In the ruined temple of the Kingdom of Shadows, Todd sat cross-legged on the stone platform, feeling everything around him.
Shadow Queen Scathach's voice rang in his ears: "Tell me how you feel."
"I can see the colors of the world, hear the subtle sounds in the air, smell the fragrance of the earth and plants, and feel the touch of the moving air."
Scathach said: "Vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch are what the world often calls human senses. But if you want to strengthen your soul, you must first put aside these senses and learn how to use the power of soul perception.
, also known as the sixth sense.”
"Sixth sense? You mean extrasensory perception?" Todd was a little confused: "Shouldn't that be a kind of superpower?"
Scathach walked up to Todd: "No, sensing the soul is an ability that every creature has. From the legendary ancient creatures to the small ants shaped like gravel, all creatures with souls have it.
This kind of power."
"It's just that human beings rely too much on their eyes and ears when perceiving the existence of the outside world, and have long forgotten this innate power."
Todd was speechless when he heard this: "Okay, how should I obtain this 'forgotten' perception?"
Scathach knocked Todd on the head with the wooden stick in his hand: "It's very simple, just blind your eyes and shield your ears..."
"Wait a minute! I've never heard of such training!"
As soon as Todd shouted these words, his eyes suddenly fell into darkness, he could no longer hear any sounds in his ears, and there was no longer any touch on his skin.
Scathach has cut off all of his senses.
Todd wanted to scream, but found that he couldn't make any sound. Having lost all sense, he found that the only organ still functioning normally in his body was his brain.
After an unknown length of silence, a faint light appeared in Todd's eyes.
It was a kind of pale blue granular weak light, slowly floating in the void.
Todd recognized this light blue light particle, which was exactly the same as the substance that appeared when Deirdre summoned the soul in the soul space.
Todd tried to touch the light, and like metal meeting a magnet, the blue light entered his body in an instant.
Maybe it was just a thousandth of a second, or maybe it was a whole century, a door suddenly opened to him, and he "saw" a completely different world.
Grass, trees, birds, animals, these objects all maintain their original forms, but they are all composed of blue light.
The figures of Meredith and Scathach also appeared in his "vision". The former looked like a huge blue-light roc, while the latter looked like a huge sphere that emitted a dazzling light.
In an instant, vision, hearing and other senses returned to Todd's body. He looked at the two women in front of him and said excitedly: "I saw it, I saw it! I saw another world!"
Meredith brushed the hair beside her ears and asked with a smile: "Do you know how long it has been since you entered meditation?"
Todd looked at the frost and fog around him and answered uncertainly: "One day? Two days?"
"Two months."
Meredith's answer scared Todd so much that he jumped up from the ground.
"Two months?! What about everything out there?! The war, and the kingdom, what's going on now?"
Meredith raised her eyebrows and said, "What are your first concerns? Don't you want to know the role of soul perception?"
Seeing Todd's anxious look, Meredith shrugged and said helplessly: "Just a few days ago, your original companion, a woman named Rachel, came here to look for you."
Todd stood up: "Where is she?"
"When she learned that you were meditating, she went back first. You also know that the environment here is not suitable for ordinary people to stay for a long time. She brought a message: the church officially declared war on Muxi City, and there were more than 20 people who followed the church to participate in the war.
Kingdom, with a total strength of 16,000 people. The battlefield is set in the Holy Acropolis, and the war is expected to break out in a month."
"I need to get back."
Meredith's eyes widened: "Your training isn't over yet!"
Scathach suddenly spoke at this time: "Todd, you have mastered the basic method of soul perception through this meditation. It can be said that you have taken the first step on the road to soul strengthening. This is a very remarkable thing.
As a result, many humans who have passed the trial have spent years or even decades on this step alone."
Scathach changed the subject: "However, you should also understand that going back this time will be your last time stepping into the human world. I suggest that you deal with all the trivial matters and make sure you have no worries before returning here. That's it.
Like I said before, your time is running out, and soon you will no longer be able to maintain your human form."
Todd lowered his head, looked at his hands, and nodded.
Watching Scathach leave slowly, Meredith waved to Todd: "Before you leave, I hope to talk to you."
The two came to the open space behind the temple. Meredith sat on a broken pillar and said to Todd: "You are different from the trialists I have seen. Those who hope to become demigods
Some people do it to gain power; some do it for revenge; and some do it for eternal life... You are the first trialer I have ever seen who was forced to take the path of a demigod in order to protect others."
Todd sighed softly: "Everyone has different reasons."
Meredith looked at Todd and said quietly: "Although your starting point is noble, your efforts may not bring you a good result."
"……I don't understand you."
Meredith held her chin with one hand and whispered: "The famous historian Moses once said this: What is a hero? A hero is a person who saves people from suffering and disaster. This sentence
There are two important points, I wonder if you understand?"
Without giving Todd a chance to answer, Meredith continued: "First, the hero saves civilians from disaster; second, the hero must be a human being. The world often mentions the first half of the sentence repeatedly, but always forgets the second half.
That’s the crux of the matter.”
Todd chewed on the woman's words: "The hero must be human?"
"You can think of human beings as a kind of narrow-minded creature. They are afraid of all unknown things, even if this kind of thing saves their lives and eliminates threats to the world. They will still look at everything with scrutiny or even hostility.
.No matter how great the contribution this kind of thing has made, human beings will still gather together to talk about the disasters this kind of thing may cause in the future."
Meredith gently combed her feathers, looked at Todd and said with a smile: "Xenomorph is the best example. I have seen too many cases like this. A mutant came forward for the safety of mankind and exposed himself.
His identity was betrayed by humans in the end.”
Todd looked at Meredith and remained silent.
"You have now mastered the ability of soul perception. As long as you no longer use the tyrant's ability, you can remain a human being." Meredith jumped off the pillar and shook her feathers: "Todd, remember
Stick to my words. The word hero, the truth it reveals in the real world, is sometimes darker and more desperate than the literal meaning."
Looking at Meredith's back, Todd suddenly asked: "Why are you saying this to me?"
"I just don't want to see tragedy happen again..."