From the end of the world

Chapter 58 Ma Zao's Friend 1
I basically didn't feel any interruption in consciousness, and the process of entering the dream was so smooth that it could only be described as an antelope hanging a horn. It was like an early school day, with only a few students in the classroom, so I took out some books to kill time, and when I looked up again, the classroom was already noisy.

When I came to my senses, the living room was filled with thick gray fog... No, this was no longer a living room. There were no walls or furniture around, only endless fog. I was no longer sitting on the sofa, but standing without anyone noticing. The backpack and empty cans that were in my arms were nowhere to be found.

There was no floor under my feet, but only layers of gray fog. I didn't know why I could stand in such a place, and the feeling of stepping on it was like stepping on the beach.

My body also looked very strange. From a direct sense and touch, it was actually no different from usual, and I could even feel that I was still wearing normal clothes and shoes; but visually, my whole body was in a dark state, as if it was condensed from black mist.

This seems to be a dream. I was too tired and fell asleep. I just realized it. Maybe I should have entered the fire elemental form before falling asleep, so I wouldn't need to sleep. Now I have to race against time to analyze and find Ma Zao's traces, and I don't have time to waste on sleeping.

But since we're already asleep, we can only look forward. Dreaming shouldn't take up a lot of time in the real world. Moreover, this dream is obviously very abnormal.

I have seen this gray mist twice. Once when I touched the black jade in the basement; once recently I had a dream before I awakened my superpowers, and the gray mist also appeared at the end. I always keep the black jade close to me, so maybe the second time it was also caused by the black jade.

Am I being pulled into the dream again by the black jade?
This is a strange phenomenon no matter how you look at it.

My heart was attracted by phenomena that were difficult to explain by common sense, and curiosity and desire for adventure prevailed in my heart.

I didn't think anything would change if I stayed here any longer, so I started moving forward in the thick gray fog.

One minute, ten minutes, thirty minutes... I don't know how vast this mysterious foggy dream is. I walked for a long time but couldn't find the boundary. I even felt like I was standing still. Maybe there is no boundary here. I didn't have a timer at hand, so I could only rely on my vague feeling to grasp the number of minutes.

I don't know how long I walked. Although I thought I was patient enough, such a monotonous space still made me feel bored. I began to think about whether there was a way to actively escape from this place. There was obviously no entrance or exit here. The reason why I was able to escape from this gray fog space last time was because I regained my normal consciousness and emotions. Now I have this condition from the beginning, but I am still trapped here.

During this boring time, I also tried to activate my superpowers. Unfortunately, my superpowers did not respond to my call. They were neither sealed nor blocked by other external forces. I don’t know if this description is appropriate. I believe many people have had the experience of suddenly forgetting how to write a certain word. I feel the same way now. It is very consistent with the style of "dream".

It's been a long time since I felt "unarmed".

I often imagine what kind of life path I would have taken if I hadn’t become a person with super powers.

If I didn't have super powers, maybe I would try to become a war correspondent, or an explorer, or a mercenary who lives on the edge of a knife, or even a criminal who destroys social stability. Of course, it is also possible to forget everything and become an ordinary person who does nothing.

But after experiencing the enlightenment under the cave and realizing my true self, it is difficult for me to imagine my "ordinary life" anymore.

Compared to the me who became a war correspondent, explorer, mercenary, and criminal, I think that the me now with unparalleled "supernatural powers" may be the weakest me. It is the me on the extended line after I said the weak words in my dream at the age of fourteen.

An adventure beyond reality, clearly within reality.

Even though I know this, I still can't help but walk into the world of fantasy...

Suddenly, the faint sound of strange footsteps came from the thick fog in the distance, interrupting my thoughts.

I raised my head alertly and looked in that direction.

The footsteps were not my hallucination. The footsteps in the thick fog became clearer and clearer, and they sounded similar to my footsteps when I walked, like stepping on the beach. Before long, the footsteps were close enough. I had a very strange intuition in my heart.

——The owner of these footsteps is a "very scary" guy.

This is the first time I feel this way about someone.

Especially after awakening my superpowers, I have never felt "danger" or "terror" from anyone. It's like seeing a large carnivorous beast up close in real life is definitely different from seeing it on TV, and the difference is the "terror" I feel.

