Shadow of the Evil God

Not long after, Gouzi brought a reply.

"The priest said yes, Master, but you must keep an eye on him," she said. "The priest also said that others can be awakened early, but if you want to take him out, you must stay with him in the residual memory. You must take Milava through several more residual memories until his existence is completely stable. The priest is not sure how many residual memories, but when the time is right, the priest will prepare the ceremony to take him out."

"Does someone have to watch him?"

"The priest said it's okay for others to watch," Gouzi said, "but Sephora said whoever caused the trouble should deal with it. She definitely won't help. As for Ajeh..."

Cesar turned around and asked Mirava what impression she had of Ajeh.

"That beastman has a grudge against old Milawa," Milawa said.

"Have a grudge?" He was surprised.

"Finally, Ferriers defected to the Kasar Empire, and Ajeh was the first to turn around and massacre her old comrades. Many of Milava's personal guards died at her hands. At first, people thought she was a cruel and warlike but very reliable warrior, but later people discovered that she only recognized her master." Milava explained.

"Alright," Cesar shrugged, "I'll take care of this, then. Anything else I should be aware of?"

"The priest also said that his relationship with old Milava was like yours and Sevra," Gouzi said. "Allanti used some ancient and secret method to separate you two from them. It's like a greedy girl who likes someone but doesn't like everything about him. So she took the part of you she liked and kept the part she didn't like."

Cesar found this answer incredible, but not unimaginable.

The image of Alanti in his mind changed again and again, from the witch of his lover to the cruel noble lady, then from the cruel noble lady to the bewitching and deceitful prophet, and from the bewitching and deceitful prophet to the evil creature born from the memory of the ancestors. Now, she has returned from the evil creature to the original impression - this guy took her away from Sevra, actually taking away the part she liked, that is, Cesar, and throwing away the part she didn't like, that is, Sevra.

Now, that fate fell upon Milava. She took the proud young man she loved and abandoned the aging emperor, just as Cesar and Sevra had done. He saw that in Allandi's heart, he was not a complete individual, but a puzzle piece that could be cut apart at will.

After Cesar explained the situation, Milava's face turned pale and his body became unsteady. He looked like he had to hold on to the handrail of the carriage to avoid falling to the ground. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"Because you need to know," Cesar said, "I will tell you everything that doesn't need to be hidden."

He shook his head slowly. "So, old Milawa is all of Milawa's failures and regrets. Divide him, and what's left is me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I only believe what I need to believe," Milawa said.

"What about the facts?"

"I don't need facts," Milawa said flatly. "You're wrong in believing people shouldn't be deceived, that they need truthful explanations. Truth or falsehood doesn't really matter. What matters is unwavering conviction, a banner soaring into the clouds, a timeless beacon guiding us forward. As for discussing what lies behind them, that's for philosophers only. I simply need to believe."

"You believed in Alanti the same way back then," Cesar said.

"No," Milava stared at him. "Old Milava made a big mistake. However, his mistake was not trusting the beliefs brought by Alante, but letting go of those beliefs and trusting Alante herself. If I had made the choice back then, if I had discovered that the beliefs brought by Alante were inconsistent with her true existence, I would definitely choose these beliefs instead of her. If she dared to deviate from the beliefs she brought, I would make her follow them as well. If she didn't, I would kill her."

A memory suddenly emerged, beyond his imagination. Cesar entered a corridor wearing knight armor.

The corridor, the walls on both sides were covered with mysterious silver masks. He knew that these masks were the relics of the dead, and he also knew that these dead were him. Sevra killed him again and again, trying to use him to fill his own emptiness, and Alanti took him away again and again, giving him another body in exchange.

This entire corridor was a testament to his bloody relationship with Sevra.

And they were originally the same person.

Cesare entered the room and saw a magnificent silver curtain hanging beneath a lofty ceiling. His mistress hadn't yet awoke, so he found a chair and sat down, waiting for her to reveal his future fate. He gazed long at the tapestry on the wall, observing its finely woven wool pattern: twin brother and sister driven to murder each other by fate.

Considering that all the furnishings in the room were carefully selected by Alante, Cesar could confirm that the pattern of the tapestry was not a coincidence. It was clearly her making fun of his bloody relationship with Sevra.

"Come and help me up, Cesar." Allandi's disembodied voice came from the bed. "Milavar actually gave up his faith for his lover. How disappointing."

