There's a skeleton dungeon connected to my basement.

Chapter 402, The Truth of the Sea of ​​the Mind
Every now and then, tiny specks of light would suddenly appear in the dark sea, swirling around the god of war.

Like fireflies, they disappeared one by one into the bloated corpse.

The appearance of these fireflies attracted something more from the depths of the ocean.

Groups of eyeballs, like swimming fish, floated up from the deep seabed.

Surrounding the bloated corpse.

They swim merrily, capturing and feeding on the tiny specks of light.

The God of War showed no reaction whatsoever to the movements of these eyeballs.

Xiao Yang witnessed this bizarre scene.

His soul, his spirit, his instinctive understanding of the world.

All of this was told to him at this moment.

The scene before us seems to reveal something.

Most of the light spots were consumed by the eyeballs, with only a small portion entering the body of the God of War.

The eyeballs, having finished eating, noticed Xiao Yang, a somewhat unfamiliar figure.

One curious eye after another turned to look at Xiao Yang.

At this moment, facing such a scene, it's inevitable to feel a little nervous.

Until one eyeball recognized Xiao Yang.

Joyful shouts rang out.

"Eyeball! Eyeball!"

At that moment, countless eyeballs cried out in unison.

It moved restlessly toward Xiao Yang.

This situation is quite bizarre and challenges reason.

"Fish or eyeball, eyeball or fish?"

However, Xiao Yang restrained his wild thoughts and actions.

The eyeballs showed him no hostility.

It just swayed as it approached and hovered around him.

The eye that recognized him first emitted some points of light towards him.

The eyeballs disappeared into the deep sea with joyful shouts.

A gift from the eyes.

Xiao Yang touched the dots of light in front of him.

This memory appeared before him.

These points of light are individual souls.

"No, it's not a complete soul!"

Peek into the memories contained within the points of light before you.

This is the story of Xiao Yang's life.

A fleeting glimpse of the world upon birth.

In my youth, I would chase after skinny oxen to collect cow dung.

The elderly father divided the limited land equally between him and his younger brother.

He married a woman who was very strong.

There is a child who is quite cute.

It's a bit of a shame that I only gave my child milk once from birth until he grew up.

He was just a hair's breadth away from being selected by the city guards.

I heard the visiting bard say that.

If children drink milk from a young age, they will grow up to be stronger.

If I had been selected then.

Maybe I'll be able to go to the city and have a look around.

The land is becoming increasingly barren year by year.

Can't tell why.

The village priests would often grope in the soil, saying nothing, only sighing repeatedly.

Taxes are getting higher and higher.

It's so high that even if you try your best, you can't possibly win.

The bard who came from outside led us to believe in the god of justice.

I don't know if this is a good thing or not, but I can't let my child starve to death.

The chaotic information ends here, leaving behind this scene.

A village ablaze with flames, people with bloodshot eyes, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves, and armored knights charging into the village with longswords raised high.

Everything came to a standstill here.

All the images are condensed into such an ordinary name.

[Farmer Godric]

Throughout the heavens, there has always been a saying: even one's own soul does not necessarily represent oneself.

"The true self, the real me."

This concept has become widespread.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the true self that Xiao Yang holds in his hands.

"The true self of farmer Godric".

Everything he experienced, thought, and couldn't let go of in his life was condensed in the form of his name.

"This is not the whole soul."

"But it is the most important and special part of it."

The god of war before me seemed to be collecting these true selves.

"What is their purpose in collecting these?"

Such doubts arise.

The sea of ​​the mind is never safe.

Just as Xiao Yang was pondering, a sudden change occurred.

The sea seemed to be stirred up by something, and began to surge violently.

A terrifying, pitch-black shadow is slowly climbing up from the deep seabed.

Xiao Yang felt a fatal threat, and every pore on his body stood on end. He couldn't care about anything else. He just gripped the few points of light in his hand and relied on the power of the divine artifacts on his body to swim towards the surface of the sea in a clumsy, crawling motion.

It's not just him.

Not far away, the God of War, swollen from being soaked in water, also began to struggle.

It rose towards the surface of the sea.

Just a hair's breadth away, just a hair's breadth away from being completely swallowed up by the storm churning deep within the Sea of ​​the Mind.

"I wish I had a third leg that could swim!"

It emerged from the sea in a disheveled state, panting heavily.

Xiao Yang was not the only one affected by the sudden underwater storm.

Beside him, the bloated God of War also arrived on the sea.

It's not just that.

At this moment, it was densely packed.

Huge ones, small ones, distorted and twisted ones, with ferocious movements, all vying to rise from the depths of the ocean.

They come in all shapes and sizes, but the only thing they have in common is that they are almost all in a state of being soaked.

“A series of corpses, each with a different appearance.”

“One evil god after another.”

How did they rise from the ocean?

Turn your gaze to the giant statue of the god of war beside you.

Xiao Yang noticed something amiss.

Countless tiny points of light were released from the corpse.

The individual points of light shattered, transforming into hazy radiance that drifted away, adding to the dreamlike quality of the scene.

At this moment, Xiao Yang was stunned.

He looked around blankly.

No matter which way you look, this is the same scene that comes into view.

Countless corpses, countless points of light.

The question I had just been pondering now had an answer.

“These true selves are used as consumables by the evil gods.”

“Used as a source of power for their activities in the sea of ​​the mind.”

He understood what these evil gods truly craved and devoured.

just.

When the true self shatters and dissipates, transforming into a fleeting glimmer of light in this dark ocean, the life of a person who once existed in this world ends just like that, leaving not a trace of existence.

"Everything I've experienced, thought, and pondered in my life, everything I can't let go of."

"Dissipate in this way."

"A beast that devours existence."

"These evil gods are a pack of beasts that devour existence."

When the storm subsides, when those densely packed, swollen figures once again sink into the deep sea.

Compared to the surging waves when Xiao Yang arrived, the situation was completely different.

The sea of ​​the soul has now returned to calm.

Such a transformation occurs in a very short period of time, highlighting its unpredictability.

"Going back."

Suddenly, these words rang out.

(End of this chapter)