotional fluctuation since activating this "God's-eye view" state. As his emotions began to fluctuate, a torrent of negative feelings found a breach in the dam and launched a full-scale attack. Duke quickly tried to suppress his emotions and maintain his "God's-eye view," but at that moment, he saw yet another change.

In the "Witch Conquest System" interface, he saw another name:

Star map system.

why?

Duke immediately lost his objectivity and neutrality, because his suddenly awakened memories told him that this wasn't the world playing tricks, but rather a real memory he had forgotten. Duke had initially thought that the "Witch's Conquest System" was only revealed after he had completely completed the beginner's series of quests and successfully finished the system's "initialization." But now he suddenly remembered that it had already revealed its name from the very beginning—but its name then was completely different from its later one.

Star map system.

This was its original name.

And that memory disappeared with that witch game.

How much have I actually forgotten?

Duke covered his forehead. His reason, stripped from his godlike perspective, returned to his ordinary divine body. The overwhelming negative emotions not only failed to impair his judgment but actually amplified his suspicion of everything. The escape from his memories caused his absolute self-confidence to crumble like a edifice.

Is he himself? Is he still himself?

Then, someone who had left a "deep" impression on Duke appeared before him.

"Duke!!!"

Duke looked up, and there stood Talia in front of him.

She emerged from his waist, her naked, blood-soaked upper body wide open, her bloodshot eyes blazing, and she reached out to strangle Duke, making it hard for him to breathe, while laughing like a vengeful ghost:

"You think you can completely devour me?!"

……

Cecil squatted in the square in front of St. Mary's Cathedral, staring blankly at her left hand. She didn't know why she was staring at her left hand, but she always felt that her left hand should be holding something, yet she couldn't remember what it should be holding.

Cecil.

Cecil abruptly looked up and saw the familiar Pope, but this was an unusual one. His magnificent robes and crown were covered in blood, his right hand held a spear made of holy light, and his left hand held a head—when Cecil saw the head's face, she felt as if her brain had exploded.

That head belongs to Carol.

Anger and disbelief welled up inside me.

"why?"

“That way, you will never leave me, Cecil.”

……

Amber opened her eyes.

The Gate of Truth appeared before her, but Natasha and Kagetsu were nowhere to be seen. The only presence in the room was the dimly open Gate of Truth and herself.

As she gazed at the Gate of Truth, the Gate of Truth also gazed at her.

Chapter 379 Left Hand and Right Hand

Amber gazes at the gate of truth.

A constant stream of negative emotions was surging from her heart like a tide, trying to occupy most of her mind. But strangely, Amber didn't feel particularly uncomfortable. In fact, she felt quite good and was able to carefully examine the Gate of Truth before her.

During Cinderella's witch game, she hadn't had a chance to closely observe the Gate of Truth, and Amber, in her haste to enter it, hadn't had a proper look at it either. Now, though the Gate of Truth was unattended, it remained open, allowing Amber to examine it more closely.

From the outside, it looks no different from an ordinary door, but the inside of the open door is pitch black, and Amber can't see anything from the outside.

However, the interior of the Gate of Truth is not so dark; the sea of ​​knowledge within the Gate of Truth is not the dark sea it once was.

If Amber knew about Duke and Cecil's situation, she would definitely wonder why she wasn't affected by those negative emotions, and why her memories didn't gradually become blurred. She was clearly the weakest of the three, yet she was also the one in the best condition.

Clearly, this is because Amber obtained the secret technique of time from the Gate of Truth.

The amber of the future is protecting the amber of today.

But this protection is obviously not permanent. Her last use of the time-manipulation technique was a hasty action. Although she beat up Zi Yuan, it still caused permanent damage and effects on her body. Amber didn't care about that minor damage. She would do anything as long as she could rescue Duke.

However, the effects of the time-manipulation technique seem to be even more profound than Amber had originally thought.

After leaving the Dark Sea and arriving in this world, the effects of the Time Magic on Amber were amplified all at once.

“Annie is dead. She died in place of Duke. The evil necromancer is still controlling her body after her death.”

“Cecil is dead. She was caught in the destruction of the floating city, and I don’t think she was able to escape.”

"Carol is dead. The Time Witch perished in the monster's siege, torn to pieces by countless alternate dimensions."

“Natasha, Joseph, Goyue, Gret, Blackie… they’re all dead. All the friends you knew on the floating city are dead.”

"Finally, Duke also died..."

These absurd words had been echoing in Amber's ears ever since she began using the time-manipulation technique, keeping her constantly on edge and never daring to relax. After arriving in this world, the whispers she heard gradually became clearer, and she finally understood the cause of Duke's death.

“If I had stayed by Duke’s side, he wouldn’t have died…if I…”

The one whispering in Amber's ear was her future self. Her whispers were frantic and shrill, more terrifying than any negative emotion, pushing Amber to the brink of collapse.

But just before Amber collapsed, something pulled her right hand forcefully, causing her body to sway slightly.

She suddenly raised her head, her amber eyes brightening as she looked at her right hand. She could feel someone holding her hand—it was Duke.

The moment Amber regained consciousness, the whisper left behind a final message:

"Help him, my past self."

"I would have done it even without you telling me."

Amber looked at her right hand. Although she couldn't see Duke's hand holding hers, she could feel his grip and the warmth he transmitted through her palm. In that instant, no negative emotions could affect her anymore. She resolutely stepped forward towards the Gate of Truth before her.

She took a step forward, extending her right hand into the gate of truth before her, and then she felt herself touching the sea of ​​knowledge once more. Immersed in this sea of ​​knowledge, her right hand gained a new understanding of certain things.

This time, it wasn't a time-based spell she had learned by analogy, but rather her innate talent.

Spatial secrets.

……

This wasn't the first time Cecil had fought against His Holiness the Pope, who had transformed into a monster of holy light.

In the last time she encountered Turtle Soup's memory world, she faced her childhood "guardian," but back then, she was only focused on catching up with Duke, fighting recklessly with a pure, almost foolish, mindset, devoid of any distractions. This time, however, the situation is completely different—her mind is filled with distractions, and everything in this world seems designed to amplify them.

Negative emotions kept flooding Cecil's body, making Guangbao bloodthirsty. But no matter how many "Holy Knights" he killed, no matter how many "His Holiness the Pope" he killed, he could not end this nightmare.

His Holiness the Pope would always appear before her with a bloody head in his hand, and then the battle would continue. The only difference in each cycle was that the head he carried belonged to a different friend of Cecil's.

As the battle intensified, Cecil gradually lost track of who those heads belonged to. All she knew was that when she saw them, her negative emotions were at their peak.

I want to kill you!