As I felt this strange emotion, the owner of the footsteps seemed to sense something and suddenly stopped moving.

Then, a very alert voice came from the other side: "Who?"

It was the voice of an adult male.

I didn't respond rashly, and the man on the other side didn't continue talking. The situation was awkward and stalemate. I looked at the direction of the voice through the thick gray fog, and the owner of the voice was obviously also wary.

For a moment, we were like two strangers who were sneaking around in the forest at night with guns and bumped into each other. We couldn't tell whether the other party was kind or malicious, and we didn't even know whether we should retreat or continue to approach. Neither of us made any rash moves.

After a while, I decided to move first and walked towards the other person. However, the other person seemed to have the same idea and moved at the same time. We soon met. The other person's figure appeared in the thick fog. In the same state as me now, his body seemed to be condensed from black fog. He could only be described as "a figure".

He is much taller than me, at least 1.8 meters tall. Judging from his figure, he must have trained his muscles, but he is not overly muscular, and instead gives people the impression of being slender and moderate.

His scrutinizing eyes fell on me, as if he was trying to determine my threat level. I had no intention of threatening him, but after scrutinizing him, his vigilance towards me seemed to increase, and his muscles were tense.

"Who?" he asked again.

"Here's my question," I said. "Who are you and why are you here?"

After I asked this question, for some reason, his tense muscles seemed to relax.

"I came to this dream through the fragments of the divine seal." His voice suddenly became friendly. "Is it the same for you?"

Fragments of the divine seal?

I didn't know I had something called a "divine seal fragment" on me. If I had to say it, it was the black jade. I should have come here through the black jade... Is the black jade the divine seal fragment he mentioned?

Divine Seal... I have heard this term before. Ma mentioned it to me before we left.

——I will prove to this society that doomsday exists, or I will find the divine seal and directly put an end to the coming of doomsday.

Are the "divine seal" mentioned by Ma Zao and the "divine seal" of the "divine seal fragment" mentioned by the other party the same thing?

Should I pretend to know what the Divine Seal is and try to get some information out of him, or should I ask the person in front of me directly?
Before I could make a decision, the person in front of me seemed to sense the truth directly from my attitude.

"I see, you don't know what the divine seal is..." He pondered.

Seeing this, I simply asked directly: "The fragment of the divine seal you mentioned, is it the thing that looks like black jade? What is the divine seal?"

He nodded first, probably confirming my first question, and then answered my second question: "The so-called divine seal is a legendary artifact that can fulfill any wish."

"Any wishes?" I repeated in a tone that lacked authenticity.

"Any wish," he said, "at least that's what I know of."

That black jade is actually a fragment of the omnipotent wishing machine? I find it unbelievable. Assuming this is true, no wonder Ma Zao said that as long as the divine seal is found, the doomsday can be ended.

But... since it has been broken into pieces, does that mean the wishing machine is no longer usable? Or can the wish still be fulfilled as long as the broken parts are collected?
If Ma Zao's purpose was to collect this black jade, then if I showed it to her in advance, she would not leave? However, at that time, I thought that I couldn't let her know that I had encountered a strange incident, so naturally I couldn't show her the black jade.

And all these speculations are based on the premise that "the black jade is really the fragment of the divine seal that Ma Zao mentioned." I didn't just believe the words of the person in front of me. Maybe there is no such wishing machine at all.

Then, the other party spoke again.

"I wonder if you could trade the fragment of the divine seal in your hand to me?" His tone was very polite.

"You just said that this thing can fulfill any wish, but now you want to propose a trade to me. Don't you think it's a bit contradictory?" I asked.

"The complete divine seal can make wishes come true, but the fragments do not have that power." He explained patiently, "Instead of continuing to keep these fragments, it is better to exchange them for some practical benefits, don't you think so?"

"You were so kind to answer my question just now, and I want to thank you." I said, "But I'm sorry, this fragment is still useful to me, so I can't trade it for the time being."

If I find Ma Zao later, the black jade may be one of the bargaining chips to persuade her to stay. Although I don't know how this person in front of me intends to trade with me, there is no way I can get rid of it now.

"Really..." The other person stared at me, as if he was thinking about something.

(End of this chapter)