Shadow of the Evil God

"So you need further proof?"

Cesar stretched out his fingers and placed them on the left side of the head. "The last emperor of the Franks can prove it to me," he said. "Although I can piece together everything he experienced from people's fragments, I don't think other people's accounts are necessarily true. I am the best proof."

"You need to know what Milava saw and experienced, and you can't ask for help from those around you who can do this, because they are all related to the Yesterlen School."

"Perhaps the curse doesn't need to be undone with emotion, but rather broken like Solaire tore through the Eye of the Furnace with his arrow." He sighed softly and reached out to the ethereal Ajeh behind him. "I need the help of that Kuna priest. It just so happens that the place where time has stopped also needs me to go."

"Is it that serious?" The dog blinked.

"It's not serious, but if the ancient ghost refuses to let me take my lover away from its school, then I will kill it."

......

In the endless darkness, three people sat around a dying campfire. Cesar recognized Aya first, for her eyes widened at the sight of him, and she crushed the thick branch holding the barbecue. Almost immediately, the dark-haired Ajeh raised her dagger at the wolf girl behind her, who smiled inscrutablely. It seemed they weren't exactly on good terms; their years together were filled with nightmarish memories.

Then, Cesar caught a glimpse of the silent Kuna priest. It seemed that he had finally reached his mission, and now, Jiralo's presence was unusually stable.

"You've arrived just in time, Cesar," Giralo said, nodding slowly. "It's too difficult to explore further with just the princess and her servants. As a phantom, there's really only so much I can do." He lowered his head again, seemingly motionless. He felt like a pool of stagnant water, stable but silent.

"I thought I would appear to her like usual," Cesar said, tilting his head towards the beastman beside him, "Of course, she did too."

"The princess resists your experience, and the beastman, too." The priest raised his head again and explained slowly, "If the human soul splits, just like the world splits, with one part rising and the other sinking, then I imagine the part that floats up must be very reluctant to be pulled down again."

It seemed that it was the dark-haired Ajeh who had instructed Jiralo to perform some magic, placing a sword between their souls and separating them. It was a simple yet effective method. Cesar shrugged helplessly. As a person filled with doubts and desires, it was easy for him to accept her way of thinking, but the other way around was difficult.

"I must admit," Cesar said, "I have my own reasons for coming here, Princess. I want more than just to help you."

"Why are you following Jiralo and calling me princess?" she asked him.

"I don't want to use overly complicated terms to differentiate between you two," Cesar admitted.

"My impression of you is almost the same as my impression of Musali," she said. "But forget about being a princess. There are too many princesses in this world, and I don't want to be one.

One of them.”

"There has to be a name." He spread out his hands.

"Sevra," the wolf girl Ajeh suddenly said, "One of you must inherit the old name. Choose one."

Cesar savored Sephora's meaning and realized that Ajeh knew the person from before the split. It could even be said that Ajeh knew them both before they were conscious. He studied the person for a long time, and seeing that Ajeh didn't want to reveal too much, he shook his head.

"I won't bother with that. After all, any random name I choose is mine," he said. "Besides, I don't want to inherit the past."

"I don't care," said his other self. "Names mean nothing, but I don't want to use your name anymore, Ajeh. If you don't want this name, Cesar, then you can give it to me."

"You're as casual as ever?" Ajiehe sighed. "Aren't you afraid I just made up a name?"

"Don't bother with the mockery. I know what you're going to say next without you even opening your mouth," Sevra said, then turned to Cesar. "Before you tell us about your troubles, let's talk about the troubles here first."

"You weren't so talkative before." Ajiehe smiled at her. "Is it because the other two people here are less talkative than you? Do you often talk to yourself in front of the stone?"

“I couldn’t cut out your talkative tongue with a knife before,” said Sevra.

"Oh—really?" Ajiehe shrugged and shook her head. "I've always been able to make your fingers twitch and your brow furrow with just a few words, but you're only now finding it worth threatening me with a knife? You're really good at thinking, aren't you?"

Cesar glanced at Jiralo, who had fallen silent. The Kuna priest was now sitting on the ground, like a dull stone. If he wanted him to help him, he might have to help him stand up first. As for Aya, it was obvious that she was unable to speak at all.

Seeing the two men about to clash, Cesar temporarily held Ajeh's shoulders and forced her to sit down by the campfire. When she was leaning against Jiralo on the left and him on the right, and there was no room for provocation from either side, he raised his hand and asked Sefera to continue.

