Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 331, First Era: The Era of Passing on the Flame

The interior of the Church of Bones is filled with a massive cross, and countless skulls stare at it with their hollow "eyes".

Adam, dressed in a simple white robe, glanced at the deep darkness outside the stained glass and calmly spoke:

"I'm sorry, you missed it again."

Beside him, a tall knight spoke in a deep voice:

"You should have told me beforehand!"

Adam said calmly:

"The premise is that you should discuss it with me before going to the Church of Tranquility."

"If the return of the 'Gate' hadn't exhausted the Seven Gods' energy, giving me the opportunity, I wouldn't have been able to save you from the clutches of the night."

The tall knight fell silent.

He did not consult with Adam, so He could not stop Adam from warning Him in advance.

Under the power of darkness, He was trapped in an eternally recurring dream from which He could not escape.

Originally, the night couldn't do this, but the night also possesses the power of the King's Soul.

While being influenced by the King's Soul, Night can also influence its true form—the Primal Flame—through the King's Soul.

His consciousness is imprisoned in eternal sleep, forever cycling in the same place.

His perception was clouded by the King's Soul, causing Him to actively seal away the cyclical 'memory', repeating it over and over again.

If Adam hadn't intervened, He might have remained trapped there for who knows how much longer.

Seeing the knight remain silent, Adam slowly spoke:

"He now has the path to becoming a 'gatekeeper,' the Source Castle is under his control, True Creator has partnered with him, and the Chaos Sea is already his. The Night is eyeing the River of Eternal Darkness, and He will not allow anyone to interfere."

"If you want to turn the tide, you must start from other avenues and sources."

The knight remained silent for a long time before hesitatingly asking:

"A city of disaster, or a nation in disarray?"

Adam gave Him a deep look:

"The Wilderness of Knowledge".

As Adam spoke, he suddenly turned around and walked toward the second "blasphemous stone tablet".

-

Above the gray fog.

Klein went to the head of the long bronze table and sat down in the seat that belonged to the 'Fool'.

On the table in front of him, on the right were five blasphemous cards: "Black Emperor," "Tyrant," "Dreamer," "Fool," and "Red Priest," while on the left were magical items such as "Crawling Hunger," "Cross Without Darkness," and "Rivell's Desperate Cry."

The "Black Emperor" and "Dreamer" cards were both sacrificed by Miss "Justice," while the "Red Priestess" and "Fool" cards were given by Ember. Only the "Tyrant" card can be considered as his own reward from an "adventure," although this adventure almost cost him his life.

As for the specific meaning of these "blasphemous cards," Klein actually felt that their symbolic meaning outweighed their practical meaning.

After all, given that Ember had seen the blasphemous tablets, the value of these blasphemous tablets had been greatly reduced.

Of those magical items, he could use 'Crawling Hunger,' 'Poseidon's Scepter,' and 'River's Desperate Scream,' but 'Cross of No Darkness' had too many side effects and couldn't be used simultaneously with other magical items, so he had to reluctantly give it up.

Klein planned to sell it to Little Sun, using it as a special characteristic for Little Sun's advancement to "Darkness-Free".

Just then, a hazy figure suddenly appeared before Klein's eyes; it was Ember, who had entered the gray fog on his own.

Klein couldn't help but ask curiously:

"Are you now the 'door'?"

"It will take some more time."

Ember replied, glanced at the Fool card on the table, and continued:

"You can begin preparing for promotion to Sequence 1."

Klein was not surprised to hear the first part of the sentence.

The purpose of the embers was never to 'contain' extraordinary characteristics, but to 'refine' them.

Containing is simple, but refining takes time.

If we were to give an example...

There is a building, and the goal of the extraordinary individuals is to live in this building. The stronger the extraordinary individual, the higher they live.

Ember's goal is not to live in the building, but to make the entire building his property!

In other words, the extraordinary ones want the 'right to reside', while the embers want ownership—

Whether or not people move in is not important; what matters is who owns the property rights to this building.

The same applies to Yuanbao.

The original ownership of the Fortress belonged to "The Original," but now half of the ownership of this building belongs to Ember.

As for Klein, he was only a temporary tenant in the building and had no power to fight for ownership.

He simply used his temporary authority to organize a company called "Tarot Club," which held regular meetings inside the building.

If you were to ask Klein who he would prefer to own the building, he would definitely choose Ember. After all, if Ember owned the building, he could continue to use it, whereas initially, not only were his rights to use it taken away, but he was even forced to sign a contract of servitude, becoming a mortgage slave.

Even a fool would know which one to choose.