"I don't know what you want to say, mistress," said Cesar.

"This love is about to fade." She placed her hand on his and sat up slowly. "Panic and doubt have carved traces of aging and decay into his heart. He is no longer the man he once was. Or rather, he can never go back to his old self."

"Milava still looks as young as she did back then."

"No," she sighed, "The decay I'm talking about is the invisible things. A person blessed by the gods can remain eternally young, forever lingering in the day when their life was at its peak, but that's just flesh and blood and soul. People can live forever, but memories accumulate layer by layer. The most unforgettable pain always piles up at the top of the memory, pressing everything else to the bottom, causing it to constantly break and decay. Milawa's transformation is precisely the proof of his decay."

"Isn't it a mistake that he truly loves you?" Cesar asked her.

"I love him, what does it have to do with him?" Alanti smiled, "I don't need him to truly love me, dear, you have followed me for so long, don't you understand my thoughts?"

Cesar's steps were unsteady, and it wasn't until Ferriers supported him from behind that the entire room in his memory shattered and dissipated, along with the memory of Alanthi. The more he understood Alanthi, the more he felt that he was incredibly evil. While Milava certainly had some evil in him, as his previous words proved, his evilness pales in comparison to Alanthi's.

When Cesar spoke about the memory that had just surfaced, Milava frowned.

"Then I need the faith she brings. This matter has nothing to do with her." He announced proudly, "As for this memory... I guess she returned it to you when she saw the time was right. I still remember that in the last period of old Milava's life, the knights around Allandi disappeared. I guess that was when she let you go, and it seems that she also took away all your memories. Now she has begun to return your memories from that year, but how and how much she returns seem to depend on her mood. Even the authenticity of the memory..."

Cesar shook Ferriers' hand and said, "I will try to compare these memories with others to see if they are true or false. For example, Ferriers over the years, Ajeh, and that Sefera who only wants to kill me..."

Ferris also shook his hand. "Remember to find me in your future memories. If Sevra comes looking for you, as long as I'm still with you, I'll still have a chance to talk to you."

"If Sephora is the result of the accumulation of many remnants, it's hard to say." Cesar pondered. "The Tomb of the Wise is a maze of time branches. With each branching path, her remnants may accumulate, developing into the evil creature that was finally born..."

As Alranti said, the most unforgettable pain will always pile up at the top of memory, pressing everything else to the bottom of the mountain, causing it to continue to break and decay...

Thinking of this, Cesar shook his head at Ferrieres. "This matter isn't your responsibility," he said. "It must be handled by Sephora and me, especially with her present. I realized long ago that she didn't want to face the past, and now she's already escaped. But how can I put it? I don't think this is right. She must face her past. If she doesn't, the shadow of her past will only grow, and may even come back to consume her present self."

Chapter 435 Support Me

......

After the shift in memories, Cesar's vision went dark. The pungent smell of blood filled the air, mingled with the damp, muddy scent of earth, a scent that threatened to seep through his skin and into his bones. The first memory was of the banquet in the auditorium, then of the attack on the capital, and then the edge of the battlefield. This time, it seemed even worse.

It seems that as the remnant memories progress, the situation is getting worse and worse.

The part of memory that Alanti returned to him was absorbed into his soul, making him unable to let go for a long time. For a moment, he almost thought that his experience in Noien and Olidan was just a dream, and he was still the puppet knight in Alanti's hand, and Sefra was still trying to kill him again and again.

If the dog hadn't been squatting next to him, he would probably have been immersed in a dream of residual memories.

Cesar heard breathing beside him, very close, then it faded to a low murmur. He couldn't tell if it was Alante or Milava, but it could be either. A moment later, he remembered that old Milava had completely become an enemy. Given Alante's current state, he wondered if she could still deceive him.

If she couldn't, his situation in the residual memory would be even more dangerous.

"I can still deceive old Milava," Allandi's voice was unusually weak, "but not for long. Let's go find Ferriers and give her the memories of every Ferriers in the past, and then we'll move on to the next remnant. My dear sister, the more memories she accumulates, the more she can help us."

"What's with that voice of yours?" Cesar asked her.

"Solaire's arrow," she said. "You yourself triggered her reserved means, and yet you're still asking questions even though you already know the answer? I thought the arrow would disappear with the transformation of the residual memories, but it actually got stuck deeper!"

