Starting from Ainz Ooal Gown, simultaneously traveling through time

Chapter 220 Sakura: I'm afraid of ghosts, but they didn't harm me at all.

"You're awake."

A voice suddenly rang in Xiaoying's ears, gentle yet with an indescribable ethereal quality, as if it came from a very far place, or as if it emerged directly from the depths of her heart.

Sakura shuddered violently, almost jumping off the bed.

She looked around in panic, her gaze sweeping over the ceiling, walls, curtains, and under the bed. There was nothing in the room except herself, which made her even more frightened. She gripped the blanket tightly with her small hands until her knuckles turned white.

"No need to look anymore." The voice sounded again, with a hint of amusement in its tone. "I now reside in your soul. I have no external form. You cannot see me, but you can talk to me."

Sakura froze for a moment, then her face turned even paler. No physical form—wasn't that a ghost? Could it be that a ghost was haunting her?

She remembered the terrifying stories her mother had told her, the ghosts and monsters that ate children, and her voice trembled involuntarily: "You—you are Mr. Ghost? Mr. Ghost, I haven't done anything bad, please don't hurt me—"

"A ghost?" The voice seemed somewhat helpless. "I'm not that kind of lowly thing, I'm—never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway, I'll just show you the video replay."

Before Sakura could even process what "video playback" meant, the scene before her suddenly changed. The glamorous, unfamiliar room faded away like melting watercolor, replaced by a scene she would never forget in her life.

The dimly lit basement, the damp and rotten air, the ceiling, walls and floor were covered with wriggling worms, the wormhole that made her tremble and despair to the point of wanting to die.

Beside the insect burrow, the old man, his body rotting and his face like a demon, stood there, staring at her greedily.

Sakura's pupils suddenly contracted, and fear poured from her head to her feet like ice water.

She wanted to scream and run away, but found that her body was completely out of her control. She could only watch helplessly as the "grandpa" walked towards her step by step.

Just then, a drop of golden liquid appeared out of thin air before her eyes. The liquid, like molten gold, emitted a warm and bright light, slowly falling onto her forehead, then disappearing into her skin.

She felt a warm force spreading from her forehead to her whole body, as if she were being enveloped by something soft.

Then, she closed her eyes, not voluntarily, but as if some force compelled her to do so.

Then she opened her eyes again, but this time, the scene she saw through her own eyes seemed a little different. The perspective was still the same, but she could feel that she was no longer the one controlling this body.

She heard "Grandpa" ask in a terrified voice, "You—you're not Sakura, who are you?"

Then, she saw her lips move, and a cold, emotionless word escaped her lips: "Die."

0

"Grandpa" has disappeared.

It didn't slowly walk away, nor did it turn into smoke. Instead, it was as if an invisible giant hand had wiped it away from its very existence, leaving only a human-shaped dust motif in place, slowly dissipating in the candlelight.

Sakura was stunned. Her grandfather, who was more terrifying than all the demons in fairy tales combined, had just been defeated—with just one word?

But before she could even catch her breath, thousands upon thousands of insects swarmed out from all sides of the walls, floors, and ceilings.

Some crawled, some flew, some jumped, a dark mass surging towards her like a tide. Sakura's heart leaped into her throat. She wanted to run, but her body wouldn't obey her commands.

Then she heard her lips utter a second word: "Fire."

boom!

Endless flames erupted from the void, instantly engulfing the entire basement.

The insects didn't even have time to scream before they were reduced to charcoal in the flames, which spread to the walls, ceiling, and floor, and even the air itself was burning.

The next moment, a massive explosion overturned the entire Matou mansion, scattering rubble everywhere, but not a single piece touched her body.

She saw herself enveloped in raging flames, like a burning meteor, bursting through the ruins, soaring into the sky, and disappearing into nothingness.

In the clouds.

That's the end of the video.

The next moment, Sakura was back on that luxurious bed. Sunlight streamed through the gauze curtains, and the flames in the fireplace flickered quietly. Everything was exactly the same as before.

Sakura sat on the bed, staring blankly at her hands, and after a long while murmured, "Was what just happened—a dream?"

"It wasn't a dream." The voice sounded again, calm in tone. "Those were all your real experiences, except that I was controlling your body at the time, and your consciousness was in a dormant state, so you have no memory of them. I just replayed what you experienced in a way that you can understand."

Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief. "Mr. Ghost—you mean what I just saw wasn't a dream? I really defeated Grandpa and burned those bugs?"

"I've already told you I'm not a ghost." The voice carried a hint of helplessness. "Call me 'Azure Dragon.' As for whether your question is true or not, of course it is. Do you think your grandfather would have let you off so easily without my help? And would he have sent you to this room that looks like a fairytale castle?"

Sakura looked down at the soft down comforter on her body, then at the luxurious furnishings around her, and suddenly felt that everything was so unreal. She whispered, "I thought—I was already dead, and this was heaven."

"Heaven doesn't look like this," Qinglong said with a hint of sarcasm.

Sakura's curiosity was piqued, and she timidly asked, "Mr. Seiryu—have you ever been to Heaven?"

"I haven't been to Yahweh's Paradise, but I have been to Yiru's Paradise."

Sakura didn't have much of a concept of Heaven, nor did she know that there were several different kinds of Heaven. But she thought that anyone who could go to Heaven must be a good person, and since Mr. Seiryu could go to Heaven, he must be a very, very good person.

Her eyes lit up, and the first genuine smile of the day appeared on her face: "Mr. Qinglong is such a good person!"

"Thank you for helping me defeat my evil grandfather and getting me out of that disgusting place! Mr. Azure Dragon!"

"It was nothing," Qinglong paused, then suddenly said, "Actually, I should thank you more."

.

Sakura tilted her head, her brown hair slipping down her shoulder: "Why is Mr. Seiryu thanking me?"

"Because I'm really bored right now." Qinglong's voice carried a hint of self-deprecation. "Thanks for keeping me company."

Sakura blinked thoughtfully: "Does Mr. Seiryu have very few friends?"

"Now that you mention it—" Qinglong seemed to be recalling something, "In my previous state, I didn't have many friends. As for my current state, even if I wanted to make friends, I couldn't. You are the only special case, which is why you can establish a connection with me now and even get my help."

Sakura pointed to herself in confusion: "Me? Is there something special about me?"

"Your magical attribute is [Imaginary]," Qinglong explained. "Imaginary space is a theoretically existing realm that cannot be materialized. It is because you possess this attribute that you are able to connect to me in the present."

Sakura nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

She remembered that her father and "grandfather" had both said similar things. It was precisely because of her "special" nature that her father gave her to her grandfather.

Thinking of this, a wave of bitterness welled up in her heart.

But she quickly rallied, clenched her little fists, and said earnestly, "However, this power can connect me to Mr. Azure Dragon and even get him to help me defeat Grandpa, so it's not entirely useless!"

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