Upon hearing the latter part of the sentence, Klein's expression became somewhat subtle.

He's only just reached Sequence 4, and you're already pushing him to advance to Sequence 1? Isn't that a bit too hasty?

Klein thought for a moment, then carefully chose his words:

"You do possess extraordinary abilities, but digesting potions still requires a certain amount of time."

He is not an ember, so there is no way to refine him directly with the 'First Flame'.

While the Primal Flame could help 'digest' the potion, this didn't align with either party's expectations. Klein needed to gradually gain control of the Source Castle, deepening his connection with it to facilitate the Primal Flame's fusion with the Source Castle.

If the First Flame were to replace the ritual, it would only strengthen the connection between Klein and the First Flame, while also causing the Source Castle to reject him as a temporary "tenant," and even lose control of the Source Castle.

Therefore, necessary rituals are necessary.

Ember seemed unsurprised by this, and said:

"If you can defeat the Undead Legion, you should have enough Soul Digestion Potions."

Klein asked with some surprise:

"Aren't demigods unable to enter the dream world?"

There are always exceptions.

Klein couldn't help but show a strange expression upon hearing Ember's answer.

Are you trying to abuse your privileges?

我喜欢！

克莱恩稍微计算了一下，序列6的魔药消化需要10万魂，序列5需要100万魂，那相应的序列4就需要1000万魂。

In the dream world, a demigod like Gundyr only has 30 souls, and he would need to kill at least three demigods to digest the potion.

However, as one of the Lords of Cinder, the Undead Legion should have dropped far more souls than Gundyr.

Therefore, as long as you can defeat the Farron Undead Legion, completing the potion digestion of Sequence 4 will not be difficult.

As for the ritual requirements for Sequence 3, 'Ancient Scholar'... that's actually the simplest.

The ritual for becoming an "Ancient Scholar" requires complete detachment from reality for at least three hundred years, after one has become history and no longer belongs to the current era, by consuming a magical potion. Its essence is to eliminate distracting details, providing a clear and accurate marker of one's identity as an "Ancient Scholar," and preventing one from getting lost.

For other "tricksters", the biggest challenge of the advancement ceremony is undoubtedly how to live for three hundred years, since the "diviner" path is not as known for its long life as the "pharmacist" path.

Moreover, being completely detached from reality for three hundred years can easily drive someone insane. For a "trickster" who is already on the verge of a split personality, the danger of going insane and losing control is not insignificant.

Even if the requirements of this ritual could be fulfilled, wasting three hundred years just to complete a single ritual is simply too slow and cumbersome. For most "tricksters," changing their path is actually the best option.

Whether switching to the 'Thief' or 'Apprentice' path, while finding potion recipes and extraordinary traits still requires a significant amount of time, it's unlikely to take three hundred years. Therefore, for other 'Tricksters,' rather than risking losing control and being detached from reality for three hundred years, it's better to find a way to jump to an adjacent path.

But for Klein, this ritual was tailor-made for him. He had been suspended on that strange portal of light for far more than three hundred years, perhaps three thousand, or even thirty thousand!

In a sense, he had already fulfilled the requirements of this ritual long ago.

Once the potion is digested, one can advance directly on the spot.

Klein asked hesitantly:

"What about Sequence 2?"

Ember asked in return:

What is the ritual for Sequence 2, the "Miracleist"?

"Let a forgotten piece of history return to the present era..."

Klein subconsciously read out the ritual requirements, then paused, blurting out:

"Silver City!"

Bringing a forgotten piece of history back to the present era—"bringing back" means not "reproducing"—the two have completely different meanings.

If it were a reenactment, Klein could simply write down a portion of the true history of the Fourth or Third Age and spread it, thus completing the ritual.

However, to return, one must have a physical presence.

To give a very simple example, it would be to awaken the ancestors of the Antigonus family.

This half-Fool was sealed away by the goddess in the Fourth Age for going out of control, and by then He had long been forgotten by the world. If Klein can help Him break free, then His return can be considered a "return to the present era".

But Half the Fool was already Klein's enemy, and had been killed by the Embers, so Klein naturally wouldn't choose him. And excluding the ancestors of the Antigonus family, the "lost history" that Klein was most familiar with was none other than Silver City!

Silver City has been trapped in the Forsaken Land for thousands of years. People today don't even know where the Forsaken Land is; it truly is a lost history. If the inhabitants of Silver City can escape the Forsaken Land and return to the Northern and Southern Continents, that lost history of two or three thousand years can be brought to the present era!

"right."

Ember nodded in agreement with Klein's guess, but quickly added, "So you'd better hurry."