"Then you must remember this feeling well, mistress." Cesar said, and he found a hint of teasing in his voice. "Thanks to this arrow, you know the pain."

"I should have made young Milava into a doll, but now..." Allandi said in a soft, low voice, "the boy is struggling again, just like the baby in my belly kicking me... What is your relationship with Solaire? Why did you take her token and trigger her reserved means?"

Cesar felt her voice become even lower, almost inaudible, so he barely stood up and groped in the bloody mud. His hand touched her, first a strand of hair, then her cheek and ear. "This is a secret, mistress," he leaned down and pressed his lips to her ear. "I won't tell you until you give me all your secrets."

"What secret do you want?"

"How about we start with what Milava cares about most? I've restored a lot of your memories. You should be able to remember what you've forgotten, right?"

"I still don't remember it very clearly, but it's clearer than before." Allandi also put her mouth close to his ear, "Listen carefully, Cesar, just pretend that you are Milava at that time,'--Listen to me, my dear, I want to tell you the most important words in our lives, listen carefully. You are now loyal to the Temple of the Gods and their dream of reviving the Franks, but you have the purest hope. This hope does not rely on the Temple of the Gods, or even on Solaire, but is only your own hope, right?'"

Cesar remembered the old Milava's declaration at the battlefield banquet, and also remembered the young Milava's professed faith, so he put his arm around her waist and asked her to continue.

In the deep darkness, Arlandi breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against his chest as a pillow. "There was a time when the Franks, the Kuna, and other tribes that once existed and then vanished, supported each other across this scarred land, united as one. Following the guidance of those who had gone before them, people migrated across the lands shattered by the abyss, planting roots along the paths they had explored. And those forerunners were all the Mistress's children."

"Mistress?" He was a little surprised. "A real dragon that has not yet grown up? Is it a real dragon that has not yet grown up?"

"Be quiet." Alanti pressed her index finger against his lips. "Listen to me, my dear. In that era, people overcame unprecedented suffering. They finally prospered and healed the wounds of almost all the worlds, leaving only the widest one, which is now the Abyss of Shelter."

"I know that," Cesar said. "I want you to tell me something I haven't heard yet."

She breathed softly and pressed her middle finger to his lips, pressing hard.

"But when prosperity finally came," Alanti said in a mournful voice, "the various ethnic groups began to split under the will of the Forerunners, and in the midst of this division, unprecedented wars were ignited. One of these ethnic groups wished to become one, transforming all of their people into replicas of the Forerunners. This was the origin of the Kuna people. The Wise One would transform all of the Kuna people into himself."

"Are you sure you're not exaggerating?" Cesar asked her with his usual skepticism.

She covered her entire right hand and stared at him intently.

"And we Franks," said Allandi in a soft voice, "we hope that everyone is different, and that everyone is different.

Everyone once shouldered the destiny of their tribe and explored all the possibilities of civilization. Now, the Pantheon is turning everyone into the same person, dear. Haven't you noticed those believers who recite the same scripture over and over again?

"It was you who used deception to create the origin of the Temple of the Gods, and now you are magnifying their harm and using them to instigate the Emperor of the Franks?" Cesar asked her back.

Arlandi sighed and lowered her hand, seeming quite displeased with the doll's tirade against her. "When children grow up, they break free from their parents' constraints," she said. "I also wish the Temple of the Gods would obey my will like it did back then, but that's no longer possible. Fortunately, I always find new children, give them guidance, and help them find their way."

"So, you did play the role of the mother that Milava longed for. Soleil, like a father, gave him status, power, and knowledge of the outside world, leaving behind a shadow of terror and authority, and then you saw him, well..."

"A child who lacked love," she said. "I gave him maternal love, hugs, comfort, inner ideals and pursuits, but it seems I gave him too much. After the successive defeats in the war, Milawa held on to me tighter and tighter. He regarded me as the source of those ideals, and by clinging to me so tightly, he actually lost them."

"Regardless of the truth of your words, according to the story you told, this forerunner was the wise man of the Kuna people. He was the one who enslaved the Franks, killed their mistress, wiped out other ethnic groups, and even sealed your so-called mistress's body... deepest within the Tomb of the Wise."