"This darkness comes from the Sanctuary Abyss." Her words were startling. "Unlike the battlefield outside the fortress, the encroachment of the abyss has long existed here. We need some people to stay behind to guard this small campfire, while others go out to explore the way. We have exactly four people available right now, so we'll rotate in pairs."

Chapter 366: When Ferriers was still young

"So you've already arranged the rotation," Cesar said thoughtfully. "I think it'll be you and me once, and you'll show me around. Then it'll be me and Ajeh once, and I'll show her around. Then it'll be Ajeh and Aya, because she can't keep spouting sarcasm to someone who can't speak at all. And finally, it'll be Aya and you. It's best if Aya and I aren't alone together, and the same goes for you and Ajeh."

"Unbelievable," Sevra said, frowning in disbelief.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Your thoughts are exactly the same as mine. When I think about the reason for this, I feel very desperate," said Sephora.

"That's very rude of you, Princess," Cesar said, frowning. "Could it be that someone who was once the same soul is now going to dislike each other?"

Sefula picked up a branch and roasted the meat, biting off a piece with indifference. "Even if we were still the same person, part of me would blame you, Chief," she told him. "I used to think it was barbaric for my brother Musali, or rather, for the chiefs of the Sasule people, to have more than ten wives. Seeing you, I realize that some people do this absurd thing without the need for custom."

"What kind of evaluation is that? I'm just good at loving people, and I don't want to have more than ten wives."

"Your statement is despairing," she commented. "You're so good at doubting, yet you're so determined on this matter that it's almost maddening. You must be throwing all your doubts about your own desires onto me. All the shame, the remorse, the humiliation, the resistance. And what's left? A monster of desire."

"You speak as if you are a human and I am an animal."

"If the human soul contains both human and animal parts, then you must have a particularly large share of animality," said Sephora.

"I think you're better at killing than I am. You have a lot of animality in you," Cesar said. He glanced at Ajeh, who remained silent, and decided to change his approach. "But I think animality isn't entirely a bad thing. People always need to be more complex to be considered complete," he said.

Sevra noticed the change in his tone. "I remember that I set out north to rid you of this creature," she said. "And now, you've developed love and desire for her?"

"She saved my life many times, and I just wanted to say a few words for her," Cesar defended. "Of course, I do love her. It doesn't need any reason, does it? If one day I die, I might give my body to her and let her complete what I couldn't do. Maybe it's because you lack the ability to love that you can't accept her and wander the world with her."

Sephora tilted her chin toward Aya. "Look at the person to my right and say it again," she said bluntly. The latter, who had just taken a bite of meat, almost choked at the words. Aya raised her arms and waved them away, as if to say that they should not be involved.

Cesar smiled at Aya, then received a hostile glare. Perhaps this was what it felt like to be an abandoned child growing up and meeting the parents who had abandoned her. But honestly, he had completely forgotten about her.

"So, what are you looking for now?" he asked.

"A buried history," Sevra said. "You've been to Solaire's city. You should understand that this forgotten history is of vital importance to us. Only by uncovering the truth buried within can we reveal the threat we face. Firiels, Solaire, Milava, the first people to arrive in the north and establish the Kasar Empire, the Chosen Ones of the various temples from the last era to the present day," she said, glancing at Ajeh, "and her, the Firstborn Ajeh. All questions are focused on them."

The look between the two was not very friendly.

"And maybe us," Cesar said.

"Most importantly," she said, "we discovered that Firielsi had been to this place more than once. First she came with some mages, and at that time, she took Ajeh with her. But on a later occasion, we believe she took something even more sinister."

"Did Ferriers become weird after that?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure. But if we say that Ferriers's existence today must have started from this tomb. She gave up a lot of things, and then gained a lot of things, and also did things that Solaire and the various chosen ones could not do. She can walk in this world." Saifula said.

Jirallo suddenly spoke, his voice low and hoarse, "This last matter has nothing to do with me. Although I taught her everything I could, it's impossible for a being like her to remain in this world. This goes against the fundamental understanding of our people. However, since she did it, it means that she obtained unimaginable means from an unimaginable being. That being itself is exactly what I want to explore most now."

"Do you really think you can find out everything in this place?" Cesar was a little surprised.

"I'm not sure," said Jilalo, "but this is the only clue. When our dynasty still existed, there were always people who suspected the reason why our king fell into madness. Although I was living at the edge of the world at that time and didn't know the center of the dynasty, even after my death, my residual memory has heard of the Illuminati.