Klein immediately understood what the embers referred to—

The people of Silver City were preparing to explore the Giant King's Court, but the Giant King's Court had been swept away by Ember. Not only had most of the dangers been eliminated, but even the passage back to the North and South Continents had been opened by him!

The real challenge now isn't how to bring Silver City back, but how to advance to Sequence 3 'Ancient Scholar' and digest the potion before Silver City does.

After all, as long as the Silver City exploration team goes to the Giants' Court, they can find a way to leave without any effort.

If the people of Silver City had already left the Forsaken Land before Klein finished digesting the Sequence 3 potion, then Klein would have perfectly missed this ritual...

"Tsk..."

Klein suddenly felt a headache coming on. According to Little Sun, Silver City would begin its exploration of the Giants' Court this week. He could only pray that Silver City's progress wouldn't be too fast, otherwise he would have to find another way.

But how did Zarathustra complete the ritual in the first place?

Klein was thinking when a "special" solution suddenly popped into his head—to find a way to isolate some people from history and reality until they have been forgotten, and then let them return to the present era. This might take three hundred, five hundred years, or even longer!

But for the "trickster," this period of time was "just right."

Sequence 3 'Ancient Scholar' requires being completely detached from reality for at least 300 years, while if 'Trickster' can obtain the Sequence 2 'Miracleist' potion recipe in advance, they can make arrangements for the 'Sequence 2' ritual ahead of time.

While detaching themselves from reality, they also isolate another group of people, causing them to detach from reality as well, thus paving the way for the ritual of Sequence 2!

Once you reach Sequence 2, you can begin preparing for the Sequence 1 "Mysterious Servant" ritual:

Establish a town composed entirely of Mystics, and design the destiny trajectory for each Mystic, allowing them to create a sufficiently realistic picture of life through their interactions, giving birth to a corresponding region in the spirit world.

The larger the town, the more secret partners, the more detailed the daily life, the more vivid and realistic the different fates, the longer the journey, and the better the effect of the ritual.

Klein inexplicably connected this to the dream world and suddenly had a whimsical idea:

"Do you think I should set up a town modeled after Dark Souls when I prepare for my Sequence 1 advancement ceremony?"

Ember's performance was quite unexpected:

Why do you have this idea?

Before Klein could answer, Ember shook his head and said:

"There's no need. Your Sequence 1 'ritual' can be kept simple. The dream world can serve as your ritual for advancing to Sequence 0."

"Sequence 0?"

Klein immediately thought of the corresponding ritual—to fool time, history, or fate.

What is the existence of that dream world deceiving?

Klein almost immediately realized the answer—everything!

He had long suspected that the purpose of the dream world was to tell the story that had happened in Rodland!

So from the very beginning, whenever an extraordinary person entered Turkey Farm, the Exile Rudauth would tell him everything.

Everything that happened afterward, from the convenience of digesting the potion to the magic taught by the magic teacher after finding Orbeck in Behem, was all designed to attract extraordinary individuals to delve deeper into the story contained within this dream!

Karula, the creator of dreams, wants to tell the world the story that once happened!

So, why tell this story?

Go to any bookstore on the street, and you'll find thousands upon thousands of stories contained within. If it's simply about telling stories, there's absolutely no need to expend so much effort constructing a dreamscape that's indistinguishable from reality!

The purpose of dreams is to immerse extraordinary individuals within them, making them believe that it is real!

But that's clearly not enough.

Dreams are merely the foundation, the seeds planted in the hearts of extraordinary individuals.

What we really need to do is turn the 'story' that happens in dreams into reality!

Their goal is to replace a certain period of history in this world—such as the First Age—with the history that once happened in Lordran!

The First Era is also known as the Chaos Era, and there are no written records of this period to date.

Then, Ember and his allies could completely replace the true history of the First Era with the story of Lordran linking the Flame! At that time, the First Era might no longer be called the Chaos Era, but rather the Flame-Linking Era!

The failure to rekindle the flame ushered in the Deep Sea Age and the Dark Age, which was the Dark Age of the Second Era!

If they truly succeed, then Ember and his companions will have completely fooled time, history, and fate, and fooled the world as well!

At that time, the First Flame will truly replace the so-called Creator—the Creator will still be praised, but the Creator will no longer be a personified figure or image, but the First Flame!

Klein remained silent for a long time, his mind reeling from this wild speculation.

He suddenly realized that although Ember had always appeared calm and collected.

In reality, however, his relationship with the Creator was one of irreconcilable conflict.

Even though these two never actually met.

(End of this chapter)