"Yes, the Tomb of the Wise Men holds the origins of our civilization. Generation after generation, I have inherited the memories of my ancestors... Actually, I can't really explain it, but I always have a direction. A myth, like a belief, lies in the soul of each generation of ours, telling us that there is our only direction. After hearing this story, what do you think our origins are, my dear?"

"It could be a fragment of the mistress's will that escaped, one of her children, or a forerunner who tragically died," Cesar said. "It could all be possible."

"No matter what, as long as I reach the deepest part of the Tomb of the Wise, I can find the root of this belief. Don't you want it? As long as this root is resolved, you won't be afraid that your loved ones will continue to bear the blood curse. I spent every night of my childhood talking with my ancestors. They completely occupied my dreams. Some hated their fate and cursed me endlessly. Some were dissatisfied with my attitude and kept nagging me, saying that I was too careless. There were also those like my mother who were terrified of me."

"That's because you were condescendingly ordering her around when you were still a fetus."

"After generations of screening, the more qualified the person is, the earlier their consciousness awakens. My mother was deprived of my grandmother's ancestral memories when she was one year old, and I was deprived of my mother's ancestral memories when I was still a fetus. Is this strange?"

"A baby over a year old already has a vague sense of self," Cesar shook his head. "But a fetus has no self-awareness at all. In other words, your generation is the only one that's not human, Alanti. Some say you're an evil creature, and that's not entirely wrong. Your flesh and blood haven't even fully developed into a human form, yet you've already developed a personality from the memories of your ancestors. What a strange thing..."

"I don't care." She smiled and said, "Everyone takes their existence for granted, don't they, my dear? After all, the ancestor who had the best relationship with me was the prophet who founded the faith of the Temple of the Gods. I know she is a Kuna because our memories completely coexist. She said that the secret of the blood curse is to find what you are missing... and you, Cesar, you have a secret that no one else has, and the ancestral will in me wants to obtain it. Can you tell me what that secret is?"

“I only told a few people about this,” Cesar said.

"You mean I'm not qualified?" She frowned slightly. "Well, then tell me Solaire's secret first, dear. What's your relationship with her?"

Cesar lowered his head and pondered for a moment, "Soleil and I..."

"Don't let her know the Holy Father's secret!"

Cesar froze as he watched Milava struggle free from the white-haired girl's body. Her long, dark hair cascaded down, almost to her waist, suffusing her lithe, slender frame. It looked as if even with Alante pierced by an arrow, the boy would struggle to stand up to her. As soon as he shouted this, his breath weakened, and he couldn't focus on the details of his sexuality.

"We must find her sister, Firiel," Milava said, "but not to help her. We must allow Firiel, who has suffered so much, to further shackle and bind her. I will imprison her, and let the arrow of the Holy Father be forever pierced into her heart... I cannot allow her to possess my heart and my soul."

He spoke even softer than Arrandi, almost inaudible, and Cesar had to put his ear close to his mouth to barely understand.

"Despite this, you still want to go to the deepest part of the Tomb of the Wise to search for the remains of the mistress?" Cesar said, "You can actually stay outside the tomb and wait for my news. It's too dangerous to do this with Allandi. I think Solaire left the arrow behind, it must not be

for......"

Miraval clutched his collar tightly, her chest heaving and sweat beading on her forehead. "I need to confirm the origin of my will. This is of vital importance. Can you support me, Master? Just as you supported the Holy Father on that long journey to that lost city?"

Chapter 436: You want to eat me?

As he spoke, the young Emperor of Farah's eyes shone, as if a flame burned deep within his pupils. But at the end, Milava lowered his head again, as if afraid that Cesar would see the fire hidden deep within his eyes. It was hard to tell what he was thinking about.

It must be said that this guy's emotions fluctuated between panic and determination, with a hint of pleading, which was truly wonderful. Although he was an extremely proud guy, he had witnessed the outcome of his own failure. Whether he admitted it or not, the facts were there, testing his every move from now on.

The difference between him and old Milawa is that he has not really experienced those failures, and his pride has not been destroyed. But he has seen what is to come, so it is no longer easy for him to continue to stick to it like the old Milawa who knew nothing back then.

"You can think about it later," Cesar said. "Let's talk about something more recent first. Do you know where this place is?"

"More than a decade later," Milawa murmured to himself, "I remember clearly that this place used to be a quiet place, with a stream flowing beneath me. From here, I could see the city's cliffs and the temple on top. But now, in this fragment of memory, everything has been burned in the flames of war."