Scrigg's business."

Cesar looked at Ajeh, then at Sephora. "Your father in this life," he said.

"That's right," Sevra nodded. "Although Iskrig is now a foolish old man, Giralo said that he once traveled alone to the Mad King's lair and murdered his father. After that, Iskrig refused to see anyone for unknown reasons, and simply journeyed north to delve into this ancient tomb. Upon his return, his mind was damaged and shattered, and this tomb was subsequently cursed, completely shattering the order of time. No one dared to approach it anymore."

“Though there are no witnesses to his deeds,” Giralo said, “I believe that Prince Iskrig is our last hero, and his offspring will be the princess I will protect. There is no doubt about that.”

"It sounds like he sealed something in the tomb," Cesar said. "Do you think Ferrieres brought it out later?"

"When Ferrieres was young," Girallo said, "I saw that she possessed more than just a desire for her own path. There were many complex and incomprehensible things in her. When those emotions mix together, they become toxic and lead to unimaginable decisions."

Chapter 367: Cesar, the Lover of Others and Himself

......

Before Cesar could understand more about the situation, Sevra called him to get up and explore the way. After leaving the range of the campfire, the world around him was dark and gloomy, almost impossible to see. Only the lantern in Sevra's hand could reflect a small piece of light.

At their feet lay a valley, deep and silent, with an unfathomable depth. As they advanced, the valley rose higher and steeper, and the trees on either side grew taller and more tangled, their branches more like thorns than branches, and they moved slightly as they passed.

As the trees moved, sharp corners flickered through the cracks, and Cesar felt they bore the marks of human intervention. This meant this place hadn't originally been a forest, but rather the ruins of the Kuna's ancestors, swallowed and obscured by the trees. While the path wasn't steep, he remembered her saying this was a place eroded by the Abyss, and that the erosion had been going on for a long time. This made it seem like these plants were strange creatures transformed and adapted to the Abyssal tides. If there were any living creatures among them, they had likely evolved during the long course of the Abyssal tides.

Common sense would suggest that nearly a thousand years wouldn't be enough time for species to evolve. Yet here, time seems almost frozen. If a forest has endured for countless millennia, trapping all creatures unable to adapt, what strange entity might emerge?

"How long have you been here?" Cesar asked her.

"About ten years." Sephora said nonchalantly.

"This really scared me..."

"Nothing," she said, turning her head to look at him. "Haven't you also spent more than ten years in the wasteland? The time we spend is no different. Like many places in the wasteland, the passage of time here is not constant, but generally slow."

"How does time flow in this place now?"

"Compared to the outside world, this place is almost still," said Sephora.

He almost thought he had misheard and stopped subconsciously. "What did you say?"

She took a few steps forward before turning back, her short black hair brushing past her ears. "It means that even if we die here of old age, the outside world won't pass by even a moment," she said.

"Incredible." Cesar blinked. "Then how did I get here?"

Sephora sighed and said, "Jiralo looked back from here and saw that you finally remembered to help us after we were trapped to death. Then, you came to this place."

"I'd love to apologize, Sephora, but I can't understand what you're saying," Cesar said.

Sevra was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, as if she had to breathe before answering. "You can think of our relationship as one that disregards the existence of time and the boundaries of life and death. As long as one of us wants to be close to the other, we can be close to the other."

"It sounds even more incredible than if we were the same person," he commented.

"That's true," she said. "But if Giralo were to explain it, he would say that the passage of time doesn't exist. Everything is just a chaotic turbulence caused by the disruption of eternal stillness. We humans live in some relatively orderly turbulence and have arbitrarily defined time, but that's just our own definition."

“The Kuna philosophy is really complex.”

"Anyway," Sevra tutted, as if displeased with his interruption, "anyone who can return to eternal stillness, realizing that there is only eternal thought, no passing time, can move freely in and out of turbulence. And, for some reason, our connection is very close to this concept."

"Is it like God responding to the prayers of all believers in all ages simultaneously in the eternal and static Age of God?" Cesar asked her thoughtfully.

"Indeed."

"For someone who can do that, everything about humanity is meaningless to him. I don't want to give up everything about being human to approach that kind of idea," he said.

"Meaning?" Sevra raised an eyebrow. "What exactly is the meaning?"

