While Shade was thinking wildly, a voice whispered in his ear softly.
"Why?"
[The arrival of outsiders is luck among luck. If one appears, it is considered a miracle. There cannot be a second one.]
"Then why "The Little Match Girl"..."
[There are no coincidences in this world, only the inevitable accumulation of necessity. And, haven’t you already guessed the reason? 】
Shade smiled. If there was no second stranger, then the answer would indeed be clear.
Today is Wednesday, past midnight, exactly one week since the last time the key was used:
"It seems that I, an outsider, do not have nothing."
The woman's melodious laughter came to my ears again.
"Shadow, did you hear that?"
Only then did he realize that Miss Louisa was talking to him. Shade raised his head and said sheepishly:
"Sorry, I was thinking about something just now. What did you say?"
"I said, if you don't leave your cat alone, it will jump out of the basket."
The blond writer touched his earlobe and said.
"Meow~"
Mia screamed "threateningly" at Miss Louisa, and it almost jumped on the dining table.
After dinner, Shade said goodbye to Miss Louisa. Before leaving, she asked her about advertising in the newspaper. Miss Louisa took out a handful of business cards from her handbag and gave them to him.
Newspapers that Miss Louisa has worked with:
"There is always one for you."
Because he was looking forward to what happened tonight, after saying goodbye to the writer, Shade did not go anywhere else, but returned directly to St. Teresa Square with little Mia in his arms. The time key can only be used after midnight, so he returned from half past six.
It was nearly six hours until midnight, and Shade still had to wait.
Of course, he did not waste time, but continued to help Miss Louisa translate the book "The Four Elements of Chase: Wind and Fire", and even took time to continue reading "Crazy Light Chaser".
After counting the time and confirming that the time key could be used, he excitedly stood up from the chair in the study room.
Little Mia was originally lying on the desk, sleeping next to Shade's hand. She was awakened by Shade's motion to get up, but the whole cat was still lying lazily on the tabletop, just looking at him with a pair of eyes.
"Now that the afterglow of divinity has shone around me, it's time to read the stories of the past."
He thought excitedly, and took out the cracked key from the locked drawer.
Leave all the [relics] on the table for the time being, close the study door from the inside. Then hold the key and whisper:
"May the World Tree protect me in time."
The key was inserted into the keyhole, and after twisting, it made a clicking sound again. Opening the study door, there was a fog door blocked by thick fog.
The orange cat looked at this scene in surprise, but before it got up, Shade had already stepped into the fog door:
"Mia, see you in three seconds."
When the steps landed, the surroundings were surrounded by white mist.
A murmuring voice sounded in my ears. After getting ready, the "other me" received a message from the fallen ancient god [Father of the Infinite Tree]:
【Outlander, you have stepped into the corridor of time.】
[Message from the ancient god "Father of the Infinite Tree":]
[Autumn of the Fifth Age, 1068, Southern Continent, Hope Town.]
[Event: The old god "Innocent Creator" fell. 】
【Duration 10 minutes (2/3).】
【You have obtained additional information.】
[The figure of the father of the infinite tree continues to watch you.]
[The test given to you by the ancient god of time will continue.]
[Witness the last wish of the old god, the "innocent creator", before his death. 】
[The ancient god of time will give you rewards: Thaumatology-Blade of Disarrayed Time, Miracle Spirit Rune-Echo.]
In addition to the addition of words such as "continue" and "continuation", there are only two-thirds more prompts after the duration, but it seems that the time limit this time is still ten minutes.
Because he was mentally prepared, Xia De didn't ask any more questions. If he wanted to enter Hope Town from the white mist, he couldn't waste time here, but he didn't expect the woman's voice to continue:
【The life ring appears.】
"Why?"
Although asked, he still did as he was told. The bell sounded and the whistle appeared along with the steam.
The brass ring rotated behind his back, and as the life ring appeared, Shade actually saw inch by inch cracks on the skin of his body, and golden light marks shined under those cracks.
This is a physical state that we have seen during the day, but during the day, it is because we are in a dream state that the mental and soul states are highlighted.
"Why can summoning the life ring here also make the state of the afterglow of divinity appear on the body surface?"
he asked.
[The knowledge in divinity tells me that the "time corridor" you are in now is a special space, and the power of divinity is more obvious here. 】
Whispering, Shade raised his hand and looked at the almost broken skin and the bright light below in disbelief:
"It's really interesting. The state of the mental body can resist the invasion of dreams, but is there any use in this state in the physical body?"
[I think at least this time, you don’t need the protection of the old god, and you can face him directly. 】
After taking back his life ring, he took another step in the thick fog. The surrounding fog disappeared, and Shade returned to the street that looked like a backward medieval town.
Unlike last time, this time it was late at night, and the numb townspeople could not be seen on the streets. Looking around, the whole town stood in the deep night, and in the distance there seemed to be continuous mountains, like
A giant beast crawling in the dark night.
The smell in the air was still pungent, and except for the toy store in front of me, no house had lights on.
Looking up at the sky, dark clouds cover the stars and the moon, making it impossible to judge the exact location at this moment by remembering the stars.
Shade didn't waste time and opened the door directly and walked into the toy store.
The inside and outside of the store seem to be two different worlds. Nothing has changed here. The sweet smell of candy is in the air, and the shelves are filled with a dazzling array of toys. A young man wearing a ridiculous clown hat stood behind the counter and was pushed by the door.
Wake up to the sound of the bell that is turned on.
He raised his head and wanted to welcome the guest, but when he saw that it was a young detective, he did not use that excuse.
The old gods smiled and said:
"It seems that you have indeed found the afterglow of God?"
"Yes, it's really not easy."
Shade replied.
Except for him, he doesn't think any mortal has the chance to obtain the "afterglow of the gods". It is indeed unimaginably difficult to complete the mission of the ancient gods. Moreover, he even suspects that other investigators have encountered the mission of the "Father of the Infinite Tree"
, there is absolutely no such difficulty.
Shade stared at the young man. Although he still felt a lot of discomfort, as long as he looked away, his normal activities would at least not be affected. The other party was right. Without the afterglow of God, he wouldn't even be with him for a long time.
Qualifications to talk to God, "God's Afterglow" is the first step in undertaking this task.