"Temple?"

"The Temple of Helgast," Milava murmured, "I was baptized here. Not only that, I also spent my childhood here. This place means a lot to me... Later, the war spread here, and this incident almost became the last straw that broke the camel's back for old Milava. At that time, the temples of the gods blamed each other, and the only temple that supported him was Helgast. So the Kasar Empire accurately found the great temple of Helgast and destroyed everything. After that, old Milava gradually fell into madness and fear..."

Cesar could now fully perceive his palpitations. Although he hadn't yet experienced the specifics of the situation, being there was much clearer than just browsing his memories. Cesar felt his body gradually recovering. The dog had fed him some blood, which softened the impact of the memory shift. He reached out and grabbed her hand, rising, and with his other hand, he pulled Milava up as well.

It was still pitch black, nothing could be seen clearly, likely the result of some kind of spell. The fresh smell of blood still lingered, proving that the place was strewn with corpses. Cesar had to switch to his third-person perspective to get a rough idea of ​​the area. He saw streams overflowing with blood, priests and worshippers slain by the beasts, and even Milava, his long, dark hair stained a dark crimson with blood.

There were still a few living people in this place, seemingly knights on patrol. They were slowly moving forward in the spherical barrier erected by the mage, trying to find anyone still alive on the battlefield.

Cesar couldn't see the knights' faces under their visors, but the specifications of their armor were exactly the same as those of the knight statues in Solaire's giant city.

Milava looked dazed, his shoes stuck in the mud, unable to be removed. He didn't care, walking barefoot into the blood-filled stream. Cesar suddenly noticed that Milava's shoes were Alante's favorite magic boots, and his robes were also Alante's slim-fitting robes. He immediately understood that they had been transported to this remnant of memory as Alante and her knights.

It seems the knights in the distance are searching for the attacked queen, and the young Mirava is now tied to Alante. When the memories shift, Mirava wears Alante's clothing and falls into the new memory as Alante herself.

Cesar wanted to call out to the knights, but suddenly, an eerie tearing sound threatened to pierce his eardrums. None of the knights noticed, as if the place was still silent. Were they the beastmen who had visited the Tomb of the Wise? Had they finally appeared? Or had they mastered the laws governing the operation of the Remnant Memory and begun to spread the plague with impunity?

He saw moonlight emerging from strange cracks in the sky, a frightening green like lizard skin, slowly pouring in and covering the knights' bodies. He saw the knights first being transformed, then fighting with invisible men, each shattered to pieces and dying.

He knew that Ajeh, Sevra and the others were dealing with this matter, but the amount of residual memories being transformed would increase, and increase...

Cesar barely had time to watch as the knights went through the entire process of transformation and death. He only hoped that Jiralo would dispose of their bodies, lest the proliferating flesh and blood once again overtake the entire burial chamber. If every burial chamber they passed through was overrun by this proliferating flesh and blood, they would be completely trapped.

"I wish we had no way out," Milava murmured.

"Have you never considered taking a step back?"

"My life and my soul are burning on the road ahead. If I take a step back, they will fade a little."

"Where are you going?"

"From what I remember, Firiels is in that direction." Milava pointed forward, avoiding his question. "Hurry there, teacher. The beastmen who visited the Tomb of the Wise with you are destroying the remaining memories. Old Milava won't be able to continue to exist for long. In time, the stitched head will completely rot. Alanti must have realized this and fled... Do you feel the temperature drop? It's usually summer here."

Cesar felt a chill run down his spine. Though there wasn't a biting wind, something was slowly draining warmth from his remnant memories. It seemed to be those strange cracks. A moment ago, he'd been contemplating how he would face the increasingly paranoid Ferrieres and the increasingly frantic Sephora in his remaining memories. Now, the remnant memories themselves were in jeopardy, including the stitched head, which was about to rot completely.

This is no longer a journey, it is an urgent escape.

As Milava walked barefoot into the bloodstream, Cesar gradually felt a strange fragrance emanating from him, as if flowers had blossomed in a pool of blood. This fragrance was a sensory perception given to him by Analik's path. If blood could be made into wine, it would definitely smell like this.

"Your path reeks of the hunter, Master," Milava said. "If I didn't look back at you, I would imagine a monster standing behind me, wanting to eat me."