"Love is the meaning," Cesar said. "It sounds cliché, but that's how it is for me. The initial reason for most of the things I do is simple: love."

"How illusory." Sevra slowly shook her head, looking disapproving. "I don't need meaning in life, nor do I need to love anyone. I can't imagine you saying such a thing."

"I can't imagine you saying that."

"Can't you learn to live in the world on your own, Cesar?" she asked.

"Why don't you learn to love others, Sevra? At least start by loving yourself," he said.

"I can't do it," Sevra said, then she added, "I never thought of loving myself, and now I think of you as myself. It's even more impossible."

"That's a really hurtful thing to say," Cesar said.

"I'm used to hurting myself. It's not too late for you to draw a line in the sand," said Sephora.

"Is your relationship with Ajiehe so bad because you hurt yourself?" he asked.

"Indeed," she nodded, "for a man like you who loves both herself and others, it would be better for her to fall into your hands. There is a saying that a person has two faces. From this point of view, the difference between our faces is very obvious. And so

I thought, maybe when we're separated like the world, you're the one that's floating up." She nodded and glanced at him, "Since you've already floated up, don't sink down and cause me trouble."

"You're saying..."

"There's no need to say more, Cesar," Sevra paused. "We've arrived at the spot I marked. There's a threat nearby, and we need to clear a path to prevent them from extinguishing Jiralo's bonfire."

"Is the bonfire important?" Cesar asked her. He was about to say that she also loved herself, but she seemed to know what he wanted to say and put it back first.

"It's important in this place." She looked behind them. "The bonfire the old man built warms our souls, flesh, and spirit. It's with this warmth that we can travel through this place. Otherwise, we would have died in our first year."

The road was steep and precipitous, and as they advanced, they felt the banks of the stream on either side rise higher and the darkness deepen. Only occasionally could they see a patch of pale green moonlight shining through the cracks created by the creeping trees. Sometimes the sound of water would echo around them, but it would soon fade away, and then it would become dead silent again.

Sevra, saying they were following the threat, led him forward, eventually entering a narrow ravine. About a mile away, Cesar spotted a steep cliff. Moonlight spilled over the edge, tinging it with a pale green. The stream, originating in a strange cave, reminded him of the endless stream of water gushing from the jar in the wasteland.

"Are you sure Aya can explore a place like this?" Cesar suddenly asked her.

"When Noi'en broke through the city, you carelessly shoved your curses into her body, trapping her among a street of dead souls for over a decade. Back then, you didn't even ask if she could handle it," Sevra glared at him. "You want to ask if she's capable of exploring the way? You might as well just go and fight her by the bonfire."

Chapter 368 I will make amends for her

They found a few footholds on the smooth, black, jade-like rock walls and quickly climbed halfway up the mountain to the edge of the cave. Cesar discovered that the cave was actually a mine, and there should have been a trestle leading to the cave entrance. However, after so many years, the trestle seemed to have rotted away.

"Want to go in and explore?" Cesar asked her.

"There's no reason not to go in," Sevra said, but she still put her hand to her lips and pondered the cave for a moment. "It should be a mine, but the trestle has rotted away."

"That's exactly what I thought," Cesar replied, "but I thought it but didn't say it. Can you guess why?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she narrowed her eyes in displeasure and moved closer, as if to force him back. Although she was shorter than him and had to look up to meet his gaze, he felt an invisible pressure, as if a sharp blade were pressed against his eyeballs, as if her gaze could sting like a blade.

Cesar knew this wasn't a figment of his imagination or a subjective feeling, but rather a direct experience of the Dao. As those calm, dark eyes gazed upon him, he felt a sting in his eyes, nearly tears welling up. Furthermore, he had a premonition that if he touched her skin, even with just his fingers, it would inexplicably tear, leaving chaotic cut marks.

Indeed, he thought, though only two years had passed, they had actually spent over a decade together. One of them was journeying through the endless wasteland, while the other was exploring the erosion of the abyss. The paths they had mastered and the distances they had traveled were truly unimaginable.

"I hope we can exchange ideas," Sevra told him, "instead of using your best words to hurt others."

"I think it's gentler than hurting people with your eyes." Cesar smiled at her. "If you keep staring, I'll shed tears of blood. An ordinary person here would probably have gone blind."

She averted her gaze. "Of course, it's not that harmful, but it's in the way. Do you lead the way or should I?"

"You lead the way," Cesar said. "You're like holding a knife to my waist when you stand behind me."